Battle Royale: NCAA Men's 10k, The Big 3 (Miami Heat) vs. The Field (Dallas Mavs)

Photo courtesy of TrackAndFieldPhoto

After a rainout last night, the strong men's 10k will go off today at 4pm (5pm eastern) 5:30pm (6:30 eastern). There are three heavy favorites here with NCAA record holder Sam Chelanga (27:08) leading the way, followed by Arizona's Stephen Sambu (27:28) and Iona's Leonard Korir (27:29) not far behind. Chelanga hasn't been tested lately and you wonder whether he'll take it out hard, like he's done in cross country races or sit with the pack and try to outkick someone. These three's best bet would likely be a fast pace, as their talent is similar to that of the Miami Heat when compared to the rest of the field. If they choose to hang with the pack, it opens the door for the field, many of who are quite feisty like the Dallas Mavericks.

Maybe this is a bad analogy, because also in the field are Stanford's big three from Cross Country season (Chris Derrick, Jake Riley and Elliott Heath), but their PR's are far inferior on the track to Chelanga, Sambu and Korir, so maybe they will benefit from the underdog role. Heath is especially scary with the kick he has developed and started unleashing during the indoor season where he won the NCAA Championship 3000. If it's hot out there, don't expect anyone to move before 5k. Another one to watch is Florida State's Ciaran O'Lionaird, a fierce competitor with 3:40 1500 speed and a great long, driving kick that could steal the show if it's close with 1000 meters or so to go.

Finally, you can't forget about someone like Luke Puskedra, who is known to just open up a big gap and run his own race to try and leave the field. He hasn't had a ton of success with this tactic, but has finished in the top 5 twice at NCAA Cross Country nationals, so the field must keep their eye on him as he isn't afraid to push it, even if they weather is less than ideal.

The race will be streamed live by the NCAA here and live results are here.

Men's 10k start list:

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My 2 Spikes Worth: Track & Field overload this weekend!

Now as much as I love the sport of Track & Field, I feel somewhat overloaded this week. I know things are planned very well in advance and that there are a lot of moving parts at play, but to have the NCAA Division I Championships, the Bislett Games and the Adidas Grand Prix all over the course of three days seems like overkill.

The Bislett Games has always been a showcase event for Track & Field, and still is for that matter. It just doesn't feel the same with everything else going on stateside. I personally loved the old stadium with the 6-lane track. It was great for distance events as the crowd was right up on the field. In 1999, Sports Illustrated declared the old Bislett Stadium one of the top 20 sports venues of the 20th century, so I am not alone! It was always a highlight of the year to watch the Dream Mile at the end of the meet as there was always a watch on for a possible world record. Not to sound too American, but without any Americans to root for, this years Dream Mile seems a little less dreamy. I know that the race will be excellent with Britain's Andy Baddeley, Kenya's Silas Kiplagat, Asbel Kiprop, Haron Keitany and Augustine Choge, Australia's Jeff Riseley and Ethiopia's Mekonnen Gebremedhin toeing the line to take a crack at mid 3:40's, but is it too much to ask for just one measly yank to root for? I know that recent graduates and Team New Balance rookies Craig Miller and Jack Bolas are running the 1500m (Oslo's equivalent of the International Mile at Prefontaine) and with 3:37 PR's, and would likely be hard pressed to hang on to this field, but can someone call Alan Webb or at least get David Krumenacker to rabbit? My patriotism aside, this will be a great event, but is no longer the meet closer as there will be some guy named Bolt running the half lap to drive the Norwegians into a frenzy to close the show!

The Adidas Grand Prix is where all the American milers will be that aren't named Matt Centrowitz, Dorian Ulrey, AJ Acosta or Miles Batty. Where in years past the Prefontaine Classic has been the Nike showcase meet and the Adidas Grand Prix has been the, uh, Adidas showcase meet, there has been a little cross pollination this year. One noticeable example of this was Nike athlete Shannon Rowbury passing on Pre and showing up on the startlist of the very strong women's 1500m at Adidas. The field is stacked with top Americans Jenny Simpson, Anna Pierce, Molly Huddle, Morgan Uceny, Treniere Moser and Brie Felnagle, as well as Kenya's (via OTC) Sally Kipyego, Jamaica's Kenia Sinclair, Britain's Hannah England and Ethiopia's Gelete Burka. Let's hope the Americans fight for the win and don't treat it like a championship race in a second pack like the sometimes do when too many of them get together.

