Oxy Recap: Evan Jager (8:15), Eric Jenkins (13:24), Hassan Mead (3:37) & Kate Grace (4:05) Impress with Victories; Leo Manzano (3:43) Struggles
By LetsRun.com
May 21, 2016
The 2016 Hoka One One Middle Distance Classic (aka Oxy) was held on Friday in Los Angeles and many of America’s top distance talents were there. Some, such as Evan Jager (8:15 steeple with a 57-second last lap), Eric Jenkins (13:24 5k with 55-second last lap) and Robby Andrews (1:47 800) looked great in picking up wins while others, such as Leo Manzano (3:43 for last in heat 4 of the 1500) did not. We recap and analyze all the action with full results below.
Men’s 800: No One Runs Particularly Fast But Robby Andrews Comes From Behind For Win
Robby Andrews ran a typical Robby Andrews race tonight as he exploded over the final 150 to take the victory in 1:47.22. The top heat went out quickly for the first 200 (23.x); Cas Loxsom was the only man even close to the rabbit and he was still about five meters behind. The pace slowed the next 200 and Loxsom came through as the leader in 50.89 seconds with Brandon Johnson behind him, with Andrews in last place in the eight-man field probably close to 15 meters behind.
Harun Abda moved into second on the back straight but Loxsom still looked good; with 200 to go, Andrews was still way back in sixth place. But halfway around the final turn, Andrews launched into his patented kick and quickly began passing runners. He finally drew level with Abda (who had passed Loxsom) with about 20 meters to go and powered through the line for the win.
Heat 4 1 ROBBY ANDREWS ADIDAS 1:47.22 4 2 HARUN ABDA NIKE OTC / N 1:47.42 4 3 BRANDON JOHNSON NIKE 1:47.56 4 4 DAVID TORRENCE HOKA ONE ONE 1:48.50 4 5 MICHAEL RUTT HOKA ONE ONE 1:48.53 4 6 NATHAN FLECK HIGH PERFORM 1:49.18 4 7 BRYAN MARTINEZ MX INTERNATI 1:52.43 4 -- CASIMIR LOXSOM BROOKS BEAST DQ 4
Heat 3 1 DREW WINDLE BROOKS BEAST 1:47.65 3 2 CHARLES JOCK NIKE OTC 1:47.67 3 3 CHRISTOPHER LOW UNATTACHED 1:47.81 3 4 EDOSE IBADIN DISTRICT TRA 1:48.16 3 5 KAWAMOTO SHO SUZUKI 1:48.51 3 6 ELIJAH GREER NIKE OTC 1:48.72 3 7 JESSE JORGENSEN UNATTACHED 1:49.30 3 8 ANTHONY ROMANIW SPEED RIVER 1:49.56 3
Heat 2 1 CHARLIE GRICE SR. UNATTACHED 1:46.95 2 2 DECLAN MURRAY HOKA ONE ONE 1:48.04 2 3 TYLER MULDER NIKE OTCE 1:48.60 2 4 JAMES GILREATH UNATTACHED 1:49.00 2 5 MASATO YOKOTA FUJITSU 1:49.26 2 6 BRIAN GAGNON HOKA ONE ONE 1:49.60 2 7 AARON EVANS TEAM RUN EUG 1:49.80 2 8 LOPEZ LOMONG NIKE BTC 1:50.44 2 9 ABRAHAM ALVARADO STANISLAUS S 1:53.81 2
Heat 1 1 PRINCE MUMBA SANTA MONICA 1:48.89 1 2 JAMES EICHBERGER JR. UNATTACHED 1:49.18 1 3 SADIKI WHITE UNATTACHED 1:49.69 1 4 TETLO EMMEN UNATTACHED 1:49.86 1 5 ADAM PAUL-MORRIS VANCOUVER TH 1:49.98 1 6 RICHARD JONES SRA ELITE 1:51.07 1 7 SELASI LUMAX BIG BEAR TC/ 1:51.11 1 8 JOE ABBOTT UNATTACHED 1:51.35 1 9 PATRICK PETERSON BIG BEAR TC/ 1:58.44 1
Quick Take #1: A mixed night for Cas Loxsom
Loxsom only ran 1:48.16 in his outdoor opener on May 6 and his 1:47.69 here tonight wasn’t much faster, especially when you compare it to his 1:46.23 winning effort at this meet a year ago. But Loxsom looked good for about 750 meters tonight and the 1:47.69 time doesn’t look so bad when you factor in the winner only ran 1:47.22. Obviously the last 50 meters is important in any race, so Loxsom has some work to do, but tonight’s race was a step in the right direction.
