Folders
Elite Fields 10
Men's Camel City 800mThe 2024 Camel City Elite Races will be held on Saturday, January 27, 2024. Stay tuned for more details on the field for 2024. This year's race is sponsored by Truist!
2023 Recap 2023 Camel City Men's 800m Race Video 1. Holdsworth, Derek - Bell Lap Elite - 1:49.03 ($6000)2. Ibadin, Edose - Under Armour Mission Run - 1:49.32 ($4000)3. Beale, Zach - Charlotte - 1:50.814. Ludewick, Arlo - Virginia Tech - 1:51.115. Plant, Nicholas - Virginia Tech - 1:51.966. Crisp, Vincent - Under Armour Mission Run - 1:57.05 ($500)-- Jones, CJ - Under Armour Mission Run - DNF
2022 Recap 2022 Camel City Men's 800m Race Video The men’s Camel City Elite 800m, presented by Truist, featured two Olympians. The first was 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and flat track “world record” holder Clayton Murphy. The second was Tonatiu Lopez, a semi-finalist at the Tokyo Games and Mexican national record holder. The pacing request was 51-52 seconds for 400m, with Charles Shimukowa hitting 53 at the halfway point. As the pacer stepped off the track, Yusuf Bizimana of Texas slipped through on the inside and took over the pace. He would hold the lead for the entire third lap until Lopez and Murphy made a big push into the last turn to battle it out on the straightaway. Tonatiu Lopez would win the race by .24 to hold off Murphy. Bizimana would finish as the top collegian and would achieve an NCAA qualifying mark later in the indoor season. 1. Lopez, Tonatiu – Hoka - 1:47.90 ($7000)2. Murphy, Clayton- Nike - 1:48.14 ($4000)3. Amankwa, Alex - Under Armour Dtc - 1:49.58 ($2000)4. Bizimana, Yusuf – Texas - 1:49.83 5. Anthony, Seb - Virginia Tech - 1:50.00 6. Hebert, Brendan – Texas - 1:50.65 7. Doyle, Timothy - North Florida - 1:53.69 -- Shimukowa, Charles - Mtn South Elite - DNF -- Lagat, Titus - Lee (Tenn.) - DNF
2021 Recap
2021 Camel City Men's 800m Race Video The 2021 Camel City races were obviously a little different during Covid. With no spectators in the facility, it definitely had a different vibe. For recruiting of pros, we tried to focus on athletes who were relatively local and didn't have to fly to the meet. We also didn't hire pacers and instead offered bonuses at intermediate stages of the race to get things going. Shimukowa would take the pace out in 26.08 and 54.27 to pick up the pacing bonuses. Just before the 300m mark of the race, McLear would get bumped into the infield by Amankwah. McLear would re-position himself and get up near the front. At the 600m mark, Prince would lead in 1:23.11. With about 150m to go, though, McLear would have the last laugh on the field as he would close in 26.58, almost a full second faster than anyone else in the field. He would win by over a full second. If you watch the full race video, you can see some words being exchanged between some of the participants over some of the shoving and jockeying that went on during the race. 1. McLear, Finley - Miami (OH) - 1:49.872. Prince, Quamel - Under Armour District TC - 1:51.02 ($4000)3. Ibadin, Edose - Under Armour District TC - 1:51:15 ($2000)4. Amankwah, Alex - Under Armour District TC - 1:51.63 ($1000)5. Wright, Adam - Queens (NC) - 1:52.536. Peterson, Sean - Youngstown St. - 1:52.557. Torpy, Sean - Miami (OH) - 1:52.718. Wallis, Archie - Wake Forest - 1:54.019. Shimukowa, Charles - Mountain South Elite - DNF ($500)2020 Recap 1. 2020 Camel City Men's 800m Race Video The men’s Camel City Elite 800m presented by Total Sports US had two “headliners” in the race. The first was 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and flat track “world record” holder Clayton Murphy. But lots of people in the facility were there to see hometown favorite Craig Engels. The pacing request was 51-52 seconds for 400m, with Jones delivering them to a 52.5 split. As Jones stepped off the track, Florida Gator Justin Pacifico would find himself leading the race after splitting 53.11. He would hold the lead for the entire third lap and wouldn’t get passed by Murphy until about 630m into the race. As Murphy took the lead from Pacifico, he would turn on the jets and win by over a second with Amankwah taking second. Before the races, Amankwah had indicated he wanted to return to redeem himself for running 1:52 here in 2019! Murphy ran the second fastest time in the facility’s history, and probably could have run faster, but he slowed down a little in the last 20m. Pacifico finished fourth and was rewarded with an NCAA qualifying time for this efforts. Matt Wisner of Duke would have qualified with this time, but came back two weeks later to run a tenth of a second faster at the JDL DMR Invitational. Also qualifying was Seb Anthony of Queens for the NCAA Division II championships.
