Azusa, Calif. — Four Waves set season-bests and four more runners had top-five finishes in their heats of the 1,500-meter dash as the Pepperdine track team closed out the first day of the APU Last Chance Meet on Friday.
One of the standout performances of the night came courtesy of Preston Gromer (Casper, Wyo./Kelly Walsh HS), who placed second in the third heat of the men's 1,500 meters. The senior knifed through the front pack on the bell lap and made a move on the final turn. He traded the lead in the home stretch and finished in a 4:02.57. This time was also a lifetime PR, edging the time he ran last season by 35-hundredths of a second.
In the previous heat, senior Tim Wells (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs HS) broke off with the lead pack late in the race, momentarily held the lead and finished in fifth with a 4:07.20 — a seven-second improvement from the last time he raced the 1,500 meters earlier this season.
Earlier that evening, freshman Ryan Hemphill (Visalia, Calif./Redwood HS) used a strong second-half performance, moved into the lead at the bell lap and won his heat of the 1,500 in 4:07.75. Hemphill ran the majority of the last lap with lead of over 20 meters.
Elsewhere in Hemphill's heat, fellow freshman Austin Gromer (Casper, Wyo./Mountain View HS) placed fifth with a new lifetime PR of 4:14.41.
THE RUNDOWN
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Freshman Johnathan Flint (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound HS) ran the Waves' second-fastest time of the day with a 4:04.77.
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On the women's side, Riley Wright (Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol HS) broke five minutes once again by finishing sixth in her heat with a 4:54.45.
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Running unattached in heat three, sophomore Olivia Miller (Tallahassee, Fla./Lawton Chiles HS) ran a 4:53.32.
NEXT UP: Day two of the APU Last Chance meet starts Saturday, May 15. Senior Brandon Davis (Troy, Mich./Troy HS) will lead off the Waves in the third heat of the 400 meters, which is expected to start at around 2:45 p.m.
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