The 2024 Camel City Elite Races will be held on Saturday, January 27, 2024.   Stay tuned for more details on the field for 2023.    This year's race is once again sponsored by Mondo!

2023 Recap

2023 Camel City Men's Mile Race Video

 

1. Heppenstall, Robert - Reebok Boston TC - 4:00.47 ($6000)

2. Dahl, Nick - Unattached - 4:01.78

3. Peterson, Sean - New Balance Boston - 4:01.98 ($2000)

4. Vanoppen, Thomas - Wake Forest - 4:02.02

5. Facioni, Zach - Wake Forest - 4:02.18

6. Franks, Mac - North Florida - 4:02.52

7. Lagat, Festus - Under Armour Mission Run - 4:02.56 ($400)

8. Mountain, Nathan - Virginia - 4:03.21

9. Smith, Matthew - Furman - 4:05.49

10. Ciattei, Vincent - Unattached - 4:10.38 ($300)

-- Jones, CJ - Under Armour Mission Run - DNF

 

2022 Recap

2022 Camel City Men's Mile Race Video

       The final race of the day was the men’s mile, sponsored by Mondo. All eyes would be on Willy Fink of Under Armour who was the two-time defending champ and was going for his third title in a row.

The pacing plan was for Jackson Lewis to take them through 809m in 1:57 to 1:58. When the pacer stepped off, Fink took control of the race and led through 1400m.  Charlie Grice would take the lead from Fink with 100m to go, as Fink would eventually fade to fourth place.  Grice would hold off Vincent Ciattei by only 0.25s.  Crayton Carrozza of Texas finished as the top collegian in a new college facility record of 3:58.96 to qualify for the NCAA indoor meet.

Charlie Grice will walk away with the title and a $7000 pay day that included $6000 for the win and $1000 for breaking 3:58.

1.  Grice, Charlie  - Great Britain - 3:57.22 ($7000)

2.  Ciattei, Vincent  -  Nike Otc Elite - 3:57.47 ($4000)

3.  Carrozza, Crayton – Texas - 3:58.96 (NCAA D1 qualifier)

4.  Fink, Willy - Under Armour - 3:59.19 ($1000)

5.  Dahl, Nick – Duke - 4:00.10 

6.  Vanoppen, Thomas - Wake Forest - 4:01.25 

7.   Jaziri, Ahmed - Eastern Kentucky  - 4:02.93 

8.  Nibbelink, Benjamin  - Virginia Tech  - 4:05.29 

9.  Crawford, Graham - Reebok Boston TC - 4:06.08 ($300)

10.  Gaynor, Gavin - NC State  - 4:08.17 

11.  Lindhorst, Cole - Texas - 4:22.75 

 -- Lewis, Jackson - Under Armour - DNF 

 -- Murphy, Clayton – Nike - DNF

 

2021 Recap

2021 Camel City Men's Mile 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.  

With no pacer, Jackson Lewis offered to hop in the race to get things going, but Athanas Kioko of Campbell decided he would take the pace through the first 600m.  That was great to have someone willing to take the pace, but he was just a bit slow, hitting 409m in 59.59 and 609m in 1:30.44.  After 600m, Reniewicki would take over and lead them through 809m in 2:00.97 and would continue to lead through 1209m in 3:01.41.  Thies would take the lead at the bell with Fink right behind him.  With about 125m to go, though, Fink would power past him on the backstretch and sprint for home.  Fink would defend his title in 3:59.01 and pick up $6000!

Collegiately, Sean Dolan of Villanova and Aaron Wier of Furman would both qualify for the NCAA indoor meet with their 4:01 marks that would convert down to 3:58.xx.

