Blankenship Runs 3:54.10 Mile at Prefontaine

University of Minnesota miler Ben Blankenship blazed a personal best 3:54.10 mile in finishing third in Saturday's International Mile at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.

The Stillwater High School graduate, who red-shirted this outdoor season for the Gophers, topped the Hayward Field homestretch on the shoulder of race leader David Torrence, the three-time Medtronic TC 1 Mile Champion, but was edged at the finish by Torrence and winner Ryan Gregson.

You can watch the race in its entirety HERE.

The performance makes Blankenship, a two-time Big Ten champion in the mile indoors, the second-fastest miler in Minnesota history. Only Richfield High School alumnus Steve Holman, with a 3:50.40 from 1997 has run faster than Blankenship among North Star Staters.

Notably, Blankenship's time put him ahead of Steve Prefontaine on the U.S. all-time list. The namesake of Saturday's meet ran 3:54.6 at Hayward Field in 1973.

There's a Flotrack interview with Blankenship HERE.

The anticipated Minnesota miling duel between Blankenship and Minnetonka High School alumnus Will Leer failed to materialize on Saturday. Leer moved to the meet's 2-mile event on the eve of the meet, where he finished 9th in 8:19.11.

Kara Goucher finished 9th in the women's 5000-meters in 15:11.47.

Find complete Prefontaine Classic results HERE.