Or, it was, until Loxsom learned he had been DQ’d for a lane violation. The good news for Loxsom is that a DQ tonight doesn’t make a huge difference in the scheme of things as he already has the Olympic standard.
Quick Take #2: Good running by Brit Charlie Grice in heat 2
Grice, a World Championship finalist last year at 1500, somehow couldn’t get into one of the top two heats, but wound up running the fastest time of the night in 1:46.95, slicing .05 off his pb. There were four heats and grice was in #2 (#4 was the fast one).
Men’s 1500: 10,000 Meter Man Hassan Mead Beats Everyone – Leo Manzano Struggles
In a field full of 1500 guys, it was the 10k man Hassan Mead who kicked best as he clearly had the best wheels in heat 4 over the final 100, winning by .79 of a second in 3:37.65, the only guy to get the U.S. Trials standard of 3:38.00 (no one was even close to the Olympic standard of 3:36.20).
The final heat (heat #4), which had most of the top guys (the heats were supposedly balanced but heat 4 was clearly strongest on paper) went out quickly in 55.5 for the first 400 but the field slowed down over the second lap (58.35 from 300 to 700) before a glacial 61.30 from 700 to 1100.
At that point, NJ*NY TC teammates Ford Palmer and Michael Atchoo were running 1-2 but they were quickly overhauled by Pat Casey, who seized the lead in the backstretch. Casey, in turn, was passed by another NJ*NY runner, Colby Alexander, with 200 to go. But lurking behind Alexander was Mead, and at the top of the home stretch, he shifted into a gear that nobody else could match, winning handily in 3:37.65 (last lap was sub-56 seconds). Alexander held on for second while Aussie Jordan Gusman took third in a PR of 3:38.58.
Jordan McNamara won heat 3 with a huge move. Canada’s Charles Philibert-Thiboutot led at the bell and with 200 to go had a gap of five meters on the field. But McNamara went hard on the home straight and even turned his head to stare down CPT as he passed him just before the line.
Heat 4 1 HASSAN MEAD NIKE OTCE 3:37.65 4 2 COLBY ALEXANDER NEW JERSEY N 3:38.44 4 3 JORDAN GUSMAN SAUCONY / TE 3:38.58 4 4 ANDREW WHEATING NIKE OTC 3:38.60 4 5 JOHNNY GREGOREK ASICS/NEW JE 3:38.81 4 6 DUNCAN PHILLIPS BROOKS 3:39.37 4 7 PAT CASEY NIKE OTCE 3:40.05 4 8 DORIAN ULREY BROOKS BEAST 3:40.11 4 9 PETER CALLAHAN UNATTACHED 3:40.57 4 10 GARRETT HEATH BROOKS BEAST 3:40.63 4 11 FORD PALMER HOKA ONE ONE 3:41.73 4 12 MICHAEL ATCHOO NEW JERSEY N 3:42.99 4 13 LEONEL MANZANO HOKA ONE ONE 3:43.86 4
Heat 3 1 JORDAN MCNAMARA NIKE OTCE 3:38.26 3 2 CHARLES PHILIBERT-THIBOU ASICS CANADA 3:38.39 3 3 DANIEL WINN BOSTON ATHLE 3:38.93 3 4 RILEY MASTERS BROOKS BEAST 3:38.99 3 5 CHAD NOELLE UNATTATCHED 3:39.45 3 6 SAM PENZENSTADLER DISTRICT TRA 3:39.64 3 7 THOMAS RIVA UNATTATCHED 3:39.99 3 8 MAC FLEET NIKE OTC / N 3:40.20 3 9 MO AHMED NIKE BTC 3:40.87 3 10 JACK BOLAS HOKA ONE ONE 3:44.25 3 11 DANIEL HERRERA HIGH PERFORM 3:44.79 3 -- LIAM BOYLAN-PETT NEW JERSEY N DNF 3
Heat 2 1 BENJAMIN SAAREL UNATTACHED 3:39.67 2 2 CHRISTOPHER SANDOVAL ZATOPEK 3:41.03 2 3 TRAVIS BURKSTRAND BROOKS 3:41.37 2 4 ISAAC PRESSON REBEL TRACK 3:42.04 2 5 KIRUBEL ERASSA ATLANTA TRAC 3:43.17 2 6 JOSHUA WRIGHT ASICSSYDNEY 3:43.25 2 7 DANIEL GORMAN RUNNING ROOM 3:43.52 2 8 DIEGO ESTRADA ASICS 3:45.30 2 9 CIARAN O LIONAIRD NIKE OTCE 3:53.77 2 Heat 1 1 ROBBIE FITZGIBBON UNATTACHED 3:41.51 1 2 JOSHUA JOHNSON TEAM TELFORD 3:43.55 1 3 NICHOLAS ROSS NE DISTANCE 3:43.67 1 4 ZACH HANSEN SAINT MARY'S 3:43.87 1 5 AUSTIN TAMAGNO UNATTATCHED 3:44.14 1 6 JEREMY ROFF ASICSSYDNEY 3:45.14 1 7 ADAM GODWIN UNATTACHED 3:45.77 1 8 LUIS GUTIERREZ BIG BEAR TC/ 3:53.69 1 -- ANDREAS DIMITRAKIS ARETE INTERN DNF 1
Quick Take #1: A great race for Hassan Mead. The rest of the field? Not so much.
