Noah Lyles Runs Joyous 9.88 To Win 100 Meters

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

DES MOINES – Noah Lyles’ acceleration to the top of U.S. sprinting isn’t following any timeline or style but his own.

The 20-year-old pro continues to make adidas’ investment pay off and Friday at the USATF Outdoor Championships, Lyles caught up to Ronnie Baker and took the 100-meter title in a personal-best time of 9.88 seconds.

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The time, and the victory, touched off a here-I-am celebratory Hype dance for the crowd and a greeting from his mom on the Drake University track.

Lyles’ time was a stadium record and he became the youngest U.S. 100 champion since Sam Graddy in 1984 (the national championships were held separate from the Olympic Trials that year).

Lyles had to overcome the fast-starting Baker but slid past in the last 10 meters to claim the victory. Baker owns an all-conditions world best of 9.78 seconds this year but he ran a personal best wind-legal time of 9.90 for second place.

“For a second there, I didn’t know that I got it, but I felt in my heart that I got it,” Lyles said.

The second-year pro out of T.C. Williams High in Virginia now owns the world lead in the 100 and the 200 (19.69 from the Prefontaine Classic).

“I hadn’t thought of that, but now that you say it, that’s actually pretty cool!” Lyles said as he regaled reporters in the mixed zone.

Lyles decided against the 200 before the meet began because he didn’t want to run so many races – with rounds and finals – in one weekend.

The 200 has generally been his forte, while his younger brother Josephus is targeting the 400.

“I love the 200. I love it. But I’ve also got a few good 100s in me,” Lyles said.

The breakthrough of Lyles and the anticipation of Michael Norman’s first appearance in the meet Saturday in the 200 meters is a welcome sign for USATF, which is cultivating a new generation of talented athletes coming out of their teens.

Zach Ziemek won the decathlon title with 8,294 points and broke Ashton Eaton’s 2013 facility record by three points in the process.

“I didn’t really know (the record) until we were going into the 1,500, but honestly I just wanted to run really hard to do the best that I can,” he said.

Ziemek took the lead in the first event with a 10.65 100 meters and fell behind only once, by 24 points, after the shot put, which is third in the order.

Ziemek has made U.S. teams in the past but he won his first national title after a seven-year run by Eaton and Trey Hardee.

The former Wisconsin star was the top point-scorer in three of the 10 events – the 100, the discus and the pole vault.

Solomon Simmons, who was sixth in the 2016 Olympic Trials, placed second with 8,019 points.

Donald Scott came up with a big effort on his sixth attempt to snare the men’s triple jump victory away from Chris Benard. Scott jumped 57 feet (17.37m) and defeated Benard by two inches.

Benard, who placed second to Will Claye in 2017, took command of the competition with a second-attempt mark of 56-10 (17.32m). He held the lead until the very end, but he fouled on his final two attempts and was unable to counter Scott on his final attempt.

Scott, who was third in 2017, was lucky to make the finals after fouling on his first two attempts.

“I had to take a safe jump in my third attempt,” he said. “I was running, I had to slow up because I thought I was going to foul but I popped a qualifying mark into the finals and that’s when I knew I could take this.”

Scott won his first national title and is hopeful that it’s a springboard to better things in the future.

“I think about triple jumping 24-7,” he said. “I think about all the (national) teams, all the Diamond Leagues I’m not going to, and I just tell myself that I belong there.”

Christian Taylor, the world and Olympic champion in the event, attempted to run the 400 meters while also keeping his options open in the triple jump. Taylor was eliminated in the semifinals of the 400 when he ran 45.95 – one spot from making the cut from the finals.

He reported to the triple jump as it was beginning the second flight, but he passed his first attempt, fouled his second, and passed his third.

Taylor, for all of his success globally in the triple jump, has not one a U.S. title since 2012.

“My legs were just done (after the 400),” Taylor said.

Still, he called it a “great day” after almost making the finals of the 400 meters and supporting fellow Florida Gators KeAndre Bates and Omar Craddock in the triple jump.

Rudy Winkler, a grad student at Rutgers, improved on a fourth-place finish in the hammer at the NCAA Division 1 Championships two weeks ago and won his second U.S. title.

Winkler popped his best throw on his third attempt, sending the 16-pound ball 242 feet (73.76m). That mark moved him from fifth to first and that’s where he stayed.

“For some reason I just relaxed and put that (third attempt) together and focused on a few specific technical things and that’s it,” he said. “After that I started trying to go after it a little bit harder and I’m not quite there yet to do that.”

Winkler won his first U.S. title two years ago at the Olympic Trials at Hayward Field, when he was throwing as an undergrad at Cornell. He won his only NCAA hammer title in 2017.

“I feel like I have a really big throw inside me that still hasn’t come through,” he said. “I still have a lot of work to do this summer but it feels really good to come out with a win.”

Defending champion Alex Young was second with 240-3 (73.22m) and Sean Donnelly was third with 239-9 (73.09m). One of Donnelly's fouls flew over the netting and landed in the street. The ball put a small crater in the pavement and the handle scratched a vehicle as it skidded down the road.