2016 TrackTown Summer Series: Colby Alexander (3:34.88) Wins a Fast 1500, Kate Grace (4:09.92) Keeps Rolling, Melissa Bishop Wins 800 (1:59.74) as Shannon Rowbury Finally Breaks 2:00

By LetsRun.com
July 29, 2016

EUGENE, Ore. — The inaugural TrackTown Summer Series meet is in the books, and San Francisco is your team champion with 179 points. Several of North America’s top stars gathered at Hayward Field for one last tuneup before heading out to Rio and the result were some great races, none better than the smoking men’s 1500, won by Colby Alexander in a big PR of 3:34.88. That was enough to beat Olympians David Torrence (2nd, 3:34.95), Ben Blankenship (3rd, 3:35.02 pb) and Robby Andrews (7th, 3:37.19) as six guys ran 3:36.04 or faster. Other highlights included Kate Grace (4:09.92) edging Katie Mackey (4:09.97) in a tight women’s 1500, Canada’s Melissa Bishop (1:59.74) holding off U.S. Olympians Brenda Martinez (1:59.82) and Shannon Rowbury (1:59.97) in the women’s 800, Erik Sowinski taking the men’s 800 (1:45.38) and Donn Cabral winning the men’s steeple (8:20.72).

Our full recap of the meet which includes results quick takes appears below.

For post-race interviews, please go here: Post Race Videos from 2016 Track Town Summer Series 23 videos. Matt Centrowitz, Kate Grace, Melissa Bishop, David Torrence, Erik Kynard, Brittney Reese, Emma Coburn and a ton more.

Final team standings 

1. San Francisco 179
2. New York 173.5
3. Portland 166
4. Philadelphia 155.5

Events were scored 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 except for the final event, the coed 4×400 relay, which went 18-14-12-10

Men’s 1500: Colby Alexander Takes Down the Olympians as Four Americans (Plus David Torrence) Break 3:36

Before the 2016 US Olympic Trials, the US’s best milers all repeatedly tried to hit the Olympic standard of 3:36.20 but not a single US 1500 Trials competitor was able to run that time that didn’t already have it entering 2016.

Tonight, 6 of the 9 competitors in this race hit it, including three US 1500 runners who didn’t have the standard at the Trials.

Go figure.

Yes, the Olympic team is already set but it’s a nice consolation prize as the times will count for the 2017 World Championships.

Colby Alexander (c) edges David Torrence (l) and Ben Blankenship (r)

The Race

You would have thought this was a Diamond League meeting as within 300 meters this race was being run single-file thanks to near-perfect rabbiting by Edward Kemboi, who hit 400 in 56.20. Olympic Trials 5000 4th placer Eric Jenkins was instrumental in making the race as he was the only guy to go right with it before Ben Blankenship caught up some 600 into the race. When Kemboi hit 800 in 1:53.80 a fast pace was guaranteed.

At the bell, Blankenship (2:38.44) and Jenkins (2:38.69) still were up front but everyone in the field save one was still in contention as they were followed by Colby Alexander (2:39.10), Ryan Hill (2:39.41), Kyle Merber (2:39.64), David Torrence (2:39.75), Robby Andrews, (2:39.97) and Johnny Gregorek (2:39.99).

With 300 to go, Blankenship had gapped Jenkins and the field by roughly 7 meters but the kickers were about to unwind. Coming off the final turn, the Olympian Blankenship still led but former Oregon runner Alexander (7th at the US Trials) as well as Peru Olympian Torrence were right on his heels. Noted kicker Andrews had worked hard to move up from 7th to 4th. But just when you thought Andrews was going to do what he so often did in college – kick from way back for victory – it was clear that he had nothing left and was moving in the wrong direction.

Coming off the final turn

As the top 3 guys battled for victory, they separated themselves from the rest of the field. In the end, Alexander won narrowly in a massive new pb of 3:34.88 (previous pb of 3:36.23) over Torrence (seasonal best of 3:34.95, previous sb of 3:36.06) with Blankenship third in a pb of 3:35.02 (previous pb of of 3:35.28i).

The fast times and Olympic standards continued in 4th (Kyle Merber 3:35.83), 5th (Eric Jenkins 3:35.94, previous pb of 3:38.98) and 6th (Johnny Gregorek 3:36.04, previous pb of 3:37.36).

