OT: local elite junior....super job by Danai!

[Blakeon18]

Danai Rivers is a 2016'er at Wilbur Cross. This past weekend she won the 800
meters at the New England Championships in Maine. Pretty good right there.
But she set a state record with a time of 2:05.86...lowering the past record set by former Olympian
Liz Mueller. Fantastic!

I did some googling on her and this performance was no fluke....she is a serious track stud...uhh..
along with a GPA [maybe in her soph year?] of 4.36. Triple Yikes!

I could find nothing on her college pursuers but I bet there are tons of 'em.
UConn in the mix? Doubtful imo but I sure hope so.

A time in the 8oo a bit lower than 2 minutes flat would get her fighting for an Olympic spot.
2016 is too soon...but 2020? Go girl!!

 

[VAMike23]

I caught some of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field championships over the weekend on ESPN and immediately thought of one Courtney Okolo, the Texas phenom who ran down the field in a dramatic state high school championship relay a couple years back. (The dramatic video was shared on the 'Yard. LINK )

Unfortunately, Miss Okolo did not compete in Saturday's 400m race due to injury. I was sorely disappointed. I would note that Miss Okolo--a junior at U of Texas--now holds the women's collegiate record in the 400m at 50.03 seconds, which she set LAST year... that's flying! The winner in Saturday's final was around 51.50 or so.

Miss Okolo is a shoe-in to make the US Olympic team in 2016 if she gets over this injury quickly. She is the real deal. A time of 50.03 would have earned her 5th place at London in the open 400m and would have been a virtual dead heat for 2nd place at the US trials. (Second place at the trials was 50.02.) The Olympic gold medal time was 49.55.

Thankfully, her injury does not sound serious as she apparently competed in one of the relays, just not the open 400m which is her specialty.

Below, Miss Okolo is sporting the burnt orange of the Texas Longhorns.... I'm confident we'll soon see her in red, white and blue.

 

[Sonny44]

Let's convert her to something useful.