Finally, the NCAA's are going on in Des Moines, IA. Not that they'd be taking away from either of the Diamond League meets, but it's just another great event going on where we should be showcasing our collegians. I know getting events planned in New York City is tough, but hopefully they'll take that into consideration next year as dividing up an already small market share isn't helping anyone. One thing to take note of specifically at the NCAA meet is how strong the men's 400 is going to be. Florida's Tony McQuay ran a time in the semi's (44.87) that would have won Pre by a few steps last week, and that it took 45.51 just to make the finals, a time that would have gotten you 3rd at Pre, a Diamond League meet. Just an example of the talent we have in the university system.

All complaining about having too much to watch, you better bet I'll be watching as much as I can. I've already moved an engagement Saturday back an hour so that I can watch all of the Adidas Grand Prix and have DVR'd every showing of the NCAA's and Oslo, just in case I miss something. So happy viewing folks, enjoy it while it lasts as we have a few weeks off after this to prepare for the USA Championships!

400 semi's at NCAA's:

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Battle Royale: NCAA Men's 1500: Centro vs. Batty vs. Acosta vs. Ulrey

Photo courtesy of TrackAndFieldPhoto

On the eve of the start of the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships, on paper, the Men's 1500 looks like one of the strongest events. With seasoned 2009 World Championships qualifier Dorian Ulrey of Arkansas leading the way in terms of PR's (3:35.23), the men of Oregon (AJ Acosta and Matt Centrowitz) and BYU's emerging star, Indoor Mile NCAA Champion Miles Batty, will be right on his tail as the event is going to take quite a performance (or a 52 second final lap, if tactical) to win, or even make the podium.

Centrowitz has a PR of 3:36.92, has looked excellent lately and has been there before, leading up the home straight last year before being passed at the tape by his teammates Andrew Wheating and AJ Acosta; completing a podium sweep for Oregon.

Acosta hasn't looked as sharp this year, but does have a PR of 3:36.48 and his coach, Vin Lannana, has mentioned that Acosta is training for a long season that should last well into the Summer. Acosta did look great coming from way back two weeks ago at the regional, so maybe he's rounding into form at the right time. Anytime you can kick home in 53 or better, you're in an excellent position to win.

BYU's Miles Batty is the new kid on the block this year, having an excellent indoor season where he took the NCAA title in the mile and then placed third behind Russell Brown, Chris Solinksy and beat the rest of a star studded field at the Mt. Sac 1500 in a PR and 2011 collegiate leading time of 3:36.25.

At this point in the season, I'd have to give the edge to Matt Centrowitz, but it won't be easy and a strong field that includes Florida's Dumisani Hlaselo, Arkansas' Duncan Phillips, Montana State's Patrick Casey, Butler's Kris Gauson and Penn State's Ryan Foster amongst others could surprise!

The semifinals are Thursday at 6:15 Central and will be covered by Runnerspace and webcast on GoDrakeBulldogs.com. CBS and CBS Sports Network will have television coverage for many of the finals, including the 1500 Sunday at 12:18 Central. Live results are here

Below are the start lists for the semi's:

Update: Centro takes it! After a slow start, Oregon's Matt Centrowitz runs the last 1200 in a smoking 2:52 to pull away from Dorian Ulrey in the homestretch and then give a little "throat slash" to the cement his win. A little over the top? Sure, but always fun seeing people get pumped up, especially college kids. Great race and a sign of what he may have at USA's in a few weeks.

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Diamond Dash: Can Lukas Verzbicas go sub 4:00 at the Jim Ryun Dream Mile?

Photo courtesy of TrackAndFieldPhoto

After breaking the high school 2-mile record by nearly five seconds at the Prefontaine Classic this past weekend, Lukas Verzbicas has another big goal in mind for this weekend: to become the 5th American high schooler to break 4:00 in the mile.

Despite being a Diamond League meet, one of the biggest storylines this coming Saturday at the Adidas Grand Prix in New York City will be Verzbicas' assault on 4:00 during the Jim Ryan Dream Mile within the meet. Lukas has broken 4:00 on 2 different occasions already, but both were on the slightly downhill St. Charles Foot Mechanics Main Street Mile; a road race, not a track event.

