Standing at 6 feet 5 inches, Luke Puskedra (wearing #1, photo by John Herzog) is an imposing figure. Sunday at Nike Indoor Nationals, the Judge Memorial (UT) senior seemed even more imposing while running next to Colby Lowe (Sr., Southlake Carroll, TX), who is listed at a kind 5 feet 7 inches. The race of the weekend, the boys two-mile, saw these two battle it out in similar fashion to their mile race earlier in the indoor season at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games. That race saw the two push a blistering pace early on, which ended with Puskedra winning in a U.S. #1 time of 4:08.77, while Lowe finished a very close second in 4:08.99.
As the gun went off, Puskedra and Lowe pushed to the front of the talented pack. With an incredible amount of talent in the field nothing seemed certain, so the pace went out fast. Both athletes led through the first 400m in 65 seconds. Over the next half dozen laps Lowe and Puskedra took turns leading. It seemed as if the two had talked before the race, planning on trading the lead, however this was not the case. "We didn't talk about it before the race, but going out fast was kind of inferred after Boston," Puskedra stated afterwards. Through the mile the two athletes came, leading a pack of six, as a race officialy yelled out 4:27.2.
Into the last mile the two athletes roared, each lap becoming slightly faster and each turn the competition falling further behind. "I wanted to hit 3:21 through the first 1200 and 6:39 through 2400," Puskedra would later say. As the duo crossed the 2400m mark, both looked up at the clock and saw 6:39.4. Into the last half mile they ran, Lowe a half step behind, seemingly sizing up his competition and waiting for his time to strike.
With 400m to go Lowe tried to pass Puskedra, with Puskedra holding him off and swinging wildly around the back turn. Into the homestretch the athletes came, one lap to go, as the crowd stood on their feet cheering wildly. The deafening crowd knew history was being made. As the bell rang marking the final lap, Puskedra laid it on the line, gapping Lowe by the slimmest of margins. Down the backstretch the two went, around the back turn and down the homestretch one last time. Crossing the finish line and knocking down the tape, Puskedra pulled off the win by just over a second, beating Lowe 8:49.58 to 8:50.79. "I knew whoever brought it the last 200m would win," he said. Today was his day.
As the fans witnessing this historic battle slowly quieted, it was announced that Puskedra's finishing effort was a U.S. #5 all-time performance. His name now ranks just behind such legends as Gerry Lindgren, Jeff Nelson and Alan Webb, and ahead of those with the last names of Ritzenhein, McDougal and Rupp.
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Next year, Puskedra takes his talents to the University of Oregon, where he'll join the most storied distance program in the country. With teammates like Galen Rupp, Matt Centrowitz and Chad Hall in the mix, Puskedra will have plenty of talent surrounding him, which should help his transition from high school to collegiate running be a smooth one. However, before looking too far ahead, he is focused on the rest of his senior year. "I am trying to progress throughout the season, with the emphasis being the end of the year," Puskedra says. With nearly a dozen athletes capable of breaking 8:50 for two-miles this year, he knows it won't be an easy path to an outdoor national title.
Step one of his outdoor season takes place at the historic Arcadia Invitational in California on April 12. There, Puskedra will see numerous top flight distance runners and will be contesting for the two-mile win. One can be certain that he will set a fast early pace, which could lead to a possible U.S. top ten all-time performance.
The path to victory is never easy, but Puskedra seems to know the way. It's refreshing to see someone so willing to push the pace and test their limits every time they step on the track. After Sunday's race Puskedra seemed happy to win but looked like he didn't know how to react. "It's definitely surreal. I am kind of going through the motions," he said. If this past weekend is any indication, this young man better start getting used to that winning feeling on a national scale.