4. Heir-Apparent Drew Hunter Out Kicks Grant Fisher Again
Oregon freshman Blake Haney won the Junior Men's 1500m in 3:58.16, but the real storyline was the official passing of high school track and field's golden torch from Grant Fisher to Drew Hunter.
After a nearly flawless two year run, Fisher has an heir apparent in junior Hunter, who defeated the Stanford recruit in two consecutive weekends - first at the Brooks PR Invitational 2 Mile, then the 1500m on Saturday.
The race was a "jogfest," termed Hunter, as a slow pace dictated a crowded field full of jostling elbows. Fisher tried to open things up at 600m, but found himself swallowed by NCAA All-American Haney and Brooks PR champion Hunter.
"With 100 meters to go, there was a small gap between Logan [Wetzel] and Blake and obviously, Blake had an extra gear that I didn't have, but I felt good," said Hunter. "It's great to end on a race like this where I got second so I'm really hungry going into cross."
Fisher was gracious in defeat.
"If I had held them off on that corner, things would have been a little easier for me on the final stretch but they got around me and looking back, that's something I'd like to change in the future," he said. I'm not disappointed with the day, I'm not escatic with it at all. It was a race, and these guys raced better than me today. I'm done with high school racing and I'm ready to move on to college.
"I never go into races thinking that the goal is not to win, but a loss here and there is great and I learn more from losses than wins. This definitely wasn't the first race that I've lost and it's not gonna be the last race that I'll lose, either. You can't win 'em all but I think it's important to take what you can out of races. Today, I learned, tactics-wise, and that's how championship races go."
When asked about Hunter, Fisher said he considers the Loudon Valley, Va. rising senior the favorite in any race he enters.
"I think he's gonna be a threat in almost every distance next year," Fisher said.
Both Fisher and Matthew Maton broke four minutes in the mile this year. Will Hunter be next in 2016?
"If they work out that way, that'd be awesome," he said. "I don't want to put that pressure on him, personally, but if things shake out that way, personally, I wouldn't be surprised."
| Place | Name | Affiliation | Time | Heat (Pl) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blake Haney | Oregon | 3:58.16 | 1 (1) | ||||
| 2 | Andrew Hunter | Unattached | 3:58.48 | 1 (2) | ||||
| 3 | Grant Fisher | Unattached | 3:58.77 | 1 (3) | ||||
| 4 | Logan Wetzel | Unattached | 3:59.36 | 1 (4) | ||||
| 5 | Brandon Pollard | Gonzaga | 3:59.47 | 1 (5) | ||||
| 6 | Jaxson Hoey | Unattached | 4:00.17 | 1 (6) | ||||
| 7 | Patrick Perrier | Stanford | 4:01.61 | 1 (7) | ||||
| 8 | Austin Anaya | Adams St. | 4:02.14 | 1 (8) | ||||
| 9 | Dan Curts | Iowa St. | 4:03.10 | 1 (9) | ||||
| 10 | Todd Mickey | Texas Tech | 4:03.30 | 1 (10) | ||||
| 11 | Blair Hurlock | Stanford | 4:06.21 | 1 (11) | ||||
| 12 | John Dove | Manhattan | 4:07.58 | 1 (12) |
5. Courtney Corrin Finds Her Groove
4. Heir-Apparent Drew Hunter Out Kicks Grant Fisher Again
3. Sophomore Kate Murphy Shocks Herself With U.S. No. 10 All-Time 4:16.9 1500m
2. Carlton Orange Goes Sub-1:50 In Style, U.S. No. 5 All-Time 1:47.67
1. Noah Lyles Is The Man Of The Meet