Eastern Track League: Nashville

8 min readJun 4, 2019

The Eastern Track League resumed action this past weekend by competing in the Music City Distance Classic, where 8 Events were scored making this the biggest weekend of ETL action to date. In a meet full of Olympians — a few athletes really stood out and a few teams took command of the ETL standings.

Men’s 800m

The perfect race to jump into as the 800-meter field impresses for the 2nd meet in a row. Wesley Vazquez — representing Puerto Rico — comes up .04 seconds shy of his personal best as he dominates the field to take home a huge win in 1:44.68 (1183) after a blistering 49.72 first 400 meters. This nets Vazquez both 2019 and 2020 standards, although he wasn’t the only one in the field. Adidas athlete Brandon McBride’s 52.93 was the fastest closing lap in the field and his 1:45.04 was also enough for both Olympic and World Championship qualifiers. District Track Club’s Edose Ibadin rounds out the top 3 finishing in 1:45.6 (1155) followed by Thomas Staines of Great Britain who — by achieving the 1:45.67 mark — makes it 4 athletes who achieved the EC in this race.

District Track Club’s Quamel Prince was the top returner with his 1:45.95 giving him 2301 IAAf points over the series, leading Atlanta Track Club’s Edward Kemboi (1:47.87) by 125 points.

1. VAZQUEZ, WESLEY Puerto Rico 1:44.68
2. MCBRIDE, BRANDON Adidas 1:45.04
3. IBADIN, EDOSE District TC 1:45.60
4. STAINES, THOMAS Great Britain 1:45.67
5. PRINCE, QUAMEL District TC 1:45.95
6. ELLISON, SAM Boston A.A. 1:46.10
7. PIAZZA, DREW Nike OTC Elite 1:46.21
8. JONES, CHARLES District TC 1:47.58
9. GARN, JESSE HOKA NJNYTC 1:47.83
10. KEMBOI, EDWARD Atlanta TC 1:47.87
11. FORD, ROBERT HOKA NJNYTC 1:48.07
12. MIRANDA, SERGIO Unattached 1:48.14
13. HOLDSWORTH, DEREK Unattached 1:48.35
14. CAPWELL, DYLAN Atlanta TC 1:48.36
15. DOWNS, ROBERT UNA-TX 1:48.43
16. SIMMONS, PARIS Top 5 Sport 1:48.52
17. NIXON, DANIEL Unattached 1:48.54
18. CRONIN, DEAN Atlanta TC 1:48.91
19. JONES, IAN Unattached 1:49.07
20. MANAHAN, RYAN HOKA NJNYTC 1:49.08
21. MARSELLA, MIKE Boston A.A. 1:49.25
22. HOWARD, GREY Lactic City TC 1:49.29
23. MINORS, DAGE Bermuda 1:49.31
24. ARLABOSSE, HUGO France 1:49.59
25. ROMANIW, ANTHONY Speed River TC 1:49.63
26. HARRISON, CHRISTIAN Boston A.A. 1:49.71
27. AMANKWAH, ALEX District TC 1:49.88
28. WALKER, DEVUNDRICK CSU-Pueblo 1:50.22
29. PROCEVIAT, CAMERON Coastal TC 1:50.26
30. GILREATH, JAMES Team Green 1:50.55
31. MOLINARO, MATT HOKA NJNYTC 1:50.57

Women’s 5000m

Next on the track was the women’s 5000m that saw NAIA champion and Oklahoma City University’s Aminat Olowora win in a convincing 16:21.14 (1010). Coming in behind her was Run CCG’s Kathryn Lazarchick in 16:38.39 followed closely by Nicole Gardner 16:40 to solidify the top 3. Gardner ended up with the fastest final lap of the race closing in 72 seconds and making up a ton of ground to the finish.

OLOWORA, AMINAT Oklahoma City Univ. 16:21.1
LAZARCHICK, KATHRYN Run CCG 16:38.39
GARDNER, NICOLE Unattached 16:40.50
SANTIAGO, CRISTELIZ COLON Puerto Rico 16:42.78
KEARNEY, EMILY Wirral AC 17:04.53
PASTERNAK, ANNA Unattached 17:12.62
CHRISTOFOROU, STELLA Cyprus 17:34.66
OLALDE GRANADOS, GISELA Unattached 17:56.80

Men’s 5000m

Willy Fink takes home the win in a good early season result of 13:43.44 — closing in a strong 60.82. The last mile is really where Fink staked his claim on the race as no one else could answer his 65-second 11th lap.

