By Andy Matarrese
Men's track Coach Rob Conner is billing the 10,000-meter race at the Stanford Invitational last Saturday as "the greatest race in Pilot history."
That night, seniors Michael Kilburg and John Moore both set personal records, qualified for the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and displayed their potential for possible 2008 Olympic trial bids.
Both Kilburg and Moore posted personal bests, with Kilburg running a school record time of 28.20, breaking the school record of 28.35 formerly held by Moore, and finishing sixth overall.
"Say it again, and I still wouldn't believe it," Kilburg said. "I'm going to give it a couple of weeks to sink in."
Kilburg said his goal was to only make the 28.45 NCAA Championship qualifying time.
Moore finished 11th with a time of 28.28 with two-mile splits of 9.06, 9.07 and 9.06, finishing strong with a final lap of 60 seconds.
"Both guys had phenomenal races," Conner said, adding he expects both to qualify for the trials by their next race.
The 10,000 at Stanford was the first of the season for Moore, who admitted he was pleasantly surprised with his performance.
"It was a good race. I felt good, and it's always nice to PR," he said. "It helps a lot to have someone else on your team in the race. I knew if I was running with (Kilburg) I'd be running well."
Kilburg narrowly missed the automatic qualifying time for the trials, missing the 28.15 mark by five seconds. Moore missed it by 13.
If the two runners' histories are any indicator of future performance, Conner's predictions about the two runners' chances for the trials might be right.
Last year at the Stanford Invitational, Kilburg finished with a time of 29.19, a personal record at the time, only to return a month later and post a 28.57, barely qualifying for nationals.
Conner said that last weekend's performance is a glowing example of the amount of work Kilburg has put in throughout his career. He is currently running 125 miles per week, up from about 100 last year.
"He just dropped off 37 seconds, which is pretty mind-blowing," Conner said. "He's really pushing the envelope."
Moore has shown the same improvement between races as well, Conner said. Last year Moore ran a 28.43 at Stanford, returning to Palo Alto the next month with a 28.35 at the Cardinal Invitational. Looking even further back, Conner cited how Moore's best two-mile time in high school was a 9.20, and he's now running splits of the same distance more than 10 seconds faster.
"He's got more room to improve, based on what he's done so far," Conner said. "I'd put money on him being able to chip off that 13 seconds."
The Stanford Invitational is one of the biggest of the year, fielding some of the fastest collegiate athletes in the country, including some professionals. Moore said that half of the runners in his heat were professionals.
"Every time there's a meet at Stanford, it's always pretty big," he said. "It's always going to have more competition, but it's the best place to run fast."
Moore said that he and Kilburg both have their eyes on the 28.15 mark for their race at the Cardinal Invitational, knowing that the provisional bids they garnered might not be enough to get them into the trails.
"Kilburg's time of 28.20 is probably right on the edge," he said. "I'll certainly have to run faster next time."
Better competition begets better times, and Moore and Kilburg's next race at the Cardinal Invitational on May 4 will be even faster than Stanford, with even more post-collegiate runners participating.
"It's the biggest and best 10,000 in the U.S.," Conner said.
This is the last collegiate track season for both runners. Roommates as freshmen, the two have been good friends for their whole five years on the track team.
"We like the idea of being the fastest roommate combination in Pilot history," Kilburg said.
Both agreed running in the Olympic trials would be an excellent way to round out their collegiate careers.
"To run in the Olympic trials is like the childhood dream of playing professional baseball, playing professional basketball, being an astronaut," Kilburg explained. "That's what it is in my mind."
The 10,000-meter race is on July 4 at Heyward Field in Eugene, the center of all things long-distance.
"It doesn't get any better than that," Kilburg said.
