NAC Indoor: Emily, Nate get titles, records

2/25  Quite a day for Emily, broke her school and conference in 60H prelims and then obliterated it in the final. She also was named outstanding female athlete, having won PV and 200 as well. Nate had a great debut, winning the conference HJ title and breaking the record Mike set just two weeks ago, setting up our 1-2 finish. We also had some PRs and a number of scoring performances.

Emily 8.72/8.60 (1st SR CR MR PR #1 all time)
Mollie 4-7.5 (8th) 10.34
Nate 6-3.5 (1st SR #1 all time)
Mike 6-1.5 (2nd) 8.35/10.34
Tim 8.67/8.46 (4th = PR #3 all time)
Jonathon 8.67/8.66 (7th PR #5 all time)
Aaron 8.80 (PR #8 all time)
Jim 9.30
Joe 5-9.75 (T8th)
Jerome 5-7.75 (#10 all time)
Dan 5-5.75

Complete results

Videos:



Mollie's clearance at 4-7.5. Leaning in a bit at takeoff and snapping too soon, but her approach was good and she had enough lift to get it.



Nate's best attempt at the NAC meet record.



Emily setting her school, meet and conference record. Not much more to do here other than driving that lead  arm more forward and back than across.



Tim and Jonathon in the first section of the finals. Tim gets a little sideways and twisted at times; Jonathan has some "long" arms.

Workouts: 2/21, 2/22

2/21  Nate and Jerome joined the group, following their basketball season. They joined Joe, Dan, Mike and Mollie for tonight's practice. Started off with some circle runs, backovers, run throughs, scissors jumps, full jumps a few inches below best height and then a few jumps either higher or lower, depending on success at early jumps. Many of the jumps were at challenging heights to get a look at some higher bars. Mike and Nate took a few at 6-0 or higher. Joe had some in 5-8 to 5-11 range. Jerome worked around 5-6 to 5-8. Dan in 5-4 to 5-5 area, and Mollie took her jumps around 4-4 to 4-5.

2/22  All hurdlers except Jim were on hand to go 3x3 compressed 3-step warm up, 1-2-3 (-1) and then 2x4H (-1) and 2x1H+finish. Good, crisp workout with quickness and sound technique for most the reps. High jumpers did hurdle mobility, lifting (step ups, hip bridges, jump squats, high pulls), 5 laps ins/outs, stretch/roll.

Early days of hurdling

An early hurdle race. (No, that's not me.)

Hurdles came from the game of English shepherds jumping over sheep pens, which were about 10 yards apart and 42" tall.  or the first hurdles races in England around 1830, wooden barriers were placed along a stretch of 100 yards. Later, in Oxford and Cambridge, the race was standardized to 120 yards with 10 42" hurdles. France changed the race to 110 metres in 1888.

The massive hurdles of the early days were first replaced in 1895 with somewhat lighter T-shaped hurdles that runners were able to knock over. However, until 1935, runners were disqualified if they knocked down more than three hurdles, and records were only recognized if the runner had left all hurdles standing. In 1935, the T-shaped hurdles were replaced by L-shaped ones that easily fall forward if bumped into and therefore reduce the risk of injury.

The current style of stepping over hurdles rather than jumping was first used by Alvin Kraenzlein, a guy from Milwaukee who won the event in the 1900 Olympics.

The 110 meter hurdles have been an Olympic event since 1896. Women ran it occasionally in the 1920s but it wasn't until 1932 that it became a regular event in the Olympics. 

 1928 Olympics.

University of Wisconsin women's hurdle race.

Jonathon, Aaron get PRs at UWM

2/18  Didn't make the top 8, but Jonathon and Aaron had good preparation for their 60H race and came away with PRs of 9.45 (#5 all time) and 9.55 (#6 all time), respectively. Joe finished 4th in HJ at 5-10.5, just .25 under his season best.



Aaron and Jonathon start to first hurdle. Just floating out past the hurdle a bit. Something to work on next week.

Complete results

Emily honored by NAC again

Getting redundant but no less great. Emily took female athlete of the week honors in the conference again with her great performance at Platteville in the hurdles, vault and 200.

Workouts: 2/14, 2/15

2/14  Jim rested his ailing shins, Mike rested his ailing hamstring. Joe, Dan and Mollie jumped. Did u-turns, scissors jumps, high height bungee jumps, box bungee jumps.

2/15  Jim, Tim, Jonathon and Emily worked hurdles. Started with some fly sprints: Tim 8.79 mps, Jim 8.96, Jonathon 9.05, Emily 8.12. Next, some easy 3x3H at regular height (-3 spacing). Then, 3x1 start times (Jim 2.14, Tim PR2.19, Jonathon PR2.21, Emily 2.16. Ended with 3x3H split times (Tim PR1.32, Jonathon PR1.29)

Block clearance

Check out the block clearance here. Very little heel pick up, just stepping over the ankle and nearly dragging the toe on the second step. Excellent extension in the front leg on push out.

Emily wins 60H at Platteville

2/11  Emily hurdled to a PR and broke her own school record with a 9.49 win at UW-Platteville (along with a PR 26.59 win in 200). Mike also hit the record book with his 6-2.75 mark for 2nd in HJ, beating the mark of Alex Raver set in several previous years. He also scored in the hurdles along with Tim. Joe continued a season of strong performances with another good day in HJ, finishing 5th. Jonathan had a good debut in the 60H.

