I must admit that I am starting this article the night before "the first day of competition". Part of my reasoning was that I wanted to get a "jump on the competition"! I know.... "don't quit my day job". But it's true. Once Outdoor Nationals starts, it becomes push, shove, run, go from the moment you wake up until you fall into bed that night.
Sure the program calls for just 2 races, but let me try and enlighten you to their day and what it entails. Usually the night before (tonight) the skaters are rushing around trying to make sure that they have their numbers, helmet, skates, wheels changed, uniform and safety pins together. Along with that they need to make sure that they bring plenty of clothes for cold weather as well as warm weather. And it doesn't matter WHAT the weather channel says.... if Mother Nature decides that she wants to show up and blow some "hot air", then the wind gusts up to 44 mph today was her way of letting us know that She would do as She pleases. So bringing sun screen, an umbrella, chapstick, sweatshirt, and tank top are not unusual. And that brings us to sleep. If the athlete can fall asleep and get the rest they need then they are set to arrive.
Almost 24 hours later.....
The first day of competition is over! I am sun burned and wind burned!!!! Remember I talked about the weather.... well looking at weather.com last night it said that we would have a high of 80 degrees. It would still be in the 60's at 11am and low to mid 70's while the 300-meter races were scheduled. The wind was supposed to be 8mph up until noon when it was supposed to pick up to 10 or 11 mph. HA...... NOT....... It was warm early on. I'm not really sure exactly how hot it got, but it was in the high 80's for sure... maybe even hotter!! I knew it was going to be a hot one when we were all taking our jackets off by 9am and the wind gusts picked up to 20+ mph at times. But there was one skater.... who had the "perfect" wind conditions (or lack there of). I stood at the top of the velodrome and video tapped each and every skater's 300m race today. I might not have gotten every start, but I was able to tape each race and write down each skater's time while holding conversations with several different people that I hadn't seen since the last time we were all in Colorado Springs.
But I wanted to mention this one skater who I know pretty well. He's a great skater. He's even talked about having that "perfect" race, but who knew that it would happen today????
Mr. Dane Lewis from Sacramento, California skated the race of a lifetime!! It was as if the "Speed Skating God's" came down and stopped the wind for just 25.909 seconds. There was a slight breeze as Dane stepped to the line. Taking a breath and shaking his arm
s and hands out, mentally getting in the zone..... Dane set his feet in the 45 degree position. Next he "balanced" himself. As he placed his foot back with ease and control, the slight breeze just seemed to disappear. It was completely still... absolutely quiet.... Dane then loaded and exploded like a man out of a rocket!He honestly skated the most perfect line that I have ever seen Dane skate. And I have had the opportunity to watch him for many years. His timing was impeccable as he set his corners up, just enough straight-away pushes and he skated all the way through the line (many of you need to take notice... Dane DID NOT look over at the clock while he was still skating!!!). And then his time popped up on the unofficial clock of 25.91. I knew instantly that he had set a new record. I knew that he had beat Joey's record of 25.959 set at last years National Championships! No one will ever be able to take that race away from Dane. It was Dane's perfect race.... then the official time was announced.... 25.909. Everyone went crazy. I even saw Dane crack a smile! I mean "who wouldn't crack a smile??".... it was a perfect race! Congratulations to Dane and his coach Dennis Bizeau.
But we won't stop there!!! No way... there were many new faces out in the crowd of Juniors. Some skaters may not have gotten points but they sure got my attention. One of those skaters is Eben Jackson from Auburn, Washington. His first time out here and he has two years left after this Championship!! He finished right outside of the point scale for Junior World Class Men. Finishing 9th with a time of 28.158. Another first-timer was Scott Stubblefield also from Washington who finished 5th with a time of 27.709. These are skaters to keep your eye on.
