Nwaba Represents USA at IAAF Indoor World Championships

2015 USA Indoor Champion, Barbara Nwaba will compete on Friday, March 18 in Portland, Oregon in the one-day Pentathlon competition; Oregon Track Club's Ashton Eaton (USA) and Brianne Theisen-Eaton (CAN) favorites in the Heptathlon and Pentathlon respectively PORTLAND, Ore.—For the first time since 1987, the world's best Track & Field athletes will compete on U.S. soil in Portland, Oregon from March 17–20 for the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships. Among those representing the United States is Santa Barbara Track Club's (SBTC), Barbara Nwaba, the reigning U.S. Pentathlon champion.

Nwaba will enter the one-day, five-event Pentathlon on Friday, March 18 as the ninth ranked athlete in the international field of 12. She has a personal and season's best of 4415pts, which she achieved just a few weeks ago at the USA Indoor Championships. In 2015, Nwaba earned her first U.S. title at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the seven-event Heptathlon as well as her first World Championship roster spot. In that banner year she would set a personal best of 6500 pts, the #6 All-Time mark in the U.S.

Also competing in Portland this weekend are familiar faces to Santa Barbara, Oregon Track Club's Ashton Eaton (USA) and Brianne Theisen-Eaton (CAN). Track & Field's married power duo have been SBTC's guests for the last couple of years, leveraging Santa Barbara's mild spring to train prior to the start of the outdoor Track & Field campaigns. Both enter this weekend's competitions as their event favorites with Eaton eyeing his own world record in the seven-event Heptathlon (6645pts), while Theisen-Eaton has her target set on earning her first international gold medal.

IAAF World Indoor Championships Schedule / Results

TV Coverage Friday, 3/18: 9:30pm-11:00pm PST on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) Saturday, 3/19: 6:30pm-8:00pm PST on NBC Sport sNetwork (NBCSN) Sunday, 3/20: 1:00pm-3:00pm PST on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN)

Coverage can also be streamed on your laptop, tablet or smartphone using NBC Sports Live Extra.

Friday, March 18 - Pentathlon Schedule of Events 10:30am PST - 60m Hurdles 12:10pm PST - High Jump 2:25pm PST - Shot Put 5:15pm PST - Long Jump 8:10pm PST - 800m

Nwaba Wins 2016 U.S. Indoor Title

Santa Barbara Track Club women take three of four podium spots; nine total SBTC athletes mark largest qualifying team at U.S. Combined Events Indoor Championships; Nwaba set to compete at IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, OR in March; SBTC welcomes new athletes and expands programming for 2016 CRETE, Neb.—The 2016 USATF Combined Events Indoor Championships, hosted by Doane College on February 25-27, marked the first major test for Santa Barbara Track Club's (SBTC) athletes with their eye on Rio de Janeiro, site of the 2016 Olympic Games. Competing in the pentathlon, a suite of five events versus the traditional seven that marks the heptathlon competition during the outdoor season, SBTC's women, led by Barbara Nwaba, made a splash earning three of the four podium spots.

Nwaba, who is gearing up to represent the U.S. at the IAAF World Indoor Championships on March 18 in Portland, OR, earned her second U.S. title and set a personal record of 4,415pts in the Pentathlon on Saturday, outlasting Kaylon Eppinger by over 100pts. SBTC's Chari Hawkins, one of the squad's most recent additions, set a personal record of 4,225pts to finish with a bronze medal, while just three points behind, SBTC's Lindsay Schwartz took the final podium position with 4,222pts, also a personal record.

On the Men's side, Tom Hopkins finished in 8th place with 5,424pts to lead SBTC in the Men's Heptathlon competition.

In all, nine athletes represented the SBTC at the U.S. Combined Events Indoor Championships, qualifying the largest team to kick off the 2016 season. With the exception of Nwaba who will compete at World Indoor Championships, the next competition for the SBTC combined events athletes will be the 5th Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational (Sam Adams Invite) in Santa Barbara on April 1-2. The Sam Adams Invite will mark the first major outdoor competition for some of the World's Greatest Athletes on their Road to Rio, including reigning Olympic gold medalist in the Decathlon, Ashton Eaton.

