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DyeStat.com – News – Tyrone Gorze Gets His Big Moment With High School Record In 5,000m

DyeStat.com - News - Tyrone Gorze Gets His Big Moment With High School Record In 5,000m

Ellie Shea Wins Second Distance Title; Tinoda Matsatsa Runs No. 3 All-Time 800 Meters at New Balance Nationals Indoor

By David Woods for DyeStat

Keenan Gray photos

BOSTON – The pace lights, and Edward Cheserek’s record, were slipping away. Not that it was uppermost in Tyrone Gorze’s mind. He sought to win.

In doing so, he put Cheserek’s record to bed. To underscore it, the winner celebrated by placing head on hands in the “night, night” gesture of NBA superstar Steph Curry.

“His name is King Ches for a reason. It was cool to get that indoor record,” Gorze said.

In a finish befitting elite distance runners, the Crater OR senior won the 5,000 meters in 13;56.82 Saturday at the New Balance indoor nationals.

It was not only the fastest indoor 5K in high school history. It was the deepest.

Gorze, junior Daniel Simmons of American Fork UT (13:59.96), Lex Young of Newbury Park CA (14:00.64) and junior Patrick Koon of Leon FL (14:11.92) climbed to Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 6 on the all-time list.

Cheserek, of St. Benedicts Prep NJ, set the previous record of 13:57.04 in 2012.

Young had made it clear he was going for it, and he wasn’t the only one.

“It’s so much bigger than just this race. It speaks to the whole sport,” Young said. “When you’ve got not just one guy shooting for the record, but three. It just shows the momentum that’s building in the whole sport now. It’s just awesome to be a part of that.”

With five laps left, the record was no longer prioritized. Victory was. But Gorze made a bold move to the front and held it through a closing 800 of 2:02.94.

“When he caught the lights with a lap to go, I was like, ‘Oh gosh. This is something special,” Crater coach Justin Loftus said. “We didn’t talk about records.”

They talked about finishing fast, and Gorze delivered.

“It worked out perfectly,” he said.

Simmons led nearly every lap until the closing kilometer. By comparison, Gorze’s last 800 was comparable to those in Friday’s NCAA 5,000 at Albuquerque, N.M. Winner Dylan Jacobs of Tennessee closed in 2:01.69 and fourth-place Nico Young of Northern Arizona (brother of Lex) in 2:03.35.

Loftus saw it coming when Gorze ran a 1,000 in 2:34 in the middle of a recent workout.

“He’s an aerobic beast, really,” the coach said.

Gorze was vexed Friday even in Crater’s victory in the distance medley relay but “got some bugs out,” as Loftus put it. Anchored by Gorze’s 4:07.28, Crater missed becoming the eighth…

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