In the Junior World Class Ladies Erin Jackson from Florida not only blew her competition away but she blew me away!!! I remember her from last year!! I couldn't believe the
improvement and she took the win with a time of 29.093!! Next was Kristen (hope I spelled her first name correct) Attipoe from Florida was another skater who absolutely amazed me. She was a "late" registration and went to the line first. So I didn't have her name or number until after she started skating. I was amazed at her speed and the way she carried herself on the track. She finished 3rd and it wasn't until much later that I realized that her brother skates too!For me, it was no surprise that Sara Sayasane from California took the win in the Senior World Class Ladies 300-meter with a time of 28.813. She continues to perfect her sprint and I look forward to seeing her compete for Team USA in Spain this year! One of the skaters who amazed me is known more for her long distance successes and that is Emily Scott who finished 4th with a 29.791, breaking the 30 second barrier for the first time!
Senior Men.... well you already know the story of Dane and his win.... the top 10 guys can usually place anywhere on any given day, however the one big surprise of the day was 6th place skater, Michael Cheek who broke into the 26's (I will bet for his first time) and finished in a time of 26.814.
I would LOVE to tell you all about the 1000-meter races, but frankly I did what I always do.... I worked the stop watch so that the skaters knew their times and where they were and what was needed. That's a coaches job sometimes.... you don't actually get watch the races but have to do the work so that the skater has the information needed to do what they do best... skate fast! But the one thing I do have is their placements. I have been told that they were going to be available on the USARS website but I was unable to find them, so I will take the time to put them here for those of you who are computer challenged like myself!! Don't forget to check out my photos that are updated daily! http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodsk8/sets/
300-Meter
Jr WC Ladies
1-Erin Jackson-FL
2-Mariah Richardson-NC
3-Kristen Attipoe-FL
4-Alex Harris-FL
5-Melanie Bradley-FL
6-Sophie Webb-FL
7-Briana Kramer-FL
8-Courtney Grzech-FL
WOW... I just realized that 7 out of the 8 Jr Ladies all come from Florida!! What are they brewing in their water??!!
Jr WC Men
1-Keith Carroll-PA
2-Kevin Quandt-FL
3Justin Mannon-NJ
4-Jake Powers-NC
5-Scott Stubblefield-WA
6-Michael Ringer-VA
7-Jonathan Blair-GA
8-Mario Valencia-FL
Sr WC Ladies
1-Sara Sayasane-CA
2-Amber Yarborough-UT
3-Katelyn Horning-VA
4-Emily Scott-FL
5-Molly Brown-NC
6-Brandy Clark-VA
7-Chelsea Creveling-VA
8-Christine Pyles
Sr WC Men
1-Dane Lewis-CA
2-Joey Mantia-WA
3-Harry Vogel-NC
4-William Bowen-VA
5-Sebastian Cano-FL
6-Michael Cheek-NC
7-Jonathan Garcia-UT
8-Justin Stelly-UT
1000-Meter Finals
Jr WC Ladies
1-Alex Harris
2-Melanie Bradley
3-Briana Kramer
4-Mariah Richardson
5-Lauren Forrest
6-Katie Grimm
7-Nicole Lloyd
Jr WC Men
1-Mario Valencia
2-kevin Quandt
3-Jake Powers
4-Hank Galbraith
5-Keith Carroll
6-Andrew Shatzer
7-Kyle Gresham
8-Michael Garcia
Sr WC Ladies
1-Sara Sayasane
2-Emily Scott
3-Amber yarborough
4-Erin DiJulio
5-Katelyn Horning
6-Ricci Porter
7-Ananda Jolliff
8-Molly Brown
Sr WC Men
1-Joey Mantia
2-Josh Wood
3-Dane Lewis
4-Justin Stelly
5-Harry Vogel
6-Chris Creveling
7-Sebastian Cano
8-Jonathan Garcia
I apologize if I have misspelled someone's name or given the incorrect placement. Remember that this information is second-hand and is not considered official!!!!!! Congratulations to all of the skaters!! It was a GREAT day and we have less than 12 hours before we must be back for the 10K point/elimination race. So I will leave you for now! Have a great evening and we will see you tomorrow! Linda :)
