All Eyes on Up-and-Comer Berian

By Scott Bush

The USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships get underway in Eugene and we're breaking down all the events. Here we take a look at the favorites in the distance events and give you the scoop on who should challenge for Team USA roster spots. 

Men's Distances

Men's 800m

Just when you think the men’s 800m couldn’t get any more intriguing, with notable standouts Duane Solomon and Nick Symmonds either MIA or simply not running all too well, Boris Berian jumps on the scene and could upset the entire field. 

Berian is easily the most improved athlete in the United States this season, going from no-name to ranked fifth in the world with a huge PR of 1:43.24. Berian’s new best came at the adidas Grand Prix, where he finished second in a strong field, only finishing slightly behind champion David Rudisha. While it remains to be seen how well Berian runs the rounds in Eugene, he enters as the favorite.

As mentioned, Solomon and Symmonds just haven’t performed up to their normal all-star level this season. Solomon has been extremely quiet, while Symmonds enters off a second-to-last performance at the Portland Track Festival over 600m. Both clearly have their work cut out for them, but you can never discount Olympians.

In the chase, Charles Jock could very well be the second best two-lapper this season. Jock finished sixth at the Pre Classic over 800m, owns a seasons best of 1:45.40 and ran exceptionally well to win the 600m event at the Portland Track Festival in 1:14.33.

Jock finds challengers from former training mate Ryan Martin, NCAA runner-up Brannon Kidder, USA indoor 500m champion Cas Loxsom and a host of others. Along with veterans Erik Sowinski, Mark Wieczorek, Mike Rutt, Brandon Johnson and Harun Abda, it’s going to be hard enough to make the finals of the 800m, let alone grab one of the three spots on the Team USA roster.

1,500m

While the 800m offers plenty of surprises, so does the men’s 1,500m. Matthew Centrowitz is the easy favorite, coming off an impressive Bowerman Mile runner-up finish at the Pre Classic and continuing to show he’s not only a threat to win the U.S. title, but take home some more World Championship hardware, too (he’s done so twice already).

Centrowitz has to keep a keen eye on Olympic medalist Leo Manzano. While the HOKA ONE ONE athlete finished well behind Centrowitz at the Pre Classic, placing 11th in 3:53.55, he’s still clearly a top three challenger when it matters most. Manzano knows how to run rounds as well as anyone and is considered another top bet to make the World squad.

Hoping to upset the field and earn a trip to Beijing, Ben Blankenship continues to have a monster season. After earning gold in the distance medley relay at the IAAF World Relays, Blankenship won the International Mile at the Pre Classic in 3:55.72 and was runner-up to Centrowitz in the mile at the USATF Indoor Championships. Keep an eye on the fan favorite (who trains in Eugene).

Kyle Merber is another top contender. He’s the only athlete in the field to rank top ten in the world over 1,500m this season, having run a tremendous 3:34.54 a few weeks back in South Carolina. He’s joined by NCAA champion Chad Noelle and Will Leer as a trio who could easily sneak into the top three.

Oregon Track Club Elite brings a host of top competitions, Blankenship being one of them. However, keep an eye on Pat Casey, Jordan McNamara and Andrew Wheating, all of who have run solid races this season, have great late-race leg speed should it come down to a kick and have a slight advantage being able to wake up in their own beds throughout the competition, since they live in Eugene.

This field is loaded and will be very exciting to watch.

5,000m

Galen Rupp is the man to watch and we all know it’s not just because he seeks yet another national crown. Rupp, who’s been caught up in doping allegations much of the past few weeks, steps on the track this weekend, first in the 10k then in the 5k, the first time he’s raced since the BBC and ProPublica broke their respective stories.

Rupp placed third in a very competitive field at the Pre Classic last month, running 13:12.36 and showed he was only a little fine tuning away from championship form. We’ll see if he’s been able to train through the distractions the past few weeks, but regardless he’ll have plenty of competition.

