This Day in Track & Field–May 7
1898—Yale’s Raymond Clapp set an American Record of 11-6 (3.50) in the Pole Vault on his home field in New Haven. Clapp was the IC4A Champion in 1898 and 1899.
1904—Vassar’s Fanny James set an American Record of 13.0 in the 100-yard dash at the school’s annual field day in Poughkeepsie,NY.
1966—Track & Field News called it “The greatest performance in the history of track & field” after San Jose State’s Tommie Smith ran 19.5 on the straightaway at an All-Comers meet on his home track to set World Records for both 200-Meters and 220-Yards. The magazine used the Portugese Scoring Tables, which assigned points to performances across all events, as the basis for its claim.
1976—Among the winners at the Heptagonal Championships in Kingston,RI (May 7-8) were Princeton’s Craig Masback (1500/3:51.3), Penn’s Dave Merrick, who edged Army’s Curt Alitz in the 5000 (14:04.0 for both), Penn’s Harold Schwab in both hurdles (14.3/52.0), and Harvard’s Mel Embree in the High Jump (7-3 [2.21]). Penn won the team title in a runaway, beating Navy, 83-1/3-40.
The PA announcer for the meet was none other than ESPN’s Chris Berman, who was a junior at Brown University at the time!
Berman: https://brownbears.com/honors/hall-of-fame/christopher-j-berman/124
https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/chris-berman/
1978—American Records were set at the Pepsi Inv. at UCLA by James Butts in the Triple Jump (56-5 ½ [17.21]) and Patty van Wolvelaere in the 100-meter hurdles (13.21). Finishing 2nd to Butts was future Hall-of-Famer Willie Banks
(55-11 ¼ [17.05]).
In a battle of future greats, UCLA’s Greg Foster won the 110-hurdles with a personal best time of 13.34, narrowly beating Maryland freshman Renaldo Nehemiah, who set a World Junior Record of 13.37 (since broken).
Other notable winners in this high-class meet were Washington State’s Henry Rono (3000-7:43.0), UCLA’s Evelyn Ashford (200-23.00), Al Feuerbach (SP:68-11 ¼ [21.01]), Mac Wilkins (DT: 227-11 [69.46?]), Francie Larrieu (mile-4:31.0), and Joni Huntley (HJ: 6-2 [1.88]).
1988–Jackie Joyner-Kersee ran 12.70 in Modesto, California, to break Gail Devers’ American Record (12.71) in the 100-meter hurdles.
2005—A day before he turned 19, Galen Rupp ran 28:15.52 for 10,000-meters at the Twilight meet in Eugene to break the official American Junior Record of 28:32.7, set by Indiana prep Rudy Chapa (Hammond H.S.) in 1976. Rupp’s mark was intrinsically inferior to the time that 19-year old Gerry Lindgren, a freshman at Washington State at the time, ran for 6-miles at the 1965 U.S. Championships. He lost a photo-finish to Billy Mills in that race, but both were given credit for a World Record of 27:11.6.
On the other side of the country, the current AJR in the Women’s 10,000 was set by Harvard frosh Lindsey Scherf, who ran 32:51.20 while finishing 2nd at the Heptagonal/Ivy League Championships at Columbia University. The previous mark of 32:52.5 was set 26 years earlier (1979) by Mary Shea, a senior at Cardinal Gibbons H.S.(NC).
Scherf: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindsey_Scherf
2015—Sophomore Madison Wiltrout (Connellville,PA) threw the Javelin 185-8 (56.59) in North Huntington(PA) to set the current U.S. High School and American Junior Records. That remained her personal best until she threw 187-4 (57.11) on April 15, 2022!
She suffered an elbow injury at the 2015 PA state meet that required “Tommy John” surgery. Despite not being given a proper rehab program, she bounced back to win the H.S. javelin at the 2017 Penn Relays. Competing for North Carolina, she won the Championship College Javelin at the 2022 Penn Relays and would finish 3rd at the NCAA Championships.
She’s coached by former javelin thrower Jeff Gorski, a Volunteer Assistant at UNC, who provides some background on her journey: “Her freshman year (2017-18) here at UNC, we did a hybrid UCL re-hab, then she had lower back disc issues that required a total technique renovation. After 2019, when she came 3rd at the NCAA championships, she did need surgery but it was for a calcium deposit under her left Achilles tendon. Fall of 2020 she had another surgery for a torn ligament in her throwing hand, resulting from an accident on her family farm. She had poor results at the 2021 NCAA & Oly Trials because she was throwing with mono, not diagnosed at the time.
This season (2022) has been the only one since she’s been here in Chapel Hill that she has had a full fall & winter training and results are showing, as you’ve seen. It’s been one helluva ride so far, and it’s great to see a young lady who has persevered thru so much having fun again and being pain free. Good things have been happening in training now as we prep for major meets”. (Wiltrout is currently the U.S. leader in 2025 with a throw of 190-9 [58.14]).
https://goheels.com/sports/track-and-field/roster/madison-wiltrout/22952
https://www.tfrrs.org/athletes/6588923/North_Carolina/Madison_Wiltrout
2022–Fully recovered from a recent battle with Covid-19, Emily Sisson won the U.S. Half-Marathon in Indianapolis and set an American Record of 1:07:11.
