By Madison Layton
With a mix of talent, kick and just a pinch of fortune, Oregon advanced two of its three men’s 1,500-meter runners to the final after contrasting qualifying races.
Blake Haney and Sam Prakel will represent the Ducks in the men’s 1,500 Friday, leaving behind teammate Matthew Maton, who missed the qualifying mark by a couple seconds.
Haney and Prakel each skated into final in the final stretch of their races, with Haney finishing fifth in his heat in 3 minutes, 49.54 seconds, with Prakel taking third in 3:40.93.
“I think at that point you have to have a little bit of luck,” Haney said. “You’ve got to be ready to battle here. That’s what I was ready to do; I was ready to dive for the finish.”
Though each qualified, Haney and Prakel were each part of very different races.
Haney’s pack took things out painfully slow, while Prakel’s race, complete with standouts Henry Wynne of Virginia and Izaic Yorks of Washington, ran a race on par with season-best times.
“We knew it was going to go out fast to begin with because of the way Yorks and Henry Wynne run,” Prakel said. “They like to lead from the front, which is smart, and it definitely pulled a bunch of guys along in our heat.”
Noticeably absent from Friday’s action though will be freshman Maton, who entered the prelim with the best time from the Oregon field but finished 21st in the 24-person field.
“It’s a bummer,” Haney said.“Obviously, he’s one of my good friends and good teammates, so I really wanted him to get through.”
Haney and Prakel will advance to the Friday evening final to take on a field of 12 of the best men’s 1,500 runners in the country. With one fewer athlete in the running for Oregon points, the pair plans to make the most of the race.
“We need to score as many points as possible to help the team out,” Prakel said. “That’s the main goal.”
