Matt Gabrielson, running what may have been his final 5000 meter race on the track, finished 8th at the Olympic Track and Field Trails last night in 13:38.06.Bernard Lagat won the race in 13:27.47, Matt Tegenkamp was second, Ian Dobson was third.
Gabrielson, happy to hug the rail in the rear of the field throughout, marked the increases in pace and kept contact with the winnowing lead pack until a Chris Solinsky surge with 1000m meters to go dropped the pace below 59 seconds.
“I feel good, because I stayed in there and competed, which I’ve kind of been slacking on the last year or so,” the original member of Team USA Minnesota said. “I really, really focused on competing when there was that crucial move made at the thousand, I tried my best to go with them, but it was too much for me."
The race may be the Drake University alum’s swan song for the event.
“I’m transitioning to the marathon for this fall now, with Twin Cities,” he said. “It’s a good way, now, to probably end my 5k career now on the track and move on to the 10, start focusing on that a little more now. I’m pleased about finishing eighth."
Full results for the race can be found HERE.
Goucher Qualifies for 5000m Final … Kara Goucher, already member of the U.S. Olympic 10,000 meter squad, qualified for the 4th of July final of the 5000 meters by winning her semi-final heat last night. Goucher clocked 15:32.22.
Goucher looked relaxed in a heat that featured Jen Rhines, Arianna Lambie, and Sara Slattery. Trials 10,000 meter champ Shalane Flanagan won the first heat of the event in 15:35.86. Team USA Minnesota’s Emily Brown and Cack Ferrell, a St. Paul Academy and Summit School alum, did not advance. Brown revealed after the race that she has had a stress fracture for the last three weeks and had not run during the final weeks prior to the Trials.
Brown finished 9th in 15:57.34 the first 5000m heat, just ahead of former Team USA Minnesota teammate Mandi Zemba. Ferrell finished 9th in the second heat in 16:23.04.
“I’m healing up a stress fracture right now,” Brown revealed. “I haven’t run since three weeks ago today. It’s in my sacrum, so it’s not dangerous to run on, it’s just difficult to get everything functioning in the time you need to."
Brown’s choice, last week, of the 5000 instead of the 3000 meter steeplechase had caused speculation that something was amiss.
“I figured the steeplechase wasn’t a good idea to do that on, considering things break,” Brown said. “I told myself, if I can run three miles, I’m going to come out her and run three miles. I was really excited that I was able to finish the race today, obviously disappointed that my fitness isn’t where it needed to be at right now."
Full results can be found HERE.
Hermanson 10th in 800m … Laura Hermanson, a surprise qualifier to the packed 800 meter final – packed with talent and packed with eleven other runners – finish 10th in 2:05.01.
Chasing after a runaway lead pack that passed 400 meters in 56 seconds, the Burnsville High School grad clocked an opening 200 meters in 28.0, and completed her first lap in 59.2.
“It was crazy,” she said. “I knew it was going to be fast. Fifty-nine is pretty fast for me to go out in."
The North Dakota State junior passed 600 meters in 1:30.7, but was closing on the back of the pack. She caught two runners coming home.
“It was really fun,” Hermanson said. “I’ve never run three races in four days, this will be great for me, if I want to do well at NCAAs or something."
Hermanson’s NDSU program will finally be eligible to send athletes to NCAA Championships next year, after a waiting period necessitated by its move from Division II to Division I.
“I think it’s a big mental and a big physical exercise for me,” she allowed. “There’s a lot of pressure out there going out and racing in front of all those people. I feel like I handled it really well mentally, I built a lot of confidence this week."
Full results are HERE.
Radocaj Embarassed with 9th Place Finish … Gopher javelin ace Ruby Radocaj had two fouls and a disappointing legal throw of 167-5 which kept her out of the final eight in javelin competition.
A PR throw would have placed her third.
“It was terrible,” the former Big Ten champ said, “it was embarrassing, to be honest. I should have represented the University better than that. I just didn’t show up today. I’m not sure what I should have done, I’m a little lost at this point."
Purdue’s Kara Patterson won the competition with 191-9.
Full results are HERE.
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