McCullough (Calif.) and Cherry (Ga.) set national records
By Christopher Hunt
While Christian Taylor pulled on his USA warm-ups, he used his fingers to press down on his eyes, already red, to make sure the tears didn’t escape. He bent over for a few seconds. Not because he wasn’t exhausted. He wasn’t. Not because he lost. He didn’t.
His tears were about wanting it all. His tears were because he may not ever have another weekend where he felt this good so he wanted to squeeze this weekend dry. And he almost did.
Taylor, a Sandy Creek senior from Atlanta, Ga., captured three gold medals at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships. He left with the top performances in the country this season in the long jump, triple jump and 400 meters. He begged for the spotlight at the New Balance Armory and he soaked in the audience like sun on the beach and disappointed no one who decided to look in his direction.
But he wanted a national record. He wanted the whole building to be in on it too. But when he mounted the runway on his final attempt, the finals of the 4x200 relay took the track at the same time. So even with a couple thousand people in the stands, Taylor took his last attempt in the invisibility of a distracted crowd. He won, jumping 51 feet, 3 inches, his third national championship. But he couldn’t help showing his frustration.
“I wanted that national record man,” Taylor said.
The mark is 52-7 1/2 set by Keith Holley (Bayside, Virginia Beach, Va.) in 1988.
The University of Florida-bound Taylor won the long jump Friday in 25-6 3/4. Then he won the 400 meters as well in 47.42. Both are the top performances in the country this season. Taylor has also cleared 52-0 in the triple jump at the Tennessee State Invitational in February which gives him the top performances in the country in all three events. He knows how unusual it is for a jumper to be equally adept in the 400 and he said he intended to continue doing all three events in college which was a part of the reason he chose Florida.
“That’s why I do it,” he said. “Not many people do it. I might not be the first but I want to be one of the few that do.”
Khaliff Featherstone of Simon Gratz in Philadelphia, Pa., stormed out of the first 200 meters and forced the rest of the field to chase in the 400. But Taylor used a lanky 6-2 frame to pull ahead of Featherstone and Robert Simmons (Missouri City, Tx.) in the last 50 meters.
“It came down to big-man, little-man,” Taylor said. “I knew that I could out-stride him and I used that to my advantage on the straightaway.”
Conor McCullough of Canoga Park, Calif., did manage to take out a national record in the weight throw. McCullough
tossed 87-10 3/4, breaking a record held by local Armory legend Walter Henning of St. Anthony’s (South Huntington, N.Y.) of 86-5 1/2 set at NSIC in 2005.
McCullough, a junior, was competing in his first indoor competition and said he had a previous best of 69 feet in the weight throws outdoors two years ago. But he had been throwing beyond 80 feet in practice and had only known that Wesley Wright of Marietta, Ga. would be his primary competition. But he unleashed a throw of 78-3 on his first attempt, which would have been good enough for the win. But then he snapped the national record on his third attempt. He had tosses of 83-6 and 86-2 in the final round.
But he knew he had launched a good one on his third throw.
“It was an easy throw,” he said. “When it feels like nothing, that’s when you know it’s a big one. … Once I got the opening mark, I knew I would be OK after that. I was really surprised. I expected to throw around 80-81 feet.”
D’Angelo Cherry, a Mount Zion (Covington, Ga.) senior, won the 60 meters in 6.66. But his en route performance through 55 meters of 6.19 turned out to be the third-fastest time in U.S. history. Officials then did an inquiry into his 55-meter en route time Friday, when he finished the 60 in 6.62 and discovered he had run 6.14. He had actually broke the national record on Friday topping the 6.16 run in 1978 by LaNoris Marshall of Dysart, Ariz.
“This is my first year running (indoors),” he said. “This is all new to me.”
Cherry started outdoors in his sophomore year after someone suggested he try track and field because he clocked 4.3 for 40 yards during football practice. At the time Cherry won the 60-meter national title, he still didn’t know he was a national record-holder as well.
“I wanted to go for the 6.57 (the 60-meter national record) but there just wasn’t enough time for me to train for that,” he said. I’m happy with this though. This is great.”
Nico Weiler (Los Gatos, Calif.) also took a shot at a national record, just missing on his final attempt at 17-7 in the pole vault. He won the event by clearing 17-0 3/4.
“I felt good,” he said. “The problem is this is like my third time almost breaking the national record. Today was my last chance to make it indoors.”
Weiler changed his standards before his last attempt at 17-7 (the record is 17-6 1/2) and had the height but hit the bar on the way up.
“That was probably a mistake,” he said. “Oh well, I can’t change it now.”
T.J. Graham of Raleigh, N.C., won the 200 meters in 21.43 in only his second time racing the event. The first time was Saturday in the preliminaries. The senior, who will attend Clemson on a football scholarship, is the son of high-profile and controversial professional sprint coach Trevor Graham.
There are more subtle ways to drew attention to yourself in track than being related to one of the most famous names in the sport. Spencer Adams (Matthews, N.C.) won the 60 meters in 7.75, after running 7.73 in the semi-finals Saturday, the sixth-fastest time in U.S. history. But on top of his blazing times, it was the dark shades that Adams wore in the indoor facility that stood out.
“I always wear shades,” he said. “Always.”
Charles White, of Littleton, Colo., but better-known as a star distance runner at Garden City High in Long Island before he moved away last year, won the mile in 4:11.77. He built a monsterous kick in the last 250 to win. (check out his video interview here)
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.
