June 25, 2010

• Live Results  |  Live Webcast

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Keeping up with Bernard Lagat is one thing.

As Tim Nelson can attest, beating him is something entirely different.

Nelson put himself in position to compete with the multiple-time world champion but settled for a runner-up finish Friday in the 5,000 meters at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The former standout for the Wisconsin men’s track and field team ran a time of 13:54.80 to finish just back of Lagat, who claimed the U.S. title in 13:54.08. The performance came on the heels of Nelson’s third-place finish in the 10,000 meters at last year’s USA championships.

“The plan for the race was to secure second and then do whatever I can to figure out how to beat Lagat,” Nelson said. “That’s a pretty tough task. I did the first objective, but Lagat is the best technician ever.”

Nelson was on Lagat’s shoulder as the leaders took the bell lap, but he couldn’t make his way past the American record-holder down the stretch.

“Earlier I thought, ‘Maybe I should just take the lead and go for it’ with about 600 to go,’” Nelson said. “But then I kind of thought twice, ‘I’m going to do whatever it takes to get second rather than lose it because I did something rash.’”

Tegenkamp, Bolas advance to 1,500 final
Also on the track, a pair of athletes with Wisconsin ties pushed their way through the first round of the 1,500 meters while two others fell short.

Senior Jack Bolas tied for the eighth-fastest time in the field at 3:40.23 to place himself among the 12 competitors that advanced to Sunday’s event final.

The field for that final is looking up at former Badger and 2008 Olympian Matt Tegenkamp, who posted the fastest overall qualifying time at 3:39.57.

Senior Craig Miller came up just short of advancing to the USA championships final for the second-consecutive year, as his 3:41.09 stacked up 15th-fastest. Miller placed sixth at the 2009 USA Outdoor Championships.

Also left out of the final was former Badger and 2009 IAAF World Championships qualifier Evan Jager, who stepped off the track just one lap into the race with an apparent foot injury.

Tegenkamp and Bolas will race in the 1,500 meters final at 2:40 p.m. Sunday during NBC’s live coverage window from 2-3 p.m.

Big day has Detmer third in decathlon
In the decathlon, former Badger Joe Detmer stormed out of the gates with the best opening day of his career, racking up 4,142 points to stand third at the event’s midway point.

Detmer’s tally puts him 99 points ahead of his previous personal-best total through five events, the 4,043 points he scored on the first day of the USA vs. Germany Thorpe Cup competition in 2008.

The performance has Detmer just 92 points back of first-day leader Tom Pappas, who tallied 4,234 points. Texas A&M’s Trinity Otto stands second with a 10-point cushion over Detmer at 4,152.

In his last appearance at Drake Stadium, Detmer claimed the decathlon title at the 2008 Drake Relays. His return began with a personal-best time of 10.80 seconds in the 100 meters, a wind-aided mark that slipped under his lifetime-best that had stood for six years.

Only Otto was faster in the opening event, clocking in at 10.73.

Otto also was the only competitor to post a better mark than Detmer in the long jump, with Detmer posting a lifetime-best leap of 24 feet, 3/4 inches on his second attempt. Otto led the way at 24-3 1/2.

If there was a weak spot for Detmer it came in the shot put, where he posted a best throw of 40-7 that placed him at the back of the field in the event.

He bounced back in the high jump, however, clearing 6-6 1/4. The mark was Detmer’s best high jump overall in three years and stands as his career-best in a decathlon competition.

As usual, Detmer closed out the first day on a strong note in the 400 meters with a time of 47.78 that was the class of the field.

Detmer will finish the final five events of the decathlon Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m.

Niedermeyer takes seventh in pole vault
A former teammate of Detmer, Darren Niedermeyer also is a Drake Relays champion after claiming the 2010 meet’s pole vault title in April. His return appearance didn’t end with the same result, but Niedermeyer emerged as one of nine competitors to clear their opening height.

He finished in a tie for seventh by getting over the bar at 17-6 1/2. Mark Hollis claimed the national title with a clearance at 18-4 1/2.