Leonard Korir (1:02:35) edged Fitzum Zienasellassie (1:02:36) to win his 3rd Men’s U.S. Half-Marathon title.
Indy Star Coverage (Includes Sisson’s post-race interview)
https://www.usatf.org/news/2022/sisson-breaks-american-record-at-the-usatf-half-ma
Born On This Day*
Fred Kerley 30 (1995)—2024 Olympic bronze medalist—100 Meters
One of the best in the world at 400-meters in 2018 and 2019, he defied the experts who questioned why he
concentrated on the “short” sprints in 2021 by winning the silver medal in the 100 at the 2021 Olympics in
Tokyo, and finishing 4th in the 200 at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
He followed up in 2022 by winning the 100 at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene.
Silver medalist in the 4×100 at the 2023 Worlds in Budapest, eliminated in the semis of the 100
With personal bests of 9.76, 19.76, and 43.64, he is now one of the greatest all-around sprinters in history
Goal is to set World Records in all 3 sprint events!
2-time U.S. Champion—400m (2017, 2019); 2022 U.S. Champion-100m
Bronze medalist in the 400 at the 2019 World Championships in Doha; Finalist at the 2017 World Championships in
London (7th)
2019 World Champion—4×400; Silver medalist in the 4×400 at the 2017 World Championships and
the 2018 World Indoor Championships
2017 NCAA Indoor & Outdoor Champion—400m, 4×400 (Texas A&M)
Set a Collegiate Record of 43.70 in 2017 (since broken); Brother Mylik has run 44.85
PBs:6.55i (2024), 9.76(‘23/=#6 All-Time World, =#3 A-T U.S.), 19.76(‘21), 43.64(‘19/#10 All-Time World/#7-
U.S.), 44.85i (‘17/#7 A-T U.S.); 2025 SBs: 10.23, 20.39, 44.73
Collegiate PBs: 43.70 (2017/#2 A-T)…also 44.09 (‘17/#7-performance), 44.10 (‘17/=#8);
44.85i (2017/#9 A-T);
https://trackandfieldnews.com/tfn-interview-fred-kerley/
https://www.worldathletics.org/news/feature/fred-kerley-400m
https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/fred-kerley-289106
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Kerley
Carl Lewis on Kerley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0UxgrEF6y4
https://fkerley.com
https://olympics.com/en/news/usa-sprinting-star-fred-kerley-records
OG 100: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JniLkO5_pv4
’22 WC 100:
Long Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC_d8t87A9A
Short: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KF9cmHSgd8
Natosha Rogers 34 (1991) 2012 NCAA Champion—10,000m (Texas A&M)
2020 U.S. X-Country Champion
2nd in the 10k at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, but didn’t meet the qualifying standard for London; 7th in the 10k
at the 2021 Trials
5th in the 5000, 3rd in the 10,000, at the 2022 U.S. Championships…15th in the 10,000 at the 2022 World
Championships in Eugene…3rd in the 5000 at the 2023 U.S. Championships—competed in the first round at
the 2023 World Championships
2017 U.S. ½-marathon Champion; 2020 U.S. X-Country Champion
Didn’t compete during her senior year at A&M after suffering a serious knee injury when she fell during a training
run. Resumed running in 2014, but didn’t have her first full season until 2016. Finished 13th in the 10,000-
meters at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Made her marathon debut at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials—finished 28th (2:34:51)
PBs: 14:52.21i (’23), 14:55.39 (’23), 30:48.69 (’23), 1:08.35 (’25), 2:23:51 (2025)
http://www.runnersworld.com/newswire/why-an-ncaa-10-k-champion-quit-running
http://www.runnersworld.com/rt-web-exclusive/5-minutes-with-natosha-rogers?nopaging=1
http://www.12thman.com/news/2012/6/23/205498060.aspx
Lawrence “LoJo” Johnson 51 (1974) 2000 Olympic silver medalist—Pole Vault; 2001 World Indoor Champ.(2nd-‘97)
8th—1996 Olympics; 4-time NCAA Champion (Tennessee/’94-indoor, ’95, ’96-in/out)
4-time U.S. Champion (’96,’97,’00,’01); 3-time U.S. Indoor Champion(’97,’00,’01);
Set a Collegiate and American Record of 19-7 ½ (5.98) in 1996/Now #4 All-Time College, #8 A-T U.S.) (Broken
by LSU’s Mondo Duplantis in 2019)
Accomplished musician—could often be seen playing the piano in hotel lobbies on the T&F circuit
(Not to be confused with Arkansas women’s coach Lawrence “Boogie” Johnson)
Online Coaching: http://lojovaultassault.com/
At The Armory: https://www.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45586&do=videos&video_id=258443
Linda Somers-Smith 64 (1961) 2-time U.S. Champion—Marathon (’93,’94); 1996 U.S. Olympian (31st);
Competed in 7 U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials, the last in 2012 at the age of 50! (28th-2:37:36); PB:2:30:06 (’96).
Member of the RRCA and Masters Halls of Fame
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Somers
Deceased
Bill Hoyt 59 (1875-Dec.1, 1954) The 1st Olympic gold medalist in the Pole Vault (1896)
1896 IC4A co-Champion (Harvard)
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78578
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48338653/william-welles-hoyt
https://vaultermagazine.com/connecticuts-1st-summer-olympics-champ-bill-hoyt/
