Hard Closing 800m Finishes Highlight Fine Evening of Racing

By Scott Bush

The Adrian Martinez Classic took place Thursday evening under the lights in Concord, Massachusetts, as fans in attendance witnessed a long list of inspiring performances, as well as two top-notch high school races.

Watch the race replays at RunnerSpace – Click Here to Watch - Results

Men’s 800m

A quick early pace strung out the field in the first 200 meters of the top heat and it was Brandon Johnson taking over once the rabbit dropped, pushing the pace hard.

The former World Championship qualifier continued to drive, building a sizeable lead with 150 meters to go, but it was Brooks Beasts’ Drew Windle swinging wide and charging hard, nearly stealing the win from Johnson in the final steps of the race.

Johnson closed hard to take home the win in 1:46.72, less a tenth of a second ahead of Windle, while Big Bear TC’s Dusty Solis and OTC Elite’s Andrew Wheating rounded out the top four, both finishing in 1:47.33. Wheating closed especially hard, after running in last place for the first 650 meters of the race.

Top Five Results

1:46.72 Brandon Johnson

1:46.81 Drew Windle

1:47.33 Dusty Solis

1:47.33 Andrew Wheating

1:47.45 Mike Rutt

Women’s 800m

To no one’s surprise, McKayla Fricker, who’s having a fine 2016 season, charged to the lead after the first 400 meters and never looked back. Fricker handled the early pace of the rabbit and then continued to pour it on, besting the quality field with a 2:02.77 winning effort.

Coming in second was high school junior Sammy Watson, who ran a stellar race to finish in 2:03.06, just ahead of third place finisher Bethany Praska and fourth place Kendra Chambers.

Watson’s runner-up finish was a personal best for the reigning World Youth champion and ranks her US#1 in the event at the high school level, over two seconds ahead of current US#2 Christina Aragon (MT), who ran 2:05.65 late last month.

Top Five Results

2:02.77 McKayla Fricker

2:03.06 Sammy Watson

2:03.31 Bethany Praska

2:03.41 Kendra Chambers

2:03.58 Jessica Smith

Men’s Mile

It wasn’t a shock that Sam Penzenstadler won the men’s mile Thursday evening at the Adrian Martinez Classic, but his nearly half second victory showed he was the class of the field. The former Loyola All-American ran tough over the final 400 meters, winning in a fine time of 3:57.80, well up on runner-up Eric Avila, who finished in 3:58.23. Six runners in total ran under four minutes.

Coming in eighth place overall, high school senior Thomas Ratcliffe had the crowd on their feet, as he truly challenged the sub-4 minute barrier. The Stanford-bound Ratcliffe simply didn’t have enough in the final lap to eclipse the historic mark, but he did run an all-time great performance of 4:01.50, which incredibly ranks him US#4 this season.

Top Five Results

3:57.80 Sam Penzenstadler

3:58.23 Eric Avila

3:59.18 Joel Hubbard

3:59.33 Julian Oakley

3:59.68 Abraham Kiplagat Cheplaiti

Women’s Mile

Brie Felnagle knew there were some fine kickers in the women’s mile, so after 1000m she made sure the field would have to earn it if they hoped to unseat her in the lead. Felnagle followed the rabbit closely, taking over and pushing hard heading into the gun lap.

With a large pack of talented runners fighting to catch her, Felnagle continued her strong race, charging down the homestretch to capture a big win in a world-leading time of 4:32.72, over a second ahead of runner-up Emily Lipari, who finished in 4:33.83.

Top Five Results

4:32.72 Brie Felnagle

4:33.83 Emily Lipari

4:34.01 Angela Bizzarri

4:34.59 Lianne Farber

4:35.26 Erin Donohue

Women’s 5000m

The early laps saw the rabbit take a pack of five women through the first mile of the race in consistent fashion, hitting 73-74 seconds per lap in the early going. Shortly after the rabbit dropped out, New Zealand’s Kim Smith took over the pacing duties, leading BAA’s Sarah Pagano and Elaina Balouris, as well as Gabriele Grunewald and Rachel Cliff.

The two-time Olympian continued to set the pace, as the Pagano, Grunewald and Cliff maintaining contact with less than two laps to go. As Smith started to make her charge, Grunewald went around her with 500 meters to go, surging past her competitors and clearly establishing herself in the lead.

Grunewald would never give up her lead, cruising to a US#8 time of 15:25.40, while Pagano finished with a US#9 time on the season with her 15:26.79 effort. Cliff also dipped under the 15:30 mark, while Smith finished fourth overall.

Pre-race favorite Emily Sisson, who placed fifth at the USATF Outdoor Championships in the 10000m last year, finished seventh in 16:01.21.

Top Five Results

15:25.40 Gabriele Grunewald

15:26.79 Sarah Pagano

15:29.23 Rachel Cliff

15:32.10 Kim Smith

15:37.51 Kaitlin Gregg Goodman

Men’s 5000m

It was a battle of four, that eventually ended in a head-to-head battle with 200 meters to go.

The goal was clear early on in the men’s 5000m contest Thursday evening, the lead pack wanted to run well under 14 minutes and with fine racing and a late race push, it was mission accomplished.

Alfred Santana of Puerto Rico and former Michigan All-American Lex Williams dueled over the final laps of the race, with Santana throwing down a 62 second last lap to win by three seconds in an impressive 13:48.10. Williams finished second in 13:51.49, leading three other men under the 14-minute barrier.

Top Five Results

13:48.10 Alfredo Santana

13:51.49 Lex Williams

13:56.20 Timothy Ritchie

13:57.62 Julian Saad

13:59.04 Evan Esselink