* Lucas Guerra and Izaiah Steury in the 1,600m at the Misfits Invitational
No. 8.
Boys Championship Mile
- - -
Athletes To Watch: Ethan Strand, Izaiah Steury, Lucas Guerra, Elliott McArthur, Gary Martin, Isaiah Givens
This is arguably the most underrated race of Adidas Indoor Nationals.
As long as the pace is honest and the field keeps everyone accountable, more than handful of athletes have an opportunity to go under 4:10.
The favorite might be Vestavia Hills senior Ethan Strand, who owns a US No. 2 mark of 4:11 for 1,600m. But Gary Martin is a sleeper, having authored a 4:12 mile outdoors in a polar bear meet on Jan. 31.
Guerra can't be forgotten about, either. He's currently US No. 4 in the 1,600m with a 4:12.72. Something tells me he's uber-motivated to be among the field's frontrunners.
The same can be said for McArthur; the Minnesota teen might be the youngest of the bunch here, but his aims are squarely focused on PR'ing and maybe even stealing a win. He owns a US No. 5 mile time of 4:15.34.
Steury is bouncing back after an up-and-down race in Chicago, so he has a big opportunity to also make a statement.