Cranny runs 2:00.25/4:07.07 double, Teare edges Messaoudi by 3:34.96 to 3:35.16 margin, contributing to 30 sub-3:40 efforts and 64 sub-4:20 performances at Azusa Pacific; MIT’s Wilson sets Division 3 record of 3:40.06 and unattached Newbury Park senior Leo Young rises to No. 5 all-time prep at 3:39.39

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

AZUSA, Calif. – Perhaps the most impressive example of how significant the 1,500-meter races at the Bryan Clay Invitational have become on the April track schedule aren’t just the legacy of collegiate records and NCAA divisional all-time marks, or the exceptional volume of sub-3:40 and sub-4:20 performances, but the elite professional athletes who are making the competition at Azusa Pacific University’s Cougar Stadium a priority on their schedules.

For all the remarkable collegiate and unattached high school performances that took place Saturday night, the victories in the top sections belonged to Nike Bowerman Track Club teammates Elise Cranny and Cooper Teare, who delighted the supportive crowds that lined the track to add even more energy to an already electric atmosphere under the lights.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS by Chuck Aragon

Cranny, who already ran in the fastest section of the 800 meters Friday in a race that produced five sub-2:01 efforts including her personal-best 2:00.25, pulled away over the final lap to prevail in 4:07.07.

Klaudia Kazimierska of Oregon, representing Poland, opened her outdoor season by taking second in 4:11.15, with Alabama’s Flomena Asekol, a Kenyan athlete, finishing third in 4:11.38, Portland’s Laura Pellicoro, an Italian competitor, securing fourth in 4:11.63 and LSU’s Michaela Rose – doubling back from a lifetime-best 1:59.08 in the 800 on Friday – grabbing fifth in 4:11.98, all placing in the top 10 overall.

The penultimate women’s section witnessed a thrilling finish involving Georgetown’s Melissa Riggins holding off UCLA’s Mia Barnett by a 4:10.09 to 4:10.23 margin to produce the second- and third-fastest times overall.

Oregon State’s Grace Fetherstonhaugh, who ran a lifetime-best 15:30.55 in the 5,000 on March 31 at the Stanford Invitational, added another personal-best effort by taking third in 4:11.00 and fellow Canadian and New Balance professional athlete Lindsey Butterworth was fourth in 4:11.32.

LSU had a pair of sub-4:12 performers, with Mexican competitor Lorena Rangel Batres clocking 4:11.61 for fifth, as 10 individuals from the final two sections ran under the barrier, contributing to 64 athletes overall that ran under 4:20 across the 12 invitational races.

Teare was able to withstand the challenge of Oklahoma State standout and reigning NCAA Division 1 indoor 3,000 champion Fouad Messaoudi of Morocco, emerging victorious by a 3:34.96 to 3:35.16 margin.

Messaoudi ascended to the No. 4 performer in collegiate history.

Washington’s Joe Waskom, the defending Division 1 outdoor 1,500 champion, took third in 3:35.86 to elevate to No. 11 all-time in the NCAA, followed by a trio of professional athletes in Kenyan Noah Kibet from Nike’s Union Athletics Club (3:36.32), adidas competitor Paul Ryan (3:36.49) and Bowerman Track Club’s Grant Fisher (3:36.85).

Anass Essayi of South Carolina, another Moroccan competitor, was seventh in the top section in 3:36.89.

Iowa State’s Ezekiel Rop, representing Kenya, prevailed in his invitational race in 3:36.92, with Drake’s Isaac Basten earning eighth in the top section in 3:36.99.

All nine competitors ran faster than current collegiate record holder Eliud Kipsang of Alabama, who clocked 3:37.69. Kipsang, representing Kenya, won the elite 1,500 last year at Bryan Clay in 3:33.74 to eclipse the 2021 mark of 3:34.68 by former Notre Dame star Yared Nuguse.

Ryan Wilson of MIT finished 10th in his section and 32nd overall in 3:40.06, but in another affirmation of the depth on display at Cougar Stadium, he eclipsed the Division 3 record by more than a second.

Wilson, who set Division 3 indoor 800 and mile records in the winter, eclipsed the 1996 standard of 3:41.21 by Karl Paranya of Haverford.

Paranya and former Pomona-Pitzer standout Will Leer have both run equal or faster than Wilson during summer races, but the MIT graduate student-athlete boasts the all-time seasonal mark by a Division 3 competitor.

Newbury Park senior Leo Young, competing unattached, eclipsed the 3:40 barrier for the first time, finishing second in his section and 23rd overall in 3:39.39, elevating to No. 5 all-time among prep competitors.

Aaron Sahlman, who passed on his remaining eligibility for Newbury Park to race unattached in the 800 and 1,500 at Azusa Pacific, followed a 1:49.19 performance Friday by clocking 3:43.52 on Saturday.

Colin Sahlman, a Northern Arizona freshman and Aaron’s brother, was second behind Rop in his section and 12th overall in 3:38.30, contributing to 30 overall athletes who ran sub-3:40.