Outdoor Schedule

2014 OTC –CV OUTDOOR MEET SCHEDULE

March 28-29                                                                         SDSU Invite

                                                                                                San Diego, CA

April 4-5                                                                               Sam Adams Multi

                                                                                                Santa Barbara, CA

April 11-12                                                                           Rafer Jonhson JJK

                                                                                                Los Angeles, CA

April 11-12                                                                           Sun Angel Classic

                                                                                                Phoenix, AZ

April 18-19                                                                           Mt Sac Relays

                                                                                                Walnut, CA

April 24                                                                                 OTC HP Meet #1

April 25-26                                                                           Triton Invite

                                                                                                San Diego, CA

May 1-2                                                                                  Steve Scott Invite

                                                                                                Irvine, CA

May 8                                                                                     OTC HP Meet #2

May 8-9                                                                                  Claremont Multis

                                                                                                Claremont, CA

May 9                                                                                     Diamond League

                                                                                                Doha, Qatar  

May 10                                                                                   Oxy Invitational

                                                                                                Los Angeles, CA

May 15-17                                                                             Tucson Elite

                                                                                                Tucson, AZ

May 17                                                                                   Diamond League

                                                                                                Shanghai, China      

May 22                                                                                   OTC HP #3

May 24                                                                                   OTC HP #4

May 29                                                                                   OTC HP#5

May 31                                                                                   OTC HP#6                                                                                                                                        

May 30-31                                                                             Prefontaine Classic DL

                                                                                                Eugene, OR

June 5                                                                                     Diamond League

                                                                                                Rome, Italy

June 7                                                                                     Jim Bush USATF So Cal

                                                                                                Los Angeles, UCLA, CA

June 11                                                                                  OTC HP #7

June 13-14                                                                            USATF San Diego Champs

                                                                                                OTC-CV

June 14                                                                                  Adidas GP DL

                                                                                                New York, New York

June 26-29                                                                            USATF Championships

                                                                                                Sacramento, CA

July 3                                                                                      Diamond League

                                                                                                Lausanne, Switzerland

July 5                                                                                      Diamond League

                                                                                                Paris, France

July 11-12                                                                             Diamond League

                                                                                                Glasgow, Scotland

July 18                                                                                   Diamond League

                                                                                                Fontvieille, Monaco

August 21                                                                              Diamond League

                                                                                                Stockholm, Sweden

August 24                                                                              Diamond League

                                                                                                Birmingham, England

August 28                                                                              Diamond League

                                                                                                Zurich, Switzerland

September 5                                                                         Diamond League

                                                                                                Brussels Belgium

September 13-14                                                                 Continental Cup

                                                                                                Marrakech, Morocco

                                                                                                            

Missed it by........ That Much

​It was a weekend of ups and downs and close misses. But all in all the OTC_CV group competed great. Using the momentum of Saturday, the group tried to keep the ball rolling. In the first event of the day , the Women's triple jump OTC athlete's finished 1st, 3rd, and 5th. Amanda Smock repeated as the indoor champion and set a personal indoor best of 13.81. Toni Smith had a seasonal best of 13.60 to finish third and April Sinkler finished 5th. 

     ​In the men's shot put Joe Kovacs and Eric Werskey finished 3rd and 6th. Joe threw a personal best and the third furthest throw in the world of 21.46. A great competition that had the 1st, 2nd and 3rd furthest throws in the world. 

   In the women's shot put Tia Brooks and Whitney Ashley finished 5th and 8th, both competing in their first indoor championships. 

  In the women's high jump Maya Pressley jumped 1.85 to finish 4th. It was her seasonal best as she's continued to improve from week to week. 

  In the final event for the Chula Vista- OTC group the men's triple jump Chris Benard and Troy Doris finished 2nd and 3rd both setting personal records. Chris jumped 16.99 which missed the world championship "A" standard by 1 cm and is the 4th best jump in the world. Troy jumped 16.84 which was the 8th best mark in the world. 

In total the OTC-CV group had 3 athletes qualify to Poland including three of the four spots awarded in the long jump. We had about three that had real close calls and look forward to the continued group of this young group of athletes.

 We appreciate all the support staff and team members that have been crucial to the athletes and their development. 

Olympic Long Jump Center

After the second day of competition at the 2014 USATF Nationals Championships the Olympic Training Center Chula Vista group has qualified 3 athletes and 3 out of 4 spots on the Sopot World Championship team in the long jump. 

In the men's competition resident athletes went 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The early leader was Jeff Henderson as he jumped 8.05m. That lead held until the 4th round when Jeremy Hicks passed him with an 8.05 jump but lead due to a better 2nd jump. In the 5th round Tyron Stewart took the lead jumping 8.06 and held the lead until teammate Chris Benard jumped 8.08 to take the lead. In the last stanza Tyron Stewart retook the lead and claimed the win jumping 8.22, a life time best and the third best mark in the world. The Sopot team will be Tyron and Jeff as they both have the "A" standard. Jeff had double duty as he ran the first round of the 60m and qualified with the 4th fastest time running 6.58, which is also a PB.

In the women's long jump Tori Bowie waited for her last jump to make the team to Sopot. The second ranked long jumper in the world just needed to finish top two as she achieved the standard earlier in the domestic year. She finished second jumping 6.66 to make her first national team. 

The Hay is in the Barn

The last weekend of action for the OTC -CV group led to some great but limited performances. With the USATF Indoor Championships and a birth to World Indoors on the line next weekend, this weekend's competitions were used for fine tuning. 

At the Millrose games Tori Bowie ran the 60m in a time of 7.14. She finished second and ran the 5th fastest time in the world. It is the fastest American time as she heads into USATF Championships. Tori is the top seed in the 60m and long jump. 

