How do you think this race will play out? None of those guys will be able to kick with Mac Fleet as he showed at Washington!
How do you think this race will play out? None of those guys will be able to kick with Mac Fleet as he showed at Washington!
Blankenship is on fire right now.
Fleet may get too nervous at first one!
I watched that race and he had a sick kick, however it didn't seem like he was mentally in the race - his kick happened to save him and he gained motivation as he gained on his competitors. This seems to happen to freshmen, regardless of how fast they are.
After watching the race from last year, I have to give the nod to the defending champ.
I say its between Mac Fleet, Lee Emmanuel (returning champ remember), Ben Blankenship and Kyle Merber (because he ran a good time on a 200m track, while the rest of these guys ran on oversize tracks.
Don't forget that guy from Maine. He broke 4-min twice on 200m tracks this year (Armory and BU).
When you get to this type of meet, with as many athletes hitting sub4, I don't think you can really base who's going to win off of where they ran their race, or even the time itself. With a meet like this, and the amount of talent in this race, it's simply a matter of who shows up, who's smart, and who get's perhaps, a little lucky =)
Cannot wait for this race, and If I had to choose a winner, I'd say either blankenship or emanuel.
Anbessa
Emmanuel from 600m out, just like last year.
Why on earth is Ulrey not in this race????
Ulrey's double of the 3K and the DMR is easier without having to run sub 4's in the heats of the mile. Team points!
Beer gut with abs wrote:
Why on earth is Ulrey not in this race????
Because he is a pussy. He only likes to run races where he is not the favorite. Yeah, he made the world team but that was as a huge underdog. Yeah, he ran 3:35 but he was pretty much last place in that race. Ulrey only likes to run as an underdog.
well said.
sometimes you just feel it, sometimes you don't. its happened to all of us, for explained reasons and some left unexplained.
I think Fleet and Blankenship have the best shots at winning. Blankenship has a very aggressive finishing kick, but if Fleet takes it with 400m-600m to go, then nobody will be able to catch him.
watch out for Abdi Hassan.
One name to watch for is Patrick Casey from Montana State. He is young and inexperienced for the most part at this level, but he is pretty fast. He is a 48.5 guy who likes to run from the front. Everybody will bash this, but he has a legit shot at doing very well. Of course anyone in the field who is healthy can make the same claim. The prelims will be exciting as there are getting to be more and more legitimately fast guys (leg turnover, not just times) running the mile it seems. There will be a few very good guys not make the final.
Mac won't lose. End of thread.
I am going with Jeff See. He has just as much experience as anyone in the field and he ran 3:58.8 really relaxed at Notre Dame. If the race goes out controlled I think he has a shot at taking down Mac.
gotta give it to the defending champ, he's been here before and he knows whats coming better than most of the others.
fleet probably won't be ready for the rounds and championship style racing where it goes out slow and there are rounds of kicking, however he has ALOT of talent so i do expect him to make the final and probably 3rd maybe 2nd
ill have no problem eating my words saturday though
While evidence would point to Fleet having the strongest kick of the field, positioning will play a large factor in whether he's too far out to reign in the leaders on the last lap. At UW (on a 300 m track), he had more leeway to move out into lane 3 on the final curve and pass close to 10 people. Waiting that long on a 200 m banked track will make things much more difficult, especially given the quality of the field. Regardless, I doubt he's going into this with the mentality of expecting to win, just hoping to make the final and place well. While this might be a more realistic approach for a freshman, it could also leave him farther back in the pack with less room to unleash his kick.
gambler wrote:
I am going with Jeff See. He has just as much experience as anyone in the field and he ran 3:58.8 really relaxed at Notre Dame. If the race goes out controlled I think he has a shot at taking down Mac.
Could be See's race here!
I'm pulling for Casey. His marks this year have been set at altitude and without competition. He's a beast. I'm looking forward to see how it plays out. There really is no clear favorite.