Kiprop easily wins Bowerman Mile; Blankenship and Jager finish seventh and eighth

By Will Denner

World champion Kenyan distance runner Asbel Kiprop didn’t break his personal record Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic, falling short of the expectations he set for himself prior to the Bowerman Mile.

Kiprop said at the meet press conference Friday that his goal was to improve on his top mark of 3 minutes, 48.5 seconds, which he set in the 2009 Prefontaine Classic. He finished Saturday in 3 minutes 51.54 seconds, but in the overall context of his season, Kiprop walked away encouraged by his performance.

“I think I’m having a good season,” Kiprop said. “Everything is in order. I hope Rio will be good.”

Morocco’s Abdelaati Iguider posted a 3:51.96 and had to settle for second, after ceding first to Kiprop in the last 200 meters. Elijah Manangoi, running in his first ever race in the United States, took third in 3:52.39.

The top three finishers all bested Charlie Grice’s season best mile of 3:52.64 that stood for all of two hours. Grice set the mark in the men’s national mile earlier in the meet and likely earned himself an invite to the Bowerman Mile next year.

High school senior and Oregon commit Drew Hunter finished last in the 12-man field. However, his time of 3:58.86 was his first outdoor sub-4 minute mile. He accomplished the same feat indoors in February.

Hunter made news earlier this month when he received an invite to the Bowerman Mile – just the third high-schooler to get the prestigious invite since 2001 when Alan Webb broke the high school mile record with a finish of 3:53.43. Although Hunter said afterward he wasn’t necessarily trying to break Webb’s record, he thought he could come within a couple of seconds.

“I really don’t think I’m a true miler, but I was in 3:54, 3:55 shape,” he said. “So to run 3:58 is a little disappointing.”

Without Matthew Centrowitz, who opted earlier in the week to sit out the race due to a stress reaction in his right leg, the highest U.S. finish was Oregon Track Club Elite’s Ben Blankenship in seventh in 3:53.83.

“Honestly, I thought I could walk in and hopefully steal the show a little bit,” Blankenship said. “But I missed a move, and it kind of cost me.”

Blankenship, who already has the Olympic standard in the 1,500, learned his lesson Saturday when he lost control of second place in the last 200 meters.

“On (the mile), you just have to spread your butter a little bit thinner,” Blankenship said. “If you move too early, it can be dire, as you saw today in the last 100.”

Evan Jager of Portland-based Bowerman Track Club finished eighth behind Blankenship in 3:54.21. Even though he has the second fastest 1,500 U.S. Olympic standard time behind Centrowitz, his main event is the 3,000 meter steeplechase, where he placed sixth at the 2012 Olympics and 2015 Beijing World Outdoor Championships.

Asked after the Bowerman Mile Saturday if he would consider running the 1,500 at Olympic trials in July, Jager left little doubt where he’s focusing his efforts.

“At the trials? I’m going to stick with the steeple,” Jager said, chuckling.

Because it’s an Olympic year, neither Blankenship nor Jager plan to race between now and the trials. Instead, they will travel to altitude with their respective training clubs, before returning to Hayward Field in July with Olympic berths on the line.

Will Denner

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