Olympic Trials

[Bisonguy]

Looks like there will be at least 3, possibly 4 Bison at the Olympic Trials. Brost, Smock, and Januszewski have all qualified, with Dolezal waiting to see if his best effort stands up- http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/364047/

Also, a nice feature on Amanda Smock, who has the top-ranked qualifying triple jump this year- http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/364054/


Fargo - There was a time around four years ago when retirement was staring Amanda Smock in the face. She refused to blink.
Now the former North Dakota State track and field star is staring at a spot on the United States Olympic team, which if successful would be a first for an ex-Bison track athlete. The U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials begin next week and Smock, formerly Amanda Thieschafer, has the top-ranked qualifying leap in the triple jump.
“I have never been in this position before and it’s a cool feeling,” she said. “But by no means do I think that distance will hold up throughout the Trials. … These days that I have left to wait are definitely exciting.”
The competition will be held at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, where Smock won a USA Track and Field championship last summer with a jump of 45 feet, 9 inches – then the ninth-best effort in U.S. triple jump history.
She bettered that with a jump of 14.18 meters (46 feet, 6¼ inches) that stands as the country’s best this year and is over three feet better than her best leap at NDSU. It is the sixth-best jump in U.S. history.
.................

[Buffalo.Rider]

Looks like there will be at least 3, possibly 4 Bison at the Olympic Trials. Brost, Smock, and Januszewski have all qualified, with Dolezal waiting to see if his best effort stands up- http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/364047/

Also, a nice feature on Amanda Smock, who has the top-ranked qualifying triple jump this year- http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/364054/

Nice to see some articles in the Forum.

Christine Schmaltz also qualified for the Olympic Trials, meeting the "A" standard in the 800m when she set the NDSU school record last June. Someone in a Bisonville post let us know that she became a mother over the winter, so she won't be competing in the Trials. She probably has asked the news media for privacy because we have not seen nor heard a mention of her in the media outlets. Her accomplishment is significant enough that I think she deserves an acknowledgment. Meanwhile, I wish her the best in her new role.

Leslie Brost - the Fargo Forum says her career at NDSU is over. Is that correct, anyone have insights on this? According to gobison.com (Woman's T&F, the Roster section), she has not used up her final outdoor season, suggesting she will be coming back next spring (2013), I have been assuming, to try to get an Outdoor All-America honor to accompany her indoor one.

[tony]

Looks like there will be at least 3, possibly 4 Bison at the Olympic Trials. Brost, Smock, and Januszewski have all qualified, with Dolezal waiting to see if his best effort stands up- http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/364047/

Also, a nice feature on Amanda Smock, who has the top-ranked qualifying triple jump this year- http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/364054/

Man, I hardly ever post about Amanda Smock (fka Amanda Thieschafer) but having the sixth-best jump in US history? That's crazy good.

Only a couple inches separate the top jumpers.

[runtheoption]

Man, I hardly ever post about Amanda Smock (fka Amanda Thieschafer) but having the sixth-best jump in US history? That's crazy good.

Only a couple inches separate the top jumpers.

Read that like it was a Spanish word, and I think you may be on to something.

[Buffalo.Rider]

Looks like there will be at least 3, possibly 4 Bison at the Olympic Trials. Brost, Smock, and Januszewski have all qualified, with Dolezal waiting to see if his best effort stands up- http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/364047/

Also, a nice feature on Amanda Smock, who has the top-ranked qualifying triple jump this year- http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/364054/

Januszewski, Brost, and Smock show up on the Trials website as having submitted their performances.
- Januszewski has Qualified
- Smock has Qualified
- Brost is provisional, but it looks like she will get in
Dolezal is not yet showing up on the Trials website entry list.
- The "B" standard is 70m. the "A" standard is 77m.
- per usatf.org, he has thrown 72.6m this year and has him currently 21st in the US.

[Buffalo.Rider]

Here are some links that might be helpful for following the olympic Trials.

Home website:
http://tracktown12.gotracktownusa.com/

Status of Entries - which athletes are in
http://www.usatf.org/events/2012/OlympicTrials-TF/entry/status.asp

Schedule of Events
http://tracktown12.gotracktownusa.com/olympic-trials-schedule/

A results page is not yet available. When it becomes available, i will add it.

