I’m All About That Race: Cheserek to Run Mile, Deep Field Will Chase Him

My favorite event to watch has to be the mile. It’s a race that requires strategy and has very few lulls in the action. Maybe that’s why I’m “all about that race” (try not to laugh too hard). The mile is a staple event in track and field and it is surely to be an entertaining one this indoor season. 

The biggest name on my mind when I think about this event is Eddy Ches. Yes, the man is a 3k/5k guy, but no one can doubt he’s an ace in the mile. We will see the King run his first mile of the season (not counting his DMR leg) in a few weeks at Millrose. If you watch Cheserek’s interview on Flotrack, he makes it clear he is going for the DMR/Mile/3k triple. Not an easy triple by any means, but if anyone is going to successfully pull it off it’s got to be Ches. Once I heard Oregon had that killer top three in the 5k, I pondered the idea of Cheserek dropping to the mile and I think it’s a great move for Oregon who can maximize their team points with this shift. While he doesn’t have a lot of open mile experience, Cheserek holds a 3:36 1500m PR from outdoors.

With all that said, I’m not completely ready to hand Cheserek the gold medal just yet. Cristian Soratos (Montana State) has already dropped a 3:56.87 and currently holds the fastest mile this season ... sort of. Sorts' mile was actually done at altitude where he ran a 4:05. The NCAA was feeling generous and gave him a nice conversion to put him at 3:56.87. Is it still an impressive performance? Absolutely. Is it as impressive as running 3:56 at regular altitude? Maybe, maybe not. Nonetheless, it’ll be an exciting matchup when him and Cheserek go toe-to-toe. With Cheserek’s kick I imagine it’ll turn into a race of strength rather than becoming too tactical. 

*S/O to Jarrett for pointing out that altitude conversion. Not gonna lie I completely missed that.

Then again, a strength race plays into the hands of another sub-4 miler in Sean McGorty. After hanging on to a fast pace at Washington, McGorty put himself as the number two miler this season with a 3:59.34. He mentioned in his interview with Flotrack afterwards that he considered himself more of a strength runner. It’s a good thing he is because the pace will be fast at NCAA’s. Erik Olson can hopefully feed off of his teammates success and have a shot at the podium.

Remember how Georgetown has five guys under 1:50? Well Ole Miss now has five guys under 4:06 after their weekend at Vanderbilt. A DMR should definitely be in their thoughts. The five names are listed below…

Robert Domanic- 4:00.62

Craig Engels- 4:01.29

Daniel Bulmer- 4:01.49

Trevor Gilley- 4:03.58

Wes Gallagher- 4:05.15

There are still plenty of names I’m looking out for. It’d be great to see Tommy Awad of Penn make an appearance, but he seems to be more of an outdoor guy. Nate McClafferty of Duke has put together some solid races and recently won the Hokie Invitational in a 4:03 effort. Anthony Rotich (UTEP) was last year’s indoor mile champion so I’m positive we’ll be hearing from him soon. Rich Peters of Boise State ran in the finals last year to place fourth so I expect him to take another chance at the mile. Robby Creese (AKA Creese Lightning. He has my vote for best nickname) could play a role in the mile field if it wasn’t for his DMR duties. Craig Lutz (Texas) and Will Geoghegan (Oregon) may take part in the mile but both are most likely on to the 3k and/or 5k. Geoghegan’s teammates however (Alexander and Winn) may sneak into the field. 

The mile is packed this year with still a long way to go until March. The best is yet to come. 

3k is on the way!

Stay classy San Diego,

Garrett

P.S.- Not sure how I missed this, but some outstanding 800’s were run this past weekend. Alex Amankwah of Alabama makes a name for himself with a 1:46.86!! He was followed by his teammate Jacopo Lahbi in 1:48.28 for third and Dameon Morgan of Ole Miss came in fourth with a 1:49.82 (Furman Elite runner Cory Leslie took second in 1:47.63). Edward Kemboi took the spotlight on his own track with a 1:46.94. He was backed up by his teammate Patrick Peterson with a 1:49.30.