Washington 1-2s 1500m With Nathan Green, Joe Waskom At NCAA Championships
Washington 1-2s 1500m With Nathan Green, Joe Waskom At NCAA Championships
HOLD FOR MEN'S 1500
AUSTIN -- Sophomore Nathan Green led a 1-2 finish for Washington in the men's 1500m final at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Green finished with a time of 3:42.78, followed by teammate Joe Waskom in 3:42.93. Adam Spencer of Wisconsin placed third in 3:42.98.
"All that was going through my mind is that we had the opportunity to go 1-2-3, and I wasn't going to be the one to not let that happen," Green said. "I didn't know anything was going on once Adam Spencer kind of broke the pack, and I was just following Joe [Waskom]. I mean, that's all you really can do. Team leader, you've just got to follow."
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The race was close throughout, with Green, Waskom, and Spencer battling for the lead. Green took the lead with about 200 meters to go and held on to win. Waskom and Spencer finished second and third, respectively.
"The team culture. I mean, there are no rivalries," Green said. "There's no, 'I'm trying to be better than Joe.' It's not, 'Just trying to be better than me, or better than Luke.' We're just trying to be better together. And then our goal was to go, obviously 1-2-3, but in what order, we had no plan. It was just whoever was there."
Green's win is the first for a Washington runner in the men's 1500m at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships since 1985.
Anass Essayi of South Carolina (3:43.31), Isaac Basten of Drake (3:43.33), Jesse Hunt of North Carolina (3:43.40), Ezekiel Rop of Iowa State (3:43.59), Evan Dorenkamp of Penn State (3:44.20), Fouad Messaoudi of Oklahoma State (3:44.41), Luke Houser of Washington (3:44.61), Liam Murphy of Villanova (3:45.72), and Ethan Strand of North Carolina (3:47.01) rounded out the finishes.