With 400 meters left in the preliminaries of the one-mile run at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday afternoon, Alex Kramer '13 was sitting comfortably at the back of the pack of six runners that had formed behind Bates College junior Tully Hannan.

Kramer, who had qualified for the season's biggest race with a time of four minutes, 12.66 seconds at the Tufts University Last Chance Meet on March 2, seemed to be peaking at the right time. He gradually lowered his times throughout the season, and, given that he had cut back his mileage and intensity, looked to translate his efforts into a top-10 finish and an All-American selection.

However, instead of being able to make a bid for the front of his seven-man heat, Kramer was boxed in by the other competitors as the race entered its final stages. Though three of his competitors caught Hannan-who faded in the final lap to finish fourth in the heat-Kramer ended up finishing sixth in his heat of seven runners, ultimately won by the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater Point junior Dan Sullivan.

Sullivan won the finals of the event on Saturday, beating out Keene State College junior Ryan Widzgowski by 83 one-hundreths of a second, 4:07.03 to 4:07.86.

"He (Hannan) was out (through the first quarter-mile of the race) in 61, and he went through the half-mile mark in 2:06," said Kramer, implying that the Bates junior's opening pace was perhaps a bit quicker than his fellow competitors expected, especially in a preliminary race. "(Some runners in) the pack caught him in the end."

The second heat-which featured six competitors-seemed to be travelling slower than the racers in the first heat, as the pack hit the half-mile mark in 2:09. However, a late charge by Bowdoin College junior Coby Horowitz caused the speed of the pack to dramatically increase, which resulted in faster qualifying times than would have been anticipated.

As a result, Kramer was edged out for the tenth and final qualifying spot-which went to Hannan-by a mere 0.32 seconds.

While he has utilized his powerful finishing speed many times this season in order to beat out opponents in close battles, Kramer was quick to point out that the increased difficulty of the competition makes for a more challenging racing environment in regards to planning tactics.

"You fall in love with your kick," he said of his penchant for gaining ground with a final surge late in the race. "And I (ran) a 56-second last 400 in that mile. But at Nationals, everyone can run that fast for the last stretch."

Kramer is the second Brandeis runner in two years to compete in the men's mile at Nationals. Chris Brown '12-who holds the indoor school record for that particular event in 4:05.98-secured the Judges' first All-American indoor mile selection since 2005 last season at Grinnell College with his third-place finish in the same event.

While running at the Championships was certainly a time to savor, given it was his first individual qualification in a track and field race. And despite falling short of his goal of earning All-American honors-which he had expressed desire to achieve in a March 4 interview with the Justice-Kramer will look to bounce back and qualify outdoors in the 1500-meter run, generally considered to be the outdoor track equivalent of the one-mile run.

With some added experience gained from running in his first NCAA Championships, it is quite possible that Kramer could improve upon his showing at the recent race with a better showing at the biggest meet of the outdoor season.
After a few weeks of well-deserved rest, Kramer and the Judges will compete in the season's first outdoor meet on March 30 at the Tufts Snowflake Classic.