Hoare, the defending NCAA Division 1 outdoor 1,500 champion, edges Villarreal to highlight invitational schedule; Green holds off Hurta, Efraimson to secure victory in outdoor opener

By Landon Negri for DyeStat

There was no NCAA record this year, but the Bryan Clay Invitational still seems to always have plenty of excitement.

A year after New Mexico’s Josh Kerr set a collegiate record in the 1,500 meters, Friday night’s invitational event featured a finish that could not have been closer.

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

Wisconsin junior Oliver Hoare, the reigning NCAA Division 1 outdoor 1,500 champ, held off Arizona junior Carlos Villarreal by two-hundredths of a second to win the marquee race of the three-day meet at Azusa Pacific University.

Hanna Green, the former Virginia Tech standout now with Nike OTC Elite, rallied to overtake Alexa Efraimson and win the women’s 1,500.

And in a moment that cast a hush over those in attendance and on the field, Bradley junior Simon Page collapsed after the third section of the 1,500s and was taken to the hospital.

Hoare’s time of 3 minutes, 37.20 seconds was just enough to edge Villarreal (3:37.22), who tried everything at the end, including lunging so hard at the finish that he fell. Though sore, he was OK afterward.

All this was after Hoare had held onto the lead, while constantly challenged throughout the second half of the race.

The leaders ran the first 800 meters in 1:56.

“I just wanted to keep pushing it and run for a good time and start the season off well,” Hoare said. “I knew that I was putting myself kind of vulnerable to an attack from behind. I knew that Carlos was going to be a guy that could really give me a run for my money.”

Villarreal said he tried to make up for lost ground in the final 400, and nearly pulled it off.

“I just basically took off,” he said. “I didn’t really have anything; I just took off to see if I could maybe PR, or something like that. I just gave it my all and got nicked up at the line.”

It figured these two would be close at the finish. Though they ran in different heats last year, just 0.44 separated them as Hoare and Villarreal were eighth and ninth in the event, respectively.

And that may have helped Hoare, too, with that experience of running in a record race a year ago, when the top 21 times would’ve set stadium and meet records.

“I definitely thought about the pace (from last year),” Hoare said. “It’s been a shot to the system going out that quick, and I wasn’t sure I could do that in my race, but I knew from my experience with Kerr in an NCAA-record race – the pace was fast and consistently fast.”

Notre Dame sophomore Yared Nuguse finished third in 3:38.32. Arizona State senior William Paulson, who had the nation’s No. 3 time in the 1,500 entering Friday, placed fourth in a personal-best 3:38.35.

“The plan, really, was just to sit mid-pack and not really make any big moves and just wait for the race to play out, really, and it did,” Paulson said. “I found myself in a good position with a lap to go. Unfortunately, I got tied up a bit in the last 100, but (it’s) something to work on for next time.”

Texas sophomore Sam Worley was fifth in 3:38.64, and Ole Miss sophomore Waleed Suliman, the owner of the top time in the country entering the meet, was sixth in 3:38.72.

They were followed by a trio from Northern Arizona – reigning NCAA Indoor mile champion Geordie Beamish (seventh, 3:39.15), sophomore Luis Grijalva (eighth, 3:39.52) and freshman Theo Quax (ninth, 3:39.84). Arkansas senior Cameron Griffith was 10th in 3:39.86.

The women’s race was dominated by professional runners in the top four spots, with a bit of a surprise winner. Green closed fast in the last 100 meters, overtaking Efraimson to win in 4:09.33.

“When it came down to the last 300, I thought I was in good enough shape to just kind of go,” Green said. “Usually, I have a little better of a kick, I think, but it was what I needed for today, so I was happy with it.”

The mark was easily a personal best for the former Hokies’ star, who made her mark collegiately as an 800 runner.
“I’ve been kind of working toward getting better at the 1,500,” she said. “So starting out with a 4:09 is pretty good for me.”

Running unattached, former Colorado standout Sage Hurta finished second in 4:09.48 and Efraimson was third in 4:09.88. Canadian Lindsey Butterworth was fourth in 4:11.31.

The top collegiate 1,500 runner Friday night was Utah junior Sarah Feeny, who outlegged rival and BYU junior Whittni Orton to place fifth in 4:13.53. Orton was sixth in 4:14.02.

And though runners tend be a critical sort, Feeny said she had little to criticize from her performance.

“Surprisingly, I feel like I have no regrets with the race, actually,” she said. “I felt pretty good about it. There were some spots where I found myself a little behind the lead pack, and I realized I need to get out and work my way up.

“It just kind of fell into place.”

Madeline Kelly of the University of Toronto Track Club placed seventh in 4:14.05, and Arkansas junior Carina Viljoen was eighth in 4:14.27.

Boise State junior Allie Ostrander was ninth in 4:14.76, and BYU junior Anna Camp, who won her section, placed 10th overall in 4:15.15.

Earlier, in the third section of the 1,500 – there were 10 overall on each side in the invitational division – Page completed the event in 3:51.72. As he crossed the track, he suddenly appeared to collapse and then hit his head on the all-weather track as he fell.

Page received medical attention as the meet was delayed for 25 minutes before leaving via ambulance. Teammates, some in tears, watched and later joined the Azusa Pacific team in a prayer circle on the infield before competition resumed.

During the daytime schedule, Brazilian sprinter Paulo Andre Camilo ran a wind-legal 10.02 seconds to set a meet record in the men’s 100-meter dash. Fellow countryman Alison dos Santos eclipsed the meet record in the 400-meter hurdles by clocking a personal-best 49.48.

Iowa junior Matt Manternach lowered the meet record in the men’s 800 to 1:46.93, with first-year adidas professional Nikki Hiltz taking down the meet and facility records in the women’s 800 by clocking 2:01.37.

Hiltz continued to build momentum after winning the Boston Athletic Association Invitational mile on April 13, with UNLV sophomore Avi’Tal Wilson-Perteete placing second in a collegiate-leading 2:02.41.