College Notebook: From Berkeley to Seattle, change of scenery good for Schmitt

Great update on former Redwood HS (NCS) star Jake Schmitt

WHEN Jake Schmitt arrived in the Pacific Northwest on New Year's Day of 2007, he had to wonder whether his decision to transfer to the University of Washington's track program from Cal was really such a good idea.

Hospitalized the night before he left with tonsillitis, Schmitt threw up on his flight to Seattle, and when he arrived on campus, it was snowing. Needless to say, the Redwood High graduate was having some second thoughts.

"At that point, there were a million things going through my mind, but mainly it was, 'What am I doing here?'" Schmitt said with a chuckle. "But I just kept smiling and kept my head up."

To read the rest of this article, check out the following link:
•College Notebook: From Berkeley to Seattle, change of scenery good for Schmitt

Northern California teams and individuals shine at Arcadia

Check out the results at the following link (more excitement to come today):
•Arcadia Results

SJ Mercury News/SF Chronicle Athletes of the Week

Lynbrook's Eric Surprenant gets this week's award following another impressive performance over the really long hurdles race (full 400m.) at the Stanford Invitational.

You can view the article at the following link:
•Eric Surprenant, Lynbrook - San Jose Mercury News

Ashton Purvis of St. Elizabeth gets the Athlete of the Week honors in the San Francisco Chronicle:
•Athletes of the Week

ALSO, Oak Grove middle distance ace, Sebastian Sam, gets a mention in the Highlight reel in the SJ Mercury for his impressive 400m. victory:
•Highlight reel

If you know of other newspaper links for Northern California Track and Field athletes, please send them to albertjcaruana@gmail.com

Track and Field Newspaper Coverage

•Irish, Hamilton turn in personal bests at Stanford (Half Moon Bay coverage)

•Petaluma distance medley team records fastest time in the state

•4/9 dual meets coverage in Santa Rosa Press Democrat

•Running's elite (Hollister Freelance coverage)

•Grillo off to the steeplechases (ex Novato High runner)

•St. Francis boys basketball coach resigning (Steve Filios, ex track coach)

•Track dominates meet against Monta Vista (Milpitas HS)

•Trio leads Los Altos team; Mtn. View sweeps Milpitas

Arcadia Invitational article in SF Chronicle

Check out the article with a brief listing of Bay Area competitors:
Arcadia Invitational

Top Track and Field marks for CCS, NCS and SJS updated

Thanks to Hank Lawson and Keith Conning, you can view the top marks for the Central Coast Section (CCS), North Coast Section (NCS) and San Joaquin Section (SJS).

You can view the top CCS marks at the following link:
•CCS Top Marks List - 2008

For the NCS and SJS marks, you can find it on Keith Conning's Website at the following link:
•THE CONNING TOWER (scroll down slightly)

If anybody has the top marks for the Northern Section, San Francisco Section and the Oakland Section, please forward them along.

Passion for sports

Joey Villasenor couldn't have selected a better role model than the late Steve Prefontaine, a former Olympic track athlete who also was a star in college.

"I really look up to Steve Prefontaine," said Villasenor, a Lindhurst High athlete who is participating in five sports in this, his senior year. "Looking at films about him, I've seen his passion for running, and I have that same passion, too."

Prefontaine won three national cross country titles and four 3-mile/5,000-meter collegiate outdoor titles while running for the University of Oregon. He went on to compete in the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, finishing fourth in the 5,000 meters. At the time of his tragic death in 1975, he held every American distance record from 2,000 to 10,000 meters.

Villasenor reveres Prefontaine so much that he lives his life by a quote attributed to Prefontaine — "Anything less than your best is sacrificing the gift."

And Villasenor has the gift. Make that gifts.

To read the rest of this article, check out the following link:
•Passion for sports

Stanford Invitational newspaper coverage for Northern California teams

•Paly relay team earns major title (Daily News, peninsula teams)
•Dublin's Attarian wins at Stanford
•PREP TRACK: St. Elizabeth sprinter ties national mark (SF Chronicle)
•Don's Kujore wins shot put at Stanford (East Bay teams)
•Jake Schmitt runs second-fastest time (scroll down)
•Stanford Invitational (Santa Rosa Press Democrat coverage)
•Track and Field (scroll down for mention of several peninsula teams)
•Track and Field (Sammy Hamilton and Ganbileg Bor)
•STANFORD INVITATIONAL, Wright jumps, wins, bolts (SF Chronicle)
•Sprinters are a who's who of prep football (SF Chronicle)
•Track: Benecia starts strong

Please share links to any newspaper coverage I may have missed.

The Secrets of Speed by Bill Bowerman (1971)

Check out this great article from a August 2nd, 1971 Sports Illustrated written by the legendary Oregon coach, Bill Bowerman (pictured to the left with his star pupil, Steve Prefontaine). He describes all the elements of proper running form that are still true this day.

You can find the article at the following link:
•THE SECRETS OF SPEED

If you want to learn more about Bowerman, a true pioneer in coaching, you should definitely read Bowerman and the Men of Oregon. You can find it at the link below at amazon.com:

Harra Marra to be inducted into the SFSU Hall of Fame

I was fortunate to attend San Francisco State University while Harry Marra was the head Track and Field/Cross Country coach and was his track and field manager. I had no idea what an education I would get in coaching from one of the best technical coaches in the United States. While I was a distance runner in high school, I was able to learn about ALL the events from Harry and apply what I learned to starting the track and field team at Crystal Springs Uplands in 2002.

Harry is now focusing his efforts in the decathlon with one of the top decathletes, Paul Terek. The hall of fame election is a well deserved recognition for a great coach.

To read more about Harry and his athlete and one of his articles, check out the following link:
•Hall of Fame (Scroll down)

•Paul Terek profile

•Strength Training For Speed Development