2015 Camel City Elite Race Recaps
2015 Race Recaps
Mellow Mile
The 2015 edition was enhanced about 5 months prior to the race when we were approached by the local Mellow Mushroom franchise and asked about sponsoring the women’s mile. The Mellow Mile was born. With the increase in prize money to $4000/$2000/$1000/$500, we were able to attract some of the top milers in the country, if not the world.
In addition to Rowbury, the field included former world #1 Morgan Uceny, Heather Kampf and steeple specialist Stephanie Garcia. Prior to the race, we sent an email to the competitors asking for their request for the pace from the rabbit. Shannon Rowbury of the Nike Oregon Project responded that she would like to see 2:12 for 800m.
On race day, Melissa Salerno of Furman Elite didn’t disappoint, hitting 800m at 2:12.3. A pack of the rest of the pros was hot on her heels, but not for long. The pace would prove to be too fast for everyone but Rowbury. Shortly after 1200m, Rowbury had stretched her lead to nearly 3 seconds, and would continue to press on. Behind the chase pack, HSer Ryen Frazier was leading the pack of collegians.
Rowbury’s lead continued to stretch as she crossed the finish line in 4:22.66, which was not only a world-leading mark for 2015, but also made her the #5 all-time indoor performer EVER with the #9 performance! Uceny would beat Kampf to the line for second, with Garcia and See behind that. Further back, Frazier would finish in 6th place and run the top HS time in the country for the entire season, as she crossed the line in 4:41.56!
Rowbury picked up $4k for the win, plus another $1k for the facility record. Next year, we may have to figure out a different bonus for the women, as it may be a little unrealistic to have a bonus for breaking the facility record if it is one of the top 10 times ever recorded indoors!
1. Rowbury, Shannon – Nike Oregon Project – 4:22.66 ($5000)
2. Uceny, Morgan – Adidas – 4:30.90 ($2000)
3. Kampf, Heather – Asics/Team USA MN – 4:31.24 ($1000)
4. Garcia, Stephanie – New Balance/Furman Elite – 4:33.23 ($500)
5. See, Heidi – Furman Elite – 4:34.69
6. Frazier, Ryen – Unattached – 4:41.56 (US #1 HS performance)
7. Staker, Ellie – Embry-Riddle – 4:44.37
8. Hamilton, Carly – Georgia – 4:49.27
9. Morton, Shannon – Virginia Tech – 4:50.34
10. Rempel, Karley – North Carolina – 4:51.39
11. Whelan, Elizabeth – North Carolina – 4:54.03
12. Paddon, Sarah – Davidson – 4:55.84
13. Wright, Megan – Toledo – 4:55.88
— Salerno, Melissa – Furman Elite – DNF
Men’s Mile presented by Salem Sports
The 2015 event saw a significant increase in prize money and quality in its field. The field would include 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist Leo Manzano and 2014 United States World Indoor team member Will Leer. Cory Leslie, after sitting out the 2014 race due to injury, returned to defend his facility record.
With a sponsorship from local sign and events specialist Salem Sports, the prize money increased to $4000/$2000/$1000/$500 plus a $1000 bonus for the winner if they broke the facility record of 3:57.81.
With a race that was already shaping up to be quite the battle, Cory Leslie upped the ante a few days before the race when he made the request for the rabbit to go through 1k at 2:26. With big kickers Manzano and Leer in the field, Leslie was essentially telling them that they wouldn’t be able to sit back and kick, but would rather have to work for the win.
After two years of excellent pacemaking, Donnie Cowart was handed the reins again this year. They went through 1k at 2:25.8. Riley Masters led the peloton about 3 seconds back, followed closely by Manzano, Leer, Virginia Tech’s Patrick Joseph and Matt Elliott.
Around 1100m, Leslie would start checking over his shoulder to see where the chasers were. At the bell, the chase pack was Leer, Manzano, Masters and Elliott, with Joseph not too far behind. Leslie would visibly tighten over the last lap, but he had a big enough cushion to hold off his pursuers. The race was on for second. Leer would win the battle for second, with Elliott just nipping Manzano at the line for third. Riley Masters would run 3:58 and finish fifth and out of the money.