Mead had already shown he could run well at 3000 indoors, narrowly losing to eventual World Indoor silver medallist Ryan Hill at Millrose in February, and he did beat Galen Rupp over a mile at the Flotrack Throwdown last year. Still, it was a bit jarring to see Mead not just win, but win convincingly, against a field of 1500 guys in a pb of 3:37.65 (previous best 3:38.72). Mead’s running the 5,000 at Pre next weekend and looks ready to do something big there.
While getting the Olympic standard of 3:36.20 tonight was going to be tough, it’s amazing that Mead was the only man to get the Olympic Trials standard of 3:38.00 (and Mead likely will focus on the 5k/10k in Eugene rather than). Most of these guys already have the Trials standard (the qualifying window opened on May 1, 2015) but there’s one big name who doesn’t: Andrew Wheating. Wheating, a two-time Olympian, was fifth at USAs last year and is well-suited for hard-closing championship races, but he was only fourth here tonight in 3:38.60. Wheating should still get into the Trials (the field size is 30 and only 21 men have the auto standard) but he will still need to run faster between now and July 1 considering you can’t chase the Olympic standard after the Trials.
MB: 10,000m Runner Hassan Mead Just Crushed Wheating and Manzano at 1500 – They’re Done
Quick Take #2: Another bad showing for Leo Manzano
Manzano ran close to Wheating mid-pack for two laps but was dropped by the field by the time they hit the bell and finished dead last in heat 4 in 3:43.86. Of course, he did something similar in 2012, when he ran an ugly 4:00.78 mile in London in his final race before the Olympics (that season ended up okay for Manzano).
But Manzano had also won USA Indoors and the Olympic Trials earlier in 2012.. In 2016, Manzano has run poorly in both of his outdoor races (1:49.92 at the Texas Relays and 3:43 tonight) so far. And that came after he switched coaches and missed some time indoors.
Leo still has time to turn it around, as he always seems to do, but he needs to show something between now and the Trials. Matthew Centrowitz is going to the Olympics unless he falls. Robby Andrews has a big kick and is unlikely to be beaten on current form,so the battle for the third spot will be a war.
Quick Take #3: Welcome back, Ben Saarel
Saarel, who is in his third year at Colorado but who ran unattached tonight, had been MIA since NCAA XC in November, but he looked good tonight, destroying the rest of heat 2 to win in 3:39.67.
Men’s 5000: Eric Jenkins Crushes Everyone On The Last Lap
The top heat came down to the final 400, at which point there were seven guys still in contention (Eric Jenkins, Tom Farrell, Jeff See, Leonard Korir, Sam Chelanga, Kemoy Campbell and Reed Connor). But it quickly became apparent that one man was head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the field as Jenkins took off like a bat out of hell at the bell and had 15 meters on the field with 200 to go. From there, he cruised to the win in 13:24.67 thanks to a 55.38 last lap, with Korir holding off former college rival Chelanga for second, 13:27.21 to 13:27.53.
