New Balance Collegiate Invitational 2009

NEW YORK -- LSU junior LaTavia Thomas made the most of her first 800-meter race of the 2009 season during Saturday’s action at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational as she broke her own meet record with an NCAA-leading time of 2 minutes, 4.54 seconds at the historic Armory Track and Field Center.

Welcome to episode five of our weekly webcast, Jack on Track presented by Super Runners Shop. Here we bring you our very own Jack Pfeifer and Christopher Hunt discussing all things track and field every Wednesday at 3pm.

ArmoryTrack's Chris Hunt interviews Doug Logan

Ian Brooks interviews Laura Cummings from University at Albany

Chris Hunt interviews Joe Greene from University at Albany (Edison Tech)

Ian Brooks interviews Ryan McDermott from Duke University

Paige Johnson (Midlothian, VA) after running in the junior girls 100m

native New Yorker Zoey Russell talks with Christopher Hunt.

Ian Brooks talks with UCLA freshman and Methacton, PA graduate Ryan Krais.

Robby Andrews (Manalapan, NJ) runs 2:22.28 to break Alan Webb's national HS record.

New Bern, NC runs 3:13.06 to break the National HS record in the 4x400m relay at The New Balance Collegiate Invitational in NYC.

Kinjal Parikh of UPenn and East Meadow HS talks with Ian Brooks.

from The New Balance Track and Field Center at The Armory, all the winners from the biggest college indoor meet in the country. Photos by www.wingedfootfotos.com

Photos by www.wingedfootfotos from the New Balance Collegiate Invitational of the HS and JR. events.

  Christopher Hunt paints the picture for you with five articles National Record Already - Friday Early Report Manzano Shakes Lose - Friday College Report Morris Hills Leads 7 Under 8:00 - Friday HS Report They're #1 - Roosevelt Girls Roll- Saturday HS Report Curtis Looks Good - Saturday College Report VIDEOS GALORE The Armory Video team brings you a dozen videos with plenty of action from field events, hurdles, dashes, distance and sprints from both HS and College.   Pole Vault Armory College Record Field Event Action HS Girls 4x80m - #3 All Time 60m Hurdle Finals Women's 1000m Men's DMR HS Boys 4x800m Men's 1000m Meet Record Women's 3000m Heat 2 Women's 3000m Heat 1 Men's 500m - College Record Complete Results HUNDREDS OF SHOTS Veteran photographers Kim Spir, Mary DiBaise-Blaich, and Errol Anderson bring us the best angles and shots you can find. Over 1000m pics to be posted in the meet gallery over the next two days.

Information is already available for the 2009 New Balance Collegiate Invitational, one of the highlights of the college season here at The Armory.  Make sure you check back regularly for updates and deadlines.

Grafton's David Gunnerson (pictured right by Ted Plunkett), currently ranked #3 in Virginia and a strong contender for the Group AA state title in the 1000 meter run, was recently invited and accepted to compete in the junior boys 1000 to be held at th New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Friday, February 6th at the New York York Armory. This race has been a great assembly of the East Coast's top middle distance runners over the past several years and will be another opportunity for Gunnerson to drop his personal best time after clocking a 2:33.06 performance this past weekend at Virginia Tech. In last year's race, three Virginians competed in the boys race with Logan Collins dipping under 2:30 at 2:29, while Paige Johnston and Jayna McGehee ran in the girls' race with Johnston as the runner-up in 2:51. Do not surprised to see Gunnerson joined by several other Virginians in the race.

Performance list and alternates for the hugely competitive PTFCA Indoor Track Carnival - this year with 202 teams.

Coaches, fax scratches and updates to 212-923-1645

Tune in right here for live coverage of all events all weekend long and watch the best college teams in the country compete at the premier track and field facility in the country. The high school and junior events promise to be as good or better than they ever have at this meet with top teams from all over the east coast converging. National leaderboards will be updated and national records could fall.

You may not recognize the name Sadiki White. You should. But it’s understandable if you don’t. He doesn’t compete for his high school team which throws him into the unknown abyss and away from track stardom.

