Preview Of Men’s Steeplechase At 2013 USA Outdoor Track And Field Championships

Evan Jager Will Win, But Who Gets Second And Third?

by LetsRun.com
June 19, 2013

It’s been a goal of ours to preview all of the mid-d and distance action before the action gets underway on Thursday at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday. However, Thursday is nearly upon us and so we were thinking of waiting and doing the men’s steeplechase until after the heats are run.

But then we looked at the entries and thought, “That shouldn’t take us more than 15 minutes.”

Article continues below player.

So here goes. A quick preview.

Take a look at the 2013 US leaders in the steeple and you’ll see why we don’t think this event is too hard to break down.

1    8:08.60                Evan Jager 
2    8:20.08                Cory Leslie 
3    8:22.38                Dan Huling  
4    8:28.88                De'Sean Turner 
5    8:29.10                Bill Nelson    
6    8:30.02                Donnie Cowart 
7    8:30.87                Travis Mahoney 
8    8:31.28                Matt Cleaver  
9    8:31.29                Andrew Poore  
10   8:32.57               Cameron Bean

Three guys just kind of jump out at you, don’t they?

The HEAVY Favorite

Last year’s Olympic team: Alcorn, Cabral, Jager.

Evan Jager is way better than everyone in the US. With the way he’s running, he’s got a real good shot at soon pulling off his best Chris Solinsky impersonation – and becoming the first non-African born runner under 8:00.00 (Solinsky was the first non-African under 27:00.00 in the 10,000). Jager is your winner.

We also are very confident that Jager’s training partner Dan Huling, who comes in seeded #3 at 8:22.38 – some six plus seconds up on #4 – will also make the team. Huling wasn’t happy with his 8:22.38 at Prefontaine and we understand why. When you are a sub-13:20 guy in the 5,000 (Huling PRed at 13:18.42 earlier this year), you should be well under 8:20. Huling has run 8:13.29 in the past and it wouldn’t shock us if he broke 8:10 this year. He’s got an amazing training partner now in Jager and has already run a nice 5,000 PR.

So who gets third? Well, based on what he’s done so far this year, former Ohio State runner Cory Leslie is by far the leading candidate for the third spot. He comes into Iowa after already setting PRs at 1,500 (3:37.97), outdoor mile (3:58.18 in a race where he beat Nick Symmonds and Leo Manzano), 5,000 (13:43.73) and steeplechase (8:20.08). Clearly, he’s having a great year.

The only reason why we are a tiny bit nervous about him is he started the year with an 8:31 PR. We’re not sure how much faster he’ll run than around 8:20 but that’s plenty fast enough to make the team. Remember Donn Cabral last year finished eighth in the Olympics and his PR is 8:19.15.

Speaking of Cabral, he’s been having a poor first year as a pro (8:34 seasonal best), but he has entered USAs after considering not showing up. We doubt Cabral, who is very analytical in his running, will suddenly find the magic switch and pull things together (doesn’t that happen to the more intuitive runners like Gabe Jennings?) but it would be foolish to totally write him off.

Evan Jager Is A Cult Sensation In The Steeple

If any of the first three seeds slip up, we think the third team member will be Bill Nelson. The 2008 US Olympian has won a US title before so he’s not afraid of the big stage. He also has been competitive in his two most recent steeples this year (a second at Oxy and first at Portland) after falling in Japan.

Like Leslie, former Indiana runner De’Sean Turner has also been a big improver this year. He started at 8:36 and twice has run under 8:30 this year, so he could sneak in if one of the top three has an off day. And remember it’s going to be HOT in Iowa, so that’s quite possible.

A few quick takes, heat sheets and entries below.

Quick Take #1: Anyone know what’s up with Kyle Alcorn? The 2012 Olympian hasn’t competed all year. Email us if you know.

QT #2: Do you think Jager will break 8:00 this year? Vote in our poll.

QT #3: Darn, it took more than 30 minutes and probably 10 more to put it up with photos.

Event 19  Men 3,000 Meter Steeplechase Heat Sheets
===============================================================================
14 Advance:  Top 5 Each Heat plus Next 4 Best Times
       World:  7:53.63  9/3/2004    Saif Shaheen, QAT                          
    American:  8:06.81  7/20/2012   Evan Jager, Oregon TC                      
     Name                        Year Team                                  
===============================================================================
Heat 1  Prelims
  1  Donald Cabral                    Nike                        
  2  Dakota Peachee                   High Point U                
  3  Brian Himelright                 N C State                   
  4  Caleb Hoover                     Unattached                  
  5  Travis Mahoney                   Unattached                  
  6  Benjamin Bruce                   adidas                      
  7  William Nelson                   Unattached                  
  8  David Adams                      adidas TmGreen              
  9  Cameron Bean                     ZAP Fitness                 
 10  Cory Leslie                      Unattached                  
 11  Austin Bussing                   Unattached                  
 12  Craig Forys                      N Y A C                     
 13  Michael Jordan                   Unattached                  
 14  Alex Brill                       Wisconsin                   
Heat 2  Prelims
  1  Matt Cleaver                     Unattached                  
  2  Jared Bassett                    Unattached                  
  3  Daniel Huling                    Nike                        
  4  Evan Jager                       Nike                        
  5  David Goodman                    NE Distance                 
  6  Augustus Maiyo                   U.S. Army                   
  7  Andrew Poore                     adidas                      
  8  Donald Cowart                    Unattached                  
  9  Tabor Stevens                    Unattached                  
 10  Carl Stones                      adidas TmGreen              
 11  Maximilian Darrah                Georgetown U                
 12  De'Sean Turner                   Indiana Univ                
 13  Aric VanHalen                    Colorado                    
 14  John Coyle                       Unattached

Entries For 2013 USA Men’s Steeplechase

3,000m Steeplechase – Men
Name Affiliation Mark Status Declaration
Evan Jager Nike 8:06.81 qualified declared
Donald Cabral Nike 8:19.81 qualified declared
Cory Leslie 8:20.08 qualified declared
Daniel Huling Nike 8:22.38 qualified declared
De’Sean Turner New Balance 8:28.88 qualified declared
William Nelson 8:29.10 qualified declared
Benjamin Bruce adidas 8:29.11 qualified declared
Augustus Maiyo U.S. Army 8:29.29 qualified declared
Donald Cowart 8:30.02 qualified declared
Craig Forys New York Athletic Club (NYAC) 8:30.85 qualified declared
Travis Mahoney 8:30.87 qualified declared
Matt Cleaver 8:31.28 qualified declared
Andrew Poore adidas 8:31.29 qualified declared
David Adams adidas / Adidas/TeamRogue 8:32.17 qualified declared
Cameron Bean ZAP Fitness Reebok 8:32.57 qualified declared
Jared Bassett 8:36.46 qualified declared
Aric VanHalen University of Colorado 8:38.23 qualified declared
Brian Himelright North Carolina State University 8:38.96 qualified declared
Alex Brill University of Wisconsin-Madison 8:39.52 qualified declared
Carl Stones Adidas/TeamRogue 8:41.63 accepted declared
John Coyle 8:41.64 accepted declared
Michael Jordan 8:42.63 accepted declared
Dakota Peachee High Point University 8:43.04 accepted declared
Tabor Stevens 8:43.70 accepted declared
Maximilian Darrah Georgetown University 8:43.71 accepted declared
Austin Bussing 8:44.17 accepted declared
Caleb Hoover 8:44.99 accepted declared
David Goodman NE Distance 8:45.28 accepted declared
Mark Parrish 8:42.38 accepted scratched
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