Heat 2 1 ERIC JENKINS NIKE OREGON 13:24.67! 2 2 LEONARD KORIR WCAP 13:27.21 2 3 SAM CHELANGA NIKE 13:27.53 2 4 TOM FARRELL NIKE OTCE 13:27.77 2 5 KEMOY CAMPBELL NEW BALANCE 13:30.09 2 6 JEFF SEE ASICS FURMAN 13:31.21 2 7 REED CONNOR HOKA ONE ONE 13:31.79 2 8 BRIAN SHRADER SAUCONY 13:39.55 2 9 LUC BRUCHET ASICS 13:41.58 2 10 GEORGE ALEX ZAP FITNESS 13:42.43 2 11 ROSS PROUDFOOT SPEED RIVER 13:53.09 2 12 JONATHAN PETERSON TEAM USA MIN 13:55.11 2 13 MAVERICK DARLING SAUCONY 14:17.49 2 -- DIEGO BORREGO SR. UAZ DNF 2
Heat 1 1 FREZER LEGESSE UNDER ARMOUR 13:36.88 1 2 MITCHEL BROWN NIKE BTC 13:37.52 1 3 HIROKI MATSUEDA FUJITSU 13:37.84 1 4 ABBABIYA SIMBASSA TEAM USA MIN 13:38.42 1 5 ERIC FINAN TEAM RUN EUG 13:39.89 1 6 BRENDAN GREGG HANSONS-BROO 13:43.52 1 7 PETER CORRIGAN RUNNING ROOM 13:48.57 1 8 BENJAMIN PAYNE U.S. AIR FOR 13:49.70 1 9 RYAN DOHNER HOKA NAZ ELI 13:51.00 1 10 MIKE TATE UNATTATCHED 13:51.23 1 11 RIDOUANE HARROUFI UNATTACHED 13:51.60 1 12 MALCOLM HICKS NIKE NEW ZEA 13:54.80 1 13 JACOB EDWARDS BROOKS 13:56.38 1 14 TONNY OKELLO UNATTACHED 13:59.85 1 15 ERIC AVILA HOKA ONE ONE 14:06.32 1 16 GABRIEL PROCTOR ASICS MTC 14:32.28 1 -- CARLOS JAMIESON UNATTACHED DNF 1 -- SEAN QUIGLEY SAUCONY/BOUL DNF 1
Men’s 3000 steeple: Evan Jager Crushes Everyone On The Last Lap
This race was close for the first 2500 meters until Evan Jager decided to end it quickly. Cory Leslie worked hard to push the pace once the rabbit dropped out but with 800 to go, there was still a large pack of men behind Leslie, led by Bowerman Track Club teammates Matt Hughes and Jager. At the top of the homestretch on the penultimate lap, Jager moved hard and by 450 he and Hughes had moved around Leslie and into the lead.
Over the final lap, it was all Jager. He powered away from the field, closing in an impressive 57.3 seconds for his last lap and 2:00 for his last 800 to win in 8:15.26. Dan Huling, who beat Jager at Worlds last year, moved into second past Hughes and Leslie on the final water jump and held off a hard-charging Leslie over the final 150 to take second in 8:18.58.
Heat 3 1 EVAN JAGER NIKE BTC 8:15.26* 3 2 DAN HULING NIKE BTC 8:18.58! 3 3 CORY LESLIE NIKE 8:19.12! 3 4 MATT HUGHES NIKE BTC 8:20.63! 3 5 ROB MULLETT UNATTACHED 8:22.42! 3 6 DONALD COWART SAUCONY 8:23.38! 3 7 ANDREW BAYER NIKE BTC 8:24.37! 3 8 TRAVIS MAHONEY HOKA ONE ONE 8:25.44! 3 9 CHRIS WINTER SPEED RIVER 8:27.18! 3 10 CRAIG FORYS ASICS FURMAN 8:27.19! 3 11 CHRIS DULHANTY SPEED RIVER 8:31.02 3 12 JAMES NIPPERESS ASICSSYDNEY 8:32.59 3 13 HIRONORI TSUETAKI FUJITSU 8:46.21 3 -- ALEX GENEST SPEED RIVER DNF 3
Heat 2 1 ARIC VAN HALEN UNATTACHED 8:32.94 2 2 RYAN BROCKERVILLE VALLEY ROYAL 8:34.09 2 3 MICHAEL JORDAN NEW JERSEY N 8:35.47 2 4 MARK PARRISH UNATTACHED 8:35.56 2 5 ANTOINE THIBEAULT Z_NIX DE LA 8:39.89 2 6 DYLAN LAFOND UNATTACHED 8:43.80 2 7 JACKSON NEFF BOWERMAN TRA 8:48.90 2 8 AUSTIN BUSSING ROGUE AC 8:49.82 2 9 BEN BRUCE HOKA NAZ ELI 8:50.16 2 10 HENRY STERLING NE DISTANCE 8:50.42 2 11 JAMES HURT III TEAM RUN EUG 8:50.45 2 12 LUIS IBARRA ZATOPEK MEX 8:58.18 2 -- MATT CLEAVER ROGUE AC DNF 2
Heat 1 1 ISAAC UPDIKE TEAM RUN EUG 8:31.42 1 2 MIKE HARDY UNATTACHED 8:32.55 1 3 AUSTIN O'NEIL UNATTACHED 8:36.60 1 4 TOMAS COTTER ASICS FURMAN 8:37.12 1 5 CARL STONES UNATTACHED 8:37.81 1 6 JOHN SULLIVAN ROGUE AC 8:41.45 1 7 MATTHEW WILLIAMS U.S. AIR FOR 8:45.58 1 8 DAVID GOODMAN NE DISTANCE 8:46.30 1 9 JONATHAN SEES SRA ELITE 8:58.85 1 10 NICHOLAS HILTON TEAM RUN FLA 9:05.24 1 -- MARIO BAZAN PER_ DNF 1
Quick Take #1: Jager looked fantastic and knows he needs to work on his closing speed to medal at the Olympics this summer
Jager has speed (3:32 1500 pb) but his ability to shift gears has not been great in recent years, at least compared to top Kenyans such as Ezekiel Kemboi and Conseslus Kipruto. In his post-race interview, he said this year he’s really focused on improving that, running hard, fast intervals at the end of practice to get experience running at top speed over barriers while tired.
