M 1500/W Steeple: Half of the Men’s 1500 Final Are Oregon Ducks

By LetsRun.com
June 25, 2015

EUGENE, Ore. — The finals of the women’s 3,000 steeplechase and men’s 1500 at the 2015 USATF Outdoor Championships are set, and you can expect a loud Hayward Field crowd for the latter event on Saturday afternoon. That’s because of the 12 runners who qualified via Thursday’s semifinals, exactly half are either current Oregon Ducks or UO alums (credit to messageboard poster “Milermaniac” for pointing this out, althought 2013 and 2014 NCAA champ Mac Fleet of Oregon isn’t one of them). The most prominent among them is two-time U.S. champ Matthew Centrowitz, who looked terrific in leading all qualifiers with his 3:44.39 winning time out of heat 2 to set up a mouth-watering final – perhaps the final of the meet in terms of men’s mid-d/distance action – as nearly all of the big names advanced with ease to the men’s 1500 final.

In additiont to Centro, Olympic silver medallist Leo Manzano ran well as did Diamond League 4th placer Ben Blankenship as Centrowitz and Blankenship won their heats and Manzano was right behind Blankenship in their heat. Those three came in as the favorites for the 3 Worlds spots but they shouldn’t purchase their tickets just yet as former collegiate stars Andrew Wheating and Robby Andrews both looked fantastic.

Wheating won the first heat with a 52.2 last lap as Andrews finished right with Centrowtiz – just .08 behind in heat 2. Kyle Merber, who has the fastest 1500 time on the year of any of the entrants at 3:34.54, squeaked into the final as the last time qualifier. NCAA champ Chad Noelle of Oklahoma State struggled as he was last in the third heat.

In the steeplechase, the favorites all advanced with 2013 champ Nicole Bush the biggest name to go home as she had a a horrific tumble over a water jump, causing her to lose significant ground and wind up in 9th place in heat 1 (10:17.03).

UPDATE: USATF’s results now list Bush as advancing to Saturday’s final. You can watch footage of Bush’s fall here (start at 6:10 mark):

Article continues below player.

http://www.usatf.tv/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45365&do=videos&video_id=150027

Bush’s appeal claimed that after Bush fell, Shalaya Kipp knocked her down again as Bush was trying to get up. Kipp had fallen over the water jump too as a result of Bush’s initial fall. The appeal then stated that had Bush been able to get up the first time, she may have recovered in the heat. Bush finished 9th in her heat in 10:17.03, 29 seconds behind the final auto spot and 14 seconds behind the final time qualifier.

Results, quick thoughts and video interviews below.

Men’s 1500

Heat 1

Place Name Affiliation Time 300m 700m 1100m 1500m
1 Andrew Wheating Nike / Nike OTCE 3:47.91 Q 49.06 [49.06] 1:55.33 [1:06.28] 2:55.72 [1:00.39] 3:47.91 [52.20]
2 Will Geoghegan Oregon 3:48.19 Q 48.47 [48.47] 1:54.96 [1:06.49] 2:55.63 [1:00.68] 3:48.19 [52.56]
3 Ford Palmer Hoka / N J N Y 3:48.49 Q 48.80 [48.80] 1:55.05 [1:06.25] 2:56.11 [1:01.07] 3:48.49 [52.39]
4 Peter Callahan Unattached 3:49.05 48.58 [48.58] 1:55.02 [1:06.44] 2:56.22 [1:01.21] 3:49.05 [52.83]
5 Duncan Phillips Unattached 3:49.09 48.73 [48.73] 1:54.85 [1:06.12] 2:55.86 [1:01.02] 3:49.09 [53.23]
6 Cristian Soratos adidas 3:49.50 48.55 [48.55] 1:54.80 [1:06.26] 2:55.52 [1:00.72] 3:49.50 [53.99]
7 Sean McGorty Stanford 3:49.94 48.69 [48.69] 1:54.97 [1:06.28] 2:55.93 [1:00.97] 3:49.94 [54.01]
8 Isaac Presson Furman Elite 3:50.74 48.92 [48.92] 1:55.25 [1:06.34] 2:55.69 [1:00.44] 3:50.74 [55.05]
9 William Leer NIKE 3:50.92 48.33 [48.33] 1:54.73 [1:06.40] 2:56.05 [1:01.33] 3:50.92 [54.88]
10 Frezer Legesse Under Armour 3:51.65 49.15 [49.15] 1:55.19 [1:06.05] 2:56.43 [1:01.25] 3:51.65 [55.23]