[sambini]

Thanks for the links Buffalo Rider. Riley had on facebook he wa in. GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE FORMER BISON ATHLETES. AND TO LAURA ROESLER AT THE TRIALS.

[Bison03]

Best of luck to all the former and current Bison trying to become Olympians. Go Bison, Go USA!

[HerdBot]

Best of luck to all the former and current Bison trying to become Olympians. Go Bison, Go USA!

Like Izzo said- when you can add OLYMPIAN to the programs resume, it really puts us at another level.

[Civil06]

Good luck to all involved! The olympics (winter and summer) are my favorite sporting event bar none. I've been hooked since Barcelona '92 when I was 9. I can't wait to be able to watch and root for fellow Bison alum.

I imagine Smock has by far the best chance?

[Buffalo.Rider]

800m - Women

Laura Roesler advanced with a 2:03.11 and placed third in her heat, and was the fastest college athlete - all those with better times than hers are professionals, running post-college. Behind her was the NCAA champion in the 800m.

Laura Januszewski did NOT advance, took last in her heat. Anyone know what happened to Januszewski. She ran a very uncharacteristic 2:07, although several women were slower than her. Something was wrong since she was running low 2:02s this spring. Latavia Thomas ran 2:28, so had a really bad day. I'm guessing food poisoning or the flu for her.

[BisonVifte]

Or maybe according to the news she ran in a down pour.

[Buffalo.Rider]

Or maybe according to the news she ran in a down pour.

That could explain slower times, but it would be for everybody, not just her. Januszewski had the ability to make the top 3, a downpour should not have changed that since conditions would be the same for everyone in the race. (If she runs with contact lenses and had problems due to the rain, that could explain it I suppose).

[Buffalo.Rider]

... Latavia Thomas ran 2:28, so had a really bad day. I'm guessing food poisoning or the flu for her.

Just read the Fargo Forum article ... there was some jostling apparently and Thomas fell down.

The article also mentioned that Roesler passed Nachelle Mackie down the final homestretch ... if my memory is right, Mackie was the NCAA 800m champion this year. Looks like Roesler is peaking at the right time. I hope the rest of the Trials go well for her.

[Castor Troy]

Just read the Fargo Forum article ... there was some jostling apparently and Thomas fell down.

The article also mentioned that Roesler passed Nachelle Mackie down the final homestretch ... if my memory is right, Mackie was the NCAA 800m champion this year. Looks like Roesler is peaking at the right time. I hope the rest of the Trials go well for her.

I really hope that her coaches tells her to get out faster. She can't keep coming from behind.

[Bisonguy]

Looks like Riley Dolezal missed the qualifying mark by a meter. He threw 70.78m, and the last qualifying spot threw 71.69m out of prelims.

[Bisonguy]

Amanda Smock finishes today with the top qualifying jump (45-3.5).

Women's final for the triple jump will be Monday at 5:45 Pacific.

[Buffalo.Rider]

Amanda Smock finishes today with the top qualifying jump (45-3.5).

Women's final for the triple jump will be Monday at 5:45 Pacific.

The shortest of Smock's three jumps was 13.32 (43'8") meters (her best 13.80), and even the shortest would have qualified her for Monday. Good to see that she was consistent. It bodes well for her.

[Buffalo.Rider]

Sad to see that Laura Roesler did not advance to the final. I did not see the race, perhaps tonight on NBC if they include the two 800m heats. Castor Troy may have hit it right ... maybe she ran too conservative the first 400, and then got in a kickers race with 800m runners who are almost as fast as her and probably are stronger due to age and training. Hopefully we can see this tonight on the tele.

(Added two days later) The Fargo Forum had a summary of Roesler's 800m race today, with comments from Laura .... both Forum and Laura said she got boxed in and did not break free until the final 100m, which was too late, even though she was outkicking the other runners and caught two down the final stretch. I feel bad for Roesler given that probably could have otherwise made the finals, but on the other hand she had an excellent track season overall - NCAA meet record in the 4x400, 1st team All-American, Oregon School record in 4x400, best collegian performance in the Olympic Trials 800m, moved up to #4 all-time at Oregon in 800m.

