By Lev Rourke
Barlow High School – beaten in the 6A boys’ state meet by 1 point, in the final event – is taking its season into July for the first time ever, as one of 24 schools participating in a new event, the Nike Team Nationals, an effort to determine the best high school track teams in the country.
The meet will be Friday night from 6 to 9 p.m. at Hayward Field, part of a big mid-summer Track Weekend in Eugene, because the ever-glittering Prefontaine Classic is the next day. A sold-out house of more than 12,000 is expected for that. Admission is free for Friday’s NTN event.
Gresham’s Barlow High made the cut – they were actually ranked 3rd nationally in Nike’s final standings, based on decathlon-styled performance rankings – and was 1st in the Northwest Region. Those rankings, however, included big marks in the shot and discus for Ryan Crouser and in the mile for Ben Foubert. Both are injured, and will not be competing on Friday.
“The bummer is that we know in the back of our mind, like with the state meet, that if we had Ryan, we had a chance to win this thing,” Barlow Coach Dave Kilian told Steve Mims of the Register-Guard.
Crouser of course was one of the leading shot putters (69-8) and discus throwers (201-6) in the country before breaking his foot in May. He is now on crutches. Foubert, who ran 4:12 for 1,500, injured his back in June and is also out.
“Now it will be tough,” Kilian said. “There are some teams from California that have some talent and other teams as well. I think we will be in the hunt.”
The Barlow cupboard is not bare, of course, because they still have two prodigious talents in the junior sprinter Arthur Delaney and the multitalented senior Nathanael Franks. Delaney, state champion in the 100 and 200, has the top 100 time in Friday’s field, 10.42w. He will face, among others, Jovonte Slater (10.45) of Vista Murietta, Calif., the top-ranked boys’ squad, and Keenan Harp (10.51), of Brookwood, Ga. Franks, state champion in the high jump (6-7), will also compete in the 400 (he ran 49.43 at the Border Duel), while Delaney will also long jump. He has jumped 22-10 ¼ and also has a 400 best of 48.33, but individuals are limited to two events, and teams to one individual per event.
The other contested events will be the 800, mile, hurdles and pole vault, in addition to the 100, 400, LJ, shot, HJ and discus.
No Oregon teams are in the girls’ field. The top-ranked Oregon school was also Barlow. The Northwest’s girls’ representative is Kentwood, Wash., which finished 31st on the national list.
The top-ranked girls’ team is the traditional California power, Long Beach Poly, which is led by sprinters Carisma Lyday (11.75) and Akawkaw Ndipagbor (53.49), halfmiler Arielle Stevenson (2:10), hurdler Melia Cox (13.75) and jumpers Tara Richmond (5-10) and Traci Hicks (18-5 ½). Every one of those performances would have won the Oregon state meets this season.
In all, six of the 24 girls’ and boys’ teams are from California.
Vista Murietta, the No. 1 boys’ team, in addition to Slater, also has Bernard Quinn (47.96 400), Chris Navarro (14.44 hurdles), Nick Taylor (6-5 ¾ high jump) and Emil Mejares (168 discus). The No. 2 boys’ team, Loyola of Los Angeles, is led by the junior miler Elias Gedyon (4:08), 16-foot vaulter Evan Barr and sprinter Jared Baker (10.83).
Prefontaine
All of the NTN athletes and coaches will be housed on campus in dorms across the street from Hayward Field, and they will then be given their own section of seats for the Prefontaine meet the next day. This year’s Pre, being held in July for one of the few times in its history, begins at noon with the women’s hammer. The first running event is at 1 p.m. The national telecast begins at 1:30.
With the July date, Meet Director Tom Jordan expects most athletes to be in top condition, unlike the sporadic situation often faced a month earlier. The Pre meet is the signature Open meet of the year, every year, in the United States, and 2010 figures to be as good as ever.
Local interest will be concentrated in the men’s 5,000, where OTC runners Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Solinsky will try to become the first Americans ever to break 13:00 on American soil; the 1,000, where Nick Symmonds, fresh from victory in the 800 at nationals, will go after American and world records along with several top African runners, and the women’s javelin, where Vancouver’s own Kara Patterson and Oregon’s Rachel Yurkovich will throw against the world recordholder and Olympic champion, Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic. Patterson broke the American record just a week ago.
The meet is considered a sellout.