Swarthmore Last Chance Meet
In a time of the year where collegiate track and field athletes are taking one more shot at qualifying for NCAA championships, last chance meets are the only opportunity for an athlete to breathe life into their NCAA dreams. They travel far and wide, usually in small numbers to do something very special. The environment is like any other meet. From a far away glance you would assume that this was a pretty small, low key meet but nothing is further from the truth. The lull between races is quickly contrasted with a sudden boom of energy in the form of coaches, teammates and fans bursting with support and trying to offer an ounce of energy to help that athlete drop another second, half second, tenth of a second to make their dreams come true.
Very Nice Track Club
A former athlete of mine text me earlier saying she spotted David Torrence at her local coffee shop in Media, PA. I immediately made the connection and figured he was attempting a fast time at the last chance meet. After a quick exchange on twitter, I was driving down 476 to document this attempt. Consisting mainly of athletes of Coach Ron Warhurst’s Very Nice Track Club, the race was an attempt at running the 1500 meter Olympic A standard. Nick Willis graciously offered to tow his teammates and several other athletes along to help them achieve their dream. This include athletes from New Zealand, Canada, Australia, UK and the US. All athletes, that if end up qualifying, will be competing against each other in Rio. It’s an amazing story and wonderful act of selflessness. It’s one of the beauties of our sport of track and field that very often goes unseen.
Nick Willis put it best on his Instagram post.
(If you are an athlete or one of the brands and would like an image without watermark to post on social, please email me david_bracetty@yahoo.com)
Athlete Photos
1. | Torrence, David | Hoka One | 3:36.06 | – | 1(1) | ||
2. | Matthews, Julian | Saucony | 3:36.14 | – | 1(2) | ||
3. | Carson, Hamish | Nike NZ | 3:36.25 | – | 1(3) | ||
4. | Emmanuel, Lee | Hoka One | 3:36.29 | – | 1(4) | ||
5. | Awad, Thomas | SR-4 | Penn | 3:37.75 | – | 1(5) | ![]() |
6. | Speakman, Eric | New Zealand | 3:37.85 | – | 1(6) | ||
7. | Callaghan, Peter | Unattached | 3:37.87 | – | 1(7) | ||
8. | Brannen, Nate | Saucony | 3:38.04 | – | 1(8) | ||
9. | Lear, Will | Nike | 3:39.09 | – | 1(9) | ||
10. | Solis, Dusty | Big Bear TC | 3:39.32 | – | 1(10) | ||
11. | O’toole, Garett | Unattached | 3:39.34 | – | 1(11) | ||
12. | Castle, Daniel | Unattached | 3:40.36 | – | 1(12) | ||
13. | Huffer, Craig | Australia | 3:41.43 | – | 1(13) |
Great Event. Great Story. Great Racing…
Only thing missing: There was no announcing at all about who these guys were or
what was going on!! Anyone there (and I was one) had to figure it all out on his own..
IMHO, they all might have run a bit faster if an announcer had urged spectators to
give these valiant runners some vocal encouragement. All best, Elliott Denman.