 

1.  Fink, Willy - Under Armour District TC - 3:59.01 ($6000)

2.  Thies, Jeff - Tinman Elite - 3:59.73 ($4000)

3.  Reniewicki, John - Under Armour - 4:00.84 ($2000)

4.  Rogers, Alex - Reebok Boston TC - 4:01.49 ($1000)

5.  Dolan, Sean - Villanova - 4:01.57 (NCAA D1 qualifier)

6.  Wier, Aaron - Furman - 4:01.92 (NCAA D1 qualifier)

7.  Kioko, Athanas - Campbell - 4:02.84

8.  Berriatua, Joey - Tinman Elite - 4:04.16 ($300)

9.  Camerieri, Anthony - Miami (OH) - 4:06.01

10.  Koekemoer, Travis - Campbell - 4:06.36

11.  Schroff, Andrew - Miami (OH) - 4:06.47

--  Lewis, Jackson - Unattached - DNF

 

2020 Recap

1.      2020 Camel City Men's Mile Race Video

       The final race of the day, the Mondo Mile, has never disappointed when it comes to the excitement factor, and this year’s race was no different.

 This race featured 2-time defending champion Edward Cheserek, as well as Clayton Murphy who was doubling back from the men’s 800 he had won approximately 45 minutes prior to this race. 

 The plan was for the pacer to take them through 809m in 1:57 to 1:58.  Although the pacer was slow, it would turn out to be beneficial for the collegians in the race. 

After the pacer stepped off the track right at 2:01 for 809m, Cheserek would assume the lead with Willy Fink tucked in behind and Clayton Murphy in third place.  Cheserek would reel off three more 30s 200s to put them at 3:32 with 200m to go. 

With 7 guys within about a second of the lead at the bell, the last lap was mayhem with guys kicking like mad.  Cheserek came off the final turn looking around to see where he was, but Willy Fink timed his kick perfectly and nipped Cheserek at the line by 0.05 of a second.  Behind them, Murphy closed fast and moved from 6^th at the bell to 3^rd at the line by closing in 27.59 over the final 200m and eking past Ciattei at the line by a hundredth of a second.

Ryan Adams of Furman would finish 5^th in 4:00.65 with Diego Zarate at 4:01.09.  Both of them would get their NCAA qualifying marks.  Zach Facioni finished in 4:01.62 and would end up the season the first NCAA athlete to miss the meet, unfortunately.

1. Fink, Willy – District TC – 3:59.79 ($6000)
2. Cheserek, Edward – Skechers – 3:59.84 – ($4000)
3. Murphy, Clayton – Nike – 4:00.48 ($2000)
4. Ciattei, Vincent – Nike OTC Elite – 4:00.49 ($1000)
5. Adams, Ryan – Furman – 4:00.65 (NCAA D1 qualifier)
6. Zarate, Diego – Virginia Tech – 4:01.09 (NCAA D1 qualifier)
7. Facioni, Zach – Wake Forest – 4:01.62
8. Wier, Aaron – Furman – 4:02.43
9. Joyce, Jack – Virginia Tech – 4:03.65
10. Wareham, Nicholas – Georgetown – 4:10.77
11. Hall, Philip – NC State – 4:11.41
12. Nowak, Craig – Unattached – 4:12.60
13. Lewis, John – District TC - DNF

2019 Recap

2019 Camel City Men's Mile Race Video

The final race of the day, the Mondo Mile, was originally intended to be the marquee event of the day.  In May of 2018, we announced that Edward Cheserek, Paul Chelimo and Matthew Centrowitz would all be competing in this race.  Then, in the fall, we added 3x Olympian Nick Willis to the field.  Then, about a month before the races, things fell apart.  Centrowitz and Chelimo withdrew on the same day about 90 minutes apart, both citing fitness issues.  Then, the day before the race, Nick Willis strained his back and said he would be a race day decision, although he ultimately withdrew.

That left Cheserek pretty much alone in the race.  But never fear, we had assembled what was believed to be our deepest college field to date.  It featured two sub 4:00 milers and a bunch of 3:41 1500m runners.  However, the race didn’t go as planned.

At the gun, Craig Nowak was supposed to take the pace out in 1:57 to 1:58.  Prior to the race, meet director Craig Longhurst told Nowak to be on the conservative side to keep the collegians in the race as long as possible to try to get some NCAA qualifiers out of it.  But when the gun actually went off, Cheserek tucked in behind Nowak and urged him to go faster.