As for the 800m semi-final at the Trials ... confirms what I and other commenters have said in previous e-mails ... 800m is a tricky race, one needs to finish the first 400m within reasonable striking distance of the leaders, then upon entering the final backstretch, make a move to get behind the first couple of runners as part of kicking it in for the final 300m. Symmonds did this perfectly on his semi-final race (on NBC last night). The more 800m races I see, the more I become convinced how important positioning is. Unlike the 400m, one does not get their own lane, and unlike the 1500m, there is not enough distance or time for people to separate very much, so positioning is crucial.

[Buffalo.Rider]

Sad to see that Laura Roesler did not advance to the final. I did not see the race, perhaps tonight on NBC ...

Turned on the tele at about 8:04, so I don't think I missed anything since the announcers were still introducing the meet. Alas ... no 800m for women, and only the heat with Nick Symmonds in the men's 800m ... the other 800m heat, which was faster, was not shown. Also there was no coverage of the triple jump, so we did not get a chance to see Amanda Smock. Emphasis on NBC - in Hollywood fashion, rather than good T&F coverage - was to focus on the athletes that are already well known. Dissappointing coverage. Besides my gripes about NBC ... just sad could not see some of our ND and Bison athletes perform.

[SDbison]

Turned on the tele at about 8:04, so I don't think I missed anything since the announcers were still introducing the meet. Alas ... no 800m for women, and only the heat with Nick Symmonds in the men's 800m ... the other 800m heat, which was faster, was not shown. Also there was no coverage of the triple jump, so we did not get a chance to see Amanda Smock. Emphasis on NBC - in Hollywood fashion, rather than good T&F coverage - was to focus on the athletes that are already well known. Dissappointing coverage. Besides my gripes about NBC ... just sad could not see some of our ND and Bison athletes perform.
NBC is a bad excuse for any type of broadcasting.......from the 100% liberal bias of their news crew to the piss poor coverage of sports.

[tony]

Two rounds complete in the triple jump... Amanda's first jump was 45-9. She's had the best jumps in both rounds so far.

Watching the new NBC Sports network... first event? Women's 5000 meters preliminary round. No offense but wtf?!? There are FINALS going on.

[tony]

Third round complete... Sheena Gordon exploded for 45-4.5 to go into second, third place is only 6 inches back. Top 3 have actually completed round 4 - nobody cracked 45.

Six jumps total, btw.

[tony]

One round left - nobody went over 45 feet in the fifth round.

[tony]

Three jumpers left... no change in the leader board.

[tony]

Two jumpers left...

No change in the placing.

[tony]

Amanda doesn't have to take her final jump*... SHE WINS THE US OLYMPIC TRIALS!

* Actually, she could have quit after her first jump.

[tcbison]

Amanda doesn't have to take her final jump*... SHE WINS THE US OLYMPIC TRIALS!

* Actually, she could have quit after her first jump.

Awesome! Congrats Amanda!

[Bison03]

We have a former Bison as a current Olympian!! Great job Amanda!

[Castor Troy]

We have a former Bison as a current Olympian!! Great job Amanda!

She joins 4 other Bison Olympians- Brad Rheingans, John Morgan, Janet Cobbs, and Tamara Wigley-Brudy for St. Kitts and Nevis.

[sambini]

Awesome congrats amanda

[BadlandsBison]

She joins 4 other Bison Olympians- Brad Rheingans, John Morgan, Janet Cobbs, and Tamara Wigley-Brudy for St. Kitts and Nevis.

Wow, that's some great history

[IzzyFlexion]

Justin Gatlin (Josh's cousin....correct?) wins the 100 meters in a blistering 9.80 seconds just .03 off of the OT record.

[IzzyFlexion]

Former Michigan Wolverine and Laura Hermannson nemesis Geena Gall finishes 2nd in the women's 800 meters breaking the 2 minute barrier (1:59.24)

[Bison03]

Great article on Amanda in the Forum.

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/365397/group/Sports/

Love her quote in the last line of the article:

Bison fans are so great,” Smock said, “and I’m so excited about what this could potentially mean for the future of track and field at NDSU.
Aint that the truth.

[Bisonguy]

Congrats Amanda!

Wow. She's in some pretty elite company now.

