It's the second time around for Washington's Luke Houser, as he repeats as NCAA mile champion...
BOSTON--"The second time around
Ooh, the second time is so much better, baby
The second time around
And I'll make it better than the first time"
That's the chorus of a song from the group Shalamar called "The Second Time Around", which talks about how much better things are the second time around.
That song can be applied to University of Washington senior Luke Houser (Paul Merca photo), who controlled the race from the front enough to leave the TRACK at new balance with his second straight NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship in the men's mile Saturday evening.
While the Woodinville HS alum was never towards the back, Houser was always in position to affect the outcome of the race.
After two laps, which was crossed in 63.08 by Wisconsin's Adam Spencer, Houser had enough and went to the front and promptly slowed it down to 68 seconds.
Just past the half mile mark, business picked up, to use an old World Wrestling Entertainment phrase, as Houser slowly ratcheted down the pace, running each of the last four laps faster than the last, going from 30.19 to 28.97, then 27.46, and finishing with a last lap of 26.82, winning the race in 4:01.72, ahead of Spencer's 4:01.92 and BYU's Lucas Bons' 4:02.12.
Immediately recapping the race with ESPN’s John Anderson, Houser said, “I took the lead early, because I knew positioning was so important. I was getting challenged every lap, someone was coming up on my shoulder, but I just had to keep fighting to hold them off. I was able to get all the way home.”
“It’s certainly not easy the second time around,” said Houser. “You still have got to put in the same work, week in and week out. I knew what it took to win, so every day I showed up to practice with that champion’s mentality, and put in the work all year to get to this point.”
Husky teammate Joe Waskom finished eighth in the 10-man field, running 4:03.26. The 2022 NCAA outdoor 1500m champ was boxed in on the last lap and then got tripped with less than a hundred meters to go.
Bons was originally flagged and disqualified for the foul committed during the race that affected Waskom and another runner, but got the disqualification overturned.
Houser is the first back-to-back NCAA mile champion since New Mexico's Josh Kerr (who now trains in Seattle as part of the Brooks Beasts) in 2017-18. Kerr recently won the 2023 world championship at 1500 meters, as well as the world indoor title at 3000 meters. He also is just the fourth Husky ever to successfully defend an NCAA title, and the first ever in a running event.
Houser doubled back an hour later in the 3000, and tried early to slow the pace down, but the field eventually didn't fall for it.
Houser finished 15th in 8:08.03, as Northern Arizona's Nico Young won in a meet record 7:41.01.
In the heptathlon, Washington senior Bruno Comin Pescador finished fifth with a final score of 5941 points, while Washington State's Mason Mahacek was twelfth with 5472 points.
The two time Spanish decathlon champion ran 8.16 in the 60 hurdles, vaulted 15-11.25 (4.86m), and ran the 1000 in 2:38.75.
Mahacek rallied after day one, running 8.80 in the hurdles, clearing 15-7.25 (4.76m) in the vault, and ran 2:42.60 in the 1000.
The men's team competition saw the Huskies, who were fourth in Albuquerque in 2023, finish tenth with 20 points.
Texas Tech won the team title, holding off Arkansas by a score of 50.5 to 41 points. Florida was third with 39, while Northern Arizona was fourth with 31 points.
In the women's 800, Washington's Wilma Nielsen (Paul Merca photo), who was seventh in this meet last year while attending Bradley, moved up one spot to sixth, running 2:02.13, as Stanford's Juliette Whittaker won in a meet record 1:59.53.
As Lake Stevens native Taylor Roe of Oklahoma State tried to do in Friday night's 5000, Woodinville's Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame ran from the front in an attempt to create separation from 5000 meter winner Parker Valby of Florida.
Valby pushed the pace just before the 2000 meter mark, and put the race away, winning in a meet record 8:41.50, as Markezich, who entered the meet with the fastest collegiate time 8:40.42, finished second in 8:46.71.
Former Seattle Pacific All-American Kaylee Mitchell of Oregon State, faded after running in fourth most of the race. She finished tenth in 9:02.91.
Just before the two minute mark, Roe, who was attempting the 3000/5000 double, was knocked down. She started walking in an attempt to get back into the race, but ultimately dropped out.
Eastside Catholic alum Kate Jendrezak of UCLA ran the second leg on UCLA's 4 x 400 relay team which finished tenth overall in a time of 3:33.13.
The Huskies finished in 17th with a score of 13 points, thanks to the victory by Hana Moll in the pole vault Friday night and Nielsen's three points in the 800 Saturday.
Arkansas won the women's team title with 65 points, followed by Florida with 50 points. Georgia was third with 32, and Ole Miss and Oregon tied for fourth with 30 points.
NOTE: The NCAA and the media relations office of the University of Washington and Washington State University contributed to this report.
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