Fast Times, Close Races Mark Another Success Evening in Southern California

By Scott Bush

Many of the top distance runners in the United States took to the track Friday evening at the HOKA ONE ONE Middle Distance Classic and the results did not disappoint.

Men's 800m

With HOKA ONE ONE's Michael Rutt leading the charge after the first lap of the top men's 800m heat, it seemed as though the NYNJ*TC star might pull away from the field, but as with any good two-lap race the final 200 meters really made the race. 

With a top pack of five guys charging home to victory after a modest first lap, OTC Elite's Harun Abda and Brandon Johnson seemed to have the momentum heading into the final turn. With a 100 meters to go though, Robby Andrews shot to the lead and did his usual late-race kick to blast the field and run to victory. Andrews claimed the win with a 1:47.22 effort, while Abda took home second over Johnson, 1:47.42-1:47.56.

However, the top time of the evening didn't come from the fastest heat, rather it came from heat 2 (of 4), as Great Britain's Charlie Grice easily won his heat in a stellar time of 1:46.95 over runner-up Declan Murray of HOKA ONE ONE, who charged to a 1:48:04 performance. 

Heat 3 was a great finish between Drew Windle and Charles Jock, with Windle narrowly edging Jock with a come from behind victory, 1:47.65-1:47.67. Heat 1 saw Prince Mumba of the Santa Monica Track Club win in 1:48.89.

Women's 800m

It was a good evening for Laura Roesler. The former University of Oregon standout let Molly Ludlow and Brenda Martinez do much of the early work, as the race went through the first 400m  with a large pack in tow. With 300 meters to go, Martinez pushed to the lead and it seemed as though the former World Championship medalist would simply run away. 

However, with 200 meters to go, Roesler pushed past Phoebe Wright, and started a surge that would ultimately take her up on the shoulder of Martinez with 25 meters to go. With a final push, Roesler charged to the line, narrowly besting Martinez for the win, 2:00.15-2:00.18. Wright finished a strong third in 2:01.03, while Ludlow was fourth in 2:01.11.

In other heats, Shelby Houlihan kicked to victory in 2:02.12, while arguably the most surprising performance of the evening came from Canadian Jenna Westaway, who won the "slow" heat in 2:02.12.

Men's 1500m

Arguably the most surprising performance of the evening came in the men's 1500m, with OTC Elite's Hassan Mead taking top prize in the fastest heat. A large pack rolled much of the race together, with NJNY*TC teammates Johnny Gregorek and Colby Alexander pushing the pace. With a lap to go, it was anyone's finish, as Andrew Wheating tried his best to charge to the lead. 

With 200 meters to go, Mead started to make his surge, reeling in the front runners and using his strength to simply grind down the field. Mead crossed the finish in a new personal best of 3:37.65, well ahead of runner-up Alexander, who finished in 3:38.44, just ahead of Jordan Gusman and Andrew Wheating, who crossed in 3:38.58 and 3:38.60, respectively.

Two other fine performances came in the second and third heats. In heat 2, University of Colorado All-American Ben Saarel grinded down the competition and ran to a nice new personal best by winning in 3:39.67, the first time he's gone under 3:40.

In heat 3, Mead's OTC Elite teammate Jordan McNamara used a vicious kick to edge Canadian Charles Philibert-Thiboutot with a sidways-glance victory, 3:38.26-3:38.39, in one of the more exciting finishes of the evening.

Women's 1500m

The women's 1500m contest was loaded with talent, with numerous Olympians and World Championship members fighting for some momentum heading into the final month before the Olympic Trials in early July. With the pace setters taking the lead pack through very even splits early on, there was little separation until 600 meters to go. 

As the race started to surge, the leaders hit the bell lap, with Katie Mackey pushing the pace. Down the backstretch they came, with two-flat 800m runner Kate Grace surging to the lead. Grace continued to hammer the pace around the final turn with Sheila Reid and Shannon Rowbury chasing. 

