Wanliss runs out of his comort zone

O’Neal Wanliss raced the mile once. It was in seventh grade P.E. class, for participation. He ran it in five minutes, 12 seconds.

O’Neal Wanliss raced the mile a second time. It was last Friday, at the Gene Anderson Invitational, the North Carolina track and field’s team first indoor meet of the season. He ran it in four minutes, 19 seconds.

And he won the race.

Wanliss, a junior, is a middle-distance specialist, and a former short sprinter. He’s run personal bests of 47.33 in the 400-meter dash, and 1:48.28 in the 800.

So Wanliss running a 4:19 mile is like Jackson Simmons, junior forward UNC men’s basketball team, catching fire from deep: extraordinary and unexpected.

“I think he might retire,” said senior distance runner Isaac Presson, laughing.

Wanliss, wearing a white UNC singlet and bright green spikes, lined up next to five distance runners. They had all been there before.

“I didn’t think he was going to win, honestly,” Presson said.

The pace started relatively slow, and Wanliss hung toward the back.

Then he slowly crept up: fifth place, fourth, third. With 400 meters to go — one lap — N.C. State’s Adrian Ross began to distance himself from the other runners. Wanliss went with him.

“My goal was to win,” Wanliss said. “That’s all I wanted to do.”

Bell lap. Wanliss had just passed Ross a few seconds earlier. Now, he took off.

His lead grew. His arms swung. His heart pounded.

He crossed the finish line. First place.

“I was pretty shocked,” Presson said.

So were most. Wanliss wasn’t.

His winter training featured more distance workouts, and Wanliss noticed a difference in his fitness from one year ago.

“I was training with the cross country (team) for a lot of this preseason,” he said. “They were kicking my butt.”

Presson, on the cross country team, was there with him.

“This whole offseason he’s put a lot of emphasis on strength training,” Presson said. “It’s becoming more clear that he’s now becoming a more middle-distance runner.”

And the race, like most everything in life, had a purpose.

“I’m at this point in my season where I’m focused on getting a stronger base,” Wanliss said.

He ran the race to see how strong it was.

The win provided the answer.

“I think it’s a good indicator of what’s to come,” Presson said.

What’s to come is no more mile races. Wanliss is done with it, at least for now.

“That’s too long,” he said. “I don’t like the mile.”

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