April 5 – April 11

The outdoor track season is really starting to heat up and so is Distance Gala Weekly.  This week, we feature our weekly Top Five, an interview with Georgia standout Tyler Anyan, and a summary of the top highlights from the Arcadia Invitational (CA).

The Top Five

Not that we forgot the rest of the country competed over the weekend, but this week’s Top Five was swept by performances at the Arcadia Invitational (CA).  Way too much took place to overlook any of these performances, led of course by the boys 3,200m event, which was simply one of the best distance races in the past decade.

5. Darren Fahy (So., La Costa Canyon, CA) – A lot of great runners put up great times in the Arcadia 3,200m race Saturday evening, but back in the results a bit was certainly one of the most impressive performances of the weekend.  Only a sophomore, California’s Darren Fahy crossed the finish line in 9:01.12, good enough for 18^th place overall in the stacked field.  It’s a rare day that a sophomore pushes the nine minute mark, but Fahy showed he has a legitimate shot later this season to break that barrier.

4. Maddie Meyers (So., Northwest, WA) – It wasn’t all that long ago that Maddie Meyers ran a big-time race against collegiate competition, establishing herself as one of the top milers in the country.  Well, Meyers was at it again at the Arcadia Invitational, this time winning the mile in a US#2 time of 4:50.72.  Meyers showed once again why she is a future star in the sport, beating the talented field by over two seconds.  Four of the top six performances in the country this spring occurred at Arcadia Saturday.

3. Long Beach Poly (CA) – The sprint powerhouse showed their strength over the middle distances as well at the Arcadia Invitational, winning the girls 4x800m relay in a new US#1 mark of 9:07.55.  Long Beach Poly used strong third and fourth legs to overtake West Ranch (CA), who finished in a US#2 mark of 9:09.25.  Long Beach Poly currently ranks US#1 in the Nike Track Nationals rankings, amassing some very important points in the 800 and 1,600m events from their middle-distance crew.

2. Kelsey Brown (Sr., Mt. View, UT) – While Kelsey Brown’s winning 800m time at the Arcadia Invitational Saturday night wasn’t a US#1 time, she earns a Top Five #2 ranking this week because she beat the US#1 ranked 800m runner, Chloe Curtis (Sr., Redondo, CA).  Brown used her strong kick to take home first place in a US#3 time of 2:10.68, while edging Curtis, who finished second in 2:10.73.  Seven runners total dipped under 2:14.

1. Jake Hurysz (Sr., Eastern Alamance, NC) – It was a race to remember.  Sixteen runners broke the nine-minute barrier in the 3,200m contest at Arcadia Saturday night, proving to be one of the greatest distance races in the past decade.  From top to bottom the race shined bright, and in the end it was University of North Carolina-bound senior Jake Hurysz taking the top prize.

Hurysz used a vicious kick over the final 200 meters to overtake Brian Shrader (Sr., Sinagua, AZ), raising his hands in victory, while crossing the finish line in a US#1 time of 8:49.76.  Shrader finished second in 8:53.09, while Brandon Lord (Sr., Baylor, TN) rounded out the top three with an 8:55.42 finish.

An Interview with Georgia’s Tyler Anyan

It’s been one heck of a senior year for Tyler Anyan (Sr., Brookwood, GA) so far.  The Georgia standout led his team to a Nike Cross Nationals berth this past fall, where Anyan placed 17^th individually, while helping his team place 18^th overall. 

After a successful start to his track season, Anyan scored two big performances recently, winning the Gwinnett County Championships 3,200m race in 8:57.73, coming back a week later to win the 1,600m at the Florida Relays in 4:12.43.  Both times currently rank him top eight in the U.S.

With so much recent success, Distance Gala Weekly caught up with Anyan, where the senior discussed his season thus far, what it means to be part of such a strong team, how he stays healthy and much more.

Distance Gala Weekly (DGW): You've had a tremendous start to your season, running a sub-9 effort for 3,200m and a new PR in the 1,600m.  How do you feel about your season thus far?

Tyler Anyan (TA): It has definitely been a great season, so far. It's the first season in a while that hasn't been impeded by injuries, so it's been a lot of fun to progress naturally over the last few months. My training has been great so far, which has kept me happy and satisfied.

DGW: With so much success up to this point, have you had to re-evaluate your goals for this season?

TA: My only real goal this season is to stay injury free, so I've been doing a lot of stuff outside of just running to keep that goal alive. I just want to keep progressing throughout the season and set myself up to run fast in June.

DGW: What have you done outside of running to keep yourself healthy this season?

TA: Well I've begun stretching extensively 2-3 times a day. I also have many general strength exercises that my chiropractor gave me. These include strengthening my lower back and hips with an exercise ball and body resistance. He also gave me exercises to strengthen my hamstrings, quads, and IT Bands.

Then I do a lot of core work and push-ups. I visit the chiropractor once every two weeks to make sure no bone shifting problems, due to growing, have been messing up my biomechanics. And lastly I take a lot of hot baths to loosen up the muscles...strange yet relaxing.

DGW: You and your teammates have been in the national spotlight much of the year, showcasing some tremendous depth.  What's it been like being part of such a strong program and having teammates that can push you each and every day in practice?

