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Running Shots |  |
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Hammond High School Indiana - Spring 1975 |
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Before 1975, no high school in the country had produced a pair of sub-nine-minute 2-Mile teammates in one year. Hammond High School, in Indiana, had 3 turn up the same week!!! On May 1st, Carey Pinkowski ran an 8:56.2. It was the 2nd fastest time in the nation. On May 3rd, Rudy Chapa races an 8:52.5 (first mile: 4:19.3!), with Tim Keough at his heels in 8:52.8!! Suddenly, Hammond had the #1 the #2 and the #4 high school 2-Milers in the nation at that time in May. The 3 Wildcats were (L-R) Junior, Chapa (1) & seniors Keough (2) and Pinkowski (4)!!! (Two weeks later Chapa would run an 8:51.0). Keough exploded during the spring, between April 9th and May 3rd he lowered his PR from 9:25 to 8:52.8!! (Link: "The Magic of Maywood Park") |
Coach Dan Candiano |
Hammond High School had no indoor track or an outdoor track.... There was Maywood Park. |
At Maywood Park, Coach Candiano had his runners train there, where one lap is three-quarters of a mile, sometimes through ice, snow and or mud. Candiano employed rugged two-a-day workouts, averaging 6-10 miles of fartlek in the mornings... The afternoon workouts would vary from week to week but essentially, Chapa was on a steady diet of intervals; one-lappers (1320yards), one-mile or three-miles, followed by fartlek, while regularly training through meets and running home from them (often 10-15 miles) as a warm down. Three or four nights a week, the boys would run 20 50-yard sprints or two sets of four quarters, under 60 seconds each, a "fresh pace" between quarters and a two minute rest between sets (always moving). |
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In 1976, Hammond distance legend, Rudy Chapa made two attempts to Qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials at 10,000 meters. March 26, Gainesville, Fla. - The Florida Relays - 10,000 meters The next effort... |
Anatomy of a Prep record: The 10,000 meters (25 laps) Accomplished by, 5'8"/138-pounder, Rodolfo "Rudy" Chapa Jr. Hammond High School -Class of '76. April 23-24 (Saturday, 24th) 1976, The 76th Drake Relays, Des Moines, Ia. Courtesy of Christopher Thiem |
A constant slow rain fell on the shivering sellout crowd of 15,566.... Nearing the end of the morning events,10:40 am, the rain had stopped & the air was cool..... Excellent conditions for a 10,000... |
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(L, 4½ laps), Wisconsin's Mark Johnson tows the stellar field past the mile marker -including Indiana high school sensation Rudy Chapa (4:33). |
| (8½ laps), Rudy Chapa maintains contact with the leaders as Garry Bjorklund led the field past two-miles (9:04.2). |  |
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(11½ laps), Nearing three miles (3M passed in 13:40.8), the fearless Chapa slips right in with the lead group... |
| A mile later (15½ laps), 4M passed in 18:16.8, while the leaders scuffle at the front, Rudy Chapa stays with them... |  |
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(20½ laps), Chapa is still there... as Bjorklund led the older veterans & precocious schoolboy past five miles in 22:57.5... |
With 2 laps to go, Ed Mendoza (Arizona) burst into the lead... |
(R) 23½ laps- 660 yards to go... Mendoza built a ten yard lead... and held it. Chapa is "fifth," establishing the famed record. 1) Mendoza ....... 28:23.2 First 6 finishers under Olympic qualifying standard of 28:40.0. |
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Rodolfo Chapa of Hammond Indiana congratulates his son Rudy after the record setting race. |
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Chapa’s HSR was also an American Junior Record (under age 20)... it reigned 29 years... On May 7, 2005, at the Oregon Twilight Meet, Galen Rupp (Oregon) broke Chapa's U.S. junior record for 10,000m with a time of 28:15.51. As a Central Catholic HS senior, Rupp broke Gerry Lindgren’s 40-year old U.S. high school record for 5,000m by almost seven seconds, running 13:37.91 (July 31 in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium). |
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June 19, 1976 United States Olympic Trials @ Eugene Oregon |
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Certified Indiana legend, Hammond distance star, Rudy Chapa races @ 1976 Olympic Trials -10,000 meters. Photos courtesy/available at: runmoremiles.com |
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They pushed each other to some fast high school times in 1999. Waged a monster indoor 2-Mile battle. Sanchez 8:49.60 to Powell's 8:50.29!! |
Andy Powell (Ames, Ma) Powell was the nations top miler in 99 with a 4:02.7. Powell led 2 events as a junior- 3:47.37/1500 & 9:01.49/ 2M |
Franklyn Sanchez (Lynn Tech, Ma) Sanchez led 2 events in 1999. 8:51.83/3200 & the 5000m with a 14:24.31. At Georgetown, Sanchez set (a then) AJR for 5000m with a 13:38.39. |
An in depth look back at this epic race..... |
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Galen Rupp (Central Catholic, OR). Running for records seemed to be the norm for the Portland, Ore., native. Rupp nailed a big one -smashed the American junior(AJR) & U.S. high school 5,000 m record with a 13:37.91 in Heusden, BEL(7/31/04). Rupp, bettered the HSR of 13:44.00 set in 1964 by Gerry Lindgren. He also bettered the AJR of 13:38.39 set in 2001 by Franklyn Sanchez of Georgetown. The prep athlete of the year also ran a 4:01.8-Mile, 8:03.67-3000m(= 8:40 2M) & 29:09.56-10k. Stayed in Oregon. |
A. J. Acosta ( El Camino, CA) The "05" Foot Locker Nat'l x-c champ continued his winning ways outdoors focusing on the 1500/Mile. Acosta went 3:45.73/1500 & 4:03.96 / Mile. A.J. won the NON 2 Mile in his only serious attempt at the distance with a fine 8:46.32. Traveled north to Oregon. |
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Galen Rupp (174) arrives at Oregon(05) during the first week of spring classes for the outdor season and after a little more than a month- he sets the U.S. Junior record for 10,000meters @ Oregon Twilight, May 7, 2005 with a time of 28:15.52 & it is only the second time Rupp has run the event. 4/20/07 -EUGENE, OR- On the homestretch, Rupp passes reigning NCAA champion Chris Solinsky (Wisconsin), who falls forward at the line in a 5,000-meter race @ Oregon Invite. Rupp's time (13:30.49), breaks a three-year-old personal best from his post-prep summer European race in 2004(13:37.91), and the time also moves him to sixth all-time for UO, Bill McChesney still owns the all-time Duck best of 13:14.80 from 1982. 4/29/07-STANFORD, Calif- The Oregon junior Er-RUPPS (375, TFN) by winning the Cardinal Invitational 10,000m (27:33.48) and rewrote the American collegiate and UO school records (27:38.50 / 27:50.82). The Portland, Ore., native's time also moved him to seventh all-time in U.S history and improved on his former best of 28:15.52 from the 2005 Oregon Twilight (AJR). |
