Downin wins
thrilling 1,500
■Andy Downin, the 1,500’s
biggest underdog, beat the
toughest field at the U.S.A.
Championships
By Peter Hockaday
Oregon Daily Emerald
In a four-day track and field meet
that was filled with compelling sto
ry lines, the men’s 1,500 was filled
with so many that it became a story
within itself.
12-pound babies, underdogs,
prep sensations, NCAA Champions,
ESPN and brain power all factor into
this novel.
This story started two days before
the race, in Ann Arbor, Mich., when
Olivia Kate McMullen was born at
nine pounds and 22 inches long.
“I think she’s going to be a high
jumper,” her father, Paul McMullen,
said Saturday.
When he raced in the 1,500 Satur
day, Paul still hadn’t seen Olivia. He
wore a pink ribbon on his chest in
honor of his newborn, being careful to
explain this to reporters so they
wouldn’tthinklessofhim.WhatPaul
did see was the tape at the finish line,
and his surprise to learn he had fin
ished third. Was that Gabe Jennings
behind him? How did that happen?
But the story gets ahead of itself.
The second part of the story comes
in a hotel room in Eugene, hours be
fore the race Saturday. That’s where
Andy Downin sits down with his
coach to formulate a plan of attack in
a race that features so many big
names it’s tough to fit them on one
hand.
“My plan was just to race smart,”
Downin said. “The race plan is 80
percent of the race. ”
And race smart he did. When Jen
nings kicked with 400 meters left,
when Seneca Lassiter made a move
with 200 to go, when Downin trailed
at just 50 meters, he never exhausted
himself. He never even flinched, de
spite being the filly with the 86-1 odds.
The final preface to the race came
minutes before the scheduled gun,
when the Hayward Field announcer
urged his crowd to make some noise
because ESPN — yes, the ESPN —
would televise the race live nationally.
R. Ashley Smith Emerald
Gabe Jennings (451) begins his kick with one lap left in the 1,500-meter race Saturday.
Jennings, an Olympian last year, faltered with 20 meters left and lost to Andy Downin.
Then came the race itself, with all
that buildup.
NCAA Champion Bryan Berryhill
started fast and led for most of the
race, just as he did at the NCAAs.
But Jennings, noted for his strong
finishing speed, took a large lead
with one lap left, perhaps remem
bering the NCAA race where his kick
at 300 meters wasn’t enough to catch
Berryhill. Saturday’s charge came
too early for Jennings, however, as
he sputtered with 20 meters left and
finished fourth.
“Gabe just hit the brakes,” Mc
Mullen said. ’’With 10 meters to go,
I thought I was fourth.”
Meanwhile, Downin, Lassiter and
McMullen took advantage of Jen
nings’ demise and broke the tape al
most in unison, with Downin taking
the crown. Berryhill ran an unusual
ly slow final lap and finished seventh.
As a footnote to the race, prep sen
sation Alan Webb disappointed the
Hayward Field crowd after stunning
it a month ago at the Prefontaine
Classic. He finished fifth and still ran
the second-fastest high school 1,500
ever, but he spoke of his disappoint
ment after the race.
“I set a goal for myself, and I did
n’t quite get it,” Webb said. “I’ll be
back, though. I’m looking forward to
more battles with these guys.”
That’s how this story ends. But if
Webb’s bold predictions are true, and if
the runners have their way, it was only
the first of many novels to come in
American middle-distance running.
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