Men’s 1500 Prelims: The Cream Rises To The Top As The Favorites All Advance To The Final
By LetsRun.com
June 20, 2013
Cream really does rise to the top. Even in track.
USATF went from 47 entrants to 12 in one round of the 1500 at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and disaster didn’t occur as the big names all advanced to Saturday’s final. Manzano, Centrowitz, Wheating, and Lomong all advanced as the top six entrants based on 2013 seasonal best time all moved on.
Heat 1 men: Centro Makes it Look Easy
550 meters into heat 1
Matt Centrowitz is a savvy racer. Tonight, that was the case yet again, as he was up front throughout and in total control. The three big names of Centro, Will Leer and Andrew Wheating were always in a good spot in the race, near the front. In the end, the Big 3 of this heat would go 1-2-3.
Being in the top 3 was essential as only 3 people in each heat were guaranteed spots in the final, but the top six here all would move on including 3:34/13:16 man David Torrence who snuck in as the last time qualifier.
Splits: 62.5, 2:02.50, 2:47 bell, 3:01.8.
| Place | Ht Pl | Athlete | Time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Matthew Centrowitz Nike |
3:40.91 | Q | ||||
| 2 | 2 | William Leer Nike |
3:41.01 | Q | ||||
| 3 | 3 | Andrew Wheating Nike / Oregon TC Elite |
3:41.14 | Q | ||||
| 4 | 4 | Craig Miller New Balance |
3:41.37 | q | ||||
| 6 | 5 | Matthew Elliott Brooks |
3:41.62 | q | ||||
| 9 | 6 | David Torrence Nike |
3:41.70 | q | [3:41.692] | |||
| 10 | 7 | Patrick Casey Oklahoma |
3:41.70 | [3:41.695] | ||||
| 11 | 8 | Jordan McNamara Nike / Oregon TC Elite |
3:41.74 | |||||
| 17 | 9 | Brett Johnson Oregon |
3:43.07 | |||||
| 18 | 10 | Kirubel Erassa Oklahoma State University |
3:43.82 | |||||
| 19 | 11 | Macklin Chaffee Unattached |
3:45.42 | |||||
| 40 | 12 | Tommy Schmitz Unattached |
3:51.48 | |||||
| 42 | 13 | Daniel Stockberger Unattached |
3:52.04 | |||||
| 43 | 14 | Chris Fallon Ohio State University |
3:54.22 | |||||
| DNS | DNS | Michael Rutt New Jersey New York Track Club |
Centro Says He Got Confidence From Nearly 2 Second 800 PR:
Wheating Says it Wasn’t Pretty But He Learned from It and Talks About Russell Brown’s LetsRun Quote of the Day:
Will Leer Says here Should be 3 Rounds Not 2 With 47 Runners
Heat 2: Leo Manzano is Back?
Bell lap in heat 2
Last year in his last race before the Olympics, Leo Manzano finished dead last and ran 4:00. This year in his last race before USAs, Leo Manzano ran 4:00 and finished dead last at Prefontaine.
A good omen? Perhaps. Tonight, Manzano looked like the guy who won the US championships last year and got the silver medal in the Olympics. Manzano did exactly what Centrowitz did in heat one – control things from the front.
Manzano had to work all the way to the line here as this was a slow heat that featured a big last lap. Manzano ran a 52.21 last lap, second fastest of the night as Russell Brown ran 52.10. 2013 NCAA champ Mac Fleet grabbed the final auto spot.
Splits: 64.9, 211.2, 255 at bell, 308.5.
QT: Manzano didn’t talk to the media after the race walking through the mixed zone without stopping. He did the same thing last year at USAs and at the Olympics and it worked well for him.