His 57.3 final lap tonight was a very good sign. Here’s how that close compares to what Kemboi has done to win the last three global championships:
2016 Hoka One One (Jager): 57.3 (8:15 winning time)
2015 Worlds (Kemboi): 56.6 (8:11 winning time)
2013 Worlds (Kemboi): 56.8* (8:06 winning time)
2012 Olympics (Kemboi): 56-mid (not sure on exact split)
*there was an outside water jump in Moscow, but Kemboi’s 60.29 equates to about 56.8 on a track with an inside water jump like Oxy
57.3 on the last lap is fantastic for May, but Jager still has work to do. Kemboi doesn’t run 56’s on the final lap by making one hard move; he gradually shifts gears before exploding somewhere between 150 and 250 to go (and often his last lap could be faster as he likes to drift to the outer lanes to celebrate near the finish). Either Jager has to match that or move hard enough early enough that Kemboi’s isn’t fresh enough to really go for it over the final 200.
Jager knows this and said he thinks he’ll have to close in 55 or 56 to earn a medal at Worlds.
While Jager was clearly focused on working on his close, we should point out that this was actually Jager’s slowest season-opening steeple since he took up the steeple in 2012, but given how easy he made the last lap, he likely could have run in the 8:0x range tonight had he been pushed.
2012: 8:26.14 1 Walnut CA 19 Apr
2013: 8:08.60 4 Eugene OR 1 Jun
2014: 8:06.97 2 Oslo 11 Jun
2015: 8:05.28 4 Eugene OR 30 May
2016: 8:15.26 1 Los Angeles CA 20 May
Quick Take #2: You get a PR! You get a PR!
Leslie kept the pace going when the rabbit dropped out and he was rewarded with a PR of 8:19.12, breaking 8:20 for the first time. Several of the other runners behind him owe him a beer as there were a ton of PRs, summarized below:
Rob Mullett: 8:30.63 to 8:22.42 (Brit gets the 8:30 Olympic standard with room to spare)
Donnie Cowart: 8:26.38 to 8:23.38
Travis Mahoney: 8:27.08 to 8:25.44
Women’s 800: Laura Roesler Edges Martinez Late
Laura Roesler’s fine 2016 continued with another victory as she outleaned Brenda Martinez at the line to win, 2:00.15 to 2:00.18. No U.S. woman has broken 2:00 this year, but Roesler has come close as she’s now run 2:00 three times (including indoors). The race itself went out in 58.31 with Molly Ludlow leading at the bell behind the rabbit with Martinez behind her. At 600, Roesler was gapped by Ludlow and Martinez but began to make up ground on the final turn and coming off the bend, she and Martinez swung wide to battle for the win. Martinez edged in front a few steps down the home straight, but Roesler never gave up and pulled ahead right at the line. Phoebe Wright, who was third at USA Indoors, got up for third here in 2:01.03.
