"Shot heard around the world"

      In what was the top outdoor shot put throw since 2010 and a new personal best, the performance of the weekend globally and of the young outdoor season was Joe Kovacs 22.35m (73'3")at the Rafer Johnson/JJK Invite at UCLA. Coach Venegas has Joe looking great to defend his outdoor championship and on the path to his first global medal. Not to be outdone Tia Brooks threw a seasonal best and her best opener ever throwing 18.49m, which is also a top five throw in the world. 

Throwers Britney Henry 67.28m and Kristin Smith 65.44m went 1-2 as they opened up there season in Westwood. In the discus Whitney Ashley opened up at 61.57m and Liz Podominick threw 59.06 to finish 2-3, Ashley's mark is the 10th best mark in the world. Jared Schuurmans threw 60.90 to finish second and a few centimeters out of the win. Brandon Johnson ran a tempo workout as he ran 3:51 and 49 in the 1500m and 400m respectively. 

       Out in Phoenix, Arizona Andrew Evans threw for the first time post collegiately and finish second at the Mesa Invite throwing 60.57m to world championship finalist Vikas Gowda of India. Andrew and Jared's throws being the 24th and 25th best throws in the world. The next day Andrew threw 59.23m at the Sun Angel Invite which won him his first post collegiate meet. 

       Also in Tempe, AZ Michael Hartfield won his opening competition of 7.95m in the long jump to win the Sun Angel Invite. Doing a little side work defending US Outdoor champion long jumper Jeff Henderson sped to a 10.39 seconds in the 100m to finish 5th in a loaded field. It was Jeff's fastest 100m opener ever, so he is surely on his way to a big season sprinting and jumping. 

Also in Tempe were two resident Paralympic athletes in the 100m wheelchair race as Eric Hightower sped to blazing 14.50 seconds for the win and Austin Pruitt sped 18.17 to finish 5th. 

The Residence Program will be in action next Friday and Saturday at the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, CA. 

USATF CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2014 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships were held June 26-29 in Sacramento, California. 25 athletes competed in 14 events with five athletes from the Chula Vista OTC winning a National Championship title.

Five-time World Champion, Brittney Reese proved herself once again to be the best in the country, surpassing Tianna Bartoletta in the fifth round with a leap of 6.92m and secured her National Championship title. Reese is ranked sixth in the world for outdoor competition.

On the first day of the Championships, the men's and women's shot put were contested at the California State Capitol building in downtown Sacramento. Tia Brooks led off the performances for the week with a solid effort in the women's competition. Brooks threw a season's best of 18.83m, which was good enough for third place and also ranks her third in the US.

Capitalizing on his strong outdoor season, Joe Kovacs showed the country why he is the current leader in Diamond League points in the shot. In the finals, Kovacs threw a lifetime best of 22.03m which was almost 2 feet farther than the next competitor's and currently leads the world in the outdoor season.

Maya Pressley had an outstanding performance in the women's high jump, clearing1.85m which earned fourth place amongst an extremely strong field of athletes. Liz Podominick finished in second place in the women's discus throw on Sunday with a best mark of 59.96m. In the women's hammer throw, Jessica Cosby-Toruga had a set of great efforts, which culminated in a best throw of 71.72m. Cosby-Toruga finished in second place behind Amanda Bingson and the two currently lead the US. In an exciting women's javelin, Brittany Borman and Kara Patterson fought for the national title down to the last throw. Borman finished as the runner-up, but set a new lifetime best of 62.05m. This was the first Championship Meet ever in which two women threw over 200 feet. Kiani Profit competed in the heptathlon Friday and Saturday and managed to improve upon her season's best overall score. Profit had lifetime bests in the 100 meter hurdles (13.51) and shot put (12.80m) to contribute to her second-best score ever of 6072.

On the men's side, another athlete from the Chula Vista OTC was crowned National Champion in the long jump. Jeffery Henderson lead a 1-3-4 finish with teammates Mike Hartfield (8.03m) and Tyron Stewart (8.03m). Henderson had a magnificent final attempt of 8.52m, which is the top jump in the world this year.

Will Claye dominated the men's triple jump from the second round, and pulled away from the rest of the field on his last attempt with a new lifetime best of 17.75m. Claye's jump was over a foot farther than the next competitor's and he remains undefeated in competition for 2014. Claye hopes to continue this streak and win the Diamond League Series in the event. Chris Benard also set a new personal best in the triple jump (17.10m) which earned third place.

