Loaded Middle Distance, Sprint and Hurdle Races Are Ready to Roll

By Scott Bush

The professional track and field season really gets rolling this weekend at the Camel City Elite Races. Olympians and national record holders dot the fields, each event strong from top to bottom. With $60,000 of prize money on the line, athletes will square off looking for strong early season performances and a hit of momentum with the USATF Indoor Championships and IAAF World Indoor Championships looming over the horizon.

Rollins, Lolo and Oliver Lead 60m Hurdle Fields

Stacked. That’s the word which best describes the men’s and women’s 60m hurdle fields on Saturday. Leading the women’s race, American 100m hurdle record holder Brianna Rollins looks to build off her 7.99 performance last weekend in Albuquerque. She’s eyeing to get back to the top of the hurdle world this year and a strong performance at Camel City will be another step forward toward that goal.

Rollins finds competition from Lolo Jones, who finished second to Janay Deloach Soukup, 7.94-8.00 at the Air Force Academy last weekend. Jones is in a similar boat to Rollins, hoping to get back to her dominant self of years past. Veteran Kristi Castlin enters with a PR of 7.84, slightly behind Jones’ best of 7.72 and Rollins’ 7.78, but still in the same ballpark.

Add in Brianne Theisen-Eaton, who looks to challenge the 8-second barrier and prep star Anna Cockrell, and this is a very nice early season contest.

On the men’s side, David Oliver and defending champion Aleec Harris lead the way. Oliver owns the fastest PR in the field with a lifetime best of 7.37, but he finished third here in 2015, behind Harris and runner-up Jason Richardson.

All three clash again this weekend and along with decathlon world record holder Ashton Eaton, this is a can’t-miss race. Harris is one of the rising stars in the sport, while Oliver, Richardson and Eaton all have unlimited accolades to their names. Each will use Saturday’s race as a way to test their fitness, which means fans should expect a winning time between 7.54-7.64 seconds.

Rowbury and Centrowitz Headline Mile Races

One of the marquee features of the Camel City Elite Races are the mile races. Always strong fields, this year’s races are no exception, as World Championship 1,500m medalists Shannon Rowbury and Matthew Centrowitz lead the way.

Rowbury leads an exceptionally talented field. She’s clearly the favorite heading into the action, with a mile PR of 4:22.66, but she won’t be without plenty of competition.

Canadian Fiona Benson should not be overlooked. While the 23-year old defined herself in 2015 as an 800m standout, qualifying for the IAAF World Championships and dipping under the two-minute barrier twice during the summer, she does own a mile best of 4:25.79 from last August.

Americans Stephanie Garcia, Lauren Johnson and Heather Kampf are three other strong contenders. Garcia, who qualified for the IAAF World Championships last summer in the steeplechase ran 4:28.97 to place third in the mile at the New Balance Games last weekend. For Johnson and Kampf, they each look to get their seasons rolling, with Johnson looking to build off her World Championship season in 2015 and Kampf as one of the most consistent milers in the country for the past few years.

All the competition on the women’s side should mean an extremely fast race with deep results.

For Centrowitz, the men’s race isn’t quite as strong after fellow Olympian Leo Manzano pulled out earlier this week. The Nike Oregon Project athlete opened his season with an easy win at the House of Track High Performance Meet #1 earlier this month, winning the 3,000m in 7:55.25. He’ll get a chance to test his speed this weekend, preparing him for the rest of the indoor season.

The rest of the field includes Mexican Olympian, and Shannon Rowbury’s husband, Pablo Solares, sub-4 minute miler Brandon Hudgins and former Stanford All-American Michael Atchoo, among others.

Bishop Looks to Continue World Championship Success

One of the more surprising results last summer in Beijing at the IAAF World Championships was the success of Canada’s Melissa Bishop. While many thought the 800m star would advance to the final of her event, few picked her to win silver, but that’s just what she did en route to a new PR of 1:57.52.

Bishop returns to the track this weekend in the women’s 800m, looking to jump start what she hopes is another medal-winning year. She’ll have plenty of competition from Phoebe Wright, as well as veteran Latavia Thomas and Virginia Tech’s Hanna Green, who placed third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2015.

The one to watch though is Jenna Westaway (CAN). Westaway won this event last year, edging out Wright and Thomas, who placed second and third. The 21 year old is clearly a runner on the rise.

On the men’s side, World Championship qualifier Brandon Johnson looks to get back on track in 2016 after a tough last two years. After moving from the 400m hurdles to the 800m in 2013, when he set the track on fire, qualifying for Team USA and competing at the IAAF World Championships, Johnson has been relatively quiet since. He did win this event last year and will look to repeat again this time around.

Johnson finds top-tier competition from Brooks Beasts’ Cas Loxsom, who’s always shown well during the indoor season, as well as veteran Ryan Martin, who can never be discounted in any race he’s in.

Rounding out the top contenders is NCAA Outdoor Championship 800m fifth place finisher Eliud Rutto of Middle Tennessee State, as well as Virginia Tech’s Patrick Joseph and Wake Forest’s Robert Heppenstall, who won Pan Am Junior silver for Team Canada in the 800m this past summer.

Heath v. Lalang Over 3,000m

Rounding out the terrific fields comes one of the finest showdowns of the indoor season thus far, as Garrett Heath, fresh off his big win at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country Meet, takes on former NCAA champion Lawi Lalang. Heath beat Mo Farah, showing exceptional early-season form a few weeks back in Scotland, proving once again he’ll be a contender to make Team USA squads for the World Indoor Championships and Olympic Games.

While Heath has momentum on his side, Lalang looks to regain his track form of past years after struggling for much of 2015. Lalang’s 3,000m PR is 7:36.44, while Heath’s is 7:37.40, so clearly these two are well matched.

Other top men in the field is Virginia Tech’s Thomas Curtin, who won this event last year, as well as Heath’s Brooks Beasts teammates Riley Masters.

While the pros and top collegians will be the clear favorites, two reigning Foot Locker champions are looking to make their mark. Drew Hunter, who’s voiced his desire to attack the four minute mile barrier this indoor season, tests himself over the 3,000m distance, while fellow Virginian Weini Kewati will look to lower her PR of 9:12.32.

While Kewati could certainly contend for top three, Katie Mackey enters as the pre-race favorite. Mackey owns the fastest PR in the field with a best of 8:52.99, earned when she won the Diamond League contest in Stockholm. Mackey has the speed of a top 1,500m runner and strength of a top 5,000m runner, making her a perfect fit for the 3,000m distance.

Mackey’s toughest competition comes from a host of competitors, including 2015 World Championship qualifier Kerri Gallagher, who moves up from her 1,500m specialty. Gallagher is joined by 5,000m/10,000m standout Alexi Pappas, former Stanford All-American Jessica Tonn and 1,500m runner Rachel Schneider. Throw in North Carolina State freshman Wesley Frazier and the field is loaded with enough talent to make the fight for top three extremely interesting.