Donnie Cowart finishes 2nd in 13:55.05 while Mike Tate rounds out the podium finishing in a time of 14:03.67.

1. FINK, WILLY Unattached 13:43.44
2. COWART, DONNIE Unattached 13:55.05
3. TATE, MIKE Speed River TC 14:03.67
4. ABDULKARIM, FARAH UNA-Ole Miss 14:05.54
5. MACH, WUOI Gazelle Elite 14:05.74
6. DALQUIST, AUSTEN Arkansas 14:11.97
7. GARCIA, EDUARDO Asics-Greenville TC 14:12.05
8. UBENE, MITCHELL Speed River TC 14:13.06
9. O’MARA, COLIN Arkansas 14:15.92
10. KERR, CALEB IN 14:16.70
11. OJEDA, FERNANDO Puerto Rico 14:21.17
12. PAPPAS, AUGUST Unattached 14:24.82
13. VARGESE, BEN Unattached 14:29.00
14. DEAN, DILLON Samford 14:32.68
15. FOOTE, ALEX Unattached 14:34.34
16. VINCENT, SAM Tough Track 14:39.32
17. KURVACH, MIKE Kevin’s Kangaroos 14:52.38

Women’s 800m

The women’s 800 meters started out hot with a 58 second first lap, Sage Hurta then dominated the 2nd half of the race en route to a big personal best 2:00.99. Athing Mu was right behind her however with a 3 second PB of her own (2:01.38) while Agnes Abu rounds out the top 3 after running a 62-second last lap to finalize her spot, just beating out Alexa Afraimson who continues to have a stellar start to the season. It even more impressive when you consider that 1st place and 17th place were separated by only 3 seconds in total.

In ETL returner action Agnes Abu really dominates the standings with 2267 points, District Track Club’s Madeline Kopp is in 2nd place for the series with 2187 points, just holding off Atlanta Track Club’s Megan Malasarte for now who ends the night with 2108.

1. HURTA, SAGE Unattached 2:00.99
2. MU, ATHING Trenton TC 2:01.38
3. ABU, AGNES Ghana 2:02.20
4. EFRAIMSON, ALEXA Nike 2:02.66
5. KELLY, MADELEINE Univ. Toronto TC 2:02.69
6. MECKE, DANA Unattached 2:02.98
7. BROOKS, ALENA Trinidad & Tobago 2:03.01
8. MARRERO, ALETHIA Garden State TC 2:03.12
9. WEBB, SKYLYN UCCS 2:03.26
10. IYEVBELE, KENYETTA HOKA NJNYTC 2:03.27
11. RICHARDS, EMILY HOKA NJNYTC 2:03.31
12. KOSICHENKO, OLGA NB Central Park TC 2:03.39
13. TAYLOR, ASHLEY Under Armour 2:03.46
14. WESTAWAY, JENNA Canada 2:03.54
15. MORALES, PRISCILA Puerto Rico 2:03.74
16. MANLEY, MEGHAN HOKA NJNYTC 2:03.75
17. DETRA, BRENNA Boston A.A. 2:03.95
18. COLLINSWORTH, SHEA Nike 2:04.42
19. EDOBI, JENNIFER Nigeria 2:04.53
20. KOPP, MADELINE District TC 2:04.64
21. MALASARTE, MEGAN Atlanta TC 2:04.73
22. WATSON, SAMMY Adidas 2:05.11
23. MELCHER, ANNETTE Air Force WCAP 2:05.72
24. TEAL, JESSICA Saucony Freedom TC 2:07.58
25. PHELAN, JAIMIE Unattached 2:08.18
26. ANDERSON, JORDAN Unattached 2:08.64
27. SMITH, JENNA Speed River TC 2:08.74
28. FAUST, CAITIE Unattached 2:09.17
29. TOWNSEND, ADDY Unattached 2:09.23
30. MCHUGH, MADDIE Unattached 2:13.42

Women’s 3000m Steeplechase

In a season-best 9:39.08, Rosie Clarke wins the ETL’s inaugural Women’s 3000m Steeplechase while earning the 2019 World Championship Standard for her effort. Rosie wins this race off a strong final 1200 meters coming through in 77/75/70. Rosie Donegan and Annie Rodenfels complete the podium picture by both racing sub-10 minutes — 9:48 and 9:57 respectively.