Patrick Joseph of Virginia Tech would finish 6th and run 4:00.47, which would convert to 3:57.44 and put him #5 in the country at the end of the season. Kyle Graves of Wake Forest would finish in 7th. Despite only running about .43 seconds slower than Presson did in 2014, he would end up #28 on the NCAA list for the season.
Leslie would not only get the win, but also picked up the $1000 bonus for breaking his facility record. In fact, each of the top four went under the previous facility record of 3:57.81, but only the winner gets the bonus.
1. Leslie, Cory – Nike/Furman Elite – 3:56.99 ($5000)
2. Leer, Will – Nike – 3:57.54 ($2000)
3. Elliott, Matthew – Brooks/In The Arena – 3:57.76 ($1000)
4. Manzano, Leo – Hoka One One – 3:57.79 ($500)
5. Masters, Riley – Brooks Beasts – 3:58.91
6. Joseph, Patrick – Virginia Tech – 4:00.47 (NCAA D1 qualifier)
7. Graves, Kyle – Wake Forest – 4:02.71
8. Gourley, Neil – Virginia Tech – 4:04.06
9. Crawford, Graham – NC State – 4:04.48
10. Hurt, Tripp – Furman – 4:13.38
11. Campos, Juan – Virginia Tech – 4:18.30
— Cowart, Donald – Crazy Running – DNF
Women’s 3k
In 2015, we had prize money of $2000/$1000/$500 plus a $1000 bonus for breaking the facility record of 9:02.79. Unlike 2014, we had the funding to have a rabbit to assist with getting the race off to a great start.
Carmen Graves of Brooks was set to handle the pacemaking duties. She was asked to take them through the mile in 4:52. From the gun, two races emerged: a race for the win by the pros and Annie LeHardy of North Carolina, and a second group of the rest of the collegians.
Graves took the pace through 800m in 2:25 with Aisha Praught and Nicol Traynor in close pursuit. Graves would step off the track at 1200m, saying later that her heels kept getting clipped and she thought it better just to “get out of their way.” At that point, Praught would take over for the next two laps, with a pack of Traynor, LeHardy, Paquette and Findley in tow.
Traynor would take over around 1600 meters and start pushing the pace a little. Praught would regain the lead around 2100m, as a break would form with Praught and Traynor separating from Findley and LeHardy. With 400m to go, Praught would start extending her lead on Traynor. At the line, she would fall less than half a second short of picking up the $1000 bonus.
1. Praught, Aisha – Nike Oregon Track Club Elite – 9:03.27 ($2000)
2. Traynor, Nicol – NJNY TC – 9:07.69 ($1000)
3. Findley, Kristen – Adidas/Rogue Racing – 9:15.05 ($500)
4. LeHardy, Annie – North Carolina – 9:19.79
5. Kvartunas, Paige – Virginia Tech – 9:27.20
6. Goldkamp, Mary – Adidas/Rogue Racing – 9:29.03
7. Thompson, Joanna – NC State – 9:29.41
8. Alcorta, Caroline – North Carolina – 9:30.63
9. Chojnacky, Mackenzie – Toledo – 9:30.68
10. George, Samantha – NC State – 9:31.80
11. Haughey, Sinead – Furman – 9:33.10
12. Pease, Sarah – Adidas/Rogue Racing – 9:33.92
13. Tullis, Brooke – Toledo – 9:35.56
14. Buchalski, Allie – Furman – 9:40.41
15. Rapp, Sarah – Virginia Tech – 9:42.31
— Graves, Carmen – Brooks – DNF
— Paquette, Lauren – Breakaway Race Team – DNF
Men’s 3k
The 2015 edition would see an increase in prize money to $2000/$1000/$500, plus the $1000 bonus for breaking Craig Forys facility record. The race had the luxury of pacer, 3:58 miler, Isaac Presson of Furman Elite, with a request to go out in approximately 4:16 for 1600 meters. Coming into the race, Miles Batty had the most impressive credentials with a 3:54 mile PR and 7:49 3k PR. However, he would be a non-factor in the race and would ultimately drop out.
