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Elite Competition Produces Fast Performances at Brooks PR Invitational

Published by
DyeStat.com   Jun 9th 2018, 8:33am
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A-List Fields Lead to Dramatic Finishes, Records

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

SEATTLE – Cool temperatures and a steady Northwest drizzle did little to suppress the talent on display Friday afternoon at the eighth annual Brooks PR Invitational at Shoreline Stadium.

The pride of local stars James Mwaura and Aliya Wilson – both of whom embraced the conditions – burst through as they defended home turf.

VIDEOS | PHOTOS by Margot Kelly

A surging sophomore class shone through with wins in the boys 400 meters (Sean Burrell) and boys 800 (Brandon Miller), as well as a national class record by Cole Sprout in the 2-mile and a record attempt by Katelynne Hart in the girls 2-mile.

And there were also some seniors making final statements before closing the book on their prep careers, none brighter than Camila Noe in the 2-mile and Eric Edwards in the 110-meter hurdles.

Noe tapped into the spirit of the event as well as anyone.

“I had a really rough (Nike Cross Nationals) and so this was my redemption race,” said Noe, who sliced 23 seconds off her personal best time in the 3,200 meters.

After Hart led the charge for more than half the race, she still hadn’t shaken five runners in the field who ran in a tight formation and bumped into one another over the final stages of the race. Ultimately, Taryn O’Neill of British Columbia, who came in with a 9:22 PR in the 3,000 meters, was able to seize command on the last lap.

O’Neill won it in 9:54.40 and Noe was second in 9:54.95 for a Montana all-time state best and No. 7 U.S. prep all-time. Hart, who has run 9:52 this spring, was third in 9:56.40.

In the boys 2-mile, co-favorites Mwaura and Sprout waged fiercely competitive fight to the finish. Mwaura of Tacoma’s Lincoln High had a bit more in reserve over the final 150 meters and delighted his supporters with a victory in 8:48.76. The time was a slight improvement over his state-meet record 3,200 but left him six-tenths of a second shy of Rick Riley’s 1966 all-time state best.

Mwaura was happy just to win given the challenge that came from Sprout.

“He’s super fast,” Mwaura said of Sprout. “On the last lap I was just trying to keep my pace up and keep surging and it worked out for me.”

Sprout, who finished second with 8:49.46, smashed the all-time sophomore class record of 8:50.5 by Eric Hulst from Laguna Beach CA that dates all the way back to 1974.

Earlier this year, at the Oregon Relays, Sprout broke the all-time sophomore record in the 3,000 meters.

“Pretty brutal,” Sprout said of the effort he gave to beat Mwaura. “The last 800 was all-out. By the last 200 I was gassed. I pretty much had nothing left.”

The distance runners thrived in the cool conditions, while the sprinters were bogged down just a bit by them.

However, the one meet record that fell came in the girls 400 meters. Florida’s Jan’Taijah Ford, a junior from Northeast (Oakland Park), overcame Utah champion Meghan Hunter and California champion Tierra Robinson-Jones in the final 50 meters and fell right on the finish line with a winning time of 53.06 seconds.

“I didn’t even feel myself go down,” Ford said. “I just fell. I really pushed myself to try to win and try to PR.”

In the boys 110-meter hurdles, Ayden Owens of North Allegheny PA embraced the cool conditions and ran to a victory in 13.80 seconds.

Behind him, Eric Edwards of Houston Langham TX was making his first appearance in a hurdles race since injuring his hamstring at New Balance Nationals Indoor in March. Edwards wasn’t cleared to start training again until after the conclusion of the Texas state meet, and he gave a strong effort in his first race back, getting second in 13.86.

However, Edwards pulled up as he crossed the finish line and felt as though he had re-injured the hamstring, though not as severely as he had in March.

Wilson of Tahoma WA surprised herself with a victory in the girls 100 meters, using the familiar drizzle to her advantage and running 11.87 to edge out De’Anna Nowling of Calabasas CA (11.89).

In the girls 100 hurdles, Emily Sloan of Rock Canyon CO ran 13.55 and beat talented sophomore Grace Stark of Lakeland MI (13.61).

In the boys 100, Taylor Banks of Miramar FL ran 10.48 to hold off the Oregon state champion, sophomore Micah Williams, who had to recover from a sluggish start to finish second in 10.55.

Burrell, powered through the rain to win the boys 400 meters in 46.97 seconds.

Miller, who placed third in this meet as a freshman last year, used a strong late kick to reach the finish line in the 800 meters first, clocking 1:51.55 to beat Hopewell Valley NJ’s Sean Dolan, who was second in 1:51.91 and Wyoming champion Wyatt Peck (1:52.04). Senior Brodey Hasty, a recent graduate of Brentwood High in Tennessee, secured a PR in the 800 with 1:52.98 for seventh.

Cathilyn McIntosh of Del Oro CA followed a reprised a similar game plan in the 800 meters to the one she used last week to win the California state title. McIntosh ran 2:06.50 and Brooke Manson of Eastlake WA was second in 2:07.16.

Fans came out of the stands and lined the track to cheer on the racers in the miles.

In the girls race, Mariah Castillo of Saugus CA tore away from the field in the final 500 meters and built a big margin on the way to the win in 4:41.40.

Dustin Horter, a senior, made his final high school race a memorable one. A year after placing eighth, Horter remained poised over the final lap and shot past Michael Phillips coming off the final curve to win the mile in 4:04.68.



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