In the men's javelin, Sean Furey struggled in the initial rounds, however, put it all together in the fifth round for a massive throw of 81.10m which clinched the National Championship title. Furey's season's best throw ranks in third in the US for 2014.

Diamond League competition will resume on July 3 in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

Diamond League Domination

Will Claye continued to dominate the men's triple jump with another Diamond League meet win following his two victories in Eugene, Oregon and Rome, Italy in Oslo, Norway. He won with 17.41m and continues to lead in Diamond League points in the event. In the men's shot put, Joe Kovacs took the victory with a 21.14m throw, beating out a strong field of competitors. Kovacs is currently in the lead for Diamond League points.

Jeff Henderson took the New York Adidas Grand Prix Diamond League meet by storm in the men's long jump with a huge leap of 8.33m. He is currently ranked fourth in the world in the event and is tied for first in Diamond League Points. With his win OTC-CV athletes have five diamond league wins. 

At the San Diego Imperial Championship meet, Kiani Profit was named the San Diego Imperial Section Field Event Athlete of the Year. She is ranked third in the US in the heptathlon and is in the top ten in the world.

David Brown was awarded the San Diego Imperial Section Track Athlete of the Year. Brown is the current world record holder for T11 Paralympians in the 100m and 200m.

The Chula Vista OTC athletes will be competing next at the US Outdoor National Championships in Sacramento, California which begins June 26 and continues through June 29.​

The 2014 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon proved to be a stage for superb performances for the athletes from the Chula Vista OTC. Joe Kovacs continued his streak of consistently monstrous throws, finishing in second place with a mark of 21.46. This is the third time this season he has thrown over 21 meters and he is currently ranked fifth in the world in the event from his throw last week in Shanghai. Will Claye dominated the men's triple jump on Saturday, setting the #2 best jump in the world and a new meet record of 17.66m. This is his second-best jump ever and his furthest jump ever outdoors and also is the best mark in the US. In the women's long jump, Brittney Reese took fourth place with a best jump of 6.86m, despite having two foul jumps well over 7.00m. She currently is ranked sixth in the world and third in the US.

Kiani Profit competed in the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge in Gotzis, Austria in her first full heptathlon of the season. Amongst the world's best, Profit was the only American invited to compete and represent her country. Her total score was 6012, her second-best score of all-time and third best mark in the US and ninth in the world. She set season best marks in four of the seven events including the long jump (5.87m), shot put (12.67m), javelin (40.89m) and the 800m run (2:06.25). Her shot put and 800m run marks were lifetime bests.

The Chula Vista OTC hosted its fifth home meet of the season last Saturday. Jeff Skiba cleared 2.05m in the high jump, which is the a season best. Maya Pressley led an elite field in the women's high jump, matching her previous season best mark of 1.85m. Liz Podominick also won the discus throw with a mark of 61.00m which is just 38 centimeters off of her season best.

Will Claye will be competing at the Diamond League meet in Rome, Italy on June 5, with all other athletes of the Chula Vista OTC competing at the Jim Bush Meet at UCLA on June 7. 

Weekend Update 5-17

The Chula Vista OTC hosted back-to-back jumps and throws competitions this past Thursday and Saturday. On Thursday, Ryan Young opened his season with a throw of 70.16m, after being away from competition for over a year. In the women's long jump, Brittney Reese took second place with 6.54m and April Sinkler jumped a season's best of 6.22m. Para athlete, Lex Gillette, continued his jumping success, following up his strong performance last week with another jump (6.72m) just under his world record of 6.73m. Also representing the Paralympic team in the event was Ahkeel Whitehead with a 5.19m effort.

Saturday's meet was highlighted by the women's discus throw in which teammates Whitney Ashley and Liz Podominick went 1-2 with 62.42m and 61.38m, a season's best mark for Podominick. In the women's triple jump, April Sinkler set her second season's best mark for the weekend with 13.46m. On the men's side, Troy Doris opened his outdoor season with a 16.75 effort.

The athletes of the Chula Vista OTC will be traveling this week to competitions in Tuscon, AZ for the Tuscon Elite Meet and to Austin, TX for the American Track League series. 

