One more added to the Mix! Updated and getting ready for the OG!

HOME MEET 2012 SCHEDULE FOR OTC-CV

The following meets are at the Olympic Training Center Chula Vista, selected FIELD events are to be held on a weekly basis. Please go to www.runnercard.com to sign up, see time schedule, and see selected events.

Any questions please email Jeremy Fischer atJeremy.fischer@usatf.org

These are USATF sanctioned meets, with USATF certified officials. 

Thursday April 19- 

Thursday April 26-                           

Thursday May 3-

Thursday May 10-

Thursday May 17-

Thursday May 24-

Thursday May 31-

Thursday June 7-

Thursday June 14-

Jamies TnF Camp Highlights New Year

Highlights of the Thorpe Cup, USA vs Germany Mutlis

Please watch the link to watch the highlights from the Thorpe Cup 2011 at the Olympic Training Center Chula Vista. http://animoto.com/play/oXhV5v1tprD16oUj1xcnwQ?utm_content=main_link  
The volunteers and especially Tracy Lamb and Aron McGuire did a fantastic job collaborating the meet between the USOC and USATF. The local committee of Tonie Campbell, Jim Skelley, Craig Poole, Manny Bautista and Paul Greer also did a wonderful job running the meet and volunteers.

Indoor Tentative Schedule

OTC-CV ELITE 2012 INDOOR SCHEDULE(Tentative)

January 21^st-                                                   Albuquerque, NM       Cherry/Silver Invite

January 21^st-                                                   Reno, NV                     Pole Vault Summit

January 28^th-                                                   New York, NY     MSG Games (formerly Millrose)

February 4^th-                                                   Albuquerque, NM       New Mexico Classic  

February 5^th-                                                   Boston, MA                 New Balance Meet

February 10-11^th-                                           Fayetteville, AR          Tyson Indoor  

February 25-26^th-                                           Albuquerque, NM       USATF Indoor Champs

March 8-11^th-                                                  Istanbul, Turkey          World Indoor Champs

Newcomers!

We at the OTC welcome new and very accomplished athletes to Chula Vista.
Athletes that now call the OTC home are:
Erin Aldrich HJ- The most experienced newcomer is a four time World Championship qualifier and Olympic games qualifier. She is a very accomplished volleyball player and multiple NCAA champion while at Texas. PR 1.97
Reindell Cole LJ- 2009 NCAA Champion and multiple time All American from Cal State Northridge. PR is 8.17
Josh Como TJ- NCAA Division 2 National Champion and multiple time All American while at Cal State LA. PR 16.66
Will Claye LJ/TJ- National junior record holder in the triple jump 17.19, two time NCAA Champion while at Oklahoma and Florida in the TJ and multiple NCAA scorer in the long jump. He is the bronze medalist in the triple jump at the 2011 IAAF World Championships and 9th place finisher in the long jump. PRs are 17.50 and 8.29
Greg Garza DT- Multiple All American from UCLA. PR 64.53
Darius Savage DT-  Multiple NCAA All American from UCLA. Was a footballer for Bruins and an accomplished shot putter whose prep days were in San Diego. PR 61.15
Tyron Stewart LJ/TJ- Multiple National Champion, All American, and Conference Champion performer at Texas A&M. PRs are 16.60 and 7.93
Shana Woods HEP- HS record holder in the heptathlon. Multiple NCAA All American from USC. PR is 5533
As you can see we are very excited to see the accomplishments of these athletes for the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games and welcome them to the Chula Vista community.

