USATF 2015 Outdoor Championships
Friday, June 26, 2015
SENIORS
Men’s decathlon
Trey Hardee, first place, 8,725 points (2015 world leader)
On scoring 4,356 points on Friday, one of the best second-day scores in history:
“Yesterday I just checked off the boxes. Today I got on one of those magical runs. I woke up in the morning and didn’t feel like I did anything yesterday. I had a great hurdles, discus and pole vault, a decent javelin, and got to run the 1,500 with a smile on my face.”
On winning his third national title at age 31 and registering his best score since 2009:
“I’m like a fine wine. I get better with age.”
Women’s 100m final
Tori Bowie, first place, 10.81 (wind: legal 1.2 mps)
“I still feel like I’m dreaming. I worked hard to be where I’m at today and I came here today and trusted my abilities and it worked out pretty well.”
On running the 200 Saturday:
“I will decide after I do my cool down and ice down and depending on how my body feels. If it’s telling me to go, I’ll come out tomorrow and we’ll go.”
English Gardner, second place, 10.86
On finishing second after clocking a world-leading 10.79 in Friday’s semifinal:
“I had an amazing day. If you had asked me two months ago if English Gardner would make the U.S. team, I’d have said, ‘Heck, no.’ The 10.79 is just a plus - the cherry on the cake.”
Men’s 100m final
Tyson Gay, first place, 9.87 (wind 0.0)
On the reception he received from the crowd:
“It was great. I’m human and I make mistakes. It’s about getting the opportunity again and be able to come around and do this. It means the world to me, and my family and my fans.”
On trying to dethrone Usain Bolt at the World Championships:
“Right now, I’m not paying to attention to Usain Bolt. He’s a championship performer. He’ll be ready when it counts.”
Trayvon Bromell, second place, 9.96
Bromell became the first male teenager to qualify for a U.S. world championship team in the 100:
“I just wanted to get out and stay strong and try to not lose composure and do what I had to do.”
On possibly turning professional with two years of eligibility at Baylor remaining:
“I’m still not making a decision right now. Right now I’m just having fun and ready for Beijing.”
Men’s high jump final
Erik Kynard, first place, 7-9¼/2.37m
On narrowly missing his first attempt at 7-10¾/2.41m
“The first attempt was really good. I was a little upset with myself. I said a few explicit words. I’ve been chasing the record for a long time, and I really wanted to get it here. It’s a little frustrating - almost breaking it all the time.”
Women’s triple jump final
Christina Epps, first place, 46-2¾/14.09m
On winning her first U.S. title:
“It’s really a shock to me. I’ve been underrated and overlooked. This is a fantastic feeling.”
Women’s javelin final
Kara Winger, first place, 213-1/64.94m
“I was feeling kind of weird, a little achy. I just told myself, and the first throw went pretty far. It’s important to start strong. I want to be able to throw 62 or 63 meters on my opener in the big meets, so this was really positive.”
On watching her husband Russ finish second in Thursday’s discus:
“I was so proud of Russ yesterday. He still needs to throw 65 meters to get the “A” standard, but he’s very capable of doing it.”
Women’s 100m hurdles, first round
Jasmin Stowers, first place, second heat, 12.47w
“It was definitely a warm-up. My goal for the whole year has been to make top three, so focus round by round. First round is over with, focus on the next one.”
Lolo Jones, second place, second heat, 12.62w
"It felt good. I knew I was advancing, I train with Jasmin (Stowers), so I knew my progress was coming even though I only had 12.95 on the (entry) sheet."
Sharika Nelvis, first place, third heat, 12.34 (wind-legal)
Nelvis, the NCAA indoor and outdoor champion in 2014 while at Arkansas State, moved to third on the all-time U.S. list and seventh on the world list with Friday’s clocking. Her time is a 2015 world leader and sliced her previous best from 12.52.
“It means a lot to me (to move up the all-time lists). Every round I’m trying to kill it. Tomorrow, hopefully, I’ll run faster.
On U.S. depth in the 100 hurdles:
“There are so many fast hurdlers. I can’t get an easy race anywhere.”
Women’s 1500m, first round
Mary Cain, second place, first heat, 4:19.26
“I wasn’t planning on leading the first few laps. But once you get out there, it’s sometimes hard to suddenly let people pass you. The last 100 I kicked until I knew I was good. I just cruised it in.”
Jenny Simpson, first place, heat three, 4:08.55
“I think that what is being asked of me here is exactly what’s asked of me at every championships: qualify and get into the final, and then in the final try and win and be top three. I’m really glad that I’m running the 1,500 instead of the 5,000 in this heat.”
Treniere Moser, second place, second heat, 4:08.07
"I feel ready for the final The biggest thing I have on my mind is the advantage of experience. This is my 12th or 13th one, Experience takes you a long way here."