Heat 2

Place Name Affiliation Time 300m 700m 1100m 1500m
1 Matthew Centrowitz Nike / Nike Or P 3:44.39 Q 45.47 [45.47] 1:49.14 [1:03.67] 2:50.88 [1:01.74] 3:44.39 [53.52]
2 Robby Andrews adidas 3:44.47 Q 45.58 [45.58] 1:48.96 [1:03.39] 2:51.15 [1:02.19] 3:44.47 [53.33]
3 Jordan McNamara Nike / Nike OTCE 3:44.92 Q 45.33 [45.33] 1:48.94 [1:03.61] 2:50.97 [1:02.04] 3:44.92 [53.95]
4 Kyle Merber Hoka / N J N Y 3:45.41q 45.61 [45.61] 1:49.16 [1:03.55] 2:51.11 [1:01.96] 3:45.41 [54.30]
5 Jack Bolas N J N Y T C 3:45.76 45.82 [45.82] 1:49.36 [1:03.54] 2:51.04 [1:01.68] 3:45.76 [54.72]
6 Michael Atchoo Strava Track 3:46.08 44.93 [44.93] 1:48.55 [1:03.62] 2:50.84 [1:02.29] 3:46.08 [55.25]
7 Mac Fleet NIKE OTCE 3:46.55 45.80 [45.80] 1:49.39 [1:03.59] 2:51.39 [1:02.00] 3:46.55 [55.17]
8 Joe Stilin ZAP Fitness 3:46.68 45.12 [45.12] 1:48.76 [1:03.64] 2:50.72 [1:01.97] 3:46.68 [55.96]
DNS David Torrence Hoka One One
DNS Kirubel Erassa

Heat 3

Place Name Affiliation Time 300m 700m 1100m 1500m
1 Ben Blankenship Nike / Nike OTCE 3:44.86 Q 47.46 [47.46] 1:51.28 [1:03.83] 2:51.55 [1:00.28] 3:44.86 [53.31]
2 Leonel Manzano Hoka One One 3:45.00 Q 48.01 [48.01] 1:51.32 [1:03.31] 2:51.64 [1:00.32] 3:45.00 [53.37]
3 Pat Casey Nike / Nike OTCE 3:45.09 Q 47.55 [47.55] 1:51.81 [1:04.27] 2:52.08 [1:00.27] 3:45.09 [53.02]
4 Daniel Winn Oregon 3:45.20q 47.66 [47.66] 1:51.48 [1:03.82] 2:51.76 [1:00.29] 3:45.20 [53.44]
5 Colby Alexander Oregon 3:45.22q 47.79 [47.79] 1:51.66 [1:03.88] 2:51.87 [1:00.21] 3:45.22 [53.36]
6 David Elliott Boise St. 3:45.93 47.90 [47.90] 1:51.71 [1:03.81] 2:51.97 [1:00.27] 3:45.93 [53.96]
7 Dorian Ulrey Brooks 3:46.24 48.09 [48.09] 1:51.60 [1:03.52] 2:51.90 [1:00.30] 3:46.24 [54.35]
8 AJ Acosta Bay Area TC 3:47.08 48.34 [48.34] 1:52.25 [1:03.91] 2:52.13 [59.89] 3:47.08 [54.96]
9 Robby Creese Penn St. 3:47.12 48.16 [48.16] 1:51.99 [1:03.83] 2:51.94 [59.96] 3:47.12 [55.18]
10 Chad Noelle Oklahoma St. 3:48.67 47.67 [47.67] 1:51.46 [1:03.79] 2:51.78 [1:00.33] 3:48.67 [56.90]

Quick Thought #1: These were not the heats that were originally assigned

As LetsRun.com pointed out hours before the race, the way the heats were drawn up initially made little sense as organizers failed to convert the times of the 3 people who qualified with mile times.

USATF properly changed the heats right but several athletes didn’t find out until very late (the USATF.tv announcers never got the new heats) — Jordan McNamara was only informed about the change by his coach 10 minutes before he warmed up. If only he’d read the LetsRun.com messageboard, as we had the new ones on there way more than 10 minutes before the 1500.

Quick Thought #2: Matthew Centrowitz said “as a team, it sucked” not having Salazar around in Park City during the buildup to USAs

Centrowitz added that most of the allegations concerned Salazar and Galen Rupp so he tried not to let them affect him too much. Later, he also spoke about how years of experience in championship races have allowed him to hone his positioning during a race.

Centro also spoke about the supplements he is on.

