All photos by Don Rich
SAN DIEGO --
Just like the girls race, the boys Foot Locker National Championships ended as expected, but no less exhilarating.
Just like Aisling Cuffe, the girls champion, Lukas Verzbicas, of Carl Sandberg high school in Orland Hills, Illinois, entered Saturday as the prohibitive favorite, whose body of work these past two years supported the notion that he was a special talent with a bright future in whatever sport he chooses.
And just like Cuffe, Verzbicas didn’t disappoint, breaking from Futsum Zeinasellasie, his Midwest teammate and only challenger, at two miles and building a 30-meter lead over the final next mile.
From there Verzbicas relaxed, waved to the crowd, and slowed to a walk as he broke the tape in 14:59.
“It wasn’t that easy,” Verzbicas said. “It was very tough and the only easy part was the last couple hundred meters where I could celebrate a little.”
With the win, Verzbicas joins an elite list of boys that are repeat champions. Abdirizak Mohamud in 1996 and 1997 and Dathan Ritzenhein in 1999 and 2000 also won twice.
In breaking 15 minutes, Verzbicas joins a slightly less prestigious, but no less significant club. Many of the boys who broke 15 minutes at Foot Lockers reads as a who’s who list of runners who have led USA’s resurgence in distance running: Adam Goucher and Meb Keflezighi in 1993, Ritzenhein, Alan Webb and Ryan Hall in 2000, Chris Solinsky in 2002 and Galen Rupp in 2003. And for historical context, Verzbicas matched the exact time ran by Bob Kennedy when he won at Balboa Park in 1987.
Zeinasellasie, of North Central high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, finished second in 15:10 and Tony Smoragiewicz, (Photo, left, #73) also from the Midwest region, finished third in 15:16 to complete a Midwest region podium sweep.
The Midwest packed two more runners - Chris Walden in 5th and William Kincaid in 11th - into the front pack to take the team championship in one of the more dominating performances of all time. Midwest finished with just 22 points, besting the South, which had 64.
“I think it helps being from the Midwest,” said Smoragiewicz, a junior from Rapid City, South Dakota. “I think it helps a lot to have hard weather to train through in many different conditions.”
Andrew Gardner, (Photo, right, #82) a sophomore who was the youngest runner in the field, finished fourth but said he climbed all the way from last place at the mile mark.
“I’m mature enough for these guys,” said Gardner, who ran 15:18. “I don’t treat myself as a sophomore. I treat myself as a senior.”
Verzbicas was a sophomore when he won last year, but won this year as a senior, a result of an accelerated high school class load that puts him on course to graduate in 2011. As a two-sport athlete - Verzbicas a top-ranked triathlete in his age group - Verzbicas said he still doesn’t know what his future plans are.
“If I have a great indoor season, who knows, then I might be a runner,” said Verzbicas, who also qualifed for the world junior championships. “If I have a better triathlon season then I might do triathlon.”
But it won’t be both, he said. “I’ll have to make a decision in the next year.”
