2016 Camel City Elite Race Recaps
2016 Race Recaps
Mellow Mile
The 2016 race had an international feel to it, with athletes representing the U.S., Australia and Canada. Shannon Rowbury returned to defend her title and would be challenged by Stephanie Garcia, Heather Kampf, Lauren Johnson, Heidi See and Fiona Benson. The rest of the field was filled with Megan Moye of NC State and USATF junior champion Kate Murphy, only a junior in HS.
Melissa Salerno returned to handle pacing duties again this year and is quickly earning the nickname “The Metronome,” as she handled the pacing duties perfectly. Salerno took the field out in 2:12 for 809m, which was the pace requested by Rowbury. By that point, the field had already been whittled down to just Rowbury and Garcia, with Fiona Benson leading the second group about 3-4 seconds back.
With 400m to go, Rowbury made a move and started to gap Garcia, who didn’t have an answer. Rowbury would put about 2 seconds on Garcia over the last 400m. Meanwhile, See would overtake the rest of the pros and beat out Kampf for third place by nearly 3 seconds.
1. Rowbury, Shannon – Nike Oregon Project – 4:26.01 ($5000)
2. Garcia, Stephanie – New Balance – 4:28.47 ($2000)
3. See, Heidi – Asics Furman Elite – 4:33.30 ($1000)
4. Kampf, Heather – Asics/Team USA MN – 4:36.08 ($500)
5. Benson, Fiona – Nike – 4:38.18 ($300)
6. Johnson, Lauren – USA – 4:38.38 ($200)
7. Moye, Megan – NC State – 4:43.08
8. Murphy, Kate – Unattached – 4:43.87
— Salerno, Melissa – Asics – DNF
Men’s Mile presented by Champion
This was the final race of the day in 2016 and definitely didn’t disappoint. Unfortunately, the men’s field got gradually smaller as the week progressed, losing Leo Manzano to a family emergency, Pablo Solares to injury and Neil Gourley of Virginia Tech to team-related issues. However, Matthew Centrowitz and Cory Leslie remained to hold an epic duel in this year’s race.
Coming in, Cory Leslie had won the two Camel City Mile races he had contested, setting a facility record in each try. But with Matthew Centrowitz in this year’s field, he would have to muster all of his energy to defend his title.
Donnie Cowart of Saucony returned for the fourth year to pace the Camel City Mile. Cowart was asked to take the race out in 1:57 for 809m, but got off to a slightly slower start, hitting 31.2 for 209 meters. Not one to panic, Cowart would gradually ratchet the pace down and hit 809m in 1:57.89. After the race, Cowart said he felt bad for not running perfectly, so he went one more lap and got the race to 1009m in 2:27.40.
After that, it was a two-man race as Centrowitz and Leslie had over 4 seconds on Brandon Hudgins. Leslie would keep the pressure on Centrowitz, even making a bid for the lead with about 300m to go. But Centrowitz simply had too much over the last lap, putting Leslie away over the final 100m of the race. Centrowitz added to his growing reputation, even stopping to “dab” after crossing the finish line. Centrowitz shattered the 3:56.99 facility record and pulled Leslie under the old record, as well. Behind them, Graham Crawford of NC State would finish in third as the first collegian, running 4:02.72.
1. Centrowitz, Matthew – Nike Oregon Project – 3:54.02 ($5000)
2. Leslie, Cory – Nike/Furman Elite – 3:56.25 ($2000)
3. Crawford, Graham – NC State – 4:02.72
4. Hudgins, Brandon – Unattached – 4:06.88 ($1000)
5. Holden, Simon – Wake Forest – 4:10.95
6. Matko, Csaba – Eastern Michigan – 4:11.85
7. Pollock, Grant – VT Elite – 4:13.52 ($500)
— Cowart, Donald – Saucony – DNF
Women’s 3k
The women’s 3k race was the first of the Camel City Elite races, and it turned out to be one of the deepest, most balanced fields of the day. With no clear cut favorite and multiple athletes who ended up setting PRs on the day, the race was one of the best!
Originally, Shannon Rowbury was set to run the 3k, but then a late switch to the mile made this anybody’s race. And with multiple athletes looking to secure a sub 9:00 World Indoor qualifier, there would be several athletes looking to run fast!
Melissa Salerno started the day with pacesetting duties in the race and was tasked with taking this one out in 36 seconds per lap. She paced it beautifully, never missing the cumulative split by more than three-tenths of a second. This race also saw some fearless youngsters as Wesley Frazier of NC State and reigning Foot Locker champ Weini Kelati would run 3-4 for a few laps at the beginning of the race.
