Loaded 800m Fields Highlight Top Attractions at Thursday’s Event

By Scott Bush

The Adrian Martinez Classic takes place Thursday evening in Concord, Massachusetts, once again hosting some top talent in the 800m, mile and 5000m events.

Fans watching in-person or online will have a chance to see former NCAA champion Emily Sisson return to the track, while deep and talented fields in both the men’s and women’s 800 meter events highlight the schedule.

RunnerSpace will stream the meet live, beginning at 4:15pm ET / high performance events begin at 6:35pm ET – Click Here to Watch

Women’s 5000m

After finishing fifth at the USATF Outdoor Championships in the 10,000m last summer, the sky seemed the limit for Emily Sisson. Training with multi-time U.S. champion Molly Huddle and her coach Ray Treacy, Sisson showed the potential to be America’s next great 10k talent. However, injuries slowed down Sisson’s progress and the former Providence star is now focused to regaining form quickly, with Thursday’s race being another step forward.

Sisson kicked off her 2016 season in early May at the Payton Jordan Invitational, finishing 15th in the 5,000m in 15:32.51, well off a top three finish, but seven seconds off her outdoor best. Because her fitness isn’t as well known as some of her other competition, keep an eye on Sisson and see how she handles the early pace and when the break happens how well she responds (unless she’s leading it).

Joining Sisson, Providence-based teammate Kim Smith continues her comeback. Smith has been quietly training, while competing just twice this year, which included a 15:32.77 Stanford performance in early April and a 15:55 road 5k effort in Boston two weeks later.

Canadian Rachel Cliff, Gabriele Grunewald and Kaitlin Gregg Goodwin are three others capable of pushing the 15:30 barrier. While Grunewald has worked on her speed a bit more than the two others, all three should vie for a top five finish and good marks as the Olympic Trials approach.

HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite’s Amy Van Alstine is a wildcard in the field. On paper the USATF Cross Country Championship runner-up should challenge for the win. She ran 15:41.95 at Stanford early last month and another month of training should set her up nicely to hang with the leaders and push the pace.

BAA teammates Sarah Pagano and Elaina Balouris are also entered, along with Rachel Ward. All three ran in the 10,000m final at the USATF Outdoor Championships last year, with Balouris taking home top finisher out of the three, with a 13th place effort.

Women’s 800m

As expected, the women’s 800m event is going to be one competitive race. Canadian Jessica Smith and McKayla Fricker lead the charge, both having fine seasons thus far. Smith currently ranks top-40 in the world with a seasonal best of 2:01.84, while Fricker is coming off a sixth place showing in the Prefontaine Classic National 800m where she ran 2:02.27.

2015 U.S. indoor 1,0000 champion Lauren Wallace is also in the field, ready to compete off her 2:02.83 performance last month in Portland. She’s joined by Kendra Chambers, who’s run a seasonal best of 2:02.20, former Georgetown All-American Rachel Schneider and Bethany Praska, who’s run a 2:02.44 personal best this season.

17-year old Sammy Watson, the reigning World Youth Champion over 800m and junior from New York, enters Thursday’s contest with a 2:03.54 personal best. While she’ll be hard pressed to top that mark, don’t be surprised to see her dip under 2:05.

Men’s 800m

Two-time Olympian Andrew Wheating leads the early charge in the men’s 800m. The Eugene-based pro ran a seasonal outdoor best of 1:48.09 at the Prefontaine Classic this past weekend. He looks to continue to fine-tune his speed and drop his time, as the Olympic Trials approach.

Joining Wheating, former World Championship qualifier Brandon Johnson is coming off a fine performance last month, running a seasonal best of 1:46.12. Johnson currently ranks seventh in the United States over the two-lap race and will look to dip under 1:46.

Americans Michael Rutt and Dusty Solis are two others fully capable of taking home the victory Thursday. Solis opened up his outdoor season back in April with a 1:47.18 effort, while Rutt ran 1:47.20 early last month. Add in veteran James Gilreath and young pro Drew Windle and the American contingent is mighty strong.

Canadian Anthony Romaniw, Kenyan Abraham Kiplagat and former NCAA champion Edward Kemboi are also in the field, making it an international affair. Kemboi and Romaniw both seek to dip under the 1:47 barrier for the first time this season.

With so much talent running right around the same times, this race is poised to see one or two breakthrough performances, which could give some competitors a needed push as Olympic qualifying nears.