As the finish line came in sight, Grace maintained form and crossed with a big winning mark of 4:05.65, just ahead of runner-up Reid, who ran 4:05.74. Mackey finished third in 4:06.33, while Rowbury and Emma Coburn rounded out the top five in 4:06.58 and 4:06.92 respectively. 

Other notable heat winners were Morgan Uceny with a 4:09.27 victory in heat 3 and Stephanie Brown crushing the field to win heat 2 in 4:12.33.

Men's Steeplechase

The Bowerman Track Club ran a team effort in the men's 3000m steeplechase Friday evening. The quartet of Evan Jager, Dan Huling, Matt Hughes and Andy Bayer took turns leading their respective pack, as Donald Cowart and Cory Leslie did much of the pacing once the rabbit dropped out. 

It wasn't until two laps to go when the BTC used their four-man advantage to take over the race, positioning themselves well with a lap to go. With 500 meters to go, Jager shot to the lead and the race was all but over, while Huling, Leslie and Hughes fought it out for second. Jager opened his stride, pumped his arms, cleared the final barriers with ease and closed hard for a well-earned victory.

Jager's finish wasn't at all surprising, but it was fun to witness. After finishing so close to winning World Championship and Diamond League meetings over the past few seasons, the veteran is clearly focused on the final lap of his racing. Jager crossed the line with a three second winning margin, breaking the event record with his 8:15.26 clocking. 

Behind Jager, teammate Huling grabbed second in 8:18.58, showing his own late-race speed to hold off the charge from third place finisher Leslie. Leslie took home a sub-8:20 clocking of 8:19.12, while Hugher cruised to fourth in 8:20.63, nearly two second ahead of Rob Mullet, who finished in 8:22.42.

Women's Steeplechase

Jamie Cheever did it again. Two years ago Cheever was overlooked and came up big with a surprise May effort to push herself into early season top three chatter for the U.S. steeplechase title. Once again on Friday, Cheever showed well, winning the women's steeplechase with an impressive effort of 9:37.12. While it wasn't the fastest of times, she did beat a tough field, which included Olympian Shalaya Kipp, Marie Lawrence and Marisa Howard. 

Cheever ran well within the pack for the ealry part of the race, using her strength and speed over the final two laps to pull away for a nice five second victory. Kipp, who's raced sparingly so far this season, took home second over former Boise State All-American Howard, 9:42.31-9:42.94, while Oiselle's Lawrence took home fourth in 9:43.90.

Men's 5000m

The calm early pace led to a fast and furious finish in the men's 5000m contest to close out the evening Friday at the HOKA ONE ONE Middle Distance Classic. A group of four separated themselves from the field after going through very even pace until two laps to go. It was anyone's race at that point, as Kemoy Campbell and Jeff See dropped off the pack, leaving the foursome of Eric Jenkins, Leonard Korir, Sam Chelanga and Tom Farrell to vie for victory 

With 600 meters to go, Farrell tried his best to break the pack, but the other three held on gamely. Chelanga threw in a surge at the bell, but it was ultimately Nike Oregon Project's Eric Jenkins who looked as though he shot out of a cannon, closing in a sub-60 second last lap effort to easily win in 13:24.67.

Jenkins, who opened up his outdoor season after a very nice indoor campaign, basically jogged the final meters of the race, winning by nearly three second. Korir, who's part of the strong WCAP team based in Beaverton, Oregon, edged out Chelanga for second, 13:27.21-13:27.53, as both held off a late charge from Farrell. The British runner placed fourth in 13:27.77.

Women's 5000m

With a 15:20 pace set from the gun, eyes were transfixed on the clock in this race. The goal was to have as many women push the 15:20 barrier as possible, but in the end only one was able to hold form long enough to beat the standard. 

