Who is in the arena? Where? And to what end?

While I've occasionally used this space to offer a Keith Olbermann-esque "Special Comment" --albeit minus the caustic wit and inevitable toppling of some political giant --I'm becoming increasingly enamored of using it as a locus to update readers on the competitive goings-on of the Arena Athletes. While it's entirely possible to surf around to each and every Arena Athlete blog, that can be a cumbersome task; so I'll endeavor to post a one-stop shopping update every week so that those who prefer can keep tabs on the athletes' performances (in addition to their mentoring work, which is superlatively important and also detailed on their blogs and in ITA's collateral).

But wait! Before I provide an update on the Arena Athletes who have competed since my last post, I have a quick introduction to make. ITA is pleased to welcome a new member to the fold. Nope: not a new athlete. More of a peanut, actually. But she is a budding sports fan as she has already spectated the Boston Marathon (although she didn't much like the helicopter and police escorts accompanying the lead female and male packs) and has shown great interest in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. (Yes, she was up at 1:40am this morning to see Jonathan Papelbon strike out Robinson Cano with a bases-loaded fastball to elevate the Sox to 4-0 against the Evil Empire this season, but I digress.)

Who is she? Thea Rowe Salem (as in TR), born March 27th and weighing in at a whopping 7lbs and 2oz. She's now nearly 9lbs and, we've been told, has gained more weight in three weeks than most babies gain in two months. Folks, we may have a shot-putter on our hands. Wouldn't that be great?


Without further ado: an update on those members of the roster who have been "in the arena" of late.

Gabriel Jennings (at left) ran 14:38 for 5000m at the ASU Invitational on March 28th and, having returned to Eugene with the Oregon Track Club, has turned his sights on the inaugural USA Road Mile Championships to be contested in Minneapolis, MN on May 7th. With a rich prize purse and a stacked field (one usually follows the other), perennial "big race competitor" Jennings is sure to bring his best stuff.

Karl Erickson has put in a serious winter of training and his first competition of the year showed it. At a small meet in Mesa, AZ, Karl threw the discus farther than he ever had in a season opener --and farther than he ever has period: a PR of 62.77m. Not bad for the first meet of the year. We all look forward to seeing what else is in store for Karl in 2009.

Matt Chisam has also had a banner start to his year, highlighted by a 110m hurdles win at the Penn Relays. Matt leaves for Italy later this week for an international multi-sport competition called the Multistars, upon which I'll be sure to report in my next post.

Mike Hazle is currently in Doha, Qatar for a track and field meet. This is where he had a monster throw last year, so hold good thoughts for him as he prepares for his competition later this week. If you want to read an amusing tale of an athlete abroad (and see some great pics of Doha), check out Mike's most recent blog post.

Sara Hall has had a phenomenal start to her '09 season, culimating in a PR in the 1500m this past weekend at her alma mater's Payton Jordan Invitational. Sara ran 4:09.69 for third place. Prior to that she ran for second place in the 5000m (15:34.68) at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational. On a more personal (ie: less competition-oriented) note, Active.com posted a wonderful profile on Sara a few weeks ago; and even more impressive: Sara's husband, Ryan, threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park on April 18th (oh yeah, he finished third in the Boston Marathon a couple of days later, too).

Sarah Groff (at right) has had a sterling --as in silver --start to her season. To wit, she's notched two impressive second-place finishes in both of her big races: one at Ironman California, in which the reigning 70.3 World Champ had to set a run course record in order to best SG; and one at the hotly-contested Olympic distance St. Anthony's Triathlon. These are both non-drafting events and admittedly outside of the comfort zone of our proven ITU star. Given these early successes, just think what the World Cup circuit has in store for Sarah this season!

In a not-too-surprising turn of events, Torin Koos (at left) picked up his umpteenth national title at the US Distance National Championships. He and US Ski Teammate Chris Cook dominated the field, winning the US National Title in the Team Sprint, prompting TK's hometown paper to run the following headline (and accompanying article): Next Goal, the Winter Olympics.

Fellow Native Pacific Northwesterner Laura Valaas finished up her season in style with a dominating set of performances at the Canadian Nationals, earning herself a mention in the same "Next Goal, Winter Olympics" article as Torin. Let's hear it for the Wenatchee World's sports coverage!

Speaking of Torin's victory in the Team Sprint event at US Distance Nationals, Caitlin Compton also had a great race on the women's side. She and CXC teammate Maria Stuber came in second to a US Ski Team duo, rounding out an impressive season for the Minneapolis native.

Zack Simons has traded his skis for a cycle...a bicycle, that is. He's currently tearing up the macadam in and around his native Park City in his quest to cat up to a 1 or a 2 by the end of the year. Given Zack's ability to suffer and his raw athletic talent we think the likes of Armstrong, Leipheimer and Horner should consider themselves forewarned.

Focusing on the shorter distances this spring (in preparation for another marathon in the fall), Zoila Gomez has posted two strong results this past month: a third-place US female at the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in Washington, D.C.; and a fourth-place finish in the 10,000m --in a time of 33:50 --at the prestigious Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University this past weekend.

That is, as they say: all --or most, at least --the news that's fit to print.