Workouts: 4/28, 4/29, 4/30

4/28 At KC. Another day in 40s with rain and wind, so we stayed inside. Did a brief warm up, then some hurdle work, including 6H speedbuilders, 1H starts, 3H relative spacings, 2H random spacings. Training were Holly, Brian, Joe, Mike, Logan, Nathalie, Kasey. Missing: Nate. Annika (work).

4/29 At KC. After warm up, spent time working on approach and approach with scissors -- about 10x. Followed with a couple bungee bar jumps near opening height. Also took a regular bar jump at opening, and then about 3 jumps at opening +3 inches. Worked on staying in curve (no step out), pushing the speed and lean, quick last step and good plant angle. Mollie, Kasey, Madeline, Alex, Mike, Brad and Jerome all jumped.

4/30 At KC. Circles, swings, skips, pickup, accel and then a timed fly. Brad PR 8.78 mps, Joe 9.42, Mollie 7.61, Nate 8.54, Holly 8.02. Timed 30m block start. Brad PR 4.09, Mollie 4.80, Nate 4.52, Holly 4.54. Hurdle warm up was H1 falling, H2 3-pt, H3 block -- all -3. Then block starts, H1, H2, H3, H4. Within those reps, timed H1 starts. Brad PR 2.20, Joe 2.12, Mollie 2.33, Holly PR 2.07, Annika 2.22. Also timed splits. Brad PR 1.38, Joe 1.31, Mollie PR 1.36, Holly PR 1.17, Annika PR 1.46.

Beloit Relays: Strong showing with several PRs

4/26 At Beloit. Joe let the way again. This time with a couple 2nds, running a PR 15.37 in 110H and 58.30 in 400H. Brad also got a PR with his 17.38 (#10 all time), and he also got a PR in HJ (5-8) -- both were large improvements. Holly had a small improvement in 100H for a PR 16.47 (#3 all time), and she got a major improvement in 400H, with her 68.85 (#2 all time). Brian's first 400H race of the year was a good one, running a PR 58.42 (#5 all time) for 3rd. Logan had a good race, too, running 60.66 in 5th. Mike scored, too, jumping 6-0 for 6th in HJ and running 62.9 for 8th in 400H. Annika ran 20.42 for 9th in 100H and 87.12 for 10th in 400H. Great day for Alex in HJ, getting a PR 4-8.25 (#6 all time) for 6th and Madeline with 4-6.25 for 7th. Nathalie, Kasey and Nate were no-shows.

Complete results

Drake Relays: Jerome sets school, conference outdoor record

4/26 At Des Moines. Opening height was 6-6 in a 30-jumper field on a breezy, sunny, 70-degree day. Nice crowd with a couple thousand on hand on the south end of the stadium. Jerome made it on his second attempt. Made 6-8 on second attempt and record-breaking 6-9.75 on third attempt. Came very close to making 6-11.5 on third attempt, just folding a bit too soon.

Workouts: 4/21, 4/22, 4/23

4/21 At MU. Drizzle gave way to sunny skies for our 400H workout. Circles, swings, skips and an up/back progression (10s, 20s, 30s). 2H 3pt start followed by a workaround (2 to 5, 3 to 6, etc.). Rest interval was about 4 min. Everyone ran reps near race pace. Stretched. Joe, Logan, Brian, Mike, Nate, Holly, Nathalie and Annika were present. Kasey was missing.

4/22 At KC. Kasey, Alex, Mollie and Madeline jumped early. Mike, Jerome, Brad late. Pre-meet warm up and then work on some technical issues and/or higher bars. Alex worked on some approach issues (right leg crossing over left at turn). Change "mid" mark to 6th step -- 48 feet at start mark, 19-8 at step 6 (8" in). Had some nice approaches and jumps as that got worked out. Kasey had many good jumps except when jumping toward bar. Mollie worked to get plant foot closer to standard and away from middle of bar, getting quicker on final step and leaning into curve (away from bar) along with a stronger lead knee drive. Madeline also worked on knee drive and arm drive that starts back and goes up rather than across bar. Most jumps were around 4-7, some a bit lower. Jerome took all of his jumps around 6-8, opening height on Saturday. Did 3 with bungee and another 5 or 6 with bar. Had one very close attempt and a couple others that were pretty good. Mike worked around 6-0, having some problems committing to the jumps. Brad was jumping into bar most of the time but worked on staying away by leaning into curve more. Might need to move a bit further out, but better to stop jumping in and start jumping up.