Men’s 3000m steeple, first round
Evan Jager, first place, first heat, 8:40.13
"You can't count a guy like Don (Cabral) out. I don't think it's a lock by any stretch of the imagination. I feel like I should win, but you never know what's going to happen."
Donn Cabral, first place, second heat, 8:36.80
“It was comfortable - everything I wanted. I got to win my heat and get some confidence. I got a little bit of faster practice over the hurdles.”
Women’s 400m hurdles first round
Kori Carter, first place, heat one, 56.42
“It was solid, I’ve been struggling with my stride pattern and it felt more together. I’m happy I get to use the rounds to put my race together for the final.”
Shamier Little (Texas A&M), first place, second heat, 56.24
“It was one of my best openers. I think I did pretty well.”
On returning to Eugene so soon after the NCAA Championships, where she won with a personal-best and world-leading time of 53.74.
“I should have just stayed out here. The crowd wasn’t into it tonight the way they were during the NCAAs, but hopefully that will change since it’s still early.”
Georganne Moline, first place, third heat, 55.62
“I just need to make it to the final - then there will be some good stuff.”
Cassandra Tate, first place, heat four, 55.58 (fastest qualifier)
“My plan was to go out aggressively and run as easily as possible. There are a lot of champions in this field. I’m blessed to be a part of it.”
Men’s 400m hurdles semifinals
Bershawn Jackson, first place, first semifinal, 49.06
On why he’s running better this season following a subpar 2014:
“The main thing is staying healthy. I haven’t had any setbacks. I want to stay consistent all year.
Looking ahead to the final:
“You’ve got eight of the best hurdlers in the country fighting for three spots. I want one of those spots.”
Johnny Dutch, first place, second semifinal, 48.90
“I wanted to make up the stagger as quickly as possible and bring it home.
How fast will the final be?
“My goal is to make the top three. Whatever time flashes across the screen is fine with me.”
Men’s 400m semifinals
LaShawn Merritt, first place, second semi, 44.78
“Smooth race, I could have ran it faster, but the objective was to make the final.”
David Verburg, first place, first semi, 44.41
“I wasn’t worried about the time. Two rounds down, one to go. My goal is to make the team individually, and if not, then the relay.
Women’s 400m semifinals
Allyson Felix, first place, first semi, 50.62
"I just wanted to make it through to the next round as comfortably as possible. I wanted to control the race and go from there, see what I had to do.
Women’s 800m semifinals
Molly Ludlow, first place, first semi, 2:00.22
"I felt so much better today than I did yesterday, which is awesome. I'm really looking forward to Sunday. It's going to be a crazy 800."
Brenda Martinez, second place, first semi, 2:00.38
“I need to fight for a really position with a lap remaining in the final. Then it’s a matter of digging deep - of thinking about all those mile repeats I’ve done in training. I’m confident in what I’m doing.”
Men’s 800m semifinals
Shaquille Walker, first place, second semifinal, 1:45.58
"This is something I'm ready for, and that I've been training for."
Duane Solomon, fourth place, first semifinal, 1:45.56
Solomon, the defending champion, guaranteed a fast pace in the final:
“I’m going to go out in under 50 (for the first 400) and be on world record pace for the first 600. If they let me get to 700 meters by myself, they’re not catching me.
JUNIORS
Junior men’s high jump
Randall Cunningham II, first place, 7-2½/2.20m
Cunningham II is the son of former Pro Bowl quarterback Randall Cunningham. His sister, Vashti, is the U.S. women’s junior record holder (6-4½/1.95m) and will compete in Saturday’s women’s junior high jump final.
On taking three attempts at a personal-best 7-5¼/2.27m after winning the event at 7-2½/2.20:
“I felt great on the first attempt. I actually thought the bar was would stay on. I need experience jumping at the higher heights.”
On being the son of a famous athlete:
“It is pressure, because people always compare me to my father. But I’ve been a Cunningham my whole life, so I’m used to it.”
On watching his sister shoot for her own national title Saturday:
“I’ll definitely be out there watching her and helping her out. I haven’t gotten to watch her compete this year.”
Junior men’s decathlon
Harrison Williams, first place, 8,001 points
“My second day was overall pretty good. I was really hoping to get a national record (8,018). Unfortunately, it was just too hot and I was too tired in the 1,500. I’m happy I gave it everything I could. I didn’t quite get it but I definitely think I have a shot at getting it next time.
“I’m very happy with the hurdles and the pole vault. I feel like I could have done better in the 1500. It was hot outside and I gave it everything I could but I only ran 4:32, and I needed 4.30 to break the record.”
Junior women’s heptathlon
Kaylee Hinton, first place, 5,245 points
Hinton, of Rockwall, Texas, is headed to Texas Tech on a track scholarship. She trailed fellow Texan Ashtin Zamzow by six points heading into the seventh and final event, the 800 meters. Hinton clocked 2:24.02 to win by 45 points.
