A little more than four years ago, he cemented his legacy as the top distance runner to come out of the state of Maryland, winning the Penn Relays 3,000 meters and mile in consecutive years and breaking the state record in the 1,600 as a senior.
On Saturday, Matt Centrowitz proved to be the best in the country.
Centrowitz, who just finished his redshirt junior year at Oregon, claimed the U.S. 1,500-meter title at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., surprising a field that included presumed favorite and former teammate Andrew Wheating and 36-year-old American record holder Bernard Lagat.
“It is a dream come true,” he told reporters. “Looking back on this year I am really happy. I accomplished all I wanted to do.”
The 21-year-old Centrowitz doesn’t look all that different in 2011 than he did in his maroon and white Broadneck High School uniform in 2007. His youthful face and thin frame belie the four years he has spent in the green and yellow of the Ducks. And maybe that’s why he wasn’t mentioned among the favorites despite winning the NCAA title in the event earlier in the month.
With his pedigree, he should have been. His father, American University cross country and track coach Matt Centrowitz Sr., held the U.S. title in the 5,000 from 1979 to 1982 and once held the U.S. record at that distance. His sister Lauren was part of the Stanford team that set the U.S. mark in the 4×1,500-meter relay. It’s not hard to argue that the family is akin to royalty in American running — and that he won’t be an afterthought again.
Centrowitz’s work isn’t done, however. As is often the case at the U.S. championships, the race was more about tactics than time. It went off at a deliberate pace and turned into an all-out sprint in the final lap, with Centrowitz holding off Lagat down the stretch. The result? A pedestrian 3 minutes, 47.63 seconds.
That means he still needs to hit at least the “B” standard of 3:38.0 to run at the world championships in South Korea in late August. It’s well within his ability; he ran 3:36.92 in 2009.
Only then will he get to wear the red, white and blue.
