On the ladies side, this race was much anticipated and it certainly lived up to the hype. Coming in, people were expecting another thrilling dual between Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher, with Jen Rhines right in the mix, and thats' exactly what happened. It made for a thrilling 5K final that had the crowd on its feet in an exciting final three laps.

But the early going saw a number of other runners in contention.  After an uneven first three laps, Arianna Lambie took control of the race at the 1,600 as the split was 4:56.8.  Needing to run the Olympic A of 15:09 (72 and 73 second laps) to make a possible top three finish also equate to a trip to Beijing, Lambie clicked off a succession of 72 and 73 second laps, going through 3200 at 9:49.1.  By 2K, the race was winnowed down to six contenders:  Lambie, Flanagan, Rhines, Lauren Fleshman, Goucher and Sara Slattery.  Of that group, only Lambie and Slattery did not have the Olympic A. A chase pack that included Molly Huddle, Julie Culley and Rebecca Donaghue was 15 seconds down by 3K.

With the pace slowing in the lead pack after 3,200, the leadership of the race saw a shake-up.  At 1,200 to go, Flanagan took to the lead with Rhines and Goucher in tow.  In just a lap they had put 10 seconds on Fleshman, Slattery and Lambie.  With 800 to go, Lambie had faded and Fleshman and Slattery continued to battle for what would clearly be at best fourth.  And without much of a prayer of hitting the A standard, Fleshman may yet have a chance to go to the Olympics if either Flanagan or Goucher (already on the team in the 10K) opt out of the 5K in favor of the longer race as Fleshman does have the A standard.

But the crowd was focused on Flanagan, Rhines and Goucher.  At 1,000 to go, Flanagan squeezed the pace down to 66.9, then 65.4 and it seemed as if she and Rhines were about to pull away from Goucher in the last lap.  But Goucher somehow found another gear, moving past Rhines at 150 to go and into the lead at 100 to go, exploding to her second national championship at 5K (to go along with her title back in 2006), running her last lap in an impressive 65 seconds.  Rhines managed to get by a suddenly tying-up Flanagan to get second.

Slattery rallied to pass Fleshman for fourth while Culley moved up into seventh but couldn't quite catch sixth-placer Lambie from the early lead pack.

Flanagan was a bit disappointed with her 3rd place finish as it seemed for much of the final 1,200, she was going to be the eventual winner. "My coach kind of had said with three laps to go let's just lay it out there. That last 100 I fell apart a little bit," said Flanagan. "I am a little bummed out. I think my heart is really in the 5K and I think I let some emotions get to me. I think I have been really in control emotion-wise this whole time. I think I let my emotions overtake me a little bit. I really laid my heart out there on the track tonight. I just didn't have enough in that last 50 to 100 meters tonight."

Despite the fact that she didn't get the A standard or top 3, Sara Slattery was very pleased with her fourth place run after a 7th-place finish in the 10k.  "I'm very happy with the way I ran," said Slattery, who said she kept reminding herself of the disappointment she felt after the 10k to make sure she ran well tonight. Slattery said she wasn't concerned about not having the A standard. She felt she was ready to run the A but wasn't going to press the issue. "I wasn't going to push the pace tonight," said Slattery. "I was ready to jog if that was the case."

The hot rumor all week here in Eugene was that Lauren Fleshman had been hurt and after tonight's race Fleshman admitted the rumor was true. She hurt her ankle walking and it set her back the last two weeks. Nonetheless, Fleshman was upbeat after the race. "I really enjoyed the race. I did the best I could today. I had a good time."

We're not sure what was more exciting, the race (which was a great one) or the memorable victory lap of Abdi Abdirahmin, who did not break stride after pulling away from Galen Rupp and Jorge Torres in a thrilling battle.  Seemingly sprinting the victory lap (he was running faster than the lapped runners), he had the crowd on its feet, getting high fives and then jumping in the steeple pit and flexing for the cameras before finally jogging home the final 100 meters.

Perhaps it was the drama leading up to the final battle that had Abdi so fired up. Certainly the crowd was at a fever pitch, especially with hometown favorite Rupp making a play for the win with two laps to go.

