Competition gives boost to Iacovelli

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Todd Iacovelli improved his life-time best by 32 seconds in the 3,000-meters at the Stanford Invitational. Advertiser library photo • Oct. 31, 2001

Iacovelli improved his lifetime best by 32 seconds as he finished in fifth place at the giant Stanford Invitational meet in California.

Hawai'i high school running records do not exist except for the state championship meet. But Henry Marsh, who still holds the American record in the 3,000-meter steeple chase, and Duncan Macdonald, the first athlete to break Steve Prefontaine's American 5,000 record, both said they did not run as fast as Iacovelli when they were at Punahou School.

Marsh and Macdonald ran yards and miles rather than meters in high school, but they said that if their best times were converted using standard mathematical tables, they were not as fast as Iacovelli.

"That's fantastic," said Marsh, who lives in Utah.

Iacovelli was never as fast before as he was last Friday night at Stanford. His previous best 3K time was 9:05.97 as a freshman in the 1999 state meet. He finished second by a step to Hilo's Joshua Villanueva, whose 9:05.29 is still the state meet record.

"I had quite a day," at Stanford, Iacovelli said. He was unexpectedly placed in the elite high school section of the race when some entries didn't show.

"I got bumped up. I had nothing to lose so I went out with leaders, stayed as smooth as I could and just ran as hard as I could at the end," Iacovelli said. "The final 200 meters was the best part of the race. I'm really happy with how I finished."

Macdonald, who is Iacovelli's coach at Punahou, said Iacovelli ran the last 200 meters in 29 seconds and ran his fastest 400-meter lap, 67 seconds, in the lap leading to the final 200.

"He hasn't been in that kind of race before," Macdonald said. "He reacted to a surge by the leaders on the second to last lap. He was back in 10th or 12th place and pulled himself back up through the pack."

Marsh said, "That level of competition really pulls you along."

Said long-time Punahou girls coach Dan Tuttle III: "This shows how well kids can respond when put into position of being in good competition."

NOTES: Duncan Macdonald said that Todd Iacovelli's time converts to 9:10.8 for 3,200 meters and 9:14 for two miles, both faster than the state high school meet records when those were the official distances. ... Iacovelli ran two 68-second 400- meter laps, several 70s and his slowest was 71 seconds. ... His time at 1500 meters was 4:11, as fast as Iacovelli has ever run that distance. ... "I think he can run lot faster in the 1,500" and become the first Hawai'i high school runner to break 4 minutes, Macdonald said. ... The winning time was 8:28.26. "He was right there, that shows you. . . ," Henry Marsh said. ... 1999 was the first year that 3,000 meters was a standard distance in Hawai'i. For 20 years before that, the longest track event was 3,200 meters and before that, 2 miles.

Other results of Hawai'i athletes at Stanford:

HIGH SCHOOLS

Mile: 29, Todd Iacovelli, 4:31.30. Triple jump: 5, Derek Turbin (Punahou) 42-9. Long jump: 15, Turbin, 19-4fl. Girls 400: 19, Pippa Macdonald (Punahou) 1:00.80.

COLLEGE

5,000: 12, Annie Kawasaki (Portland State/St. Francis) 17:26.19, personal best. 110 high hurdles: Vera Simms (Michigan/Mililani) 14.36.