The Year at a Glance

2011 has now officially finished with the conclusion of the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Just a few highlights from this past year are:
The OTC and Coach Ty Sevin are the kings of the Javelin, both Mike Hazle and Kara Patterson were crowned the USATF Champs. Jarred Rome was not to be outdone and took home the title in Discus. Jessica Cosby enjoys winning and added another title to her ever growing resume with a win in the Hammer. Crystal Manning showed continue improvement as she finished runner-up in the triple jump and Sean Furrey pushed Mike to his championship as he finished runner-up in the javelin. Alice Schmidt made another team and continues to flourish under Coach Joaquim Cruz (yes that Gold medal 800m 84' one).
As we forged ahead  Aug 27- Sept 4, to the World Championships in Daegu, Korea we were represented by Jarred Rome in the discus, Kara Patterson in the javelin, Mike Hazle in the javelin, Jessica Cosby in the hammer, and Alice Schmidt in the 800 meters. Despite the late timing of the season and questionable food for the athletes in the village, it was a mixed bag of performance but bolds well for the big prize the Olympic Games.
The season finally concluded for the OTC athletes Oct 24-29 at the Pan American Games. We were represented by Jarred Rome in the discus, Russ Winger in the shot put, Sean Furrey in the javelin, Crystal Manning in the triple jump, Yvette Lewis in the triple jump, 100 meter hurdles and 4 x 100 meter relay, Jamie Nieto in the high jump, and Becky Holliday in the pole vault. Yvette Lewis was crowned a double gold medal for her performance on the 4 x 100m relay and 100m hurdles, Jarred Rome finished runner-up and silver medalist in the discus throw, and Becky Holliday brought home a bronze in the pole vault.
Over all it was a great building year and we at the center are looking forward to the success of the athletes this year. We have two goals top three at Olympic Trials and Top Three at the Olympic Games!

Hola de Madrid!

Hola de Madrid!  

Written by Alice Schmidt (800 meter runner)

I arrived in Madrid, Spain, a few days ago and was happy to see a few friendly faces: Ian Waltz and Becky Christensen.  It’s a small Olympic Training Center reunion!  And, like at the OTC, we’ve been congregating at mealtime and sharing stories. For example, they had a good laugh when I told them about my massage yesterday.  I was lying face-down on the massage table when the therapist pressed down on my hamstring and the table’s front legs collapsed under me!  Lots of the physiotherapist’s apology was lost in translation.  We decided that we need to brush up on our Spanish in Chula Vista for next year’s meet.  

We’ve also been enjoying some exceptional meals at the meet hotel. I shouldn’t get used to it, because it’s not always like this at meets.



This is a picture of the breakfast buffet.  It’s stocked with a variety of fruits and exotic juices.  Becky encouraged me to try a limeade mixed with fresh apple juice and flavored with mint.  Bueno!  I could choose from a dozen assorted pastries and as many cheeses and sliced meats like chorizo and prosciutto.  There are 3 espresso machines and eggs made-to-order.  Plus, if you’re in the mood for sushi, cake or salad for breakfast, you’re in luck: they have that, too!  I’ve been trying to eat like normal, so it’s been mostly granola, fruit and yogurt for me.  

Enough about the food!  We have a competition tonight! Results can be found here:
http://www.rfea.es/competi/madridmeeting/index_eng.html

I’ve been gradually getting adjusted to the time zone, which is 9 hours ahead of San Diego.  But, I had a wonderful 10 hours of sleep last night, so I should be sharp for the race tonight.  

After this race, I hope to run into more OTC folks at my next few competitions in Italy, Belgium and Switzerland.  Then, I will head back to San Diego and train for a solid 4 weeks before leaving for Daegu, Korea at the end of August.  

CVOTC at USAs

The 2011 USATF National Outdoor Championships were held in Eugene, Oregon at Hayward Field this past weekend (June 23-26).  All of Chula Vista Elite competed, as this USAs served as our qualifying meet for the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea from August 27-September 4. Here are some highlights of the weekend!

Hyleas Fountain, 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the heptathlon who is based mainly in Ohio but has trained with us in Chula Vista quite a bit this year, finished sixth in her competition over Saturday and Sunday, but will compete in Daegu.  Hyleas suffered a neck injury in the high jump on Saturday, hampering her results.  She is the only heptathlete to have achieved the event's A standard of 6150 points, as she scored 6735 at the 2010 USA Championships.  See her interview here.

picture from runnerspace.com

Alice Schmidt won her first-round heat on Thursday (interview), moved through semi-finals on Saturday, and placed third in the final of the women's 800m on Sunday to secure a spot on her third outdoor World team!  Alice ran a World A Standard 1:59.21 in placing third on Sunday, although she had already achieved that standard at this year's Oxy Invite.  Watch her interview after making the team here!

