St. Paul's Mason Ferlic fifth in steeplechase at nationals; Obsa Ali sixth

DES MOINES – To Mason Ferlic, Saturday's final in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase felt like a disappointment. To Obsa Ali, it felt like a beginning.

Ferlic, a St. Paul native, stayed close to the leaders early in the race but faded to finish fifth at the U.S. championships at Drake Stadium. Ali, a former Gopher from Richfield, was right behind him in sixth place in his first appearance at the national meet. Ferlic clocked a time of 8 minutes, 37.99 seconds; Ali finished in 8:42.00.

Hillary Bor won the event, outdueling Stanley Kebenei to take the title in 8:18.05.

"It just wore me down,'' Ferlic said of the race, run in 92-degree temperatures under a bright sun. "I couldn't find any rhythm.

"It just turned into a pity party. I needed another gear to get those guys tonight, and I didn't have it.''

On the third lap, Ferlic moved up to fourth place behind Bor, Kebenei and third-place finisher Andy Bayer. Those three soon broke away, and Ferlic could not make up any distance.

Ali started farther back in the pack and gradually moved up to sixth, then held that position through the final three laps. He said it was the hardest race for him this season, particularly since he hasn't had a break in the past year.

Ferlic has been training at Michigan, his alma mater, and will continue to work toward the 2020 Olympic trials. Ali, who just completed his college eligibility, also is pursuing an Olympic berth and expects to move to a new city to train during the coming year.

Myles Hunter, a three-time NCAA Division II champion who recently completed his college career at Minnesota State Mankato, advanced to Sunday's semifinals of the 110 hurdles. Running in the first of three heats, Hunter took fourth in 13.62 seconds. He was the eighth-fastest of 16 men to advance out of the first round.