Hasay breaks NR, makes 1,500 final

Goucher outkicks Flanagan in 5K

 

By Christopher Hunt
photos by Tim Fulton

EUGENE, Ore. – The crowd grew louder with every surge is made, and heaven knows, it can get loud at Hayward Field. But with more Jordan Hasay picked up speed the more the fans went nuts.

“It was incredible,” said the prep star from Arroyo Grande, Calif. “Every time I passed somebody I could hear them screaming. When I finished I could hear them screaming, ‘Go to Oregon.’”

Even if Hasay is just 16, the fans in Oregon knew a good thing. Hasay set the national high school record in the 1,500 while finishing fifth in her semifinal heat in 4 minutes, 14.50. Christine Babcock who set the record last month at 4:16.42, finished ninth and did not advance.

Hasay though, didn’t even plan to run the semifinal at first. In fact, she wasn’t going to run at all at the Trials. She was the 31st athlete in a field of 30 but when two runners dropped out before the prelims, Hasay was in. Even though she had advance through the preliminaries, Hasay had a flight to Poland, where she will compete in the World Junior Championships. She got her flight changed to Monday and after some phone calls by her coach Armando Siqueiros, Hasay found out around 10 p.m. Thursday that she could run the semifinal.

To think, she was going to come to the Trials just to watch. She ended yesterday mobbed by a throng of reporters.

“I knew at 1,200 that if I kept pushing that I could get it,” she said.

Goucher wins 5,000: Kara Goucher showed a brilliant finishing kick over the final 150 meters to win the 5,000 in 15:01.02. For a brief moment she seemed like she would end up third but a dramatic shift burst her to the front while American record-holder Shalane Flanagan faded to third (15:02.81) and Jen Rhines, a graduate of Liverpool High in Long Island, finished second in 15:02.02.

“I knew going in that it was going to hurt,” Goucher said. “I was telling my husband (Adam Goucher), this is going to hurt so bad. But it was one of those moments when you just have to risk it and that’s what I did. I risked it and it worked out.”

Both Goucher and Flanagan qualified for the Olympic Games in the 5,000 and 10,000. Goucher said she intends to double in Beijing. Flanagan seemed less certain. Both said if they had to chose they would compete in the 10,000 which would open the door for Lauren Fleshman, who has the ‘A’ standard.

Reach Christopher Hunt at chunt@armorytrack.com.