Oklahoma High School Track And Field

Smashing success

MANSFIELD -- The Mansfield Urban Youth Athletics summer track team is hosting the eighth annual All-Comers track and field meet Saturday at Mehock Field.

Same day registration is 8-9:30 a.m. Field events start at 10:30 and running events at 11. Pre-registration fee is $10 per athlete, with ages 5-12 eligible for three events and ages 13-18 for four events. Early registration is encouraged. Medals to top three finishers in each event. Ribbons to fourth-, fifth- and sixth-place finishers.

Deadline for early registration is Thursday, but fees may be paid the day of the meet. Same day entry fee is $15.

The easiest way to register is to email entries to muyatrack@yahoo.com. Or mail to MUYA c/o Bruce Woodson, 128 E. 1st St., Mansfield 44902. Make money orders and checks payable to MUYA.

For more information, contact head coach/meet director Bruce Woodson at 419-522-5148 or 419-543-8623 (cell). or Suzanne Coombs, entries/awards at 567-343-4644 or 419-512-7296 (cell)

MANSFIELD -- For a kid who set -- no, obliterated -- the 110 meter high hurdles record at the state middle school track meet, 14-year-old Frank Douglas seems remarkably level-headed.

It's his trophy case that can't handle the success.

"It's all glass, and I have so many medals that they broke through the glass shelf," Douglas said. "Now they're on my dresser."

The Mansfield St. Mary's eighth-grader knows all about shattering things. He smashed the old Division II-III record in the 33-inch hurdles of 15.5 seconds by flying to a 14.53 in the state meet at Groveport Madison High School.

To put Douglas' feat in even clearer perspective, the Division I record for competitors from the biggest middle schools in the state is a 15.13, set in 2006 by former Mansfield Senior and Lexington hurdles standout Shaquille Jefferson, now playing football at Indiana.

Because St. Mary's doesn't have a track team, Douglas ran in the state meet unattached. But he's been with the Mansfield Urban Youth Athletics track team since he was 8.

"He didn't know what he wanted to do when he was younger, so I'd mess with him and tell him, 'I'll tell you what you should do. You should run track,'" said MUYA coach Bruce Woodson, whose son Brandon was a high school state champion high jumper and medal-winning hurdler and long-jumper.

"I always crack up laughing, telling him, 'You don't even know what you're capable of.' Gee whiz, I'm glad he doesn't. He doesn't have anybody getting in his head. If too many people start talking to him, he'll go bonkers.

Лека Атлетика Новини :: Track and Field News |

Verzbicas took over the lead with 600m left in the race on his way to a time of 3:59.71. The high school senior from Orland Park, Ill., was greeted at the finish line by Jim Ryun, the first high school athlete to run sub-four minutes in the event and the only person other than Verzbicas to run sub-4 in an all-high school race. Going into the meet, Verzbicas had high expectations for himself.

“I was pretty positive I could break four minutes,” Verzbicas said. “I expected it to be a lot easier than it was with the rain and the wind. But the conditions made it even more special.”

Verzbicas’ performance capped off an incredibly successful high school running career which was highlighted by first-place finishes at the Footlocker Cross Country Championships and Nike Cross Nationals, as well as three individual titles at the 2011 New Balance Indoor Nationals. He also set records this year in the high school indoor 5,000m and outdoor two-mile events.

“It was very special having been my last high school race,” Verzbicas said. “There’s no better way to have ended it or capped it off. When I finished, I had this feeling of relief because it all just came together.”

Now in its tenth year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on the USATF website. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

Winners: January 5, Bill Tribou; January 12, Tyler Sorensen; January 20, Josh Cox; January 26,Ben Shorey; February 2, Ashton Eaton; February 9, Ashton Eaton; February 16, Bernard Lagat; February 23, Ryan Crouser; March 2, Jillian Camarena-Williams; March 10, Bill Collins; March 16, Miles Batty; March 23, Shalane Flanagan; March 30, John Nunn; April 6, Aries Merritt; April 13, Gunnar Nixon; April 20, Desiree Davila; April 27, Nolan Shaheed; May 4, Emma Coburn; May 11, Willie Gault; May 18, English Gardner; May 25, Kibwé Johnson; June 1, Khadevis Robinson; June 8, Carmelita Jeter; June 15, Lukas Verzbicas

WEEK IN REVIEW — JUNE 6-12

Aggies Sweep NCAA I Titles for Third Time

Senior Jessica Beard , who two years ago ran for Team USA at the World Championships in Berlin, capped off a stellar career at Texas AM by leading the Aggies to their third straight NCAA outdoor team title in Des Moines, Iowa. Beard’s sizzling 49.13 anchor leg on the 4×400, the fastest ever at the NCAA meet, gave AM the gold in that event at 3:26.31 and sewed up the team trophy. She also won the 400m in 51.10.

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