The men’s 1500m is heating up big time at Payton Jordan, with an overload of professionals, top collegiates and even high school standout Grant Fisher. Lawi Lalang, German Fernandez, Cristian Soratos, and Fisher, just to name a few, are set to lace up and chase ‘A’ standards at Cobb Track this Saturday. With a field of this caliber, the name of the game will be: Run fast, take chances.

 

“Run fast” always goes without saying, but as the entries show, these athletes have a unique opportunity to mix it up with the best of the best and chase times as opposed to racing tactically for points or place. Nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

 

Let’s run through some of the top names:

 

Lawi Lalang - Former Arizona Wildcat and eight-time NCAA Champion is set to make his outdoor track debut after clocking a 3:57 mile at the Millrose Games in Feb. and a World lead 13:32 in the road 5k in Carlsbad. As we’ve witnessed in the past, Lalang is an athlete of exceptional range with a 1500m personal best of 3:33 and a 5k mark of 13:00. Guaranteed that the Kenyan is going after the World ‘A’ standard this weekend.

 

German Fernandez - The Bowerman Track Club standout is an interesting athlete in that we have yet to see too many breakout performances from him since turning pro. But this year, we may have a blossoming Fernandez on our hands. At Stanford Invite, Fernandez muscled the win in the 1500m in 3:43, not a crazy impressive mark considering his PB is 3:34, but what was significant is that it was Oklahoma State grad’s first win on the track since 2012. 2015 may be the year Fernandez finally hits his stride. 

 

Cristian Soratos - The Montana State runner emerged on the scene this indoor season in a big way, first with a 4:05 mile at the Montana State Open at 5,000 ft. altitude, which converted to a 3:56 mile. He kept the track community on their toes after running 3:55 at the Husky Classic in a solo effort. At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Soratos executed some of the most shocking race tactics in a championship, splitting 53 seconds in the middle of the mile final. Oregon’s Edward Cheserek ultimately won the race, but the move was burned into middle distance runners’ brains for the rest of the season. The Bobcat returned to the track after recovering from a minor injury after indoor, and has since clocked a 3:41 at Mt. SAC. 

 

Michael Atchoo - Speaking of Mt. SAC, former Stanford All American Michael Atchoo has been one of the few runners to beat Soratos at his own game. Atchoo recently out-kicked Soratos for the win at the Mt. SAC Relays, running a season’s best 3:40 for the win. He also recently ran a PB of 1:49.81 in the 800m at the Beach Invitational, indicating that the Strava T.C. athlete is ready to pop off a big race on his alma mater’s track. 

 

Grant Fisher - The Stanford commit will get a taste for serious competition this weekend after finishing runner-up to Poland’s Grzegorz Kalinowski at the "GINA" Relays in Hillsdale, Michigan. The high schooler ran a PB of 3:46.15, which probably won’t be fast enough to get in the fast heat at Payton Jordan, but will give him plenty of opportunity to run fast in a stacked field on his soon-to-be home track. 

 

Nick Symmonds and Dorian Ulrey - The Brooks Beasts teammates are ready to roll in their first 1500m runs since 2013. Symmonds suffered from injury during most of the 2014 season, and has yet to race on the outdoor track in 2015, but has been very vocal about his intentions to pursue the 1500m this year. The World Championship 800m Silver Medalist is always an entertaining addition to any race, and should be ready to open up well after spending a month training in Flagstaff, Arizona at altitude. Ulrey will also be an interesting addition to the mix considering it will be his first race in a Brooks Beast uniform since leaving the Nike Oregon Project and training independently. His PB in the 1500m (3:35.23) is from 2009, but with several healthy training blocks, we may see a renewed Dorian Ulrey return to the track. 

 

Evan Jager, Ryan Hill, and Andy Bayer - The Bowerman Track Club trio may not be running their specialties this weekend, but they are always ones to watch no matter the event. All three are making their outdoor debuts after stellar indoor seasons. Steeplechase master Jager clocked a PB in the mile at the Millrose Games, running 3:55 for eighth-place. 5k guru Hill is returning from winning the two-mile at the USATF Indoor Championships, and steeplechase newcomer Bayer finished seventh in the mile at the championships. All three runners will more than likely look to mix it up with some real speed work this weekend. 

 

Many more top contenders make up the list of entries in this weekend’s field, but the bottom line is that the men’s 1500m at Payton Jordan is the perfect opportunity for ‘A’ standards, NCAA qualifying marks and PBs galore!