Canadians finish strong at Sound Running’s On Track Fest
Rob Heppenstall won the men's 1,500m, Gabriela DeBues-Stafford returned to racing after injury and Ben Flanagan shaved seven seconds off his 5,000m PB
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Gabriela DeBues-Stafford/Facebook
Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, Ben Flanagan and Rob Heppenstall led the charge for Canada’s sizable contingent at the Sound Running Track Fest in Los Angeles on Saturday. DeBues-Stafford finished second in the women’s 1,5000m final in 4:06.71, and missed defending her 2022 title by just .37 seconds.
Her performance on the weekend marked a confident comeback for the 27-year-old, who was sidelined from racing for almost a year with a sacral stress fracture. She crossed the finish hot on the heels of U.S. runner Sage Hurta-Klecker, who took first in 4:06.34. Susan Ejore of the U.S. ran 4:07.10 to round out the top three.
Flanagan shaved an impressive seven seconds off his PB to finish third in the men’s 5,000m final, finishing in 13:13. The 28-year-old was once again on the heels of his teammate, Morgan Beadlescomb (who recently won the B.A.A. 5K) in second, and Cooper Teare took the win in 13:12.73.
The 26-year-old Heppenstall, meanwhile, came from behind in the final 200m to score a dominant win in the men’s 1,500m, breaking the tape in 3:36.97, a third of a second ahead of Woody Kincaid, who ran 3:37.32.
In addition to the successes of Canadian athletes, this year’s On Track Fest featured notable performances by a pair of young American athletes. Katelyn Tuohy, 21, broke Jenny Simpson‘s NCAA record in the 5,000m with her 15:03.12 result. Connor Burns, a senior at Southern Boone County High School in Ashland, Mo., broke Galen Rupp‘s high school 5,000m record with 13:37.30 and is off to the University of Oregon next year.
Other results
In the 800m women’s final, Halimah Nakaayi (2:00.21) edged out Claire Seymour (2:00.21) and McKenna Keegan (2:00.81).
Yared Nuguse won the men’s 800m final in 1:46.30, followed by Tonatiu Lopez (1:46.75) and Isaiah Harris (1:46.93)
Josette Andrews (formerly Josette Norris) won the women’s 5,000m final in 14:43.36, beating Joselyn Brea (14:47.76) and Laura Galvan (14:49.34).
Adriaan Wildschutt crossed the finish line in 27:23.10 to win the men’s 10,000m, followed by Alex Masai (27:23.10) and Thomas George (28.06.26)
In the women’s 10,000m, Fiona O’Keeffe ran 30:32.77, followed by Diane Van Es (31:02.24) and WuGA HE (31:14.94).
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