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Boys mile takes center stage at 2015 Nike Jesuit Twilight Relays

Published by
DyeStat.com   Apr 30th 2015, 5:12pm
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State rivlaries at heart of Jesuit elite mile

 

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

 

John Dressel and Tanner Anderson may forever be linked for holding down the fort of Spokane’s rich running heritage and graduating together in 2015. Both have brought laurels and glory back to their hometown, and they aren’t through yet.

 

But don’t expect these two guys to ever finish a race hand in a hand.

 

WATCH THE NIKE JESUIT TWILIGHT RELAYS LIVE 

 

 

Dressel, of Mt. Spokane, the 2013 Foot Locker runner-up and 2015 USA World Junior Cross Country team member, and Tanner Anderson, the NXN champion and Washington 3A title-holder in cross country and the 3,200 always want to beat each other.

 

It’s part of what makes them both so good.

 

ENTER THE BOYS MILE PREDICTION CONTEST - WIN A RUNNERSPACE PLUS SUBSCRIPTION

 

As a sophomore, Anderson said he got caught up focusing on Dressel too much.

 

“It was ‘I gotta beat John, I gotta beat John,’” Anderson said. “But then Katie Knight finally came over and shook me and said you can’t focus on one person. If you do, then you’re beat.”

 

Knight had learned her own lesson about how to manage showdowns with a top rival. Before they became teammates at the University of Washington, Knight and Amy-Eloise Neale engaged in fierce competitions all over the state and boosted the profile of the sport. But mentally, there is a cost.

 

“I remember we’d gear up for a (Greater Spokane League) meet and John would run this ridiculously fast time,” Anderson said. “It added to the pressure. But when you focus on one person it swings the race as a whole.”

 

This Friday’s Nike Jesuit Twilight Relays features an elite boys mile that is filled with intrigue. The rivalries that exist within this race serve to whet the appetite for upcoming state championship meets in three states – Washington, Idaho and Oregon. The race starts at 6:25 p.m. Pacific.

 

Five of the top seven finishers in the Pasco Invitational boys mile two weeks ago are in the field (Dressel was second, Anderson fifth in that one), including winner Michael Slagowski from Rocky Mountain ID.

 

Slagowski, who won the Aracadia Invitational 800 meters, ran 4:12.35 for the mile in Pasco after the group shuffled through the half in 2:12.

 

Slagowski may not have to bang heads with Elijah Armstrong at the Idaho state meet – they are in separate classes – but the battle for state supremacy is real. Armstrong beat Slagowski by 20 seconds in the 3,200 meters last week at the YMCA Invitational and the Pocatello senior ran US#7 4:10.40 in the 1600.

 

 

In 2014, Slagowski ran an all-time Idaho state best in the 1,500 meters. Armstrong set an all-time state record in the 1,600.

 

In Oregon, there appears to be a strong four-way battle brewing for the 6A 1,500 meters – West Linn twins Roman and Grayson Ollar against Eugene duo Reilly Bloomer (South) and Jackson Mestler (Sheldon).    

 

WATCH MATTHEW MATON BATTLE ANDREW GARDNER IN 2013

 

In Washington, Anderson and Dressel may stand apart at the longer distances but they both have had company in the 1600/mile. Jack Yearian of Bellarmine Prep ran 4:08.50 in the 1,600 last year and has the best PR of anyone in Friday’s race.

 

A month ago at the Eastmont Wildcat Classic, Anderson led and drove the pace in the 1,600 for more than three laps but was kicked down at the end by Wenatchee’s Cole Christman, who won in 4:09.94.

 

“(The loss) checks my confidence, it does,” Anderson said. “The nice thing, though, is it takes eyes off me for a while. It gives me time to do what I need to do. Once Cole beat me, it put the focus on him (as the state leader) for a while.”

 

Dressel may have gotten second to Slagowski in Pasco, but he felt like that outcome held positives.

 

“I actually wanted to race tactically (that day), wait for the last 100 meters and give it everything I had,” Dressel said. “Tanner was upset that it didn’t go out honest, but I was pleased with how I finished and how I ran at the end of the race. It was not a bust for me.”

 

Dressel expects Friday’s race to be much faster. Meet organizers have a rabbit lined up to go through the half in 2:02 before peeling off.

 

Anderson said he is determined to run fast this weekend. He has the mile Friday night in Portland and then is entered in the 3,200 at the Shoreline Invitational in Seattle on Saturday.

 

“If I think it's going too slow I'll go right to the front and start clipping 61s,” Anderson said.

 

In 2015, it seems, all the top distance runners in the country are focused on the mile. That may have to do with the desire to be selected for the adidas Dream Mile in New York, or for Brooks PR. The Prefontaine Classic just added an elite high school mile.

 

“I think because of the Dream Mile, there are a lot of guys that want to go (to New York),” Dressel said. “I want to go to the Dream Mile because it’s such an exclusive type of meet. But knowing from last year it seemed like you had to run somewhat fast early. That affects a lot of people (negatively) depending on when your state meet is.”

 

Anderson also has a theory about why the mile has become so important this spring.

 

“For me, I don’t have a good mile time and I want to work on the mile,” the North Central senior said. “If you’re a senior and you have your scholarship to your school, (3200 PRs) don’t matter. If you can get your mile time down before you get to college it’s a confidence booster. Plus, I think there’s all the hype about what Grant (Fisher) and Matthew (Maton) have done. Grant stepping on the rail (at New Balance Nationals Indoor), all those type things factor in. But all these guys are gunning for the mile and I’m going for it, too.”

 

Anderson will go to Oregon in the fall. Dressel is headed to Colorado.

 

They have one more state meet in which to sort out state titles. Last year, Joe Hardy swept the 1600 and 3200 and defeated both of them. (Dressel did beat Anderson in the 1600; Anderson finished ahead of Dressel in the 3200).

 

 

“I just want to end my senior season on a high note,” Dressel said. “Tanner and I are competitors and for me I’m not really focused on what happened in the past. I think once we graduate we’ll be remembered pretty much forever for how hard we pushed each other.”



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