James Mwaura, Daniel Maton Aim For Fast 1,600s

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

5/24 Update - Daniel Maton won the Class 4A 1,600 meters in 4:07.50 and James Mwaura won the 4A 1,600 in 4:08.52.

James Mwaura and Daniel Maton are not in the same classification in Washington, but when they go to their respective startling lines at the Washington state track and field championships at Tahoma High School, they will be aware of one another. 

Mwaura of Lincoln, the reigning Class 3A champion in the 3,200 meters, has been working on his speed this spring and has seen that effort pay off. 

The senior and Gonzaga signee ran a personal-best 4:10.30 at his league championships May 12 and ran easy for the first 800 before closing in 2 minutes flat. 

"I'm feeling really good," Mwaura said. "I ran 4:10 solo and it was a lot smoother. I've been doing a lot more speed stuff lately and it's been helpful."

Mwaura ran 8:51.62 in the 3,200 meters April 7 at Arcadia, an indication that he could be ready to challenge Rick Riley's 52-year-old 2-mile record of 8:48.3. If the pace this week doesn't work out to go for the record, then his upcoming appearance June 8 at the Brooks PR Invitational might be the moment to go for it. 

"We are going (to state) to just win, if there are fast times, it will be there," Mwaura said. "If not, we can wait. I'm going to do the Brooks 2-mile for sure, maybe New Balance."

Maton, a junior from Camas, is the reigning Class 4A champion in the 800 and 1,600. 

Maton has a season best time of 4:08.13 for the full mile at the Nike Jesuit Twilight Relays (April 27) and said he feels good going back to Tacoma. (Mwaura was fifth at Jesuit, running 4:12.90).

"This is the first week of backing off and I feel awesome now," he said. "I have a lot of confidence."

Maton doesn't anticipate taking any of his races from the gun. The goal is to repeat his titles in the 800 and 1,600.  He has to contend with Luke George of Issaquah and Joe Waskom of Mt. Si. George ran a state-leading 4:06.09 on May 11 at the KingCo Championships.

He said it's natural to look at the results of other classifications and do quick comparison. 

"I definitely do that, yeah," he said. 

Going forward, Maton and Mwaura may diverge. Maton is headed to Brooks to run the mile and then will probably do the Stumptown Twilight in Portland, to race the 800 meters. 

"At Brooks, I want to go sub-4:05," Maton said. "I feel way more faster than last year."