A Sub-4 Miler, DIII Star and Gatorade Runner of the Year Walk Onto a Track
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Was that a great weekend of track and field or what? The combination of the Millrose Games and great collegiate and high school meets across the country gave me plenty to write about.
Talbi Breaks 4
4 NAIA national titles, a 27:20.61 10k, 13:26.34 5k and the the title of “Olympian”. Those are some of the highlights of Oklahoma City junior and Northwest Kansas Technical College alumni Zouhair Talbi. What more could an athlete want when you’ve already accomplished so much? One of the most, if not most coveted achievements a distance runner can accomplish. A sub-four mile. Before this past Saturday, only two athletes had ever broken four indoors on Kansas soil. American legend and former national and world record holder Jim Ryun, and rising Kansas runner Brett Meyer, a Fort Hays State graduate and Scott City native. Talbi, a native of Tighassaline, Khenifra, Morocco has taken both the NAIA and the world by storm over the past year, winning major races and qualifying for both the 10,000m and the 5000m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
On day two of the the 2022 Washburn Open, Talbi toed the line less than twenty-four hours after anchoring the DMR the afternoon earlier. I can only assume most athletes would prefer a sub-four attempt on fresh legs, but for an Olympian, it’s just another race. Talbi came through the 800m mark a little behind pace at 2:01.6, but was able to make up for it with a 59.6 and a 58.2 to close out the race, leaving half of a second to spare. His personal best was good enough for an NAIA lead, Oklahoma City school record, and the second fastest time ran at the Washburn facility. Talbi now sits in 42nd collegiately in the mile, behind thirty-nine NCAA Division I athletes and two from Division II. Congratulations to Zouhair for accomplishing a feat that only a select few across the world have accomplished! Here’s the video of the final straight and the crowd erupting to his historic race, it’s pretty awesome. If you want to watch the full race, head on over to @OCU_XCTF.
Clara Mayfield, Queen of DIII?
Before she took her talents to Carleton College, Clara Mayfield made quite the name for herself while attending Manhattan High School. Boasting personal bests of 2:18.97, 4:52.83, and 10:36.00 for the 800m, 1600m and 3200m, along with a state title, Mayfield was a force both on the track and the grass. Now a junior at the DIII school in Northfield, Minnesota, Mayfield has climbed the ranks and is one of the top athletes in the country. Her freshman year consisted of a 30th place finish at her first ever NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, helping her team to a 5th place finish. Before Covid-19 cut the rest of the 2020 track season short, Mayfield won both the 3000m and 5000m at the MIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. It would be roughly fourteen months until she’d race again (according to TFFRS), but it took her little time to get back to her winning ways. In her first collegiate outdoor season, the Manhattan native won the 10,000m at the MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and would go on to qualify for the DIII National Championships in the 5k and 10k. This past Fall, Mayfield took 10th at the DIII National Cross Country Championships to collect her second All-American honor.
Since the new year, Mayfield has ran four indoor races and won four indoor races. First, she ran 9:54.18 in the 3000m at the St. Olaf Ole Opener, and followed that up with a 2:20.94 and 4:53.68 (school record) in the 800/Mile double, setting collegiate personal bests in both. Most recently, at the Mark Shuck Open and Multi meet, Mayfield ran a NINETEEN second PR in the 3k, finishing in 9:35.77. Along with it being her second school record of the month, it is also the fastest time ran in DIII since February 2, 2019. 😳 As of this very moment, Mayfield sits at 30th in DIII in the 800m, 4th in the mile and then leads the nation in the 3k. I’m not sure about you, but I will definitely not be surprised if she collects some hardware over these next few months. Carleton is set to compete at the Ted Nelson Classic at Minnesota State University this weekend, but I didn’t find her anywhere on the entries. Regardless, pay close attention to the name Clara Mayfield, because she is quietly taking over Division III.
Jacob Klemz and Riley Osen Dip Under 8
This past weekend in Seattle, Washington, a pair of Kansas alumni broke through the eight minute barrier in the 3000m. Jacob Klemz, a graduate of Topeka-Hayden and Riley Osen of Winfield are both teammates at the University of Portland. Klemz destroyed his previous personal best by roughly twenty-three seconds to take 6th out 63 finishers in 7:54.83, with Osen taking 10th in 7:58.95, a ten second personal best. In what has been an extremely fast indoor season up to this point already, Klemz and Osen sit respectively in 26th and 50th in the nation in the event.
Saint Thomas Aquinas Dominance
In case you missed it, Logan Seger became the fourth Saint (PJ Greer, Will Cole, Ethan Marshall x2) and fifth winner of the Kansas Gatorade Runner of the Year for one of the most storied programs in state history. Yes, I know it’s February and cross country season ended months ago, but I think this deserves to be talked about. We all know that Saint Thomas Aquinas is the team to beat regardless of classification, but do we understand just how ridiculously fast they continue to be. Since 2014, the Saints have sat on top of 5A, winning eight consecutive state titles. During this span, they’ve had the following.
