GREENSBORO, N.C. – Trevor Dunbar made his move with just over two laps to go and no could have expected it would look quite the way it did. No one could have expected that the senior from Alaska's Kodiak High would drop the curtain on the race, that he would bury everyone before the bell lap.
But that was kind of surge that Dunbar produced with 800 meters left in the 2-mile Friday at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. Before anyone could react – and no one did – Dunbar had run away with the national championship, raising his fist skyward as he crossed the finish in 8 minutes, 49.17 seconds, the fastest time in the country this season.
"I didn't want to sit around and wait for (Andrew) Springer (of Westley, R.I.) to kick," Dunbar said. "With 900 meters left, I decided to surge a little bit and I felt good and I built a little lead so I wanted to keep going."
Any finishing kick that anyone tried to reserve evaporated as Dunbar pulled away. Zachary Willis of Mason, Ohio, finished second in 8:55.18 and Illinois' Lukas Verzbicas, who had the nation's previous leading mark, placed third in 8:55.58. It's no wonder that Dunbar wanted to get away early considering the conditions. He isn't used to pack running nor is the Alaskan accustomed to humid, 90-plus degree days. He arrived in North Carolina Wednesday to get acclimated and made a point to stay extra hydrated.
"It's still horribly hot out here," he said.
Chelsey Sveinsson certainly didn't have to adjust to the weather. The Greenhill (Texas) sophomore broke her class national record, winning the girls 2-mile in 10:04.85. She topped Jordan Hasay's 2007 record of 10:07.56. Sveinsson said she intended to break 10 minutes but a pedestrian early pace hindered that attempt.
"My coach and I have been working on muscle memory and pacing," she said. "We've been doing everything at 75-second pace."
That meant her legs couldn't handle the slow pace. It simply made her uncomfortable. So Sveinsson took off. After the race, Sveinsson was already looking forward to the mile Saturday where she could complete a high school season where she filled the spotlight that Hasay vacated last year.
"Who doesn't like the attention?" she said with a smile and added that she's kept a level head. "Going to the Reebok meet in New York (and running the 1500) and seeing how the athletes there conducted themselves on and off the track really helped me as an athlete."
New Bern's Wayne Davis II is another athlete that has remained poised while elevating himself as one of the best high school hurdlers ever. Davis won the 110 hurdles, running 13.37 into a slight headwind after clocking 13.33 in the preliminary heats, the sixth-fastest time in United States history.
"I was pretty excited after the trials but I wasn't as excited for the finals because my major competition, Justin Crawford, wasn't there," Davis said. "I know that if he's there he's going to push me and I'm going to push him to run even faster."
Davis admitted he surprised even himself in the trials but further legitimized the time with his race in the finals. He was a half-second faster than the next finisher.
"My start was great," he said. "That was the best start I've had in a long time. … I really want to be at another level. I'm happy with this race but I just want to go out and run even faster."
Chalonda Goodman of Newman (Ga.) won the girls 100 meters in 11.38 but set a meet record in the trial heats in 11.30. It was the third consecutive national title in the 100 for Goodman, who will compete at the University of Texas.
"I was more pumped up and excited for the final," she said about her race in the trials. "I was just ready to go after that. … I was just really focusing on the start coming in."
The start kept her even with sophomore Octavious Freeman of Lake Wales, Fla. Then Goodman pulled away in the last 30 meters. Freeman finished second in 11.66.
Notes
Boys 100: Dentarius Locke of Tampa, Fla., won a close race in 10.59, two-hundredths of a second ahead of Bradley Sylve (Port Sulphur, L.A.) in 10.61. Prezel Hardy (Tx.) finished third in 10.62. "I knew he has an amazing start," Locke said of Hardy. "I came in thinking about the end of the race. My coach told me that it would come down to the last 40 meters and that's what we worked on all week."
Boys javelin: Sophomore Devin Bogert (Tomball, Texas) upset Justin Shirk (Harrisburg, Pa.) winning on his final attempt in 208 feet, 3 inches. "I felt alright. I was expecting to throw further. I guess I didn't have my 100 percent."
Girls shot put: Emily Vannoy (Fredrick, Md.) avenged a disappointing performance at the indoor nationals where she fouled out. Vannoy won Friday with a toss of 48-2.50 on her last attempt. The senior said since indoor nationals, she hasn't even been allowed to foul in practice. "If I fouled I had to run so I tried my best to stay in the circle," she said.