A CalBears.com Blog by Alison Greggor and Collin Jarvis

Courtesy Cal
A CalBears.com Blog by Alison Greggor and Collin Jarvis
Welcome to the Cal track & field blog - In Stride. Throughout the 2011 Golden Bear season, distance runners Alison Greggor and Collin Jarvis will be providing exclusive insights into the team. Make sure you check the blog regularly for updates and information about Cal track & field.
Greggor is a senior from Novato double majoring in psychology and Spanish. Entering her final campaign, she ranks as Cal's seventh-fastest performer all-time in the 5000 meters (16:25.88) and fifth fastest at 10,000 meters (34:37.01). A sophomore from Vista, Jarvis is still early in his collegiate career and has yet to declare his major. He was a key member of the Cal cross country team that qualified for the NCAA Championships this past fall and, as a freshman on the track, became the No. 9 performer in the 3000 meters in school history (8:14.63).


April 25, 2011 - The Magic Number

There are certain events in a runner's career that define the type of athlete he will become. This of course, is not exclusive to one particular event. It could be going under 14:00 in the 5k for the first time, running sub 1:50 in an 800, or even just running at the collegiate level. But there has always been one benchmark that is universally recognized and sticks out among runners: sub 4:00 in the mile.
In Cal's school history, only six men have managed to crack it. One of which was Don Bowden, the first American to EVER do it. In fact, there have been less than 360 Americans to do it. The exclusivity of the sub-4 miler club is tremendous, and because of that, highly respected.

On Saturday at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational, I, along with three other men of Berkeley, toed the line in the Don Bowden Mile, trying to capture that elusive 4:00. Two of the four, Michael Coe and Steve Sodaro, have already broken the barrier. For Jordan Locklear and me, it was our first serious attempt. If you were at the meet, you would have heard the crowd roaring as Michael Coe came down the homestretch in first, just before he crossed the line in 4:00.07, turning the cheers into groans. So close. Naturally, when the four of us realized that no one had broken four, we were a little disappointed. But our head coach Tony Sandoval reassured us that, "The Roman Empire wasn't built in a day, and neither is a world class athlete." There will be another day to chase the elusive 4:00, but for now it's back to work.

Go Bears! - Collin Jarvis

Record Timing FHT Results: Brutus Hamilton Open / Invitational University of California - Berkeley - 4/22/2011 to 4/23/2011

Event 33 Men 1 Mile Run Don Bowden Inv/Open
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Name Year School Finals
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Finals
1 Michael Coe California 4:00.07 Collegiate Leader
2 Tim Baley Unattached 4:01.51
3 Jonathan Peterson UNAT-UC Davis 4:02.00
4 Jonathan Sees UC Davis 4:02.66
5 Collin Jarvis Unattached 4:03.85 4:03.841
6 Eric Larson Utah State 4:03.85 4:03.844
7 Jordan Locklear California 4:07.23
8 Steve Sodaro California 4:07.78
9 Hunter Nelson Utah State 4:13.22
10 David Rabinowitz BroGaarden 4:14.08
11 Giliat Ghebray Unattached 4:16.23
12 Michael Wickman Unattached 4:17.24
-- Andy Perizchica Unattached DNF