“My best events here were the long jump (19-4, 5.89m) and the 200 (24.58). I had never done 19 before in a heptathlon, and my 200 time was a personal best by four-tenths. I was confident going into the 800, but I still had to go out and do it.”
On winning her first national title:
“It’s amazing. To be here, first of all - it’s a culture shock since I don’t get out of Texas much. To perform well at Hayward Field is a dream come true.”
Junior women’s 5000m final
Rachael Reddy, first place, 16:28.01
Today’s race was her first-ever 5000m. Reddy redshirted her freshman season at Texas.
“I went out with the pack and decided to take a chance and make a move at 3,000 meters. It wasn’t until the last 800 that the race started feeling long, but I enjoyed it.”
Junior men’s 5000m final
Matthew Maton, first place, 14:47.10
In early May, Maton, a resident of Bend, Ore. became the sixth high school student to break four minutes in the mile when he clocked 3:59.38 in the Oregon Twilight meet in Eugene. He will attend Oregon in the fall.
“This means a lot to me. I’ve done a lot of things, but winning a national championship wasn’t one of them until now. I really wanted to make a national team and this was my chance.”
Junior women’s hammer final
Haley Showalter, 185-8/56.61m
The defending national junior champion from Highlands Ranch, Colo., was sixth after the first three rounds Friday before launching her winning effort in the fourth round. Showalter will attend the University of Wisconsin in the fall.
“It was a nerve-wracking competition. My early throws felt like (personal records) but they were going into the cage. , and I was sixth heading into the final three throws. I had to clear my head and just concentrate on getting a decent throw.”
Junior women’s long jump final
Courtney Corrin (unattached), first place, 21-6¼/6.56m (wind-aided)
Corrin just completed her junior year at Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City, Calif.
“It was frustrating at first because I was having trouble hitting my mark. I wanted to jump farther than I ever had before, and I did that on the last jump. All the hard work is paying off. I’m excited to be going to Junior Pan-Ams.”
Junior men’s shot put final
John Maurins, first place, 71-10¼/21.90m American Junior Record
Maurins topped the U.S. junior record (67-4¾/20.54 set by Sean Shields in 2002) on his opening throw with a 68-5/20.85m throw. He shattered his own record by more than three feet in the fourth round. Maurins’ mark places him fifth on the all-time world list for juniors. The top three finishers - Maurins, UCLA’s Ayomidotun Ogundeji (67-9¾/20.67m) and Kansas high schooler Willie Morrison (67-9/20.65) all surpassed the previous AJR in Friday’s competition.
On winning with a record-shattering throw:
“I knew I was throwing just under 21 meters (with the 6kg shot) in practice, but I wound up throwing almost a meter farther than I thought. I hit all my positions and put it all together. The top three finishers today all threw farther than the old record. It was an honor to compete in such a great competition.”
Junior men’s long jump final
KeAndre Bates, first place, 25-8¾/7.89m (wind-aided)
Bates had the five longest jumps in Friday’s final.
On winning the junior title the day after Florida teammate Marquis Dendy won the senior men’s long jump:
“I got super-hyped for him, cheering in the stands. Every time he jumps something, I want to do the same thing. I wanted to go 27 feet today. I didn’t get it, but I had a solid series.”
Junior women’s shot put final
Raven Saunders, first place, 55-9¾ /17.01m
Saunders defended her junior title the day after placing eighth in the women’s senior final with a throw of 58-6¾ /17.85).
“This was my first time doing back-to-back competitions, so I can’t complain with the result. The senior experience gave me much more confidence today. I just tried to relax as much as I could last night.”
On qualifying for the Pan American Junior Championships (July 31 - Aug. 2 in Edmonton, Canada):
“It’s a great feeling to wear the red, white and blue.”
Junior women’s 100m hurdles final
Dior Hall, first place, 13.02 (wind-aided)
“It wasn’t the time I wanted, but I thought I did pretty well considering that we just came off of NCAAs. I wanted to go 12 but I was close enough to it. I made the team, so I have another chance to do that.”
On returning to Hayward Field after setting a world junior record of 12.74 in finishing third at the NCAA Championships:
“I love competing at Hayward Field. This is where all my fastest times have come from. Everytime I’m at Hayward I get a personal record or do something spectacular.”
Junior men’s 110m hurdles final
Misana Viltz, first place, 13.21
“My start was really good but the guy to my left (Marquis Morris) had an even better start. He was out way in front of me so my goal was to stick with him. I was able to pass him and keep going. I was shocked when I realized I had won. I’m really happy to come out on top today. Last year I placed second and this year to win, it shows how much I’ve progressed throughout the year.”