Kevin Selby of Flotrack interviews Paul Ryan after his 4:06.21 Mile win, a seven-second personal best.
The adidas Dream Mile was far from the only fast four-lap race this weekend, as West Coast stars competed well in mixed fields at the Portland Track Festival in Oregon.
RECAPS: HS Boys Invitational Mile - Men's 1500m - Women's 1500m
Paul Ryan won the High School Boys Invitational Mile in an eight-second personal record of 4:06.21 to rank U.S. No. 8 this year.
A pacer led the High School Boys Invitational Mile through 400m in 63 seconds, before Levi Thomet of Kodiak, Alaska ratcheted the pace down to split 2:05 through 800m. Thomet, a multiple-time All-American, kept control of the pace as Justin Janke of North Central, Washington and Paul Ryan of Lobos, Idaho separated themselves to form the lead group.
Thomet pulled Janke and Ryan through the bell lap in 3:07, but it was soon after a two-man race between Thomet and Ryan. On the backstretch, Ryan made a move with 280 meters to go and hung on, racing a personal best of 4:06.21 to defeat Thomet, who finished runner-up in 4:07.73. Ryan, a Washington State commit, pulled away with 280 meters to go and hung on to defeat Thomet, 4:06.21 to 4:07.73. Ryan, a Washington State commit, split 59 seconds for the final lap.
Ryan is an eight-time Idaho state champion, including a sweep of the 400m (50.58), 800m (1:55.64), 1600m (4:24.39) and 3200m (9:25.02) at this spring's championship meet. His previous personal best for the Mile was just 4:14.28, though he had raced 4:11 for 1600m before.
But not all top preps raced in the Mile. John Dressel of Spokane, Wash. raced in Heat 4 of the Men's 1500m.
The Colorado commit ran in third position in the early stages of the race, as the pacer pushed the field through 59 seconds for 400m and 2:01 for 800m. Dressel finished in 3:47.69, which ranks U.S. No. 4 this year and converts to 4:05.84 for one mile. He has never broken 4:10 for 1600m or the mile.
"Last year, I was a little intimidated with all the pros here," he said. "This is my third year... you just kind of have to be open-minded towards [having pros here] and be thankful you have guys who can push you."
On the girls' side, preps Ella Donaghu (Grant, OR), Annie Hill (Glacier, MT) and Tabor Scholl (West Grand, CO) raced in Heat 3 of the Women's 1500m.
A pacer and Leah Rosenfeld held an early lead by about 10-meters at points, clicking off about 70-second laps. With 3:14 on the clock at the bell lap, the chase pack made contact with the former Syracuse runner. Junior Donaghu and freshman Hill put themselves in contention as Donaghu made her move into the lead with 250 meters remaining. She held on to win the heat and finish 20th overall in 4:20.71, which converts to 4:41.49 for the full mile. Hill ran 4:22.34, while Scholl ran 4:27.5.
That time is on par for Donaghu, who ran 4:41.66 for sixth at the Prefontaine Classic. She and Hill will race again this weekend at the Brooks PR Invitational Mile, along with top finishers from the adidas Dream Mile.