USATF Oxy High Performance Meet 2013May 16, 2013 by Mitch Kastoff
Oxy Men's 1500m Preview: Team Salazar versus Team Schumacher
Oxy Men's 1500m Preview: Team Salazar versus Team Schumacher
It’s an IAAF “A” standard party and everyone’s invited. The only thing you have to do to get into this soiree is to knock on the door, let the U.S. Championship bouncer open the slot on the door, and whisper, “3:35.00.”
If you try and use “3:41.20,” which is the U.S. Championships “A” standard, get ready to run from the hounds. Of the 47 entrants, only five have personal bests above the qualifier and some of them aren’t worried about competing in Des Moines, IA this summer because, well, they’re not American.
That’s not to mention the guys who aren’t milers and are just running the USATF Oxy High Performance Meet as a tuneup for bigger things later this spring. Those “guys” refers to two special U.S.-based groups who seem to coordinate their racing schedules so that we don’t get to see them go head-to-head.
Not at Oxy.
Finally and I mean finally, we get to see the Nike Oregon Project and Rip City TC / Team Schumacher / The Former Boys in Green race one another in a non-championship race.
We’re always referring to both groups as “one of the best training groups in the U.S.” It’s tough to make an objective call on which group is better because unless you use the IAAF’s scoring table to create a universal system of assessment, it’s all subjective when comparing one event to another.
Good question.
That’s why when they all decided to enter the 1500m (along with every other American), we had to seize the opportunity to match them up.
We understand that most of these Nike athletes are running off-events, so we consider this more of an exhibition game. But like most championships in sports (other than the World Cup, the Superbowl, and Cricket, sort of), deciding who’s the top training group in the U.S. won’t be decided after one meet.
This is just round one.
These two know each all too well. This winter at the Millrose Games, Lomong (3:51.21) held off Centrowitz (3:51.34) to take the Wanamaker Mile title and show us that sometimes strength can overcome speed. While the rest of Centrowitz’s was fairly subdued (he ran a 1k in Stockholm and the 800m at Indoor Nationals), Lomong made a return trip to the Armory to run the American indoor 5000m record of 13:07.00.
But that was months ago. This spring, Centrowitz and Lomong both have gotten off to decent starts at shorter distances. Centro first lead off Team USA Blue’s DMR in 2:53.4 and then followed that up with an 800m win at the Oregon Twilight in 1:47.95.
Lomong’s outdoor debut wasn’t as stellar as his indoor one. While he won the 800m at the Husky Classic (1:46.53), he was third at the RE:RUN San Diego 800m in 1:47.07. That being said, we’re not worried about his speed in May.
Who do we give the first round to, NOP or Rip City? We still can’t forget the final meters of Millrose Games, so we’ll give the nod to Lomong.
Nike Oregon Project: 0
Team Schumacher: 1
I’ll admit, some of these 1500m matchups are unfair. We’re going to need a handicap for the the former miler and 5000m runner turned steeplechaser, Evan Jager versus the 10,000m man who has his way with the shorter stuff, Galen Rupp.
We’ll cut to the chase and say that even though Jager looked great at Payton Jordan, we’re not going to bet against Rupp.
Even though coach Alberto Salazar told The Oregonian’s Ken Goe that Rupp and Mo Farah would “have a couple weeks with no running whatsoever” between the end of the indoor season to now, we’re just going to give you some insider knowledge and tell you that it didn’t affect them in the very least.
After all, we were just out in Park City, UT with them.
The most interesting thing about this matchup is that it puts two fervent fan groups against one another. It’s #Ruppmania versus Jager’s Hair. We know where everyone stands (thanks, social media).
Nike Oregon Project: 1
Team Schumacher: 1
Ah, an interesting underdistance matchup. Both Chris Derrick and Cam Levins had decent indoor campaigns, but different starts this spring.
Derrick first won the USA XC Championships, then ran 13:12.00 at the Armory Collegiate, and ended the season with a tenth place finish at World Cross. He rabbited the 5000m at Payton Jordan, but that doesn’t count even being a pacemaker is pretty difficult.