Verzbicas will have plenty of competition to push him towards the hallowed mark as Trabuco Hills, CA's Jantzen Oshier just ran a 4:00.87 1600m (9 meters short of a mile) at the California State Championship last weekend. Also in the race will be Elias Gedyon (3:45 1500m) as well as the Rosa brothers, Ammar Moussa, Edward Cheserek, Billy Orman and a host of other high schoolers that have run 4:10 and under this year.

The meet will be shown on NBC starting at 4pm eastern with possible highlights from the Dream Mile "or the full race depending how good the race is" per Flotrack's Ryan Fenton (The race will be archived on Flotrack as it goes off at 2:40pm). I, for one, think he's got it!

Update: Lukas does it! Becomes 5th American High Schooler to go sub 4 with a 3:59.71. Full results here. Full race video here and here's his post-race Flotrack interview.

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Eugene Diary: Part 6, Final Thoughts

2011 Pre Classic Program

As I fly back to Raleigh via Chicago (via Portland), I can't help but think what a great weekend this was in Eugene. I can truly see now why it's called Track Town USA.

First off, I need to thank (Oregon grad) Kevin from the House of Run podcast for giving me all kinds of advice on Eugene; from where to run to where to eat to where to grab a beer. I dug into all of his suggestions and enjoyed them all (Track Town Pizza mostly).

Next, the Track Focus guys, Jim and Doug, were very hospitable and I had a blast talking track with them in the press box. If you're looking for a house in Eugene, Jim's got a great one for sale that's about 3/4 mile from Hayward Field.

Track Town Pizza, great 'za

Finally, I'd like to thank Jeff Oliver with the Prefontaine Classic for allowing me the chance to be part of the media. A top notch event all around. I'm not going to lie, I was a little bummed out after the meet ended on Saturday. I wasnt ready to say goodbye. Despite some shin troubles of late, I put the trainers and tempos on one more time and headed out for a good 10k fartlek on Pre's Trail before heading back to Portland.

As my car was parked on 22nd, I had to pass Hayward on my way back from Pre's Trail, where I decided to take a chance. I could see they were breaking down all of the equipment associated with putting on a Diamond League event and I also saw the gates open on the back side of the track. I jogged on in looking as nonchalant as a topless, white male in his (early) thirties can look and did a slow jog up to the 400 start in lane 5 before taking off! I ran the first curve relaxed with my head on a swivel before hitting the backstretch hard. I cruised the Bowerman curve before going into a full sprint over the final 100 to finish my stealth 400 at Hayward in 67.

3 of 4 headlines are Track!

As I jogged off, I got a bunch of big smiles; from the technical crew to a girl on the Oregon team that was getting ready to work out. They knew what I was up to!

I laughed and jogged the half mile down Agate back to my car, and at this point, I was pretty tired. I grabbed a Clif Bar and a Vitamin Water and proceeded to watch some locals play Ultimate Frisbee in the park while I stretched before making the trip back up the I-5 to Portland. What a trip, almost like a dream!

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Eugene Diary: Part 5, Prefontaine Classic

Sammy Wanjiru & Pre Tribute

The day was finally here, the Prefontaine Classic was upon us live at historic Hayward Field. The weather was great for the spectators; maybe a little warm for the athletes with a good dose of pollen in air. Nonetheless, the crowd was treated to great performances from start to finish.

I started the day off with a cup of Stumptown Coffee from Market of Choice and bumped into Mr. Track Town himself, Vin Lananna, in the parking lot. Said hello and headed over to Eugene resident and Track Focus co-founder Jim McDannald's house for some pancakes before heading over to Hayward with Doug Binder. Got a spot one level below last night and the day of Track & Field began.

My view from press row

The International Mile started off the track events for the day with Aussie Ryan Gregson outkicking David Torrence and Ben Blankenship for the win in 3:53.86. Next was the Men's steeplechase. The Americans had a tough time, finishing outside the Olympic A-Standard, but put on an excellent display regardless. The Men's 800 was kind of a let down as Abubaker Kaki got out to a big lead and ran away with it in 1:43.68 (Hayward Record), but Khadevis Robinson ran another strong race for a runner up finish. The women's 1500 was up next and Geleta Burka nudged Christin Wurth-Thomas out of the way with 150m to go and kicked hard for the win in 4:04.63 with Morgan Uceny finishing as the top American in 4:06.32.

