Top Talent Required To Drive The Paces Needed To Help Runners Qualify For NCAAs

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

John Nepolitan photos

A weekend of ambitious racing this weekend at the Husky Classic at the Dempsey Indoor facility in Seattle requires capable pacing and a couple of talented young pros will be enlisted to aid the effort. 

Sam Prakel and Anna Camp-Bennett, who both run for adidas, both have weekend schedules that call for both racing and rabbiting. 

Prakel, a 2018 Oregon graduate, is training in Seattle this winter and coached by Washington's Andy Powell, is planning to pace the men's 3,000 meters Friday night and then come back the next day to race the 800. 

"It brings more meaning to my weekend," Prakel said. "But I've been helped by others that same way in the past."

WATCH THE HUSKY CLASSIC LIVE WEBCAST FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

It may take 7:48 or faster to qualify for the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships in the 3,000 meters next month and a handful fo the top runners in the country, including Northern Arizona's Nico Young and Drew Bosley, are hoping to nail down qualifying performances. 

"It's crazy how fast it's going to take for these guys to get to nationals this year," Prakel said. "It's pretty hard to be accurate on the pacing, and be even, and then wind up the race the right way. I'll be taking my job seriously on Friday."

Camp-Bennett, who won the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor 1,500 meters last June for BYU, is racing in the Lilac Grand Prix in Spokane, in the women's 1,500 on Friday. Then, she's flying to Seattle to pace the women's 800 meters and mile Saturday. 

"I'm looking forward to a fun weekend," Camp-Bennett said. "There were lots ot times (at BYU) I would race and then come back to pace something for my teammates, which I always find pretty fun."

The women's 800 at the Husky Classic includes BYU's Claire Seymour, Lauren Ellsworth and Meghan Hunter, along with McKenna Keegan of Villanova and Carley Thomas of Washington. 

The mile field includes NCAA Indoor 3,000-meter champion Courtney Wayment and Arkansas' Krissy Gear and Lauren Gregory, among others. 

"The Dempsey is always one of my favorite places to race," Camp-Bennett said. "I'm excited to race at The Podium and just get more experience running as a pro with other great runners, and I always love to pace to help others hit goals as well. I find that very rewarding."

Prakel said he got his first taste of pacing as a freshman at Oregon and it's been part of his meet experience ever since. 

"It's definitely something I've done for a while," he said. "It gives me a chance to get in extra work on the weekend and help some guys out. With a pace job on Friday night and racing on Saturday, it's good practice to run that 800 on tired legs. It helps me get more out of the weekend and put a few different paces in the legs."