The race suffered a re-start when one of the competitors fell in the first 50 meters. At the re-start, Isaac Presson went straight to the front and did a great job controlling the tempo. Thomson of NC State, Curtin of Virginia Tech and Lord of Georgia would be the first to tuck in behind the pacer. By 800m, the order would be shuffled a little and Curtin, Shelley, Lord and Keveren would be just off Presson’s shoulder in a single-file line.
Presson would pass 1600m at 4:18 and 2k at 5:21 before stepping off the track. At that point, Curtin would assume the lead and drop the hammer. Lord, Keveren and Shelley would try to go with him, but Curtin would run approximately 2:35 for his last 1k to take the victory. His finishing mark of 7:56.10 would convert to 7:50.63 and easily get him into the NCAA indoor championship meet. Behind him, Jake Shelley would outkick Lord of Georgia and take the top professional spot and the $2k prize money.
1. Curtin, Thomas – Virginia Tech – 7:56.10 (NCAA D1 qualifier)
2. Shelley, Jake – Unattached – 8:00.66 ($2000)
3. Lord, Brandon – Georgia – 8:00.76
4. Keveren, Sean – Ragged Mountain Elite – 8:04.16 ($1000)
5. Raneri, John – North Carolina – 8:04.75
6. Reeder, Troy – Furman – 8:04.87
7. Thomson, Jacob – NC State – 8:05.19
8. Vargas, Luis – Elon – 8:06.08
9. Barlow, Darren – Virginia Tech – 8:06.48
10. Schellberg, Pat – North Carolina – 8:06.70
11. Robertson, Stuart – Virginia Tech – 8:16.14
12. Roberts, Sandy – Salming – 8:16.80 ($500)
13. Baker, Brock – Furman – 8:22.80
— Walling, Ryan – North Carolina – DNF
— Batty, Miles – Unattached – DNF
— Presson, Isaac – Furman Elite – DNF
Women’s 800
The women in this year’s race were battling for a $2000/$1000/$500 prize purse, with a $1000 bonus for breaking Kampf’s facility record. Melissa Salerno handled the pacing duties of this race and would later pace the women’s mile on the same day. She took the pace through 400m in almost exactly 60 seconds with about a 6-8m lead on Wright and Jenna Westaway of Brooks Running Canada.
Westaway would take the lead with just over a lap to go. Thomas would also go by Wright on the backstretch, but Wright would charge back by her coming off the final turn. Westaway would hold off the hard charging Wright for the victory.
Behind them, Hanna Green of Virginia Tech would overtake Geena Lara for fourth. Green’s time of 2:06.62 would convert to 2:05.18 for NCAA qualifying purposes. Although that time would not end up getting Green into the NCAA indoor meet, she later ran 2:03.43 at the ACC indoor meet to qualify.
1. Westaway, Jenna – Brooks Running Canada – 2:04.94 ($2000)
2. Wright, Phoebe – Nike – 2:05.06 ($1000)
3. Thomas, Latavia – NJNY TC – 2:05.51 ($500)
4. Green, Hanna – Virginia Tech – 2:06.62
5. Lara, Geena – Unattached – 2:06.81
6. Smith, Amanda – Virginia Tech – 2:07.03
7. Iyevbele, Kenyetta – NC State – 2:10.69
8. Farber, Lianne – North Carolina – 2:10.94
9. Dodge, Blake – North Carolina – 2:13.69
— Salerno, Melissa – Furman Elite – DNF
Men’s 800
The 2015 event attracted a deep field, with 5 sub 1:46 performers in the field. Initially, we were having trouble with attracting talent in this event, but with the help of some well-placed tweets, we were able to attract a stellar field.
