USA Indoor: "He doesn't get a 13 second head start"

The good news for former Stillwater star Sean Graham is that he's the #2 seed in the 3000 meters at the USA Indoor Championships this weekend. The bad news? #1 seed Matt Tegenkamp's 7:40 is quite a bit faster than Graham's 7:53.

"Yeah, 7:40 is no joke," Graham admitted to DtB via e-mail. "A thirteen second deficit in any race is a hell of a lot. But that's what makes track exciting, you never know what can happen on any day, and as far as I have been told, he doesn't get a 13 second head start."

Graham, his former Stillwater teammate Luke Watson, also in the 3000, Duluth native Kara Goucher in the women's 3000, Team USA Minnesota miler Ryan Kleimenhagen, and USA Outdoor triple jump champion Shani Marks all compete in this weekend's championship in Boston.

Graham, who trains with the Oregon Track Club in Eugene, is confident that he can improve on the 7:53 he clocked two weeks ago at the University of Washington and make a race of the 3000.

"The 7:53 is an indoor PR for me, I ran 7:46 last Summer outdoors," he noted. "I definitely feel I have room to run faster considering how I felt in Seattle. I am really looking forward to this weekend to not have to think about pacing and pressing alone at the end, but just racing hard and fast."

Graham also looks forward to racing with Watson, his old teammate with the Ponies.

"It is pretty cool to bump into each other at different races throughout the season," Graham said. "It does make things a little easier, though, to see a familiar face that you have known for so long."

"Would I have guessed back in high school that Luke and I would be competing against each other, him for Adidas me for Nike, in 10 years, probably not," the William and Mary alum said. "But with the coaching that I have had -- I'd say the best in the US in their respective fields, Scott Christensen high school, Andrew Gerard collegiate, Frank Gagliano post-collegiate, and Luke would most likely same the same about his coaching -- I am not surprised that we will be lining up again this weekend. Its awesome, who else in the country gets to do that?"

USA Indoor competition gets underway Saturday morning and concludes Sunday afternoon. ESPN2 will cover the meet from 3-5 p.m. on Sunday.