Watch the Race Video
While only a handful of those on hand and across the country may have known the name Henry Wynne at 3:59pm Saturday afternoon, that would immediately change precisely 4 minutes and 6.63 seconds later as the tall, lanky Cavalier took on the nation's best and emerged victorious to nab the NCAA mile crown.
For those watching, Wynne put on a clinic on how to control a tactical race from the front, holding the other nine competitors at bay, and making all the right moves to capture the third national title in Virginia history (Paul Ereng, 1989 800m & Robby Andrews, 2010 800m). It was a decisive, emphatic win and left no doubt who the best miler on the track was. And while some of the NCAA's "best" may have skipped the mile to race the DMR and 3K, Wynne nevertheless still looks like arguably one of the five best runners in the country right now, perhaps second only to Edward Cheserek of Oregon (who picked up NCAA titles 11, 12 & 13 this weekend).
Looking ahead to this spring & summer, Wynne will undoubtedly take firm aim at the UVA 1500m school record of 3:40.24 (John Hinton), which has stood since 1983. If he elects to give it a shot, the 5K school record of 13:37.44 (Kris Herdt, 1987) is also very much a real threat to go down. But more importantly, the real prize is the 3:38.00 standard that would give him a spot on the starting line of the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon on July 7th. To the family and close friends of Mr. Wynne, I'd go ahead and book your tickets now...
Race Splits: 63.86 (409m), 68.02, 60.30, 54.48. Last 800m in 1:54.7, YOWZA!
Other Results From The Weekend
-Filip Mihaljevic finished runner-up in the Men's Shot Put, his heave of 67'2" beaten only by world leader Ryan Crouser of Texas.
-Although she did not qualify for the Women's Mile final, Iona Lake still earned second team All-American honors with her 15th place finish of 4:48.11.
-The relay quartet of Robbie Keough (true frosh), Nathan Kiley (junior), Kenneth Hagen (sophomore) and Matt Novak (true frosh) finished 10th of 12 teams in the Men's Distance Medley Relay, an impressive result from the very young and inexperienced squad. With all four returning, plus the addition of Wynne and fellow sub-4:00 miler Mike Marsella, this event could be a gold medal one for the Hoos in 2017...
-At the New Balance Indoor National Meet in New York City, Western Albemarle's Gannon Willcutts ran a very tough, gritty race to finish 7th overall in the Championship Two Mile. His time of 9:00.38 for the full two miles converts to 8:57.25 for 3200 meters, was an almost 10 second personal best, smashed the Western school record set by Tyler Stutzman in 2008 and was just a mere 3/10 of a second off the all-time Central Virginia record of 9:00.06 (Adam Visokay, 2012).
-The Albemarle girl's relay of Halley Dillenbeck (2:27), Ryann Helmers (2:24), Lauren Hughlett (2:29) and Kathryn Mayo (2:16) finished 14th overall in the Emerging Elite section of the 4x800, their time of 9:37 just a few ticks off the school record mark set two weeks ago at the 5A State Meet.
-Although he finished a very solid 8th overall, Fork Union senior Alex Lomong was undoubtedly hoping for more than his 1:53.59 clocking in the Championship 800 meters. Nevertheless, we are still expecting big, big things from Lomong this spring...
On To Outdoors...
The UVA Track & Field team will open up the spring track season with a small home meet this Saturday at Lannigan Field. The Virginia Cup will consist of James Madison, Radford and Norfolk State and will be a free meet open to the public. Field events begin at 12:30pm and running events will go from 3:00-6:00pm. More information & meet schedule here.
While only a handful of those on hand and across the country may have known the name Henry Wynne at 3:59pm Saturday afternoon, that would immediately change precisely 4 minutes and 6.63 seconds later as the tall, lanky Cavalier took on the nation's best and emerged victorious to nab the NCAA mile crown.
For those watching, Wynne put on a clinic on how to control a tactical race from the front, holding the other nine competitors at bay, and making all the right moves to capture the third national title in Virginia history (Paul Ereng, 1989 800m & Robby Andrews, 2010 800m). It was a decisive, emphatic win and left no doubt who the best miler on the track was. And while some of the NCAA's "best" may have skipped the mile to race the DMR and 3K, Wynne nevertheless still looks like arguably one of the five best runners in the country right now, perhaps second only to Edward Cheserek of Oregon (who picked up NCAA titles 11, 12 & 13 this weekend).
Looking ahead to this spring & summer, Wynne will undoubtedly take firm aim at the UVA 1500m school record of 3:40.24 (John Hinton), which has stood since 1983. If he elects to give it a shot, the 5K school record of 13:37.44 (Kris Herdt, 1987) is also very much a real threat to go down. But more importantly, the real prize is the 3:38.00 standard that would give him a spot on the starting line of the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon on July 7th. To the family and close friends of Mr. Wynne, I'd go ahead and book your tickets now...
Race Splits: 63.86 (409m), 68.02, 60.30, 54.48. Last 800m in 1:54.7, YOWZA!
Other Results From The Weekend
-Filip Mihaljevic finished runner-up in the Men's Shot Put, his heave of 67'2" beaten only by world leader Ryan Crouser of Texas.
-Although she did not qualify for the Women's Mile final, Iona Lake still earned second team All-American honors with her 15th place finish of 4:48.11.
-The relay quartet of Robbie Keough (true frosh), Nathan Kiley (junior), Kenneth Hagen (sophomore) and Matt Novak (true frosh) finished 10th of 12 teams in the Men's Distance Medley Relay, an impressive result from the very young and inexperienced squad. With all four returning, plus the addition of Wynne and fellow sub-4:00 miler Mike Marsella, this event could be a gold medal one for the Hoos in 2017...
-At the New Balance Indoor National Meet in New York City, Western Albemarle's Gannon Willcutts ran a very tough, gritty race to finish 7th overall in the Championship Two Mile. His time of 9:00.38 for the full two miles converts to 8:57.25 for 3200 meters, was an almost 10 second personal best, smashed the Western school record set by Tyler Stutzman in 2008 and was just a mere 3/10 of a second off the all-time Central Virginia record of 9:00.06 (Adam Visokay, 2012).
-The Albemarle girl's relay of Halley Dillenbeck (2:27), Ryann Helmers (2:24), Lauren Hughlett (2:29) and Kathryn Mayo (2:16) finished 14th overall in the Emerging Elite section of the 4x800, their time of 9:37 just a few ticks off the school record mark set two weeks ago at the 5A State Meet.
-Although he finished a very solid 8th overall, Fork Union senior Alex Lomong was undoubtedly hoping for more than his 1:53.59 clocking in the Championship 800 meters. Nevertheless, we are still expecting big, big things from Lomong this spring...
On To Outdoors...
The UVA Track & Field team will open up the spring track season with a small home meet this Saturday at Lannigan Field. The Virginia Cup will consist of James Madison, Radford and Norfolk State and will be a free meet open to the public. Field events begin at 12:30pm and running events will go from 3:00-6:00pm. More information & meet schedule here.
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