On the other hand, Levins has been all over the place. While his 8:14.69 2-mile at the Millrose Games was good for a Canadian record, he didn’t perform as well in the Canadian singlet at World Cross. Levins faded all the way back to 41st in Poland before shutting his racing down and making the switch to the Nike Oregon Project.
Still, the two are evenly matched at 1500m. We expect both to significantly drop their personal bests, but who will come out on top?
Even though Cam can run 11.5 for 100m from a standing start, we’ll take the consistent Derrick.
Nike Oregon Project: 1
Team Schumacher: 2
Unfortunately, this is where the team battle ends. Between last night and this morning, Mo Farah scratched out of the 1500m and will only run the 5000m. That leaves the Team Schumacher pool of German Fernandez, Elliot Heath, and Dan Huling without opponents and us without an answer.
When Farah was originally slated to run the 1500m, the matchups were a bit different and we had them tied two-two. So much for coming to a conclusion.
Even with the Schumacher boys in the lead after the 1500m, it doesn’t mean they can claim victory after the meet. There’s still the aforementioned 5000m with the likes of Farah and Dathan Ritzenhein going up against Chris Solinsky and Alan Webb.
Ritz is healthy and Solinsky is hungry, but who will be the deciding factor in the team battle (we can safely assume that Farah can takedown Webb).
Since this is the 1500m preview, we’re not going to go into that loaded race (yet). Below are each of the sections for the men’s 1500m with the rabbits, their schedule, and everyone’s personal bests.
How many “A” standards will we see after Friday night?
Section 1
Rabbits: Matt Scherer and Duane Solomon (1:52.0 thru 800m, going 1200m)
Edit: I'm excited to see what Wheating can do in this one. He looked good at Penn Relays and we've been waiting for him to come back to the 1500m.
Section 2
Rabbits: Michael Rutt and Mark Wieczorek (1:54.0 thru 800m, going 1050m)
It’ll be interesting to see how Fernandez, Robby Andrews, and Nick Symmonds fare in this one.
Fernandez and Andrews have had subpar seasons while Symmonds is a wildcard in the 1500m. So far this spring, they’ve all run in non-rabbited races, so this one could be hot.
Section 3
Rabbits: Joe Abbott and Geoff Harris (1:54.0 thru 800m, going 1000m)
If you were to ask Paul Robinson what he’d do immediately after winning $5,000, we have the answer: Snapchat.
Also, another gem from Collis Birmingham:
Section 4
Rabbits: Michael Cortney and Sadiki White (1:56.0 thru 800m, going 1000m)
Watch out for Cory Leslie in this section as he’s been hot all spring. He not only won the windy Kansas Relays Mile, but he just ran 8:20.08 for the 3000mST in Tokyo.
Normally we'd try to cover everyone who's worth mentioning, but in this case... that's everyone.
If you try and use “3:41.20,” which is the U.S. Championships “A” standard, get ready to run from the hounds. Of the 47 entrants, only five have personal bests above the qualifier and some of them aren’t worried about competing in Des Moines, IA this summer because, well, they’re not American.
That’s not to mention the guys who aren’t milers and are just running the USATF Oxy High Performance Meet as a tuneup for bigger things later this spring. Those “guys” refers to two special U.S.-based groups who seem to coordinate their racing schedules so that we don’t get to see them go head-to-head.
Not at Oxy.
Finally and I mean finally, we get to see the Nike Oregon Project and Rip City TC / Team Schumacher / The Former Boys in Green race one another in a non-championship race.
We’re always referring to both groups as “one of the best training groups in the U.S.” It’s tough to make an objective call on which group is better because unless you use the IAAF’s scoring table to create a universal system of assessment, it’s all subjective when comparing one event to another.
Good question.
That’s why when they all decided to enter the 1500m (along with every other American), we had to seize the opportunity to match them up.
We understand that most of these Nike athletes are running off-events, so we consider this more of an exhibition game. But like most championships in sports (other than the World Cup, the Superbowl, and Cricket, sort of), deciding who’s the top training group in the U.S. won’t be decided after one meet.
This is just round one.
