Ryan Wolff competes at the Buckeye Invitational, look for him to come away from Tolleson with a medal or two. Arizona Milesplit Photo.
While sprinters usually get the press some of the most talented runners at the Tolleson Invite are in the distance events. Don't let Simon Paige's 9:52 3200 PR fool you, the 4:15 1600 he ran at Chandler and the 15:19 5k he dropped at Desert Twilight show that he is poised to go much faster. Millennium's Ryan Wolff is another athlete dropping PR's left and right including his 4:27 1600 at the Chandler Rotary. Based on his 15:45 cross country best, he's another athlete who can be expected to run well under his seed.
The 1600 features three young runners competing far above their experience levels. Matthew Bradley (4:39) of Prescott was the top freshman at the Division II state cross country finals. Already under 10 minutes in the 3200, expect him to challenge the 4:30 barrier Saturday. Aron Orar from Central did not run cross country this year, but based on early returns should do so in 2015. His 4:43 at the Husky Invite places him among the top 5 frosh in the state and the third seed here. The first seed is Casa Grande sophomore Nick Olivarez (4:35). After focusing on the 800 last year he may have found his niche.
Don't think Olivarez has given up on the 800 though. He is already the Husky Invite champion, having dropped a 2:01 in his only effort at the distance so far. He is not the top seed here however, Kevin Alvarez (2:00.35) of Sedona Red Rock is. Alvarez has two invite golds already this year and hopes to add a third Saturday. Exactly what you would expect from someone who placed 8th at the Division III state finals last season.
The 4x800 can be hard to predict, since the fast heat of the 3200 will be run before it, but look for top seeds Sedona (8:36) and Westwood (8:40) near the front and don't be surprised to see the Flagstaff schools in the mix as well.