PB’s and records galore in Los Angeles
On Track Nights officially started into its first season with Track Fest L.A. in cooperation with Soundrunning.
Zurich, Switzerland, May 7, 2023 - On Track Nights officially started its first season with Track Fest in Los Angeles. The World Athletics Silver level meeting is part of the World Athletics Continental Tour, and a grand total of 18 races were on schedule at Mt. Sac’s Hilmer Lodge Stadium. The first installment of On’s new global series of events, which was created to offer a new kind of athletics event that enables fast times but also brings its stars closer to fans, did not disappoint.
In a packed schedule from the early evening to late at night, the numerous spectators saw intense competitions which were crowned by fast times and personal bests but also On athlete and The Voice contestant Chloe Abbott and L.A.-based rapper KYLE headlining the entertainment part.
3000m SC
Krissy Gear, On’s Courtney Wayment, and Alicia Konieczek all remained under the previous meet record set by Regan Yee and battled out the win in the 3000m Steeplechase. In the end, Gear broke the tape and won in 9:23.55 ahead of Wayment and Konieczek.
OAC’s George Beamish claimed position two and a personal best in what was only the second steeplechase race of his career. In the end, Beamish only had to let Kenneth Rooks pass, who proceeded to set a new personal best, meet record, and a 2023 world-leading time with 8:17.62.
800m
World Champion Halimah Nakaayi was the winner of the women’s 800m event 2:00.21, while On athletes Aaliyah Miller (2:02.43) and Georgie Hartigan (2:05.89) came away with positions four and seven.
On the men’s side, OAC 1500m specialists Yared Nuguse and Mario Garcia Romo had dropped down to the shorter 800m distance and showed convincing performance among a field of 800m experts. With a final sprint that was nothing short of amazing, Nuguse won the race in a new personal best of 1:46.30, ahead of Tonatiu Lopez and Isaiah Harris. Teammate Mario Garcia Romo claimed rank four in 1:47.10.
In the national level section 2 races, Susan Aneno won in 2:01.74 ahead of Michaela Meyer and Hong Jiao Wu, while Devin Dixon(1:49.83) took the win in the men’s race with Charles Shimokowa and Maxime Tilman taking positions two and three.
1500m
Sage Hurta-Klecker was the winner of the women’s 1500m race. She beat out Canadian Gabriela DeBues-Stafford and Susan Ejore to take the top spot on the podium in 4:06.34. Fellow OAC athlete Sinta Vissa was fourth in 4:07.77.
Robert Heppenstall, Woody Kincaid, and Festus Lagat were the three athletes standing on the podium in the men’s 1500m, with Heppenstall taking the win in 3:36.97. On’s Kieran Lumb was fifth with a time of 3:38.08.
OAC Oceania’s Claudia Hollingsworth was the winner of the women’s 1500 section 2 race. The Australian talent won in 4:08.66, with Reagan Yee and Mia Barnett taking two and three. Eduardo Herrera won the men’s section 2 race in 3:38.41. Kasey Knevelbaard and track legend Matt Centrowitz claimed positions two and three.
Riley Chamberlain was number one in the national level section 3 race. She finished in 4:13.07 and beat Carmen Adler and Tracee van der Wyk to victory. Ajay Kumat was her counterpart on the men’s side and took the section 3 win in 03:39.89. Charlie Dannatt and Sean Peterson were number two and three.
5000m
OAC’s Josette Andrews smashed her 5000m PB and set a world-leading time with a commanding win on the longer distance. With 14:43.36, Andrews improved her PB by eight seconds, finished nearly 14 seconds under the World Championships qualifying standard, and broke the stadium record of 14:43.36 set by Shalane Flanagan. Joselyn Brea came in second, and Laura Galvan was third. Kately Tuohy claimed rank seven and rewrote the NCAA history books by taking down Jenny Simpson’s outdoor 5000m record from May 2009.
Cooper Teare came away with the victory in the men’s race in 13:12.73 and beat Morgan Beadlescomb and On’s Ben Flanagan to the tape.
Lea Meyer, Katie Camarena, and Emily Mackay were the three fastest women in the 5000m section two race. Meyer took the win in 15:06.39 and significantly improved her old PB of 15:31.30.
John Heyman's 13:16.88 was also a significant improvement to his older 13:42.00 PB. It catapulted him to the win ahead of Ruben Querinjean and Jack Rowe. In addition, Connor Burns ran 13:37.30 to place fifth and break Galen Rupp’s 13:37.90 record that had stood since 2004.
10,000m
Fiona O’Keefe was the winner of the evening’s penultimate event, the 10,000m in 30:52.77, and improved her personal best by two seconds. Diane Van Es from the Netherlands and China’s Wuga He claimed the remaining podium spots.
On the men’s side, South Africa’s Adriaan Wildschutt was the last winner of the night. He broke the tape in 27:23.10 and set a massive new personal best and national record. Alex Masai and Thomas George claimed positions two and three.
Final results: https://finishedresults.trackscoreboard.com/meets/11276/events
High-res images for editorial use are available for download here. (photo credit: Joe Hale & Kennett Mohrman / On).
About On
On was born in the Swiss Alps with one goal: to revolutionize the sensation of running by empowering all to run on clouds. Thirteen years after market launch, On delivers industry-disrupting innovation in premium footwear, apparel, and accessories for high-performance running, outdoor, and all-day activities. Fueled by customer recommendation, On’s award-winning CloudTec® innovation, purposeful design, and groundbreaking strides in sportswear’s circular economy have attracted a fast-growing global fan base — inspiring humans to explore, discover and dream on.
On is present in more than 60 countries globally and engages with a digital community on www.on.com.