The Men's 110m hurdles was certainly one of the top billed events as an epic rematch with David Oliver and Liu Xiang. Xiang got the better of Oliver in Shanghai, but Oliver ran better today, crushing the first few hurdles on the way to a 12.94 world leading time (with Xiang in 13.00). The Men's 400m was a little slow with Angelo Taylor upsetting Jeremy Wariner in 45.16 before another big event for the day, the Men's (and boy's) 2-Mile.

Lukas signing autographs

What was billed as an attack on the American Record (8:07.07) and the American High School Record (8:34), ended up being about half of that as the Men's race went out pretty slow after a quick first lap and the whole group, high schooler Lukas Verzbicas included, ran together for the first 2k or so. As the men's race began to heat up, Verzbicas kept a strong and steady pace himself (after going through the mile in 4:13). The men's pack stayed together through the last 200m when ageless Bernard Lagat showed his well-honed race tactics and kicked for the win in 8:13.62 with Verzbicas kicking home alone about 150m back in a new high school record of 8:29.46. Word is he's pretty confident he can go sub-4 next week at the Jim Ryan Dream Mile in New York.

Gatlin Trending

The Women's 100m athletes benefitted a 2.0 maximum allowed legal wind with Carmelita Jeter finishing  in a world lead of 10.7. Then the men had their turn with Steve Mullings ripping a world leading 9.80 with Michael Rodgers PR'ing in 9.85. A big Twitter-trending story was Justin Gatlin breaking 10 for the first time in 4 years with a 9.97.

Next up, the women's 800m was a tight bunch at the finish with Kenia Sinclair taking the win in 1:58 with 5 Americans at 2:00.xx or better, led by Alysia Montano (nee Johnson). Walter Dix kicked hard in the last 50 to take the 200 in 20.19 before Amantle Montsho surprised the field in the women's 400 in 50.59.

Lagat signing

The last event on the track was the Bowerman Mile, a tribute to past Oregon Coach Bill Bowerman (played by Lee Ermey and Donald Sutherland on film). This is always the highlight of the meet and today was no exception. Haron Keitany led 5 men under 3:50, winning in 3:49.09 with Russell Brown passing Olympic Silver Medalist Nick Willis in the final steps to finish in an American leading 3:51.45. Full results are here

All in all, an excellent day at the track. Perfect weather. Awesome crowd and lots of great races. Hope to make it back next year!

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Eugene Diary: Part 4, Distance Night in Eugene

Mosop was a blur all night

"Distance Night in Eugene" started off with a bang in what could have seemed like a snoozer of an event. The men were attempting world records at 25k (en route) and 30k (75 laps for those keeping score). What started as metronome like 70 second laps turned into the Moses Mosop show after about the first 15k. Mosop negative split all night and scored a US soil record for 20k (from Bill Rodgers), a World Record at 25k (1:12:25) and a World Record at 30k (1:26:47). What impressed me most was the 63 second lap he dropped at lap 45. An excellent showing to get things going.

The second race of the night was the Women's 5000 that was stacked with Americans (Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher, Amy Yoder-Begley, etc) and current World Record holder Tirunesh Dibaba. Well, Dibaba seemed to be having leg troubles before the race and did not start and the rest of the field never really got going fast enough early to give Flanagan a chance at the American Record. While she gave a valiant effort and finished strong in 14:49, you could tell she was a tad disappointed. Kara Goucher's comeback continued with a strong 15:11 showing and Yoder-Begley was way back just under 16.

Solinsky walks off the track

Next what was supposed to be the main event. The showdown of Chris Solinsky versus Galen Rupp in a winner take American Record style race. This never really happened as Rupp did not start, likely due to pollen issues and Solinsky dropped out 7 laps in (Side note: I wonder if either will try to go tomorrow). The race started rather abrupt with a 61 second first lap before going to 68, 67 and then falling into a steady diet of 64's.

While the front of the pack was sorting itself out, Mo Farah (who now trains with Rupp and Alberto Salazar) began to work his way through the pack. He eventually got to the front and powered home the last 600 for a convincing win and European (and British) Record in 26:46, the fastest time in the world in the past 2 years.

While the crowd seemed quite stunned that Rupp did not start, they were still treated to an excellent night of racing and an appetizer of what is to come tomorrow. Can't wait to get back in the morning!

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