Dan Block (IL) Throws Discus 199-08 at Fremd
Apr 17, 2008
At the Fremd Throwers Invitational (Fremd H.S., IL) Wednesday night, Lake Park (IL) junior Dan Block set a new state record of 199-08 in the discus throw! Block had thrown 196-00 on Tuesday evening in a tri-meet at home, which moved him to IL #2 all-time, but moved to IL #1 with his big throw at Fremd. Block's mark also ranks him U.S. #3 among high school juniors and leaves him only four inches away from the magical 200 foot mark. While many of the distance and sprint match-ups get top billing at state, the dual between conference rivals Block and Brett Einbecker (Sr., Waubonsie Valley), who threw 191-08 two weeks back, should be a classic.
Since his days in junior high, Kevin Havel (Sr., Hersey, IL) (pictured left by John Herzog) has shown the talent and grit it takes to be a great distance runner. In eighth grade he broke Jorge Torres' state 1600m record with a 4:31.75 effort, which led to many labeling him as the next Jorge Torres when he entered high school. 
What a weekend it was out at the Arcadia Invitational. As the dust settles and the results are entered into the national rankings, it is clear once again that Arcadia is one of the premier high school meets in the country. After analyzing the performances and notes from the weekend, MileSplit national editor Scott Bush takes a look at the top ten performances of the meet. Guess who made the top spot? (pictured right is Chris Derrick (IL) giving the thumbs up after his impressive 5k performance).jpg)
On each of the coasts this past weekend big meets took place that grabbed much of the attention, while throughout the Heartland and Midwest meets were cancelled due to inclement weather. However, a duo of meets stood out through their results, as the Sun Angel Invitational (AZ) and John Jacobs (OK) Invitational posted some national level results. Leading the way at the John Jacobs Inv. was the intense throws battle between Cameron Tabor (OK) and Hayden Baillio (OK) that created some national level results.
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With a big meet out west (Arcadia Invitational, CA) and a big meet out east (Taco Bell Invitational, SC), there was plenty of top-notch action to keep an eye on. From the distance race at Arcadia (pictured left is Illinois' Chris Derrick running the 5k), to the hurdle races at the Taco Bell Invitational, and all the way up into Alaska for a monster shot put mark, this weekend was the best one yet this season. Check out our weekend highlights to see what took place and especially which marks stood out among the crowd..jpg)
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The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Relays take place every year at Clyde C. Jordan Stadium in East St. Louis, Illinois, annually bringing together some of the top female track and field talent in Illinois and Missouri. As usual, numerous top ten national marks came in a variety of events, led by Missouri star Alishea Usery's (pictured right by Tracy Rollins) winning 100m time of 11.55. Read our meet summary to see what transpired at this year's showcase.
Luke Puskedra (Sr., Judge Memorial, UT) loves to run through the thin mountain air of Utah. It makes him tough he says, more so mentally than physically. Puskedra uses that toughness and makes sure he sets a torrid early pace regardless of what type of race he is running. Over the past year the 6' 5" senior has towered over his competition in numerous ways. He was the only person to challenge German Fernandez last fall at the Foot Locker West Regional, then taking his front running talents to Foot Locker Nationals where he led the field through the mile and stayed in contention nearly the entire way to finish fifth in one of the great fields ever. Since the fall Puskedra has dominated on the track, running 4:08.77 in the Reebok Boston Mile, then winning the NIN two-mile in 8:49.58 , good enough for U.S. #3 all-time. In this interview Luke talks about his expectations for his final track season, his training, his college decision and much more.
A big weekend of outdoor track and field is here, including big relay meets in Texas and Florida and the Stanford Invitational in California. The result that kicked off the weekend in grand fashion came from Jeffrey Demps (South Lake, FL) at the Florida Relays. The senior ran a wind-legal 10.17 for 100m, which ranks him U.S. #5 all-time! Keep checking back as we highlight the weekend's top results..jpg)
A few of the most nationally recognized track and field meets take place this weekend, as the Texas Relays, Florida Relays and Stanford Invitational headline the calendar. At Stanford, California's Vashti Thomas (pictured left by EliteRunning.com) will be looking to do something special in her four events, competing against some of the best hurdle and jump fields seen this year. A few other meets will be showcasing top talent as well, so see which we'll be following closely.
The indoor season pretty much wrapped up this weekend, while outdoors continued to press forward, creating numerous national highlights. In this week's Monday News & Notes, we discuss the growing rivalry between Rachel Laurent (LA) and Shade Weygandt (TX) in the girls pole vault, a great 3200m race between Foot Locker finalists Evan Appel (CO) and Bobby Nicolls (CO) (pictured to left by Beth O'Neill) and a few more tidbits.
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The cross country season wrapped up months ago with Foot Locker Nationals concluding, however, a handful of the best prep harriers in the country will fly over the Atlantic Ocean this weekend to take part in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. German Fernandez (CA) (pictured left), Kevin Williams (CO), Ben Johnson (NM), Emily Reese (GA) and Laurynne Chetelat (CA) are apart of the strong USA Junior National Team that should run well over the challenging Edinburgh, Scotland course. Read our meet preview.