Oxy InvitationalMay 8, 2015 by Taylor Dutch
Oxy Invitational: Carmelita Jeter and Tabor Stevens to Throw Down
Oxy Invitational: Carmelita Jeter and Tabor Stevens to Throw Down
Headlined by deep fields that include Olympic medalists and several divisions of college stars, the Oxy Invitational is shaping up to be a meet full of standout performances. Starting Saturday, May 9 at 1:30 p.m. PT, catch all the action LIVE from every corner of the track.
Five events you can’t miss:
Women’s 100m and 200m (4:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. PT)
The crowd should get a show on the homestretch with 100m Olympic Silver medalist Carmelita Jeter set to lace up her spikes. The three-time World Champion most recently contributed to a runner-up finish for Team USA in the 4x100m at the World Relays. Prior to the performance in Nassau, Bahamas, Jeter clocked an 11.19 season’s best in the 100m in Rio de Janeiro on April 19. The mark is nowhere near her 10.64 personal best from 2009, but a stacked field of competitors in the field should push her to a fast mark.
Former Oregon NCAA Champion English Gardner is also entered to contend with a season’s best mark of 11.34 from May 2. The 2013 World Championship finalist is just beginning her 2015 season campaign after clocking 22.74 in the 200m and a win in the 4x100m at Mt. SAC Relays. Former UCF standout Octavious Freeman is also entered in the field to make her 2015 season debut. The 2013 World Championships finalist holds a personal best of 10.87 from 2013, and has clocked a 2014 season’s best of 11.35.
Both Jeter and Gardner are also set to compete in the 200m in a field of six women who have run under 23 seconds.
Men’s 800m (5:35 p.m. PT)
With a solid contingent of 1:45 and under runners, the men’s 800m sections 1 and 2 will be some of the most exciting races of the day at Occidental College. In a field that includes former UC Santa Barbara All American Ryan Martin, Kenyan Felix Kitur, who holds a PB of 1:45.13, Canadian 1:45-runner Geoff Harris, and many other middle distance standouts with solid marks, section 1 of the 800m is projected to finish in the 1:45-1:46 range of fast.
Section 2 will be highlighted by NJ*NY Track Club’s Ford Palmer and Adams State standout Oliver Aitchison. Palmer is returning from a recent runner-up finish in the 1500m at Payton Jordan where he got out-leaned by Bowerman Track Club’s Ryan Hill at the line. Palmer finished in a season’s best mark of 3:39.07, just one second off of his 1500m personal best. He holds an 800m personal best of 1:51 from 2013, but as his progression shows, Palmer should make a big improvement on that mark this weekend. Aitchison is fresh off of a stellar performance at the Payton Jordan Invitational where he finished seventh in the 1500m in a new personal best of 3:40.21. A D2 All American in the 800m and DMR, Aitchison should also improve upon his personal best mark of 1:51.
Men’s 5K (9:30 p.m. PT)
Adams State’s NCAA steeplechase champion Tabor Stevens is set to toe the line in the 5K, which would mark his first attempt at the distance since running 13:49 at Mt. SAC Relays last year. In 2015, Stevens has taken the steeplechase world by storm after running a then-world lead of 8:32 at the Stanford Invitational and following the performance with a fifth-place finish (8:26) at the Payton Jordan Invitational. He also clocked the fastest mile time on Colorado soil with a 4:01.27 at the La Junta Relays, beating his previous record by nearly three seconds.
Stevens will be joined by Mexico’s Mauricio Gonzalez, who holds a personal best of 13:32 from 2013 and has clocked a season’s best mark of 13:53. Colombia’s Ivan Gonzalez will also be in the field and most recently posted a 5K personal best of 13:47 at the Mt. SAC Relays. World Junior Championships finalist Aaron Pulford of New Zealand and former Villanova standout Hugo Beamish should also throw down a sub-14 mark for the field.
Women’s 800m (5:10 p.m. PT)
The women’s 800m field will be highlighted by a handful of women in the 2:05 and under range, namely Brooks’ Shannon Leinert, who holds an outdoor personal best of 2:01. Her season’s best of 2:06 earned a win at the Triton Invitational. She will be joined by recent 2:04 runner Sasha Gollish, who finished runner-up at the Beach Invitational in a new personal best of 2:04.79 at 34-years old. Big Bear Track Club’s Dalanne Zanotelli will also contend in the field with a personal best of 2:05 from June 2014. She recently came close to the mark May 1 in Irvine, Calif. where she posted a runner-up finish in 2:07.92. Canada’s Celia Peters enters the race with a season’s best of 2:06, which she clocked at Mt. SAC Relays. The former Queen’s University runner holds a personal best of 2:04 from May of 2014.
Catch all the action from the Oxy Invitational LIVE on FloTrack starting at 1:30 p.m. PT!