Heat 3 1 LAURA ROESLER NIKE / TEXAS 2:00.15! 3 2 BRENDA MARTINEZ NEW BALANCE 2:00.18! 3 3 PHOEBE WRIGHT NIKE 2:01.03! 3 4 MOLLY BECKWITH-LUDLOW SAUCONY 2:01.11! 3 5 JESSICA SMITH VALLEY ROYAL 2:03.26 3 6 MCKAYLA FRICKER BROOKS/HPW 2:03.71 3 7 LAUREN WALLACE OISELLE 2:04.19 3 8 LORA STOREY ASICSSYDNEY 2:04.87 3 9 SHANNON ROWBURY NIKE OREGON 2:05.30 3
Heat 2 1 SHELBY HOULIHAN NIKE BTC 2:02.02 2 2 KENDRA CHAMBERS TEXAS ELITE 2:02.20 2 3 BETHANY PRASKA UNATTACHED 2:02.44 2 4 GEENA LARA BROOKS / TEA 2:03.91 2 5 SAM MURPHY UNATTATCHED 2:04.26 2 6 ANNETTE MELCHER U.S. AIR FOR 2:04.69 2 7 CHELSEA COX UNATTACHED 2:04.87 2 8 RACHEL FRANCOIS UNATTATCHED 2:05.56 2 9 STEPHANIE CHARNIGO UNATTACHED 2:05.96 2
Heat 1 1 JENNA WESTAWAY BROOKS RUNNI 2:02.12 1 2 KENIA SINCLAIR UNATTACHED/A 2:02.32 1 3 DOMINIQUE JACKSON OISELLE / SR 2:02.39 1 4 MEGAN MALASARTE BROOKS BEAST 2:03.98 1 5 JESSE CARLIN DISTRICT TRA 2:04.05 1 6 HELEN CROFTS VALLEY ROYAL 2:04.28 1 7 LEA WALLACE SRA ELITE 2:04.29 1 8 ALISHA BROWN UNATTATCHED 2:04.35 1 9 HANNA HERMANSSON MARYMOUNT CA 2:04.36 1 10 LINDSEY BUTTERWORTH VALLEY ROYAL 2:04.37 1 11 ELIZABETH STAKER BIG BEAR TC/ 2:05.40 1 12 KENYETTA IYEVBELE UNATTACHED 2:06.33 1
Quick Take #1: Martinez rebounded nicely after a rough showing at Drake
Martinez had an uncharacteristically poor race in the 1500 at last month’s Drake Relays, dying badly over the final lap to finish ninth in 4:14. But she ran 2:01.51 on this track two weeks ago and went even faster tonight, suggesting that Drake was just a blip on the radar.
Women’s 1500: Kate Grace Continues To Impress
The Year of Kate Grace continued tonight as the US leader at 800 earned yet another PR, using a strong final 200 to win the top heat of the 1500 in 4:05.65. The entire field was still in this one at the bell (3:02.69) with Aussie champ Heidi See leading the way in search of the Olympic standard. Just before the final turn, Grace made a hard move into the lead, pumping her arms vigorously and looking strong as she began to gap the field. She was still in the lead as she hit the home stretch, but the Oregon Track Club’s Sheila Reid wasn’t licked yet and began to make up the deficit by moving up on Grace’s inside.
That left two questions: would Reid catch Grace, and would she have enough room on the inside to pass her if she did?
In the end, it looked like Reid couldn’t quite get there but it’s also possible she didn’t go all out as she didn’t want to try to squeeze by Grace on the inside as there wasn’t a lot of room. If this was the Olympics, Reid might have made contact but Grace got the win over a good field.
