SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO —For American distance running star Grant Fisher and his coach Mike Scannell, The Ten’s namesake event Saturday night was a check point on the way to the Olympic Games in Paris later this summer.
“We’re at the end of our first training block season so this was a report,” Scannell said. “How are things going? You want to check off everything. Check the boxes.”
So what was the answer?
“All is well,” Scannell said before breaking into a wide grin.
The same can be said for American distance running.
Fisher, the American record-holder at four distances, led eight men under the Olympic 10,000-meter qualifying standard of 27 minutes, with a 26:52.04 victory at J Serra High School.
“The goal was sub 27 and we got it done,” Fisher said.
The “we” in the deepest global 10,000 in more than a decade included Northern Arizona’s Nico Young, the former Newbury Park High School standout, who finished just behind Fisher in 26:52.72, shattering the 14-year-old collegiate record set by Sam Chelanga of Liberty.
Behind the pair, Andreas Almgren broke the Swedish national record running 26:53.01 for third. South Africa’s Adrian Wildschutt, who ran collegiately for Florida State, also took down his national record with a 26:55.54 clocking for sixth place.
Only the 2011 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene has produced more sub-27:00 marks in a single race (9). The field was so deep that Australia’s Jack Rayner knocked nearly six seconds off his national record with a 27:09.57 mark but only finished 13th.
Before Saturday night only three Americans had ever broken 27 and only Fisher had done so since 2014. But this year’s version of Fast Times At J Serra High also saw Woody Kincaid, Fisher’s former training partner at Nike’s Bowerman Track Club, dip under 27, running 26:57.57 for eighth.
“The U.S. is getting really, really good at the distances,” said Fisher, who set the American record at 10,000 of 26:33.84 at the 2022 The Ten. “A lot more competitive on the world scene.
“When I was younger there might be one American a year that could compete with Europeans and East Africans. When I was growing up that was Galen Rupp,” Fisher said referring to the former Oregon star and 2012 Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000. “But we really didn’t have the same depth (as the East Africans). There was always one to two guys on the world scene but now we’ve got a very competitive five to 10 guys every year who are competing to make a team that’s harder to make every year.”
The U.S. got even deeper this winter with Young fulfilling the promise he first showed at Newbury Park in winning the Nike Cross Country Nationals and then setting the national high school indoor 3,000 record (7:56.91).
Young ran a 3:57.33 mile in Flagstaff, elevation 7,000 feet, in January, a mark that converts to 3:48.7 at sea level. He then smashed the collegiate indoor 5,000 record running 12:57.14, dipping under the Olympic standard of 13:05.00. Young then answered those online critics who have constantly pointed out that he had failed to win an NCAA title at NAU.
Check a box?
Young checked off the NCAA title box in a big way last weekend, blowing away the 5,000 field with a 54.39 last 400 Friday and then coming back Saturday to claim the 3,000 crowd with a meet record 7:41.01.
“My first instinct was to get him out of Boston as soon as possible but then we let him sleep in because we knew that night of sleep would be the most important,” Smith said. “So then we fly him back to altitude, did low intensity (training), massage and body work and just get him tuned up and have his mind ready. A lot of people can’t handle the emotional big spike of a championship and the come down. But Nico really managed it very well. He celebrated NCAAs and then we immediately moved onto the next thing.”
That was The Ten. On Monday Young and Smith made a decision to run Saturday night, a call they really felt they had no choice but to make.
“Everyone knew this was the only time this year for the Americans to run the (Olympic ) standard,” Young said. “So even though NCAAs were last week we were like I have to run this race. It’s so valuable to be at the Trials with the standard.”
Said Smith, “Look, the pros have been getting ready for this for months. We did the NCAA Championships last week. If I didn’t feel like we had to do this we wouldn’t have done it.”
Fisher relocated from Oregon to Park City after he left the Bowerman Track Club last October and began training under Scannell, his coach at Michigan’s Grand Blanc High School.
“A new coach but an old coach,” Fisher said.
Any doubts about the move were answered when Fisher ran the third fastest indoor 2-mile ever, clocking 8:03.62 at the Millrose Games last month and then throwing down a 12:51.84 5,000 five days later, just missing Kincaid’s American indoor record.
Saturday night, Fisher said, was “a sort of a dress rehearsal for the outdoor season.”
Fisher had spent recent weeks in Flagstaff training for the race but had rarely crossed paths with Young on the trails there.
“A few times but very seldom,” Fisher said.
But with a kilometer to go, Young had settled into a lead pack of seven that also included Fisher and that, after briefly falling off the pacing lights set a 27:00 tempo, was back on track to run under the Olympic standard.
“Once we got ahead of the lights, I think everybody was ready to race,” Fisher said.
Including Young, who had started off cautiously, running in mid-pack, keying off Kincaid who has also worked with Smith after leaving BTC two years ago.
“When there 10 laps to go I was like, I’m going to make it to the end at this pace,” Young said.
After a 61.3 400 on the penultimate lap, Young made a move for the lead with 250 to go.
“Nico put the hammer down,” Scannell said. “Very bold.”
But with 120 meters left, Fisher darted through lapped runners into the lead. Young swung wide but couldn’t quite catch him,
“I was happy with how I could kick at the end,” said Fisher, who covered the final 400 in 56.78 to Young’s 57.61. “This is a big year for everybody and getting the standard is necessary, so glad to get it done.”
Fisher was asked if he was surprised with Young’s performance.
“No, no,” he said laughing. “He’s had a very historic last three months. If he was in shape last week to do what he did, he’s going to be in shape this week too. This was an awesome set up everybody and I thought it was well within in him to run sub 27 and he got it done.”
So Fisher and Scannell got the answers they were looking for.
“Success,” said Fisher, who isn’t sure when he will race next. “This was kind of Phase 1 of the plan. It was get some races in in February, get some faster stuff. See where the legs were and get the standard in the 10k. Those were the goals this phase. The next phase is build up to outdoor season and championship season. Times don’t matter anymore. I’ve got the standards so just time to race.”
Smith also came to Orange County with questions.
“The answer was if he got the (Olympic) standard tonight then we run the 10″ at the Olympic Trials,” Smith said. “And if we don’t get the standard then we just run the 5. And I think we’ve got an opportunity here with how hard this standard is, we’ll be ready for it.”
Young talked about maybe only running a 1,500 before the Big Sky Conference meet, and the NCAA regional and NCAA Championships.
“Hibernate for a while and get a lot of rest and just get ready for June now,” Smith said. “He’s got a shot to be an NCAA champion and also a shot at making an Olympic team and those are life changing things. And we just want to set him up well for that.
“Only three Americans have ever run that fast. I believe in my athletes but I also have respect for what these times mean, what these paces are. With Nico he can do anything, I believe he can do anything but you have to remember it’s such a steep standard, steep, steep standard. It’s a hard task.”
Smith was standing at one end of the infield as he spoke he turned and looked at the scoreboard which was still showing the race results. Until Saturday night no American-born collegian had come with 30 seconds of the 27 barrier.
He shook his head.
“He ran the same time as Grant Fisher and Grant’s … ,” Smith said. He paused. “I think it puts Nico as one of the best guys in the country. Not just one of the best collegians but one of the best runners in the country and in an Olympic year, Americans can compete at the top of the world and that means Nico can compete in an Olympic final. It’s a huge deal.”
