With age, for Nico Young, comes experience. And patience. And, apparently, a killer kick that critics had long claimed he lacked.
After some fine races on the cross country course and the indoor and outdoor track in his celebrated NAU career, coming close to individual glory, Young finally broke through on Friday to claim his first NCAA individual title, running a 1:55 last 800 meters to easily beat North Carolina’s Parker Wolfe in the 5,000 meters.
Young’s performance highlighted a strong, but not overwhelmingly so, second day for NAU’s men, which is tied with Arkansas for the team lead with 18 points. North Carolina has 13. For the NAU women, Maggi Congdon qualified via time for both the mile and teh 800 meters finals on Saturday.
Young came into the 5,000 with the fastest time in NCAA history (12:27.14), but championship races are rarely time trials. There is strategy. There are team tactics. There are so many variables that can alter the outcome. But, showing maturity to go with his strong and smooth stride, Young bided his time. He was way back in 13th early on and still found himself in fourth with eight laps to go.
Wolfe made the first real move in what had been a slow race. Young was still in fourth with 600 meters (four laps) to go. That’s when he decided to make a race of it. Young went slightly to the outside to pass Robinson, the defending outdoor 5,000 and 10,000 NCAA champ.
Next, Young set his sights on Wolfe. He passed Wolfe on the final turn just before the bell lap, and it was a decisive move. It looked as if Wolfe was going backwards, but in actuality, Young was accelerating. Young came through the bell lap at 12:58, slightly behind his record but fully in control.
But times meant little on this day. Young dominated the final lap, running with a confidence forged by a season of running well as shorter distances. In a post-race interview, Young said that competing in the 800 meters and the mile at the Big Sky Conference meet two weeks ago helped him with both tactics and kicking. Also, Young’s confidence was buoyed by running the first-ever sub-4-minute mile at NAU’s Skydome (7,000 feet elevation).
Because the Distance Medley Relay came about a half hour after the 5,000, neither Young nor Las Heras (who got NAU points by placing seventh in the 5,000) and Quax could come back to compete. NAU Coach Mike Smith opted for Drew Bosley, who has barely competed this season and was believed to have been hurt, in the opening leg, the 1,200 meters.
Bosley, at one point midway through the race, went out to lame three to make a move to get closer to the leaders. It was short-lived. He faded and was last in handing off the baton. NAU remained in last the rest of the way, though Colin Sahlman surged a bit in 1,600 only to fall back. Sahlman, by that point, probably was wise in savin g himself for Saturday’s mile final.
In the Mile qualifying, Sahlman toughed it out to advance in a heat that produced a lot of carnage. In the first heat, South Carolina’s Anass Essayi, one of the favorites, stepped off the track with an apparent injury. Then, in the latter going of the second heat, Drake’s Isaac Basten and Furman’s Carson Williams tangled behind Sahlman and never recovered.
Up front, Sahlman looked as if he was staying well out of trouble, racing within himself to qualify. A slow first 800 meters saw Sahlman take the lead. But that’s when Washington’s Luke Hauser, the defending champion, made his move. Hauser himself was tripped up behind Hauser in the early going, and in the final 800, he and Sahlman traded the lead, with Sahlman trading elbows with Hauser.
On the bell lap, Georgetown’s Abel Teffra entered the mix, and Sahlman looked as if he might be boxed in on the inside. Sahlman faded back to fifth in the final 200 meters, but found some running room inside and sidestepped Teffra to finish third. (The top four in each heat advanced, plus the top two following times. Both time qualifiers came from the faster and less physical first heat.)
It is difficult to tell how much effort Sahlman exerted in qualifying, but he certainly seems to have a faster race in him for tomorrow’s final. He’ll have to bring his best, since Hauser and fellow Washington Huskie Joe Waskom will be amon g the favorites, along with Florida freshman Parvej Khan, the necklace-sucking kicker, and Wisconsin’s Adam Spencer, who won heat 1 in 3:57.08.
Congdon was not an automatic qualifier in either of her races, but she was fortunate to compete in the faster heats in both races. She finished sixth in the mile in 4:34.06 and fourth in her heat in the 800, closing strong to qualify in 2:02.64.
Gracelyn Larkin ran the 5,000 meters Friday night, finishing 15th in 16:03.80.
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