Zach Perkins doesn't look like a 1,500 meter runner at 6-foot-3, and he certainly wasn't among the favorites to finish on the podium in the race at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Sure, Perkins — a senior at Air Force and graduate of Alameda High School in California — finished as the surprise runner-up at last year's meet. And sure, he won his semifinal heat on Wednesday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., to advance to Friday's final.
But with 300 meters to go in the final, Perkins found himself boxed in eighth place among the 12 other runners in the field, and his chances weren't looking promising.