Camel City Track Foundation

2019 Camel City Elite Race Recaps

August 10, 2022 By No Comments

2019 Race Recaps

Women’s 3000m

The women’s Camel City Elite 3000m presented by Visit Winston-Salem featured a great race up front and three collegians punching their tickets to the NCAA Championships, two for Division I and one for Division II.

The race would quickly go single-file with Hannah Segrave handling the pacing duties for about 1500m, with Lipari leading at 1600m in 4:50 with another 8 athletes within 3 seconds at that point.  At that point, Lipari started to push the pace with Sutherland right behind her, as the rest of the field would start to spread out.

At 2500m, Sutherland decided to take the lead, maybe fearing Lipari’s kick a little.  Behind them, Coogan would start to give chase a little in third.  Behind them, Steelman and Henes would be the top two collegians.

With about 50-60m left, Lipari would pass Sutherland who appeared to have nothing left in the tank to hold off the charge.  Lipari would sprint down the homestretch to take first and just eke under the 9:00 barrier to pick up the $1000 bonus.

Behind her Sutherland, Coogan and Nikki Hiltz would hold off all the collegians, with Elly Henes and Hannah Steelman both picking up an NCAA qualifier in the process.  Further back, Leah Hanle would also get an NCAA Division II qualifier. 

  1.    Lipari, Emily – Adidas – 8:59.96 ($7000)
  2. Sutherland, Sara – Saucony – 9:01.76 ($4000)
  3. Coogan, Katrina – New Balance – 9:03.83 ($2000) 
  4. Hiltz, Nikki – Adidas – 9:04.32 ($1000)
  5. Henes, Elly – NC State – 9:06.36 (NCAA D1 qualifier)
  6. Steelman, Hannah – Wofford – 9:07.87 (NCAA D1 qualifier)
  7. Ilse, Morgan – North Carolina – 9:13.24
  8. Lazarchick, Kathryn – RunCCG – 9:18.57 ($300)
  9. Clairmonte, Dominique – NC State – 9:19.41
  10. Freix, Sara – Virginia Tech – 9:21.72
  11. Carnahan, Savannah – Furman – 9:24.74
  12. Morris, Logan – Clemson – 9:27.82
  13. Hanle, Leah – Mount Olive – 9:33.31 (NCAA D2 qualifier)
  14. Crosby, Nell – NC State – 9:33.34
  15. Hurley, Emma Grace – Furman – 9:46.94
  16. —    Segrave, Hannah – New Balance – DNF

Men’s 3000m

The men’s Camel City 3000m presented by Salem Sports featured Australian Olympian Patrick Tiernan and Riley Masters as the top two pros in this race.  The race also featured two top-5 finishers from the NCAA cross country championships in Edwin Kurgat and Aaron Templeton.

Willy Fink handled the pacing duties of this race and got them out a bit quick, hitting 200m in under 30 seconds before settling in.  Shota Onizuka of Japan would sit right behind Fink for the first 1350m before starting to fade a bit.  At 1600m, with Fink’s duties done, Tiernan would take over and slowly start increasing the tempo.  His last 1600m would be 4:07.47, as he would drop everyone from contention.

Collegiately, Sugira and Kurgat would have solid runs, but would only end up #18 and #21 on the end of season TFRRS lists.  Sugira’s time would have made it into each of the last three NCAA championships, and Kurgat would have been accepted into one of the last three.

Tiernan would pick up $7000 for the win, including the $1000 bonus for breaking 7:50.00.  His time would be the #3 time in JDL Fast Track history, behind only those of Paul Chelimo and Garrett Heath.

 

  1. Tiernan, Patrick – Nike – 7:48.86 ($7000)
  2. Masters, Riley – Nike – 7:54.53 ($4000)
  3. Erassa, Kirubel – American Distance Project – 7:57.77 ($2000)
  4. Sugira, James – Eastern Kentucky – 7:58.19
  5.  Kurgat, Edwin – Iowa State – 7:59.22
  6. Coleman, Jamaine – Furman Elite – 7:59.76 ($500)
  7. Seufer, Peter – Virginia Tech – 7:59.90
  8. Reeder, Troy – Furman Elite – 8:00.34 ($300)
  9. Templeton, Aaron – Unattached – 8:04.69
  10. Shanklin, Ian – NC State – 8:09.46
  11. Chemadi, Kigen – Mid Tenn State – 8:13.75
  12. Long, Zach – Tennessee – 8:14.53
  13. Lara, Frank – Furman – 8:21.67
  14. Onizuka, Shota – Unattached – 8:24.79
  15. Choge, Jacob – Mid Tenn State – 8:30.29
  16. Kipchumba, Enock – Eastern Kentucky – 8:38.43
  17. —    Fink, Willy – VT Elite – DNF

 Women’s 800m

The women’s Camel City Elite 800m presented by BB&T would be one of the highlights of this year’s event.  Ajee’ Wilson would headline the event with training partner Raevyn Rogers.   

