Lagat wins two-mile at Nike Prefontaine Classic...
Washington State alum Bernard Lagat (left/photo by Paul Merca) used his patented kick to win in a time of 8:13.62, and outdistance Kenya's Edwin Soi (8:14.10) and Isaiah Koech (8:14.16), in a race where the last place finisher got as much acknowledgement as Lagat did, as Illinois high schooler Lukas Verzbicas, who will attend the University of Oregon, broke the national high school record with his 8:29.46 clocking.
Afterwards, Lagat told the media, "I've got to go with the flow and try to win. I kept myself in good position the entire way."
"I reacted to someone else (with 500 to go). I knew at that point anybody is going to kick in. I wasn't sure how some of them were going to run. So when they went, I had to go."
Courtesy of media partner universalsports.com, here is video footage of Lagat's victory in the two-mile run:
In other events involving Washington affiliated athletes, Washington State alum Ian Waltz finished sixth in the men's discus, with a throw of 204-6 (62.32m).
In the women's javelin, defending Pre Classic champ Kara Patterson was sixth with a throw, of 191-7 (58.39), with a series that included four consecutive fouls.
Though disappointed with her finish, she was philosophical, noting that her main focus are the upcoming meets this summer.
"I wanted to win. The only three times I've ever thrown at Hayward Field, I've won. But, I'm kind of happy that my meet record didn't get broken."
Washington alum Katie Follett, competing in her first Diamond League meeting, finished 13th in the women's 1500, running 4:10.52, off of her best time of 4:07.44 set a few weeks ago in Los Angeles.
Sprinter Carmelita Jeter established herself as the one to beat with a world leading time and meet record in the 100 meters, dashing across the track in 10.70.
David Oliver avenged a loss to China's Liu Xiang in Shanghai, winning the men's 110 meter high hurdles in 12.94, to Liu's season best of 13.00.
Complete results from the Nike Prefontaine Classic are available here.
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