by RBR Admin
Walt Murphy is one of the finest track geeks that I know. Walt does #ThisDayinTrack&FieldHistory, an excellent daily service that provides true geek stories about our sport. You can check out the service for FREE with a free one-month trial subscription! (email: [email protected] ) for the entire daily service. We will post a few historic moments each day, beginning February 1, 2024.
by Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service ([email protected]), used with permission
This Day in Track & Field-December 2
1973–For the 3rd year in a row, Frank Shorter won the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan, considered the world’s most prestigious marathon at the time (he would make it 4 in a row the following year).
Shorter, the gold medalist in the marathon at the 1972 Olympics (silver in 1976), was inducted into the NY Road Runners Hall of Fame in 2012 (He was selected to the U.S. HOF in 1989).
Past Winners: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukuoka_Marathon?oldid=cur
Fukuoka(2009): http://mzungofire.blogspot.com/2009/12/lydiard-foundation-blog-fukuoka.html
1973 Marathons: https://www.arrs.run/MaraList/ML_1973.htm
Phil Hersh’s Top-10 U.S. Marathoners: http://tinyurl.com/l4fzk6x
NYRR Hall of Fame:
https://www.nyrr.org/es/About/Hall-Of-Fame/Frank-Shorter
https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/frank-shorter
http://www.marathonguide.com/pressreleases/index.cfm?file=AIMSLifetimeAward_151029
http://frankshorter.net/olympics/
1982–Steve Scott, one of the greatest milers in history, made his mark in another sport today, setting a record for the fastest round of golf played on a regulation course. Scott, using only two clubs (mostly a 3-iron) and running from hole to hole, completed 18 holes in 29 minutes, 33.05 seconds at Miller Golf Course in Anaheim, California, and posted a respectable score of 95!
How It Happened: http://www.midweek.com/the-fastest-round-of-golf-ever/
https://fanhubtf.com/runjackw/our-sport-is-good-preparation-for-football-soccer-basketball-and-golf/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Scott_(athlete)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_golf
2022—Sophomore Dillon Powell’s individual win led the way for the Colorado School of Mines, which won the Men’s team title by a whopping 134 points over runner-up Wingate (43-177) at the NCAA Div II X-Country Championships in University Place, Washington. It was the most significant margin of victory in Div.II history. Powell had collapsed in warm conditions during the 2021 Championship but had no trouble with the cold weather this time.
Junior Stephanie Cotter won the Women’s race by more than 40 seconds, leading Adams State to its 3rd straight team title over Grand Valley State (75-126). It was the 20th overall win for the Grizzlies and coach Damon Martin, who became the third to win 20 or more national titles in a single sport in NCAA history, joining Kenyon women’s swimming coach Jim Steen and North Carolina women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance.
Finishing 2nd to Cotter, who also won the 2019 title, was Winona State’s Lindsay Cunningham, who would win in 2023!
Some snow fell during the men’s race, but it was gone by the time the women ran. The meet was late on the calendar because it was part of the quadrennial NCAA Div.II Festival, with many sports staging their championships on the same day.
Results: https://results.leonetiming.com/xc.html?mid=5313
Recap: https://www.ustfccca.org/2022/12/champ-news/meet-recap-2022-ncaa-dii-cross-country-championships
2023—Two weeks after winning NCAA Div. I X-Country titles, Harvard’s Graham Blanks and Florida’s Parker Valby set Collegiate Records at 5000 meters at the Sharon Colyear-Danville season opener at Boston University.
Blanks won the Men’s race in 13:03.78 to break the previous indoor mark of 13:08.28 set by Arizona’s Lawi Lalang in 2012. He also earned the “absolute” record by bettering the outdoor standard of 13:06.32, set by Northern Arizona’s Abdi Nur in 2022.
Stanford’s Ky Robinson was also under the old Indoor mark with his runner-up time of 13:06.42. Blanks also bettered the Olympic qualifying standard of 13:05.00. Soon after crossing the finish line, Blanks bowed to the crowd to show his appreciation for their support during the race.
Valby’s winning time of 14:56.11 not only broke the Indoor CR of 15:12.22, set by Providence’s Emily Sisson in 2015, she also broke the “absolute” record of Colorado’s Jenny Simpson, who ran 15:01.70 indoors on Washington’s oversize track in 2009. She would better both records in 2024, running 14:52.79 indoors and 14:52.18 outdoors.
Valby can thank runnerup Andrea Rodenfels (15:03.97) for acting as the de facto rabbit, leading almost from the gun through 4000-meters before Valby shot into the lead and then worked her way around lapped runners the rest of the way.
No records, but there were fast times in both 3000s.
Notre Dame’s Olivia Markezich moved to #2 on the All-Time college list with her winning time of 8:40.42 in the women’s race, while Northern Arizona’s Nico Young won the men’s race in 7:37.73 (#3 All-Time, now #4).
Results: http://live.lancertiming.com/meets/148/events
Post Race Interviews:
Blanks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9acFE3pU3Ao
Valby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOy9n4J57ns
2023—The individual winners at the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) on a rain-soaked 5k course on the Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon, were sophomore Addy Ritzenhein (17:10.4/Niwot, CO) and JoJo Jourdon (15:16.5/Olympus, UT).
Squads from the Southwest Region dominated the team standings, with Colorado taking the top 3 places in the Girls’ race-Academy (61), Niwot (72), Air Academy (163), and Utah the top 2 spots in the Boys’ race-Herriman (83), American Fork (100), which had beaten Herriman at the State meet and the Southwest Regional.
Ritzenhein joins her dad as a National H.S. Champion, with Dathan winning Foot Locker titles in 1999 and 2000.
Results: https://live.athletictiming.net/meets/29011
Reports
T&F News (subscription might be required): Boys Girls
https://www.milesplit.com/articles/342340/colorado-girls-utah-boys-sweep-at-nike-cross-nationals
Post-Race Interviews
Ritzenhein: https://nxn.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=13&do=videos&video_id=369639
Jourdon: https://nxn.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=13&do=videos&video_id=369653
Other Videos: https://nxn.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?do=videos&event_id=13
