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2019 Stanford Invitational

Weekend Recap: Uganda Conquers Aarhus, Holloway Has Company

Weekend Recap: Uganda Conquers Aarhus, Holloway Has Company

From the World XC Championships to a viral sprint confrontation at Texas Relays, it was an exciting weekend in the world of track and field.

Apr 1, 2019 by Kevin Sully
Weekend Recap: Uganda Conquers Aarhus, Holloway Has Company

It felt like opening weekend for outdoor track and field with big stars running relays in Texas and Florida and distance runners seeking out fast times at Stanford. Collegians might have a couple races under their belts, but for many pros their long season began on Friday and Saturday. 

But there was a world championship this weekend, so let’s start there. Here are five takeaways from the weekend.

Upsets, But No Chaos At World XC

The Kenyan women were beaten by Ethiopia, Geoffrey Kamworor didn’t three-peat and the Ugandan men finally got the better of their African rivals. Yes, there were unpredictable results at the World Cross Country Championships, but in general, the demanding course didn’t usher in widespread pandemonium. 5000m world champion Hellen Obiri won the women’s race, attacking the course with no regard to its difficulty, running the hills so aggressively it looked like her body was at a 45-degree angle each time she climbed. Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo went 1-2 for Uganda, relegating Kamworor to the bronze. 

Kamworor losing was a surprise because he doesn’t lose these types of races, but if he had to be beat, Cheptegei made sense as the winner. Two years ago he went too hard too early, going from first to 30th in the final stretch. Since then, he’s won a World Championship silver medal in the 10,000m and set records on the roads. 

Farther down the results, big names like Rhonex Kipruto, Selemon Barega, Beatrice Chepkoech and Letsenbet Gidey all finished in the top ten. They weren’t victors, but they also weren’t reduced to a jog. 

If there was a surprise, it was the performance of the U.S. teams. The women placed eighth, while the men were 11th. That itself is noteworthy. The men looked to have an outside shot at bronze, but were never in the mix. Shadrack Kipchirchir was the first American across the line in 34th. The women’s team placing was a bit more expected; however, I don’t think anyone would have predicted that Marielle Hall and Courtney Frerichs would be the fifth and sixth runners for the U.S. The incredibly consistent Stephanie Bruce (who never seems to have a bad race) led the team in 33rd place.

Grant Holloway Has Company

Any notion that Kentucky’s Daniel Roberts was simply an indoor phenomenon disappeared this weekend at the Florida Relays. The man who ran the second-fastest NCAA time in history (only to be beaten by the man who ran the fastest time in American history), ran 13.30 to Holloway’s 13.28 in Gainsville. 

The race was run into a headwind and after the race, Holloway was quick to point out a couple of key errors. His pursuit for an NCAA record outdoors seemed to be a solo endeavor, but now it looks that Roberts will be right there as both men get closer and closer to 13 seconds flat. For Holloway, the competition is a bonus. Breaking 13 seconds is hard enough, but when you have to run that fast to win, it begins to seem more feasible. 

Elsewhere in Holloway world, he split a 44.4 (and almost scored a thrilling comeback win) in the 4x400m and ran 20.66 in the 200m. 

Emily Sisson Is Ready For London

Sisson ran the final four laps in the Stanford Invitational 10,000m in 4:39, leaving training partner Molly Huddle behind to post a 30:49. The mark puts her behind only Huddle and Shalane Flanagan on the U.S. all-time list. It’s impossible to say what this means when Sisson goes to London for her marathon debut in three weeks, but at the very least we can agree she’s in the best 10,000m shape of her life. 

Huddle’s 30:58 was also a promising sign. She didn’t have the speed in her legs to stay with Sisson over the last two laps, though she still managed the third best 10,000m of her career. In the midst of marathon build-up, it’s hard to ask for much more. 

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NCAA Men’s 4x100m Is Heating Up

By now, you’ve seen the clip. LSU’s Jaron Flournoy sprints past Houston’s Travis Collins to win the 4x100m at the Texas Relays and then celebrates in Collins’ face. 

The clip made its way around the sports internet as quickly as Flournoy ran with comments and critiques from all sides. Flournoy said after the race that the rivalry between the two schools dated back to last year and, after the race, the two schools spoke and everything is now copacetic.  

Whether or not you believe that is up to, but what’s clear is that the men’s 4x100m (already expected to be one of the most fascinating events at the NCAA Championships) became even more enticing. Post-race celebrations aside, there have now been three big performances from the event--LSU’s 38.41 on Saturday, Florida’s 38.69 at the Florida Relays and Houston’s 38.82 that came the week after the NCAA Indoor Championships. Throw in what happened in Austin this weekend along with the role the race plays in Florida’s team title aspirations and the first race at NCAAs might end up being the best. 

Sha’Carri Richardson Is A Title Contender

Flournoy wasn’t the only LSU athlete contributing to breaking the track and field internet. Tiger freshman Sha’Carri Richardson had two stirring moments at the Texas Relays. The first came in a mammoth comeback to win the women’s 4x100m over Arkansas. 

The deficit was created by a poor final exchange by LSU that gave Arkansas the big lead. If it was clean, we would have had to wait until Richardson’s open 100m to see capabilities of her powers, so in this case, we all should be grateful the handoff wasn’t clean.

In the 100m, she owned the middle of the race, celebrated early and still ran a 10.91. That patented Texas Relays wind at her back (+4.3 m/s for this race) certainly aided her time, but her margin of victory (second place was 11.16) and the jubilant final 10 meters demonstrated how impressive this run was.