At 809m, Cheserek was at 1:56.90 with only William Paulson of Arizona State anywhere near at 1:57.63.  Behind them, the rest of the group was following Festus Lagat of Iowa State who passed 809m in 2:00.95.

In the last 800m, Cheserek would only increase his advantage, finishing nearly 8 seconds ahead of 2^nd place, as Diego Zarate of Virginia Tech would finish second, but not quite fast enough to qualify for NCAAs.  Cheserek would get the $1000 bonus for breaking 3:58.

1.      Cheserek, Edward – Skechers – 3:55.74 – ($7000)
2.     Zarate, Diego – Virginia Tech – 4:03.37
3.     Hurt, Tripp – Unattached – 4:03.44 ($2000)
4.     Young, Benjamin – Kentucky – 4:04.11
5.     Lagat, Festus – Iowa State – 4:04.99
6.     Heppenstall, Robert – Wake Forest – 4:07.79
7.     Paulson, William – Arizona State – 4:08.36
8.     Tatezawa, Ryoji – Tokai University – 4:10.88 ($300)
9.     O’Toole, Garrett – Arizona State – 4:13.53
10.  Adams, Ryan – Furman – 4:14.92
11.   Sanchez, Ryan – Puerto Rico – 4:29.16
--    Nowak, Craig – Furman Elite - DNF 

 

2018 Recap

2018 Camel City Men's Mile Race Video

The final race of the day was clearly the marquee event of the 2018 Camel City Elite Races.  There was a lot of behind the scenes action before we even got to race day.  Whereas the other races typically had five recruited athletes, we initially only filled this race with four professionals for a few reasons.  First, there was discussion that Paul Chelimo may try to double back from the 3000.  We also had a suspicion that at some point Craig Engels would elect to switch from the 800 to the mile.  Well, both of those happened.

The weekend prior to Camel City, Engels ran the mile at The Armory in an attempt to get the World Indoor standard.  Unfortunately, he didn’t get it and asked to switch races at Camel City.  We easily agreed to this, as we didn’t want him to pull out of our race to try to chase the standard at Millrose, which was the same day.  Once he was secured in our race, the action started.  There was a lot of back and forth about what the pace should be, how far the pacer should go, how many pacers should be in the race, and also who the pacer would be.  These discussions went on for a few days. 

Initially, those discussions revolved around Engels’ bid for the World Indoor standard.  Then, Edward Cheserek’s camp asked for 1:55 through 800m.  Engels’ camp then asked if the pacer could take that pace but go farther than 800m.  There was some doubts about the ability of the original pacer to handle that, so we started looking into other options.  Ultimately, we were able to secure 3:58 miler Sampson Laari who was training with his alma mater, Middle Tennessee State.

Engels’ camp wanted to make sure that the race was fast, so JDL Fast Track agreed to put up some additional bonuses to incentivize athletes to go with the pace.  The original bonus structure was $1000 to the winner for breaking 3:58.  We added a $1000 bonus to anyone in the race who achieved the World Indoor standard of sub 3:55, and also another $1000 bonus to the winner if they broke Matthew Centrowitz’s 3:54.02 facility record.

At the gun, Sampson Laari went straight to the front with Cheserek in second and Engels in third.  Laari would hit 1:55.35 for 809m and would pull off the track at 900m, leaving Cheserek by himself.  At 1000m, Cheserek would have almost 3 seconds on Engels in 2^nd place and would start his patented look backs to see how big of a margin he had.

Meanwhile, Chelimo would pass Engels for second and hold that spot until the end.  Cheserek would end up winning by nearly 5 seconds and break the facility record!  Chelimo finish second and run 3:58 to break 4:00 for the first time ever.  Henry Wynne nipped Engels at the line by 0.01 of a second. 

Collegiately, two Virginia Tech athletes, Vincent Ciattei and Patrick Joseph, would officially join the sub-4 club.  Those two, as well as teammate Neil Gourley, would all punch their tickets to the NCAA indoor championships in this race.

