By Christopher Hunt
photos by Mary DiBiase Blaich
Texas A&M senior Jessica Beard didn’t have the same field with her. She didn’t have Francena McCorory streaking down the home stretch this time.
But that only gave Beard a free run at proving that she’s in the best shape of her collegiate career. Beard won the women’s championship 400 in 52.25 seconds Saturday at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, the third-fastest time in the world this year.
“This just tells me that my training is going well,” said Beard, who is also looking to make the World Championships team this year. “I’m a lot stronger than I was last year. I feel a lot more developed.”
Beard dominated the 400 for her second straight consecutive win in the event. Then later posted a 51.1 anchor leg split to help the Aggies to win in 3:30.70, a meet and Armory facility record. The time topped South Carolina’s mark of 3:30.95 set in 2007.
The 4x400 was the last in a storm of records that fell at the Collegiate Invitational. Duke senior Kate van Buskirk took over the mile halfway through to set a meet record in her race as well. She finished in 4:35.83. It’s the first indoor season for van Buskirk since her freshman year and her first full mile since high school. It was also her first time racing at the New Balance Track and Field Center.
The goal for today was not to press too soon, too early but that didn’t quite work out how we planned it,” van Buskirk said.
The field pushed the Canadian senior to the back for the first two laps before she could start moving up. Then at the halfway mark, van Buskirk started thinking about the NCAA championships, knowing she needed to run at least 4:37.00 to earn an automatic qualifier.
“I try not to do too much math in my head while I’m racing but I knew what I needed the last couple laps if I wanted to make it,” she said.
So she blitzed the last quarter-mile, having already dropped the field, and posted an NCAA-best this season and took the meet record as well. She topped a mark of 4:35.97 set by Nicole Schappert of Villanova last year.
Jeneba Tarmoh of Texas A&M, who earned four medals at the NCAA champs outdoors, took home two meet records herself. Tarmoh easily won the 200 championship final in 22.98, taking down a meet record and Armory facility record set by LSU’s Muna Lee of 23.06 in 2004.
Tarmoh also ran leadoff on the Aggies’ record-setting 4x400.
“I just wanted to do what my coach told me,” she said. “He just told me to accelerate; run as hard as I could until the end. I wanted to run a little faster. I really feel fit. More so than I have in the past.”
LSU’s Brittani Carter also broke a meet record in the women’s high jump. Carter cleared 1.86 meters (6-1.25) to win the championship section.
Gerald Phiri completed a 200-meter sweep for Texas A&M, capitalizing when LSU’s Horatio Williams faltered in the last 20 meters, to win in 20.96. Williams was second (20.99).
“That’s my boy,” Phiri said of Williams. “It’s the second time we’ve raced each other this year. He wanted to make it 1-1 but it’s 2-0 right now. I needed to make sure that I brought my A-game because anything less than that and he would have beat me.”
UConn’s Heather Wilson set her own personal best in the women’s championship 800. She came from fourth in the last 75 meters, swung out to Lane 3 and swept pass the field to win in 2:05.68.
“I don’t even know what I was thinking,” Wilson said. “I just saw the finish line and wanted the race to be over.”
Duncan Phillips of Arkansas beat last year’s champ, UConn’s Michael Rutt, to win the men’s championship 800 in 1:48.47. Teammate Chuol Dey also won the men’s championship mile in 4:08.42. Texas A&M also won the men’s championship 4x400 in 3:08.99.
Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.
By Christopher Hunt
photos by Mary DiBiase Blaich
