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Reebok Boston Indoor Games

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, Boston MA


Junior Boys Mile
Marc Davis video interview - John Nepolitan lap by lap photo album
Meet's Own Site

Entries | Results

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2007
2006
2005
Luke Puskedra 4:08.77, Colby Lowe 4:08.99!
Thrilling race goes to Utah runner. Puskedra led as usual but Colby Lowe TX caught him on the last lap and the two fought to the finish with Puskedra getting up at the wire.


Fresh front-runners top experienced strategists - Story, photos by John Nepolitan

While the girls’ race had many more runners who have had a full indoor season so far, the boys race featured a number of runners who had none or very few races this indoor season. This fact did not mean that the field was of lesser quality. In fact, the boys race was very strong, featuring four of the top five from this year’s Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, the NON mile runner-up from 2007, and the #3 1000 meter runner for 2008 – to name a few.

Known as a front runner, Luke Puskedra (Ogden, Utah) jumped to the front and got the pace rolling, passing 200 meters in 30 seconds. The pace would not slip as the University of Oregon-bound Puskedra continued to lead past 400 meters in 61, with NTN runner-up Colby Lowe a few yards back in 2nd. Already, they had begun to gap the main pack, being lead by New York’s Kyle Merber (continued below)


Puskedra leads in the first 200

(continued from top)

Over the next lap, Lowe would close up on the leader and the two would pass 600 meters in 1:33, continuing to pull away from the rest of the field. Puskedra was still be in the lead, with Lowe right on his tail, as they passed 800 meters in a swift 2:04.4, but by the 1000 meter point ( 2:36.7) Lowe was be in front.

Behind the two leaders, Sintayehu Taye brought the crowd to its feet as the Asburnham, Massachusetts runner also had the large group of Ethiopian fans cheering as he moved into 3rd, three seconds behind the two leaders.

Lowe still had the lead at 1200 meters, reached in 3:07.0 with Puskedra right on him, ready to strike. When Puskedra stumbled a little from stepping on the inside rail as he came onto the main straightaway, it seemed to wake him up. With 300 meters to go, he made his bid for the win, going by Lowe into the lead with Taye still holding onto 3rd.

With just 1 lap to go, Puskedra still held onto the lead, but now he was being stalked by Lowe. With 140 meters left, the Texan made his bid for the win, hoping to make it two in a row for Lone Star State runners (Duncan Phillips won last year). Around the last turn, Lowe looked like he would win, but Puskedra was not done. Swinging wide off the last turn, he simply powered his way past Lowe for the 4:08.77 to 4:08.99 win and a new national leader.

Quotes:

Luke Puskedra
“On an indoor track, with my height, I am able to get out ... it was fun…we do a little bit of indoor here and there in Utah, but this is the first time I have run on a banked track this year…it’s a lot of fun before the race, meeting all the guys…he (Lowe) took me out with like 800 to go; I just tried to hold onto him. I was just waiting behind him…coming around the turn, I just had to bring it in…we have not done any speed yet, just base training, so it was just basically whoever had the most in their legs really ... me and my coach really did not talk strategy; it was kind of go out and have a good time and see what you can do in your first race… Yeah, I stumbled there. I have a lanky stride and had to get it back under control…it is definitely sick coming out here, when you see all the pros in the warm up room. You don’t know if you should go ask for an autograph; it is just crazy hanging out with these guys…he (Lowe) is a 4:09 miler, so he is legit. And so I had the concern coming in on that last turn and I did not know if I was gonna get it.”

Results

Flash Results, Inc. 
Reebok Boston Indoor Games - 1/26/2008
Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center
Boston, MA

Event 7 Boys 1 Mile Run Jr. Invit.
===============================================================
Name Year Team Finals
===============================================================
Finals
1 Luke Puskedra Ogden, UT 4:08.77
2 Colby Lowe Southlake, TX 4:08.99
3 Kyle Merber Dix Hills, NY 4:12.42
4 Charles White Colorado 4:13.33
5 Cory Leslie Sansusky, OH 4:13.76
6 Christopher Brown Southlake, TX 4:14.00
7 Michael Fout LaPorte, IN 4:14.70
8 Joseph Franklin Tallahassee, FL 4:14.82
9 Christopher Derrick Naperville, IN 4:14.84
10 Sintayehu Taye Ashburnham, MA 4:15.03
11 Mac Fleet University City, CA 4:28.19


Mac Fleet (left, Kirby Lee) hopes to join 2005 champ Michael Coe (right, Vic Saile) as California winners.

Entries

(from Barbara Heubner, GlobalAthletics.com)

Girls Invitational Field

BOSTON (Jan. 9) – Four of the top five finishers in the 2007 Footlocker Cross Country Championship, including champion Michael Fout; 2007 indoor mile national champion Charles White; and Mac Fleet, with a personal best of 4:08.09 as a sophomore last year, lead an outstanding field for the Boys’ Junior Invitational Mile at the 2008 Reebok Boston Indoor Games, organizers announced today.

Since the Reebok Boston Indoor Games began in 1996, more than 90 Olympic and World Championship medalists have competed in the event, which has also played host to five World Records and nine American Records. The Boys’ Junior Invitational Mile, which began in 2005, has quickly become one of the most prestigious events of its kind. In 2006, the boys’ mile produced the fastest 2006 indoor time in the country (4:07.30) and six of the top eight best times for the season, while the 2007 mile yielded six of the top 10 times in the nation.

Fout (La Porte HS/La Porte IN), White (Cherry Creek HS/Cherry Hills Village CO) and Fleet (University City HS/San Diego CA) will be joined by 2007 Footlocker runner-up Christopher Derrick (Neuqua Valley HS/Naperville IL), who is also the 2007 Nike Team Nationals winner, as well as fourth- and fifth-place Footlocker finishers Colby Lowe (Carroll Senior HS/Southlake TX) and Luke Puskedra (Judge Memorial HS/Ogden UT).

Challenging them will be Cory Leslie (Sandusky Perkins HS/Huron OH), the 2007 state champ at 5K cross country, 1600m and the 4x800m relay; Christopher Brown (Carroll Senior HS/Southlake TX), fifth at Nike Team Nationals in 2007; Joseph Franklin (Amos P. Godby HS/Tallahassee FL), five-time state champion at 800m and 1600m and 2006 runner-up at Nike Outdoor Nationals 800m; and Sintayehu Taye (Cushing Academy/Ashburnham MA), 2007 Nike Indoor Nationals mile runner-up.
The field for the Girls’ Junior Invitational Mile will be released soon.

Sponsored by Reebok International Ltd., with its world headquarters in Canton, Mass., the Reebok Boston Indoor Games is owned and produced by Global Athletics & Marketing, Inc., an athlete-representation and events firm based in Boston.

The Reebok Boston Indoor Games, the second stop in USA Track & Field’s Visa Championship Series, begins at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 26 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College, 1350 Tremont St. Information and tickets are available on-line at www.BostonIndoorGames.com or by phone at 1-877-TIX-TRAC.


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