Weekend of 5/10

The athletes of the Chula Vista OTC competed this past weekend in several elite meets around the world. A group traveled to the beautiful island of Guadeloupe to compete in the 2014 Meeting International Region Guadeloupe. Headlining the meet was Jeff Henderson leading a 1-2-3 OTC sweep with a new personal best of 8.25m to win the event. The runner-up was Tyron Stewart, who had a best jump of 8.20m. Mike Hartfield jumped 8.12m to take third. In the women's high jump, Maya Pressley had a clearance of 1.78m, which was good enough for fourth place.

The multi-event athletes competed in select events at the Claremont Classic heptathlon/decathlon on Thursday and Friday. Kiani Profit ran a nice 100m hurdles, finishing in 13.71, which is a season best. She also threw the shot put on the first day with a best mark of 12.09m. Shana Woods also ran the 100m hurdles in 13.90 and threw 11.80m in the shot put. Gunnar Nixon won the shot put with a 14.40m best. Nixon came back on the second day to set a new personal best in the 110m hurdles (14.13) and threw 35.72m in the discus. Profit also competed the second day in the long jump (5.81m) and the javelin (38.82m).

The remainder of the jump group went to the Occidental Invitational in Eagle Rock, CA. April Sinkler finished with a best of 13.18m, despite having several great attempts which were fouls. On his third day of competition, Gunnar Nixon jumped a seasonal best in the high jump (2.14m), which won the event. Also representing the Para athletes in the high jump was Jeff Skiba who cleared 2.04m. With only one fair jump in the long jump, Bryce Lamb managed to win with a 7.82m effort. Whitney Ashley won the women's discus throw (62.82) and teammate, Beth Rohl, finished third (52.88m). In the women's hammer throw, Jessica Cosby-Toruga threw a seasonal best of 70.94m to win. Also in the event was Kristin Smith who tied her seasonal best (66.60m) to place second. Finishing 1-2 in the shot put was Joe Kovacs and Eric Werskey with best throws of 21.24m and 19.92m.

The Paralympians traveled to Mesa, AZ for the Desert Challenge. David Brown won the T11 100m in 11.09, while teammates Josiah Jamison and Markeith Price ran in the T12 and T13 divisions in 11.67 and 11.57. Erik Hightower had a busy day competing in the 400m (51.09), 800m (1:14.10) and 100m (14.32) winning the event. Austin Pruitt picked up several victories as well in the 200m (30.26), 400m (59.27) and 800m (1:50.73). Lex Gillette made news as he tied his own world record in the F11 long jump with a jump of 6.73m.

Competing in her first Diamond League Meet of the summer in Doha, Qatar was Tia Brooks in the women's shot put. She finished fourth with a throw of 18.06m. She will compete next at the Diamond League Meet in Shanghai, China along with Will Claye.

The Chula Vista OTC will be hosting home meets this Thursday, May 15th and Saturday, May 17th where many of the resident athletes are set to compete next.

Weekend Wrap-Up 5-3

A select group of six athletes from the Chula Vista OTC competed in three events this weekend at the Jamaica International Invitational Meet in Kingston, Jamaica. Joe Kovacs competed against an elite field in the shot put, which included two Olympic medalists, finishing in sixth place with 20.09m. In the Women's discus throw, Whitney Ashley and Liz Podominick represented the CV-OTC and finished in second and third respectively. Ashley threw 57.39m and Podominick ended with 57.27m. The Men's long jump was the event of the meet, with the group of Will Claye, Michael Hartfield and Chris Benard going 1, 2, 4 and setting a new meet record in the process. Will Claye won the event with a mark of 8.19m, which is a great mark for his first international competition of the season. Michael Hartfield had a best jump of 8.17m, with his farthest wind legal jump of 8.15m setting the new meet record. Chris Benard finished fourth with 7.95m.

A few athletes also had a tune up meet at the 20th Annual Steve Scott Invitational hosted by UC Irvine. The javelin duo of Craig Kinsley and Sean Furey got first and second with marks of 76.56m and 74.75m. Brittney Borman was the runner-up in the Women's javelin, opening her season with 55.16m. Jeff Skiba jumped in the men's high jump and cleared 2.00m.

The CV-OTC will be hosting its second home meet of the season on Thursday, May 8th with the OTC Pole Vault Invitational while the multi event athletes will be competing Thursday and Friday at the Claremont Multis in Claremont, CA. Additionally, some athletes will be traveling internationally to the Meeting International Region in Guadeloupe.​ The rest of the OTC athletes and Para group will compete at the OXY Invite in Eagle Rock, CA on Saturday.