These two know each all too well. This winter at the Millrose Games, Lomong (3:51.21) held off Centrowitz (3:51.34) to take the Wanamaker Mile title and show us that sometimes strength can overcome speed. While the rest of Centrowitz’s was fairly subdued (he ran a 1k in Stockholm and the 800m at Indoor Nationals), Lomong made a return trip to the Armory to run the American indoor 5000m record of 13:07.00.
But that was months ago. This spring, Centrowitz and Lomong both have gotten off to decent starts at shorter distances. Centro first lead off Team USA Blue’s DMR in 2:53.4 and then followed that up with an 800m win at the Oregon Twilight in 1:47.95.
Lomong’s outdoor debut wasn’t as stellar as his indoor one. While he won the 800m at the Husky Classic (1:46.53), he was third at the RE:RUN San Diego 800m in 1:47.07. That being said, we’re not worried about his speed in May.
Who do we give the first round to, NOP or Rip City? We still can’t forget the final meters of Millrose Games, so we’ll give the nod to Lomong.
Nike Oregon Project: 0
Team Schumacher: 1
I’ll admit, some of these 1500m matchups are unfair. We’re going to need a handicap for the the former miler and 5000m runner turned steeplechaser, Evan Jager versus the 10,000m man who has his way with the shorter stuff, Galen Rupp.
We’ll cut to the chase and say that even though Jager looked great at Payton Jordan, we’re not going to bet against Rupp.
Even though coach Alberto Salazar told The Oregonian’s Ken Goe that Rupp and Mo Farah would “have a couple weeks with no running whatsoever” between the end of the indoor season to now, we’re just going to give you some insider knowledge and tell you that it didn’t affect them in the very least.
After all, we were just out in Park City, UT with them.
The most interesting thing about this matchup is that it puts two fervent fan groups against one another. It’s #Ruppmania versus Jager’s Hair. We know where everyone stands (thanks, social media).
Nike Oregon Project: 1
Team Schumacher: 1
Ah, an interesting underdistance matchup. Both Chris Derrick and Cam Levins had decent indoor campaigns, but different starts this spring.
Derrick first won the USA XC Championships, then ran 13:12.00 at the Armory Collegiate, and ended the season with a tenth place finish at World Cross. He rabbited the 5000m at Payton Jordan, but that doesn’t count even being a pacemaker is pretty difficult.
On the other hand, Levins has been all over the place. While his 8:14.69 2-mile at the Millrose Games was good for a Canadian record, he didn’t perform as well in the Canadian singlet at World Cross. Levins faded all the way back to 41st in Poland before shutting his racing down and making the switch to the Nike Oregon Project.
Still, the two are evenly matched at 1500m. We expect both to significantly drop their personal bests, but who will come out on top?
Even though Cam can run 11.5 for 100m from a standing start, we’ll take the consistent Derrick.
Nike Oregon Project: 1
Team Schumacher: 2
Unfortunately, this is where the team battle ends. Between last night and this morning, Mo Farah scratched out of the 1500m and will only run the 5000m. That leaves the Team Schumacher pool of German Fernandez, Elliot Heath, and Dan Huling without opponents and us without an answer.
When Farah was originally slated to run the 1500m, the matchups were a bit different and we had them tied two-two. So much for coming to a conclusion.
Even with the Schumacher boys in the lead after the 1500m, it doesn’t mean they can claim victory after the meet. There’s still the aforementioned 5000m with the likes of Farah and Dathan Ritzenhein going up against Chris Solinsky and Alan Webb.
Ritz is healthy and Solinsky is hungry, but who will be the deciding factor in the team battle (we can safely assume that Farah can takedown Webb).
Since this is the 1500m preview, we’re not going to go into that loaded race (yet). Below are each of the sections for the men’s 1500m with the rabbits, their schedule, and everyone’s personal bests.
How many “A” standards will we see after Friday night?
Section 1
Rabbits: Matt Scherer and Duane Solomon (1:52.0 thru 800m, going 1200m)
| Name | Affiliation | PR |
Centrowitz, Matthew |
Nike |
3:31.96 |
Manzano, Leo |
Austin TC |
3:32.37 |
Brannen, Nathan |
Saucony |
3:34.22 |
Rupp, Galen |
Nike |
3:34.75 |
McNamara, Jordan |
Nike |
3:35.63 |
Wheating, Andrew |
Nike |
3:30.90 |
Leer, Will |
Nike |
3:36.33 |
Boylan-Pett, Liam |
Njnytc |
3:37.05 |
Batty, Miles |
Asics |
3:36.25 |
Lomong, Lopez |
Nike |
3:32.20 |
Edit: I'm excited to see what Wheating can do in this one. He looked good at Penn Relays and we've been waiting for him to come back to the 1500m.
