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Matt Tegenkamp won his first national title as an open athlete (he won a cross country title as a junior in 2001) by simply outrunning everyone else in the 3,000m, just as he had been expected to do. Tegenkamp, who ran 7:40 earlier in the season, chose to run in the middle of the 14-athlete pack as Kyle King and Thomas Morgan of ZAP Fitness set a honest early pace (2:38 at the first 1,000m split, a 7:54 pace). Then, with Jon Riley (a three-time previous winner of this event) shadowing him, Tegenkamp worked through the pack, eventually breaking in to the lead just after the pack passed the mile mark and the pace threatened to lag.
After that, it was just about wearing out his remaining pursuers. Riley and second-seeded Sean Graham hung on to Tegenkamp as long as they could, but the always-gaunt Graham looked positively haunted as the other pair started to slip away from him. Riley, who has made a career by materializing championship coins from the ears of the people who underestimated him, wore the grim look of someone who knows his tricks aren't going to work. Tegenkamp entered the last lap with nobody on his shoulder; he won in 7:46.08, followed by Riley in 7:49.73 and Graham in 7:52.31 (a PR).
"I wanted to not run hard right from the gun," explained Tegenkamp. "I wanted to work my way up. [The fast seed time] gave me confidence coming in, knowing I could run my own race plan. It went out faster than I expected; I had expected a slower, more tactical race. I was confident that I could run with anybody in this race, and I didn't think anybody was going to get away from me."
"Winning a U.S. championship, no matter what it's in, is always a huge step, and it's a great thing."
Missing from the field was Bernard Lagat, who set the American record with a 7:32.43 just a week earlier in Birmingham, England.
Posted by Parker Morse at 7:28 p.m. | Tags: Race Reports, 2007 USA Indoor T&F Champs