QT2: Russell Brown was really happy to make the final and talked a little bit about tactics in the final and had a great quote when he said, “It takes a lot of balls, takes a lot of heart and takes a lot of luck [to make the team]. Most of the time I have two out of the three, sometimes one out of the three. I need to get three out of the three and I think I’ll be all right. Interview below is worth a watch if you’ve got the time.
| Place | Ht Pl | Athlete | Time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 1 | Leonel Manzano Unattached |
3:47.31 | Q | ||||
| 26 | 2 | Russell Brown Unattached |
3:47.44 | Q | ||||
| 27 | 3 | Mac Fleet Oregon |
3:47.60 | Q | ||||
| 29 | 4 | Liam Boylan-Pett Unattached |
3:47.88 | |||||
| 30 | 5 | Garrett Heath Saucony |
3:48.03 | |||||
| 31 | 6 | Jeff See Saucony |
3:48.23 | |||||
| 32 | 7 | Duncan Phillips Unattached |
3:49.27 | |||||
| 33 | 8 | Zachary Perkins Unattached |
3:49.38 | |||||
| 34 | 9 | Patrick Todd Oregon |
3:49.57 | |||||
| 35 | 10 | Stephen Pifer Speed Factory Athletics |
3:49.68 | [3:49.671] | ||||
| 36 | 11 | Tony Jordanek Unattached |
3:49.68 | [3:49.677] | ||||
| 37 | 12 | Richard Harasyn Unattached |
3:50.08 | |||||
| 39 | 13 | Alex Hatz Unattached |
3:50.52 | |||||
| 41 | 14 | Michael Atchoo Stanford University |
3:51.64 | |||||
| 44 | 15 | Andrew Springer Georgetown University |
3:55.00 | |||||
| 46 | 16 | Graham Morris Illinois |
3:57.24 |
Heat 3: Lopez Begins the Double
With none of the first two heats having gone out particularly fast, Indiana’s Andy Bayer saw an opportunity to pick up the three time qualifiers in this heat so he took things out somewhat honestly – 59 flat. But things slowed down a lot on the second lap. In the end, Bayer, the 2012 NCAA champ and 4th palcer at last year’s Olympic Trials, would end up an agonizing .06 away from a time qualifying spot into the final. Lopez Lomong, who is attempting the 1500-5000 double here, responded well over the last 200m to get the win.
QT #1: It sucks to be Bayer as he tried to get in on time but there is no real reason to cry over spilt milk here. At the bell, his split of 2:46.88 was .50 ahead of David Torrence who got in on time from heat #1.
Last year Bayer was 4th at the Olympic Trials after winning the NCAA title. This year, he was 7th at NCAAs and didn’t make the final at USAs. He just doesn’t seem to be in quite the same form – at least year. After the race he said he is in sub 3:35 shape now, he just needs to run the right race. He’s now a pro, but without a shoe contract.
QT #2: Miles Batty came from 5th or 6th with 100 to go to take the final auto spot away from Andy Bayer the guy who edged him for the 2012 NCAA title last year. Interview below.
| Rank | Athlete | Lap Split | Cum Split | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lopez Lomong Nike |
54.82 | 3:41.52 | — |
| 2 | Benjamin Blankenship Nike |
54.62 | 3:41.66 | +3 |
| 3 | Miles Batty Asics |
54.35 | 3:41.69 | +5 |
| 4 | Andrew Bayer Indiana University |
54.89 | 3:41.77 | -1 |
| 5 | Jack Bolas New Balance |
55.19 | 3:41.98 | -3 |
| 6 | Ryan Hill North Carolina State |
54.63 | 3:42.34 | +4 |
| 7 | Daniel Clark Unattached |
55.45 | 3:42.68 | — |
| 8 | Rob Finnerty Wisconsin |
55.62 | 3:42.72 | -2 |
| 9 | Joseph Stilin Unattached |
58.50 | 3:45.98 | — |
| 10 | Isaac Presson North Carolina |
58.27 | 3:46.34 | +3 |
| 11 | Mack McLain Boulder Running Company/adidas |
58.83 | 3:46.67 | +1 |
| 12 | Robby Creese Penn State |
59.48 | 3:47.29 | -1 |
| 13 | Christian Gonzalez New Jersey New York Track Club |
58.83 | 3:47.37 | +2 |
| 14 | Riley Masters Brooks |
1:00.77 | 3:47.65 | -10 |
| 15 | Frezer Legesse Oklahoma |
1:01.84 | 3:50.21 | -1 |
| 16 | Austin Mudd Wisconsin |
1:05.60 | 3:55.49 | — |
Lopez After Heat 1, Talks About Doubling:
Ben Blankenship Gets it Mentally Right
Andy Bayer Says He’s In Sub 3:35 Shape
Miles Batty Gets Revenge on Bayer