The Weekend Review (4/30/17)
Brutus Hamilton Invite
800
Should we be surprised by Emmanuel Korir anymore? The true freshman had a huge impact during the past indoor season by running the number one time in the NCAA and winning the national championship.
And this season? Somehow, he's taken it to another level. The true freshman from Kenya ripped open a HUGE time of 1:43.73 which is the second fastest time ever in the NCAA 800. Prior to Korir’s performance, four men (in 2017) had dipped under the 1:46 mark and were all in the conversation to win the NCAA title.
But now? The UTEP Miner has made himself the heavy favorite and will most likely pursue the NCAA record in due time.
Just a quick thought before we move on. Could Korir go pro after this season if he breaks the NCAA record? We didn’t think Brazier would do it after just one season on the collegiate scene, but here we are…
Mile
Thomas Joyce (Cal) was able to edge out Jonah Koech (UTEP) 4:02.53 to 4:02.96. I’m still waiting for these guys to have their big race of the season.
Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invite
800
Quamel Prince (Tennessee St.) took the win in a time of 1:48 while Nickson Rotich (EKU) and Luke Horton (Southern Illinois) each ran 1:49.
UF Tom Jones Memorial
800
Jake Burton (FSU) ran 1:49.21 to defeat Florida rival Jack Guyton who was second in a time of 1:50.32.
1500
Andres Arroyo is only a half-miler…right? Wrong. The Florida senior threw down a killer time of 3:41 this past weekend to take the win and assert himself as someone who can run more than just the 800.
Is it just me or is there something different about Arroyo this season? He’s running the fastest he’s ever run and doing so with different racing styles. With a strong display of range, you can’t help but think that Arroyo has found the formula to once again become an All-American.
Penn Relays
3000 Steeple
Our original pick to win was Oklahoma’s Dylan Blankenbaker. Unfortunately, he did not run and the top collegiate finisher ended up being Indiana’s Jeremy Coughler who ran a very solid time of 8:50. Coughler led three other collegians under the nine-minute mark.
5000
It was one of the better 5k fields we’ve seen in the past few weeks with plenty of underrated top-tier individuals entered to race. Jacob Thomson (Kentucky) emerged as the winner with a time of 13:53 as he was able to hold off Willy Fink (EMU) and Julian Oakley (Providence) who ran times of 13:54 and 13:55 respectively.
Steve Flynn (George Mason) was the last collegian under the 14-minute barrier with a time of 13:57.
10,000
Georgetown did quite well in this event with Jonathan Green (1st) and Michael Crozier (3rd) running 29:26 and 29:38 respectively to establish themselves as the top collegiate finishers.
Freshman Steven Cross (FSU) was running unattached, but took the runner-up position in a time of 29:31.
4x800
It was one of the most highly anticipated races of the weekend as mid-distance powerhouses Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Penn State toed the line in an attempt to claim the title of "800U". When the dust settled, it was the Virginia Tech Hokies taking the win by nearly seven seconds with a time of 7:13. VT was the only relay that had all four legs run under 1:50. Drew Piazza ran the fastest split of the relay with a time of 1:46.95.
Penn State edged out Clemson for second with each relay running 7:20.54 and 7:20.94 respectively. Clemson’s fastest split was from Mpho Makofane who ran 1:47.66. Penn State’s fastest split came from neither Isaiah Harris nor Domenic Perretta. Instead, it came from Jordan Mankins who split a time of 1:48.37.
4xMile
Every year, the Penn Relay’s 4xMile builds up incredible hype. Some of the best distance programs in the nation step on to the track and look to flex their dominance on one of world’s biggest stages.
Yet, as fate would have it, the event always seems to be a bit disappointing in terms of time. This year was certainly no exception as literally not a single individual broke the 4-minute mile in this event. 13 teams finished the race which meant that not one of the 52 individuals on that track could break the sub four minute barrier.
That said, should we really be surprised? This marks the third straight year where no split has been under four minutes.
But I digress…
Despite Edward Cheserek not running, the Oregon Ducks were still able to get the win in 16:21 with consistent and solid efforts from all four legs. That relay included Mick Stanovsek, Tim Gorman, Blake Haney, and Sam Prakel.
Indiana and Middle Tennessee State were the next two teams in with times of 16:22 and 16:23 respectively.
For perspective, American Fork’s national high school record of 16:41 would have placed 8th in this meet.
DMR
Déjà vu. It was like watching the 4xMile all over again. We saw the same three teams claim the same three spots with Oregon running a time of 9:32. Sam Prakel ran 3:59 on the anchor.
Indiana, MTSU, and Penn took the next three spots and all teams finished with times of 9:33.
Drake Relays
5000
You have to be happy for Drake senior Reed Fischer. In his last collegiate season, Fischer broke the school record on his home track at one of the biggest meets of the weekend with a time of 13:48. He took down Wisconsin star Malachy Schrobilgen in the process (who ran a time of 13:49).
Joel Reichow (South Dakota) and sophomore Jesse Reiser (Illinois) held their own as they recorded times of 13:53 and 13:54. Dylan Lafond (Illinois) and Russell Sandvold (Wisconsin) ran 13:56 and 13:57 respectively. Resier was the only underclassmen to dip under the 14 minute barrier.
10,000
Missouri’s Drew White ran a big personal best time of 29:41 to defeat Trevor Capra (South Dakota) by two seconds.
Oregon State University High Performance Invite
800
Colorado’s Nick Harris secured the win and emerged as the top collegiate with a time of 1:49.
1500
It was an excellent battle between division two star David Ribich (Western Oregon) and Joe Klecker (Colorado). The WO junior got the best of Klecker in an excellent time of 3:41.45 (D2 NCAA #1) while Klecker was less than a stride behind in a time of 3:41.69 (NCAA #15).
Once again, Ribich has impressed us with a great time. He’s my favorite to win the division two title, but more because of his consistency and less because of his time.
As for Klecker, this is a solid performance from him, but I’m not too surprised. He’s fit enough to run a time like this.