Capel fastest of fast

Greene blazes to third in loaded sprint field

When HSI track coach John Smith was interviewed Saturday over the public-address system after the invitational 100-meter dash at Memorial Stadium, he said emphatically the best sprinters in the world today were American-born and -bred.

By that point, the thousands of fans attending the Kansas Relays were well aware.

By far the most exciting race of the Gold Zone on Saturday was the invitational 100, which was loaded with the best sprinters in America, including Olympic champion Maurice Greene.

Greene, a Kansas City, Kan., native, was the most decorated runner in the field, but even he finished third.

The winner was John Capel, a teammate of Greene’s on HSI who blazed to a 10.10-second finish. Mark Jelks, a sophomore at Kansas City Kansas Community College who just announced his intention to go pro with Nike, was second in 10.1401. Greene was third in 10.1481.

The race had too strong of a tailwind to allow any record performances, but with the weather as chilly as it was, a sub-10-second race would be tough to accomplish.

Nevertheless, the excitement value was about as high as it could have been.

“The most important thing is to come out here and give the fans a show,” Greene said. “I think we’ve all done that today. They were pleased with how everyone performed.”

So how deep was the 100 field? Finishing eighth was former Kansas University runner Leo Bookman, who blazed to a 200-meter title about an hour earlier. Bookman won the 100 last year, but couldn’t keep up with the phenomenal trio of Capel, Jelks and Greene on Saturday.

Before the race even finished, Capel put his hands in the air in celebration — a swagger move, he said, that was taught to him by Greene.

“I have never started that well in my life,” said Capel, who is getting back into track after trying a stint in the NFL, including a year on the Chiefs’ roster. “It scared the bejesus out of me to be able to start with Maurice. I was telling my coach that I took my first step, and Maurice was still there. That’s not ever happened before.”

Greene wasn’t his sharpest, but he still impressed the pro-Mo crowd Saturday. After the open 100, Greene teamed up with Capel, Kaaron Conwright and Leonard Scott to win the invitational 400-meter relay in 39.24 seconds.

His 100 time wasn’t what he wanted — Greene said Friday he was shooting to break 10 seconds — but, all things considered, he’d take it.

“The 100 went as expected,” Greene said. “I didn’t really feel as well as I wanted to. I thought I was going to feel better, and plus it was kind of cold out there. But you know what? You can’t take anything for granted. You have to get out there and compete, and John competed today.”

Greene and Capel will face off again next weekend in Martinique, and, surely, many of the same sprinters will be competing against each other to represent the U.S. in the World Championships this summer in Helsinki, Finland.

If Saturday were any early indication, it could be one fierce battle.

“I think we put on a really good race,” Greene said. “It just shows what kind of year we’re going to have. We’re going to have a lot of competitive races as the year goes on.”