Nelson wins 3000 to highlight Flotrack Husky Classic...
After pacesetter Max O'Donoghue-McDonald of the host University of Washington dropped out, NCAA cross country champ Sam Chelanga of Liberty took the lead before a host of runners, including former Stanford standout Garrett Heath, North Carolina State's Ryan Hill, Oregon's Matthew Centrowitz, and Nelson made a break for it.
Much as his brother Elliott tried to do in last night's 5000, Heath made a decisive move with over 200m to go, but Nelson stayed patient, and overtook Heath in the final straightaway.
After Nelson's 7:49.95, Heath crossed in 7:50.28, followed by Centrowitz in 7:50.59, then Hill at 7:50.78, and Chelanga at 7:50.92.
Current American record holder in the mile Alan Webb, who was a late entry, faded, finishing 6th in 7:51.85.
Washington senior Colton Tully-Doyle was ninth in 7:53.13, just in front of Oklahoma State's German Fernandez in 7:53.82. 2008 US Olympian at 5000 meters Ian Dobson was 14th in 7:54.39.
In total, 20 athletes cracked 8:00 Saturday, including the top two finishers in section 5, Matthew Mildenhall of Villanova (7:57.40) and John Sullivan of Stanford (7:59.71).
Ten collegians ducked under the 7:54.50 qualifying standard for next month's NCAA championships at College Station, Texas.
Though it did not have the depth of last year's race where 13 men ran under 4:00, seven men broke four minutes in the mile, led by facility record holder Chris Solinsky, who opened his 2011 season by lowering his own record to 3:54.52 from 3:55.76.
Solinsky, the American record holder in the 10000 meters, cruised to victory over BYU's Miles Batty who clocked 3:55.79.
In the women's 3000, Canadian veteran Malindi Elmore made short work of a strong field by running away with the race, clocking 9:04.70, a nearly 11 second margin over US Olympian at 800 meters Alice Schmidt who ran 9:15.20.
A surprising third went to UW freshman Megan Goethals, competing unattached, who stopped the watches at 9:18.09.
US Olympian at 10000 Amy Yoder Begley, competing for the first time since Achilles tendon sugary last fall, ran 9:19.58, while Huskies Katie Flood (9:21.88) and Justine Johnson (9:31.86) were 13th and 17th.
In another section, Washington frosh Chelsea Orr finished sixth in 9:26.73, as she preps for next week's NACAC cross country championships in Tobago.
The women's mile provided a minor upset, as former University of Kansas standout Lauren Bonds passed Oregon's Jordan Hasay on the final straightaway to win at 4:34.65 to 4:34.75.
Tacoma's Brie Felnagle was third in 4:36.28.
In the sprints, Washington State's Greg Hornsby won the 60 meter dash in 6.84, defeating Oregon's Heisman Trophy runner-up LaMichael James who ran 6.88.
Cougar teammate Jeshua Anderson won the timed-final 400 in 46.93, 3/100ths of a second faster than former Husky Jordan Boase, who won his heat decisively, but had no one to race.
The Huskies' Dominique Lauderdale was a surprise winner of the women's 60, running 7.48 to best a field that included high school sensation Hannah Cunliffe of the Seattle Speed TC, who was fourth in 7.59.
In the throwing events, one of the biggest surprises was the failure of former Auburn University star Cory Martin to register a mark in the shot put, fouling all three of his preliminary attempts.
USA world championships team member in the hammer Michael Mai of Ft. Lewis dominated the 35-pound weight throw, spinning the implement 76-3 3/4 (23.26m), four centimeters short of the facility record set by James Parker three years ago.
In the men's pole vault, former NCAA champ Jason Colwick was the only man to clear 18-1 (5.51m).
Complete results from the Flotrack Husky Classic are available here.
The University of Washington will host the UW Open meet Sunday, beginning at 8 am.
BERNARD LAGAT BREAKS AMERICAN RECORD IN THE TWO-MILE IN NEW YORK...
While the heats of the men's 3000 were going on, Washington State graduate Bernard Lagat took aim at Doug Padilla's American record in the two-mile run of 8:15.02, set in 1990.
Assisted by pacemakers Robby Andrews of Virginia, and Russell Brown of the Oregon TC, Lagat comfortably broke Padilla's record, clocking 8:10.07, the #10 performance of all-time.
Lagat's coach James Li watched the race unfold on my laptop at the Dempsey, but I was not able to get a reaction from Li after the race, as I was attending to other duties.
Here's a link to an interview Lagat did with Track & Field News' Sieg Lindstrom...
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