*Lap by Lap Splits here

Quick Thought #1: Wow.

The times in this race were remarkable. If you can explain to us how a guy who scored just two points in his career in the Pac-12 at Oregon (7th as a freshman!!), Colby Alexander, is a 3:34 guy a year after getting out of college, we’d love to hear it. Alexander was good in HS (4:09 mile, FL finalist) but to turn things around so quickly is pretty crazy. His PR is now just .10 off of Robby Andrews’. Of course last year, after not even making NCAAs, he ended up both making the final at USAs and then running 3:36.5 within the next 5 weeks.

Quick Thought #2: We give A LOT of credit to Edward Kemboi.

When a men’s 1500 is rabbited perfectly, the times produced in it often times cause observers to scratch their heads as they are mindboggling. We’ve seen it on multiple occasions at Swarthmore when Olympic silver medallist Nick Willis rabbits the race and we saw it tonight with Kemboi’s rabbiting. The key isn’t that he hit 800 in 1:53, it’s that he did it so smoothly. And the race was helped a great deal by the fact that strength guys in this one (Blankenship and Jenkins) wanted to run fast as they made the race early on as the kickers might have just let Kemboi gap the field.

Quick Thought #3: 2017 USAs just got a lot more interesting

It’s nice knowing that a slew of Americans will have the standard for next year.

Quick Thought #4: Blankenship of Nike, Andrews of adidas and Torrence of Hoka One One Say They are Ready for Rio

Blankenship was pleased with the run as it was a PR even though he didn’t get the the win.

Andrews said his training has gone great, but his legs just felt a little flat today.

David Torrence will also be in Rio competing for Peru. He talked about his Peruvian connections and also about his Bernard Lagat comments from the Olympic Trials where Torrence talked about Bernard Lagat’s positive “A” sample test for EPO and said people should be suspicious of Lagat’s success. Torrence said tonight other runners have supported his comments and he stands by them. He also said now that he doesn’t represent the US, he sees the scene a bit differently than everyone else.

Women’s 1500: Kate Grace of Oiselle Marches On, Holds Off Katie Mackey FTW

Kate Grace digs deep

This was an incredibly tight race from start to finish. The six-woman field chose not to go with rabbit Baylee Mires, with Portland’s Kate Grace passing 400 in 67.2 just ahead of teammate Lauren Johnson with the pack bunched up behind them. The positions remained essentially same, with Johnson edging just ahead of Grace to her outside at 800 (2:17.9), and at the bell, the entire field was separated by just .43 of a second, with Johnson still in front. Grace remained on her shoulder with Trials 4th placer Amanda Eccleston to her outside and Katie Mackey boxed in on the rail.

Nothing changed with 200 to go as Johnson led into the final turn and everyone in the race still had a shot. Finally, Grace took the lead coming off the final turn but even then she struggled to create much separation as all six women were still close together. Mackey, who finally had room to run, launched into her kick and was moving better than anyone at the end of the race, but Grace had just enough to hold her off and won it, 4:09.92 to 4:09.97 as both women closed in 61.7 for their final lap. Johnson, Eccleston and Emma Coburn all crossed in quick succession for the next three places as the top five were separated by just .63 of a second with Morgan Uceny a further .59 behind.

Quick Take: Kate Grace’s Dream Season Continues

Grace started this year with a mile pb in New York back on January 24 and she’s kept rolling all the way through July, picking up a 1500 victory tonight to go with the 800 national title she earned on this track earlier this month.

Grace has proved equally adept at both the 1500 and 800, and made clear to correct ESPN reporter Jordan Kent that she considers herself adept at both when he described her as an 800 specialist.

Talking to LRC after, Kate said she was very confident going into the Trials even though she had never been on a podium at a major meet. The only thing she didn’t like at the Trials was her post-race interview on NBC where she didn’t give the impression she was confident in herself. Now it’s onto Rio where she’ll have to up her game and her 1:59.1 pr if she wants to contend in the final. Kate feels there are a lot of milestones still to accomplish and she’s skipping the opening ceremonies in order to stay focused on the task at hand. Kate will have her hands full with Caster Semenya and other intersex athletes but said there is no point to complain about that now as that is the rule and it has been decided. She did express sympathy for Semenya’s plight.