photo from runnerspace.com

Crystal Manning finished in second place in the women's triple jump on Friday with a best distance of 13.94m.  She must achieve either an A (14.30m) or B (14.10m) standard to be eligible for team selection, and was very close to the B standard with her result this weekend!  Watch video of her best jump here, and see her get her silver medal here.

photo from runnerspace.com

 Jarred Rome, Russ Winger and Ian Waltz placed first, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the men's discus on Thursday, in a competition where a mere two meters separated the winner (63.99m) and seventh place (61.99m)!  Jarred is guaranteed a spot on the Daegu team as the winner, even though he has not reached (but has come very close to) this year's A standard.  Watch Jarred receive his first USA Championships gold medal since the 2004 Olympic Trials here!

photo from runnerspace.com

Jessica Cosby threw 71.33m in the women's hammer on Saturday to finish in first place!  She earned a spot on her third World Championships team with that performance and an A standard (over 72.00m) earlier this season, and will look to improve upon her seventh-place finish at 2009's Worlds in Berlin.  Watch her get her fourth gold medal at a U.S. Championship here.

photo from runnerspace.com

Kara Patterson won her fourth consecutive national title in the women's javelin on Saturday with a first-round throw of 59.34m.  The victory coupled with her A standard performance of 62.76m in Rome earlier this season puts her on her second World Championship team.  Watch her post-competition interview here and the medal ceremony here.

photo from runnerspace.com

Mike Hazle came away from Friday's men's javelin competition with his first national title!  He threw 78.22m to win after four straight years of second-place finishes to four different competitors.  Mike's season-best distance of 81.09m is just short of an A standard (82.00m), but he is guaranteed a spot on the Daegu team with his victory.  See his interview here.

photo from runnerspace.com

A group of distance runners from the Mammoth Track Club trains fairly regularly here in Chula Vista, and many of their number had fantastic weekends!  Morgan Uceny (pictured above) won her first national championship in the women's 1500.  Amy Hastings, Angela Bizzarri, and Jenn Rhines placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively in the women's 5000m on Friday.  Jenn was also third in the women's 10K on Thursday!  Scott Bauhs earned third place in the men's 10K, also on Thursday night.  Good job, Mammoth!

photo from runnerspace.com

Should only one of the top three men in the discus throw the A standard (65.00m) before August 8th, Russ gets a spot on the World Championship team, as he is one of only two men to have reached that mark this season.  If two of the top three guys throw it, however, the two that throw the A and the one that has the B and made top three at USAs gets to travel to South Korea.  If none of the top 3 guys from USAs throws the A standard before August 8th, as we understand it, Jarred, Russ and Ian are the men's discus U.S. contingent going to World Championships!  Ian has the other A standard currently in the U.S., putting him on the team if no one achieve it in the chase period.

Russ competed in the shotput this weekend as well.  The competition on Sunday was only the sixth time in history that the top 4 finishers all threw over 70 feet!  Russ had his best showing at any USATF Outdoor National Championship as far as distance is concerned, ending the day in 7th with a farthest put of 20.52m.  

He is one of very few athletes who is able to put up a competitive showing in both the discus and shotput at the elite level.

photo from runnerspace.com

photo from runnerspace.com

Sean Furey (on the left) placed second with a toss of 77.99m in the men's javelin behind fellow Chula Vista Elite member Mike on Friday.  Sean won the 2010 competition and Mike got silver, making this year the second that these guys have taken top two at USAs.  Sean must throw the A standard of 82.00m in order to make the World Championship team, and should be confident in his ability to do so after setting a personal record of 81.62m at this April's Mt. SAC Relays.

The track and field athletes of the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center will be all around the world for the next few months, competing in various levels of international competition.  We'll do our best to keep updates coming!

It's that time of year again...

