Graduate student middle-distance runner Jesse Garn finished 18th of 24 runners in the qualification round of the 800-meter race at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Held in Eugene, Oregon earlier this month, Garn’s time of 1:49.10 ensured his status as an honorable-mention All-American.
After being named a first-team All-American following his fourth place in the 800-meter at the 2015 championships, Garn fell short of a repeat at this year’s meet. He failed to advance past the qualification round and finished fifth of eight in the third and final heat, which was won by junior Shaquille Walker of BYU in 1:47.45.
Despite not earning a spot in the finals, which Garn stated as his goal heading into the meet, he was grateful for the chance to compete at the highest level of collegiate athletics.
“It’s still extremely rewarding,” Garn said. “It’s such an awesome opportunity, obviously, to be back at the NCAA Championships.”
Trailing early on in the race, Garn rounded out the back of the pack before sidestepping a fallen runner. He moved into the fifth spot during the group’s final lap, but was unable to overcome any of the top four runners in the final 100 meters.
Garn’s finish in the preliminary race put an end to a season in which lingering foot and calf injuries kept him from competing at all during the indoor season.
“I felt pretty good going into today, it’s just I’ve been struggling a lot lately with so many injuries and I think I had that on my mind,” Garn said. “It’s just even harder for me to explode off the starting line, and you really need that in the 800 of a championship meet like that and I just didn’t have it today.”
Although past injuries might have been on Garn’s mind, the depth of field this year in the 800-meter certainly played a role in Garn’s lower finish this year. Texas A&M freshman Donavan Brazier, who crossed the line first in the finals, shattered a 50-year-old record in the event, setting the fastest collegiate time of 1:43.55. Runner up Brandon McBride, a senior from Mississippi State, ran the third-fastest time in collegiate history (1:44.50).
Garn’s finish marks the third time he has been named an All-American in his career. He is just the third three-time All-American in Binghamton program history.
Though Garn’s final time competing in a Binghamton uniform may not have gone according to plan, the impact he has made at BU for the last five years is not lost.
“He’s meant a lot to us; he’s been a great student-athlete for our program and our university,” said Binghamton head cross country coach Annette Acuff. “I have a lot of respect for him and for everything that he’s done for us.”