Taco Bell Classic 2007

Columbia, SC

Coverage

MileStat.com Athletes of the Week: Rashaad Cannon (Highland Springs) & Ashley Gatling (Deep Creek) Apr 19, 2007

  Highland Springs senior Rashaad Cannon and Deep Creek senior Ashley Gatling have been selected as MileStat.com Athletes of the Week ending in Saturday, April 14th. Both Cannon and Gatling were close national runners-up at Nike Indoor Nationals this past March and appear to be hungry this spring for their last opportunities for national championship glory as at the Taco Bell Classic, Cannon turned in his first 24 foot performance in the long jump with a US #6 mark of 24'0.50", while Gatling cleared 5'10" for the first time since her freshmen year to move her to a US #1 ranking in the high jump. 

Taco Bell Classic: VA Highlights Apr 16, 2007

Virginia had a fair showing at the Taco Bell Classic in South Carolina, while the jumps for the ladies was all VA with winners in all three events including Ashley Gatling of Deep Creek in the high jump at a US #2 mark of 5'10", Shakia Forbes (pictured left by John Olson) of Bethel in the long jump at a US #6 mark of 19'8", and Rachel Butler of Lee-Davis in the triple jump at 39'3.50". Highland Springs senior Rashaad Cannon also recorded a national ranked performance with a Taco Bell victory in the boys long jump with his first jump ever over 24 feet in a US #6 mark of 24'0.50". Deep Creek had two of the top three finishers in the girls 400 with sophomore Myesha Barr in second at 56.51 and junior Keshia Rudolph in third at 56.55. Deep Creek girls also ran tough in the relays with a third place team of 47.59 in the 4x100 and a second place finish of 3:56.07 in the 4x400. Hampton's Tierra Brown had two top three finishes in the hurdles including a strong 13.99 runner-up clocking in the 100 meter hurdles. Photos as well as some video from Taco Bell to come from our MileSplit Network sister site SCRunners.com. Video interview by SCRunners.com's John Olson with William Byrd's Alisha Royal who returned to compete in her former homestate of South Carolina at Taco Bell.

Weekend Recap: Danville wins big, Long wins 3200 in 9:16 Apr 15, 2007

Danville wins the boys and girls at the Lake Cumberland Classic, Henderson County wins at the Invitational of the South, St. Henry and North Hardin win at the Commodore Classic, and St. Xavier travels to the Taco Bell Classic. (Picture: Sharika Smith at the Invitational of the South)

Weekend recap: April 14 Apr 15, 2007

Taco Bell meet concludes Saturday, Spring Valley girls coach Kevin Shaw leaving school. Moving to Boone, N.C. and teaching at Watauga. Boys coach John Jones announces Saturday.Taco Bell Classic meet resultsPhoto gallery

Taco Bell Classic: Day 1 Summary Apr 14, 2007

The state of Virginia had a strong first day at the Taco Bell Classic based on early reports out of Columbia, South Carolina. Brookville’s Ethan Nixon and Deep Creek’s Ashley Gatling (pictured right by John Herzog) swept the high jump for the state as Gatling cleared 5’10” for the first time since her freshmen year, while Nixon went over the bar at 6’8” for his first time ever. Meanwhile, Rachel Butler of Lee-Davis improved her 200 meter best by nearly a full second with a 24.75 clocking in the 200 meter prelims to lead 3 Virginians into Saturday’s finals. More details forthcoming on Friday’s action at Taco Bell as well as day one results.

VA @ Taco Bell Classic Apr 14, 2007

Photos taken of Virginians at the 2007 Taco Bell Classic by John Holson of SCRunners.com

April 14th Weekend Preview Apr 13, 2007

Rain and cold weather are forecast to wreck havoc on meets across the state tomorrow.  This is a look at the Taco Bell Classic, Lake Cumberland Classic, Invitational of the South, and the Commodore Classic.

Taco Bell Classic Preview Apr 13, 2007

The number of Virginians headed down to South Carolina this weekend on their spring break to compete at the Taco Bell Classic is a positive sign for the sport within the state. Instead of taking a family vacation to the beach or out of the country, these athletes and teams are out seeking the best competition in the Southeast region on their spring breaks from school. Such sacrifices are needed to be made to break records and attain greatness. Many of these athletes already are great, but none are looking to settle for where they are at. Photo to the left: Tierra Brown will get a good gauge this weekend where she stacks up nationally as she not only has to face off against familar rivals from Menchville in Nicole Saunders and Kali Watkins, but two national caliber hurdlers in Ryann Krais of Pennyslvania and Jessica Stowers of South Carolina.