Quick Thought #3: Andrew Wheating feels a lot better after a few disappointing races heading into USAs

Wheating had some pre-race nerves but they went away midway through the race. Wheating has been battling a sinus infection recently which explains some of his poor recent performances but said he’s been taking antibiotics for a week now and he feels significantly better.

Quick Thought #4: Heat 3 wasn’t very talkative

Blankenship strode purposefully through the mixed zone and didn’t speak other than calling today “a small stepping stone.” Manzano, as is always the case after prelims, likewise spoke for only a few seconds before making his way out.

Quick Thought #5: Oregon has three current Ducks in the 1500 final (and only one of them made NCAAs in the 1500)

Andy Powell has it easy in some ways as he gets incredibly good guys at Oregon to work with, often polished college studs as recent transfers have included Eric Jenkins and Will Goegheghan, but he is far from just a manager of talent as some jealous college coaches claim. He’s a very good coach. Look at the three UO athletes in Saturday’s 1500 final (all three are redshirt seniors and will be gone next year).

Daniel Winn — 9th at NCAAs. Got into USAs after running PR of 3:38.95 at the Portland Track Festival two days after the NCAA 1500 final.

Colby Alexander — didn’t qualify for NCAAs in the 1500. Ran PR of 3:40.32 at Portland Track Festival to scrape into USAs.

Will Geoghegan — 4th at NCAAs (in the 5k). Check this stat out. He has only broken 3:49 in the 1500 once in his career (PR: 3:44.88). Ok, we’re trolling a bit as that’s misleading as he was a 3:58 indoor miler at Dartmouth and ran 3:57 this year for Oregon.

Now all are in the final at USAs — and you can make the case that none of them would make Oregon’s 4xmile squad right now (Winn and Geoghegan both ran on it at the Penn Relays). Eric Jenkins beat Geoghegan in a mile earlier this spring, and Johnny Gregorek beat Winn in the mile at NCAA indoors. Then you’ve got Blake Haney (3rd at NCAAs in the 1500; he’s running the junior race at USAs against Grant Fisher and Andrew Hunter) and Edward Cheserek (NCAA indoor mile champ). At least one of Winn/Geoghegan probably makes it ahead of Gregorek (who was only 11th in the 1500 at NCAAs) but Powell would at least have to think about it. That’s how good this Oregon team is.

They’ll have three older alums to keep them company as Wheating, Centrowitz and Jordan McNamara are all UO grads (There is one big Duck missing however as 2013 and 2014 NCAA champ Mac Fleet didn’t make the final).

Of the three, Geoghegan’s achievement was the most impressive as he closed in 52.56 seconds to grab an auto spot in heat 1 (Winn and Alexander both qualified on time out of heat 3, closing in 53.44 and 53.36, albeit off a faster pace).

We caught up with Geoghegan after the race and he said he feels a lot stronger than in years past (Oregon has had him run the 3k/5k at NCAAs to pick up team points) but he said he’s been fine-tuning his speed the last few weeks and it showed today. Despite Geoghegan’s foray into the longer distances, his heart still belongs with the shorter stuff.

“I’m a miler,” he told us simply off-camera.

Quick Thought #6: Jason Vigilante is the brains, Robby Andrews is the brawn

Andrews was asked about his decision to run the 1500 over the 800 at USAs and he said he didn’t really know the thought process that went into it as Vigilante is the one who made that decision.

“I don’t do much thinking, I’m just all brawn,” he said, jokingly flexing his arm.

Interview with Kyle Merber

Interview with Pat Casey

 

Women’s 3,000 steeplechase

The fastest women this year who failed to advance were #7 Marisa Howard of Boise State (9:37.84, 4th at NCAAs) and #11 Collier Lawrence (9:50.47). Top pros Emma CoburnStephanie Garcia and Ashley Higginson all made it through, as did Colleen Quigley, Courtney Frerichs and Leah O’Connor, the top three at NCAAs two weeks ago.