Farther back, local high schooler Cameron Ponder would run a great race to become the fastest all-time indoor miler in North Carolina HS history with his 4:11.57.

 

1.  Cheserek, Edward - Skechers - 3:53.85 ($9000) - facility record

2.  Chelimo, Paul - US Army - 3:58.59 ($4000) - first sub 4 mile

3.  Wynne, Henry - Brooks Beasts - 3:58.80 ($2000)

4.  Engels, Craig - Nike Oregon Project - 3:58.81 ($1000)

5.  Ciattei, Vincent - Virginia Tech - 3:59.57 (NCAA D1 qualifier) - first sub 4 mile

6.  Joseph, Patrick - Virginia Tech - 3:59.59 (NCAA D1 qualifier) - first sub 4 mile

7.  Gourley, Neil - Virgina Tech - 4:00.21 (NCAA D1 qualifier)

8.  Manzano, Leo - Hoka One One - 4:03.10 ($300)

9.  Zarate, Diego - Virginia Tech - 4:03.55

10.  Erassa, Kirubel - American Distance Project - 4:11.40

11.  Ponder, Cameron - Unattached - 4:11.57 (NC HS indoor record)

12.  Hoenig, Tim - Queens (NC) - 4:15.02

--  Laari, Sampson - Unattached - DNF

--  Jones, Adam - Salem TC - DNF

 

2017

2017 Men's Mile presented by Champion Race Video

No one was expecting a super fast race like last year when Matthew Centrowitz blitzed a 3:54.02 facility record time.  This year's race was pretty balanced.  Donnie Cowart would be handling the pacing duties for the fifth year in a row.  The pacing request was for 1:58 for 800m.  Unfortunately, that pace went out the window when the first 209m was only hit in about 31.8 seconds.  However, it was as if no one wanted to run super fast, as there was a slight gap behind Cowart after the first lap and the "leader" was actually Neil Gourley of Virginia Tech.

Gourley would remain in that first position behind the pacer until the pacer stepped off the track.  Gourley would continue to lead until Andy Bayer took the lead at 1200m.  With 200m to go, the order was Bayer, Brannen and Gourley and then a gap to everyone else.  Brannen would close his last 200 in 29.50 to overtake Bayer for the victory and win by 0.15 of a second.  Gourley would hold onto third place and get his qualifier for the NCAA indoor championships.  He would later place 4th at the 2017 NCAA Division I indoor championships at Texas A&M.

 

1.   Brannen, Nate - Unattached - 4:00.29 ($4000)

2.  Bayer, Andy - Nike - 4:00.46 ($2000)

3.  Gourley, Neil - Virginia Tech - 4:01.14 (NCAA D1 Qualifier)

4.  Ciattei, Vincent - Virginia Tech - 4:06.23

5.  Noelle, Chad - Asics Furman Elite - 4:07.27 ($1000)

6.  Manzano, Leo - Hoka One One - 4:08.75 ($500)

7.  Heppenstall, Robert - Wake Forest - 4:08.87

8.  Morken, Nick - North Florida - 4:09.49

9.  Holden, Simon - Wake Forest - 4:11.95

--  Cowart, Donnie - Saucony - DNF

photo by Phil Ponder

2016

 

2016 Men's Mile presented by Champion Race Video

This was the final race of the day in 2016 and definitely didn't disappoint.  Unfortunately, the men's field got gradually smaller as the week progressed, losing Leo Manzano to a family emergency, Pablo Solares to injury and Neil Gourley of Virginia Tech to a team-related issue.  However, Matthew Centrowitz and Cory Leslie remained to hold an epic duel  in this year's race.

Coming in, Cory Leslie had won the two Camel City Mile races he had contested, setting a facility record in each try.  But with Matthew Centrowitz in this year's field, Leslie knew he would have to muster all of his energy to defend his title.

Donnie Cowart of Saucony returned for the fourth year to pace the Camel City Mile.  Cowart was asked to take the race out in 1:57 for 809m, but got off to a slightly slower start, hitting 31.20 for 209 meters.  Not one to panic, Cowart would gradually ratchet the pace down and hit 809m in 1:57.89.  After the race, Cowart would say he felt bad for not running a perfect pace, which is why he stayed in an extra lap and go them to 1009m in 2:27.40.