[runtheoption]

BIG CONGRATS to Amanda! Way to make Bison fans proud, and good luck in London.

[HerdBot]

Wow having an Olympian cant hurt the program! Throw in the new facilities and we are looking good! Do you know what sounds better? A gold medalist. Heck a bronze would be amazing! Good luck!

[Bison03]

Another great article on Amanda's journey from small town Minnesota to NDSU to London:

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/365530/group/Sports/

[imabison]

Another great article on Amanda's journey from small town Minnesota to NDSU to London:

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/365530/group/Sports/

I absolutely love the comment about running through the brick wall
“If you told her that running through a brick wall would make her jump farther, she would ask you how many times she needed to run through it.”

Spoken in TRUE BISON fashion

[SlickVic]

i dont know if ive ever whatched more that 5 min at any single time during any of them olympics but ill def be tuning into mangolds little sis lifting this summer...as far as im concerned thats must see tv i seen on the latest real sports a feature about her and i almost pulled an SD several times diet whiskey thru the nostrils that was probably the funniest 15 minutes of tv ive ever seen

[BisonJump]

i dont know if ive ever whatched more that 5 min at any single time during any of them olympics but ill def be tuning into mangolds little sis lifting this summer...as far as im concerned thats must see tv i seen on the latest real sports a feature about her and i almost pulled an SD several times diet whiskey thru the nostrils that was probably the funniest 15 minutes of tv ive ever seen

What??????

[Rockbear99]

i dont know if ive ever whatched more that 5 min at any single time during any of them olympics but ill def be tuning into mangolds little sis lifting this summer...as far as im concerned thats must see tv i seen on the latest real sports a feature about her and i almost pulled an SD several times diet whiskey thru the nostrils that was probably the funniest 15 minutes of tv ive ever seen

Christ go back to school and learn to type and put sentences together. I thought I was bad but you take the cake.

[tony]

Christ go back to school and learn to type and put sentences together. I thought I was bad but you take the cake.

Naw, that's slickvic's deal... true, it's hard to read but decoding it is half the fun.

Let me translate: Slick doesn't care for the Olympics but he's going to watch it this summer because NFL player Nick Mangold's little sister is competing in weightlifting. Slick saw a Real Sports feature on her and found it quite amusing. He suggests that you should watch it.

[sambini]

Watchn Olympic trials is +++++ And thanks Tony for decoding Slicks message..

[BlueBisonRock]

Christ go back to school and learn to type and put sentences together. I thought I was bad but you take the cake.

Teh Slickster!

Went from a hater to a respector after I met him at the tailgate. I also used the Urban Dictionary and the beta Google Slick translation aid to understand his message.

[LikeMothers]

Christ go back to school and learn to type and put sentences together. I thought I was bad but you take the cake.

F yoo and the horse you rode in on. Slick is an artist. Might as well be oils or clay.

[bisonaudit]

What's going on w/ the Women's 100?? Are they going to run that off or what? When are they going to decide? It's been days now.

[Buffalo.Rider]

Just noticed that two women steeplechasers from the University of Colorado took 1st and 3rd in the Final at the Olympic Trials. Not many collegians make it to the Olympics from the US - nearly all in track adn field have a corporate sponsor and are a few years removed from college. That was pretty impressive. Even more impressive, is that these times were not school records.

Comparisons:
the two Olympic qualifiers from Colorado ran:
Emma Coburn 9:32.78
Shalaya Kipp 9:35.73
Those are two EXCELLENT steeplechase times for women, especially for collegians. But the
Univeristy of Colorado school record is
J. Barrister 9:19
which is hard to believe it is so good.

To put it into perspective:
U MINN school record is 9:56
U WISC school record is 10:07
U Arkansas is 10:01
NDSU 10:19 (from Maddie McClellan, who jumpin geewhilickers was only a freshman)

Both Wisconsin and Arkansas have storied track programs in the distances, especially on the mens's side. (For example, at Arkansas, #10 on their men's alltime list in the 1500 meters is 3:38 something).

[No_Skill]

I was curious about the world record in women's triple jump. It's 50' 10".

[TransAmBison]

I was curious about the world record in women's triple jump. It's 50' 10".That must be a huge kitchen.