Georganne Moline would handle the pacing duties for the second year in a row and would take them out comfortably in 28/59 for the first 400m with Ajee’ close behind.  When Moline stepped off, though, Wilson would keep her foot on the gas, passing 600m in 1:29 before blasting a 29.5 last 200m to break the facility record and flat track world record by running 1:59.26!  And she looked comfortable doing it!

Behind her, defending champ Hanna Green would nip Raevyn Rogers at the line for second.  Behind them, high schooler Athing Mu, who was in third place at 600m, would fade slightly over the last lap, but still hold on for 5th in a new HS facility record.  Right behind her, Bissah would run 2:03.99 which, after applying the conversion, would stand as the #1 TFRRS mark in the NCAA throughout the rest of the season.  Kristen Metcalfe of Embry-Riddle would technically get a D2 qualifier, but would run faster at another meet later in the season.

Ajee’ Wilson would get an $8000 payday, picking up the $1000 flat track world record bonus in addition to the sub 2:03 bonus.

  1. Wilson, Ajee’ – Adidas – 1:59.26 ($8000)
  2. Green, Hanna – Nike OTC Elite – 2:03.08 ($4000)
  3. Rogers, Raevyn – Nike – 2:03.09 ($2000)
  4. Butterworth, Lindsey – Unattached – 2:03.77 ($1000)
  5. Mu, Athing – Unattached – 2:03.98 (HS Facility Record)
  6. Bissah, Martha – Norfolk State – 2:03.99 (NCAA D1 qualifier)
  7. Egbeniyi, Abike – Mid Tenn State – 2:06.59
  8.  Metcalfe, Kristen – Embry-Riddle – 2:06.65
  9. Moline, Georganne – Adidas – DNF

Men’s 800m

The men’s Camel City Elite 800m presented by Total Sports US featured Olympians Clayton Murphy and Alex Amankwah.  This race was immediately after Ajee’ Wilson’s 800m flat track world record.  There was definitely a buzz in the facility after that race.  Would there be a letdown after such a great performance?  NO!

Curtis Beach took the race out quick, hitting 200 in about 25.7 seconds with Murphy right on his heels.  Murphy would hit 400m in 51.78 and keep his foot on the gas the last two laps.  Not to be outdone by Ajee’, Murphy would also break the flat track world record with his 1:45.92!  He would win the race by nearly 3 entire seconds, with Chris Giesting getting second in 1:48.76.

Collegiately, Matt Wisner of Duke ran a very impressive race to get his NCAA qualifier.  He was in second-to-last at 600m and ran the second fastest split from 600 to 800 (27.76) to punch his ticket to the NCAA championships.  Bashir Mosavel-Lo of Virginia Tech would also qualify for NCAAs with his 1:49.46.

Murphy would pick up a total of $8000 for his efforts, with a $1000 bonus for breaking 1:48.50 and another $1000 for breaking the flat track world record!

  1. Murphy, Clayton – Nike Oregon Project – 1:45.92 ($8000)
  2. Giesting, Chris – Hoka NJNY TC – 1:48.76 ($4000)
  3. Wisner, Matt – Duke – 1:49.22 (NCAA D1 qualifier)
  4. Piazza, Drew – Nike OTC Elite – 1:49.26 ($1000)
  5. Mosavel-Lo, Bashir – Virginia Tech – 1:49.46 (NCAA D1 qualifier)
  6. Amankwah, Alex – Ghana – 1:52.24 ($500)
  7.  Rotich, Nickson – Eastern Kentucky – 1:52.50
  8. —  Beach, Curtis – Albuquerque – DNF

 Women’s Mile

The women’s Camel City Mile presented by Champion was set to feature former American 800m indoor record holder Charlene Lipsey, but she withdrew a week prior to the race.  That left the door wide open for anyone to take the win.