It was Abdi who dictated the pace from the very beginning and who put his stamp over the entire race.  Wanting to ensure a fast pace, Abdi took the field out in 4:26.1 and then 8:51.9 at 3,200.  Passing 5K at 13:49.53, Abdi led a group of twelve that included Torres and Rupp immediately behind and then other key players Ed Moran, Josh Rohatinsky, Dathan Ritzenhein and Fasil Bizuneh.  Adam Goucher, the subject of much pre-race discussion, was in 12th and looking strong.  Under cool and relatively calm running conditions, it was a good set-up to dip under the Olympic A standard of 27:50.00.  Running 4:27 to get to mile 4, Abdi, Torres and Rupp had put three seconds on a five-man chase pack that now included Ritz, Rohatinsky, Moran, James Carney and a surging Goucher.  The final two miles were exciting as Goucher moved into fifth and then fourth and it seemed as if he and Carney might lead the chasers up to the top three.

The hopes of the chase pack were just a mirage, however, as Abdi seemed to playing a game of cat-and-mouse with his competitors, surging on the backstretch and then backing off.  He clearly had a lot left in the tank but his efforts did not shake either Torres or Rupp.  Rupp moved to the lead, to the approval of the crowd, with two to go and his 63.3 lap put Torres in trouble and suddenly off the lead pace.  Abdi stayed right with Rupp and then, approaching the bell lap, he passed Rupp on the inside to reclaim the lead. And with a 61.1 closer he was not to be denied.  Abdi ran the last mile in 4:19.  Dictating the tempo the entire way, he looked capable of running with almost anyone in the world.

Rupp dug deep but ultimately finished just over a second back to earn his first Olympic team berth.  Torres hung on for third to earn his first Olympic team spot, just over five seconds ahead of Moran. Rohatinsky, Carney and Goucher also broke 28:00.

US Olympic marathoner and Eugene resident Dathan Ritzenhein ended up in 8th in 28:05.31. In his post-race interview, Ritezenhein said he thought he could run 27:40 off of the marathon training he has been going even though his only taper for this race was not doubling the last 3 days (Ritezenhein ran 120 miles last week). Since he ended up in 28:05 Ritzenhein said he was "a little disappointed" in his race but he found the constant change in pace to be hard to handle as he's been training for the rhythm of the marathon.  "This kind of shows me there is a big difference between marathon and 10k training."

All in all, Ritz said he's happy with where his training is for Beijing. At one point he said he was "a little bit ahead" of where he was for his last two marathons in terms of training but at the same time he said he wished he  "had a few more weeks" before Beijing. He also added that he thought he went into his last few marathons a bit overtrained and it's better to go undertrained.

When Ritz was asked what he thought of Rupp's performance, he turned his attention to Abdirahman.  "I was really impressd with Abdi as he led the whole race." Ritz said Abdi told him before the race he was going to push the pace from the gun and Ritz said he felt sorry that Abdi was going to be hung out to dry.  He said he told Abdi, "Hey if I'm with you. I won't make you take the whole thing."

Great race!!

Alan Webb dictated the pace in the first semifinal, a tough field that also included Bernard Lagat and Rob Myers.  After a quick opening 100 as everyone jockeyed for position, Webb slowed things down and the field went through in 62.0 and 2:05.1.  Lagat, content yesterday to run in the back, was in the top three throughout along with Myers, Garrett Heath and Grant Robison. 

Things picked up with 600 to go as Webb accelerated,  but no one was dropped.  The third 400 was covered in 57.8, and just after 1,200 Myers burst past Webb and for a moment it appeared that Webb would fade further into the pack. But Webb pushed hard and was able to respond but he had to work hard to stay into the top 6.

Lagat moved effortlessly to the heat win as the final lap was covered in 54.3. Rob Myers, the only other guy in this heat besides Webb and Lagat with the Olympic A, ended up second.

David Krummenacker failed to advance as did AJ Acosta (who fell in yesterday's quarterfinals but was advanced to the semis on a protest).

Semifinal one had some big names, but the second heat was arguably even harder. And a continuing subplot in this event continues to be the inspired running of Gabe Jennings, who won his heat for the second day in a row, coming on dramatically in the last lap.  After the slow goings in the first heat, the second semifinal was much more honest as Kyle King brought the field through 400 in 59.9 and 800 in 1:59.4.  Lopez Lomong moved to the front around 900 meters and had Said Ahmed, Leo Manzano, Jon Rankin, Stephen Pifer, King, Jennings and Chris Lukezic in tow.  Someone very good was destined not to advance. With a lap to go, Jennings moved out into lane three and to the roar of the crowd moved up on Lomong's shoulder with 300 to go.  He took the lead with 200 to go and with Lomong and Manzano looking strong and capable right behind him, rolled across the finish line in the fastest time of the day.  Pifer ran a good race of 3:41.78 but ended up with the unwanted designation as the fastest non-advancer of the day.  After leading early, King also faded and did not qualify for Sunday's final. 

