Huddle, Mead win 10Ks; Flanagan and Rupp finish out of top-three

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

SACRAMENTO -- It may well be that the next three days at the USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships see a changing of the guard as new talent sweeps in to take valued U.S. team spots from older athletes. 

On Thursday night, it happened in the 10,000 meters where both Shalane Flanagan and Galen Rupp were unable to secure spots on the team that will represent the United States in London at the IAAF World Championships. 

Since 2004, when Flanagan made her first Olympic team, one or both of America's distance stars have been fixtures on the U.S. team. 

For Rupp, Friday's fifth-place finish marked the end of an eight-year streak of U.S. titles in the 10,000 meters. Hassan Mead of OTC Elite took the title in 29:01.44.

Rupp, 31, declined to speak with reporters after the race. It is believed that he was aiming for one final U.S. track team before turning his full attention to the marathon. 

Flanagan, 35, led much of the final and set the pace for the three younger runners who stuck with her until the final few laps: Molly Huddle, who used a devastating kick to win the race in 31:19.86; Emily Infeld, a member of Flanagan's training group, who was second (31:22.67); and Emily Sisson, who was third in 31:25.64.

For as in-command as she seemed through the middle stages of the race, Flanagan counted herself as a longshot to make the team. She is returning from a back injury and said she was "under-prepared" for the U.S. Championships.

"They just have those gears," Flanagan said of the runners who beat her. "I was massively under-prepared, but was hoping that all of my strength from the 12 to 13 years would come into play, just being tough, just being gritty out there."

Flanagan and Rupp weren't the only big-name stars to fail to book a trip to London. Tyson Gay didn't advance out of the first round of the 100 meters and Nick Symmonds turned his attention to the Honolulu Marathon after finishing 32nd out of 33 in the 800 meters. Andrew Wheating did not advance in the 1,500 meters. None of those results were particularly surprising.

Huddle is the current owner of the 10,000 meters in the U.S. and won her third straight title. She sat behind Flanagan until she picked her moment to take the lead, with a little more than four laps to go. 

After churning out laps of 76s and 77s, Huddle stepped on that gas with 73.5, 73.4, 69.6 and 65.1 to close it out. 

" I knew it was going to be a rough last lap but I just wanted to pour it all out," said Huddle, who owns the American record.

Sam Chelanga was the most interesting character in a strange 10,000 that saw the field run the first six laps in 7:46 -- 15 seconds slower than the women. 

Chelanga injected pace with a 64-second quarter on Lap Seven, and he ran out in front of the field for 16 laps. His various surges and rests ultimately did little to rattle the veterans behind him. 

With a mile to go, the chase pack caught Chelanga and passed him. 

With one lap to go there were six athletes sprinting for three spots. Chris Derrick of the Nike Bowerman Club had the slimmest of leads. 

With 200 to go the real kicking began and Mead pulled away enough to win by a second. Shadrack Kipchirchir and Leonard Korir, both U.S. Olympians in 2012 and teammates for the U.S. Army team, were second and third.

Mead closed in 55.3 seconds.

"For me, the slower they went the better," Mead said.  "If you ask me personally, I think I have great confidence in myself that I had the best kick in the group.  So, if you want 33 minutes and it came down to the last K, I was ready to run 2:22." 

Mead was gracious when asked about Rupp and what it took to end his eight-year streak.

"His record speaks for itself," Mead said. "U.S distance is getting so tough. Two years ago, he'd have been so confident he could have gotten away with (the win). Today was a different story."

He said Rupp congratulated him on his win.

At least year's Olympic Trials, it was Rupp first with Kipchirchir and Korir second and third. Mead was a casualty of the heat and did not finish.

"I came up short in this event last year so I had to redeem myself," he said.