Heat 4 1 KATE GRACE OISELLE / OI 4:05.65! 4 2 SHEILA REID NIKE OTCE 4:05.74! 4 3 KATHERINE MACKEY BROOKS BEAST 4:06.33! 4 4 SHANNON ROWBURY NIKE OREGON 4:06.58! 4 5 EMMA COBURN NEW BALANCE 4:06.92! 4 6 GABRIELA STAFFORD UNIVERSITY O 4:07.83 4 7 ASHLEY HIGGINSON SAUCONY/NJ/N 4:08.13 4 8 STEPHANIE GARCIA NEW BALANCE 4:08.35 4 9 HEIDI SEE ASICS FURMAN 4:08.45 4 10 NICOLE SIFUENTES SAUCONY 4:08.93 4 11 RACHEL SCHNEIDER UNDER ARMOUR 4:09.39 4 12 NICOLE TULLY HOKA ONE ONE 4:11.84 4 -- SASHA GOLLISH OISELLE/TORO DNF 4
Heat 3 1 MORGAN UCENY ADIDAS 4:09.27 3 2 REBECCA TRACY OISELLE 4:09.75 3 3 KIM CONLEY NEW BALANCE 4:09.89 3 4 CORY MCGEE NEW BALANCE 4:10.59 3 5 SARA SUTHERLAND SAUCONY 4:10.75 3 6 HILARY STELLINGWERFF SPEED RIVER 4:10.89 3 7 AMANDA ECCLESTON BROOKS 4:10.90 3 8 STEPHANIE SCHAPPERT HOKA ONE ONE 4:11.05 3 9 TRENIERE MOSER NIKE OREGON 4:12.59 3 10 GRETA FELDMAN NEW JERSEY N 4:13.22 3 11 DANA MECKE TEXAS ELITE 4:12.25 3 12 HANNAH FIELDS BROOKS BEAST 4:20.26 3 13 EMILY LIPARI BOSTON ATHLE 4:30.21 3 -- GABRIELE GRUNEWALD BROOKS BEAST DNF 3
Heat 2 1 STEPHANIE BROWN UNATTACHED 4:12.33 2 2 SARA VAUGHN BOULDER TRAC 4:13.60 2 3 BRIE FELNAGLE ADIDAS 4:13.79 2 4 KATELYN SIMPSON ASICSSYDNEY 4:15.02 2 5 FIONA BENSON NIKE 4:16.95 2 6 MARIAH KELLY UNATTATCHED 4:18.70 2 7 KENDRA POMFRET MIZUNO RUN C 4:18.72 2 8 KATE VAN BUSKIRK BROOKS RUNNI 4:19.77 2 9 CARISE THOMPSON SPEED RIVER 4:29.61 2 10 RAQUEL LAMBDIN UNATTACHED 4:32.56 2 -- LAURA CARLYLE OISELLE DNF 2
Heat 1 1 ERICA DIGBY VANCOUVER TH 4:14.73 1 2 YOLANDA NGARAMBE ATLANTA TRAC 4:16.15 1 3 SARAH MACPHERSON FFFT 4:16.38 1 4 TRACEE VAN DER WYK UNATTACHED 4:16.79 1 5 LIANNE FARBER NEW BALANCE 4:17.17 1 6 MORGAN MOSBY U.S. AIR FOR 4:17.53 1 7 ANNIE BECK STRAVA TRACK 4:17.77 1 8 NOZOMI MUSEMBI TAKAMATSU NIKE 4:18.20 1 9 KRISTEN FINDLEY HIGH PERFORM 4:23.77 1
Quick Take #1: Kate Grace rolls on
Grace, who joined NorCal Distance Project in July, had a personal best of 4:07.35 entering 2016 and she’s run faster than that in all three of her 1500s so far this year now that she’s healthy again (4:06.75 indoors, 4:07.15 at Drake, 4:05.65 tonight). It should be remembered that Grace, a Yale product, was fourth at USAs in the 800 three years ago before missing the entire 2015 track season. Tonight reinforced the idea that she’s a real contender for the Olympic team at 1500 this year.
Quick Take #2: A nice second half of her double for Shannon Rowbury
Rowbury’s 2:05.30 800 earlier in the meet was nothing special (she was last in her heat) but she ran well in her specialty event, considering her fatigue, taking fourth in 4:06.58.
Quick Take #3: Emma Coburn looked good in her season debut
Coburn, like teammate Jenny Simpson, hadn’t raced yet in 2016 (perhaps because of a winter injury) but it didn’t show as she ran 4:06.92 to take fifth overall. That’s a very nice performance considering she ran 4:10.77 in her outdoor opener at this meet last year.
Quick Take #4: The Olympic standard will have to wait for Heidi See
See, who will be on the Australian Olympic team should she hit the standard, went after the 4:07.00 mark tonight but came up just over a second short, running 4:08.45. This was a season best in her first crack at getting the standard since the Australian Trials, so she’s certainly got a chance to knock the final 1.45 seconds off over the next month or two.
Quick Take #5: Morgan Uceny looked calm and composed in winning heat 3 (Grace won heat #4)
Uceny, the former world #1, moved into the lead on the first turn of the final lap, but she was passed by Rebecca Tracy and 2016 World Indoors team member Cory McGree on the back stretch. Uceny hung tough, however, and didn’t panic when boxed on the final turn, waiting for a gap to open up before taking the lead with 50 meters to go. From there, Uceny powered to the win in 4:09.27 while Kim Conley moved up well for third in 4:09.89 behind Tracy, who was second in 4:09.75.
Uceny, who won the 2012 Olympic Trials in the 1500 but has been inconsistent since then, didn’t get the Olympic standard but said she wasn’t that worried.
