USA vs. The World at Run for the Dream

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?DUI ... 4_13_51_51

Indoor Visa Championship Series to head west with USA vs. The World at Run for the Dream
11-14-2007

Contact:
Jill Geer
Director of Communications
USA Track & Field
317-713-4663
FRESNO, Calif. - The Visa Championship Series, USA Track & Field's signature series of domestic track meets, will include an indoor stop in California for the first time next Martin Luther King Day (Monday, January 21) when USA vs. the World at Run for The Dream kicks off the 2008 Indoor Visa Championship Series.

The USA vs. The World event will feature top U.S. and international athletes competing in seven individual events each for men and women, plus the 4x400m relay, in a scored, team competition. Team USA athletes will take on a squad of International All-Stars in the first team-scored meet in Visa Championship Series history.

First held in 2006, Run for the Dream will take place at the Save Mart Center on the campus of Fresno State University. A new, 160-yard track is being built specifically for the facility and will make its international debut at Run for the Dream, a meet organized and directed by USATF's 2003 Nike Coach of the Year and Fresno State head coach Bob Fraley.

"Since the Visa Championship Series began in 1999, we have been looking for our best strategic opportunity to have a leg of the indoor series in California," said USATF CEO Craig Masback. "When Coach Fraley started Run for the Dream, we immediately recognized it as the chance we had been searching for. His history of staging successful events and drawing top talent makes this a great opportunity to join forces."

In addition to his long history of success at Fresno State, Fraley has served as chair of men's pole vault development for USATF. In 1989 he created the Pole Vault Summit, now held in Reno, Nevada. Featuring competitions and an exchange of knowledge about pole vaulting, the event each year attracts more than 2,000 male and female athletes, from teen-agers to Olympic gold medalists.

Run for the Dream this year will feature three meets on MLK Day, from high school through professional. The morning session will stage a four-way meet between Fresno State, Hawaii, Cal Poly, and Cal State-Stanislaus. In the afternoon, a high school "dream team" showdown will be followed by USA vs. The World. In addition to the relays, events to be contested at USA vs. The World include men's and women's 55m, 55m hurdles, 600 yards, pole vault and long jump; men also will contest the mile and shot put while the women have the 800m and high jump.

"We are excited to team up with USA Track & Field to make Run for the Dream a world-class event," said Fraley. "For years people have seen these Visa Championship Series meets on television, but you had to travel east to see this kind of event in person. To have a meet like those here in our community is just awesome."

For more information on Run for the Dream, Coach Fraley and Fresno State track and field, visit gobulldogs.com.

About the Visa Championship Series

Now in its 10th year, The Visa Championship Series is a prestigious series of USA Track & Field competitions featuring top track & field athletes from Team USA, the World's #1 Track Team, as they prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games. It brings the speed, strength, excitement and fun of track & field directly to fans around the country, allowing them to experience it all first-hand.

In addition to providing more than $1 million in prize money and athlete-support dollars, the Visa Championship Series crowns the male and female athlete with the top overall performance in the Visa Championship Series as Visa Champions. The men's and women's Visa Champion each receive bonus money.The full schedule for the 2008 Visa Championship Series will be announced soon. For more information, visit http://www.visachampionshipseries.com .

[Vault Chick]

So, the way I took it with the article on the Fresno website was that you have to be picked to vault for the high school segment??? You can't just try to sign up, and maybe get a chance to compete?

[rainbowgirl28]

So, the way I took it with the article on the Fresno website was that you have to be picked to vault for the high school segment??? You can't just try to sign up, and maybe get a chance to compete?

It's a very selective meet, but I think that is talking about the elite portion. I am not sure if there is a high school section.

[Vault Chick]

Yeah, the high school meet is in the afternoon after the college one.

[pvgrl09]

haha.. this whole deal looks pretty cool?!?!?

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/sports/story/226086.html

Atascadero High senior pole vaulter A.J. Teunissen has been selected to compete in the scholastic pole vault competition at the Run for the Dream In-door Track Meet hosted by Fresno State on Jan. 21.

Teunissen reached the CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet last year and has a personal best of 15 feet, 1 inch. His mark of 15-0 last season was the fourth best in the state for a prep junior.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.fresnobee.com/sports/story/284625.html

Olympians add prestige to the Dream
By Gary Estwick / The Fresno Bee
12/22/07 22:59:42






Olympic gold medalists Allen Johnson and Stacy Dragila headline a list of professionals invited to compete in the Run for the Dream Indoor Track Meet on Jan. 21 at the Save Mart Center.

Other athletes invited to the meet, part of the Visa Championship Series, include Virginia Powell, a two-time U.S. Outdoor champion in the 100-meter hurdles, and Bershawn Jackson, 2005 World Outdoor champion in the 400 hurdles. Professional athletes will compete in the third meet of the day, pitting some of America's best against international competition. The meet also will include high school and college divisions.

Bob Fraley, track and field coach at Fresno State, said he plans to finalize the list of participating athletes by Dec. 30.

