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USA TRACK & FIELD NEWS & NOTES

Vol. 1, Number 12 - April 27, 2000

Drake Relays Preview
The 91st running of the Drake Relays will take place April 28-29 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, with a record number of athletes scheduled to compete. Drake officials report that a record 9,166 athletes, representing 791 teams will participate in the Relays.

The multi-event portion of this year's Relays began yesterday with Kamau Sullivan from Indianapolis taking the first-day lead with a career-best tally of 4,006 points. Jeff Sander is second with 3,909 points, with Kip Janvrin, seeking his sixth consecutive and 11th overall Drake title, in third place with 3,878.

Last year Janvrin, who is known for a stronger second day, trailed Sullivan by nine points after the first day and ended up beating him by 556. Janvrin, who currently trains Sander and is a former tutor for Sullivan, told the Associated Press that he still expects to win. "The guys ahead of me are guys I've worked with. I know what they can do," he said. "I just need to be within eyesight of them in the 1,500 and I'll be OK. Nobody can beat me in the 1,500.

Ehrhart Steps Down as Relays Director
On March 20 of this year, Bob Ehrhart announced that this year's event, his 31st as the director of the Drake Relays, will be his last. However, he will remain on as a consultant for the 2001 Drake Relays.

In holding the longest tenure of any of the previous nine directors of the Drake Relays, Ehrhart has expanded the event from 49 events to the current 97 events that will be contested this weekend. The Relays have remained a huge draw during his term as director, having sold out the Saturday session 34 years in a row, the longest string of any track meet in the world.

While Ehrhart is known as a huge part of the event's success, he is quick to give credit to others. "I'm just one single spoke in the wheel," he said. "We have a lot of people who volunteer. We have a lot of helpers. We couldn't do it without them. I will always cherish the many officials and volunteers that made it possible."

Beginning this year, the university-college pole vault at Drake will be renamed in honor of Ehrhart to recognize his contributions. Ehrhart cleared 13 feet 6 inches in the vault at Drake as a Northwestern sophomore in 1954.

USATF CEO Craig Masback and other dignitaries will be on hand Thursday night to honor Ehrhart at a banquet at the Drake Knapp Center in Des Moines.

Little Sidelined With Stress Fracture
One of Iowa's favorite sons, Kevin Little, will not be one of the participants at this year's Drake Relays. Little, who finished sixth in the 200 meters at the 1999 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Seville, Spain, has suffered a stress fracture in his left foot.

A native of Ankeny, Iowa, and a 1990 Drake graduate, Little finished the '99 campaign with his best-ever U.S. ranking. Track & Field News ranked Little third in the U.S. at 200 meters behind Maurice Greene and Michael Johnson, and he also finished the season ranked ninth in the world. Earlier in the year, Little tied the American record of 20.32 while finishing third in the 200 meters at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Maebashi, Japan.

"It's a big disappointment for me," said Little. "The injury happened from training over a couple week period, and I thought it was just tendonitis. It gradually got worse so we had it x-rayed and the fracture showed up clearly. It's starting to feel pretty good now and I'm walking around with no pain. I expect to start running easy in about two weeks."

Little, who hopes to start competing again in June, is no stranger to injuries. He suffered a torn Achilles in 1993 that caused him to miss the entire 1994 campaign.

Top Entries
As always at the Drake Relays, a number of America's finest athletes will be on hand to perform in front of an always-enthusiastic sell-out crown in Des Moines. Featured athletes include Suzy Favor Hamilton who is continuing her comeback following an Achilles tendon injury that sidelined her for the majority of last season. The two-time Olympian who was ranked #1 in the U.S. at 1500 meters in 1998, ran the fastest 5000 meters in the world this year with a clocking of 15:06.48 on March 18 in Long Beach, Calif. Suzy is entered in the women's special invitational 1,500 meters at Drake.

The 1993 silver medalist in the 400 meters at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Stuttgart, Natasha Brown, formerly known as Kaiser-Brown, returns to the Drake Relays where she enjoyed tremendous success as a prep. A two-time Olympian who captured a silver medal as a member of the U.S. 4x400-meter relay team in 1992, Brown was named outstanding prep athlete at the 1985 Drake Relays after winning the high school 100 meter title. In 1984, Brown anchored Roosevelt (Des Moines) High School's 4x100-meter relay team to victory, along with capturing the high school 100 meter title.

Known as one of America's finest shot putters of all-time, Connie Price-Smith returns to the Drake Relays after ending the 1999 season ranked #7 in the world. A three-time Olympian, Smith, 37, claims this will be her final year as a competitor. An almost certain Hall of Famer following her retirement, Price-Smith has been ranked #1 in the U.S. in the shot put the last 10 years. Her best effort of 62-6.50 was the top mark by an American and fifth best mark in the world last season. Along with finishing fifth at the 1996 Olympics and the 1997 World Outdoor Championships in Athens, Price-Smith set the Drake Stadium record for the third time at last year's Relays with a best of 60-8.75.

One of the hottest new events in track and field, the women's pole vault, will be featured Saturday as Kellie Suttle shoots for her third consecutive win at Drake. Ranked third in the U.S. last year, Suttle won at Drake last year with a clearance of 13-11. In addition to placing second at the U.S. Outdoor Championships in Eugene last year, Suttle also set a new PR of 14-7.50. Suttle faces stiff competition from Kim Becker who finished the 1999 campaign ranked fourth in the U.S. by Track & Field News. Becker, who finished second to Suttle last year at Drake, set a personal best of 13-9.25 last season. She finished tied for fourth at last year's U.S. Outdoor Championships.

This year's Drake Relays will also feature America's best male pole vaulter Jeff Hartwig who will be seeking his sixth consecutive special invitational pole vault title. The indoor and outdoor American recordholder, Hartwig has been ranked #1 in the U.S., and #2 in the world the last two years. Hartwig, who believes he'll be the first American to break the 20-foot barrier, set the American outdoor record of 19-9 at last year's USA Outdoor Championships in Eugene. Hartwig placed second at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships in setting the American indoor record of 19-6.25.

An eight-time NCAA All-American, middle-distance competitor Paul McMullen returns to Drake where he was named the outstanding performer of the men's division in 1995 as a senior after winning the university-college division 1,500 meters and anchoring the winning Eastern Michigan 4x1,600-meter relay team. McMullen, who will compete in the men's special invitational mile on Saturday, captured the USA Indoor mile title with a PR of 3:55.81 in 1998.

Joey Woody also returns to the Drake Relays this year to defend his title in the special 400-meter hurdles. A finalist at the 1999 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Seville, Spain, Woody had the third fastest time in the world last year of 47.97. A graduate of Northern Iowa, Woody was named the 1994 Drake Relays outstanding men's performer in 1994. Woody ended the 1999 campaign ranked #2 in the U.S. and #6 in the world by Track & Field News.

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