We caught up with Jon Rankin after the heat. Once again, he was a great interview but he certainly didn't sound like one of just five guys in the 1,500 with the A standard. "Honestly, I'm so blessed to be in the final. Coming into the 1,500 after the 800, I wasn't so sure. This (the final) is my Olympics," said Rankin.  "I don't feel like I'm a superstar. I feel like everyone. For me to be top 3, I'd be speechless," added Rankin who admitted he's hoping for an honest pace in the final.

Heat  2 Semi-Finals
  1 Gabriel Jennings             Saucony                3:40.07Q
  2 Lopez Lomong                 Nike                   3:40.26Q
  3 Leonel Manzano               Nike                   3:40.32Q
  4 Christopher Lukezic          Reebok                 3:40.50Q
  5 Jon Rankin                   Nike       
           3:40.81Q
  6 Said Ahmed                   Nike                   3:41.05Q
  7 Stephen Pifer                Colorado               3:41.78
  8 Andrew Bumbalough            Georgetown             3:42.45
  9 John Jefferson               Oregon TC Elite        3:44.79
 10 Matthew DeBole               Georgetown             3:45.20
 11 Russell Brown                Stanford               3:46.89
 12
Kyle King                    ZAP Fitness            3:50.58
 13 James Hatch                  unattached             3:57.25

Looking ahead to the final
Coming into the Trials, many thought the 1,500 final would be one of the most anticipated distance finals. It's certainly looking like it will live up to the hype as all of the expected big-time players will be in the final. It's honestly stunning how much the 1,500 Trials went according to form.  All five of the A qualifiers in Webb, Lagat, Manzano, Rankin and Myers have made the final. Actually, moving down the entry list, the top 9 entrants based on qualifying time advanced as did 12 of the top 14. The slowest of the 14 guys in the final is the resurgent Gabe Jennings, who came in with the 14th best seed time of 3:39.59.

The crowd got very excited in heat two as two high schoolers were vying for a chance to compete in Sunday's final and neither disappointed.  Washington-bound Christine Babcock was on the shoulder of first lap leader Erin Donahue as the field went through in 69.1.  Not satisfied with that pace, Christin Wurth took the lead at 600 meters and with Donahue, Lindsay Gallo and Morgan Uceny in pursuit, opened up a 10 meter gap on the field.

The chase pack was led by Frances Koons of Villanova (who has made an inspiring comeback this year from cancer) and Emily Anderson of William & Mary (who has had a breakthrough season), Babcock, and the other high schooler in the field, Jordan Hasay.  There was little doubt who the top four would be with 400 to go as Wurth, Donahue, Gallo and Uceny looked to be on cruise control, hitting 1,200 in 3:23 after laps of 68 and 65 seconds.

But the action was heating up in the chase pack.  To the roar of the crowd, Hasay began her move from eighth up towards the top six.  Her long blond hair making her easy to pick out, Hasay had the crowd going berserk in the final stages of the race as every step forward was met by a larger ovation.  Running in a Team USA uniform, she ended up fifth in 4:14.50, a new national high school record and the fifth best time ever by a U.S. junior.  Jenelle Deatherage came on strong to grab the 6th and final spot as West Viriginia's Keri Bland was seventh.  Koons faded to 8th and Babcock finished up a good pair of races at her first Olympic Trials with a ninth place 4:20.00.  Uceny joined Lopez Lomong as the only athletes at the meet to qualify for the finals of both the 1,500 and 800.

After the race, we caught up with heat winner Gallo, who made fun of herself for winning the prelim by stating she knew "it's cheesy to win a prelim." We asked her if she was worried about not having the A standard heading into the final. She said she'd never been asked that question. We couldn't quite tell if she was joking. The fact we can't tell shows you just how fluff of a piece the average reporter is writing.

"If I get top 3 and don't get the A, I'll probably just complain about the rules and start focusing on 2012," cracked Gallo.