At the gun, Grace Barnett would tuck in behind the pacer, Emily Richards, and follow her through 809m in 2:17.58.  Barnett, who is also the JDL Fast Track college facility record holder in this event, would never relinquish her spot on the rail.  Stephanie Garcia would chase Barnett until starting to fade around 1200m, giving up her spot to Rachel Pocratsky of Virginia Tech.

As they entered the bell lap, Barnett would have a full second advantage over Pocratsky and would extend that gap over the last 200m.  Pocratsky and teammate Sarah Edwards would finish 2-3 with identical times.  Technically, both would qualify for the NCAA championships, although Pocratsky would ultimately opt to focus solely on the 800m race.

Behind them, Abbey Cooper would finish fourth, while high schooler Tori Starcher would run a solid 4:45.14 for 6th, putting her as the fifth fastest HS time ever recorded at JDL.  With her only being a junior, she will hopefully return in 2020 to go after Ryen Frazier’s 4:41.56 record.

Barnett would pick up a nice $6000 payday for the win.

 

  1. Barnett, Grace – Mammoth TC – 4:33.94 ($6000)
  2. Pocratsky, Rachel – Virginia Tech – 4:36.49
  3. Edwards, Sarah – Virginia Tech – 4:36.49 (NCAA D1 qualifier)
  4. Cooper, Abbey – New Balance – 4:38.48 ($1000)
  5.  Garcia, Stephanie – New Balance – 4:44.17 ($750)
  6. Starcher, Tori – Unattached – 4:45.14
  7. Piccirillo, Angel – Juventus TC – 4:47.28 ($400)
  8. Hallowes, Kim – Duke – 4:48.26
  9. Mareno, Nevada – NC State – 4:52.48
  10. —     Richards, Emily – Hoka NJNY TC – DNF

 Men’s Mile

The final race of the day, the Mondo Mile, was originally intended to be the marquee event of the day.  In May of 2018, we announced that Edward Cheserek, Paul Chelimo and Matthew Centrowitz would all be competing in this race.  Then, in the fall, we added 3x Olympian Nick Willis to the field.  Then, about a month before the races, things fell apart.  Centrowitz and Chelimo withdrew on the same day about 90 minutes apart, both citing fitness issues.  Then, the day before the race, Nick Willis strained his back and said he would be a race day decision, although he ultimately withdrew.

That left Cheserek pretty much alone in the race.  But never fear, we had assembled what was believed to be our deepest college field to date.  It featured two sub 4:00 milers and a bunch of 3:41 1500m runners.  However, the race didn’t go as planned.

At the gun, Craig Nowak was supposed to take the pace out in 1:57 to 1:58.  Prior to the race, meet director Craig Longhurst told Nowak to be on the conservative side to keep the collegians in the race as long as possible to try to get some NCAA qualifiers out of it.  But when the gun actually went off, Cheserek tucked in behind Nowak and urged him to go faster.

At 809m, Cheserek was at 1:56.90 with only William Paulson of Arizona State anywhere near at 1:57.63.  Behind them, the rest of the group was following Festus Lagat of Iowa State who passed 809m in 2:00.95.

In the last 800m, Cheserek would only increase his advantage, finishing nearly 8 seconds ahead of 2nd place, as Diego Zarate of Virginia Tech would finish second, but not quite fast enough to qualify for NCAAs.  Cheserek would get the $1000 bonus for breaking 3:58.

 

  1. Cheserek, Edward – Skechers – 3:55.74 – ($7000)
  2. Zarate, Diego – Virginia Tech – 4:03.37
  3. Hurt, Tripp – Unattached – 4:03.44 ($2000)
  4. Young, Benjamin – Kentucky – 4:04.11
  5. Lagat, Festus – Iowa State – 4:04.99
  6.  Heppenstall, Robert – Wake Forest – 4:07.79
  7. Paulson, William – Arizona State – 4:08.36
  8. Tatezawa, Ryoji – Tokai University – 4:10.88 ($300)
  9. O’Toole, Garrett – Arizona State – 4:13.53
  10. Adams, Ryan – Furman – 4:14.92
  11. Sanchez, Ryan – Puerto Rico – 4:29.16
  12. —    Nowak, Craig – Furman Elite – DNF 

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