USATF Championships Preview - Women's Steeplechase

EDITOR'S NOTE: AnnGaff and LesleyHiggins are writing these previews for the USA Track & Field Championships, taking place this weekend in Eugene, OR, based on their firsthand Track & Field experience.  Gaffigan and Higgins competed against each other in college, with Gaffigan representing the Nebraska Huskers and Higgins representing the Colorado Buffs. Both women competed last year in the 3000m Steeplechase at the Olympic Trials.  This year, the two are spectators-from-afar of the USATF Championships/World Team Trials; Higgins is out with a broken foot and Gaffigan gave birth to a baby girl in May.

Women's Steeplechase:

Prelim: Friday, June 26 at 7:20pm
Final: Sunday, June 28 at 1:14pm 

Top 10 entry marks:

Jennifer Barringer 9:22.26
Anna Willard 9:22.76
Lindsey Anderson 9:30.75
Nicole Bush 9:39.38
Lisa Galaviz 9:40.02
Lindsay Allen 9:40.83
Marie Lawrence 9:40.98
Bridget Franek 9:43.57
Kara June 9:49.56
Amanda Lorenzen 9:49.74

OK, if I had written this preview another day, I may have picked Barringer for the win.  Willard and Barringer are so close in fitness, it is hard to say one is better than the other.  Last year at Trials, Willard set the American Record and won convincingly.  Over in Europe a few weeks later, the two finished almost dead-even....except for Barringer's slight lean that gave her the win and the new American Record.  Both women made it to the Olympic Final, with Barringer running 9:22.26 to lower the American Record yet again.

This year, both women have shown that their 2008 seasons were no fluke, nor were they satisfactory.  Willard has been working on her speed and it's shown as she won the USA Indoor 1500m title, the B.A.A. Mile, and the 800m at the Reebok Grand Prix in a world-leading time of 1:59.29.  Barringer has been breaking collegiate records in the 3000m (indoor) and 5000m (indoor and outdoor), showing that she has been working on her strength.

But then at the Prefontaine Classic a couple weeks ago, Barringer stunned the field and the track world by almost leaning out winner Geleta Burka from Ethiopia and running 3:59.90, becoming only the 4th American woman to dip under the 4-minute barrier in the 1500m distance. Willard placed 4th in the same race in 4:01.44. So who has speed now?

The way these two race, Willard is due for a win.  When one wins, the other gets the competitive juices flowing enough to take victory the next time the meet.  That seems to be the pattern.  So I'm giving this one to Willard.  Both women are doubling--Willard is also in the 1500m and Barringer is in the 5000m, which is only 30 minutes after the steeplechase, so I'm guessing it's a fall-back plan in case she falls in the steeple or gets DQ'd for some reason.  Hey trust me, it happens.

And the 3rd spot?  I'm going with sentimental favorite (i.e. good friend) Lisa Galaviz. My pick really has nothing to do with our friendship and everything to do with the fact that she was the American Record holder until Willard broke it at Trials last year, is the only other woman in the field besides Willard and Barringer to have broken the 9:30 barrier, and appears to be on the comeback after a disappointing 2008 season.  She ran 9:40.02 to a solo win at the Jim Bush Invitational a couple weeks ago.  It appears that her coaching-change is finally giving her its intended results, after a period of transition through the indoor and early-outdoor seasons.  Though Nicole Bush has a slightly faster time this season, it is a quicker road to old form than it is to new form, so I'm going to give the third spot to Galaviz, who seems well on her way to her 2007 self.

Check out this video of Barringer and Willard, going neck and neck to the finish and both dipping under the AR last July:

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

What the heck is the steeplechase, you say?  Check out www.SteepleChics.com, another sentimental favorite ;)

USATF Championships Schedule, Results & Quotes

USATF Championships Day 1 Recap

USATF Championships Day 2 Recap

USATF Championships Day 3 Recap

USATF Championships Day 4 Recap

More USATF Championships Previews:

• Discus
• Hammer
• High Jump
• Javelin
• Long Jump
• Pole Vault
• Triple Jump
• Shot Put
• Heptathlon
• 100m
• 100m Hurdles
• 200m
• 400m
• 400m Hurdles
• 800m
• 1500m
• 3000m Steeplechase
• 5000m
• 10,000m

Watch the USATF Championships:

On TV:

ESPN, June 26, 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. ET
ESPN, June 27, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. ET
NBC, June 28, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. ET

Online:

LIVE All Weekend at Flotrack.org

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