LOMONG WINS TACTICAL 1500M FINAL AT USA CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Parker Morse
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission

DES MOINES, IOWA (27-Jun) -- Lopez Lomong won a tactical men's 1500m final here on the final day of the 2010 USA Outdoor Championships, held at Drake Stadium.  Lomong successfully defended his 2009 national title in a sprint duel against his World Championships and Olympic Games teammate Leonel Manzano, 3:50.83 to 3:50.91, after a cautious early pace saw a 400m split of 1:07 and an 800m split of 2:15.  In the end, all twelve finalists finished within little more than two seconds, and the ten runners behind Lomong and Manzano crossed the line within 1.4 seconds of each other.

"Everyone out there is a tough customer.  Anyone can strike at any time," said Lomong, who needed to run a 51.29 second final circuit to get the win.

Fourth-place finisher David Torrence said after making the final for the first time in five tries at these championships: "I've been getting more and more confident with my speed and waiting to use it.  Maybe today I was too patient.  I was in the middle of the pack when things really started happening."  Torrence said he was still unsure if he would run the 1000m or a mile at next weekend's Prefontaine Classic, but "the sky's the limit - I need to get in each race and try to compete for the win."

Former American Record holder Lisa Aguilera won the women's 3000m steeplechase with a 9:53.59, kicking for the win after NCAA champion Bridget Franek of Penn State led for most of the race.  Aguilera, whose last national title came in 2006, said the race reminded her of 2005 when she qualified for the first World Championships steeplechase at the last water barrier. "After not making the 2008 Olympic team, I wondered if I wanted to keep training," said Aguilera, who considers herself capable of running in the low 9:30s soon.

Unlike most distance champions at this year's championships, Daniel Huling won the men's 3000m steeplechase with a long drive started with several laps remaining.  The men's steeplechase, like the women's, went out slowly, and Huling was the first to break from the pack, taking the lead with three laps remaining to run. Huling remained unchallenged for the rest of the race despite a determined attempt to close the gap by Ben Bruce and Josh McAdams; Steve Slattery seized third with a furious last-lap charge.  Huling's winning time of 8:27.87 was a new Drake stadium record.  The old record of 8:28.26 was held by Kyle Alcorn, who finished sixth.

"My plan was to do kind of like last year," said Huling. "This year, I just had the strength to do it. I didn't train that much last year and couldn't keep it going long enough."

Nick Symmonds won his third national championship at 800m in his usual style, sitting back off the pace and moving through the pack in the last 200m. After UC-Irvine's Charles Jock led the field through a scorching 50-second opening lap, Symmonds took advantage of the fading leaders to start his move earlier, taking the lead on the final curve and running away from the pack on the homestretch. Duane Solomon gave chase but could not close on Symmonds, who won in 1:45.98 to Solomon's 1:47.16.

Alysia Johnson led the women's 800m final from start to finish, holding off a closing charge from Maggie Vessey to put up a 1:59.87 winning mark. Vessey took second in 2:00.43 with Phoebe Wright, running her last race in a University of Tennessee uniform, third in 2:00.47.

The 2011 USA Outdoor Championships will be held at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

ENDS