Jessica Teb, Kellyn Taylor, Andrea Seccafien of Canada and Jordan Hasay followed the pacers for much of the front half of the race. As pacers Katie Mackey and Gabriele Grunewald led the field lap after lap, it was clear it was going to be fight to the finish over the final few laps of the race. 

As the pacers dropped, Taylor took over, making sure the pace remained strong. While the pace did indeed start to lag with a couple laps left, Seccafien, Taylor and Tebo hung tough, as Hasay started to drop. 

With 400 meters to go, Seccafien took over, blasting an incredible last lap to win by four seconds. The Canadian won in a big new personal best of 15:17.81, hitting the Olympic standard, well ahead of runner-up Tebo in 15:21.88, while Taylor, coming off a top ten race at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials back in February, finished third in 15:22.10. 

Sara Hall and Natosha Rogers placed fourth and fifth, with Hall narrowly edging the former Texas A&M star, 15:28.25-15:28.56. Hasay faded badley over the final mile to place 16th overall in 15:50.12.

What We Learned

What a Difference a Year Makes for Kate Grace

A year ago, Grace was down and out. Injury took a toll on the middle distance standout and the season was used more as a recovery year than a season of performance.

Fast forward to the past two weeks, training hard and fully healthy, and Grace now ranks US#1 for 800 with a 2:00.05 win in Portland last week and a 4:05.65 PR 1500m effort at the HOKA ONE ONE Middle Distance Classic.

Grace bested a boatload of talent in the top heat, edging out Shannon Rowbury, Emma Coburn, Sheila Reid and Katie Mackey. Moving forward, it’ll be interested to see which event Grace chooses to really zero in on, as she’s showing top-notch strength and speed heading into June.

Evan Jager is Working on His Kick

The Bowerman Track Club quartet of men’s steeplechase runners ran together until 600 meters to go, when Jager pushed the pace, busting open the tight knit lead pack and easily pulling away. Over the final 400 meters, Jager charged to a sub-60 second clocking, finishing with a fine outdoor season opening steeple time of 8:15.26, finishing three and a half seconds up on teammate and runner-up Dan Huling.

Afterward, Jager stated he’s working on his finish this year. After being so close to a medal the past few seasons, it’s time for the veteran to take control of the final lap of his race and Friday’s effort was a strong showing that he’s ready to close with the best in the world.

Laura Roesler Continues to Roll On

Despite having not raced in nearly a month, Roesler showed she’s ready to contend for a national title in 2016 on Friday night. Sitting back in the pack in the women’s 800m, Roesler moved into fourth with 200 meters to go.

However, it wasn’t until the final 150 meters that she charged hard, closed well on leader Brenda Martinez, and snagged the victory with a strong mid-May time of 2:00.15, slightly ahead of the 2:00.18 Martinez put up.

It was a big win for Roesler. Coming off her fourth place finish at the IAAF World Indoor Championships, the former NCAA champion is looking confident. Martinez is a proven veteran, a world championship medalist in the two lap event, and as tough as they come. It’s going to be fun two watch these two women in the coming weeks as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials approach.

Robby Andrews Knows What It Takes…Always

You can never, ever discount Andrew from any race. On Friday evening, Andrews took another step forward in what’s been a tremendous last two seasons, winning the men’s 800m in 1:47.22.

It wasn’t necessarily the time that shocked the crowd, it was the fact that Andrews was in fourth place with 100 meters to go and somehow was able to grind his way to the win over such notable two-lap stars as Harun Abda and Brandon Johnson. Andrew continues to show he can close and one has to think that will serve him mighty well in Eugene in six weeks time.

Morgan Uceny is Climbing the Ladder Again

It’s been a couple years since Uceny was a contender in American middle distance running. On Friday, she showed she’s working her way back though, winning the second heat of the 1500m in 4:09.27, besting such notable runners as Kim Conley, Cory McGee and Rebecca Tracy.

While it would’ve been interesting to see Uceny go head-to-head in the fastest heat, it was an encouraging evening for the Boston-based runner.

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