1. CLARKE, ROSIE MAE Great Britain 9:39.08
2. DONEGAN, ROSIE Battle Road TC 9:48.69
3. RODENFELS, ANNIE UNA-Centre 9:57.39
4. THORN, CHRISTINE Unattached 10:06.30
5. DOUGLAS, ALICIA Unattached 10:08.18
6. KUNC, KATY HOKA NJNYTC 10:10.63
7. GRAVES, CARMEN Unattached 10:19.19
8. GARRY, KIRA HOKA NJNYTC 10:23.54
9. BURKHART, ALEXANDRA Roots Running Proj. 10:24.46
10. MORRISSEY, JAMIE HOKA NJNYTC 10:31.29
11. VOVK, ALESHA Unattached 10:33.55
12. TANUI, SUSAN U.S. Army 10:48.85
13. GOLLNICK, HAILEY Unattached 10:49.08
14. HOWES, CECILIA Winnipeg Optimist AC 11:02.25
15. CHRISTOFOROU, STELLA Cyprus 11:27.13

Men’s 3000m Steeplechase

Jermain Coleman puts Furman Elite firmly on the board with a 1119 point performance. Coleman comes agonizingly close to the 2019 WC Standard but there will be more chances for him to accomplish that feat. Coleman had to hold off a charging Max Stevens and Michael Jordan, who picked off Mark Parrish with a 64-second final lap.

1. COLEMAN, JAMAINE Furman Elite 8:30.67
2. STEVENS, MAX Australia 8:31.29
3. JORDAN, MICHAEL U.S. Army 8:32.69
4. PARRISH, MARK Unattached 8:33.13
5. ESTREMERA, RICARDO Puerto Rico 8:38.98
6. BARRAZA, BRIAN Adidas 8:40.20
7. SAYLER, JACKSON Unattached 8:50.02
8. ABREU MARTINEZ, ALVARO Dominican Republic 8:50.07
9. PATAKY, VICTOR Asics-GTC Elite 8:56.67
10. RIVERA, VICTOR ORTIZ Puerto Rico 8:57.75
11. ROBINSON, WESLEY Unattached 9:05.58
12. BUGLER, RYAN Asics-GTC Elite 9:09.61
13. MCINERNEY, RILEY Unattached 9:11.35
14. PRIZZI, JOHN Battle Road TC 9:16.92
15. BROMLEY, MATTHEW Unattached 9:26.03
16. BENKOVSKY, ANDREW Red Cedar RC 9:40.19

Men’s 1500m

Rob Napolitano has really put his mark on the ETL so far; after coming up agonizingly short in Swathmore, he wins the 1500 meter by outlasting a charging Jake Edwards. Napolitano now has 2197 points in the series so far and leads District Track Club’s Jacob Dumford by just 19 points. The 1500 meter looks to be the most competitive event of the series so far… but there is still a lot of racing left this season. Overall 6 runners come within 1.5 seconds of the win — including Nick Harris who runs a big Personal Best. Ben Malone, Jeremy Hernandez, and Graham Crawford all score big points for Hoka NJNY.

1. NAPOLITANO, ROB HOKA NJNYTC 3:38.48
2. EDWARDS, JAKE Columbus Running Co 3:38.77
3. HARRIS, NICK Unattached 3:39.04
4. RANDON, JAMES Saucony Freedom TC 3:39.49
5. DUMFORD, JACOB District TC 3:39.91
6. MALONE, BEN HOKA NJNYTC 3:39.94
7. HURT, TRIPP Unattached 3:40.75
8. BELLEMORE, CORY Canada 3:43.52
9. HERNANDEZ, JEREMY HOKA NJNYTC 3:44.31
10. CRAWFORD, GRAHAM HOKA NJNYTC 3:44.32
11. ARROYO, ANDRES Puerto Rico 3:44.46
12. SCOTT, PARKER Unattached 3:44.86
13. MARTIN, AVERY Asics-GTC Elite 3:45.91
14. EPPS, ARES Unattached 3:45.93
15. O’ GAILIN, OISIN UT-Martin 3:46.39
16. ESTRADA, ERICK Puerto Rico 3:46.62
17. CASTLE, DANIEL CSTC Elite 3:47.15
18. SHEFFAR, JACK Western Ontario 3:47.24
19. BOR, JULIUS U.S. Army 3:47.62
20. VINCENT, SAM Tough Track 3:47.65
21. SANTANA, ALFREDO Garden State TC 3:47.75
22. PROCEVIAT, CAMERON Coastal TC 3:47.78
23. BRANNIGAN, MICHAEL NYAC 3:47.97
24. LEER, WILL NYAC/Under Armour 3:48.12
25. LAUTENSLAGER, CRAIG Unattached 3:48.18
26. MEYER, WESLEY Olivet Nazarene 3:48.49
27. VILCHES, CARLOS Puerto Rico 3:49.03
28. HESTER, BRYAN Unattached 3:51.55
29. MINEN, JOHN Run Boulder AC 3:52.67
30. FEBUS, JOUHAN Puerto Rico 3:58.87
31. LEVERMORE, KYLE Unattached 3:59.06