Our national championship meet starts in 9 days and the atmosphere here at the Training Center is changing.  There has been a lot more energy around the track and in the weight room as the athletes enter crunch time.  For most of us, our national championship meet (USAs) will be the most important competition of the season.  Our performance(s) will decide if we get to represent the United States at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Korea this August and/or the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico this October.  To be eligible to make a USA team, an athlete must finish in the top 4 and have achieved at least a B standard in that event.  (For more information on selection procedures, click here and for more information on the IAAF standards, click here).  This year, USAs will be held in Eugene, Oregon starting on June 23rd and running through June 26th (TV coverage).
My training has been going very well over the past few months and I feel good about how I've been preparing for USAs.  I missed about 4 months of training this past fall and winter due to a few surgeries but have managed to bounce back fairly quickly.  The training room staff here at the Center has been awesome with planning and instrumenting my rehab programs.  My strength numbers came back relatively quickly but my throwing technique took a little longer.  About two months ago, things started to click in the discus but it wasn't until 2 weeks ago that I felt the same thing with the shot.  Since then, I've been watching a lot of video and focusing on technique and timing.  It's been paying off huge so far and I've thrown the discus over 3 meters farther this season than ever before and I'm very close to PRing in the shot as well.  I've never made a national team but I'm going into USAs this year with good pre-season marks (A standards in both the shot and the disc), confidence, and high hopes.  Thanks to everyone who has helped me to get to this point!  

- Russ Winger - shot put, discus

May 12-15 Results

Here are some updates from the recent meets our Chula Vista Elite team members have competed in around the world!

Consuella Moore and Yvette Lewis ran in Daegu, South Korea in the same stadium in which this summer's IAAF World Championships in Athletics will be contested.  Connie covered 100m in 11.41 seconds to place fourth and 200m in 23.16 seconds for second behind Allyson Felix.  Yvette placed sixth in the 100m hurdles in 13.14 seconds.

Sheena Tosta raced the 400m hurdles in the 5th Ponce Grand Prix in Ponce, Puerto Rico.  She ran her race in 55.65 seconds.

Brianna Glenn competed in Belem, Brazil on Sunday.  She came out on top of her competition in the long jump, recording a distance of 6.74m.  Read her blog post on her victory here.

At the most recent installment of our Thursday field event meets here at the Olympic Training Center, Ian Waltz threw the discus 62.99m.  Russ Winger competed in both the shotput and discus.  In both events, he recorded season best throws, putting the shot 19.94m and heaving the discus 62.22m. 

Becky Holliday cleared 4.50m in the pole vault on Thursday.  She won the women's competition with that mark, which is her event's World A Standard for 2011.  Good job, Becky!

Updates and a World Record

There sure have been a lot of competitions going on lately! 

We had athletes compete well at Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California on April 14-16.  Kansas Relays were at Kansas University April 20-23, and Drake Relays happened in Des Moines, Iowa April 28-30. 

We have also been having discus and pole vault meets regularly here in Chula Vista on Thursdays.  Becky Breisch has thrown over 62m (the World A Standard) in the women's discus three times already this season!

Sean Furey and Tora Harris did very well at Mt. SAC.  Sean threw a personal record 81.62m to win the invitational/elite section of the men's javelin.  That is only 38 centimeters short of the World A Standard required to compete at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.  Tora placed second in the men's invitational/elite high jump with a World A Standard clearance of 2.31m (7'7"). 

At Drake, Russ Winger topped the field in the men's University/College discus throw with a toss of 61.40m (201'5").  Watch his interview here!  Jamie Nieto cleared 2.28m (7'5.75") for third place in the men's special high jump event.

Lex at practice in Chula Vista.  Photo courtesy of East Carolina University.

On Saturday, May 7 at the Desert Challenge Games in Mesa, Arizona, Lex Gillette (our completely blind Paralympic athlete) competed very well.  Lex, already the American Record Holder in the long jump for completely blind athletes, broke his event's World Record!!  He leapt 6.73m on Saturday.  Results here (scroll down to event 12, Men 14+ Long Jump F11).  Awesome job, Lex!

Also on Saturday, Alice Schmidt ran her first 800m race of the season at the Occidental Oxy Invite.  She cruised to an easy victory in 2:01.94.

ASU, Pomona and Rafer Johnson/JJK Meets

This weekend saw some of the Chula Vista Elite succeed soundly in their respective events at three different competitions.

