Dylan Rowell of Anacortes becomes second Washington prep to break 4 minutes in the mile at Brooks PR...
RENTON--Incoming Gonzaga freshman Dylan Rowell (Paul Merca photo) of Anacortes HS became the second Washington high school athlete to break 4 minutes in the mile Sunday afternoon at the Brooks PR Invitational at Renton Stadium.
In what's a rarity in an all high school field, Marcelo Mantecon of Miami, Florida, who won the boys' 2 mile to open the meet in 8:44.88, led the field through 900 meters, taking the ten runners through the half mile in a shade over 2 minutes.
At the bell, Brian Burns of Bentonville, Arkansas, who was third in the Hoka Festival of Miles high school race on Thursday when he ran 3:59.70 in St. Louis, had the lead, with Rowell sitting on the outside.
Rowell closed with a 57.95, and a hard dive to the tape to finish in a time of 3:59.93, to join Mercer Island's Owen Powell as the only two high school runners in Washington history to break 4 minutes.
Afterwards, Rowell, the Washington 2A champion last week at 800 and 1600 meters told reporters in the mixed zone that he credited his run to consistent training.
"I was a little fatigued (from the effort at last week's state meet)."
"It was huge to have Marcelo taking us through. I knew that most of the guys were really fit going into the race," pointing out to the fact that Burns ran in the Hoka race in St Louis on Thursday, while Rowell was relatively fresh.
"I was really feeling good with 400 to go, and wanted to test Brian with 300 to go," Rowell said in describing the last lap.
In Stockholm, Sweden, Woodinville native Olivia Markezich (Paul Merca file photo) finished outside the top ten in the women's 3000 steeplechase at the Bauhaus Galan meet, the fifth stop in the season long Wanda Diamond League tour.
Markezich, who ran in the first two meets of the tour in Shanghai/Keqiao and Xiamen, China, finished in 9:25.79 to place 11th, as Marwa Bouzayani of Tunisia won in a meet record 8:59.28.
College Place native Kenneth Rooks, the Paris Olympic silver medalist, finished 18th in 8:29.00.
Paris Olympic champion and former world champ Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco, who won last week's Diamond League stop in Rabat, Morocco, won in 8:10.40.
The Wanda Diamond League moves on to Oslo for the Bislett Games on June 10th.
NOTE: Brooks Running, the Wanda Diamond League, and World Athletics contributed to this report.
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