MIAC Track 2020

It is a cool evening with minimal wind at Carleton College for the 1500m final. Just like the prelim, Donson Cook-Gallardo takes the lead first. The pace is comfortable and the entire pack stays close behind him. He still holds the lead at 400m, coming through in 63.5. The pace quickens over the next lap as Cook-Gallardo maintains his lead. He hits 800m in 2:05.2, with everyone besides Gustafson within a second.

On the backstretch, Coffey makes a hard move to take the lead. Cook-Gallardo tries to accelerate to maintain his lead, but Coffey is able to get around him before the curve. Coffey extends his lead to half a second when he hits 1200m. Coffey’s move breaks up the pack. Campbell and Escher follow close behind Cook-Gallardo in third and fourth. Behind them, Haskins, Feichtinger, Wintheiser, and Lonergan are in a battle for fifth.

Escher passes Campbell right away on the backstretch and catches Cook-Gallardo right before the curve. He continues to gain on Coffey, passing him as they turn onto the homestretch. Over the last 100m, he lengthens his lead to half a second, winning in 3:48.5. Cook-Gallardo makes a late push, but runs out of time to catch Coffey. Campbell was unable to cover Escher’s move, and is caught by Haskins, who found another gear in the last 200m.

Full Results:

Paul Escher 3:48.5

Joe Coffey 3:49.0

Donson Cook-Gallardo 3:49.2

Zach Haskins 3:49.8

Jake Campbell 3:50.0

Grant Wintheiser 3:50.6

Sean Lonergan 3:51.2

Sean Bjork 3:51.3

Thomas Feichtinger 3:52.0

Jacob Eggers 3:52.8

Brian Saksa 3:53.7

Frank Gustafson 3:55.6

Campbell beat Escher almost every time out...no way he only finishes 5th in this. With 8 guys in the race my guess is the Oles would send Eggers and Bjork to the front to ensure a fast pace that would take the sting out of Haskins' and Cook-Gallardo's kicks. Saksa would be the real wildcard. He had potentially the best last lap of any of these guys besides Donson, but he was injured his senior year and never got his PR down around 3:45 where it probably should have been.

It’s a warm evening with a light wind when the 800m final takes off. As expected, Donson Cook-Gallardo is first to the break line and takes the early lead, with Kevin Skrip on his shoulder. The two hit 200m in 25.8. Isaac Krause, Evan Hatton, and Sean Bjork follow a stride behind, with Zach Haskins, Ryan Trapp, and Paul Escher rounding out the field.

Cook-Gallardo still leads at 400m, coming through in 53.7. Skrip remains on his shoulder, showing no signs of backing down. Behind them, Hatton passes Krause to move into third, coming through 400m in 54.3. Haskins, Trapp, and Escher come through in 55.5.

Over the next 200m, the tight field quickly breaks apart. Cook-Gallardo surges and puts half a second between him and Skrip. Hatton pulls away from Krause, and Bjork starts to drop off. Trapp passes Haskins to move into 6th and starts to reel in Bjork.

Cook-Gallardo continues to extend his lead, pulling away from the field and winning by almost a second. Skrip holds on to second, and Hatton finishes in third. In the battle for fourth, Bjork catches Krause as they turn onto the homestretch. He’s able to put a stride length on Krause, but Haskins comes back and catches him right before the line. Escher almost catches Trapp for seventh, but runs out of track.

Overall Results:

Donson Cook-Gallardo 1:50.5

Kevin Skrip 1:51.4

Evan Hatton 1:51.7

Zach Haskins 1:52.0

Sean Bjork 1:52.1

Isaac Krause 1:52.5

Ryan Trapp 1:52.7

Paul Escher 1:52.8

Donson winning this was easy $$$

Excited to see how 5k and 4x8 end up

Yes, Donson would win handily, but half those guys wouldn't have made the final. Bunch of Personal Bests in this race too??? How did he determine who had more to give in the 800 and who didn't?

ok boomer wrote:

You were on this thread in 2015? Why are you still here old man

You know, there are probably guys on the BYU team the same age as the guy you are talking to.

No 5k or 4x8 results??

Not starting my summer training until I find out.