Morgan Uceny & Collis Birmingham Earn Wins At 2012 BAA Invitational Mile
Race Takes Place On 500 Meter City Block With 90 Degree Turns
By Chris Lotsbom.
April 15, 2012
(c) 2012 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
BOSTON -- With temperatures comfortably rising into the 70
degree range (21C) and a slight wind blowing from the south, Morgan
Uceny and Collis Birmingham captured B.A.A. Invitational Mile titles
under clear blue skies here this morning. Uceny clocked a winning time
of 4:43.8, while Birmingham set a new course record of 4:06.0.
For Uceny, 27, the win was her second over the past three years here,
making her the first athlete to earn multiple victories in the event,
annually held a day prior to the Boston Marathon since 2009.
"I knew it was going to be a great day; the weather is so nice," said
Uceny, who was the #1-ranked miler in the world last year by Track &
Field News.
Running from the front, Uceny successfully executed her pre-race
strategy, taking the lead early then relaxing on the second lap. The
race is a three-lap contest run around a 500m city block loop, with the
remaining 109m covered at the start.
"I wanted to get the first lap going a little bit, sit the second lap,
then make sure I was in a good position to kick," she said. Uceny
crossed the line just ahead of last year's winner, Marina Muncan of
Serbia (4:44.5). Gabriele Anderson finished third in 4:46.3, while
Treniere Moser rounded out the four-athlete field in 4:48.0.
"I think I've come a long way in two years," said the champion,
reflecting on her progression since the 2010 victory. "I am more aware
of my running style, my strengths and weaknesses, so it makes it a
little easier when you tap into that."
Uceny, a member of the Mammoth Track Club, informed reporters that
training has been going well in Mammoth Lakes and San Diego, Calif.
Almost too well.
"My training is indicative that I will have my best season yet, but it's
just about staying healthy and making it happen," said the
adidas-sponsored athlete.
On the men's side, Australia's Collis Birmingham broke from
Massachusetts native Tim Ritchie on the penultimate lap, running alone
to get the win.
"I'm in a fairly good training block," said Birmingham, 27, who is
currently training with Bobby Curtis, Adrian Blincoe and Ben St.
Lawrence in the Philadelphia area. Earlier this year, Australia named
the Nike-sponsored Birmingham to their Olympic team for this summer's
games in London in the 5000 meters.
"A lot of high mileage weeks, just trying to get that base there," he
said. The Aussie ran the final lap alone, breaking Andy Baddeley's
event record of 4:08.6 set in 2010.
"I thought I'd get close. The advantage of going to the front is that
you don't slow down as much on the turns," he said, referencing the
course's twelve turns. "Maybe they'll have me back and I'll get under
(four minutes)."
In the Boy's High School Mile, Framingham's Ben Groleau won his second
title, running 4:27.2, more than ten seconds ahead of runner-up Justin
Keefe.
"There was definitely some factor of pressure coming into it," said
Groleau, who is the only athlete to have run all four editions of the
race. "I'm excited, it's awesome."
Bound for the University of Massachusetts Amherst next year, Groleau
hopes to dip under 4:15 for the mile in his final prep season of outdoor
track.
The Girl's High School Mile was won by Evelyn Heffernan of Newton in
5:23.1. A student at Newton North High School, Heffernan extends
Newton's winning streak in the girl's high school event to four straight
years.
"It was very exciting," said the quiet winner. "I'm so honored to be
invited here; it was a great experience. The crowd was unlike anything
I've ever seen before.
Top results appear below.
================================================================= RESULTS OF THE ELITE MEN'S MILE ================================================================= Place Time Name Country ===== ======= ======================================= =========== 1 4:06.0 Birmingham, Collis AUSTRALIA 2 4:11.4 Miller, Kyle USA 3 4:11.7 Bruce, Ben USA 4 4:13.5 Ritchie, Tim USA 5 4:23.2 Walsh, Aidan IRELAND |
================================================================ RESULTS OF THE ELITE WOMEN'S MILE ================================================================ Place Time Name Country ===== ======= ======================================= ========== 1 4:43.8 Uceny, Morgan USA 2 4:44.5 Muncan, Marina SERBIA 3 4:46.3 Anderson, Gabriele USA 4 4:48.0 Moser, Traniere USA |
================================================================ SCHOLASTIC INVITATIONAL MILE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS RESULTS ================================================================ Place Time Name Team ===== ======= =============================== ================= 1 4:27.2 Groleau, Ben FRAMINGHAM 2 4:39.7 Keefe, Justin NEWTON 3 4:40.4 Bolick, Tim HOPKINTON 4 4:40.6 Ward, Michael BOSTON 5 4:40.7 Perry, Mark BROOKLINE 6 4:44.0 Mazaheri, Bijan WELLESLEY 7 4:46.2 Eisenstein, James WELLESLEY 8 4:46.8 Sternstein, Evan BROOKLINE 9 4:49.3 Levenson, Patrick HOPKINTON 10 4:49.7 Saccardo, Christopher NATICK 11 4:56.9 Gramigna, Andrew FRAMINGHAM 12 4:57.7 Wortham, David NEWTON 13 4:59.6 Mahoney, Colin ASHLAND 14 5:04.7 Kimler, Jared NATICK 15 5:08.2 Finch, Robert BOSTON 16 5:25.3 Navarro, Christian ASHLAND |
================================================================= SCHOLASTIC INVITATIONAL MILE HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS RESULTS ================================================================= Place Time Name Team ===== ======= =============================== ==================== 1 5:23.1 Heffernan, Evelyn NEWTON 2 5:24.0 Aarden, Shelby HOPKINTON 3 5:24.8 Lodge, Melissa HOPKINTON 4 5:34.8 Holman, Ellie NATICK 5 5:39.0 McElaney, Annie NATICK 6 5:41.8 Muscaro, Carly ASHLAND 7 5:42.0 Daly, Hannah ASHLAND 8 5:42.5 McGrath, Hannah BROOKLINE 9 5:43.2 Skillman, Kristen BROOKLINE 10 5:47.0 Laurence, Anna NEWTON 11 5:49.5 Violich, Ava BOSTON 12 5:55.1 Wagner, Jennifer FRAMINGHAM 13 5:57.1 Carrigan, Sarah WELLESLEY 14 6:02.0 Charifson, Nikki FRAMINGHAM 15 6:12.5 Sevilla, Nina WELLESLEY 16 7:03.3 Jean, Melissa BOSTON |
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