Quick Take #2: Did Katie Mackey Run the Wrong Event at the Olympic Trials? Could Lauren Johnson Have Made the Team If She Wasn’t Bumped?

Mackey was only one place off making the Olympic team in the 5,000 meters, but tonight she beat the fourth and fifth placers in the Olympic Trials 1500 in Eccleston and Uceny and almost ran down Grace for the win. Of course, you can’t base the decision on which event to run based on the results of one race — for instance, Johnson was just eighth at the Trials, but was third tonight, ahead of both Eccleston and Uceny.

It’s worth noting, though, that Johnson was bumped into the infield at the Trials by Alexa Efraimson in what upon further review looked to be a clear foul. Johnson clearly lost momentum during the incident and went from fourth at the time to 11th at the bell. It’s dangerous playing the “What if?” game, but you’d have to think that, without the contact, Johnson does better than eighth.

Quick Take #3: Eccleston is 4th Again in Eugene But Not Nearly as Disappointed

Tonight’s 4th place finish didn’t leave her .03 from going to Rio like her 4th place at the Trials did. Since the Trials Eccleston went to Europe and lowered her PR to 4:03.25 (before the year it was 4:08.08). Up next is the Sir Walter Miler meet in North Carolina where she wants another PR.

QT # 4: The Hays in the Barn for New Balance’s Emma Coburn

Steeplechase medal hopeful Emma Coburn was second to last in this one but pleased with the effort. She started the last lap near the back and finished there but was close throughout. It sets her up well for Rio on which she said, “the hays in the barn.” She’ll do one more hard workout over barriers and then get ready to race. Coburn loved racing in Eugene for a team saying,”I have been loving it. I didn’t realize I’d be so ra ra about my team New York squad, but having a team bonus for a win, everyone is motivated by that.”  She said she was fighting for points for her team at the end.

Women’s 800: Melissa Bishop of Nike Holds Off Brenda Martinez of New Balance as Shannon Rowbury of Nike Finally Breaks 2:00 

Coming into the women’s 800, it appeared that Canadian record holder Melissa Bishop and US Olympians Brenda Martinez and Shannon Rowbury were the class of the field and that’s the way it ended up.

Those three were 1-2-3 at 600 in 1:29 high and it never changed the final 200. Coming off the final turn, they were all about 2 meters apart. At first it looked like Rowbury might move up from third on the inside but then Martinez responded in second but no one really gained on Bishop until Bishop let up just before the line.

The top 3 all broke 2:00 in a race where only one other runner broke 2:02.

The final turn

Quick Take #1: Shannon Rowbury Finally Goes Sub-2:00 at Age 31

When Shannon Rowbury joined the Nike Oregon Project in 2014, she owned PR’s of 2:00, 4:00 and 15:00. She broke the first two barriers that first summer under Alberto Salazar but hadn’t run many serious 800’s in recent years. She came agonizingly close last September in Berlin, clocking 2:00.03, and finally got under tonight, giving 800 specialists Bishop and Martinez a scare. Clearly a sign that her Olympic preparation is on the right track.

Rowbury, who set the American record at 1500m last year, said she can do things with more ease this year in practice than last year so she is feeling good heading into Rio.

Quick Take #2: How many times do we have to see a rabbit take it out and not go with the pace?

The rabbit Megan Malasarte ran 27.5 for the first 200. Last time we checked, Caster Semenya was never an entrant in the race. If the runners aren’t with the pace, the rabbit 100% needs to slow down, if only for TV optics. Just as a race pays a rabbit, it should pay someone to monitor them in the infield and be at the 200m mark.

QT #3: Bishop Credit Her Amazing Coach for Her Success, Doesn’t Worry too Much About Intersex Athletes

Bishop said her “brilliant” coach Dennis Fairall deserves the credit for her success. They’ve worked together for nine years and now she is the Canadian record holder.

Here is the world list heading into Rio.

Bother Semenya and Niysonsaba have lit the world on fire since CAS ruled that intersex women do not have to limit their testosterone. Bishop said she does not worry too much about the politics of the sport and is focused on running faster.

