Olympic Trials Preview

Obviously not my area of expertise, but seeing as it is a pretty big event in the track and field community and it starts tomorrow (sort of, I mean hammer throw stuff does but ....) I figured I'd get on it.

The important thing to remember for this time around is you need to have the A standard by the time the olympic trials are over to go to London. Meaning the 5k and 10k guys who don't have the standard need a quick pace (and how often does that happen) and they need to come out in the top 3 finishers of said quick pace. The 15 is always tactical as well and they have to run rounds in the 8, 15, 5k and steeple. So the guys heading to London are most likely the ones who already have that precious A standard.

In the 800m, Nick Symmonds, who has dominated the 800m scene in the U.S. since the last Olympic trials, is joined by a handful of top youngsters and experienced veterans in the field. Symmonds has to be the heavy favorite for this race once again coming off his strong early season 1:43.83. He also had a solid split at the Penn Relays and ran a 1500m PR. He is a strong runner with the strength to get through the rounds and I expect him to come out on top barring some type of disaster. Khadevius Robinson, still going strong at a climbing age, has run 1:44.0 this season and has a life time best in the 1:43s. He is experienced in these kind of meets with 3 rounds and that experience should help him.

Without Robby Andrews in the field, it looks like Charles Jock, who was on the team last summer at the World Championships in Daegu, will be back again. He has run 1:44 this year and won the NCAA title over 800m leading wire to wire. His front running style could hurt him if the kickers are running strong at the end of the race, but Jock has used his front running very well in many top caliber 800ms so I don't expect him to make a mistake and falter in the home stretch.

Ryan Martin, who ran a 1:44 PR right behind Jock at the two's conference championships. He could slip into the mix with another big day. Cas Loxsom seems to be just starting to peak as we approach the summer. I'm sure he has had London on his mind since last year's world team trials and will be ready to go. Mike Rutt is high on my sleeper team as well. He has run some very solid 800m runs and bested my boy Robby Andrews already this spring. He had a runner up finish in the indoor 800m while at UCONN two years back. Erik Sowinski, the runner up at outdoor NCAA's this year could be in the mix as well. Andrew Wheating is entered in the race, but he may not run if he decides to put his eggs into the 1500m basket. Elijah Greer is always a threat if he can get to the finals. He runs fantastic finals, but sometimes struggles in the prelims. PA alumn Benn Scheetz made it into the meet as one of the last few entries to qualify.

In the 1500m, I'll be pulling for my boy Robby Andrews whose kick almost led to a shocking upset of Mo Farah and Galen Rupp (but didn't, maybe went too early?). We saw last year that a guy with a kick can mix it up in the tactical races and surprise for gold at the trials. That man who proved it to as all, however, is back. Matt Centrowitz will be looking to defend his US title and bronze medal from worlds. However, Centrowitz has struggled of late at the Prefontaine mile and will have to work hard to utilize his kick in this field of kickers. Amongst the stud kickers in this race are Leonel Manzano who has made his fair share of international teams in the past but has yet to take a U.S. championship. He has a 3:33 seed time coming in and should punch his ticket to London. Russell Brown boasts a 3:34.11 seed and has had a series of solid marks in the middle distance. David Torrence may be the guy to watch. He has got the A standard and has run 1:45 and 13 teens this season. He is putting all his chips in the pot for the 1500 and that is why I see him taking the third spot to London. I've got Robby winning because I am incredibly biased and blind sided by him being my favorite runner. What are you gonna do?

Also in the mix will be guys like Will Leer and Andrew Wheating who were both within .01 of each other at last year's meet with Wheating getting the spot to Daegu. Wheating has a 3:30 PR that many here in the US hope he can duplicate. He seems to be rounding into form as of late. He was at the Olympics in 2008 as a College sophomore in the 800m. He may look to duplicate that magic, he is entered in that race as well. Jeff See and PA alumn Craig Miller have run solid 1500s throughout their pro career and Oregonian Jordan MacNamara has danced around the A standard on multiple occasions as well. AJ Acosta and his beard will also run. Then there are the collegians, headlined by Kyle Merber and his 3:35, but also Miles Batty, Andy Bayer, Riley Masters, Erik Van Ingen, Rob Finnerty and German Fernandez! It will be interesting to see how all these collegian boys handle the big stage.

At 5000m, Bernard Lagat, still going strong even at his old age, is essentially a lock to get back to London, especially with his focus entirely on the 5000m. He has run solid marks this year including his indoor American Record around 13:07. But he will have his hands full with Galen Rupp who is attempting the 5k-10k double. Rupp has training partner Mo Farah to boast about and recent PRs at 1500m and 5000m. And oh yeah he has the American Record at 10000m after he smashed Chris Solinsky's mark last summer. I got Rupp taking the next step this year, but I just don't think he has the wheels to hang when it is kick time and I think it an epic finish, Lagat will pull it out. Then of course there is Lopez Lomong who has a 13:11 mark after he miscounted his laps and managed to hold on after his epic kick and drop ... an epic kick. Dathan Ritz has been rounding into great shape as well. He is entered in the 5k and the 10k, however, which could complicate matters. But he does boast a 13:14 this year. Matt Tegenkamp and Chris Derrick are other guys with top marks who have 10k and 5k duties to pull at the meet. Andrew Bambalough, Ben True, Ryan Hill, and PA's own Dan Lowry are other guys with solid marks this season in the mix.

At 10k, Rupp seems a lock to defend his title. As mentioned earlier he is clearly in top notch shape. Behind him are guys like Ritz, Tegenkamp and Derrick with great marks at 5k and 10k this year who are trying to battle it out behind Rupp and come out in the top 3 and head to London. Also in the mix at 10k are Rob Curtis and Tim Nelson who have marks under 27:30 this year already. Hassan Mead, Jacob Reilly, Girma Micheso and Luke Puskedra are all big name college guys trying to take the next step. I'd like to see Ritz pull out a big performance here at make the team, but he is going to have a tough time, especially considering he is still chasing the olympic A standard he needs to punch his ticket to London.

Lastly in the steeplechase, converted 15/5k guy Evan Jager is looking to redeem himself after his fall at Oxy. He still is one, if not the, favorites for this event as the Americans have piled on some great steeple times this year. Collegiate Don Cabral, who won that Oxy meet in the steeplechase after the fall and also added an NCAA title to his resume this spring, is another one of the pre race favorites. Will Nelson and Ben Bruce are the top two seeds in the race, headlining the field of 12 guys under 8:30. Craig Forys and Cory Leslie who finish close to Cabral at NCAA's, taking advantage of Leilei fall, will be looking to fight their way into the final and into contention with the top group.