There was no way to know what was going to happen in the final lap of the boys elite mile at the Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays on Friday night.
Going into the final lap, Lincoln’s Samy Anderson led the pack, with Wilsonville’s Carter Cutting in second and Central Catholic’s Wesley Shipsey in third. As the group ran around the penultimate turn, several moves were made.
Tyler Sainsbury of Rocky Mountain (Idaho) took over the top spot. Crater’s Tyrone Gorze, who was in eighth place, needed to move.
Gorze, who was boxed in among the group, had to run out into the third lane to get to the front of the pack.
The final 100-yards of the mile were a footrace between Sainsbury and Gorze. Sainsbury won in four minutes, 05.407 seconds. Gorze was second in 4:05.462.
“I was feeling really good going into the last lap,” Gorze said. “I knew I can make up a lot of ground. I was eighth, but I was still in the mix. I wasn’t too far back, maybe I was a little too far back than I would have liked. I made my move about 20 meters too late. I feel like I left too much room. I’m a little disappointed, honestly.”
Wilsonville’s Cutting finished third in 4:06.430.
The result was a personal best for Gorze. Just a week prior, in the Oregon Relays at Hayward Field, Gorze ran a 4:08.30.
“It’s still a (personal record). It’s still a good day. I had a pretty tough double last week with the (two mile) and one mile and only coming back six days later. I’m proud of what I did today. I just feel like I left a little too much room.”
After competing in the Oregon Relays and the Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays in back-to-back weeks, Gorze said his biggest takeaway from facing tough competition has been getting into the shape be wants to be in for the state championships.
“Just getting more fit and just learning how to race again,” Gorze said. “I haven’t done too many outdoor races, so kind of just getting back into the hang of these.”
A distance runner, Gorze is used to longer, slower paced races. The mile presents a different challenge to the future Washington Husky, and on Friday it included a full sprint at the end against another elite runner.
“I was just trying to give it my all towards the end,” he said. “I knew I could have gotten him if I made my move a little bit earlier because I was all the way out in lane three with 200 to go passing everybody off.”
Another thing that changes when Gorze competes in the mile is that there is a lot less time to adjust to positioning in the group. He said being boxed in during the mile is a lot more scary than being boxed in during a longer race.
“I was boxed in for three laps, honestly,” he said. “I didn’t get the position that I wanted at the start. But I mean, that’s all a part of it. I’m still learning.”
— Nik Streng, nstreng@oregonian.com, @NikStreng