MB: Nicole Bush’s mishap (amazing pics)

Results

Heat 1

Place Name Affiliation Time 200m 600m 1000m 1400m 1800m 2200m 2600m 3000m
1 Stephanie Garcia New Balance 9:37.44 Q 42.70 [42.70] 1:58.83 [1:16.13] 3:15.03 [1:16.21] 4:31.42 [1:16.40] 5:48.32 [1:16.91] 7:04.04 [1:15.72] 8:20.35 [1:16.31] 9:37.44 [1:17.09]
2 Leah O’Connor adidas 9:41.16 Q 42.72 [42.72] 1:58.88 [1:16.16] 3:15.01 [1:16.14] 4:31.46 [1:16.45] 5:48.54 [1:17.09] 7:04.64 [1:16.11] 8:22.32 [1:17.68] 9:41.16 [1:18.84]
3 Courtney Frerichs U M K C 9:48.04 Q 43.33 [43.33] 2:00.19 [1:16.87] 3:16.82 [1:16.63] 4:32.92 [1:16.11] 5:51.22 [1:18.30] 7:09.52 [1:18.31] 8:29.16 [1:19.65] 9:48.04 [1:18.88]
4 Rachel Johnson Baylor 9:48.55 Q 43.52 [43.52] 1:59.32 [1:15.80] 3:16.28 [1:16.96] 4:32.82 [1:16.54] 5:49.80 [1:16.99] 7:08.33 [1:18.53] 8:29.55 [1:21.23] 9:48.55 [1:19.00]
5 Shalaya Kipp Oiselle 9:50.91q 43.21 [43.21] 1:59.55 [1:16.34] 3:16.02 [1:16.47] 4:32.45 [1:16.44] 5:54.83 [1:22.39] 7:14.24 [1:19.41] 8:33.24 [1:19.01] 9:50.91 [1:17.67]
6 Betsy Graney Asics/Gazelle Sp 10:00.59q 43.85 [43.85] 2:00.50 [1:16.66] 3:18.08 [1:17.58] 4:37.99 [1:19.92] 6:01.07 [1:23.08] 7:22.06 [1:21.00] 8:44.64 [1:22.59] 10:00.59 [1:15.95]
7 Kimber Mattox Team Run Eugene 10:03.36q 43.55 [43.55] 1:59.85 [1:16.30] 3:16.70 [1:16.86] 4:34.07 [1:17.37] 5:55.32 [1:21.25] 7:17.25 [1:21.94] 8:41.66 [1:24.42] 10:03.36 [1:21.70]
8 Tori Gerlach Penn St. 10:12.83 43.82 [43.82] 1:59.91 [1:16.10] 3:16.95 [1:17.04] 4:34.37 [1:17.43] 5:58.46 [1:24.09] 7:22.55 [1:24.10] 8:48.46 [1:25.92] 10:12.83 [1:24.37]
9 Nicole Bush New Balance 10:17.03 42.73 [42.73] 1:58.86 [1:16.13] 3:15.05 [1:16.20] 4:31.65 [1:16.60] 6:00.11 [1:28.47] 7:25.96 [1:25.86] 8:54.45 [1:28.49] 10:17.03 [1:22.58]
10 Emily Oren Hillsdale 10:18.64 43.75 [43.75] 2:00.25 [1:16.50] 3:18.04 [1:17.79] 4:37.60 [1:19.57] 6:01.87 [1:24.27] 7:27.52 [1:25.66] 8:54.93 [1:27.41] 10:18.64 [1:23.71]
11 Jordan Hamric Oiselle 10:23.32 44.64 [44.64] 2:02.26 [1:17.63] 3:21.98 [1:19.72] 4:43.83 [1:21.85] 6:07.58 [1:23.76] 7:32.35 [1:24.77] 8:58.24 [1:25.90] 10:23.32 [1:25.09]
12 Megan Rolland Oiselle 10:50.77 44.27 [44.27] 2:00.97 [1:16.70] 3:19.02 [1:18.06] 4:40.18 [1:21.17] 6:06.89 [1:26.71] 7:41.23 [1:34.34] 9:16.87 [1:35.64] 10:50.77 [1:33.91]
DNF Collier Lawrence

