Men’s 800 1st Round: The Favorites Advance With Ease As Robby Andrews Bombs Out
by LetsRun.com
June 20, 2013
*Did you read our 800 preview? If not, catch it here. (Interviews at bottom of this article).
Des Moines, IA – Much like the women’s 800 prelims, the favorites did very well in the first round of the men’s 800 at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field championships. Coming into the meet, 12 men had run under 1:47 on the year and 11 of them moved on to tomorrow’s sixteen person semi-final.
The lone casualty was 2012 Olympic Trials fourth placer Ryan Martin who did not advance. That being said, Martin hadn’t been running well as he was seeded just 12th based on 2013 times.
Fans of Robby Andrews, who won the NCAA outdoor title here in 2011, also went home devasated as there was no Des Moines magic for Andrews who was never a factor in his heat and finished dead last. Andrews’ left the track without talking to the media, so fans searching for answers will have to wait longer.
Heat 1:
Brandon Johnson and Casimir Loxsom went through 400 in a slow 56.80 before Johnson put the hammer down. Those two had gapped the field by 600 and easily went 1-2 as Brian Gagnon secured the final qualifying position.
Splits: 25.7, 56.80 122.8
Quick Thought (QT) #1: The former 400 hurdler Johnson is definitely a legitimate 800 guy now. Sometimes, the type of races that moved up sprinters struggle in are slow 800s. They run a slow last 200 whether the pace is slow or not. That certainly wasn’t the case for Johnson as he ran a big negative split.
Running rounds in the 800 is new to Johnson as he went out in round 1 of the Olympic Trials last year. As he said, “last year I didn’t know what I was doing.” He didn’t want to have to lead here in the wind, but he did what was necessary saying, “it’s kind of windy but at the same time you’ve got to run your race.” Sounds like a veteran 800m runner not a novice.
| Place | Ht Pl | Athlete | Time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 1 | Brandon Johnson Unattached |
1:48.74 | Q | ||||
| 19 | 2 | Casimir Loxsom Brooks |
1:49.17 | Q | ||||
| 20 | 3 | Brian Gagnon New Jersey New York Track Club |
1:49.36 | Q | ||||
| 22 | 4 | James Gilreath adidas Team Green Running |
1:49.68 | |||||
| 23 | 5 | Ryan Martin Asics |
1:49.72 | |||||
| 24 | 6 | Sharif Webb Unattached |
1:50.10 | |||||
| 27 | 7 | Christopher Bilbrew adidas Team Green Running |
1:52.00 |
Tyler Mulder (l), Eric Sowinski and Charles Jock
Heat 2:
The Oregon Track Club’s Tyler Mulder led wire to wire in this high quality heat where 2012 NCAA champ Charles Jock and 2012 NCAA runner-up Eric Sowinski grabbed the other two auto qualifying spots.
QT #1: Mulder killed everyone he raced in Portland a few weeks ago and he looked really good here. Coming in, we had him just behind NCAA champ Elijah Greer as the strongest candidate for the third Moscow spot behind Symmonds and Solomon and we’d say after today’s run, he’s moved slightly ahead of Greer as Greer struggled tactically in heat #4.
Split: 25.9, 53.22,1:20.4.
| Place | Ht Pl | Athlete | Time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 | Tyler Mulder Nike / Oregon TC Elite |
1:48.04 | Q | ||||
| 14 | 2 | Charles Jock Nike |
1:48.40 | Q | ||||
| 15 | 3 | Erik Sowinski Nike |
1:48.44 | Q | ||||
| 18 | 4 | Luke Pawlaczyk Brooks / Running Institute Eli |
1:48.90 | |||||
| 21 | 5 | Travis Burkstrand University of Minnesota |
1:49.49 | |||||
| 26 | 6 | Nicholas Guarino Syracuse Chargers Track Club, |
1:51.61 | |||||
| 28 | 7 | Joshua Guarino Syracuse Chargers Track Club, |
1:53.57 |
Symmonds was last 300 meters in, but would move up. Robby Andrews would not.
Heat 3: Robby Andrews Goes Home Early
Nick Symmonds’ quest for a record sixth straight 800 US title got off to a good start as he moved from next-to-last to first over the second lap. One person who didn’t move up at all was former UVA star Robby Andrews who had a terrible run. People looking for him to show the last to first magic that he showed in winning an epic NCAA men’s 800 final here in Des Moines two years ago never saw a glimmer of it as he remained in last the entire last lap. Andrews declined to speak to the press after the race, walking through the mixed zone without stopping.
Splits: 25.6, 53.10, 119.9.
| Place | Ht Pl | Athlete | Time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | Nicholas Symmonds Nike / Oregon TC Elite |
1:47.10 | Q | ||||
| 8 | 2 | Michael Rutt New Jersey New York Track Club |
1:47.16 | Q | ||||
| 9 | 3 | Joe Abbott Unattached |
1:47.31 | Q | ||||
| 11 | 4 | Mark Husted Unattached |
1:47.87 | |||||
| 13 | 5 | Lance Roller Jr Unattached |
1:48.13 | |||||
| 16 | 6 | Sean Obinwa University of Florida |
1:48.60 | |||||
| 25 | 7 | Robby Andrews adidas |
1:50.34 |
Heat 4
2012 Olympic fourth placer Duane Solomon controlled this heat from start to finish and looked great in doing so as this was by far the most competitive heat of the night. 2013 NCAA indoor and outdoor champ Elijah Greer found himself in fifth and in a tough spot on the inside with 100 meters to go but he went way wide and moved up to get second.
In the end, Greer’s move wasn’t needed as this heat was so good that all seven runners from it actually moved on to the 16 person semifinal. The top three from each heat automatically qualified and the next four times moved on as well and the four time qualifiers were all in this heat.
400 Split for Solomon: 51.75
QT #1: Solomon controlled the fastest heat of the day. The 4th placer from the Olympics looks like he’ll punch his ticket to Moscow along with Nick Symmonds. Who gets third? Greer closed well here but Mulder looked great in heat #2.
QT #2: Another fine run for PSU frosh Brandon Kidder. The NCAA third-placer broke 1:47 for the first time (pervious pb 1:47.23)
| Place | Ht Pl | Athlete | Time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Duane Solomon Jr Saucony |
1:46.39 | Q | ||||
| 2 | 2 | Elijah Greer Oregon |
1:46.66 | Q | ||||
| 3 | 3 | Brannon Kidder Penn State |
1:46.87 | Q | ||||
| 4 | 4 | Mark Wieczorek Brooks |
1:46.93 | q | ||||
| 5 | 5 | Dey Dey Unattached |
1:47.01 | q | ||||
| 6 | 6 | Harun Abda University of Minnesota |
1:47.02 | q | ||||
| 10 | 7 | Richard Jones Unattached |
1:47.39 | q |
Duane Solomon Admits to Watching London Race Nearly Every Week
Nick Symmonds Going for 6th Straight
Erik Sowinski on Breaking Through at Each Level
Tyler Mulder Running Great
Cas Loxsom Now Sponsored by Brooks
Brandon Kidder After Another PR