Photo by John Herzog Two Virginians will be competing in Friday's junior 1000 meter races at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational held at the New York Armory. David Gunnerson of Grafton, one of the top ranked runners in Group AA in the event, will be competing at the Armory for the first time in a field which includes the current national leader at 800 meters (Sadiki White NJ), the Millrose mile champion (Robbie Andrews NJ), and a 2:28 1000 runner (Chris Carrington NY). Gunnerson will be aiming to be pulled along in the strong field to a time around 2:30 to 2:31. This weekend will be Paige Johnston's second trip to New York for the New Balance Collegiate Invite 1000 race. The Midlothian senior had a stellar performance in last year's race to take runner-up to Pennsylvania's Chanelle Price in a personal best time of 2:51.05, which ranks her #3 all-time in Virginia high school history. Johnston, currently ranked #4 in the US with a 2:54 performance at the Virginia Tech Invite, will be in a race which will include 3 of the top four ranked 1000 runners in the country with Claudia Francis (US #1 2:53.16) of New York and Amirah Johnson (US #3 2:54.39) of Maryland. Also in the race is New Jersey's Jillian Smith, who recently won her second straight Millrose mile. ArmoryTrack, a MileSplit US affiliate, will be providing a live webcast of the New Balance Collegiate Invite, which will also include many past Virginia high school stars competing in the college events. LIVE WEBCAST: NB Collegiate Invitational

Preview of the high school events at the 2009 New Balance Collegiate Invitational held this weekend at the New York Armory.

Jillian Smith (pictured above by Tim Fulton of ArmoryTrack.com) dominated a stellar field of middle distance stars in the junior women's 1000 meter run at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational with a US #4 all-time performance of 2:46.09. Trailing in behind the two-time Millrose champion was Claudia Francis of New York, Smith's South Regional (NJ) teammate Chelsea Cox, and 2008 race runner-up Paige Johnston of Virginia. Catch all the action live at the Armory this weekend at ArmoryTrack.com at the following link: Link to Live Webcast Link to Live Results

The Eleanor Roosevelt girls (pictured above by Tim Fulton of ArmoryTrack.com) made up for a dropped baton at the Virginia Tech Invite several weeks ago in the 4x400 as they saw the Bethel girls end up taking the #1 national ranking with a 3:48 win in Blacksburg. At the New Balance Collegiate Invite, there were no baton mishaps and there was not a single weak leg either with a consistent 55 second split for all four legs as the Eleanor Roosevelt girls checked in at a US #3 all-time performance of 3:41.75. Benjamin Cardozo of New York took second in a very solid time of 3:44.  

The past seven days have been "as good as it gets" as Robby Andrews (pictured above by Tim Fulton of ArmoryTrack.com) stated shortly following breaking Alan Webb's national record in the 1000 meter run (2:23.68) by almost a second and half with his 2:22.28 clocking in the New Balance Collegiate Invite's junior men race. After a somewhat slow and strategic first 200 meters, Andrews took charge with only US 800 leader Sadiki White able to give chase. However, Andrews dropped White and the rest of the field with a lap to go and poured it on to the finish line similar to his great close in his Millrose victory last Friday night at the Garden to take down Webb's national record. Andrews ran his last 800 meters in 1:52.3. Catch all the action live at the Armory this weekend at ArmoryTrack.com at the following link: Link to Live Webcast Link to Live Results

It’s in the quiet moments that the truth emerges. It’s after the people had patted his back and shook his hands and told him what a great thing he had done. It was when he squatted down and closed his eyes; when he was finally alone despite the crowd, that’s when he could accept his own feat.

In a meet which is suppose to showcase the best collegiates in the country, the few high school events contested at the Armory certainly stole the show at the New Balance Collegiate Invite on the first day of events on Friday. Two national records were set in two high school events, while US #3 all-time and US #4 all-time performances were recorded in two other events. Robby Andrews, fresh off his Millrose mile victory, capped off an amazing seven days by breaking Alan Webb's 1000 meter national record by over a second in a dominating 2:22.28 performance. An incredible 1:52.3 last 800 meters helped the UVA bound senior from Manalapin High School (NJ) make history on Friday night. The New Bern boys ran faster than the national record in the 4x400 last week, but on an oversized indoor track at East Tennessee State. The relay from North Carolina now has official possession of the national record after dipping under the old national record (3:13.34) on a 200 meter indoor track at the Armory with their 3:13.06 clocking. Read meet article by Chris Hunt of ArmoryTrack.com - 2 HS National Records Fall!!

Tennessee came into the New Balance Collegiate Invitational simply looking to run fast. And that’s exactly what they did.

The night before the junior boys 600 meters New Bern’s Anthony Hendrix made a point to mention the fact that no one pegged him to win a race that matched a group of the best scholastic long sprinters that this country offers. He seemed confused.

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane Green Wave indoor track & field team wrapped up competition at the Armory New Balance Collegiate Invitational Saturday. In a vast field, Tulane posted quality section finishes against their peer groups.