With a 300-meter oval and a 10-lane straightaway, dual pits everywhere and seating for 5,000, the indoor track and field complex at Ohio's SPIRE Institute is one of the biggest, boldest facilities on the planet.
It seems only fitting that Jordan Geist and Elias Graca were very big and very bold in Saturday's SPIRE Scholastic Showcase. The Knoch sophomore and Fox Chapel Area senior registered lifetime bests and grabbed the spotlight from national class fields.
Geist Continues to Roll with 12-Pound Ball
Advanced technique-wise for his age and now bigger and stronger, Geist has rarely been challenged during a still undefeated indoor season. He effectively ended this competition in the first round, extending his growing PR and US#2 performance to 66 feet, 0.75 inches.
“Well, sometimes your first throw will end up being your best throw," Geist said. “I always say that it is the smoothest, most controlled throw you will have in a meet.
“We call it a tempo throw, and this specific one just so happened to be as near a perfect throw as I have had all year. After my first throw going as far as it did, I made the mistake of going harder at it and losing control of my technique."
Not once dropping below 63 feet, Geist put together another remarkably consistent series. Hitting for 64-10 before a foul, the Knight closed with throws of 63-5.5, 63-3.5 and 64-6.25 for an average of 64-4.
“They did go right up the middle," the sophomore said. “That is all a matter of having good timing with the hips and the strike at the end of the throw."
Geist's opener was good enough for a lead of about nine feet on the field until Ohio's Ben Peterson hit a pair of PRs in rounds 4 and 6, reaching 59-6 with No. 4 and 60-7.75 with his final toss. Peterson's best is now US#10 but wasn't enough to threaten the sophomore standout.
“This week we were
actually trying to sort of stunt my progress and build it up and try to hit a
big one at states or nationals," said Geist, who has at least one put of 61-5
in six of eight meets so far in 2015. “Though I can't say I am disappointed in
my (first) throw."
Graca Plows Through Field in Lifetime Best
Heavy snow prevented a number of competitors from getting to Geneva, Ohio, forcing meet officials to juggle heats and the overall schedule. All of the heavy hitters were on the line for the boys' 800-meter run, including Michigan's Logan Wetzel, who entered the meet as US#2 in the mile after winning the New Balance Grand Prix race the weekend before.
However, no one in the two-section field of 16 ran as fast as Fox Chapel's Graca, who was the WPIAL (District 7) runner-up last year and carried a PR of 1:53.97 to SPIRE. That would not last the evening as Graca grabbed the lead after the opening 400 and held off a late rush by Wetzel to win in a new lifetime best of 1:53.13.
“Very surprised," Graca said of his new PR and US#5 performance. “I knew I had it in me, but I was definitely shocked to beat my outdoor time. I owe a lot to the competition."
And the field, which would have five break 1:57.4, owes Graca for making the race with his aggressive move at the midpoint.
Running in the second section, the Fox standout slipped into second behind Ohioan Brandon Phillips as the field cascaded to the curb after passing the break line. Graca stayed behind the early leader until the field of nine reached the 400 in about 56 seconds, and then Graca powered into first.
“I usually like to pick it up with 300 meters to go," the winner said. “The leader was close enough that I could kick and pass him at the same time, so I kinda just went for it.
“I also was keeping in mind that if I passed with authority, I could set the final lap pace for myself rather than having to hold on. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly my strategy is, but that move just felt natural in the moment."
As Graca picked up the pace and grabbed the lead, Wetzel also moved into fourth. The Michigan standout, who ran a pair of 1:53s in the 2014 outdoor season, was second and about 8 meters behind Graca with 300 to go.
“I don't like to look back during races, and I wasn't sure how far back Wetzel was until the last stretch," Graca said of his closest pursuer. “I could hear his footsteps and his breathing at that point, which scared me and helped me to keep my form and continue to push. I probably would have been a lot more freaked out had I known how amazing of a miler Wetzel is."
The lead grew to just over 10 meters during the final lap before Wetzel began to close the gap, but it was obvious that the Michigander would run out of track. The top three all broke the facility record of 1:55.10, and 13 of the 16 finishers were under 2:00.
“I've gained a lot of confidence in my ability to hang with the kids out east when the time comes," Graca said of his counterparts in Pennsylvania. “Since the beginning of the season, I've wanted to get a race time on record that would be close to theirs, and I'm glad to have become closer.
“Knowing I have the ability to put down a 1:53 at this point in the year has secured the idea in my mind that I have a shot at the (state) indoor title and a better base than I could have imagined for outdoor. It's going to be an awesome last year for sure!"