University of Washington
Payton Jordan Invitational
Yorks Breaks 1,500m Record, Maxwell 2nd In NCAA
May 02, 2016 | Track & Field
Payton Jordan Results
PALO ALTO, Calif. – With just two weeks to go until the Pac-12 Championships in Seattle, senior Izaic Yorks reasserted himself as one of the favorites for the conference, and national titles, as he shattered the Washington 1,500-meter school record and took the NCAA lead with a victory at the Payton Jordan Invitational. Yorks ran 3:37.74, leading wire to wire against a loaded field featuring multiple former Olympians.
At Stanford's Cobb Track, Yorks went with the powerful and metronomic style that he exhibited in his record-setting 3:53.89 indoor mile, going right to the front of the field behind the pace setter, and once the pace setter stepped off, Yorks never looked back, leading the final two laps. It was a similar run to his outdoor opener of 3:41.56 that he ran on April 9 in a win at the Pepsi Team Invitational, but the quicker pace led him to the new record, breaking Austin Abbott's mark of 3:39.63 set in 2009.
The defending Pac-12 champion in the event, Yorks said after the race that he had been hoping to run the Olympic standard of 3:36.20, “but we'll save that for another day when I'm a little stronger and a little faster.” The time for Yorks is the fastest in the U.S. this outdoor season, and No. 6 outdoors in the world so far this year.
“I took a little downtime (after indoors) and this was my second race of the season,” Yorks said on Flotrack.com after his win. “With how long the season is, three seasons is a lot for any NCAA athlete to go through, and I've been very lucky to be healthy thus far.”
.@IzaicY blasting a 3:37.74! #6 in the world!! #PaytonJordan @UWTrack pic.twitter.com/cVjog7j2tG
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) May 2, 2016
Head Coach Greg Metcalf said that this was Yorks' first time ever really on a big stage, with some elite professional runners, “and he took it all in stride. On the backstretch, he's pulling away from some World Championship finalists. It's exciting but he still has a long season ahead of him and there is a lot that he has his sights set to accomplish.”
Washington also got a sensational run on the women's side, as sophomore Anna Maxwell had a breakout performance with a five-second 1,500-meter career-best. She took third in her section but was the top collegiate on the day with a time of 4:12.62, which jumps her up to No. 2 in the NCAA this season, as well as No. 4 on the Husky all-time top-10. Maxwell ran patiently in the back of her 12-woman heat for the first two laps before moving up assuredly on the bell lap, and closing hard to the finish to nearly get the win.
“Anna has just been getting better little by little every week, and every race, and that's what you hope to see and this was another step in that direction,” said Metcalf. “She had a great win at the Pepsi Team Invite, and then had an 800-meter PR at the Dual last week, and so she's running with a new level of confidence right now.”
There were several more excellent runs from the Husky distance crew today at Stanford, all in the 1,500- and 5,000-meters. Junior Katie Knight earned a PR for herself with a time of 15:52.70 that moves her up to No. 9 on the Husky top-10 list and was a six-second personal-best. Earlier in the day, junior Kaylee Flanagan came through second in her 15-woman 5,000-meter heat in a new outdoor personal-best of 16:37.18.
Bay area native Fred Huxham captured some hometown mojo as he opened up a big gap on the field of section four of the 5,000-meters with a mile left, and held it throughout as he won the heat in 13:59.77. Huxham ran 13:50.10 unattached at Stanford a year ago, but this was his new PR in uniform, and should put him safely into the NCAA West Prelims later this month. Senior Tyler King finished 14th in the same heat in 14:39.70.
Shortly thereafter, senior Aaron Nelson joined Huxham under the 14-minute mark, as he finished up his 5k run in 13:58.89, now owning West Prelim qualifiers in the 10k and the 5k, as well as potentially the steeplechase where he ranked 40th coming into the weekend. A two-time Second Team All-American in the 5k indoors, it was the first time under 14-minutes outdoors for Nelson.
Senior Baylee Mires, one week after setting the Husky 800-meter school record, moved back up to 1,500-meters today and ran 4:19.44, just .01 seconds off the time she posted at the Stanford Invite earlier this year. Sophomore Johnathan Stevens was also just off his PR as he was fourth in his section in a time of 3:44.77, and Andrew Gardner had a four-second PR with a time of 3:48.92.