2019 Recap 2019 Camel City Men's 800m Race Video
The men’s Camel City Elite 800m presented by Total Sports US featured Olympians Clayton Murphy and Alex Amankwah. This race was immediately after Ajee’ Wilson’s 800m flat track world record. There was definitely a buzz in the facility after that race. Would there be a letdown after such a great performance? NO! Curtis Beach took the race out quick, hitting 200 in about 25.7 seconds with Murphy right on his heels. Murphy would hit 400m in 51.78 and keep his foot on the gas the last two laps. Not to be outdone by Ajee’, Murphy would also break the flat track world record with his 1:45.92! He would win the race by nearly 3 entire seconds, with Chris Giesting getting second in 1:48.76. Collegiately, Matt Wisner of Duke ran a very impressive race to get his NCAA qualifier. He was in second-to-last at 600m and ran the second fastest split from 600 to 800 (27.76) to punch his ticket to the NCAA championships. Bashir Mosavel-Lo of Virginia Tech would also qualify for NCAAs with his 1:49.46. Murphy would pick up a total of $8000 for his efforts, with a $1000 bonus for breaking 1:48.50 and another $1000 for breaking the flat track world record! 1. Murphy, Clayton – Nike Oregon Project – 1:45.92 ($8000)2. Giesting, Chris – Hoka NJNY TC – 1:48.76 ($4000) 3. Wisner, Matt – Duke – 1:49.22 (NCAA D1 qualifier) 4. Piazza, Drew – Nike OTC Elite – 1:49.26 ($1000) 5. Mosavel-Lo, Bashir – Virginia Tech – 1:49.46 (NCAA D1 qualifier) 6. Amankwah, Alex – Ghana – 1:52.24 ($500) 7. Rotich, Nickson – Eastern Kentucky – 1:52.50 -- Beach, Curtis – Albuquerque - DNF
2018 Recap 2018 Camel City Men's 800m Race Video The men’s Camel City Elite 800m presented by Small Batch Beer was supposed to feature local legend Craig Engels, but due to some changes in his racing schedule, he was a late scratch and moved to the mile. Although you could argue it was already anybody’s race, it was now REALLY anybody’s race. The race featured defending champ Eliud Rutto who was now running professionally.
Former NCAA D3 400m champ Ross Denman was given the task of pacing the field to a 52-53 second 400m split. When the gun went off, Denman went straight to the front and would hit 200m in 26 flat, but would have a sizable gap on the field, as no one went with the pacer. He would slow down and hit 400m in 54 flat, but still have a slight gap on the field. As Denman stepped off the track, Rutto went to the front and controlled the rest of the race. With 200m to go, Rutto was followed by Migliorati of East Carolina and Drew Piazza of VT Elite. As they entered the final straightaway, Rutto looked over his shoulder a few times and seemed to coast in the last 30 meters. Behind him, Drew Piazza would make a charge and finish second ahead of Matt Molinaro of Ohio Northern. Ryan Martin would rally to take fourth over the last stretch to improve his payday. 1. Rutto, Eliud - US Army - 1:51.16 ($6000)2. Piazza, Drew - VT Elite - 1:51.61 ($4000)3. Molinaro, Matt - Ohio Northern - 1:51.71 (NCAA D3 qualifier)4. Martin, Ryan - Asics Furman Elite - 1:51.76 ($1000)5. Migliorati, Stefano - East Carolina - 1:51.876. Hastings, Ryan - Appalachian State - 1:52.13-- Denman, Ross - Unattached - DNF