After that, it was a two-man race as Centrowitz and Leslie had over 4 seconds on Brandon Hudgins.  Leslie would keep the pressure on Centrowitz, even making a bid for the lead with about 300m to go.  But Centrowitz simply had too much over the last lap, putting Leslie away over the final 150m of the race.  Centrowitz added to his growing reputation, even stopping to "dab" after crossing the finish line.  Centrowitz shattered the old facility record of 3:56.99 and pulled Leslie under the old record, as well.

Behind them, Graham Craword of NC State would overtake Brandon Hudgins for third, running 4:02.72, which would not be enough to qualify for the NCAA indoor championships.

1.  Centrowitz, Matthew - Nike Oregon Project - 3:54.02 ($5000)

2.  Leslie, Cory - Nike/Furman Elite - 3:56.25 ($2000)

3.  Crawford, Graham -  NC State - 4:02.72

4.  Hudgins, Brandon - Unattached - 4:06.88 ($1000)

5.  Holden, Simon - Wake Forest - 4:10.95

6.  Matko, Csaba - Eastern Michigan - 4:11.85

7.  Pollock, Grant - VT Elite - 4:13.52 ($500)

-- Cowart, Donald - Saucony - DNF

 photo by Jeff Sides

2015

2015 Camel City Mile Video  

The 2015 event saw a significant increase in prize money and quality in its field.  The field would include 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist Leo Manzano and 2014 United States World Indoor team member Will Leer.  Cory Leslie, after sitting out the 2014 race due to injury, returned to defend his facility record.

With a sponsorship from local sign and events specialist Salem Sports, the prize money increased to $4000/$2000/$1000/$500 plus a $1000 bonus for the winner if they broke the facility record of 3:57.81.

With a race that was already shaping up to be quite the battle, Cory Leslie upped the ante a few days before the race when he made the request for the rabbit to go through 1k at 2:26.  With big kickers Manzano and Leer in the field, Leslie was essentially telling them that they wouldn’t be able to sit back and kick, but would rather have to work for the win.

After two years of excellent pacemaking, Donnie Cowart was handed the reins again this year.  They went through 1k at 2:25.8.  Riley Masters led the peloton about 3 seconds back, followed closely by Manzano, Leer, Virginia Tech’s Patrick Joseph and Matt Elliott.  

Around 1100m, Leslie would start checking over his shoulder to see where the chasers were.  At the bell, the chase pack was Leer, Manzano, Masters and Elliott, with Joseph not too far behind.  Leslie would visibly tighten over the last lap, but he had a big enough cushion to hold off his pursuers.  The race was on for second.  Leer would win the battle for second, with Elliott just nipping Manzano at the line for third.  Riley Masters would run 3:58 and finish fifth and out of the money. 

Patrick Joseph of Virginia Tech would finish 6^th and run 4:00.47, which would convert to 3:57.44 and put him #5 in the country at the end of the season.  Kyle Graves of Wake Forest would finish in 7^th.  Despite only running about .43 seconds slower than Presson did in 2014, he would end up #28 on the NCAA list for the season.

Leslie would not only get the win, but also picked up the $1000 bonus for breaking his facility record.  In fact, each of the top four went under the previous facility record of 3:57.81, but only the winner gets the bonus.

2015 Results

1.  Leslie, Cory – Nike/Furman Elite – 3:56.99 ($5000)

2.  Leer, Will – Nike – 3:57.54 ($2000)

3.  Elliott, Matthew – Brooks/In The Arena – 3:57.76 ($1000)

4.  Manzano, Leo – Hoka One One – 3:57.79 ($500)

5.  Masters, Riley – Brooks Beasts – 3:58.91

6.  Joseph, Patrick – Virginia Tech – 4:00.47 (NCAA D1 qualifier)

7.  Graves, Kyle – Wake Forest – 4:02.71

8.  Gourley, Neil – Virginia Tech – 4:04.06

9.  Crawford, Graham – NC State – 4:04.48

10.  Hurt, Tripp – Furman – 4:13.38

11.  Campos, Juan – Virginia Tech – 4:18.30

--  Cowart, Donald – Crazy Running - DNF

 

