Sam Prakel finishes 3rd in 5000m at USATF champs; O'Sullivan sets MR at Irish nationals...
NEW YORK-- On the final day of the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, Seattle resident Sam Prakel (Paul Merca file photo) got a little bit of redemption after not qualifying for the finals in the men's 1500 on Thursday. Prakel, an alum of the University of Oregon who continues to train under his UO coach Andy Powell, the current men's head coach at the University of Washington, finished third in the men's 5000 meters to close out the four-day national championship meet in the Big Apple. As expected in a national championship meet, the pace was slow with no one wanting to commit to making the race honest. The field went through the first three kilometers in 2:45, 5:44, and 8:41, before the pace picked up. Prakel was positioned anywhere from fifth to eleventh over the first 3000m before he started to edge his way towards the front. The real running began with about 5 laps to go as the pace jumped down from 66 seconds to 63 seconds, a...