Women’s 1500m

Olympians and winning the Women’s ETL 1500m… name a more iconic duo. Emma Coburn (1164pts) never relinquished the lead in this one as she comes up just .1 seconds shy of her 1500m personal best. It was a tight race as Helen Schlachtenhaufen, Cory Mcgee, Hoka NJNY’s Ce’aira Brown and Aisha Praught-Leer were all within 1 second of the lead. However, it was Coburn — coming down in distance from her traditional 3000m Steeplechase — who was able to outlast them all. Meanwhile Katrina Coogan was the fastest returner from the Swarthmore meeting, finishing in 4:13.38.

COBURN, EMMA New Balance 4:05.24
2. SCHLACHTENHAUFEN, HELEN Saucony Freedom TC 4:05.49
3. MCGEE, CORY New Balance 4:05.90
4. BROWN, CE’AIRA HOKA NJNYTC 4:06.06
5. PRAUGHT-LEER, AISHA Under Armour 4:06.22
6. OSIKA, SHANNON Nike 4:06.28
7. GREEN, HANNA Nike OTC Elite 4:06.66
8. JOHNSON, LAUREN Boston A.A. 4:08.25
9. PAQUETTE, LAUREN Unattached 4:11.74
10. STAFFORD, LUCIA Univ. Toronto TC 4:11.99
11. CONLEY, KIM New Balance 4:12.28
12. HUFSMITH, COURTNEY STFC 4:12.90
13. GARCIA, STEPHANIE New Balance 4:13.07
14. RAINSBERGER, KATIE Unattached 4:13.18
15. COOGAN, KATRINA New Balance Boston 4:13.38
16. STINSON, ASHLEY Nomad DP 4:13.80
17. HENES, ELLY Unattached 4:14.32
18. ECKEL, SARAH Australia 4:14.95
19. SCHAPPERT, STEPHANIE HOKA NJNYTC 4:15.20
20. CIZMAS, NATALIE Unattached 4:15.21
21. FIGUEROA, ANGELIN Puerto Rico 4:15.57
22. COOPER, ABBEY New Balance 4:17.06
23. GERLACH, TORI Reebok Boston TC 4:17.84
24. SCHULZ, JOHANNA Germany 4:19.48
25. GEORGE, SAMMY Oiselle/Raliegh Dist 4:20.92
26. HERRICK, STEPHANIE CPTC New Balance 4:21.02
27. CELATA, CAREY Philadelphia RTC 4:21.30
28. WHELAN, ELIZABETH Univ. Toronto TC 4:21.33
29. OFFSTEIN, MADDIE Unattached 4:21.57
30. SULLIVAN, MEGGIE CPTC New Balance 4:22.10
31. CLAIRMONTE, DOMINIQUE NC State 4:22.53
32. THESTRUP, JOSEPHINE Unattached 4:22.55
33. TERRY, TRICIA Team Green 4:23.23
34. STARCHER, VICTORIA WV Flyers 4:24.27
35. COGGINS, ADDI UNA-FSU 4:24.60
36. GILLESPIE, CARINA Air Force WCAP 4:27.26
37. MORTON, SHANNON Atlanta TC 4:47.08

The Eastern Track League will resume action on Thursday June 13th at the Adrian Martinez Classic. The ETL scored events will include the men’s and women’s 800m, 1500m, and 5000m.

What was your favorite performance from this weekend?