2017 Recap Many thanks to Chris Layne and Total Sports US for again sponsoring the men's 800m!
2017 Camel City 800m Race Video Two-time defending champion Brandon Johnson was absent for this year's race, leaving the door wide open for anyone to take the title. And that is just what happened, with the first collegian to win any Camel City Elite race since the events started in 2013! Donnie Cowart set the pace through about 380m, with Ryan Martin of Asics Furman Elite passing 400m in 53.1 seconds. Eliud Rutto of Middle Tennessee State would take the lead at 500m. Rutto finished second overall in both 2014 and 2016 and decided that this was going to be his year to win it. With 200m to go, the entire field was only separated by less than a second. The order at 600m would be the same order at the finish, as Rutto, Edward Kemboi and Drew Piazza would go 1-2-3. Rutto's time of 1:48.90 would be fast enough to get him into the NCAA indoor championships. Like his female teammate Agnes Abu, though, Rutto would run faster later in the season to further solidify this position in the meet. High schooler Brandon McGorty would finish 7th in 1:51.53, easily breaking the JDL Fast Track HS facility record in this event by over 2 seconds! photo by Phil Ponder 1. Rutto, Eliud - Mid Tenn State - 1:48.94 2. Kemboi, Edward - Unattached - 1:49.29 ($4000)3. Piazza, Drew - Virginia Tech - 1:49.41 4. Laari, Sampson - Mid Tenn State - 1:50.235. Joseph, Patrick - Virginia Tech - 1:50.336. Martin, Ryan - Asics Furman Elite - 1:51.23 ($2000)7. McGorty, Brandon - Unattached - 1:51.538. Abda, Harun - Nike OTC Elite - 1:51.87 ($1000)-- Cowart, Donnie - Saucony - DNF
2016 Recap Many thanks to Chris Layne and Total Sports US for their sponsorship of the 2016 men's 800m! 2016 Camel City 800m Race Video This race was set up to be a showdown of the last two Camel City 800m champs in Nick Symmonds and Brandon Johnson, but then Symmonds withdrew about a week or so prior to the race. With Symmonds out, it looked like it could be anyone's race, as Johnson hadn't raced since the World Relays in May '15. Meanwhile, Cas Loxsom was coming off an appearance at the World Championships, and Ryan Martin and Eliud Rutto are always dangerous. Remember that Rutto pushed Symmonds to the line here two years ago. When the gun went off, pacemaker Donnie Cowart took over and led them through the first 400m in just under 54 seconds. Once he stepped off the track, Brandon Johnson would take over, followed closely by Rutto and then Ryan Martin.
photo by Phil Ponder 2015 Recap The 2015 event attracted a deep field, with 5 sub 1:46 performers in the field. Initially, we were having trouble with attracting talent in this event, but with the help of some well-placed tweets, we were able to attract a stellar field. For the second year in a row, Logan Roberts handled the pacemaking duties. This year, however, we probably didn’t need him, as Richard Jones battled him for the entire first 400m. When Roberts stepped off the track, Jones continued to lead with Brandon Johnson close behind. Johnson went by Jones around 625m into the race and would never look back. Jones would fade badly as Harun Abda would move into second and Ryan Martin would hold off Tyler Mulder for third. Brandon Johnson picked up $2,000 for the win plus another $1,000 for breaking Nick Symmonds’ facility record.
2015 Results 1. Johnson, Brandon – Nike – 1:48.27 ($3000) 2. Abda, Harun – Nike Oregon Track Club Elite – 1:49.51 ($1000) 3. Martin, Ryan – Asics – 1:49.87 ($500) 4. Mulder, Tyler – Nike Oregon Track Club Elite – 1:49.99 5. Skinner, Dylan – Brooks – 1:51.07 6. Wanliss, O’Neal – North Carolina – 1:51.09 7. Grethen, Charles – Georgia – 1:51.95 8. Owusu-Mensah, Prince – Virginia Tech – 1:52.67 9. Jones, Richard – Unattached – 1:54.43 -- Roberts, Logan – Unattached – DNFphoto credit by Cheryl Treworgy 2014 Recap The 2014 race was an exciting affair, as Nick Symmonds was pushed to the line by collegian Eliud Rutto of Middle Tennessee State. Coming in, Nick was clearly the favorite in this race. It would also serve as Nick’s first race in his new Brooks Beasts uniform. The rabbit, Logan Roberts, took the pace out in 53 seconds for the first 400m before stepping off the track. At that point, Cas Loxsom of Brooks Beasts took over until he was passed at 600m by both Symmonds and Rutto. Symmonds would win by 0.34 of a second over Rutto. Rutto’s 1:48.98 would convert to 1:47.45 and tie him for #2 on the NCAA D1 qualifying list. Symmonds would pick up $1500 for the win, but would miss out on the $500 bonus for breaking 1:48. 2014 Results 1. Symmonds, Nick – Brooks Beasts – 1:48.64 ($1500)2. Rutto, Eliud – Mid Tenn State – 1:48.98 (NCAA D1 qualifier)3. Wieczorek, Mark – Brooks Beasts – 1:49.66 ($750)4. Loxsom, Casimir – Brooks Beasts – 1:50.14 ($375)5. Bojanowski, Thomas – Wake Forest – 1:51.186. Hazouri, Brandon – Samford – 1:51.647. Hendershot, Nathan – Samford – 1:51.95-- Roberts, Logan – Unattached - DNF |