Emily 9.56/9.49 (1st #1 all time)
Mike 6-2.75 (2nd #1 all time) 9.15/9.12 (5th)
Tim  9.17/9.13 (6th #3 all time)
Jonathon 9.48 (#5 all time)
Aaron 9.71 (#8 all time)
Jim 9.60 NH
Joe 5-10.75 (5th)

Complete results


Jim and Jonathon in prelims. Jim's leaning back a bit on entry and exit, which slows things down. Big, wide sweeping arm is causing shoulder rotation at landing, causing an unneeded twist. Keep an aggressive attack angle and keep the shoulders forward at landing. Lead arm needs to move forward and back. Jonathon looks pretty good for a first race, just sitting back a bit coming off the hurdle. Positioning and alignment is good.


Tim and Aaron in prelims. Tim is overstriding a bit, which explains the flat-footed slapping we sometimes hear. Aaron is leaning back a bit at first hurdle and the lead arm is wrapping much too far to his left, causing some twisting coming off the hurdle. Landing has some backward lean. Need to keep shoulders forward and   aggressively drive the lead leg back and down to the track under the hip.


Mike makes a great attempt at 6-4.75. Had the hip height. Didn't quite hold the bend long enough. Had he been able to invert instead of folding, that bar would have been cleared. Excellent lean into turn.


Tim and Mike in finals. Tim is out well. Mike is sitting back on takeoff and trail leg is getting through a bit too early. Need a more aggressive attack angle and not rush the trail leg. Get a good split into hurdle and focus on lead leg speed not trail leg speed.


Emily overcomes an early deficit to take command in this race.

Workouts: 2/7, 2/8

2/7  High jumpers did circle runs, circle runs into scissors, full approach ramp jumps and full approach jumps. Emphasized leaning into turn, blocking (with ramp), clearance mechanics. Most got more than a dozen jumps. Dan's hamstring kept him out. Mike split time with PV. Jim, Joe and Mollie did all their jumps.

2/8  Jim, Tim, Jonathan and Emily did 3x3H extended 5-step; 1-2-3-2-1H progression; 2-3x extended starts over 3H; 2-3x 4H (-H2). Emily posted a PR 8.62 mps fly.

2/9  Aaron did a workout similar to what the group did yesterday but with fewer reps to protect the shins. Also worked on the lead arm, trying to get it to track more forward and back than side to side. Good session. Attacked the hurdles well. Had some splits in mid-1.2s ht.

Emily takes 3rd NAC athlete of week award

Emily was named Northern Athletics Conference female track and field athlete of the week for the third time this season. The only week she hasn't won was the week she didn't compete. That's how good a season she is having. Well deserved again, setting a conference and school record in the 55H as well as getting second in 200 and third in vault. Add a Raider of the Week award as well.

Lines and angles

It's always a good idea to study videos of others doing your event. Below is a clip of a high jumper that demonstrates that straight line from left ankle, knee, shoulder and head. Stop it on the plant and you will see that. Also note how much lower that left shoulder is than the right (staying in the turn), and while the foot is fairly close to the bar, see how far away the head and shoulders remain from the bar at the plant. You also will see where the plant foot is pointed (back corner) and how hard it plants, blocking against the speed of the run and vaulting the jumper upward. Those steps leading into the plant have a classic, low heel recovery. Also note how he keeps his head back on clearance.

Parkside: Emily breaks record; multiple PRs

2/4 At UW-Parkside.

Great day for hurdlers. Emily broke the school and conference record in the 55H, knocking about a tenth off her previous PR with an 8.78 to win the event following her 8.98 prelim. She broke Catherine Chappell's record set four years ago -- almost to the day. Mike ran a PR 8.32 and 8.41 prelim, finishing 3rd. Tim made the final, finishing 7th with 8.72/8.73. Aaron returned to the track and posted a PR 8.83, good for 7th on MSOE's all-time list. Jim made the list, too, posting a PR 8.93. In HJ, Joe had a strong performance, equaling his season best of 5-10.75, good for 2nd. Dan only managed 5-3, but that was good enough for 5th.

Emily 8.98/8.78 (1st #1 all time)
Mike 8.41/8.32 (2nd #2 all time)
Tim 8.72/8.73 (6th)
Aaron 8.83 (#7 all time)
Jim 8.93 (#10 all time)
Joe 5-10.75 (2nd)
Dan 5-3 (5th)


Emily's start -- on her way to a record-breaking performance.


Tim and Mike in prelim. Major braking forces on Mike's getaway step. Note how far in front it lands ahead of hip. You can see shock going right up the leg from the braking action occurring.


Joe demonstrating how to bend it.

Workouts: 1/31, 2/1, 2/2

1/31  I was ill, so I didn't make HJ practice. Worked run throughs and ramp jumps off full run, working plant and clearance.

2/1  Mike and Jim worked extended 5-step technical runs over 3H. Jim worked on tightening the trail leg with good success. Mike worked on extending the trail leg more to the side and getting the lead leg down sooner. We also did some work on start mechanics. Worked 1-2-3-2-1-2-3-4 and then 4x1. Emily worked 3x3H extended 5-step, 1-2-3-2-1 and then 3x3H (extended start) and 3x4H (-H2). Mollie did the 5-step work, attempted some extended 5-step but then we switched to a 9/4-step rep before returning to some 8/3-step reps over 2-3H.

2/2  Jonathan and Tim did some extended 5-step over 3H. Tim worked 1-2-3-2-1 and then 4-3-2-1, focusing primarily on squaring up and attacking from a taller position, ended with a couple reps over 39 to focus on faster rhythm. Jonathan progressed well, having been out for as long as he has. Got some benchmark times on max velocity (8.5 mps), 30m acceleration (4.34), H1 start (2.21), H split (1.32). Had some nice ht splits (-1) around 1.2. Excellent conversion between top speed and split time (89%). Worked in some block technique. Hurdle mechanics were solid.