Men’s 3000 Steeple: Donn Cabral of Nike Wins It as Mason Ferlic PR’s By 7 Seconds

Cabral celebrates

This turned into a great three-man battle over the final lap between New York’s Donn Cabral and the Portland duo of Mason Ferlic and Andy Bayer. By the time rabbit Tripp Hurt dropped out with four laps to go, those three had started to separate and as Ferlic took over up front, their lead only grew even as the quick pace (they were running 65’s and 66’s early on) relented.

Both Cabral and Bayer hung on to Ferlic, and at the bell, Ferlic still had the lead and was on pace to break his 8:27.16 pb. The race heated up on the backstretch. Bayer made a hard move with around 250 to go, moving up from third to first; Cabral looked as if he wanted to respond, but couldn’t do it immediately with a barrier approaching. Off the barrier, he quickly passed Ferlic into second, stalking Bayer, and when Bayer stumbled coming out of the pit following the final water barrier, Cabral shifted into top gear.

He was in a league of his own over the final 100, winning in a season-best 8:20.72. Bayer began to tire and Ferlic outsprinted him for second, as his pacesetting work was rewarded with a six-second PR of 8:21.57.

Quick Take #1: Go figure. At the Trials, Donn Cabral wasn’t happy after making an Olympic team. Tonight, he was celebrating before he even crossed the finish line.

Cabral initially wasn’t pleased with his result at the Trials, though upon reflection, he said he felt better about it. Cabral didn’t need any reflection tonight as after going 8:29-8:26-8:26 in his first three steeples this year, he went 8:20 tonight with an excellent 61.54 last lap. The Princeton grad looked strong throughout tonight and departs for Rio on a high note.

Quick Take #2: After NCAAs, NCAA champ Mason Ferlic said he thought he could run around 8:15 when his pb was just 8:27.16. Tonight, he got halfway there.

Ferlic is unafraid to push the pace. At NCAAs, he did just that but tied up toward the end, running his final lap in just 69.64 — his slowest of the entire race. After placing fifth at the Olympic Trials, Ferlic came out and took it from the front again tonight, with much better results — he closed in 62.61 for a big six-second PR.

He was glad to put it together tonight and likes his training group in Michigan under the tutelage of former Canadian great Kevin Sullivan.

Men’s 800: Erik Sowinski Wins It

Sowinski celebrates

It’s not every day that an NCAA champ is serving as the rabbit, but 2013 NCAA indoor and outdoor champ Elijah Greer was the pacemaker in this one. Unlike the women’s race, the men seemed interested in going with the pace as Duane Solomon wasn’t too far back after Greer hit 200 in 24.5.

At 400, it was the 800 specialists up front as the 2012 Olympian Solomon (50.89) led with 2016 Olympic Trials finalists Erik Sowinski (51.24) and Harun Abda (51.76) in second and third. At 600 (1:18 mid), Solomon’s lead had been cut in half. Coming off the final turn, any of the top 3 had a shot for the title, and in the end, Sowinski got the victory.

Olympic Trials 1500-meter champ Matthew Centrowitz was never in contention in this one. At 400, he was well back in 5th (52.65) but he moved up to fourth a lap later (1:47.17).

Quick Take #1: Centro Runs 1:49.3 and 1:47.9 After the Race

Centro in the mixed zone after the race was not too disappointed. He said he wanted to run faster, but he wasn’t aggressive enough tonight, but he was glad to get in something faster than 1500m race pace. However, his night wasn’t done and the grounds crew and those who stayed around late got to see a thing of beauty as Kyle Merber helped pace him to 800m of 1:49.3 and 1:47.9 after the meet, roughly 10-15 minutes apart. Read about that here.

QT #2: Sowinski is Working to Make Sure USA athletes never start with a waterfall start in an 800 again

At the Olympic Trials, the men’s 800m final was started with a waterfall because of the 9 man final. It impacted the race and Sowinski wants to make sure it doesn’t happen again. He said it is the rule in the US (not Europe). He’s going to try and get the rule changed in the future. He also was disappointed that the beer tent was closed by the time his race was over.

