BIG MARKS in January rolled out in quantity. What will follow as the campaign picks up steam?
Matsatsa 1000 CR
BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA, January 19 — He may be young, but Georgetown yearling Tinoda Matsatsa is eager to make his mark. He did just that at Virginia Tech’s Hokie Invitational, rolling to a Collegiate Record 2:18.05 in the 1000. That took 0.05 off the 2:18.10 standard that Yusuf Bizimana of Texas set a week earlier.
Matsatsa followed the rabbit, teammate Jantz Tostenson, with laps of 27.87 and 26.92 (54.79), then took over with a 28.31 on lap 3 with Hoya junior Abel Teffra on his shoulder (1:23.10–1:23.12). He started pulling away on the penultimate lap of 27.63 (1:50.73), and closed with a 27.32. Matt Wisner of the Oregon TC finished faster (26.99) on the last lap to grab 2nd in 2:18.86, with Teffra (2:19.17) and another Hoya, Matthew Payamps (2:19.37), taking the next two spots.
Said assistant track coach (head XC) Brandon Bonsey, “Tinoda is one of the best young talents in the world. We had four guys break the school record in the 1000 and a fifth barely miss it. I knew this group was ready to do big things but always cool to see it actually happen.”
Matsatsa is now No. 8 in U.S. history. Though still 19, he is no longer eligible for Junior records, as his 20th birthday comes in September.
Nesbitt & Bastien Win USA Multis
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, January 27-28 — Held at the impressive new indoor facilities at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, the USATF Combined Events Championship saw Cheyenne Nesbitt win her first USATF title, while Olympian Steve Bastien defended his crown.
Nesbitt (née Williamson) is in her senior year at Saginaw Valley, where she has won the last three Div. II heptathlon crowns, along with indoor wins in the hurdles, long jump and pentathlon (twice) and the outdoor high jump.
Her 8.43 in the hurdles put her in 4th, 56 points behind favored Annie Kunz (8.18). The high jump turned things around, with Nesbitt scaling a PR 6-0 (1.83) to take the lead by 57. Kunz drew closer in the shot with her 44-7 (13.59) to Nesbitt’s PR 42-9.75 (13.05). In the long jump, Nesbitt was disappointed in her 19-6¾ (5.96), but it kept her 51 points ahead of Kunz (19-2¾/5.86) going into the final event. The 800 was close, Nesbitt finishing in 2:17.41 to Kunz’s 2:17.84, for a…
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