byLarry Eder
Masters Switched to USA Indoors 1500-meters “A” Heat
by Jon Gugala
At 8:15 p.m. MST on Friday, Riley Masters of the Brooks Beasts Track Club received word through his agent that he has been boosted into the “A” heat of the men’s 1500-meters USA Indoors Championships. It’s been just over 24 hours since he was surprised with a “B” heat placement despite posting one of the faster qualifying times.
“It feels good. I was optimistic that it was just a mistake anyway,” Masters says. “It’s definitely relieving, but I was positive this would be the outcome.”
Danny Mackey, coach of Masters and the Brooks Beasts TC, isn’t so overjoyed. “I thought that would happen when I heard it yesterday,” he says. “It was so illogical that he wasn’t in the ‘A’ heat that there was no way that he couldn’t have been. So now that he’s in, I want to know why, for 24 hours, we’re still talking about it.
“I’ll never get that answer,” Mackey says.
As for Masters, he’s hopeful about competing for a Team USA spot in Sunday’s final. “I guess if there’s this much of a fuss,” he says, “I’d better compete well.”