4/23 At KC. Joe, Brad, Nathalie, Holly and Annika worked highs. Loosened up and did a Cheetah strength set. Skip series. 1-step hurdles. Add-a-hurdle H1 to H4 and H4 back to H1. Stretch and roll. Good progress again by Brad, getting some splits in 1.3s and even a 1.2. Joe got a couple in mid-1.1s. Annika got some in 1.4s. Holly into upper 1.2s.

SNC: Joe notches another win; everyone scores

4/17 At De Pere. Temperatures started in low-50s and drifted down to mid-40s later, but winds remained light, making conditions OK. Joe took another 110H this week, running 15.84. Brad got 3rd in 18.28. Holly was 2nd in the women's race with a season best 16.78/16.48 (#3 all time). Mollie also made the final, finishing 6th (18.85/18.64).

In 400H, Holly ran a PR 70.00 (#2 all time) for 4th. Kasey was 12th in 81.79. On the men's side, Nate hit the scoring column again this week, taking 6th with a 73.58.

In HJ, Jerome finished tied for 2nd at 6-6.75., Brad made 5-3 for 8th. For the women, Mollie cleared 4-9 for 5th, while Alex equalled her 4-7 PR for 7th and Kasey made 4-5 for 8th.

Holly was named NACC female track and field athlete of the week for her performance.

Complete results

Workouts: 4/14, 4/15

4/14 At KC. Wind and snow outside kept us inside. Joe, Brad, Nathalie and Mollie trained first, warming up and then doing reactive hurdles off a 4-step into 1-step, 3-step, 1-step, 3-step, 1-step, 3-step, working on individualized improvements (with good progress). 2 Gazelle sets. Stretch/roll. Kasey and Brian were next, working on relative-spacing 19- and 17-step, respectively. They did 10 reps on short recovery. Brian made some good improvement on trail leg and Kasey on lead leg. Brian also did some block work -- and that got pretty good, too. Holly was next. She did a few power hurdles on each leg, working on stepping up. She then did 5x2H, starting low and working up to 33s at -1. Rest and then 3x4H at 30. Splits were in 1.3s. Finished with a few reps over 2H, working on a tight trail leg, and she dropped those reps into the mid 1.2s. 5x3H relative spacing followed and then 2 sets of Gazelle kettlebell.

4/15 At KC. Pre-meet style warm up, including some opening height jumps and then about 6 jumps at moderate height for those competing Thursday. Others took a few more jumps. Kasey, Madeline, Mollie and Alex were jumping in 4-5 to 4-7 range, with a lot of clearances at 4-7. Brad took most of his jumps at 5-3, making most. Jerome worked mostly at 6-5.

WLC: Joe gets 2 more hurdle wins

4/12 At Wisconsin Lutheran. Weather wasn't what was advertised. Started with cold and rain, then cold and wind, then cold and sun, then cold and clouds. Never got warmer than 46. Despite the tough conditions, everyone did what they could. Joe battled headwinds in the highs for a 17.01 win. Brad was 3rd (20.03). In the women's highs, Nathalie was only about a half-second off her season best despite the wind, finishing 4th (18.92). In the 400H, Joe won in 57.16 (splits, starting with 5-6: 4.7 5.3 5.5 5.6 5.8 6.0), and Nate ran a PR 72.47 for 5th. Nathalie was 11th in the women's race (80.08). In HJ, Jerome was 2nd (6-2.75). Alex and Mollie tied for 7th (4-5). DNC: Jana (injured), Annika (injured), Mike (ill), Holly, Kasey. Madeline withdrew from HJ. Logan ran other events in this meet.

Complete results

Nate en route to his PR. Splits (starting with segment 2-3: 5.8 5.9,5.9 6.1 6.6 7.3 7.2 7.0 7.0)

Nathalie off hurdle two during one of just a few sunny moments at the meet. Splits (starting with segment 4-5: 6.8 7.0 7.5 7.6 7.6 7.9 8.3)

Workouts: 4/7, 4/8, 4/9

4/7 At VF/KC. Loosened up outdoors on soccer field with a jog, circles and swings. 2x hurdle extensive tempo runs, running hurdles on long sides and walking short sides on soccer field. Early shift did a shuttle-style relay with a mix of sprints, hurdles, hops, crab walk, bear walk, etc. Later shifts did 2 sets of Springbok dumbbell lifts. On hand: Logan, Joe, Brian, Nathalie, Kasey, Holly and Annika. Missing: Nate and Mike. Jana was excused.