SBTC Expands Beyond Combined Events, Adds Community Programs

The SBTC welcomes Benjamin Kirkwood, Jr., a Santa Barbara local High Jumper who has already jumped over 7'0ft. in 2016 and will represent the SBTC at the USATF Indoor Championships in Portland, OR on March 11-12. The team also welcomes Lexi Youngberg, a sprinter and 2016 Paralympic hopeful (T43); Youngberg represented the U.S. at the World Championship in 2015.

The SBTC has also added new community programs in 2016. These include:

• Youth Track @ Carpinteria HS
• Master Track
• Adult Group Training in partnership with Alaris Fitness

Santa Barbara Track Club Goes Global, Acts Local

Zimbabwe national record holder Keegan Cooke competes at this weekend's African Games; SBTC Youth Fall Season begins Monday with record participation; SBTC visits Santa Barbara County schools to promote physical fitness From Santa Barbara Track Club

For Coach Josh Priester's professional athletes it has been quite the summer of success and travel as athletes competed not only throughout the United States, but also Canada, China and Germany. Keegan Cooke, a Zimbabwean citizen, will add one more country to the athlete's summer passport as he represents his country at the 11th African Games in Brazzaville, Congo.

Cooke, who competed for the University of Arizona Wildcats before becoming a member of SBTC, will begin the two-day competition on Sunday, September 13. He is the Zimbabwe national record holder in the Decathlon with 7315 points, which he set in April at the Mt. SAC Relays Combined Events Invitational.

• 11th African Games Official Website & Results
• 11th African Games Webcast

SBTC Youth Fall Season Begins

With the summer winding down internationally, SBTC's focus returns to its community with the SBTC Youth Track season beginning on Monday, September 14. Coached by SBTC's professional athletes, including USA Track & Field Champion, Barbara Nwaba, the SBTC Youth program is geared towards ages 7-14 and is hosted at Westmont College.

While an incredibly fun experience at all ages, SBTC Youth also achieved great competitive success in the Spring of 2015 earning the most Gold Medals (19) and also the most Medals & Ribbons (58) of any other Youth Club at the Santa Barbara All-County Championships.

Visit the SBTC Youth page for more information and to register.

SBTC in the Community

SBTC athletes will also be visiting schools throughout the year, participating at jog-a-thons, move-a-thons, physical education classes and more! To schedule a SBTC visit at your school, please email info@santabarbaratc.com.

And stay tuned for the second annual SBTC Fall-Comers Track & Field meet at Westmont College! Tentatively scheduled for the second weekend of November, this meet is open to athletes of all ages and abilities. Go for a new personal best or try your hand at new events. All track events will be electronically times. SBTC will post more information as soon as the date is made official.

Beijing Reflections: Barbara Udoezi Nwaba

By Norm Zÿlstra, Throwholics.com My post meet reflection on the 2015 Beijing World Championships.

My first World Championships went as follows.

I had a decent hurdle race to start off the heptathlon, running a 13.59, a tenth off what I ran at USA Nationals. I was really hoping for a [personal best] since I felt great in practice and was running fast. However I knew there were six more events I had left where I could improve and put together a big score…

Unfortunately this is all a tall tale. I would have been ecstatic if things had actually went this way. The truth is I take seven steps to the first hurdle but on the opening day of Worlds I let myself take eight steps instead, jumping off the wrong leg. I tried to recover in between hurdle one and two but I was too bunched. I hit hurdle two with my lead leg and went down, smacked the track hard and rolled into lane two. I could not believe this was happening to me. Before I could even think I got back up, ran over hurdle three and four, and hit hurdle five. Down I went again and this time all I could do was stare down the track in complete shock of what had just happened. My hopes of a podium finish were over. To put things in perspective when I ran 13.49 at USAs it was worth 1052 points. 25 seconds would have given me a whopping 4 points. Somehow they clocked me finishing at 59 seconds. Only I didn’t finish the race and nor did it matter. I walked off the track in disbelief. Pain on my face, tear stricken, and feeling immensely disappointed I wanted to be anywhere but inside the Bird’s Nest.

