Bernard Lagat, winner of a record eight Wanamaker Mile races at the Millrose Games, set his sights on a US indoor record over 5,000m and came through with flying colors Saturday in the 105th edition of the track and field meeting. Lagat held off training partner Lawi Lalang of Kenya to win with a time of 13 minutes 7.15 seconds as he slashed more than four seconds off the mark set by Galen Rupp last February in Birmingham, England. “I am really pleased that I have achieved what I came here to do,” said the 37-year-old Lagat, a two-time world indoor 3,000m champion, and twice an Olympic medalist. Lalang was within a stride of Lagat to start the last lap, but could not catch his mentor, who trains with him in Arizona. The Kenyan finished second in 13:08.28 to smash the US collegiate record, also set by Rupp in 2009, by nearly 10 seconds. Kenya's Stephen Sambu, like Lalang a student at the University of Arizona, was third in 13:13.74. Women's world 1,500m champion Jenny Simpson overcame a poor result last week in Boston in the 3,000m by holding off fellow-American Shannon Rowbury to win the 1,500 with a season-best time of 4:07.27. Simpson led from start to finish and Rowbury, the 2009 world bronze medalist, could not find a late burst to kick past Simpson and finished second in 4:07.66. American Sanya Richards-Ross, whose husband Aaron Ross won a Super Bowl ring last Sunday with the New York Giants, was first on the podium in the women's 400m, clocking a season-best 50.89 seconds to beat compatriot Natasha Hastings, who finished nearly a second behind. World men's high jump champion Jesse Williams won his event by clearing 2.32m, fellow-American Jenn Suhr, who set a US record last week, won the women's pole vault by clearing 4.58m, and Russian world championship silver medalist Olga Kucherenko won the women's long jump with a leap of 6.75m. Blake second in 400m In Jamaica world 100m champion Yohan Blake opened his season with a 400m personal best Saturday at the Camperdown Classic while 100m world-record holder Usain Bolt skipped the Jamaican meet. Blake's time of 46.49 seconds was .2 of a second behind winner Allodin Fothergill, a member of Jamaica's third-place 4x400m team at last year's World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Blake, who ran very easily for the first 200m, faded in the homestretch with Fothergill moving past in the last 10 metres for the victory.
