BOR TAKES STEEPLECHASE TITLE AT USA TRIALS
By Rich Sands, @sands
(c) 2021 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - Used with permission.
EUGENE, Oregon (25-Jun) -- Hillary Bor ran a flawless final lap on Friday afternoon at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field to earn his second Olympic berth in the 3000-meter steeplechase. The defending U.S. champion held off training partner Benard Keter for the win, while Mason Ferlic earned the third and final spot for the Tokyo Games, using a last-minute surge to edge Daniel Michalski.
With temperatures at 33 Celsius/92 Fahrenheit, the early pace was solid but not ambitious. Two-time Olympian Donn Cabral set the tempo for most the first six laps before Isaac Updike finally took over on the penultimate water jump. Bor, Keter, Ferlic and Michalski followed and soon dropped Updike. By the final water jump Bor and Keter were left fighting for the win.
Keter lost momentum off the final barrier and could not close the gap on Bor, who finished in 8:21.34. Keter (8:21.81) was a step ahead of Ferlic (8:22.05), who was in turn a step ahead of Michalski (8:22.54). All three members of the team had previously achieved the Olympic qualifying standard (8:22.00).
Updike (8:24.72) and Cabral (8:25.95) finished fifth and sixth, while Sean McGorty (8:27.05), in his first season running the event, placed seventh.
"I've been lucky enough to go through this championship every year since 2016. And I use the same move every year," Bor said of his plan to make a move on the final backstretch. "Coming in this year I knew everyone was targeting me because I won in 2019."
Though Updike's move forced his hand a little earlier than he'd hoped, Bor was still able to save something for the final half lap. "I took the water pit hard and the race is history," said Bor, who finished eighth in Rio and is the third-fastest American of all time with a PB of 8:08.41. "I wanted to make sure 2016 was not a fluke. I never thought I could be an Olympian in my life, but now to be a second-time Olympian you can't ask for anything better than that."
For Ferlic, it's been a long road back to the top since he won the 2016 NCAA title in this stadium for Michigan. Things finally clicked for him this year and he saw himself as the favorite to win the trials. Though he wasn't able to catch the leaders, he was pleased with his execution of the race. "Coming over that last barrier as soon as I touched ground on the other side I knew I had done it clean I was like, heck yeah, baby, let's just focus on the arms, just try to relax the face and drive forward to the finish line," he said. "Man, it feels amazing to make that team."
In the women's 800 semi-finals, six women broke 2:00 to earn spots in Sunday's final. NCAA 400-meter champion Athing Mu sat on the shoulder of Chanelle Price for most of the first section before opening up a lead on the homestretch. The newly minted pro won in 1:59.31 from 2016 Olympic finalist Kate Grace (1:59.43) and Price (1:59.90).
After tripping coming off the final bend, Sage Hurta went down hard and was unable to finish. She made contact with Hanna Green who was in front of her, and Green successfully won her protest to be advanced to the final (she finished fourth in 2:01.19 and would not have qualified on time).
American-record holder Ajee' Wilson (1:59.49) also came on strong in the final 100 to win the second heat. Local favorite Raevyn Rogers, a former University of Oregon star (whose image graces the massive tower overlooking the Hayward track), closed well to finish second in 1:59.66 after sitting sixth at the bell. Allie Wilson (1:59.94) finished third.
"I haven't done that much racing this year, so to have these first two rounds go as well as they did that's a major confidence booster," said Ajee' Wilson, who is seeking her fourth straight U.S. title in the event (and fifth overall). "It's a coin toss given what day it is who's gonna come out on top. This is an amazing field."
In the first to two semifinals of the men's 1500, Craig Engels lurked mid-pack for most of the way before breaking free to win in 3:38.56 as the top six were separated by just 22/100ths of a second. "I always get myself in this panicky situation and seem to always work it out in that last 100," said Engels, who drove to Eugene from his home in Portland in a pick-up truck with a camper body. "I wasn't in a rush or anything."
The second heat was significantly slower, and provided an entertaining showdown between Oregon stars past and present. Down the homestretch, Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz, who won the 2011 NCAA title for the Ducks, turned and gave an extended, almost comical glance at Cole Hocker, fresh off his own collegiate championship for the home team two weeks ago.
The pair shared a few smiles as they came across the line, with Centrowitz (3:42.96) a fraction ahead of the youngster (3:43.00). High school phenom Hobbs Kessler, who turned pro earlier in the week, finished eighth in 3:45.50 and did not advance to Sunday's final.
"I thought it was going to take off pretty hot and so I just went to the back, but it turned out to be pretty slow," said Kessler, who ran a U.S. under-20 record 3:34.36 in May. "Then I just kind of found myself off the back and kept trying to move up but making beginner's mistakes trying to move up and kept getting spit out the back."
The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native (who trains with Ferlic) was disappointed not to make the final, but was able to put things in perspective. "I was a little emotionally tired, but didn't have that extra gear I usually have," he said. "But I'm happy with it, I've had a good experience in Eugene."
PHOTO: Hilary Bor (second from right) on his way to winning the 2021 USA Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field steeplechase (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
