Jen Simpson (Barringer) & Natasha Hasting compete at New Balance Games in the Big Apple (Jan. 22), by Ian Brooks, note by Larry Eder

Jenny Simpson (Barringer), winning at 2010 Payton Jordan 1,500m, photo by PhotoRun.net.

Natasha Hastings, winning at the NB Games, 2010, photo by PhotoRun.net.

Andy Baddelley winning 2010 NB Games Mile, photo by PhotoRun.net

The New Balance Games is an awesome track meet. I was fortunate to visit last year, and the meet was, well, electrifying! Jenny Simpson and Ciara Mageean, the new Irish star, will be running the women’s mile. Garrett Heath is looking fit for the men’s mile, but do not discount the strong Ricky Stevenson from the UK, who ran a ten second pb in the mile at the 2010 NB Games (watch him, he runs like Ian Stewart, UK endurance director and 72 bronze medalist). Natasha Hastings is running against a resurging Mary Wineberg, who recently had a baby, and has been twittering away about her tough workouts.

RBR was hoping to be in the Big Apple, however we had to cancel due to a family emergency. RBR will provide coverage of the meet with a meet wrap-up and photo gallery!

Jen Simpson (Barringer) and Natasha Hastings compete in the New Balance Games in New York City.

by Ian Brooks

Jen Simpson (newly married last October) the AR holder at the steeplechase, will make her NYC Armory racing
debut on January 22nd at the New Balance Games at the Armory Track and
Field Center in NYC. Last year on signing a contract with New Balance,
Jen expressed a desire to race on the Armory track… and that time is
here on Saturday. It will not be “easy” for the illustrious Colorado
graduate with 2008 USA olympic credentials in the steeplechase who can
go the distance with anyone at a mile, 3000, 5000m as well as the
steeplechase! Determined to upset the proverbial applecart amongst a
deep field of 14 will be 2005 champion Carmen Douma-Hussar (Canada),
fellow Villanova graduate Frances Koons(USA),
now training in New Jersey with legendary coach Frank “Gags” Gagliano,
and making her debut in New York the 19 year old sensation from Ireland,
Ciara Mageean. Ciara surprised the world at last year’s World Junior
Championships with a silver medal in the 1500m. This young woman is
going to be on everyone’s radar for sure as we edge ever closer to the
2012 Olympic Games in London.

Meanwhile in the men’s mile, the
defending champion Andy Baddeley (Great Britain) had hopted to return, seeking a third
win in the big apple having also won the race in 2008. However, Andy has unfortunately withdrawn with a hamstring injury.

Moving up in the mile food chain is likely to be Stanford graduate Garrett Heath,
certainly one to watch in the very near future. Keep an eye out also for
Lee Emanuel from Great Britain who had a sterling collegiate career
with NCAA titles whilst attending the University of New Mexico. The
battle to go sub four minutes will be intense and the meet record of
3:54.98 set by Mark Carroll (Ireland) in 2008 could well be in jeopardy.

A new event this year is the
women’s 800m featuring the mercurial Maggie Vessey (USA). Talented but
inconsistent, Maggie will need all her resolve to beat LSU graduate
Latavia Thomas who is very familiar with winning at the Armory, and
Phoebe Wright, NCAA 800m Champion, a
1:58 performer setting out on her professional career having had a
terrific collegiate career at the University of Tennessee. And again
there is an outstanding young talent who just might suprise them all.
Claudia Francis, a senior at Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens is
in terrific shape. Claudia, a two time National HS Champion outdoors at
800m, recently ran a 400m relay leg in 55.1 at the Armory… and she
will not be lacking for support in the pulsating arena. Claudia competed for the USA at 1,000 in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

In the women’s 400m, Natasha Hastings, (USA) is
back to defend her 400m title. Natasha, beloved in the Armory since her
days at A.P. Randolph High School, knows every inch of the track which
is arguably the fastest indoor track in the world. Last weekend, Natasha set an indoor PR of 23.22 at the Nittany Lions Challenge. Natasha
will be facing 4×4 Olympic Gold Medalist teammate, Mary Wineburg. Mary
took off 2009 on maternity leave and quite the indoor speedster.

It is going to be quite a meet
with the proffesional athlete events sandwiched between an all day high
school meet attracting some 5000 student athletes… the Armory is just
one block from Broadway… expect drama and excitement as only New York
can provide.

Provisional Start Lists

Womens’s 400m

Natasha Hastings USA

Mary Wineburg USA

Wendy “Fawn” DORR USA

Brandi CROSS USA

Tamika KINCHENS USA

Moushami ROBINSON USA

Women’s Mile

1. Jen Simpson (Barringer) USA

2. Carmen Douma-Hussar Canada

3. Hilary Stellingwerff Canada

4. Lindsay Gallo USA

5. Frances Koons USA

6. Ciara Mageean Ireland

7. Brenda Martinez USA

8. Marina Muncan Serbia

9. Megan Wright Canada

10. Elizabeth Maloy USA

11. Nikeya Green USA

12. Rachel Cliff Canada

1Dana Buchanan Canada

1 Lesley Higgins USA

Women’s 800m

1. Maggie Vessey USA

2. Phoebe Wright USA

3. Heidi Dahl USA

4. LaTavia Thomas USA

5. Charlotte Browning Great Britain

6. Rachel Aubry Canada

7. Claudia Francis USA

8. Stephanie Herrick USA

9. Jen Metz USA

Men’s 1500m

1. Kyle Boorsma Canada

2. Kyle Miller USA

3. Matthew Hulse Canada

4. Harbert Okuti Uganda

5. Tommy Lecours Canada

6. Moise Joseph Haiti

7. Liam Boylan-Pett USA

8. Aidan Walsh USA

Men’s Mile

Record: Mark Carroll – 3:54.98 – 2000

2. Ricky Stevenson Great Britain

3. Rob Myers USA

4. Mark Draper Great Britain

5. Garrett Heath USA

6. Taylor Milne Canada

7. Lee Emanuel Great Britain

8. Tim Konoval Canada

9. Rob Novak USA

10. Darren Brown USA

11. Craig Miller USA

12. Alex Wechsler USA

2023 Florence Diamond League: Marie-Jose Ta Lou takes the 100 meters!

Coffee with Larry, NCAA Div 1 is Hot after first day, Paris DL will feature BIG women’s 400m, Men’s steeple, Women’s 5,000m on June 9!

Coffee with Larry, NCAA outdoor Champs on ESPN 2, Paris DL on Peacock (June 9), Sydney McLaughlin racing 400 meters in Paris!

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 50-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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