4/8  At KC. An individualized workout that included about 10 full jumps at challenging heights. Some did some drill work to work on some improvements, others just did RTs, scissors and fulls. Alex, Mollie, Madeline and Holly jumped early, with Holly focusing on some basics, Alex on knee to bar and Mollie on holding the top a bit longer. Mollie made a 4-8 jump. Alex 4-6. Madeline made 4-6 repeatedly. Holly jumped at 4-4. Jerome, Mike and Brad jumped later, at 6-5, 5-10 and 5-3, respectively. Holly marks: 12 / green line / 50. Madeline: 8 / 24-6 / 52.

4/9 At MU. 400H/HH group was over at windy MU under sunny skies with temps in upper 50s. Some jogged to MU. Others loosened up and then did a 50m stride followed by 2x50m pickups. Everyone joined in for some progressive up and backs over a low, going 2x10-, 20-, 30-yards. 400 group then did 2x6 at race pace with 16 min recovery and followed that with 3x5H oppos (7-yd spacing) with a cruise into a random hurdle and down to endline with a walkback recovery. HH group started with 3x3H (1st rep -3"). 2x6H speedbuilder (ended at -2). 1x10H (zone 1 -1, 2 -2, 3 -3). Brad did some extra speedbuilders while the rest of the HH group did 1x6 400H and 2x5 oppo + random on turf. Stretched.

Carroll: Women high jumpers elevate their game; Jerome sets HJ mark; Joe PRs 110s

4/5 At Waukesha. A sunny day with temps in the mid-40s and mild winds made for a good day on the track. Had a number of PRs and revisions to our top 10 lists. Started off with very good performances by Jerome and Mike in HJ. Jerome made 6-8.75 to win the event and had a couple good attempts at 6-9.75. Jerome's jump improved on his former outdoor record that he shared with Brian Main and equaled the conference outdoor mark. He also was named NACC male track and field athlete of the week for his performance. Mike jumped 6-2.75 for 3rd.

The women's high jumpers also had success. Mollie leaped a PR 4-11 (#3 all time) and finished tied for 7th in a tough field and had very near miss on her final attempt at 5-1. Kasey also got a PR, jumping 4-9 (#5 all time). Alex PR'd, too, clearing 4-7. Madeline also made 4-7.

In the high hurdles, Joe ran a PR 15.42 in prelims. In the final, he came from behind to win in 15.79. Brad finished 4th (PR 17.87/18.02). In the women's highs, Holly ran 17.15/16.94 for 4th (#3 all time). Mollie ran 18.43/18.98 (9th). Annika ran 20.37/21.18 (11th).

In 400H, Joe had trouble from the outset and ran 59.24 for 3rd. Logan was right behind, running a PR 59.45 for fourth, tying Brian for #5 all time. Mike improved to 63.25 for 6th. Nate ran a PR 74.18 for 7th. For the women, Holly nearly missed the race but ran in Jana's spot that she vacated after getting hurt in the 100H. Holly ran a PR 70.61 (#2 all time). Kasey ran 79.65, Annika 1:26.84 (#8 all time).

Complete results

Mike hits a good bridge here.

Alex could use a little tighter rotation here and can get it by driving the lead knee higher. If the knee here was as high as the bar the wrap around the bar with the lower legs would be tighter.

Holly with good position and trail leg pickup coming off the hurdle.

This shot clearly shows the problem Joe has been working to solve -- dragging that low trail leg knee off the hurdle. The hurdler to his left has his trail leg in much better position. It's where Joe is trying to go. Often good in practice, the trail leg typically reverts to this weak position, reducing the amount of force it can apply to the track. Heel on trail side is nicely tucked, but the knee should be much higher than shown here.

Kasey makes this one but could possibly go higher by holding the bridge a bit better (as Mike above). Folding at this point places the back of the legs dangerously close to the bar, and likely would knock the bar off at higher heights. A prolonged bridge -- with a resultant landing on shoulders -- would offer a bit more room behind the legs because the hips would remain higher.








Mollie makes a great attempt here at 5-1 and might have made it if she had inverted instead of folding to level off. Similar situation as Kasey where folding puts the back of the legs close to -- or on the bar.