The senior two-lapper came into the state finals seeded 25th but earned a spot in the finals with a superlative trials race that threatened a 43-year SFS record.
CLOVIS, Calif. — Lowell (San Francisco, Calif.) track and field coach Andy Leong knew senior 800-meter runner Maxwell Niehaus had more in his tank.
But 4.32 seconds left?
Nobody did.
Max Niehaus, Lowell
Photo by Craig Morley
Niehaus ran a brave, gritty and nearly section-record race to take the eighth best time of Friday's CIF State Track and Field Championship trials in a school record of 1 minute, 53.26 seconds to keep his remarkable season alive.
With nothing seemingly to lose — he was seeded 25th coming in with a qualifying time of 1:58.40 — Niehaus, under the guidance of Leong, went right to the front of his heat.
Leong thought it was a strong and bold move, but was also realistic. He couldn't possibly keep up that pace.
"I was thinking that this was going to be his last race and he was going to leave it all on the track," Leong said.
As did everyone else, especially when he faded several times over the next 350. But down the stretch, he picked up again to finish third in his heat and beat his previous best of 1:57.58 he showed off at the Arcadia Invitational.
"He had too much left that day," Leong said of the Arcadia race. "He usually picks it up with 300 meters to go but he didn't and by the time he did pick it up it was too late."
That's why Friday's race and tactics were so satisfying to Leong, who figured the AAA's only advancer to today's finals was in the low 1:55 to high 1:54 range.
"I was not thinking finals," he said. "I try to be realistic in my projections of what an athlete can do."
To take more than four seconds off and run a great tactical race was beyond Leong's wildest dreams. Niehaus picked up his pace a remarkable five times during the race, according to Leong.
Niehaus finished just off the San Francisco Section record of a converted
1:52.4 set by Washington's Geoff Henderson way back in 1970. Henderson
ran a 1:53.0 for 880 yards which is longer than 800 meters.
"He responded to each challenge," Leong said of Niehaus. "As he ran the final 50 meters, I remember yelling ‘keep working, keep working.' When he finished my mind went blank."
Leong thought the time might qualify Niehaus for the finals, but forgot that the top three advanced automatically into the finals.
"I thought it was top two," Leong said. "Yes, to make it to the finals was a shock, an unexpected but pleasant surprise."
