Putting on a track meet is no easy task. It’s the details that kill you. Jesse Williams, the Brooks Sports Marketing Manager, loves the sport, like
his parallels at other footwear companies. Without men and women like Jesse, our sport would cease to exist. Footwear companies sponsor athletes sponsor events on the roads, in cross country, and track and field.
The key to making a successful event and branding it is to find or develop an event that keeps with your brand’s philosophy and message. For footwear companies, sponsoring high school events should be a no-brainer, with 1.6 million 14-19-year-olds in high school cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track & field in 2010.
The challenges are dealing with the various state federations and their rules, which are to protect young athletes, but, in some cases, hinder them from competitions that might make sense for them.
That Brooks put on this meet within two months is a fact. That they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams is this observers’ opinion. It is, along with NB Indoor & Outdoor and NXN, the type of events that our sport needs and that nurture some of our brightest future stars. Brooks PR Invitational has found its place is in the high school sports pantheon. And they did it in their first year!
Consider these facts: In year one, the event had seven number-one marks in the nation for 2011 and seven number-twos! In the girl’s 60 meters, won by Deserea Bryant in 7.26, the event had the number 1 and number five performances for 2011. In the Girl’s 60m hurdles, won by Kendell William in 8.51, we had the number 2, 5, 8, and 10th best performances of 2011! In the 400 meters, a gutty Courtney Okoio lead the nation in 54.26, with the number 2, 5, and 9 performances for 2011!
And it just got better! In the 800 meters, Shelby Houlihan won by three seconds in 2:08.59, the number two time of 2011, and second place was the number six time for 2011!
The girls mile was fantastic, as junior Ajee Wilson, in a tight pack, lead ten girls under 5:00! Ajee ran 4:49.48 for the fastest mile of 2011. But behind her were the number 3,5,7,9 and tenth best miles for 2011!
The most exciting race of the day was the girls’ two-mile. Erin Finn took the field through the mile in 5:08, and the race was on, with the field all together until the penultimate lap. As Erin Finn started to drop back just a bit, Kayla Beattie took the lead and looked poised for a win. Unknown to her, Welsey Frazier was making…
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