Women’s 3000 Steeple: Stephanie Garcia Leads New York Sweep

The three U.S. Olympians in the steeple weren’t racing in this event, but the rest of the top Americans were here as it featured the fourth through ninth finishers at the Trials.

Everyone was in it with four laps to go; a lap later, the lead pack was down to four: Shalaya Kipp (Philadelphia), Stephanie Garcia (New York), Ashley Higginson (New York) and Bridget Franek (Portland).

That’s when Garcia took over and began stringing things out. After going 76-78-78-78, Garcia dropped a 74.98 and with two to go, she was eight meters up on Franek and Higginson with the pack strung out behind her. Garcia dropped a 74.93 on the penultimate lap, and at the bell she had two seconds on Higginson. The strain on Garcia’s face was evident over the last lap as she battled the 90-degree temperatures, and though she chopped her steps over the final two water jumps, Garcia had it all the way and won in 9:39.81, a time certainly not helped by the heat and lack of rabbits. Higginson was a clear second in 9:42.52 to earn maximum points for New York with Kipp third in 9:45.05.

Quick Take: Garcia and Higginson definitely bought into the team concept

Garcia threw up her arms at the finish, and the first words out of her mouth after she crossed the line were “New York!” Then she turned and looked to see Higginson crossing in second, and the two women embraced after Higginson grabbed her bib in recognition of the sweep.

Every athlete we spoke to enjoyed the team concept. There was a financial incentive for the athletes and also it helped them connect with other athletes they usually may not root for. It took everyone out of their totally self-centered focus.

Garcia was really pleased to get to win a steeple. Something that is hard to do in the US with Emma Coburn in the ranks.

4-Mile Road Race

Team New York got off to a hot start by sweeping the men’s and women’s 4-mile road races. The 4-5-6 finishers in the 10,000 at the Olympic Trials took the top three spots in the men’s race, but the order was reversed, with Sam Chelanga (18:23) beating out Chris Derrick (18:27) and Scott Fauble (18:38). Jessica Tebo took the comfortable win in the women’s race, dropping Jordan Hasay to win by 18 seconds in 19:49.

There were only four finishers in the women’s race as Allison Morgan and Lauren Paquette dropped out in the 93-degree heat.

Chelanga talks about winning $5500 and wondering if he can be traded:

Tebo said she dropped behind mid race but gauged the temps perfectly.

Women’s 100 Hurdles

San Francisco’s Jackie Coward, who was seventh at the Olympic Trials, got the win here in a PR of 12.68 seconds, holding off a hard-charging Queen Harrison for the victory. Coward is now the ninth American to break 12.70 in 2016; no other country has more than one.

Men’s 100

If the women’s steeple couldn’t have gone any better for Team New York, with Garcia and Higginson securing maximum points, the men’s 100 couldn’t have gone any worse as both Dedric Dukes and Ronnie Baker false started, giving them a big fat zero.

When the race finally did go off, it was UT-Arlington grad Quentin Butler who got the win in 10.06 over Oklahoma State grad John Teeters. It was a season’s best for Butler, and a nice bounce back after he only ran 10.37 at the American Track League meet in Houston last week, which was only good for seventh in his preliminary heat.

Women’s 100

On paper, Philadelphia’s Michelle-Lee Ahye was the class of this field as she owns a pb of 10.85 and was fifth at Worlds last year for Trinidad & Tobago. She lived up to the billing, sprinting to a wind-aided (2.8 m/s) 10.98 to win by .21 over Olympic Trials finalist Tiffany Townsend.

Men’s 110 Hurdles

Jamaica’s Andrew Riley, the 2012 NCAA champion at 100 and 110 hurdles, running for Team New York in this one, didn’t get a great start but closed extremely well off the final hurdle to snatch the victory from Jarret Eaton, 13.35 to 13.38. Riley, who was third at the Jamaican Olympic Trials and will represent them in Rio, also won last week in Houston at the American Track League meet.

Oregon’s Devon Allen was a late add to the field and as a result, there wasn’t a lane for him in the main race. Instead, he faced training partner Johnathan Cabral in a match race, winning in a wind-aided 13.15 (+2.4).

Afterwards Allen talked about going to his first Olympics, and how he wants to watch some other events and his favorite Olympian is Alex Morgan.