No 800m this weekend. Guess coach doesn't want me showing my cards this early.
— Andrew Wheating (@AndrewWheating) May 2, 2013
Section 2
Rabbits: Michael Rutt and Mark Wieczorek (1:54.0 thru 800m, going 1050m)
| Name | Affiliation | PR |
Brown, Russell |
Nike |
3:34.11 |
Fernandez, German |
Nike |
3:34.60 |
Andrews, Robby |
adidas |
3:34.78 |
See, Jeff |
Saucony |
3:35.21 |
Torrence, David |
Nike |
3:34.25 |
Heath, Garrett |
Saucony |
3:36.03 |
Symmonds, Nick |
Nike |
3:36.04 |
Gagnon, Brian |
Njnytc |
3:38.36 |
Jager, Evan |
Nike |
3:38.33 |
Levins, Cam |
Nike |
3:41.17 |
Degefa, Deriba |
Bowerman AC |
3:42.49 |
Clark, Daniel |
Very Nice Tr |
3:39.11 |
It’ll be interesting to see how Fernandez, Robby Andrews, and Nick Symmonds fare in this one.
Fernandez and Andrews have had subpar seasons while Symmonds is a wildcard in the 1500m. So far this spring, they’ve all run in non-rabbited races, so this one could be hot.
Section 3
Rabbits: Joe Abbott and Geoff Harris (1:54.0 thru 800m, going 1000m)
| Name | Affiliation | PR |
Bolas, Jack |
New Balance |
3:36.33 |
Miller, Craig |
New Balance |
3:36.35 |
Kaan, James |
Nike |
3:37.02 |
O'Hare, Chris |
Scotland |
3:37.95 |
Bishop, David |
Great Britai |
3:37.51 |
Huling, Dan |
Nike |
3:37.53 |
Robinson, Paul |
Nike |
3:37.91 |
Gonzalez, Christian |
Njnytc |
3:39.95 |
Heath, Elliott |
Nike |
3:40.17 |
Schmitz, Tommy |
USA |
3:39.90 |
Blankenship, Ben |
Nike |
3:37.23 |
Johnson, Brett |
Unattached |
3:42.87 |
Derrick, Chris |
Nike |
3:41.17 |
If you were to ask Paul Robinson what he’d do immediately after winning $5,000, we have the answer: Snapchat.
Also, another gem from Collis Birmingham:
@flotrack funny you mention that.. According to OTC, @danielhuling ran his 1500 pr on a downhill track. @eightlanenews @stmalachysac
— Collis Birmingham (@cjbirmingham) May 15, 2013
Section 4
Rabbits: Michael Cortney and Sadiki White (1:56.0 thru 800m, going 1000m)
| Name | Affiliation | PR |
Huffer, Craig |
adidas |
3:36.35 |
Corrigan, Peter |
Running Room |
3:40.15 |
Gowell, Chris |
adidas |
3:40.39 |
Solares, Pablo |
Bay Area Tra |
3:36.67 |
Jordanek, Tony |
Neo TC Elite |
3:41.06 |
Philibert, Charles |
Laval |
3:41.75 |
Morris, Graham |
Unattached |
3:41.87 |
Harasyn, Eric |
Brooks |
3:42.02 |
Leslie, Cory |
Unattached |
3:39.00 |
Cronin, Ian |
Team Run Eug |
3:40.44 |
McNiff, Ryan |
adidas |
3:42.18 |
Phillips, Duncan |
Austin TC |
3:39.06 |
Watch out for Cory Leslie in this section as he’s been hot all spring. He not only won the windy Kansas Relays Mile, but he just ran 8:20.08 for the 3000mST in Tokyo.
Normally we'd try to cover everyone who's worth mentioning, but in this case... that's everyone.