Looking relaxed and running smart, NAU sophomore Colin Sahlman on Wednesday in Eugene, Ore., easily qualifed for the finals on Friday night in the NCAA nationals 1,500 meters.
In Wednesday night’s only final, the men’s 10,000 meters, NAU’s Aaron Las Heras placed 11th in 28:19.14 and Cael Grotenhuis 14th in 28:31.64 — personal bests for both Lumberjacks — in a race won by New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel, who overcame a nasty fall with two laps to go to win in 28:07.82.
Sahlman finished third in his heat — and third overall — for an automatic qualfying spot. Sahlman ran in Heat 2, which was stacked with many of the best runners. Not surprisingly, the top 11 times came from Heat 2, which meant that several Heat 2 runners missed out. The top five from each heat move on, plus the top two overall times.
So, it was important for Sahlman to get his placing just right in the seminfinals without overly taxing himself for the upcoming finals.
He executed well. From the gun, Sahlman moved to the back of the pack on the rail. He was content to stay there until the second lap, which he moved a bit to the outside and started picking off runners. It wasn’t until lap three that Sahlman cranked it up. He went into lane two and moved into fourth place. By the bell lap, he weas second behind Washington’s Luke Houser.
Down the closing stretch, Sahlman was in the top three and finished third, as Oregon’s Elliott Cook sneaked up on the inside to take the win and Wisconsin’s Adam Spencer, the Australian national champion, outkicked Sahlman for second.
Other 1,500 qualifiers from heat two included Houser, Washington teammates Nathan Green and Joe Waskom and Iowa State’s Ezekiel Rop. Automatic qualifers from the first heat: Villanova’s Liam Murphy, South Carolina’s Anass Essayi, Virginia’s Wes Porter, North Carolina’s Ethan Strand and Iona’s Damien Dilcher.
Thursday, the women take to the Hayward Field track, with NAU’s Maggi Congdon competing in the 1,500 meters seminfinals, Karrie Baloga the steeplechase semifinals and Ali Upshaw in the finals of the 10,000 meters.
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