4/14 WKND: Krais MR 59.34 400H (vid)|Rubio big TJ|Rotz rolls @ Pan-Ram|Moore 204+ Jav|Hurr. vid+pix Apr 13, 2007

 We still need results from UNION AREA, BROOKVILLE, and MERCERSBURG ACADEMY.Highlighting the weekend... At the TACO BELL CLASSIC in South Carolina, Methacton's Ryann Krais set a MR and a PR with her 59.34 win in the 400 hurdles. Read the race story and see SCRunner's John Olsen's video interview with Ryann and her coach, plus a photo gallery of the race. Conditions were better for distance than sprints at the 7TH HURRICANE CLASSIC, but at least there was no rain, snow, or wind. Meet and track records fell in the 4x80, 1600, 3200, shot put and pole vault. Breehana Jacobs of Laurel Highlands is running well for the bad western PA weather. She was named track athlete of the meet at the 16TH LADY SPARTAN INV. Hempfield thrower Kim Kanala was the meet's outstanding field athlete. Diana Filtz of Penn Trafford and Kiski Area's Leah Ulizio also had outstanding meets. Prendie tuned up for their Penn DMR at DELCO Relays - photo by Penn TrackXC In one of the largest teams the school has ever had, Harrisburg has scorers and they have depth. The girls dominated the 19th PAN-RAM INV., while the boys were 3rd within 10 of Cumberland Valley. Lhayana Dallas led the Cougars with wins in the 100 and 300 hurdles, and the high jump. AA power Boiling Springs was led by distance star Kara Millhouse, who doubled- dipped for distance wins. Teammate Anna Bixler scored in three events. An awesome 800 from Central Dauphin's Andrew Rotz. Daniel Boone's Aubrie McAlpine won the 100 and 200. Cumberland Valley sprinter Juan Steward pulled the 100 and 400 double. Lower Dauphin hurdler Eric Oneal swept his two events. Central Dauphin's Justin Shirk set a meet record in the jav; and Anna Muzio of Central Dauphin won the shot put and discus. The Selinsgrove girls swept three relays at the 27TH PURPLE & WHITE RELAYS @ Shamokin HS... taking the 4x100, the 4x200 and the 4x400. The Williamsport boys took the 4x100 and the 800 SMR. The javelin is a strong event in PA, and the big guns are starting to warm up, this past weekend at the 37TH ANNUAL TFCAofGP RELAY CARNIVAL. LaSalle's Brian Moore threw to the PA lead. North Penn's sub-8 4x800 says they have reloaded nicely. Abington was quick in two relay wins. The national champ XC team Coatesvlle guys posted a very fast DMR. In the 'better you than me' event, Joe Berry of Hatboro-Horsham cleared 15-04. At the ARCTIC BLAST INVITATIONAL, Northern girls have a strong distance program as reflected by strong wins in the 800, 1600, 3200 and 4x800. State College sprinter Alex Kenney took the 100 and 200. The South Western boys posted a fast 4x400. At the BRISTOL KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS INVITATIONAL, Father Judge sprinter Mike Zampirri took care of 100 and 200 biz. He also anchored their winning 4x100. Neshaminy's Tim Bech won the 300 hurdles, and the long and the triple jumps. Three guys busted 2 in the 800. At the COLTS NECK RELAYS, in New Jersey, Unionville set a school record in the DMR, taking 4th. Paul Springer led off in 3:02.1 1200, passing you-know-who to give his team a 10-15 meter lead. West Chester Henderson's girls were 2nd in the DMR. At the 5TH GREATER LATROBE INVITATIONAL, Hempfield's Weston Banks upped his PA#1 discus ead by over 6'. And his nearly 60' shot put was just a half-inch below his season best. Triple jumpers Garner McCloud (Kiski Area) and Dan Sandrowicz (Indiana), were over 46'. Sandrowicz also won the long jump. Greensburg Central Catholic junior Chris Hayden-Martin won the 100 and the 200. Kiski Area easily captured the team title. At the BEDFORD GIANT EAGLE INVITATIONAL, Jordan Donaldson of Tussey Mountain set two meet records in the single and double lap events. Sarah Strayer of Forest Hills won three events, the 800, 1600 and 3200, the latter a meet record. Berlin's girls and Bedford's boys took team titles. At the DELCO T&F RELAY