Leer Can’t Beat Rush-Hour in USA 1500

Like an aggressive driver with someplace important to go, Minnetonka High School alumnus Will Leer weaved and motored his way through the drive-time traffic that clogged the homestretch of the men’s 1500-meter final at Saturday’s USA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Arriving at his destination, however, Leer found himself only in 5th-place, four-100ths of a second from a spot on the awards' podium and a chance to compete in the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Leer, who was able to run relatively unmolested on the rail in the race’s slow-and-go early laps, entered the Hayward Field homestretch with his route to the finish line clogged with traffic. The former Pomona-Pitzer star who now runs for Nike, initially looked for running room to the outside, only to see gridlock. He spotted a lane inside and gunned for it, finding he still had the finishing speed to put the opportunity to use.

Unfortunately for Leer, who finished 3rd in this meet a year ago, by the time had was at full throttle he was fast running out of road. Despite running the fastest final 400m of the field with a 51.85, Leer needed more track in the end.

Matt Centrowitz of Oregon won the race in 3:47.63, Bernard Lagat was runner-up in 3:47.96, Leonel Manzano was 3rd in 3:48.16, and a diving Andrew Wheating was 4th in 3:48.19.

Watch the men's 1500m race in full above.

Leer’s men’s 1500m, with its slow start and frantic finish, was the opposite of Gabriele Anderson’s women’s 1500m contested just minutes before.

There, Christin Wurth – who ran the first half of her 1500 faster than the men would – forced the field to chase. The pursuing pace proved too strong for Team USA Minnesota’s Anderson, who lost contact with the main pack in the third lap and finished 11th in 4:17.17.

Steeplechaser Justin Tyner, the Brainerd alumnus who competes for Air Force, also saw the field leave him adrift. Fighting a knee still swollen from hitting the final barrier in the semifinals on Thursday, Tyner finished 14th in 8:57.94.

Roehrig in 8th After Day 1 … Former University of Minnesota All-American Liz Roehrig ended Day 1 of the heptathlon in 8th-place with 3450 points.

Roehrig opened her day with a 14.24 clocking in the 100m hurdles, worth 945 points. She followed up the race with a 5-7 ¾ clearance in the high jump, good for another 879. She put the shot 43-10 ¾, for 753, and capped her day with a 25.15 clocking for 200m, worth 873 points.

Roehrig competing in the high jump.

“The only thing I was really happy with was my shot put,” Roehrig told DtB. “I’ve been throwing really well in practice and everything. Finally, it showed up in a meet. Everything else is still kind of coming along after being hurt last year and everything.”

Roehrig, who is now based in Columbia, Missouri where she is pursuing a masters degree, is coming back from a partial tear in a tibiofibular ligament in late 2009. She ran through the injury until February of last year, before being forced to take more than nine months off to heal.

“Everything’s come along a lot since indoors and coming back,” Roehrig said. “But, it’s all starting to feel a lot better, I just need more time.”

Roehrig looked ahead to Day 2 of her event with some trepidation.

“Tomorrow is where I usually struggle, or have been struggling, this year,” she noted. “I’m really hoping my long jump comes together, and javelin is going good, and then just gut it out in the 800.”

Roehrig will be back in action tomorrow at 1:15 p.m. CDT.

Find complete results of the USA Championships HERE.

Juniors Still in Action … As we put today’s USA Championships wrap-up to bed, record-setting high school triple jumper Michael Sandle of Eden Prairie and Hopkins High School quarter-miler Bridget Sweeney are still to compete in this evening’s USA Junior Championships.

Find their results HERE (Sandle) and HERE (Sweeney) around 8:00 p.m. CDT.

Update: Sandle finished 6th with 49-7 3/4 in the triple jump; Sweeney was 7th in the 400m at 55.35.

Nike Track Nationals … Also tonight, the Eden Prairie High School boys and Hopkins High School girls will compete in Nike Track Nationals, also hosted at Hayward Field. The unique contest pits twelve of the country’s top high school boys’ and girls’ track teams against one-another in a meet scored decathlon style.

Follow the meet live HERE.

Update: The Hopkins girls' finished 8th and the Eden Prairie boys' finished 11th in the team scoring at Nike Track Nationals.

Find results HERE.

Photo by Becky Miller.