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Boys Mile has International
Flavor with 'bit of the Irish'! |
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***2006 DyeStatCal
Featured Meets***
  
 
   
Arcadia Boys One Mile Has International Flavor with 'bit of the Irish'!
April 8th, 2006 @ Arcadia HS By Doug Speck
2006 Arcadia Invitational Mile Preview
Long known as the regular season competition that annually has the deepest depth in the different distance events, the 2006 Arcadia Invitational seems poised to continue history. With super fields gathered in each of the running and field contests during the weekend, one individual competition that seems to have an especially talented group is the Boys One Mile run. A top group of American athletes from all across the nation, led by Michael Coe (Cabrillo, Lompoc), who dominated the US National prep scene indoors this winter, will be challenged by Ireland's Ciaran O'Lionard. Coe has put together a super last couple months of racing, where he and O'Lionard crossed paths along the way. Michael was second in December's Foot Locker National Championships in Cross-Country, with the tall, smooth-striding California coastal star edging up to local favorite, AJ Acosta (who will race the two mile at Arcadia), and challenging for the championship before ending up second, tantalizingly close to a national title. Since that contest Coe has been on a tear that included a 4:07.30 for an indoor mile in Boston in late January, a contest that featured a sub 2:02 final 880. It was in that race that Michael crossed paths with the Irishman, O'Lionard, who finished second in the Boston run at 4:09.41. O'Lionard had everything imaginable go wrong during his travel to Boston during a weather-challenged part of the year at that latitude world-wide, with the Irish star not using any excuses, but since that contest racing an excellent 3:48.72 for third in the Irish Senior 1500m Indoor Champonships, a clocking worth right at 4:07.0 for a full mile! Ciaran wants another shot at Coe, and there is a reason why he is getting on a plane and flying over 5000 miles to the Southern California venue for the April 8th Arcadia event. Coe's last national level contest, the Nike Indoor Championships over two miles in mid-March in Maryland, was another thrashing of a top prep group, with Michael again racing away over the final lap to a three second win at 8:56.87, the nation's fastest prep indoor time of the winter season. Coe and O'Lionard will have to hustle to keep ahead of a group that includes many of the nation's best from across the country! A couple of Coloradans proved themselves very tough this past fall Cross-Country season, and come in with awesome credentials from last track season! Mohamud Ige (South, Denver) was the Midwest Foot Locker Regional Cross Country champ from late November, and finished tenth in the National Finals in San Diego. In track he has amazing range, with bests of 1:53.24 (800), 4:11.97 (mile), and 9:03.54 (two miles). The 6-foot 132 pound Somalian native runs fearlessly from the front and will not back away from any competition. Daniel Roberts (Crested Butte Academy) is living the "high-life" at over 9000 feet at the Colorado School, with a twelfth place in the Foot Locker Nationals and a 4:09.45 best for 1600 meters back last June! Roberts actually resides in Michigan, but attends the Colorado boarding school during the year. The national flavor of the event will feature from Tennessee, Rob Sorrell (Bolton), who was another Foot Locker National Cross Country finalist, with a 4:12.71 mile best from last year, a contest in which he actually fell near the end and recovered to run his best time. From New York comes Andy Bean (Somers HS), with Bean a 4:16.32 mile this winter in the Hispanic Games in the historic New York City Armory. Another Rocky Mountain star, Adam McDonald (Mountain View, Orem, Utah) will be familiar to Southern Californians, as a former student at Canyon HS at Canyon Country. His move to Utah was followed by a big State 5A individual title in leading the Mountain View team to a #5 ranking in the entire nation with an individual 13th place finish in the Nike Team Nationals in Portland in early December. Adam raced a solo 4:16.33 1600 meters in winning the Simplot Indoor Games in Idaho at altitude by nine seconds in February! He can run much faster in his homecoming! The Golden State contingent besides Coe is a formidable one! The state recently has the most intriguing middle distance runner in the nation emerging, with the North Coast Section's Mike Perez moving from 4:29.37 to some amazing times in the last few weeks. Two weeks back he dominated a top field at the Piedmont Distance Carnival in recording a surprising 4:16.8, then this past weekend followed Foot Locker National Cross Country eighth placer Ben Sitler for three laps before racing away to a shocking 4:13.3 for a full mile! Cory Primm (Westlake, Westlake Village) runs fast here, last season a shocking 1:51.65 as a soph for second place in a hot Arcadia 800, with a great start to his 2006 spring season. He has run as fast as 50.0 for a dual meet 400, with a 3:56.31 1500 win this past weekend in the Santa Barbara Easter Relays. Michael Cybulski (Royal, Simi Valley) amazed with his steady improvement last year during his sophomore track season, emerging the State 3200 champ at 9:02.57 (fastest tenth grader in the nation), with a 4:15.61 for 1600 meters. Michael had a super fall and he led Royal to a #6 ranking in the entire US in Cross-Country, then underwent surgery for a foot problem had been bothering him for a while. He is back and looking strong, with a 3:58.76 1500 behind Primm at Santa Barbara two days after a solo 9:35.2 3200 in a dual meet. Spencer and Dylan Knight (La Sierra, Riverside) were among the top half-dozen soph milers in the nation last spring off their 4:14.29 (Spencer) and 4:14.62 (Dylan) 1600m bests and are out quickly with a few fine efforts already this Spring! The duo feeds off each other to posting excellent performances, no doubt the end result of a challenging sibling rivalry for weekly household bragging rights! (more entries pending.) |
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Gonzalez and Doug Speck
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