Brooks Beasts get two wins from Brandon Miller & Parker Stokes at LA Track Fest...
LOS ANGELES--The Seattle based Brooks Beasts showed up and showed out at the LA Track Fest at Drake Stadium on the campus of UCLA Saturday afternoon.
The Beasts earned two wins on the day, led by Brandon Miller's (Paul Merca photo) wire to wire win in the 800, just a week after finishing third at the season opening Shanghai stop of the Wanda Diamond League tour in Keqiao.
Miller had a sizable advantage over the field, going through 400 meters in 50.37, with Great Britain's former world champion at 1500 meters, Jake Wightman the closest.
Meanwhile, Beasts teammates Josh Kerr and Isaiah Harris were biding their time in the middle of the pack.
With every step over the last 200, the field slowly gained ground on Miller, but he got to the line first in a time of 1:44.26 to hold off Abe Alvarado's 1:44.59, and Kerr's 1:44.60, which was a new personal best, eclipsing his old mark set last year at the Miami Grand Slam Track stop.
Harris finished seventh in 1:45.59.
"I just wanted to come out here and run my race," Miller said, noting that he was a late add to the field, but said that he wanted in on this race.
For Kerr, moving down to 800 and getting a personal best is giving him confidence on the road to Project 222 in July at the London Diamond League meet.
Both Kerr and Miller, who just finished a training block in Seattle, are going with the rest of the Beasts to Albuquerque for an altitude training stint before returning to racing at the LA Grand Prix meet June 13-14th at Allyson Felix Field at Katherine B. Loker Track Stadium at the University of Southern California.
Georgetown alum Parker Stokes (Paul Merca photo) of the Beasts got the team's other win in the men's 3000 steeplechase, running 8:23.88 to hold off Yasin Sado of the Colorado based Union Athletics Club, and Washington alum Aaron Ahl.
Sado ran 8:24.06, while Ahl was third in 8:24.08.
Olympic silver medalist Kenneth Rooks of College Place was sixth in 8:28.54, while Washington alum Ed Trippas was tenth in 8:35.63.
In the top section of the men's 1500, Vince Ciattei (Paul Merca photo) snuck on the inside in the last 20 meters to win the race over Washington alum Nathan Green.
Ciattei finished in 3:33.41, while Green ran 3:33.46, which was the same time given to North Carolina alum Parker Wolfe for third.
Washington alum Luke Houser was fourth in 3:33.93.
Max Davies of the Brooks Beasts was tenth in 3:35.53, while Waleed Suliman of the Beasts was twelfth in 3:36.20.
The top section of the women's 800 saw Valery Tobias of the Brooks Beasts finish sixth in 2:02.39.
In a separate section of the men's 1500, Washington alum Joe Waskom was second in 3:35.47, while Brannon Kidder of the Beasts was fourth in 3:35.93.
Washington alums Ronan McMahon-Staggs was ninth in 3:41.46, and Aidan Ryan was tenth in 3:45.37.
In the second section of the women's 1500, Teagan Schein-Becker of the Brooks Beasts was third in 4:09.54, while teammate Laura Pellicoro was seventh in 4:11.05.
In the second section of the men's 5000, Washington alum Acer Iverson was second in a personal best 13:18.88, while Gonzaga alum James Mwaura was fourth in 13:23.25.
NOTE: Sound Running and the Brooks Beasts contributed to this report.
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