Jessica Cosby traveled to Tempe, Arizona to throw hammer in the Sun Angel Track Classic at Arizona State University on Friday.  She threw 72.22m, or 236'11".  That's not only a meet and venue record, but a personal best and the World Championships A standard.  All five of Jes's measured throws were over 69m.

Alice Schmidt ran on Saturday at the 25th Annual Pomona-Pitzer Invitational in Claremont, California.  She competed in the 1500m run, breaking her own meet and venue records with a time of 4:19.32!

Also on Saturday, Jamie Nieto, JaRod Tobler, and Yvette Lewis competed in Los Angeles, California at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational.  Jamie cleared 2.26m (7'5") to win the men's high jump.  His height set a meet record, and is one centimeter higher than the measurement that he ended the indoor season with!  JaRod was also victorious in his event!  He leaped 7.75m (25'5.25") in the men's long jump.  Yvette ran in two races.  She clocked a time of 23.80 seconds over 200m and 13.34 seconds in the 100m hurdles, sprinting for second in both events.

Texas Tech Discus Elite

On Friday, April 1, Becky Breisch, Ian Waltz, and Jarred Rome competed in an Elite Discus Competition at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. 

Becky topped the women's field with a season-best throw of 63.33m (207'9").  This distance puts her at third on the world rankings list!

Ian and Jarred both opened their seasons this weekend in tough wind conditions.  Jarred tossed 56.59m (185'8"), and Ian threw for fourth with 60.34m (197'11").

Season openers

So, the bulk of the posting on this blog lately has been on the other pages!  See the side bar to check out "Team Member Bios" and our "2011 Meet Schedule."  The meet schedule still has some updates coming its way, and our Paralympic athletes' bios are next on the list of pages to upload! 

Some of our athletes opened up in competition this past weekend.  We had a few people running and jumping at San Diego State.  Crystal Manning won the long jump with 6.31m (20'8.5").  Rob Brown opened his first season as an Olympic Training Center athlete with an appearance in the 400m dash.

Britney Henry won the hammer throw competition at the Oregon Preview in Eugene, Oregon.  She broke her own meet record from a year ago with a 66.67m toss. 

USATF National Indoor Championships

Saturday and Sunday, February 26th and 27th in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 7 of our athletes placed at the 2011 USA Indoor National Track and Field Championships. 

Overall, the weekend was quite successful!

Crystal Manning earned fourth place in the women's triple jump with a distance of 13.30m, or 43'7.25".  Only 36 centimeters separated Crystal from the winner.  This indoor national championship performance lifted her 10 spots from her 2010 USA Outdoor National Championships placing.

A pair of silver medals went to Jamie Nieto and Becky Christensen in the men's and women's high jumps, respectively.  Jamie jumped 2.25m, or 7'4.25", while Becky cleared 1.83m, or 6'0".  Becky's height and placing increased from last year's outdoor meet, as did Jamie's!

JaRod Tobler leapt 7.64m, or 25'0.75", to get second place in the men's long jump.  He moved up 6 places from the outdoor championship meet in 2010.

In the women's pole vault, Becky Holliday earned second place and Melinda Owen got third, both with clearances of 4.55m, or 14'11".  Becky's silver is her second consecutive, as she cleared a personal best 4.60m (15'1") at the 2010 outdoor meet to become the runner-up.  Melinda moves up 2 spots from outdoors last year and matches her best indoor finish (also third in 2009) with this personal record height.

The final Chula Vista Track and Field performance of the meet came from Yvette Lewis, whose 8.03-second 60 meter hurdle race was good for third place.  Yvette's strong return to competition this season is welcome, as much of last year was spent nursing a stubborn ankle injury.

Photos courtesy of exposay.com, PhotoRun, Michael Scott, thecrimson.com, and zimbio.com.  Video links thanks to runnerspace.com, and information on results links provided by USATF.org.

Introduction

Welcome to the official blog of track and field at the ARCO U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California.  The idea behind it is to give you a feel of what we do here from the perspective of multiple different athletes.  Periodically, you'll hear from high/long/triple jumpers, pole vaulters, sprinters, hurdlers, and discus/hammer/shotput/javelin throwers.  Also look for biography pages on each of the athletes who train at this fabulous facility!