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 | 42nd Arcadia Invitational
April 10-11, 2009
Arcadia High School, Arcadia CA
Long Distance Analysis
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Can they live up to 2008's distance magic?
The high standards set last year will be tough to match for 2009's best
By SteveU, DyeStat/ESPN RISE senior editor
Those who were there, especially if you’re a distance fan, will never forget them – the all-time great distance-running performances that made the 41st Arcadia Invitational in 2008 so special.
- Jordan Hasay’s memorable 3200-meter duel with Christine Babcock, a back-and-forth slugfest that ended with the blond-maned fighter again displaying her ever-developing kick to win in 10:03.04 to Babcock’s 10:04.07, a stunning salvo of two sub-10:05s.
- The towering Luke Puskedra, rolling through the night, exchanging blows with the diminutive New Zealander Dominic Channon in the boys 3200, until he made the last move last with a finish that brought him in 8:46.60 to the Kiwi’s 8:48.00.
- Then in what could have merely been a footnote to the night, maybe a very solid 14:20-something that would have been a very solid early-season effort for him, Chris Derrick made sure the last distance event of the night was the best. In a solo effort that almost defied belief, the Illinois titan ran each of his last five laps faster than the one before, pushed by a crowd that became more frenzied with every lap (thanks in part to announcer David Mitchell), and finished in 13:55.95, #6 all-time.
It’s funny; you could hardly consider any of these performances the best of the year, save for Derrick’s 5000. Hasay and Babcock both went on to more spectacular times in the state meet and Olympic Trails, and Hasay has since won another Foot Locker title. Puskedra would run faster and while Derrick wound up with a season-ending injury, both have gone on to outstanding success as college freshmen, putting their high school achievements well behind them.
But don’t be surprised if you step on the track or to your seat in the stands here Saturday night and feel like those great 2008 performances were just a day or a week ago. There’s something about this meet, this picturesque setting on a cool early April evening – just a simple high school track nestled against the mountains in the suburbs east of L.A. – that evokes a singular character and mood that freezes everything in time. What you do here stands alone, and separate from anything else. Perhaps only the Penn Relays can claim such an aura.
So you collect these distance performances in your mind and challenge the next group – can you top this? And what the stars of 2008 did was indeed historic, in the context of this meet. The boys 3200 didn’t quite beat the meet record, but the girls 3200 and boys 5k did, and as a group, they have set the standard.
Of course this meet and its highlights are much bigger than just the longest distance events. There are great miles and 800s, great relays – both on the short side and the long side – occasionally great sprints and certainly great field events over the years. National records or all-time top-tens have been set in a variety of events and this year should be no different, with the likes of hurdler Reggie Wyatt, discus throwers Mason Finley and Anna Jelmini, and the girls relay teams from Eleanor Roosevelt among the entrants.
But inevitably many track fans, especially those distance fans that dominate the DyeStat Nation, will look at the 3200 results first. Meet director Rich Gonzalez always assembles great 3200s and the conditions are usually perfect. There’s a great tradition of sub-8:50s and deep, deep finishes, with triumphs by Chris Solinksy (twice) and AJ Acosta among those that stand out this decade. And Hasay has lit it up every year, with three straight victories.
So will the longest races again be memorable at Arcadia? Well, indeed it’s a big question mark.
Hasay, of course, is returning to try and make it a clean sweep of the 3200s here during her career. She’s coming off the well-documented successes of 2008, including a 9:52.13 3200 at state, her USR 1500 at the Olympic Trials, and her 2nd Foot Locker victory in December.
But 2009 has started somewhat inauspiciously. After taking some time off for a post-Foot Locker injury, Team Hasay made the call to enter the Nike Indoor 2M, giving Jordan a chance at her first indoor race and championship of her career. Fans naturally wanted to see her break Melody Fairchild’s 9:55 HSR, but that pace wound up being too rich and she settled for a meet record 10:10.89.
Her schedule has been light since, and it has been revealed that Hasay has suffered from flu-type symptoms during a significant part of the last four weeks. Then there’s the competition, and while the Mission Prep senior has never had a problem setting a good pace, there’s no question that Babcock’s presence helped last year. This year’s field will include the likes of Alex Dunne, Lindsay Flanagan, and Jessica Tonn, but it’s hard to imagine that someone else will be at that sub-10:10 level.
Of course, no one thought Laurynne Chetelat was going to run 9:52 last spring, either, when she pushed Hasay to #2 all-time at the state meet. In any case, it looks like matching 2008 will be a tall order.
As far as the boys field, what is lacking is a proven sub-8:50 performer – there isn’t one at this point, this year. Of course, the Arcadia all-time list isn’t just littered with proven performers, but those who had huge PRs here. Remember the sub-8:50 runner-up finishes by Coloradoans Brent Vaughn and Bret Schoolmeester earlier this decade, behind Solinsky?
In 2009, it may again take some of that Colorado magic to make a fast, fast race. Wes Rickman and Kevin Johnson, both of Falcon CO, could be the ones to do that after both ran well at NIN. Rickman in particular had a satisfying race after running 9-flat as a junior at NIN only to see much of the rest of the year lost to injury.
From out of state also comes Bill Matthews, the Baylor TN senior who ruled Foot Locker South, was unimpressive at Foot Locker Finals, but then came from way back for an outstanding 3rd at NIN in 9:02. With a PR 4:11 1600 just last week, he could be the one. Another from the Southeast, Floridian Derek Wehunt, is one of the year’s revelations in that part of the country, with recent 9:06 and 4:11 PRs.
Finally, there’s the home state stars, 4:08-miler Mac Fleet, recent 9:03 performer Colin Jarvis, and last year’s 8:58 standout Chris Schwartz.
Any of the above could run 8:55 or maybe a little better. Whether someone can make that big jump into the 8:40s is the question.
Then there’s the 5000, which so spectacularly debuted on the race card last year. Is there a Chris Derrick in the field this year?
Well, maybe not, but in Trevor Dunbar, the field has an athlete with plenty of talent, determination, and intrigue, and who made three trips down to the Golden State last fall with impressive results – a victory at Mt. SAC and runner-up finishes at Foot Locker West and Foot Locker Finals.
The Alaskan has never broken 9:05 in an official race, but that 9:01 3200 time trial in the snow before Foot Locker last year added legendary status to someone coming out of a state that is rarely known as a distance powerhouse.
Sub-14:00 would be a tall, tall order. But a sub-14:20, which would still rank among the all-time greats in this infrequently-contested event, would still be something special, as well as setting the stage for Dunbar to get his own sub-8:50 by the end of the season.
It will also be interesting to see how fast Cali soph Sam Pons can go; he ran an unlooked-for 14:44 last month on the track.
In sum, it seems that topping last year will indeed be a tough challenge for this year’s distance titans. But one never knows who will step up when the lights go down in this magical place by the mountains..
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