Women’s 5000: Canada’s Andrea Seccafien Runs Big PB; Jordan Hasay Has Huge Blowup
Canada’s Andrea Seccafien came one step closer to punching her ticket to Rio as she won the women’s 5,000 here with a big final 100 in a 14-second PR of 15:17.81. Seccafien and Jessica O’Connell are the only Canadians with the 15:24.00 Olympic standard and looks to be in good position to make the team. Americans Jessica Tebo (15:21.88) and Kellyn Talyor (15:22.10) both nabbed the Rio standard as well while Sara Hall put up a nice effort to run 15:28 less than a month after running 2:30:06 at the London Marathon. Natosha Rogers, who was second at the 2012 Olympic Trials in the 10,000 (she didn’t go to London as she didn’t have the standard) ran her best race in four years, taking fifth in 15:28.56. That’s a huge improvement given she only ran 15:58 at Payton Jordan three weeks ago. Could she be a player at the Trials?
Jordan Hassay ran with the lead group for about 11 minutes but totally cratered on the way home, finishing in just 15:50.
1 ANDREA SECCAFIEN SAUCONY/TORO 15:17.81! 2 JESSICA TEBO NIKE 15:21.88! 3 KELLYN TAYLOR HOKA NAZ ELI 15:22.10! 4 SARA HALL ASICS 15:28.25 5 NATOSHA ROGERS NEW BALANCE 15:28.56 6 JESS TONN BROOKS BEAST 15:30.34 7 KELSEY SMITH UNATTACHED 15:31.95 8 ROCHELLE KANUHO HOKA NAZ ELI 15:31.95 9 KATE SPENCER ASICSSYDNEY 15:33.40 10 NATASHA WODAK ASICS CANADA 15:37.70 11 ALYCIA CRIDEBRING SRA ELITE 15:38.29 12 LUCY OLIVER UNATTATCHED 15:39.30 13 RACHEL CLIFF ASICS 15:45.91 14 ALIA GRAY ROOTS RUNNIN 15:46.31 15 AMINAT OLOWORA SR UNATTACHED 15:49.75 16 JORDAN HASAY NIKE OREGON 15:50.12 17 KRISTEN ROHDE HIGH PERFORM 16:18.30 -- NICOLE BLOOD HIGH PERFORM DNF -- RENEE METIVIER MIZUNO DNF -- ALLISON GRACE MORGAN BROOKS DNF
Women’s 3000 steeplechase: Jamie Cheever Wins
Jamie Cheever only ran 9:53 at Payton Jordan earlier this month but she made a big improvement here, winning the fast section handily in 9:37.12 to set the meet record (she already had the Olympic standard of 9:45 going in). 2012 Olympian Shalaya Kipp edged out Boise State alum Marisa Howard for second in 9:42.31.
Heat 2 1 JAMIE CHEEVER UNATTACHED 9:37.12* 2 2 SHALAYA KIPP OISELLE 9:42.31! 2 3 MARISA HOWARD UNATTACHED 9:42.94! 2 4 MARIE LAWRENCE OISELLE 9:43.90! 2 5 SARAH PEASE UNATTACHED 9:46.74 2 6 LENNIE WAITE ROGUE AC 9:46.88 2 7 EMILY RITTER NEW JERSEY N 9:48.29 2 8 NICOL TRAYNOR HOKA ONE ONE 9:51.51 2 9 MEGAN ROLLAND OISELLE 9:51.73 2 10 RENA CHESSER UNATTACHED 9:52.66 2 11 JESSICA FURLAN EXCEL ATHLET 10:12.69 2 12 REBEKA STOWE HOKA ONE ONE 10:23.14 2 13 ADDIEY BRACY BROOKS / HUD 10:31.15 2 -- ANA NARVAEZ ZATOPEK MEX DQ 2
Heat 1 1 ALEXINA WILSON UNATTATCHED 9:50.07 1 2 ALEXANDRA POTRATZ-LEE UNATTACHED 9:55.62 1 3 KATELYN STEEN CLUB NORTHWE 9:56.01 1 5 MEGAN PATRIGNELLI TEAM RUN EUG 9:56.56 1 6 MARA OLSON ADIDAS ROCKY 10:00.09 1 7 AMBER SCHULTZ BROOKS / CLU 10:02.74 1 8 COLLIER LAWRENCE OISELLE 10:04.89 1 9 ROLANDA BELL NEW BALANCE 10:08.34 1 10 MAGGIE CALLAHAN HUDSON ELITE 10:14.31 1 11 CARRIE DIMOFF BOWERMAN TRA 10:15.46 1