Woods Repeats Dual Titles at Canadian Junior Event
7/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
MONTREAL, Quebec -- University of Michigan sophomore-to-be Mike Woods (Ottawa, Ontario/Hillcrest HS) successfully defended his men's 1,500- and 5,000-meter crowns at the Canadian Junior Track and Field Championships (July 8-10) to officially punch his ticket to the Pan American Junior Championships, scheduled for July 29-31 in Winsor, Ontario.
Woods posted a time of 3:56.49 in a slow and tactical 1,500-meter final Sunday (July 10), using his kick to take control with 500 meters remaining, and reached the finish line more than two seconds ahead of runner-up Braden Novakowski. It was Woods' second consecutive title in the event; he claimed runner-up honors in 2003.
The Wolverine opened the competition with a huge personal best in the 5,000-meter run on the first day of the meet, repeating as the event champion with a time of 14:15.86. In his first 5,000-meter race of the year, Woods shaved nearly nine seconds from his previous best to dominate the 30-man field, beating runner-up Jake Gallagher by 30 seconds.
The performance at the junior nationals comes on the heels of Woods' record-breaking 3,000-meter run at the Brooks Summer Twilight meet a week prior when he became the first Canadian under 20 years of age to run sub-8:00. Woods clocked 7:58.04 to establish a new Candian junior standard, shaving nearly two seconds from the previous record, set by Greg Anderson in 1987, and bettering his own personal best in the event by four seconds.
The trip to the Pan American Championships will be the second for Woods. In 2003, he claimed third place in the 1,500-meter event.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
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