2014

2014 Camel City Mile Video                                                                                                                                                                                                                  photo credit by Ponder

The second year of the Camel City Elite portion of the meet saw the addition of the women’s mile and men’s and women’s 800 and 3k races.  The men’s mile had prize money of $1500/$750/$375 and a $500 bonus for breaking 4:00.  The 2014 race saw the first NCAA qualifier in the mile, as Isaac Presson’s 4:02.28 converted to 3:59.23 and garnered him the last qualifying spot into the 2014 NCAA Division I Indoor T&F Championships.

Donnie Cowart handled the pacemaking duties for the second year in a row, and again took the field through 1k around 2:28.  This year, Michael Hammond of Furman Elite was on his shoulder for the first 5 laps.  When Cowart stepped off the track, Hammond had about 10-15 meters on Riley Masters in second, with Grimster in third and Phillips in fourth.  By 1300m, Masters had taken the lead, with Phillips to overtake Hammond for second shortly thereafter.

With a lap to go, the order was Masters-Phillips-Elliott, but Masters would get outkicked over the last lap.  Further back, Presson, who started out dead last on the first two laps, would gradually climb through the field.  Phillips overtook Masters for the lead with a little less than 100m left in the race and raised his arms triumphantly as he crossed the finish line.

Presson’s efforts would get him his NCAA qualifier.  Just behind him, Mount Olive’s Dylan Lafond would earn himself an NCAA Division II automatic qualifying mark.

Results

1.  Phillips, Duncan – Unattached – 4:00.94 ($1500)

2.  Elliott, Matthew – Brooks – 4:01.50 ($750)

3.  Masters, Riley – Brooks Beasts – 4:01.77 ($375)

4.  Presson, Isaac – North Carolina – 4:02.28 (NCAA D1 qualifier)

5.  Lafond, Dylan – Mount Olive – 4:05.53 (NCAA D2 qualifier)

6.  Schulist, Chris – Campbell – 4:08.11

7.  Hammond, Michael – Furman Elite – 4:09.68

8.  Holden, Simon – Wake Forest – 4:10.05

9.  Grimster, Kane – Auburn – 4:10.10

--  Cowart, Donald – Crazy Running - DNF

 

2013

2013 Camel City Mile Video

This was the inaugural year of the event.  All prize money was put up by JDL Fast Track owner, David Shannon.  Prize money was $1500/$750/$375 with $500 bonuses for breaking 4:00. 

Donnie Cowart handled the pacesetting duties and took the field out in a respectable 2:28 for the first 1000m.  At that point, he and Cory Leslie had created a small gap to the rest of the field.  Leslie would power home the rest of the race and his lead would never really be in jeopardy.  Meanwhile, van der Westhuizen and Elliott would rally over the last lap and both dipped under 4:00 to pick up the $500 bonuses.

After the race, Ford Palmer, the fastest collegian in the field, expressed some regret over a slow start that put him at the back of the field early on, and he was never able to make up enough ground as he was passing people the last 600m of the race.

Results

1.  Leslie, Cory – Furman Elite – 3:57.81 ($2000)

2.  van der Westhuizen, Peter – South Africa – 3:59.43 ($1250)

3.  Elliott, Matthew – Brooks – 3:59.96 ($875)

4.  Palmer, Ford – Monmouth – 4:05.19

5.  Lincoln, Matt – Canada – 4:05.47

6.  Presson, Isaac – North Carolina – 4:07.97

7.  Chelimo, Paul – UNC-Greensboro – 4:09.41

8.  Rose, Alexander – Wake Forest – 4:09.65

9.  Gilmer, Lee – Furman Elite – 4:11.65

10.  Taylor, Alex – Appalachian State – 4:12.15

--  Cowart, Donald – Unattached - DNF