Camden Gillis Grinds Out A 1600 Win
If all you had seen or heard ended with the CHSAA cross country season this past fall, you likely would have regarded Grant Hughes as a somewhat prohibitive favorite in the 1600. You would have had no clue who Alec Tanaka was, and you might have remembered Camden Gillis as a 4:51 guy from track last spring.
It didn't take even a full lap for that script to get tossed out the window.
Tanaka took it out hard on the first lap and put Gillis in his rear view mirror. And, even from the early going, Hughes let go of contact with the two leaders.
Tanaka build his lead on lap two and maintained his lead on lap three. There was a hopeful look in his eyes with 500 meters to go, suggesting he may have thought he had the race in hand. Indeed, his lead was substantial.
But, Gillis came charging hard on the final lap. With a little less than 200 meters remaining, Gillis made the pass and was not heard from again until sweaty bodies were exchanging "Nice job!" comments on the far side of the finish line.
Gillis' 4:42 whacks nine seconds off his PR and puts him in the hunt for a 3A state qualifying berth.
Tanaka and Hughes ended up at 4:48 and 4:51, respectively. They'll need bigger times down the road if they mean to step to the start line on May 20.