Photo by Chuck Martin
There was no doubt who the star attractions were for Saturday’s New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.
For the second straight year, it was the addition of Nike Oregon Project’s Galen Rupp and Mary Cain that drew the most appeal for the fans that packed the Reggie Lewis Track Center for the world-class meet.
A sore left leg forced Rupp to drop out of the mile race with a lap remaining. But the televised event got another treat from Cain. The recently-turned professional from Bronxville High in New York smashed her three-week old world junior indoor record in the 1,000-meter run with a stunning time of 2 minutes, 35.80 seconds.
Cain’s previous mark was 2:39.25, a time she also ran in Beantown at a Boston University Mini Meet on Jan. 16.
“I was definitely trying to get the American record,” said the high school senior, who was just 1.61 seconds from the U.S. mark of 2:34.19 by Jen Toomey in 2004. “In my mind, I was like maybe the world. It depends on the race. I think one of my biggest problems is once the rabbit is gone, although I may feel good and feel really comfortable, I haven’t gotten to that point where I can still maintain it. I need to become a stronger holder. My kick is always there, but it’s also about maintaining the pace. That’s what I have to work on.”
The rabbit on Saturday, Canadian Olympic heptahlete Brianne Theisen-Eaton, did her part in assuring a fast pace by taking the field through an opening 400 split of 60 seconds and passing the 600 at 1:31.6.
Trieniere Moser, a former Georgetown great and five-time national champion (indoor and outdoor) for the 1,500, held a slight advantage over Cain the first three laps. From there, the 17-year-old runner took over the lead position. She hit the 800 in 2:04.1.
Cain hesitated to make a surge prior to the gun lap but waited until the back straightaway to unleash her patented kick.
“I knew it was going to be a fast pace and I was going to try and get the record and stuff,” said the teenage phenom, who is coached by former world-class distance runner Alberto Salazar. “I tried to stay as close as I could. Once again, I left a little too much of a gap probably for Alberto’s taste. But I did better than I did last time with the gap and stuff.”
Cain, who holds six national high school records and is the defending U.S. indoor champion for 1,500 meters, admitted afterwards there was more in the tank, an indication that the American record for the 1K will be added to her long list of achievements in the not-so-distance future.
“I actually think I could have gone faster,” she said. “You never know in a race. I think mentally with like 400 to go I told myself to hold back. I think if I would have made an all-out effort I would have gotten (an American record) or have been closer.”
Photo by Chuck Martin
Cain will now set her sights on the Millrose Games this Saturday where she is entered in the NYRR Wanamaker Mile. She’ll be competing against a field that includes Villanova University standout Emily Lipari and Alexa Efraimson, the 16-year-old junior from Camas High (WA), who recently broke Cain’s 3K high school mark for the 3,000 with a 9:00.16 on Feb. 2.
Her confidence was boosted somewhat by her victory at the New Balance meet.
“It definitely builds it up,” Cain said. “It’s going to feel so much easier after like 800 meters. It will be 2:10 rather than like two-minute pace…I feel really good and I am really excited for Millrose. More importantly, I am excited for the (U.S. Championships on Feb. 21-23 in Albuquerque, New Mexico).”
Read stories by Steve Mazzone on the high school mile races at New Balance Grand Prix below:
