World Class Fields Announced for B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational
Mile
Defending champions Buze Diriba and Hagos Gebrhiwet join American
record holder Ben True to lead full slate of B.A.A. races on Saturday
BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced
an elite field of world class competitors for the 2019 B.A.A. 5K and
B.A.A. Invitational Mile, to be held on Saturday, April 13, two days prior to
the 2019 Boston Marathon®. Defending champions Hagos Gebrhiwet
and Buze Diriba, both of Ethiopia, return to defend their 2018 titles, as
American record holder Ben True will look to earn his fifth B.A.A. 5K crown.
Following the B.A.A. 5K, milers from near and far will gather to
take part in the B.A.A. Invitational Mile finishing at the Boston Marathon
finish line on Boylston Street. The B.A.A. Invitational Mile will also
include Middle School 1K races and Scholastic Mile races featuring youth
athletes from the eight cities and towns along the Boston Marathon
course.
A detailed start list and schedule of events for both the B.A.A.
5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile can be found below.
B.A.A. 5K – SATURDAY, APRIL 13 | 8:00 a.m., Boston Common
Last year, Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet and Buze Diriba earned
hard-fought victories after sprinting down Charles Street to win the B.A.A. 5K.
Gebrhiwet fended off four-time winner Ben True and Boston’s own Tommy Curtin at
the line, with all three recording the same finish time of 13:42. True and
Curtin return with hopes of shuffling the standings; True set an American
record of 13:20 en route to winning the 2017 B.A.A. 5K title. Gebrhiwet – an
Olympic bronze medalist – has the fastest 5,000-meter time of the field at
12:45.82.
Among other men’s contenders are reigning B.A.A. Invitational Mile
and U.S. Indoor 2 mile champion Drew Hunter; Falmouth Road Race winner Ben
Flanagan; NCAA Cross Country champion Justyn Knight; and European Championships
medalist Chris O’Hare. B.A.A. 10K champions Stephen Sambu and Gabriel Geay will
toe the line as well.
On the women’s side, Diriba is looking to join Molly Huddle as the
only three-time consecutive champion in B.A.A. 5K history. Last year, Diriba
covered the 3.1-mile course through Boston’s Back Bay in 15:22, a mere second
up on Fotyen Tesfay and two seconds ahead of Monicah Ngige. Diriba, Ngige,
fourth place finisher Gotytom Gebreslase, and fifth placer Molly Seidel are the
top returners from a year ago. Seidel, a four-time NCAA champion while at Notre
Dame, will look to score a win in her home city. From Ethiopia is two-time
world championships silver medalist Senbere Teferi, owning a lifetime best of
14:23.33 on the track. Also entered is Kim Conley, a two-time Olympian at 5,000
meters for the United States.
The B.A.A. High Performance team will be well represented on home
turf with Jacob Thomson and Trevor Dunbar competing for the men, and Erika
Kemp, Dana Giordano, Kaitlin Goodman, Elaina Tabb, and Katie Matthews racing
for the women. Kemp is coming off a victory at the USA 15K Championships in
Jacksonville in March.
The men’s event record for the B.A.A. 5K stands at 13:20, set by
Ben True in 2017, while the women’s event record is 14:50 run by Molly Huddle
in 2015.
This year’s B.A.A. 5K will also feature the largest and strongest
wheelchair field in race history, bringing together national champions from
around the world. Defending B.A.A. 5K champions Jose Argenes Jimenez Hernandez
of Costa Rica and Vanessa de Souza of Brazil return, as does B.A.A. 10K winner
and Massachusetts-native Katrina Gerhard. A full list of entrants can be found
below.
B.A.A. 5K MEN’S ELITE FIELD
NAME
|
AGE
|
COUNTRY
|
ROAD
5K PB
|
TRACK
5000M PB
|
Hagos
Gebrhiwet
|
24
|
Ethiopia
|
13:14
|
12:45.82
|
Ben
True
|
33
|
USA/NH
|
13:20
(AR)
|
13:02.74
|
David
Bett
|
26
|
Kenya
|
N/A
|
13:06.06
|
Stephen
Sambu
|
30
|
Kenya
|
13:21
|
13:13.74
(Indoor)
|
Clement
Langat
|
27
|
Kenya
|
13:41
|
13:15.81
|
Justyn
Knight
|
22
|
Canada
|
N/A
|
13:17.51
|
Gabriel
Geay
|
22
|
Tanzania
|
N/A
|
13:20.35
|
Ambrose
Bore
|
23
|
Kenya
|
N/A
|
13:20.39
|
Tommy
Curtin
|
25
|
USA/MA
|
13:42
|
13:23.11
|
Alfred
Barkach
|
22
|
Kenya
|
N/A
|
13:25.30
|
Trevor
Dunbar
|
27
|
USA/MA
|
13:55
|
13:26.27
|
Jacob
Thomson
|
24
|
USA/MA
|
14:15
|
13:34.50
|
Willy
Fink
|
25
|
USA/VA
|
14:07
|
13:39.05
|
Chris
O’Hare
|
28
|
GBR
|
13:46
|
13:42.00
|
Ben
Flanagan
|
24
|
Canada
|
13:57
|
13:48.58
(Indoor)
|
Scott
Smith
|
32
|
USA/AZ
|
13:51
|
13:49.38
|
Drew
Hunter
|
21
|
USA/CO
|
13:56
|
13:49.56
|
B.A.A. 5K WOMEN’S ELITE FIELD
NAME
|
AGE
|
COUNTRY
|
ROAD
5K PB
|
TRACK
5000M PB
|
Buze
Diriba
|
25
|
Ethiopia
|
14:54
|
14:50.02
|
Senbere
Teferi
|
23
|
Ethiopia
|
15:43
|
14:23.33
|
Gotytom
Gebreslase
|
24
|
Ethiopia
|
15:17
|
14:57.33
|
Laura
Thweatt
|
30
|
USA/CO
|
15:52
|
15:04.98
|
Ann
Mwangi
|
30
|
Kenya
|
N/A
|
15:05.34
|
Kim
Conley
|
33
|
USA/CA
|
15:29
|
15:08.61
|
Molly
Seidel
|
24
|
USA/MA
|
15:33
|
15:15.21
(Indoor)
|
Kaitlin
Goodman
|
31
|
USA/RI
|
16:01
|
15:29.89
|
Hawi
Feysa
|
20
|
Ethiopia
|
N/A
|
15:31.50
|
Elaina
Tabb
|
27
|
USA/MA
|
15:59
|
15:32.49
|
Katie
Matthews
|
28
|
USA/MA
|
15:50
|
15:32.89
|
Mary
Munanu
|
24
|
Kenya
|
16:04
|
15:36.74
|
Erika
Kemp
|
24
|
USA/MA
|
15:50
|
15:41.23
|
Lindsey
Scherf
|
32
|
USA/NY
|
16:10
|
15:42.81 (Indoor)
|
Dana
Giordano
|
25
|
USA/MA
|
15:47
|
15:53.96
|
Monicah
Ngige
|
25
|
Kenya
|
15:24
|
15:58.5
|
B.A.A. 5K MEN’S WHEELCHAIR FIELD
NAME
|
AGE
|
COUNTRY
|
Jose
Argenes Jimenez Hernandez
|
36
|
Costa
Rica
|
Joey
Gibbs
|
22
|
USA/IL
|
Brendan
Quinn
|
27
|
USA/IL
|
Tiaan
Bosch
|
39
|
South
Africa
|
Fidel
Aguilar Zepeda
|
41
|
Mexico
|
Christian
Clemmons
|
24
|
USA/IL
|
Tony
Nogueira
|
51
|
USA/NJ
|
Johnboy
Smith
|
29
|
Great
Britain
|
Francisco
Sanclemente
|
30
|
Colombia
|
B.A.A. 5K WOMEN’S WHEELCHAIR FIELD
NAME
|
AGE
|
COUNTRY
|
Vanessa
De Souza
|
29
|
Brazil
|
Katrina
Gerhard
|
22
|
USA/IL
|
Michelle
Wheeler
|
32
|
USA/PA
|
Eliza
Ault-Connell
|
37
|
Australia
|
Margriet
van den Broek
|
45
|
Netherlands
|
Jenna
Fesemyer
|
22
|
USA/IL
|
Yen
Hoang
|
22
|
USA/IL
|
Carla
Trodella
|
37
|
USA/MA
|
B.A.A. 5K PRIZE STRUCTURE
(Equal for both men and women)
|
|||
PLACE
|
OPEN
|
MASTERS
|
WHEELCHAIR
|
1
|
$7,500
|
$300
|
$300
|
2
|
$4,000
|
$200
|
$200
|
3
|
$2,500
|
$100
|
$100
|
4
|
$1,500
|
||
5
|
$1,000
|
||
6
|
$750
|
||
7
|
$600
|
||
8
|
$400
|
||
9
|
$300
|
||
10
|
$200
|
||
GRAND
TOTAL: $39,900
|
B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE – SATURDAY, APRIL 13 | 10:30 a.m.,
Boylston Street
The B.A.A.’s signature unicorn uniform will also be racing in the
B.A.A. Invitational Mile, where Mike Marsella and John Simons vie for the
title. Simons placed second a year ago in 4:09. They will be joined on the line
by German national champion Sam Parsons, world indoor championships finalist
Julian Oakley, 3:54-miler Robert Domanic, and Eric Avila, who finished second
at the U.S. Indoor National Championships in the two mile.
Ben Groleau, a native of Framingham and the course record holder
for the B.A.A. Scholastic Mile, will race the B.A.A. Invitational Mile,
becoming the first athlete to have competed in both levels of the event.
