Lewiston’s Isaiah Harris is an NCAA champion.
Harris, a 21-year-old junior at Penn State University, ran down race favorite Michael Saruni of Texas El-Paso over the final 300 meters Friday night to win the men’s 800-meter final at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Saruni, the collegiate record holder in the event with a best of 1:43.25 on April 28, surged to the front at the outset of the second and final lap of the race, held amid rainy conditions.
Harris, who was running sixth at the 400-meter mark in 51.54 seconds, then went to the outside as Saruni surged toward the front.
Saruni moved out to a slight lead with 300 meters remaining but Harris — known for his finishing kick — picked up the pace rounding the final turn and raced past Suruni approximately 75 meters from the finish.
The Lewiston High School graduate, who finished second in this race a year ago in 1:45.40, sprinted to the finish line in a time of 1:44.76 — the second-fastest 800 time of his career.
“Right after we split 400, we started picking up the pace,” said Harris after the race. “We started decently fast, but it was coming out of the turn at 500 to 600, we kind of made a big move and it turned into a sprint there. Saruni went right around me and I went with him. During the last 200 I tried to not let him open up a gap and I came up on the last turn on his shoulder.
“I kept telling myself, ‘Finish, finish,’ my legs starting tightening up, but I knew I needed to finish the race. I willed myself to the end, I would say.”
Harris clocked a time of 53.22 seconds for the final 400 meters to capture Penn State’s first NCAA outdoor men’s title since Brian Milne won the discus in 1993 and the first 800-meter run championship since 1923. In 1922 and 1923, Alan Helffrich won what was then the 880-yard run.
Marco Arop, a freshman from Mississippi State, passed the fading Saruni to finish second in 1:45.25, while Saruni was third in 1:45.31.
Harris came into the race with the third-fastest time from Wednesday’s qualifying heats, 1:46.99.
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