Fairfield’s Matthew Mangus races to 7th-place finish in state 3200m run
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
COLUMBUS — Going into the 2017 Division III State Track and Field Championships on Saturday, Fairfield junior Matthew Mangus said he didn’t think he had a chance to make the podium for the 3200-meter run. He was incorrect on that thought, and he was OK with that.
Mangus finished the 3200m run with a time of 9:50.04, finishing in seventh place and earning a spot on the podium for the first time in his high school track career. Mangus, in the state run, saved his fastest lap for last as he had a Lap 8 time of 1:07.313.
The Fairfield junior had a plan and stuck with it throughout the race, and he began it with a first lap of 1:12.097, followed by a Lap 2 time of 1:13.638. He finished the first mile of the race with laps of 1:13.726 and 1:14.960 for a first-mile time of 4:54.421.
Mangus’ fifth lap of the race was timed in at 1:16.243, followed by Lap 6 and 7 times of 1:16 and 1:15.87, respectively, as he had a time of 8:42.722 going into Lap 8.
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FHS coach Bill Mangus spoke about Matthew’s race.
“Matthew saved his best race for the biggest stage in front of 14,000 fans,” Bill Mangus said. “He raced to our plan and a personal best in tough heat conditions. We are now preparing for fall cross-country and expect to improve.”
Also in the race was Peebles junior Matthew Seas, who made the podium in eighth place at 9:50.86.
“I was hoping to stay in the back of the pack and maybe finish in the last few and just run a good time. I started out in the back pack and started feeling good and just kept passing people all the way. I did way better than I thought I would, with like a 13-second PR,” Mangus told The Highland County Press. “I was pushing really hard. All I kept thinking was ‘I want it more than these guys do.’ I was just pushing as hard as I could to get a good time. I wasn’t even thinking about the podium. I didn’t realize what place I was in. I was just worried about finishing as fast as I could.”
Qualifying for state, Mangus ran a regional time of 10:03.41 at Fairfield Union.
Again, Mangus spoke about how surprised he was with his time.
“It’s a very pleasant surprise. I was just hoping to be 11th, 12th or 13th or so,” he said. “I thought I had no chance at the podium, so it’s a great surprise.
“I’d like to thank our school for building a track. It was a huge help. I’d like to thank our boosters and Southern Hills Community Bank for their donations and my parents for everything. I’m just glad we had a great day here.
“My teammate, Brandtson Duffie, was also on the podium. Noah Richmond also ran well. Overall, we had a great two days up here. The 4x8 did great. We weren’t on the podium on that, but we were only a few seconds off, so I’m very happy with what we did.”
Mangus finished the 3200m run with a time of 9:50.04, finishing in seventh place and earning a spot on the podium for the first time in his high school track career. Mangus, in the state run, saved his fastest lap for last as he had a Lap 8 time of 1:07.313.
The Fairfield junior had a plan and stuck with it throughout the race, and he began it with a first lap of 1:12.097, followed by a Lap 2 time of 1:13.638. He finished the first mile of the race with laps of 1:13.726 and 1:14.960 for a first-mile time of 4:54.421.
Mangus’ fifth lap of the race was timed in at 1:16.243, followed by Lap 6 and 7 times of 1:16 and 1:15.87, respectively, as he had a time of 8:42.722 going into Lap 8.
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FHS coach Bill Mangus spoke about Matthew’s race.
“Matthew saved his best race for the biggest stage in front of 14,000 fans,” Bill Mangus said. “He raced to our plan and a personal best in tough heat conditions. We are now preparing for fall cross-country and expect to improve.”
Also in the race was Peebles junior Matthew Seas, who made the podium in eighth place at 9:50.86.
“I was hoping to stay in the back of the pack and maybe finish in the last few and just run a good time. I started out in the back pack and started feeling good and just kept passing people all the way. I did way better than I thought I would, with like a 13-second PR,” Mangus told The Highland County Press. “I was pushing really hard. All I kept thinking was ‘I want it more than these guys do.’ I was just pushing as hard as I could to get a good time. I wasn’t even thinking about the podium. I didn’t realize what place I was in. I was just worried about finishing as fast as I could.”
Qualifying for state, Mangus ran a regional time of 10:03.41 at Fairfield Union.
Again, Mangus spoke about how surprised he was with his time.
“It’s a very pleasant surprise. I was just hoping to be 11th, 12th or 13th or so,” he said. “I thought I had no chance at the podium, so it’s a great surprise.
“I’d like to thank our school for building a track. It was a huge help. I’d like to thank our boosters and Southern Hills Community Bank for their donations and my parents for everything. I’m just glad we had a great day here.
“My teammate, Brandtson Duffie, was also on the podium. Noah Richmond also ran well. Overall, we had a great two days up here. The 4x8 did great. We weren’t on the podium on that, but we were only a few seconds off, so I’m very happy with what we did.”