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Reviewing the Foot Locker Boys Race - Tanner Anderson - DyeStat

Published by
DyeStat.com   Dec 14th 2014, 2:02am
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Handling pressure no easy task but Fisher did 

 

By Tanner Anderson for DyeStat


I was glued to my computer Saturday morning and excited to see how the Foot Locker boys race would unfold.


Coming out of NXN with a win, I walked away with a different view than most people. I was able to get to know a lot of the top guys at Nike Elite Camp and I thought I had a pretty good understanding of how things might go.


Let me just say, first off, that Foot Locker was the premier boys championship place to be this year. The field was more than stacked. Having raced a lot of the guys in the race, I could almost see how the race would have played out. But what I thought was 100 percent wrong.


Here is what I thought was going to happen:


1. Matthew Maton
2. Grant Fisher
3. John Dressel
4. Alex Ostberg


The race itself had some amazing performances. Grant's performance was beyond dominant with the win. Elijah Armstrong had the race of his life to finish third. Conner Mantz overcoming his injury had a huge comeback performance to grab 10th.


After the race was over, I called some of the guys to find out what they had to say.


Elijah Armstrong said he prepared by "staying calm and staying away from social media (rankings and predicitons)."


I asked him how he handled the weekend?


"I like to have fun with all the event has to offer," he said.


I asked him about his goals for the race.


"The goal was to give my best effort and place better than last year that just happened to
be third," Elijah said.


I asked him how the race was different from last year.


"Last year I wasn't able to match Grant's move and this year I was able to match it better."


I called Thomas Pollard, who set an aggressive early pace and had a lot of face time on the webcast. He went out in 2:15 for the 800 (4:30 mile pace) and led at the mile with a 4:42.


I asked him what he was thinking around the mile when the race started to pack up.


"That I didn't have to work alone at that point and that there were people to help keep the
pace pushing," he said.


I asked him why he went out so fast.


"I wanted to make it an honest race with an honest pace, and I believe that's what I did," he said.


I asked him how he felt at the mid-point of the race or on the second loop.


"Like I was running in quicksand and people where slowly starting to pass me," was his reply.


Pollard knew making it a fast pace was a great race plan and without the fast pace the race could become a sit-and-kick race, opening the door to bigger pool of people.


I'm not going to lie, Matthew was my Number 1 pick to win over Grant for so many reasons. I've raced Matthew a few times and I know his speed is above par. And I thought it really showed in the final lap of last June's Dream Mile where he closed some distance on Grant.


So I called Matthew, even though he didn't have a good day.


I asked him how he kept calm and ready for a big race?


"I like to just lay low and think about the race and focus on what I'm going to do," he said.


I asked him what happened in the race and to run me through his thought process.


"I was next to guys like Armstrong and Dressel at 400 meters and knew I could move up with them, but when it came time to go, I couldn't do it," he said. "I was in a float (no energy)."


Matthew's off day resulted in 19th. I still don't think anyone should write him off. He's one of the best in the country.

 

The big match-up in my home state of Washington state was between John Dressel and I. I've raced John for three and half years now. If there is one thing I've learned racing in the same league as him (Greater Spokane League) it's to never count John out. John has so much heart for the sport and a level of dedication that is uncommon. I want him to know how much I appreciate him.


Watching the race I saw John move up and he looked smooth and ready to attack whenever. I know John would have been right there with Hacker and Armstrong if he didn't fall by the clip of a spike at the top of the hill. How quick John bounced back up impressed me.


Watching Foot Locker from home after a big win at NXN was a little hard, I'll admit. The competition was ready at Foot Locker and I wish I could have been there on the line with the rest of the West guys.


Grant had the same or similar position I was in a week ago. The pressure to win is unreal when the nation looks to you as the favorite. After awhile, the pressure builds up and takes its toll. I thought Grant handled that situation extremely well and that it was a huge part of his success on the course.


I'm looking forward to seeing the guys and girls run some amazing times come track season this spring. Good luck to all!



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