Rakestraw Rocks at Championships

Brian Rakestraw on his way to breaking the 22 year old 10,000 meter school record

May 8, 2008

GRESHAM, Ore. - At the opening day of the Cascade Conference Championships, Brian Rakestraw impressed with a third place finish, school record and a NAIA National Championships provisional qualifying mark. Ideal conditions plus great competition equaled fast times, helping five men dip under the meet record.

Less than a mile into the race, a pack of eight runners pulled away from the field, each of them intent on posting a good time and pulling off a possible victory. Rakestraw stuck to the pack as they rolled through a 5:07 per mile pace, which at times was erratic as each leader attempted to break down the group size.

The midway point (5k) was reached in 15:57 and shortly after the pack dropped three runners. Sensing the pace slowing in the 5th mile, Rakestraw took the lead for two laps to get back on pace.

Tim Badley of Concordia University, with the fastest seed time in the field, and Jesse Chlebeck of The College of Idaho answered the challenge and split off to fetch Rakestraw. After passing a tired Rakestraw, Badley and Chlebeck dueled to the finish, with Chlebeck taking the win by a stride.

Rakestraw matched his '07 third place finish, but in a field that was much deeper than the previous year. His time of 31:54.54 was well under the "B" standard for the National Champs and just four seconds shy of the "A" standard as he went on to shatter the previous school record of 32:17.

Also in the race for Evergreen was Chris Johnson. The freshman posted a personal best time of 39:37 for 17th place.

The 10,000 meter races were the only final on Thursday, putting Evergreen in third place in the team standings with 6 points.

Diann Leo competed in the women's 10,000 meters, setting a personal best of 45:29 and placing 13th.

All three 10,000 meter runners will resume competition Saturday in the 5,000 meters. The remainder of the Geoducks start their competitions today.

Track and Field fans can find info and view results at the Cascade Conference website