Willis, Brannen Compete in 800 at Victoria Track Classic
6/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
VICTORIA, B.C. -- University of Michigan junior Nate Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS) and sophomore Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) continued their elite-level racing schedule with an appearance in the 800-meter run at the Victoria International Track Classic on Friday (June 11).
Willis registered a personal-best 1:47.38 to win the 'B' race, shaving 1.60 seconds from the previous mark which he had set three years ago while still in high school. The Wolverine came through the first 400 meters in the fourth position with a split of 53.0. With 250 meters remaining, he made his move into the third position and continued to gain ground coming down the final stretch, pulling even with race-leader Bryan Woodward with just 80 meters to go. Willis used his kick to move around Woodward and collect the victory, finishing 0.19 seconds ahead of the American runner-up. The performance was not quite enough to give Willis the Olympic 'B' qualifying standard in the event as he missed the mark by just 0.38 seconds.
Brannen made his return to the track after suffering an ankle injury four weeks earlier, running in the international 'A' race. With the first 400 meters going at slow 52.8 split, finishing times were not as high as were expected. Brannen came through the midway point in the race in the seventh position, but down the final backstretch, he had moved out to lane three to pass three runners into the fourth position. Coming home, the Wolverine tightened up, dropping back into seventh to post a time of 1:47.63, just 1.24 seconds shy of the top spot, held by Canada's Gary Reed.
Both runners will wrap up their West Coast racing schedule with an appearance at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday (June 19) at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. Brannen is slated to appear in the 1,500-meter run at 1:20 p.m. PDT while Willis will run the premier event -- the Bowerman mile -- at 2:46 p.m.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
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