Groleau won the B.A.A. Scholastic Mile twice while attending Framingham High
School; this past January he broke the four-minute mile barrier by running
3:58.93.
The women’s B.A.A. Invitational Mile field is highlighted by
Heather Kampf, a four-time USA road mile champion, and Shannon Osika, runner-up
at last year’s event. Emily Lipari, 2018 national champion in the road mile,
and Helen Schlachtenhaufen are also entered, along with former Arkansas
Razorbacks Nikki Hiltz and Therese Haiss.
The men’s and women’s event records for the B.A.A. Invitational
Mile are 4:03.3 (Nick Willis, 2013) and 4:33.7 (Nicole Sifuentes, 2017).
B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE MEN’S ELITE FIELD
NAME
|
AGE
|
COUNTRY
|
ROAD
MILE PB
|
TRACK
MILE PB
|
Robert
Domanic
|
24
|
USA/VA
|
4:01
|
3:54.73
|
Eric
Avila
|
29
|
USA/CA
|
3:56
|
3:55.43
|
Julian
Oakley
|
25
|
NZL/RI
|
4:05
|
3:55.10 (Indoor)
|
James
Randon
|
24
|
USA/MA
|
N/A
|
3:58.07
(Indoor)
|
Ben
Groleau
|
25
|
USA/MA
|
N/A
|
3:58.93
|
John
Simons
|
28
|
USA/MA
|
4:09
|
3:58.95
|
Mike
Marsella
|
24
|
USA/MA
|
N/A
|
3:59.13
(Indoor)
|
Sam
Parsons
|
24
|
Germany
|
3:58
|
3:59.70
|
Jeff
Thies
|
25
|
USA/OR
|
4:14
|
3:59.89 (Indoor)
|
B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE WOMEN’S ELITE FIELD
NAME
|
AGE
|
COUNTRY
|
ROAD
MILE PB
|
TRACK
MILE PB
|
Shannon
Osika
|
25
|
USA/MI
|
4:21
|
4:25:47
|
Heather
Kampf
|
32
|
USA/MN
|
4:21
|
4:27.23
|
Helen
Schlachtenhaufen
|
24
|
USA/MA
|
4:30
|
4:27.09
|
Emily
Lipari
|
26
|
USA/WA
|
4:22
|
4:28.62
|
Nikki
Hiltz
|
24
|
USA/CA
|
4:38
|
4:31.42
(Indoor)
|
Therese
Haiss
|
23
|
USA/CA
|
4:39
|
4:34.54
(Indoor)
|
Emily
Oren
|
25
|
USA/MI
|
4:37
|
4:35.48
(Indoor)
|
Ashley
Stinson
|
25
|
USA/CO
|
4:36
|
4:35.62
(Indoor)
|
B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE PRIZE STRUCTURE (Equal for both men and
women)
PLACE
|
OPEN
|
1
|
$3,000
|
2
|
$2,000
|
3
|
$1,500
|
4
|
$750
|
5
|
$500
|
GRAND TOTAL: $14,500
|
B.A.A. YOUTH RACES – SATURDAY, APRIL 13 | 10:30 a.m. & 1:00
p.m., Boylston Street
The B.A.A. Invitational Mile also features a quartet of scholastic
races ranging from 1K to one mile. The first two races showcases middle school
age students from the eight cities and towns of the Boston Marathon course –
Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and
Boston. The girls’ and boys’ Middle School 1K races include runners between
sixth and eighth grade and finish at the Boston Marathon finish line on
Boylston Street.
Following the Middle School 1K races is the Scholastic Mile, which
features girls’ and boys’ races for high school students from the eight cities
and towns of the Boston Marathon course. The Scholastic Mile follows the same
three-lap, USATF-certified course the professional mile athletes run, finishing
at the Boston Marathon finish line.
Completing the day is the B.A.A. Relay Challenge, an event that
brings more than 20 schools and 1,000 student-athletes from around Greater
Boston together. For the 23rdstraight year, the B.A.A. Relay
Challenge introduces young people to the benefits of running, teamwork, and
active lifestyles. The B.A.A. Relay Challenge is held on Boylston Street
between Clarendon and Dartmouth Streets.
SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2019: SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
8:00
a.m. B.A.A. 5K, Boston Common
10:30 a.m. Girls’ B.A.A. Middle
School 1K, Boston Marathon Finish Line
10:40 a.m. Boys’ B.A.A. Middle School
1K, Boston Marathon Finish Line
10:55 a.m.
Girls’ B.A.A. Scholastic Mile, Boston Marathon Finish
Line
11:05 a.m. Boys’ B.A.A. Scholastic
Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
11:20 a.m. Men’s B.A.A. Invitational
Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
11:30 a.m. Women’s B.A.A. Invitational
Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
1:00 p.m. B.A.A. Relay
Challenge