For the second year in a row, Logan Roberts handled the pacemaking duties. This year, however, we probably didn’t need him, as Richard Jones battled him for the entire first 400m. When Roberts stepped off the track, Jones continued to lead with Brandon Johnson close behind. Johnson went by Jones around 625m into the race and would never look back. Jones would fade badly as Harun Abda would move into second and Ryan Martin would hold off Tyler Mulder for third. Brandon Johnson picked up $2,000 for the win plus another $1,000 for breaking Nick Symmonds’ facility record.
1. Johnson, Brandon – Nike – 1:48.27 ($3000)
2. Abda, Harun – Nike Oregon Track Club Elite – 1:49.51 ($1000)
3. Martin, Ryan – Asics – 1:49.87 ($500)
4. Mulder, Tyler – Nike Oregon Track Club Elite – 1:49.99
5. Skinner, Dylan – Brooks – 1:51.07
6. Wanliss, O’Neal – North Carolina – 1:51.09
7. Grethen, Charles – Georgia – 1:51.95
8. Owusu-Mensah, Prince – Virginia Tech – 1:52.67
9. Jones, Richard – Unattached – 1:54.43
— Roberts, Logan – Unattached – DNF
Men’s 60m Hurdles
The only prize money that was available was a $1500 first place prize and a $500 bonus for breaking the facility record of 7.73. Based on the entrants in the meet, we figured that was sure to go down.
When word got out that David Oliver and Jason Richardson were racing at JDL, other hurdlers wanted to compete in that race. This led to Ty Akins and Aleec Harris being added to the fields.
On Friday, 56 athletes lined up for one of the 24 slots in Saturday’s semi-finals. On Saturday, though, the fireworks started. In the first semi-final heat, Jason Richardson ran 7.68 to break the facility record and set the tone. In heat two, University of Toronto’s Gregory MacNeill won his heat and beat Ty Akins of Nigeria to advance to the finals.
In the third heat, though, Aleec Harris would run 7.55 to set the new facility record and become the top qualifier to the finals. In the fourth heat, Spencer Adams of Nike would win in 7.75 and would be followed by fifth heat winner David Oliver, who ran 7.60 in the semi-finals.
About two hours later, the finals were run in front of a packed crowd that was on its feet. After the gun went off and the dust settled Aleec Harris would be crowned the victor over Richardson, Oliver, et al. in what was at the time deemed an upset, but would later be the start of a great indoor season for Harris.
1. Harris, Aleec – Adidas – 7.58 ($2000)
2. Richardson, Jason – Adidas – 7.62
3. Oliver, David – Nike – 7.69
4. Adams, Spencer – Nike – 7.71
5. Akins, Tyron – Nigeria – 7.91
6. MacNeill, Gregory – Toronto – 7.91
7. Thomas, Dwight – Adidas – 7.97
8. Keddo, Eric – Unattached – 8.03
Women’s 60m Hurdles
The women’s 60m Hurdles was technically not an official “Camel City Event in 2015, but that didn’t stop former NCAA hurdles champion Sharika Nelvis from coming in and blowing away our facility record. Ms. Nelvis came in and cruised to 8.14 in the Friday qualifying round before following that up with an 8.22 in Saturday’s prelims.
On Saturday afternoon, though, the gloves came off and Sharika blew away the competition by running a new facility record of 7.95, breaking the old one of 8.08 set by Vanneisha Ivy. She also won by .21 of a second. Although there was no prize money available, Sharika did walk away with $500 for breaking the facility record.
1. Nelvis, Sharika – Adidas – 7.95 ($500)
2. Manning, Christina – Adidas – 8.16
3. Warren, Hayley – Toronto – 8.18
4. Jones, Kaymarie – Unattached – 8.29
5. Newton, Kendra – Unattached – 8.40
6. Edgecombe, Demeteria – East Tenn St – 8.43
7. Cockrell, Anna – Unattached – 8.44
8. Erega, Arna – Unattached – 8.61
No Comments