Rio Rico's Villarreal steals show at Pre Classic
At the Prefontaine Classic on Friday night in Eugene, Oregon, incoming Arizona freshman Carlos Villarreal of Rio Rico High School didn’t seem to be on the radar.
The USATF.TV broadcasters went on and on about New York runner Mikey Brannigan, who was being tailed by a film crew from ESPN. Rhode Island’s Jack Salisbury and Tennessee’s Adam Barnard got most of the pre-race attention.
When a capacity crowd at Hayward Field stood for the final 200 meters of the boys mile, Villarreal was in eighth place, maybe 10 yards behind the front pack. That’s when Rio Rico’s state champion in the 800 and 1,600 races — and in the 3,200 relay, and in cross country — did his own version of Billy Mills at the 1964 Olympics to win.
“I thought, ‘Man, I waited too long,’” Villarreal said in a TV interview. “But I went for it. I just said, ‘I think I’ll catch ’em.’”
Villarreal’s time of 4 minutes 5.25 seconds was the best by a high school miler in America this year. It broke his personal record of 4:12.50, set in a Chandler Rotary Invitational in March. He was so impressive that he had a better night at Hayward Field than distinguished Tucsonans Bernard Lagat, fourth in the 5,000, and Lawi Lalang, who was seventh in the 5,000.
Villarreal, who was wearing green-and-yellow Nike gear during his TV interview, said he was impressed by the Hayward Field crowd.
“Who knows the next time I’ll come to Eugene?” he said. “It was probably one of the best crowds I’ll ever run in front of.”
If Friday’s victory is a gauge, Villarreal, much like Lagat and Lalang, will run at Hayward Field many times in his running career.