Heat 2

Place Name Affiliation Time 200m 600m 1000m 1400m 1800m 2200m 2600m 3000m
1 Emma Coburn New Balance 9:36.90 Q 42.34 [42.34] 1:56.78 [1:14.45] 3:12.78 [1:16.00] 4:28.83 [1:16.05] 5:46.01 [1:17.19] 7:02.95 [1:16.94] 8:20.51 [1:17.57] 9:36.90 [1:16.39]
2 Colleen Quigley Bowerman T C 9:40.97 Q 42.73 [42.73] 1:58.40 [1:15.67] 3:14.80 [1:16.41] 4:32.11 [1:17.32] 5:49.46 [1:17.35] 7:06.69 [1:17.23] 8:24.36 [1:17.68] 9:40.97 [1:16.61]
3 Ashley Higginson Saucony 9:46.79 Q 42.66 [42.66] 1:58.49 [1:15.84] 3:14.85 [1:16.36] 4:32.52 [1:17.67] 5:50.00 [1:17.49] 7:08.26 [1:18.26] 8:28.00 [1:19.75] 9:46.79 [1:18.79]
4 Bridget Franek Team Run Eugene 9:46.97 Q 43.06 [43.06] 1:58.94 [1:15.88] 3:15.40 [1:16.47] 4:32.77 [1:17.38] 5:50.52 [1:17.75] 7:09.19 [1:18.68] 8:28.59 [1:19.41] 9:46.97 [1:18.38]
5 Sarah Pease Adidas/Rogue 9:58.80q 43.37 [43.37] 1:59.87 [1:16.51] 3:16.91 [1:17.05] 4:36.69 [1:19.78] 5:57.25 [1:20.56] 7:18.42 [1:21.18] 8:39.14 [1:20.72] 9:58.80 [1:19.67]
6 Rebeka Stowe N J N Y T C 10:01.55q 43.20 [43.20] 2:00.49 [1:17.30] 3:17.95 [1:17.46] 4:38.00 [1:20.05] 5:59.57 [1:21.58] 7:21.43 [1:21.87] 8:43.05 [1:21.62] 10:01.55 [1:18.51]
7 Jamie Cheever Brooks / Club NW 10:02.71q 43.56 [43.56] 2:01.02 [1:17.47] 3:18.67 [1:17.65] 4:38.63 [1:19.97] 6:00.49 [1:21.86] 7:23.52 [1:23.04] 8:46.22 [1:22.70] 10:02.71 [1:16.50]
8 Addie Bracy Brooks / H T S 10:07.16 43.78 [43.78] 2:00.15 [1:16.38] 3:18.00 [1:17.85] 4:37.77 [1:19.78] 5:59.27 [1:21.51] 7:22.99 [1:23.73] 8:47.19 [1:24.20] 10:07.16 [1:19.97]
9 Maddie Van Beek North Dakota St 10:09.07 43.75 [43.75] 2:00.68 [1:16.93] 3:17.80 [1:17.12] 4:37.60 [1:19.80] 5:57.75 [1:20.16] 7:18.30 [1:20.56] 8:41.21 [1:22.92] 10:09.07 [1:27.86]
10 Carmen Graves Brooks / G S T C 10:12.88 43.60 [43.60] 2:00.24 [1:16.64] 3:17.46 [1:17.23] 4:37.03 [1:19.57] 5:56.90 [1:19.88] 7:18.31 [1:21.41] 8:43.14 [1:24.83] 10:12.88 [1:29.75]
11 Emily Ritter Rider 10:23.87 43.50 [43.50] 2:00.86 [1:17.37] 3:19.02 [1:18.16] 4:40.10 [1:21.09] 6:03.26 [1:23.17] 7:32.21 [1:28.95] 8:59.91 [1:27.71] 10:23.87 [1:23.97]
12 Marisa Howard Boise St. 10:26.49 42.95 [42.95] 1:58.99 [1:16.05] 3:15.81 [1:16.82] 4:34.11 [1:18.30] 6:01.55 [1:27.45] 7:28.46 [1:26.91] 8:58.13 [1:29.67] 10:26.49 [1:28.36]
13 Mary Goldkamp Adidas/Rogue 10:29.42 43.86 [43.86] 2:01.91 [1:18.05] 3:18.92 [1:17.01] 4:40.91 [1:22.00] 6:06.80 [1:25.90] 7:34.20 [1:27.40] 9:02.51 [1:28.32] 10:29.42 [1:26.91]

Quick Thought #1: Emma Coburn was glad to get a steeple under her belt before the final

Coburn didn’t want to travel a lot this spring and the quick turn around from the Pre Classic to Diamond League steeples in Rome and Birmingham and the marriage of her brother during the New York DL, she elected not to run one before USAs. She said she was glad she had the prelim to get used to racing the steeple again though as it will help her mentally prepare for the final.

We also asked Coburn what she thought about the global steeple scene and the lack of a dominant runner so far in 2015. She said the top women in the event can change from year to year but she’s confident there will be some tough women for her to race by the time Worlds rolls around.

Quick Thought #2: Leah O’Connor will be in an adidas singlet in Saturday’s final

O’Connor will be staying in East Lansing to run under coach Walt Drenth.

Interview with Colleen Quigley

Quigley discussed her decision to join Jerry Schumacher and Pascal Dobert at the Bowerman Track Club.

Interview with Stephanie Garcia

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