Johnson, one of 55 invited athletes, placed seventh at the 2007 U.S. Outdoor Championships. Over the past 10 years, his accomplishments have made him the best American hurdler in World Championships history. He is an 11-time U.S. champion and seven-time World champion. In 1996, he won an Olympic gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles.

Dragila, a native of Auburn, is credited with popularizing the women's pole vault. She earned a gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games, the first time the event was added. She is a 17-time U.S. champion and three-time World champion.

[rainbowgirl28]

http://www.hanfordsentinel.com/articles ... 855754.txt

Track stars to gather in Fresno
By Sentinel Sports Staff
FRESNO -- Athletes from high school, college and international levels will compete in the second Run for the Dream meet, which is scheduled for Monday at the Save Mart Center.

The unique indoor competition, which took a hiatus after its inaugural year in 2006, is designed to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., recognize track and field stars of the past, and showcase stars of the present and the future.

Olympic gold medalists Dwight Phillips and Allen Johnson will be among those competing.

Phillips, who won a gold medal in the long jump at Athens in 2004, will compete in the 55-meter dash Monday. Johnson, the 110-meter high hurdles champion at the Atlanta Games of 1996, will be in action in the 55-meter hurdles.

"The meet is meant to re-ignite the spirit and excitement of the old West Coast Relays,'' Fresno State track and field coach Bob Fraley said in a news release. "'The Run for the Dream' will help build back the tradition of the San Joaquin Valley. This massive event will help bring track and field back to the highest level.''

Fraley, who attended Hanford's Hardwick Elemen-tary School and Lemoore High, won 13 championships in 15 seasons as Tigers track coach before moving on to Fresno State.

His current Bulldogs squad includes former Hanford West High sprinter Charles Williams. But Williams won't run Monday, as Fresno State does not field a men's indoor team because of Title IX restrictions.

Yet current Huskies sprint star Vontrail Love is scheduled to run the 55-meter dash. The junior will be competing for a Central California all-star team, which will square off with squads from Southern California and Northern California.

The South coaching staff will include J.W. North's Charles Leathers, a former Hanford High star.

The event will begin at 10:45 a.m. with the women's indoor teams of Fresno State, Hawaii, Cal Poly, and Cal State Stanislaus squaring off. High school teams will compete in the "Dream Team Championships" starting at 5 p.m., and the Visa Championship Series USA vs. the World event is slated for 6:45 p.m.

The USA vs. the World meet will feature athletes from 13 nations -- some of them Olympians and former national champions.

World 400-meter champion Breshawn Jackson will be part of a stellar field for the 600-yard race. The field will also include American 800-meter star Khadevis Robinson as well as Jamaicans Michael Blackwood and Sherridan Kirk in a race that could produce a world record.

In other USA vs. the World events:

Women's 55 dash: Carmelita Jeter and former Fresno State star Angela Daigle will represent the USA against the World's Shandria Brown (Bahamas) and Natasha Mayers (St. Vincent and the Grenadines).

Women's 55 hurdles: Americans Candace Davis and Damu Cherry against Jamaica's Vonette Dixon and Canada's Priscilla Lopes.

Women's 800: Sherron Rhetta and Kim Gildersleeve of the USA vs. Greada's Neisha Bernard-Thomas and Great Britain's Roseline Abroke in the 800.

Women's pole vault: Americans Jillian Schwartz and Nikole McEwen vs. Ikuko Nishikori of Japan and Dana Ellis-Buller of Canada.

Women's long jump: Jenny Adams and Tameshia King representing USA vs. Saeko Okayama of Japan and Elva Goulbourne of Jamaica.

Women's high jump: Americans Sharon D ay and Amy Acuff vs. Mireya Beltran of Mexico and Gaelle Niare of France. Acuff is a three-time Olympian.

Men's 55 dash: Phillips and Josh Norman of the USA vs. Jamaica's Lerone Clark and Nigeria's Adetoyi Duotoye.

Men's 55 hurdles: USA's Johnson and Aubrey Herring vs. Charles Allen of Canada and Decosma Wright of Jamaica.

Men's mile: Americans Said Ahmed and Michael Stembe vs. Mexico's Mario Macias and Canada's Ryan McKenzie.

Men's pole vault: Giovanni Lanaro of Mexico and Taquro Mori of Japan vs. Americans Russ Buller and Tommy Skipper.

Men's long jump: Tony Allmond and John Moffit of the USA vs. Haiti's Narc Narcisse and Bermuda's Tyrone Smith.

Men's shot put: American shot putters Reese Joffa and Dan Taylor vs. Om Prakash of India and Dorian Scott of Jamaica.

Tickets for Run for the Dream, priced at $15 for adults and $5 for children, are good for both the high school and professional meets, while the collegiate event in the morning requires a separate ticket.

[master]

This meet will be webcast for free. Go to http://www.usatf.sportnet.com/ to access it. Hopefully they will have time for the pole vault.

- master

[bjvando]

anyone hear of any results?

[rainbowgirl28]

anyone hear of any results?

The elites haven't started yet. That section of the meet is supposed to start at 6:45pm, not sure if men or women are first.

[jcoover]

anything yet?