Women’s Mile

A quartet of talented women enter Thursday’s mile contest as pre-race favorites. Brie Felnagle, Emily Lipari, Dana Mecke and Brook Handler each have successful marks to their name this season and each seems ready to run fast.

At the HOKA ONE ONE Middle Distance Classic two weeks ago, Felnagle finished third in her heat, running a season’s best time of 4:13.79. For the Boston-based Lipari finished with a 4:17.12 1,500m effort at Stanford early in May, a good sign that she’s fit and ready to challenge her 4:12.17 personal best set back in 2013.

Mecke placed seventh in 800m final last summer at the USATF Outdoor Championships and currently owns a season’s best of 2:02.20 for the two-lap race. Mecke is nearly as successful in the 1,500m event, having run 4:12.25 at the HOKA ONE ONE Middle Distance Classic and enters Thursday’s mile race with the fastest seasonal best in the 1,500m distance.

The 23-year old Handler is another in the field capable of earning victory. After scoring a fine PR of 4:15.22 for 1,500m in early May, along with the BAA Invitational Mile title and a fourth place finish at the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships, the former University of Michigan runner has plenty of momentum on her side.

Young pro Lianne Farber has high hopes of challenging for the win. She ran 4:16.96 at the Portland Twilight last month. She’s joined by High Performance West’s Kristen Findley, former NCAA champion Angela Bizzarri, Canadian Katelyn Ayers, Liz Costello and top three contender Anne Beck.

2008 Olympian Erin Donohue continues her storied career, seeking a good outdoor race to gain some momentum as the heart of the season nears. Donohue has been quiet outdoors, but ran 4:11.76 for 1,500m and 4:29.07 for the mile indoors.

Young talent, experienced veterans and a closely matched field should bode well for fast finishes Thursday evening in Concord.

Men’s Mile

Sam Penzenstadler leads the men’s mile field. Penzenstadler ran a 3:57.29 mile indoors back in early February and currently ranks in the to 25 nationally in the 1,500m, with a season’s best of 3:39.64. The former Loyola (IL) All-American should lead this one right from the gun.

Not to be overlooked, former Arkansas All-American  Kemoy Campbell of Jamaica seeks to test his speed. Known more as a 3k/5k runner, Campbell should challenge his 1,500m PR of 3:41.00, set back in 2013 in Eugene. He’s coming off a 13:30 5,000m effort at the HOKA ONE ONE Middle Distance Classic.

George Alex, Eric Avila and Donnie Cowart are three race-savvy veterans who should be in the mix for a top three finish. Alex ran 4:01.52 at the Adrian Martinez Classic last year and hopes to dip under the four-minute barrier this time, while Cowart enters Thursday’s race coming off of an 8:23.38 steeplechase performance at the HOKA ONE ONE Middle Distance Classic two weeks ago, which currently ranks him fifth in the United States.

Similar to the women’s 800m, there is a top prep in the field, as Stanford-bound Thomas Ratcliffe goes after a fast mile time. Ratcliffe, who ran 4:07 as a junior and 4:09 earlier this season (winning by nearly 25 seconds), seems bound for at least a sub-4:08 clocking, if not faster.

Men’s 5000m

While not the strongest of fields, the men’s 5,000m should still be highly entertaining. Chris Kwiatkowski, Lex Williams and Timothy Ritchie lead the way, all showing terrific fitness heading into Thursday’s competition.

For Kwiatkowski, he’ll look to make steady improvement from where he was just over two weeks ago, when he ran 13:54.56 at Swarthmore College for 5,000m. A larger pack earlier on could bode well to really challenge 13:45.

Williams’ 5,000m best is 13:45.11, set in 2014. He’s focused a bit more on his speed this outdoor season, including a 1,500m PR performance of 3:38.77 in Canada two weeks ago, while Ritchie looks to work on his speed a bit having competed at the Olympic Marathon Trials and the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships earlier this year.

Canadian Barry Britt looks to dip under the 14-minute barrier for the first time this season after running 14:04.17 in early May. His personal best came in 2015, when he ran 13:52.70, a time he could very well break should the early pace be consistent and honest.

Owen Dawson is another runner hoping to crack 14 minutes. The former Penn State star ran 14:03.43 in late April at the Stanford Invitational. He’s joined by Julian Saad, who’s gone 14:04.59 this season, along with Puerto Rico’s Alfredo Santana, who’s run 14:09.85 in 2016.