CARNIVAL, Upper Darby took two of the sprint relays, Chester captured both sprint medleys, and Archbishop Carroll, Radnor and Archbishop Prendergast split the long stuff. Upper Darby's Bintou Dibba won the long and triple. Karen Shump of Penncrest had the top shot and discus performances of the day. It really was the Kaitlyn Dugan show at the DON SELTZER TRACK & FIELD RELAYS. The North Penn senior not only won three events, but she posted some very strong marks, putting up the #1 long jump in the state, the #2 high jump by an inch, and the #9 triple jump. At the HARBOR CREEK INVITATIONAL, Ogechi Nwokedi of Oil City won the 400 and 800. Strong Vincent senior LaMont McMilliams was a double champ, taking the 100 and 200. At the HEMPFIELD BLACK KNIGHT INVITATIONAL (D3), Conestoga Valley's Vince McNally set a pair of meet records, ripping a sub-4:18 1600 and holding off Hempfield's Andrew Kontra in the 800. Garden Spot teammates Ross Shober and Liz Martin were double champs in the 100 and 200. The home team girls set meet records in the 4x400 and 4x800, while the guys set a meet record in the 4x800 and won the 4x400. Hempfield's Christi Griffiths set two meet records and tied a 3rd, winning the long, triple and high jumps. Ashley Myer of Oxford took the shot put and the discus. At the SOUTH HILLS CLASSIC @ Baldwin HS, Baldwin sophomore TJ Hobart ran another sub-4:20 for 1600. Hurdler Brice Myers of McDowell won the 110 and 300. Brentwood's Da'Von Moore posted a quick 100. North Allegheny thrower Jade Hambrick won two events, the shot and discus. At the TROJAN TRACK & FIELD CLASSIC, @ Center HS, Derek Moye of Rochester cruised quickly through the 200 and 400 for wins. Denes Veres, Riverside, was a double winner in the shot and discus. Hopewell's Kailey Baker won the 100 and 200, while Monaca's Josh Nadzam captured the 800, 1600 and 3200. At the PACER RELAYS, the Glen Mills guys got in some quick workouts, posting strong times in winning the shuttle hurdles, 4x100, 4x200 4x400 and 1600 sprint medley relays. Methacton's guys ran a strong DMR to outpace Owen J. Roberts. They also held off OJR in the 4x800 by four seconds. The Spring Ford girls won the shuttle hurdles and the sprint medley. At the HORNET INVITATIONAL @ Honesdale HS, East Stroudsburg North's Jon Clouse won two events, taking the long jump and the javelin. Lakeland's Mark Bucklaw posted a solo 4:26.2 in the 1600. Teammate Kyle Pepson ran 1:57.6 in the 800. The Abington Heights girls took the 4x100. Honesdale's Cassie Schweighofer threw the shot 38'+. At the 1ST LADY REDSKINS INVITATIONAL @ Neshaminy HS, Central Bucks West thrower Justine Robertson did just that... and very well... winning three events: the javelin, discus and shot put. The CB West 4x800 ran sub 9:56, and took the 4x400 as well. Council Rock North senior Allison Sikora held off Nazareth's Meghan Lutz in the 3200 by less than two seconds. Ijeoma Iheoma of Council Rock South went 2:17.33 to easily win the 800.  PHOTO GALLERIES + VIDEO OF KRAIS IN SC, GALLERY OF DELCO RELAYS + HURRICANE CLASSIC GALLERY + VID ARE ON!

Shaw Apr 12, 2007

Key athletes and events to watch at Friday and Saturday's Taco Bell Classic in Columbia.

South Carolina\'s Taco Bell Classic looks to be top VA meet of weekend Apr 11, 2007

The 2007 Taco Bell Classic will have one of its largest draws ever of Virginia teams and individuals as this weekend's meet at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina looks to be the meet of the weekend for Virginia, while two states away in the Palmetto State. With big names such as Adams Abdulrazaaq, Tierra Brown, Rachel Butler, Rashaad Cannon, Shakia Forbes, Ashley Gatling, Ethan Nixon, and Nicole Saunders, the state of Virginia should have a very strong presence in the meet with many potential event winners. A complete list of Virginians competing in each event at Taco Bell is now available with a complete performance list and meet preview to come. Update: Heat sheets are now up!