Luckily for me I have an awesome group of people in my corner. The support I received from my coach, family and friends really helped me get through the next six events. And not only get through it but really enjoy my time out there like I should. When my coach said, “Now let’s make it your goal to feel comfortable out there because you never quite looked yourself,” and my mother said, “Dry your eyes, don’t worry. You walked away with no injuries.” Barbara+Nwaba+Ekaterina+Voronina+15th+IAAF+AGXREDnORRAlIt really put into perspective just how awesome of an opportunity I was in and that I could not let it go to waste. I was officially getting ready for Rio 2016 and what better environment could I ask for?

Continue reading at: www.throwholics.com

Santa Barbara TC's Nwaba Wins 1st U.S. National Title in Heptathlon

Nwaba earns first IAAF World Championship berth; scores 6,500pts, the 6th U.S. all-time Heptathlon mark and ranked 5th in the World in 2015; SBTC's Lettow also breaks 6,000pts finishing in 5th place

Heptathlon Scoring Table SBTC National Championship Central

Since 2012, Barbara Nwaba has been the runner-up at the 2012 NCAA Division I Championships, 2014 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the 2015 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships. She would reverse this streak at the 2015 USA Championships in Eugene, OR with a personal best 6,500 points, dethroning the two-time reigning champion and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo alumna Sharon Day-Monroe for the title.

This is Nwaba's first national title and her 6,500 points in the Heptathlon ranks 6th in the U.S. all-time as well as currently ranking her 5th in the world. She also qualified for the IAAF World Championships, which will be held in Beijing, China from August 22-30, 2015.

SBTC's Lindsay Lettow also had a career day breaking 6,000 points for the first time with 6,023pts and a fifth place finish. Lindsay Schwartz would fall just 29 points shy of a best finishing in 8th place with 5,969pts.

Heptathlon Day 1

The first day began with two personal bests by Schwartz & Lettow in the 100m Hurdles, 13.55 and 13.56 respectively while Nwaba remained just a tenth of a second off of her best with a 13.49, notching 1,052pts for the event.

In the High Jump, Lettow leaped to her second personal best of the day with a 1.76m (5'9.25") leap. Nwaba maintained her form with a 1.82m (5'11.5") jump, two inches off her career best.

Saturday's competition concluded with Nwaba racing to a 23.76 personal best in the 200m, closing the gap with Day-Monroe to 20 points headed into the final day of the Heptathlon. Schwartz also set a personal best in the 200m with a time of 24.06. Schwartz and Lettow concluded day one in 6th and 8th respectively.

Heptathlon Day 2

After what had been unseasonably warm temperatures in Eugene for the Decathlon and first day of competition in the Heptathlon, temperatures in the low 70s welcomed the athletes for Sunday's events. Perhaps enjoying the similarity to Santa Barbara's cooler June weather, Nwaba took to the skies in the first event of the morning with a personal best of 6.23m (20'5.25") in the Long Jump; a seven inch personal best and the first time over 20 feet for her. The jump would move Nwaba 36 points ahead of Day-Monroe with two events remaining in the Heptathlon.

In the Javelin, Nwaba tossed the spear 43.48m (142'8"), just five feet off her best, maintaining a slim 8 point lead over Day-Monroe heading into the final event, the 800m. Lettow also performed well setting a personal best of 42.63m (139'10) in the Javelin.

At 800m, an event Nwaba has excelled at recently, dropping four seconds off her best since 2014 and seven seconds since 2012, needing to finish ahead of Day-Monroe to take her first U.S. National title. She would lead from the gun with Day-Monroe on her shoulders and pulled away from the field in front of the loud Hayward Field grandstands, crossing the tape in a personal best 2:07.13 and scoring 6,500pts for the two-day competition.

