BRING BACK THE MILE
June 8, 2019
YAKIMA, Wash. — For the inaugural Virginia Mason Memorial Downtown Yakima Mile, the first time was the charm.
On a beautiful, sunny Saturday evening, Amos Bartelsmeyer of Seattle put away a deep elite field with a late surge on the downtown point-to-point course, clocking an official time of 3 minutes, 52 seconds (converted from 3:51.76), an effort that doubled his winnings to $10,000 for bettering the state record. Tripp Hurt from Boulder, Colorado was runner-up in 3:53. Overall, six men went under 4 minutes, the Mile's benchmark standard.
For the elite women, Therese Haiss of San Diego won in 4:29, missing the state women’s Mile record by less than two seconds and the $5000 bonus. Heather Kampf, a Minneapolis resident, finished second, running 4:30.
The 24-year-old Bartelsmeyer, who competes for Germany and finished sixth at the 2019 European Indoor Track Championships in the 3000 meters, graduated from Georgetown and is a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Washington while training under head UW coach Andy Powell.
The Washington state record for the Mile was run on an indoor track as Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia clocked 3:52.61 at the UW last winter.
Haiss, 23, a three-time All-American while at Arkansas, came to Yakima fresh off setting the fastest women’s Mile in California, recording a 4:19 at the State Street Mile in Santa Barbara.
Overall, the Yakima Mile awarded more than $30,000 in prize money with a $28,800 elite race purse.
The inaugural event was also the second stop on the BBTM Grand Prix Tour 2019presented by Running Warehouse, featuring 5 top U.S. events and offering more than $110,000 in guaranteed prize money. After two races, Hurt and Kampf sit atop the Tour standings with 18 and 16 points, respectively. The next Tour 2019 stop is the Fleet Feet Liberty Mile on Friday evening, August 9 in Pittsburgh.
Hundreds of runners competed in 10 races held over four hours on Yakima Avenue.
Inaugural Virginia Mason Memorial Downtown Yakima Mile BBTM Grand Prix Tour 2019 presented by Running Warehouse, second stop Yakima, WA, Saturday evening, June 8, 2019
MEN 1) Amos Bartelsmeyer (GER / WA), 3:52 (3:51.76), $10,000* 2) Tripp Hurt (CO), 3:53, $3000 3) Daniel Herrera (LA), 3:54, $1500 4) Edwin Ngetich (KEN / PA), 3:55, $1000 5) Weston Strum (CA), 3:57, $750 6) Neil Gourley (GBR / OR), 3:59, $350 7) Sam Atkin (GBR / ID), 4:00, $200 8) Brandon Hudgins (NC), 4:03, $100 9) Marcus Dickson (UT), 4:06 10) Nick Harris (CO), 4:06 *includes $5000 bonus for the fastest Mile on Washington soil (previous fastest WA Mile, 3:52.61i Yomif Kejelcha (ETH), Seattle, WA, 01/12/19)
WOMEN 1) Therese Haiss (CA), 4:29, $5000 2) Heather Kampf (MN), 4:30, $3000 3) Eleanor Fulton (OR), 4:31, $1500 4) Natalija Piliušina (LTU / AZ), 4:33, $1000 5) Baylee Mires (AZ), 4:36, $750 6) Anna Maxwell (WA), 4:44, $350 7) Alli Cash (WA), 4:46, $200 8) Jane Ricardi (WA), 4:55, $100
NOTE: Point-to-point course with 30 foot elevation drop
Complete race results and event photos HERE.
Read the original article HERE