|
Everyone leads, but Matt Debole leads last
North Carolinian sheds hair and seconds for a big
PR 4:09.73
 |
Debole was oblivious of the anguish behind him at the
finish, and all smiles afterward.
|
by John Dye
St. Xavier KY jr Bobby Curtis was a come-from-behind winner at
the Nike Indoor Classic last month, and he won the Arcadia Invitational
2 weeks ago setting all the pace. So when Curtis grabbed the lead
on the first lap here it looked for a while as if he were on his
way to a routine victory. But a succession of logical winners took
turns on the lead after a 61-second first lap. Curtis relinquished
the lead without a fight on the second lap to Thomas Dale VA jr
Alex Tatu. Could Tatu be ready to build on his promising second
at the Millrose Games mile?
No, after leading through a half mile in 2:07.3, Tatu was overtaken
on the third lap by Brendan Fennel, a 4:13.60 miler as a sophomore
last year at the adidas Outdoor Championship who had not been heard
from on the track this year as he played basketball. Fennell took
the pack through three-fourths in 3:10.6, followed by Tatu, Oakton
VA sr Phil Gaeta, and Curtis, with Debole not yet in the picture.
After the bell, Curtis made a brief rally past Gaeta but got no
further. The next big move came from River Hill MD sr Shane Stroup,
another impressive runner-up (4:10.61 at AOC last June) looking
for a big win. Stroup surged to the lead on the backstretch and
seemed a certain winner until the fifth challenger of the day loomed
on the far turn.
The challenger was the "guy in yellow moving fast on the outside."
We did not recognize Debole without the long hair he wore at the
Foot Locker national finals last December and the Nike Indoor Classic
last month. Debole said the first race he ran with short hair was
terrible -- a 4:30 mile. But it worked better today.
end Lap 1 - Curtis leads
 |
end Lap 2 - Tatu, Curtis, Gaeta
 |
start of last lap - Fennell, Tatu, Gaeta
 |
top of stretch - Debole is passing Stroup with
Fennell hanging 3rd
 |
Event 166, Friday, 5:35 pm
HSB Mile Run Championship
1. 4:09.73, Matt Debole (Mount Tabor / Winston-Salem, NC)
2. 4:11.35, Shane Stroup (River Hill / Clarksville, MD)
3. 4:11.94, Brendan Fennell (Pearl River / Pearl River, NY)
4. 4:15.00, John Richardson (Ocean City / Ocean City, NJ)
5. 4:16.33, Phil Gaeta (Oakton / Vienna, VA)
6. 4:17.52, Alex Tatu (Thomas Dale / Chester, VA)
7. 4:17.59, Ed Palermo (Bay Shore / Bay Shore, NY)
8. 4:18.46, Bobby Curtis (Saint Xavier / Louisville, KY)
9. 4:20.27, Jeremy Zagorski (Parsippany Hills / Parsippany, NJ)
10. 4:20.67, Brendan Sullivan (Port Jefferson / Port Jefferson,
NY)
11. 4:21.69, Tim Erickson (Southern Lehigh / Center Valley, PA)
12. 4:25.98, Izudin Mehmedovic (Oakland Mills / Columbia, MD)
13. 4:28.87, Mark Materna (Delbarton School / Morristown, NJ)
14. 4:30.26, Marvin Pinnock (St. Jago / Spanish Town, JA)
15. 4:37.69, Devon Armbrister (Catholic / Grand Bahama, BA)
Penn Relays Results Index
|