A select group of athletes headed to the Don Kirby meet in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In the long jump the OTC-CV group was at it again as Chris Benard had a massive PB in the long jump of 8.10. It is the 8th best mark in the world. And now there are 3 athletes in the top 10 and 4 in the top 20 in the world. In the women's triple jump April Sinkler had a seasonal best of 13.13 and continues to improve as she readies for the indoor championships. 

Final declarations are being made for the USATF Championships for the weekend of February 22-23. Athletes will be represented in the Men's and Women's Shot Put, Long JUmp, Triple Jump, Heptathlon and Women's HJ. Over half the athletes have the World Indoor "A" standard including defending Indoor World Champion in the Triple Jump Will Claye. Golden Girl and eternal champion Brittney Reese made way for another champion as she elected to take-off the indoor campaign. 

One month to Sopot

For the weekend of February 7-8, the OTC-CV group was split into two competitions; one at the Boston New Balance Invitational and New Mexico collegiate invitational. 

In Boston, Long Jumper Tori Bowie jumped 6.67 to win the competition. She already owns the 2nd furthest jump in the world. Shot putter Joe Kovacs threw a life time PB of 21.35 the 2nd furthest throw in the world and beat the top shot putter Ryan Whiting and two time Olympic gold medalist Tomas Majewski.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico at the collegiate classic the men's long jumpers stole the show. Tyron Stewart jumped an indoor PB and the 3rd furthest jump in the world jumping 8.16. Second was Jeffery Henderson who jumped 8.03, but had a tiny foul that surely would have claimed the world lead. In third was Ronnie Taylor followed by Mike Hartfield in third and fourth at 7.86 and 7.83 respectfully. On the woman's side Shana Woods set an indoor PB jumping 6.28. In the shot put Eric Werskey threw an indoor PB of 20.01 to move into the top 15 in the world. On the women's side Tia Brooks threw 17.88 to get use to the ring that will host USATF Championships. She currently has the 4th furthest throw in the world. In the triple jump Chris Benard jumped 16.67 and Troy Doris jumped 16.22 to take first and second. April Sinkler jumped 13.06 to win the women's TJ and finish with a seasonal best. Unfortunately the triple jumpers left some big fouls on the runway. In the women's HJ Maya Pressley jumped 1.78. 

Next week a select group of jumpers will travel back to New Mexico as they prepare for USATF indoors. 

February is Heating Up

For  the weekend of January 31, February 1 the OTC Chula Vista group traveled to Boise, Idaho and Seattle Washington to take part in two collegiate invitationals. 

At the Boise Invitational it was the opening multi event for the men and women. Shana Woods set a life time PB in two events and overall PB scoring 4051 points which is tied for the 24th best mark in the world. In the high jump Maya Presley continues to improve as she jumped 1.80 for the win. Gunnar Nixon did the first day of the heptathlon as a tune up for his first full multi in Birmingham, Alabama this coming weekend.

In Seattle the throwers stole the show. World Championship shot put finalist Tia Brooks had her best season opener as she threw 18.51 for the 4th longest throw in the world. Joe Kovacs threw the 13th furthest throw and seasonal PB of 20.05 while teammate Eric Werskey threw 19.56 in the runner up spot. Also throwing a life time PB in the shot was World Championship member in the discus Whitney Ashley, she was able to throw 17.22 which is the 11th best mark in the world. 

In the men's long jump Tyron Stewart continued his consistency as he jumped 7.90 for the win, he was followed by teammate Will Claye who opened up his season jumping 7.89 which is the 10th best mark despite using a short approach. Following them was teammate Chris Benard who jumped 7.56, the jumpers left a few large jumps in the pit as they had issues negotiating the foul board. In the women's triple jump the athletes continue to progress and excitement is building as we close in on the Indoor USATF championships. 

This weekend a few athletes will travel to Boston to compete in the New Balance Invite, while the majority of the group will travel to New Mexico for the Lobo invitational.

ALL OVER THE MAP

All Over the Map

The OTC-CV group was literally all over the map this past weekend. Long jumper Ronnie Taylor traveled to the Glasgow International meeting in Glasgow, UK to represent the USA in the four country team meeting. He finished second jumping 7.79 meters and pulled double duty running a leg on the 4 x 400m team that ran 3 minutes 10 seconds. 

Triple jumpers Bryce Lamb, Will Claye, Chris Benard, and Troy Doris travelled tot he Big Apple and competed at the New Balance Invitational at the New York Armory. All four jumpers using shortened approaches, began their season in style, Will Claye won in a world leading and facility record breaking jump of 17.04 meters. Troy Doris jumped a personal best and the second furthest jump in the world of 16.81 meters to finish second. Finishing third also in a lifetime personal record of 16.76 meters and establishing the third furthest jump in the world was Chris Benard. Finishing fifth was Bryce Lamb.

The rest of the OTC-CV group traveled to the Take Notice Invitational in Naperville, IL. Stealing the spotlight was Tori Bowie. In establishing a meeting record and lifetime best she covered a distance of 6.95 meters in the long jump. It is the second best mark in the world and #1 mark by an American. In the men's long jump Tyron Stewart jumped a seasonal best of 7.99 meters which is a lifetime  indoor best and the third furthest jump in the world and top by an American. Shana Woods jumped 6.08 meters as she prepares for her first pentathlon of the year. In the high jump Maya Pressley won jumping 1.78 meters.

The group is in action this weekend at the Ed Jacoby multis in Boise, Idaho. It will be the first multi-event for Shana Woods, Jesscia Flax, and Gunnar Nixon as they look to get the world standard and a birth on the indoor world team. The weight group and jumpers will travel to Seattle, Washington for the Washington Indoor. It will be the season opener for Olympians Will Claye in the long jump and Tia Brooks in the shot put.