Rod Jett overhauls Don Drummond to win Mt. SAC hurdles
Rod Jett, 42, coaches sprinters at Jesuit High School in Sacramento, and last year he said: “For years, we’ve been a distance school. For the last couple of years, I’ve tried to change that.” One way is being a role model for his kids. Yesterday at the Mt. SAC Relays, Rod stormed from behind over the last two barriers to nip Don Drummond, 39. It was one of the strongest masters hurdles fields ever assembled. Rod’s athletes will replay this video of the race dozens of times. As usual, the race claimed some victims. Jerome Millet was DQ’d after false-starting the second try. (I’m not sure who jumped in the first try.) Rich Benoy didn’t make it past a couple hurdles; unsure why. And race organizer Richard Holmes didn’t make it to the starting line, having suffered a hamstring pull in warmups (I think). But M40 world record holder David Ashford gave a great effort, taking third in 15.13 at age 46. Below is a photo sequence of the race. A much better version (with larger images) will eventually be posted on my Gallery.
limited to his DQ in the race’s second start.
Here are results of the Mt. SAC masters hurdles race:
Jett, Drummond, Ashford, Brian Conley and Henry Andrade.
15 Responses
Great race Rod!! Congratulations to all the hurdlers!
Ken – Yes it was a hamstring pull that I suffered only minutes before the race…
I’d like to give a HUGE thanks to all the competitors who took the time, spent the money and made the effort to show up at the Mt. Sac Relays this year. It was indeed, a fabulous atmosphere and I certainly hope they will allow us this same opportunity next year.
To hurdle at our age is very much an achievement! But, to also run the times this group can perform at a consistent basis is equally incredible! Physically, hurdling at this level takes so much out of ones body and I certainly hope track fans will recognize how great these performances were. Again, thanks to Mt. Sac & Brian Yokoyama for the wonderful opportunity! And much thanks to Ken Stone for the coverage and build up towards the race!
And yes – I will be ready to go, to challenge Mr. Jett & Mr. Drummond for the U.S. National Title(40-44)in Oshkosh… Watch out!
It is great to see this age of athletes featured at a major event. These are the athletes that need to get attention in order for our program to grow. It seems all too oftern that the oldest athlete gets all the press when the real stars are the mid-range athletes that really excel. Across the board,because of what we do and how well we do it, I believe we are the best athletes in the country. Our annual age-graded 200 at UT-Arlington showcases that very well. Thanks to Mt. Sac for allowing this race to the organizer for efforts to get so many good hurdlers there.
Great race to everyone who participated. Rod ran a great race and I applaud him for his performance. It is great to see us featured in such a prestigous meet and I look forward to many more races of this magnitude.
The atmosphere was exciting and you could not help to feel the love and energy from the crowd and announcer. I want to personally thank Richard and the Mt. Sac meet organizers for assembling this race.
See everyone in Oshkosh!
Next stop Eugene Oregon for the Masters Invitational exhibition 400 race.
Don Drummond
Great race! These are 39″ hurdles right?
Yes, these cats ran 39-inch hurdles. Rod and several others can still run 42-inchers, though. Rod told me this was his second hurdles race of the year, and he was only 90-95 percent fitness. Look out in July!
First I would like to thank you so much Richard Holmes for having me in the Masters 110 m hurdles exhibitional race at Mt Sac Relays. Because I was so excited to compete among these top competitors I unfortunately messed up with the second start and got Dq but it felt great to be back on the hurdles after serious health issues last couple of years even if I run 15.11 last year once on 42 inches. Also I want to personally thank David Ashford for his great support just before the race telling me ” we all know where you come from and what you did..keep it up” it went straight forward to my heart. once again Mr David Ashford you are a gentleman! thanks
Complete hurdles sequence (with larger images) now online here:
http://www.masterstrack.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=38760
Jerome Millet!
We welcome you with open arms to our hurdle crew. We need more hurdlers, such as yourself involved in our competitions. I wanted to talk with you after the race, but could not catch up with you. We are like a family, so please do not let the distractions discourage you. Hopefully, we will see you at outdoor nationals. I look forward to talking with you and watching you progress through the masters ranks.
I just wanted to give a special thanks to Richard Holmes for putting the Mt. SAC race together. We happen to have several great Master’s hurdlers in the 40-49 group right now and it’s fun to be able to get together not just to race, but to catch with everybody as well. We must do it again next year! I hope everyone stays (or gets) healthy and look forward to seeing evryone in Oshkosh.
Congrats to all the hurdlers who were out there. You guys put on a show…..and looked good at it !
once again i am humbled to be a part of masters track and field and a member of the hurdling community. what a thrill it was for me to see the race on this site, some 3,000 miles away.as a new M55 guy , i can’t help but feel proud of my ” kid brothers ” you guys ran beautifully , and more importantly , your fire for competition, and ability to deliver, continues to inspire me and i’m certain countless others. don drummond’s comments to jerome millet are what this sport is about. have you been able to put together a shuttle relay for penn ? best wishes…albert
We were unable to get the shuttle hurdle group for Penn’s, due to travel expenses. We will have a world record shuttle hurdle team that will place a remarkable mark at our Nationals in Oshkosh!
With everyone being healthy we should see a 58 sec or better time. It will be more than one team that will go under 1 minutes in this event. We are talking about the likes of McCloud, Smith, Ashford, Andrade, Jett, Godbut, Drummond, Millett, Holmes, Watson, Lindsay, Smith, Sloan, Conley, Benoy, and the list goes on.
It will be some great teams established and new standards will be on display for the World.
To all of hurdlers whom competed at the mt sac relays in the masters hurdle race,im sorry i did not respond right away ,we left for maui to train for two weeks and its has been a tough training camp so far,but my legs are finally feeling better.Great showing by rod and don ,it makes a statement that usa masters hurdles are still at the worlds best and the togetherness of the usa masters hurdlers is stronger than ever .Thank you mr ken stone for great coverage on the masters events contested at mt sac truly awesome masters track .com you are number 1.As i prepare for worlds in finland im sure with these great early season marks team usa will be in great shape come time to compete at worlds. also thank you mr millett thank for your kind words ,welcome to the hurdle crew god bless all david ashford 110 hh team usa
to Mr Ken Stone who likes bashing my former coach Jerome Millet….I really dont care what he did before or how he performed..what I know is that as a coach he brought me to the california states in the 100 hurdles and in the heptathlon. I was not even a state qualifier in high school but coach Jerome Millet was a great asset for me and I improved my time by more than a second….he gave me such confidence that I m so grateful to him. and because of you statement he s gone and have to redshirt for this season..thanks Mr Stone
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