Lettow would race to another best finishing in 2:11.90, catapulting herself to a 5th place finish and personal best 6,023pts; the first time for her over the 6,000pts barrier. Schwartz finished in 8th with 5,969pts, just 29 points shy of her personal best.

Additional Santa Barbara Notables

2012 UCSB graduate, Ryan Martin, finished 5th at 800m in 1:46.04 2007 UCSB graduate, Amy Haapanen, finished 10th in the Hammer Throw with a mark of 65.20m (213'11")

SBTC Sends 4 Athletes to the USA Track & Field Championships

USA Track & Field Championships Updates

6/28: Santa Barbara TC’s Nwaba Wins 1st U.S. National Title in Heptathlon 6/26: Thomas FitzSimons, Jr. 4th at USA National Championships USA Championships Results Decathlon Scoring Table Heptathlon Scoring Table

Barbara Nwaba leads the SBTC contingent as the second ranked heptathlete in the United States

From Santa Barbara Track Club

Beginning Thursday, June 25, SBTC athletes enter one of the most important competitions of the season with the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, OR determining Team USA squads for the IAAF World Championships, Thorpe Cup and other opportunities to represent the United States in 2015.

At the 2014 national championships Barbara Nwaba finished 2nd with 6,307pts in the Heptathlon, a personal record at the time. Qualifying only days prior to the national championships, Thomas FitzSimons, Jr. also reached the podium, surprising the field with a third place and 7,645pts in the Decathlon.

The two-day Heptathlon and Decathlon competitions will take place Thursday, June 25 - Sunday, June 28 at the University of Oregon's historic Hayward Field.

SBTC Athlete Bios at USA Championships

• Barbara Nwaba - Heptathlon (UC Santa Barbara '12) - Ranked 2nd in Heptathlon field
• Lindsay Schwartz - Heptathlon (South Alabama '13) - Ranked 8th in Heptathlon field
• Lindsay Lettow - Heptathlon (Central Missouri '12) - Ranked 9th in Heptathlon field
• Tom FitzSimons , Jr. - Decathlon (Mount Saint Mary's '12) - 4th Place at 2015 USA Championships

Follow SBTC on Television & Live Stream on the Web (look for the orange and blue tinted uniforms)

Webcast / Television (All Times are PST) SUNDAY 6/28

• 8AM PT - Racewalk - LIVE on USATF.tv
• 10:20AM - 12PM PT - All Events - LIVE on USATF.tv
• 12PM - 3PM PT - LIVE on NBC (Online here) [Check local listings] (Field Events will be LIVE on USATF.tv)
• 3PM PT - THE COOL DOWN - on USATF.tv

SUPPORTING SBTC As a non-profit organization, we rely on the support of donors and our community outreach programs. We're proud to have one of the only track clubs in the country in which our athletes play a vital role in giving back and mentoring youth through our SB Youth Track Club and its various local programs throughout the year. They do more than simply train in Santa Barbara. They create a positive impact in the lives of area youth while we as coaches and you as donors get to support and inspire the Olympic dreams of some of the United States top heptathlon and decathlon hopefuls. You are helping athlete's dreams come true!

As we prepare to head into the championship season and the 2016 Olympic year, we would greatly appreciate your support of these fine athletes within the Santa Barbara Track Club for their travel, living expenses and training needs. All donations are tax deductible and will go towards the athletes we support.

Donate Online or By Mail

ABOUT SBTC The Santa Barbara Track Club aims to create a progressive and cohesive Track & Field experience for members of our community from youth to masters as well as the development of Olympians and Olympic hopefuls alike. The professional athletes are composed of combined events athletes and middle distance athletes who also work within the community by serving as coaches and mentors to youth.  The coaching and personal training efforts of the athletes help to fund the continued growth of Santa Barbara as an international training hub as well as to promote cultural exchange and shared education.