With 7 laps to go and Salerno stepping off the track, the order was Pappas, Frazier, Schneider, Gallagher and Mackey. Pappas would continue to lead through 2100m when Kerri Gallagher would take over. At that point, it was a 5-woman pack with Frazier of NC State still in the mix. With a little more than 400m to go, Schneider would take over 2nd and Frazier would move back into third. Gallagher would run an impressive 67.3 over the last 400m to win by over 2 seconds over Schneider. Meanwhile, Wesley Frazier of NC State would finish third in 9:01.26, which would convert to 8:56.66 for NCAA qualifying purposes.
1. Gallagher, Kerri – Nike – 8:56.52 ($5000)
2. Schneider, Rachel – Under Armour – 8:58.85 ($2000)
3. Frazier, Wesley – NC State – 9:01.26 (NCAA qualifier)
4. Mackey, Katie – Brooks Beasts – 9:07.66 ($1000)
5. Pappas, Alexi – Nike OTC Elite – 9:08.92 ($500)
6. Kemp, Erika – NC State – 9:12.71 (NCAA qualifier)
7. Kelati, Weini – Unattached – 9:19.99 – (US HS #1)
8. Buchalski – Allie – Furman – 9:40.27
9. Jones, Samantha – Wake Forest – 9:44.43
— Salerno, Melissa – Asics – DNF
Men’s 3k
Heading into the meet, this was one of the strongest fields from top to bottom. Bernard Lagat was set to headline this event, but then had to withdraw about 10 days prior to the event. Luckily, we were able to secure Lawi Lalang as a replacement, which would give us some additional firepower up front to challenge Garrett Heath. Then, we lost Riley Masters a few days before the event as well as the top returning pro, Jake Shelley. Then, to add another loss to the meet, defending champ Thomas Curtin withdrew about 90 minutes prior to the meet due to some team issues surrounding Virginia Tech.
When the gun went off at 2:30 pm, though, these guys came to race! Michael Hammond of VT Elite was given the job of taking the race out in 4:12 to 4:15 for the first 1600m. He did a great job and hit 4:13.2 before stepping off the track. At that point, Lawi Lalang would take the lead, followed closely by Garrett Heath, Willy Fink, Michael Atchoo and Luis Vargas. Drew Hunter would lurk on the end of that pack, staying in striking distance the entire way.
With 400m to go, Lalang would still lead Heath, Fink and Vargas with Hunter just off that pack. But with just under 300m to go, Heath would put on one heckuva surge and drop Lalang emphatically en route to a 55.9 final 400m! Lalang would hold on to second, followed by Vargas and Fink, both qualifying for NCAAs. In the fifth place, Drew Hunter would break 8:00 to SHATTER the high school record set by Edward Cheserek!
1. Heath, Garrett – Brooks Beasts – 7:48.48 ($5000)
2. Lalang, Lawi – Nike – 7:50.07 ($2000)
3. Vargas, Luis – NC State – 7:54.26 (NCAA qualifier)
4. Fink, Willy – Eastern Michigan – 7:56.04 (NCAA qualifier)
5. Hunter, Drew – Unattached – 7:59.33 (NATIONAL HS RECORD)
6. Thomson, Jacob – Kentucky – 8:05.07
7. Atchoo, Michael – NJNY TC – 8:16.20 ($1000)
8. Derrick, Mark – North Carolina – 8:19.39
9. Steagall, Austin – Mt Olive – 8:20.59
— Hammond, Michael – VT Elite – DNF
Women’s 800
Nearly every one of the distance races this year lost at least one prominent competitor, and the women’s 800 was no exception. Defending champ Jenna Westaway scratched less than a week before the race. We were fortunate to replace her with former NCAA champ Laura Roesler. Then, along with the rest of her Virginia Tech teammates, NCAA All-American Hanna Green also scratched from her race within hours of the start.
But that by no means lessened the action on the track. Former Duke star Abby Farley handled the pacemaking duties and took them out through 400m in just under 60 seconds. By 600m, World Champs Silver Medalist Melissa Bishop had about 1 second on Phoebe Wright in second place. Bishop would extend her lead and win by over 1 second in 2:02.10, taking over 2 seconds off the facility record. Roesler would close the best in the last 200m to overtake Wright for second.
Anima Banks of Duke would better the collegiate facility record, while NAIA runner Hannah Segrave would get her NAIA qualifier in this race.