Quick Take: It was a downer that the best guy on the track was in the match race

There wasn’t much meet organizers could do about this given that the teams were already set and Hayward Field only has eight lanes on the straightaway. But it was a bummer that Allen — clearly the class of the field and one of the biggest stars of the meet — wasn’t part of the team competition or in the main race.

Actually, there is something they could have done. If we were the meet organizers who were dropping well over $500,000 on the meet ($356,000 in prize money and appearances alone, plus travel, lodging, TV production and TV buy), we’d have paid the 8th-best hurdler $5000 to not race so Allen would have a lane. With competition on both sides of him, he might have broken 13.00 for the first time (which he said was his goal for tonight).

Field Events

Women’s Pole Vault

Trials seventh placer Kylie Hutson got the win here for San Francisco as she was the only woman to successfully clear 4.60 meters.

Men’s Triple Jump

Will Claye followed up his Olympic Trials victory by earning another victory on the Hayward Field runway, soaring out to a wind-aided (2.2) 17.52 meters on his fourth attempt. His former Florida teammate, two-time U.S. champ Omar Craddock, was second with a best mark of 17.42 (+3.1).

Claye said this was one of the “best” meets he’s ever competed at. He loved the fact it was on ESPN and not NBCSN, and the fans were close to the jumpers.

Men’s Shot Put

U.S. indoor champ Kurt Roberts endured a horrid Olympic Trials as he didn’t even make the final, but he was fifth in London on Saturday and got the win tonight as the only man to throw beyond 20 meters (20.19).

Women’s Shot Put

Olympic Trials sixth placer Brittany Smith got the win here with a toss of 18.77 meters, but the biggest story was Jill Camarena-Williams, who retired after a career that included 11 U.S. titles (three outdoor, eight indoor), four top-six finishes at World Indoors and a World Championship bronze medal in 2011.

Unfortunately Camarena-Williams, who placed second, fouled her final three attempts before placing her shoes in the throwing circle in a ceremonial retirement gesture.

Men’s High Jump

U.S. champ Erik Kynard won as expected, clearing 2.29m, which matches the height he cleared to win the Trials earlier this month. He may need more than that to medal in Rio, however, and he came short on three attempts at 2.33 tonight.

Kynard got the team trash talking started at the press conference guaranteeing a San Francisco victory and they did win the meet.

Women’s Long Jump

Any of Olympic champ Brittney Reese’s four fair jumps would have won this contest, but it was her final-round mark of 6.92 that went down as the winning mark.

Coed 4×400 Relay

Entering the final event of the meet, the team scores were as follows:

1. San Francisco 167
2. New York 159.5
3. Portland 156
4. Philadelphia 137.5

With the points doubled for the 4×400 (18-14-12-10) but every team guaranteed 10 points as long as they got the stick around, assuming they finished the race, San Francisco could only lose if they finished last and New York won.

And believe it or not, that was the exact scenario as the anchor legs (Novlene Williams-Mills for New York, Robin Reynolds for San Francisco) came off the final turn. But Philadelphia anchor Phyllis Francis quickly passed Williams-Mills and Reynolds passed Portland anchor Ebony Eutsey, allowing San Francisco to clinch the inaugural TrackTown Summer Series team title as Francis anchored Philadelphia to victory in 3:13.20 (splitting 50.63).

The inaugural Track Town Summer Series meet was a success with the athletes enjoying the laid back atmosphere and team concept. However, attendance was officially just over 3,000 and some Oregon track writers told us it was equivalent to the crowd at the first University of Oregon outdoor meet of the year.

Track Town USA president Vin Lananna said he expected 2,500-3,500 fans and that is what he got. He credited his staff for the meet’s success as he has been more focused on coaching Team USA in Rio.

Note: With Rule 40 underway and the Olympians not even allowed to talk about their sponsors, we felt it was appropriate to acknowledge them. However, if any of them paid us to do, they could get kicked out of the Olympics. Ridiculous. No other sport acts like this. None.

For post-race interviews, please go here: Post Race Videos from 2016 Track Town Summer Series 23 videos. Matt Centrowitz, Kate Grace, Melissa Bishop, David Torrence, Erik Kynard, Brittney Reese, Emma Coburn and a ton more.