.jpg)
It was a meet of “firsts” for Brooking’s Addison Dehaven on the individual side and Edina in the team competition this Sunday at Yankton Trails, the site of the 2013 Nike Heartland Regional Championships.
The “Griak Re-Match” was in full force as Obsa Ali (Richfield) and Connor Olson (Wayzata) went through the mile in 4:47, just behind Chandler Austin, who set the pace for the field in 4:45. Dehaven and the rest of the elite field was sitting patiently in huge group that was running in and around 4:50 for the first mile.
The championship racing started to really shake out as the athletes passed the finish-line area and into the second loop of “whoop-de-doos”.
Seven runners, led by Albert Meier, came through two miles in under 9:50, setting up a race that was bound to be faster than any previous Nike Heartland Boy’s Championship.
Just after the two-mile mark, the pack started to whittle down and the battle for the individual qualifiers was on, as only the top five athletes would make the Nike National Meet in Portland, Oregon this December.
Although these elite high school athletes make it look easy, pain was starting to creep into the runners.
“At that point, I was feeling it,” said Obsa Ali, who crossed with the lead pack in 9:47. “I was tired and I just wanted to qualify.”
With one thousand meters remaining, Dehaven and Ali took matters into their own hands and stepped to a slight lead over a pack that included Austin, Kansas’ Stuart McNutt, Olson and Linn-Mar’s Josh Evans.
At 600 meters remaining it was clear that the battle for the individual championship was between two elite runners:
Addison Dehaven and Obsa Ali.
The Homestretch
The Heartland course features a 90 degree turn that leads runners into a fan-packed final homestretch.
As for the excitement in the boy’s race? It’s likely you could have heard the crown’s roar in downtown Brookings, South Dakota.
Races for individual title almost always come down to a final sprint. That’s a fact known to distance running geeks and general fans alike.
In today’s Nike Heartland Championship, having a kick was a good deal and after fifteen minutes of sub-five-minute-miling, Addison Dehaven’s finishing-kick was the best.
“I had a spot picked out by the finish-line,” said Dehaven in reference to a mark on the final stretch he saved for a last-chance-finish. “With 100 meters to go, worst-case scenario, I’m still going to have a gear left."
Obsa Ali didn’t give in one bit as he gained a little ground on Dehaven at the hairpin turn that led to the finish.
However, when Dehaven hit his pre-planned mark, it was game over.
“I was done. I didn’t have anything left (referring to Dehaven’s final kick). He was on another level,” said Ali.
Dehaven’s winning time, 15:08, was the fastest ever recorded for the Nike Heartland.
Dehaven credited his time with great running-weather and top-notch competition.
“I thought for sure there would be a course record today; that whoever was number one would get the course record. I think it (the 15:08 performance) was just getting out there and competing. There were a lot of good guys in the race. The top ten were all interchangeable.”
Obsa Ali, although second today, still has high goals for the rest of the post-season.
“Hopefully I do better than last year. I’ll run Foot Locker and try to qualify there also.”
Following Dehaven and Ali was McNutt, who ran an amazing race despite running in borrowed racing spikes, as he inadvertently forgot his in back in Kansas.
McNutt was the top cross country runner in the Jayhawk State and coming into the Nike Heartland Meet, he knew the competition would be stiff.
“In Kansas, I was going into races thinking about two or three guys, but coming in here, I made a list of like fifteen guys I thought will be up there. I’m no longer running for one (first place), but to qualify against some of the very top guys in the country.”
The other individual qualifiers for the Nike National Championships were Chandler Austin (4th- 15:14) and Albert Meier (5th- 15:18).
The team competition came down to a battle of Minnesota schools as Edina slipped past Wayzata who had previously won the Minnesota Class AA State Championships.
This win, at the Nike Heartland Championships, was the first of the season for Edina over rival Wayzata.