6x - Individual State XC Champs
32x - All-State XC Medalists
2x - 800m State Medalists
13x - 1600m State Medalists
3x - 1600m State Champs
12x - 3200m State Medalists
2x - 3200m State Champs
5x - 4x800m Relay State Medalists
2x- Track & Field Team State Champs
4x - Kansas Gatorade Runner of the Year Awards
Come on, is that not ridiculous? I had always known that they were great, but I honestly never took the time to comprehend their consistency of greatness year after year. It seems that even if they graduate an Ethan Marshall, a Will Cole or a Tommy Hazen, someone simply steps up every year and takes their place like they never even left, thus continuing the dynasty.
Kansas Athletes in The Big Apple: The Millrose Games
While “the city that never sleeps” was cold and snowy, a world-class track meet was taking place inside “The Armory”, a 112 year-old indoor track tucked away in the Washington Heights neighborhood in New York, New York. Two familiar names tested their speed last Saturday against some of the toughest competition of the year. Bryce Hoppel, former Jayhawk and Tokyo 2020 Olympian raced in his main event, the 800m. Wesley Kiptoo, current Iowa State Cyclone and former Colby Community College Trojan kept to his indoor distance, the 3000m. After exiting the Olympics in the semi-finals of the 800m, Hoppel started off 2022 the best way possible, with a win over multiple Olympians. Hoppel ran 1:46.05, the current world lead. Over the next few months, a both young and experienced Hoppel will look to gain momentum as he prepares for the USA National Championships in June, and hopefully the World Championships in July.
Kiptoo on the other hand is in the midst of his collegiate season, and has a lot of racing to do before he can really start focusing on the World Championships. The 3000m at the Millrose Games had been one of the most highly anticipated races of the new year for the last few weeks. To help give a better look as to how loaded this field was, below is the thirteen man field and each athletes respective background and previous personal bests over 3k.
🇺🇸 Conner Mantz - 2x NCAA XC Champ, 7:50.90
🇺🇸 Morgan Beadlescomb - 3x NCAA All-American, 8:01.03
🇨🇦 John Gay - 4x NAIA National Champ, 7:57.73
🇰🇪 Wesley Kiptoo - 2021 NCAA Indoor T&F 5000m Champ, 7:48.36
🇬🇧 Charles Hicks - 3x NCAA All-American, 8:02.41
🇬🇧 James West - 2x NCAA All-American, 7:47.10
🇬🇹 Luis Grijalva - 2020 Tokyo 5000m Olympian, 7:43.73
🇺🇸 Cooper Teare - 2x NCAA Champ, 7:46.10
🇺🇸 Cole Hocker - 3x NCAA Champ, Tokyo 2020 1500m Finalist, 7:46.15
🇳🇿 Geordie Beamish - 1x NCAA Champ, 7:44.67
🇩🇪 Sam Parsons - 2019 IAAF World Championship Qualifier, 7:49.16
🇺🇸Mason Ferlic - Tokyo 2020 3000mS Olympian, 7:48.44
🇺🇸 Drew Hunter - 2019 IAAF World Championship Qualifier, 7:51.90
The race lived up to the hype and then some, as eleven of the thirteen men walked away with personal bests, including two national records. Kiptoo crossed the line in 7:55.53, good for 33rd in DI. Even if he didn’t walk away with a personal best, he still had the chance to toe the line with some of the best in the country, only adding to his experience as a collegian. As of today, Kiptoo is still the fastest man in the nation over 5000m, (13:14.74) so we’ll see if he’ll revisit the 3k before nationals in five weeks.
Nick Willis: 20 Years of Sub-4
Yes, Nick Willis has absolutely no ties to Kansas whatsoever, but I think his achievement needs to be acknowledged by anyone who considers themself a fan of the sport. Willis is a five-time Olympian and two time medalist from New Zealand. He spends his time in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he trains under Ron Warhurst and represents the Very Nice Track Club. Beginning on February 8, 2003, and most recently this past Saturday, the New Zealand native has broken four minutes in the mile every year since 2003. Yes, you read that right. The 38-year-old father has still got it! To run under four minutes for twenty consecutive years is crazy enough, but to say that you’ve done it sixty-three times throughout your career is simply unbelievable.
Another week, another newsletter done. I hope you all enjoy the different format for the track and field season. As always, if you have suggestions or want me to write about something that I haven’t yet, our DM’s are always open! Unless you want me to write about college commitments and signing, because there is a special newsletter in the works for that as we speak. Have a great week and enjoy some track & field for me!