1. Bishop, Melissa – Nike – 2:02.10 ($5000)
2. Roesler, Laura – Nike – 2:03.27 ($2000)
3. Wright, Phoebe – Nike – 2:04.72 ($1000)
4. Banks, Anima – Duke – 2:06.54
5. Thomas, LaTavia – Unattached – 2:07.22 ($500)
6. Segrave, Hannah – Milligan – 2:07.37 (NAIA qualifier)
7. Whelan, Elizabeth – North Carolina – 2:11.60
— Farley, Abby – Bull City Track – DNF
Men’s 800
This race was set up to be a showdown of the last two Camel City 800m champs in Nick Symmonds and Brandon Johnson, but then Symmonds withdrew about a week or so prior to the race. With Symmonds out, it looked like it could be anyone’s race, as Johnson hadn’t raced since the World Relays in May ’15, Cas Loxsom was coming off an appearance on the World Championship team, and then you could add Ryan Martin and Eliud Rutto of Middle Tennessee State. Remember, Rutto pushed Symmonds to the line here two years ago.
When the gun went off, pacemaker Donnie Cowart took over and led them through the first 400m in just under 54 seconds. Once he stepped off the track, Brandon Johnson would take over, followed closely by Rutto and then Ryan Martin. There would be no changes in the order from the bell to the finish line, with Johnson holding off Rutto, who in turn would hold off Heppenstall.
1. Johnson, Brandon – Nike – 1:49.28 ($4000)
2. Rutto, Eliud – Middle Tennessee State – 1:49.51
3. Heppenstall, Robert – Wake Forest – 1:50.61
4. Martin, Ryan – Asics – 1:52.22 ($2000)
5. Loxsom, Casimir – Brooks Beasts – 1:52.99 ($1000)
6. Hutchinson, Immanuel – St. Augustine’s – 1:53.77
— Cowart, Donald – Saucony – DNF
Men’s 60m Hurdles
This year’s men’s hurdles race was setting up to be quite the battle. On Thursday, though, David Oliver pulled up in practice with a tight calf muscle that would pull him from the competition. That still left Jason Richardson, Ashton Eaton and defending champ Aleec Harris to battle for the first place prize of $4000.
Prior to the finals, though, each of the athletes had a chance to warm-up with a preliminary round. In the first heat, Spencer Adams would just nip Jason Richardson to win, with Ashton Eaton taking heat two, Aleec Harris taking heat three, and Milan Ristic taking the final heat.
Coming into the finals, all eyes were on Ashton Eaton. The world record holder in the decathlon was easily the most anticipated track athlete to compete at JDL Fast Track in this event, so expectations were high. But for the second year in a row, with all eyes pointed elsewhere, Aleec Harris came through. He didn’t match his facility record of 7.55, but his 7.65 was 0.08 better than Spencer Adams’ second place time. Dondre Echols of South Carolina can tell his grandkids that he beat the world’s greatest athlete, as he took third as the top collegian.
The race wasn’t without some drama, though, as Michael Dickson of NC A&T was DQ’d for running out of his lane, as he clearly impeded Milan Ristic in the lane next to him, who finished in only 8.59 after running 7.92 in the prelims.
1. Harris, Aleec – adidas – 7.65 ($4000)
2. Adams, Spencer – Basics TC – 7.73 ($2000)
3. Echols, Dondre – South Carolina – 7.74
4. Eaton, Ashton – Nike Oregon TC Elite – 7.77 ($1000)
5. Richardson, Jason – adidas – 7.80 ($500)
6. Ristic, Milan – Jus’ Running – 8.59
— Dickson, Michael – North Carolina A&T – DQ – out of lane
Women’s 60m Hurdles
This was the first year of the women’s hurdles as a prize-money event at Camel City Elite. Last year, Sharika Nelvis set quite a standard despite there being no prize money for the race. Despite the U.S. having many of the top hurdlers in the world, our early attempts at recruiting athletes for this race proved to be difficult. It wasn’t until the last two weeks or so before the race that the field finally came together.
And what a field it was! It had World Champs, American record holders, world record holders and one of the most popular track and field athletes in the world.
The preliminary rounds started off well, with Lolo Jones winning her heat handily. In heat two, the reigning World Indoor champ Nia Ali would win somewhat easily. Then, in the third heat, Brianna Rollins would win her heat handily over one of the best HS hurdlers in the country, Anna Cockrell. Finally, heat four would be won by Kristi Castlin with Brianne Theisen-Eaton finishing in second and advancing to the final. Unfortunately, Theisen-Eaton would elect to skip the finals after high jumping on Friday and throwing the shot on Saturday morning.
In the finals, it was all Rollins, as the American record holder in the 100m hurdles would beat Nia Ali by 0.08 and tie Sharika Nelvis’ facility record of 7.95.
1. Rollins, Brianna – Nike – 7.95 ($4000)
2. Ali, Nia – Nike – 8.03 ($2000)
3. Castlin, Kristi – 8.04 ($1000)
4. Jones, Lolo – 8.17 ($500)
5. Cockrell, Anna – Unattached – 8.29
6. Beckles, Kierre – adidas – 8.36
7. Knight, Morgan – North Carolina A&T – 8.49
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