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.