Rupp revs up in final tuneup!
Moving quickly from the trails to the oval!

Central Catholic (OR) star, seen leading here at FootLocker Nationals,
opens 2004 track campaign in nifty fashion, seeking big goals ahead!

By Rich Gonzalez, DyeStatCal
        Don't be too surprised. Coach Alberto Salazar likely wasn't, nor prized pupil Galen Rupp, for that matter.
        In prepping for the big two-mile challenge upcoming next weekend at the Armory in New York, Central Catholic High of Oregon senior Galen Rupp flashed some speed to place a very impressive third in the open field of the men's mile assembled for Friday's Arkansas Invitational at the Tyson Center in Fayetteville. Rupp, the lone high schooler in the 10-runner field, trailed only winner Adam Perkins of Arkansas (4:09.04) and 35-year-old Oympic year hopeful Jason Pyrah of Nike (4:10.49) at the finish, officially posting 4:10.95, a lifetime best for an athlete focusing his undercover efforts over the two-mile and 3000-meter race distances a year ago.
        The clocking at the Arkansas meet for the FootLocker Cross-Country Nationals runner-up placer was the fourth-fastest prep undercover performer from 1999 to early 2003, joining acclaimed talents Alan Webb (national prep record 3:59.86 in 2001), Ryan Hall (4:09.46 in 2001) and Dathan Ritzehhein (4:10.5) in that select lineup during that stint. The mark was also the fastest fully automatic time ever by an Oregon prep indoors (Mike McGrath hand-clocked 4:10.7 last year).
        The miling effort at Arkansas is a mere teaser to a main event assault over two miles next weekend, when Rupp joins fellow prepster Josh McDougal of New York and an elite open field at the New Balance Games in the Armory, the same meet and locale where Webb smashed the prep indoor mile record three years ago. Rupp has been training extremely well in recent months, and could take a daring go-for-broke stab toward the fathomed national prep indoor 2-mile record of 8:40.0, set by Gerry Lindgren four decades ago! Rupp supplanted McDougal (4:13 and change) as the indoor prep U.S. leader for 2004 on Friday night.
         With the improved fitness, Rupp aims to shear away what remains of the diminishing gap between he and Lindgren on the all-time lists. Rupp's stunning 8:12.3 performance for 3000 meters at the 2003 U-W Last Chance Meet last March was the fourth-fastest in indoor prep history, trailing only national indoor recordholder Lindgren (8:06.3, converted), national outdoor two-mile recordholder Jeff Nelson of California (8:07.6 converted for 3k indoors), and multi-time national recordholder Webb (8:10.98 converted hand-timed mark en route to two miles).
          Rupp's 8:12.3 of a year ago, if using one of the more popular standardized conversion tables, carries out to an 8:51.7 for two miles. Given his improved showing at the shorter distance on this day -- a fine sign from someone not heralded as a top miler by any stretch -- his progress piques the interest levels for what's in store next weekend. Stay tuned.

Event 25 Men 1 Mile Run
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Name Year School Finals Points
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Finals
1 Adam Perkins Arkansas 4:09.04
2 Jason Pyrah Nike 4:10.49
3 Galen Rupp Central Catholic 4:10.95
4 Owain Matthews Tulsa 4:14.36
5 Harun Iman Unattched 4:17.62
6 Eric Gross Arkansas 4:18.58
7 Brian Lyons Mo. Southern 4:20.93
8 Ben Shumaker LSU 4:36.73
9 Lucas Plocher Mo. Southern 4:48.12
10 Jason Pugh Tulsa 4:54.39
-- Blake Carpenter Tulsa DNS
-- Brian Roe Mo. Southern DNS
-- Justin Rempel Tulsa DNS