TA: It's definitely fun having a team that can run workouts at an elite level. These guys aren't just my teammates though, they're my best friends, as well. My weekends and breaks are spent hanging out with them and it is amazing watching everyone progress together. It also adds a layer of training knowing that there are six guys that are ready to eat you up if you feel like giving up in the middle of a workout.

DGW: The strength of distance running in Georgia this year is pretty darn good, but the state isn't known as a distance running powerhouse.  What do you feel has made Georgia such a strong state in distance running talent over the past year or two?

TA: I think the potential has been here all along, but the coaching has definitely been upped a level in the past few years. Gwinnett County has become a breeding ground for fast runners, including Girma Machesco, Kirubel Erassa, Billy Kovalchyk, Carter Hewitt, the list goes on of tons of really fast guys all living within 20-25 minutes of each other. I think the recent boom has been due to the competition in the area, which brings out the best in kids.

DGW: A lot of people are well aware of your recent accomplishments, but not of your past.  How did you first get into the sport of distance running?

TA: When I was in middle school I was a mid-pack swimmer. My friend, who started summer cross country, told me swimming was a girly sport compared to running, so I went out for the team kind of as a challenge. Once I got there I loved it and ended up making the varsity cross country squad my sophomore year and ran a 9:31 3200 meters that spring.

Since then, I've grown six or seven inches and have had to deal wit a lot of tendinitis. Every season I would build a huge base and then end up injured right before the season. Through this I managed a 9:18 my junior year, but it wasn't a very good representation of what I was capable of.

Arcadia Invitational (CA)

Event Website / Complete Results

Another year, another amazing Arcadia Invitational (CA) is in the books.  The annual showcase of talent saw some tremendous performances this time around, including one of the best distance races in the past decade, perhaps ever. 

As usual, the boy’s 3,200m was the showcase distance event.  Heading into the race, many expected the race to be fast, with at least a dozen athletes fully capable of breaking the nine-minute barrier, but what happened next was simply awe-inspiring.

Lap after lap, it became more apparent that many athletes were going to break nine, but as the finish line approached, the race took on a whole different look.  Sixteen runners crossed the line under nine minutes.  16!  North Carolina’s Jake Hurysz (Sr., Eastern Alamance, NC) won the race, using a monstrous kick over the final 200 meters to win in 8:49.76.  Coming in second, Brian Shrader (Sr., Sinagua, AZ) crossed the finish in 8:53.09, while Brandon Lord (Sr., Baylor, TN) finished third in 8:55.42.

While the boy’s 3,200m stole all the attention, a slew of U.S. top three performances took place in other events as well.  In the mile, Maddie Meyers (So., Northwest, WA) won the girl’s race in a US#2 time of 4:50.72.  Meyers outkicked a strong field, including runner-up Alli Billmeyer (Jr., Torrey Pines, CA), who finished in 4:52.97.

Not to be outdone, the boys race saw nine runners finish under 4:18, including surprise race winner Jantzen Shier (Jr., Trabuco Hills, CA), who overtook pre-race favorites Anthony Kostelac (Sr., Albemarle, VA) and Elias Geydon (Jr., Loyola, CA) over the final 100 meters.  Shier won in 4:12.80, while Kostelac and Geydon placed 2-3 in 4:12.90 and 4:13.39.

In the 800m event, Kelsey Brown (Sr., Mt. View, UT) edged US#1 Chloe Curtis (Sr., Redondo, CA) 2:10.68-2:10.73, as seven runners dipped under 2:14.  On the boys side, Michael Quercia (Sr., Marcellus, NY) ran a US#3 time of 1:51.81, while Nathan Strum (Sr., Pioneer, CA), Cole Watson (Sr., Rogue River, OR) and Ford Bell (Sr., Brentwood, TN) finished 2-3-4, all breaking 1:53 in the process.

In the relays, Long Beach Poly (CA) put up the best performance of the weekend, running a US#1 time to win the girls 4x800m relay in 9:07.55.  West Ranch (CA) placed second in 9:09.25, while Oak Ridge (CA) crossed the line third in 9:09.99.

Dana Hills (CA) showed up big at Arcadia, winning the boys 4xMile by over 11 seconds in 17:27.63.  The powerhouse program then finished second in the boy’s DMR with a 10:11.46 effort, losing only to Vista Murrieta (CA) two-tenths of a second.  Xavier Prep (AZ) won the girl’s 4xMile in 20:31.00, while Chloe Curtis helped her Redondo (CA) team win the girl’s DMR in 11:54.75.

Other notable highlights, Catrina McAlister (Jr., Arcadia, CA) won the girl’s 3,200m event in 10:27.86.  In the boy’s 4x800m relay, New York’s St. Joseph by the Sea won in 7:49.15, edging runner-up San Ramon Valley (CA), who finished in 7:52.60.

Articles of Interest

Emily Sisson Loses Final Season of Eligibility (STLToday)

Usain Bolt to Compete at 2010 Penn Relays (Penn Relays)

A Brief Chat with Ryan Hall and Carey Pinkowski (Runner’s World)

Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor to Run NYC Marathon (Race Results Weekly)