The Stars Show Up for the Final High Performance Meet

By Scott Bush

The House of Track has been a nice addition to the Portland-area track and field community. The World Indoor Championship track, staged in a warehouse along the Willamette River, hosts its fourth and final high performance meet of the year Friday and fans are in for a treat.

We break down the five must-watch events, as Olympians and rising stars square off one more time in Portland before the track is broken down and shipped over to the Portland Convention Center, where it will be reconstructed for the USATF Indoor Championships and IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Women’s 60m

It's an epic clash of talent in the women's 60m dash Friday evening, as Allyson Felix squares off against the young and talented duo of English Gardner and Jenna Prandini. All three represented Team USA last summer in Beijing and all three earned silver in the 4x100m relay, as Gardner ran leadoff, handing off to Felix, who handed off to Prandini. 

Both Gardner and Prandini were recently listed as two of the ten American track and field athletes under 25 to watch in 2016, while everyone knows about the growing legendary status of Felix. 

For Felix, Friday evening represents the start of the season and same for Gardner. However, Prandini opened up at the House of Track two weeks ago with a 7.28 clocking. All three will seek to get as close to 7.20 as possible as the USATF Indoor Championships and IAAF World Indoor Championships loom.

Men’s 3,000m

While the women's 60m race is loaded up top, the men's 3,000m has talent up top and incredible depth. Start with Matthew Centrowitz. The Nike Oregon Project star enters Friday's race coming off a 3:54 mile performance at the Camel City Elite Races last weekend (who can forget this?). Clearly in shape, Centrowitz will test his strength once again and won't be alone up front.

Centrowitz is joined by Arizona-based training partners Lawi Lalang and Stephen Sambu, OTC Elite teammates Hassan Mead, Ben Blankenship and Tom Farrell, along with Canadian Cam Levins, former NCAA steeplechase champion Anthony Rotich and former Duck All-Americans Trevor Dunbar and Will Geoghegan. 

For many in this group, Friday's contest will mark the start to their 2016 campaign, but a few have notable performances already this season. Lalang finished a close second to Garrett Heath over 3,000m at the Camel City Elite Races last weekend, narrowly losing 7:48.48-7:50.07. Levins finished fourth in the 3,000m at the House of Track two weeks ago with a 7:52.67 effort, while Dunbar won a mile contest at the University of Washington last month in 4:01.41.

Depending on how quickly this race gets off the line, fans should expect to see a race that should push the 7:45 barrier, if not faster. 

Women’s 800m

The women's 800m race is going to be a fun one. Olympian Shannon Rowbury leads the charge, coming off a fine 4:26.01 mile win at the Camel City Elite Races last weekend, while owning another world best in the 3,000m with her 8:53.52 win at the House of Track back on January 15. Rowbury is once again showing her world-class range, stepping down to the 800m distance, where she could very well challenge the two-minute barrier this time around. 

Rowbury is joined by Nike Oregon Project teammate Treniere Moser, who's ramping up her season and looking to make a push to make yet another Team USA squad. Moser finished second in the 1,000m at the USATF Indoor Championships last year and hopes to continue that success as the 2016 indoor season progresses. 

Finishing fourth in the 1,000m at the USATF Indoor Championships last winter, Charlene Lipsey looks to start her season on a strong note, as does French runner Justine Fredonic and Brooks Beasts' Megan Malasarte, who finished third at the USATF Indoor Championships in 2015 over the 600m distance.

Perhaps the most capable athlete to upset Rowbury though is McKayla Fricker, who's run 2:05.97 and 2:06.08 already this season and could very well drop a second or two off her seasonal best on Friday.

Men’s 800m

There's a good deal of talent in the men's 800m, led by a trio of OTC Elite teammates. Harun Abda, Tyler Mulder and Andrew Wheating are each looking to take the win Friday. Abda and Mulder are both looking to build momentum on their seasons, especially Mulder who ran a 1:51.33 and seeks to get back to the form he showed in 2014. 

The pre-race favorite heading into Friday's contest though is Andrew Wheating. The Olympian ran a world-leading 1,500m mark at the House of Track two weeks ago, when he scored a big win in 3:39.82, well ahead of runner-up Trevor Dunbar. Wheating is healthy, fit and could very well push a sub-1:48 clocking. 

Add to the mix Mark Wieczorek, James Eichberger and Travis Burkstrand and you have a field well capable of having numerous athletes dip under 1:49 or even 1:48. If last week's 1:46.00 showing by Boris Berian says anything, it's that the House of Track track is lightning quick and ready to handle even more fast performances.

Men’s 1,500m

Few events will be more fascinating to follow Friday evening at the House of Track than the men's 1,500m. There are a variety of contenders who could very well take the crown, but few true 1,500m specialists. Leading the start lists is OTC Elite's Ben Blankenship.

Blankenship has been one of the finest American middle distance runners over the past two years. He placed second in the mile at the USATF Indoor Championships last year, then doubling back to finish second in the two mile. While he may run solely the 3,000m on Friday, if he is in the 1,500m he cannot be overlooked and would enter as the pre-race favorite. 

Two weeks ago at the House of Track, Paul Chelimo outkicked Nike Oregon Project's Eric Jenkins for the win in the men's 3,000m, 7:44.68-7:45.14. The two are ready to clash again, this time in the 1,500m. Chelimo and Jenkins are both 5,000m talents moving down to test their speed, so while it remains to be seen if they can kick to victory with the true burners in the field, they'll contend for top two finishes. 

Added to the mix, Canadian Luc Bruchet looks to fine tune his speed, while Brooks Beasts teammates Cas Loxsom and Dorian Ulrey seek to add fine performances to the momentum they are building this indoor season.