Quimes' steeple race

Here are the splits from Quimes' race today. Note that it was a "traditional" steeple that started over near the 3k/5k flat start, was about 7.5 laps, with the water jump on the "inside" of the track. It was not the "international" style steeple -- a la Yale and Rider.

Splits: 74, 2:25 (71), 3:38 (73), 4:52 (74), 6:08 (76), 7:29 (79), 8:47 (80), 9:28.78 (41.78)

Notes:

-- In the previous post, I said it was the best finish in school history. To clarify: It was the best STEEPLE finish at USA Juniors in school history. After a little bit of research, our other two steeplers at Junior Nats placed an identical 16th (John Keenan, 2006, Indianapolis and Nick Webster, 2008, Ohio State).
-- His time was the fastest steeple performance at USA Juniors in school history, besting Web's time of 9:45.88 from 08.
-- The race went off at around 2 pm, and the sun was blazing hot. But it was not terribly humid. You get what you get.
-- At a little more than 1,000 meters to go, Quimes misstepped on the rail and appeared to turn his ankle. It was a scary moment. I thought he was gonna drop. But he hung in there and gutted it out. The ankle is OK, but I think the misstep cost him.
-- Q's form was terrible. He was stuttering going into most of the barriers. Such is life. Again, he did the best he could under the circumstances.
-- Quimes is never one to make excuses, but he did note that the tough travel day took a little bit of his energy. Not surprising.

What's next on Friday:

1. Jackie Gamboli runs in the first round of the women's junior 1,500, at 11:55 a.m.
2. Quimes and Mike Nicoletti run in the men's junior 10,000, at 9 p.m.

More travel notes:

-- Coach Chuck is en route, but (surprise, surprise) he has hit some delays. He should be touching down in Des Moines around midnight tonight. Let's hope.

-- We are staying in the Hotel Fort Des Moines in downtown Des Moines. Much like when Keenan and I stayed in downtown Indy four years ago, downtown Des Moines is seemingly devoid of people or activities. It is a nice downtown -- kind of reminiscent of Hartford, for a Northeast frame of reference -- but there is not a lot going on. However, we did just find a nice pasta place downtown, and that made everyone happy.

-- Before we found that pasta place, however, we had a long and comical journey through much of Des Moines -- looking for ANY PLACE to eat. We must have gone to all the wrong places because we could find nothing -- except for lots of Asian food places. And churches. Wow! There are A LOT of churches in Des Moines.

Look. I'm trying hard not to have a Northeast bias here. Drake Stadium and the university are great venues for this meet, as was IUPUI back in 2006. But otherwise, there are definitely challenges to deal with along the way.

OK, gonna get a little rest before an airport run to pick up Chuck in a few hours. I'll check in on Friday afternoon with Jackie's results and other information as warranted.