The story to follow in the 5,000m is how many guys who run the 10,000m Thursday come back to race. It’s hard to believe all three men who make the 10k team will double back, especially considering the high heat conditions expected in Eugene. Ben True, Hassan Mead, Diego Estrada and Chris Derrick are four gentlemen who’ll contend for both titles should they run.

The ageless Bernard Lagat seeks yet another Team USA berth over 5,000m. He placed fourth at the Pre Classic in 13:14.97 and similar to Rupp seemed just a little sharpening away from being in peak form. It can be assumed he’s done the work.

Young pro Ryan Hill and Bowerman Track Club teammate Lopez Lomong plan to challenge. Hill finished fourth at the USATF Outdoor Championships last year and placed sixth at Pre in a new PR of 13:15.92. The two-time Olympian Lomong can never be overlooked and the two could work together to qualify.

David Torrence, who placed fifth in 2014 and ran a nice tune-up of 13:30.35 for second place at the Portland Track Festival will challenge, and one of the more intriguing storylines is how well Eric Jenkins, the University of Oregon runner who placed second in the 5k at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, performs.

With temperatures expected to be in the 90s, this race will have some unexpected results.

10,000m

The first distance final of the weekend could easily be the most exciting. Nike Oregon Project’s Galen Rupp hasn’t spoken out on the alleged doping claims and hasn’t raced either, having scratched out of last week’s Portland Track Festival. Rupp is scheduled to take to the track and seeks another U.S. title, but fans have to be wondering how the allegations will effect his psyche. We’ll find out soon.

Rupp is the easy favorite, but after that it’s a wide-open field. Ben True seeks his first spot on a Team USA World Championship roster. The New England native is on a tear, having won the adidas Grand Prix 5,000m event and besting a world-class field in the UAE Healthy Kidney road race, both in the last three weeks.

True’s joined by fellow contenders Diego Estrada and Hassan Mead. Estrada placed ninth in the competitive Pre Classic 10,000m field, running a tremendous mark of 27:30.53. Mead ran side by side with Estrada for much of the race and closed just behind in 27:33.04. Both are fully capable of snagging a top three position.

A bit forgotten, Chris Derrick looks to make his second consecutive team. A lingering injury may have hindered Derrick’s training too long for him to take a legit shot for a Team USA spot, but you can never discount the three-time national cross country champion.

Ryan Vail, who placed third at the 2014 USATF Outdoor Championships last year (behind Rupp and Derrick) is ready to make another run at a top three finish. He’ll have plenty of other chase pack contenders in Bobby Curtis, Christo Landry, Aaron Braun, Tyler Pennel, USATF Marathon champion Jared Ward and NCAA third-place finisher Jason Witt.

3,000m Steeplechase

Just as the other distance events have plenty of questions that need answering, so does the steeplechase. Defending champion and American record holder Evan Jager seeks another national title. The Bowerman Track Club star opened his season with an eye-opening 8:05.28 fourth-place effort at the Pre Classic, while becoming the 12th fastest American ever over 1,500m in a tune-up at the Portland Track Festival  in 3:32.97.

While Jager is the easy favorite to win, teammate Daniel Huling and Donn Cabral are expected to fight it out for second. Cabral is running very well this season, placing eighth at Pre and fifth in Oslo, owning two sub-8:20 performances to his seasonal resume. Meanwhile, Huling ran 8:24.61 to finish second earlier in the spring at the Payton Jordan Invitational. The feeling is this one will come down to a kick.

While top three may seem set, there are a handful of others who’ll be gunning to upset and make Team USA. Jager’s and Huling’s teammate Andy Bayer ran 8:26.75 two weeks ago and is the darkhorse in the field. He’s joined by Cory Leslie, who’s run a seasonal best of 8:25.74, three-time DII steeplechase champion Tabor Stevens, NCAA runner-up Stanley Kebenei and NJNY TC athlete Travis Mahoney. Each of these men could finish top three in the right conditions.