Sisson Repeats, Montanez Charges to Win at the USATF 15 km Championships

USATF Release

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Olympian Emily Sisson once again dominated the field along the streets of Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday morning, repeating as champion, while Nico Montanez used a furious final mile to earn the victory on the men’s side at the USATF 15 km Championships presented by Toyota.

Race highlights and coverage of the USATF 15 km Championships, hosted by the Gate River Run and the second stop on the USATF Running Circuit presented by Toyota,  are available and can be viewed with a +PLUS subscription on USATF.TV.

As the women’s race got underway Saturday morning, Sisson jumped to the early lead, with Emily Durgin and Emily Infeld in tow. The two were joined for the first mile by Nell Rojas and Annie Frisbie, but that duo would quickly step back and it was the trio of Sisson, Durgin, and Infeld that would run as the lead pack for the first portion of the race. 

While Sisson led the trio, Durgin and Infeld ran just off her shoulder, passing by the crowds lined along the Jacksonville streets, hitting the first two mile markers together.

The tactics should shift in mile through, however, as Sisson started to push the pace, and by the 5 km mark, Sisson had a lead of five seconds on Durgin and Infeld, passing through the split in 15:38.

While Durgin and Infeld would then run together for much of the next 5 km, Sisson was off to the races. Every mile Sisson grew her lead, and while Durgin would eventually pull away from Infeld and try to close the gap on the frontrunner, Sisson would not be stopped.

After cresting over the final bridge, charging downhill into the finish, Sisson crossed the finish arms raised in 47:28, just off the American record of 47:00.

Durgin ran a fantastic back half of the race in Jacksonville, pulling away from Infeld and maintaining form, earning a big runner-up effort of 49:17, improving upon her fourth place effort at the USATF Cross Country Championships earlier in the year.

Infeld was able to hold off her challengers over the final mile of the race, claiming third in 49:46, just ahead of Sarah Pagano and Rojas, who finished fourth and fifth respectively, crossing the finish in 49:51 and 49:58.

Behind the lead five finishers, marathon standout Annie Frisbie showed her versatility on the roads by placing sixth overall in 50:14. Jessie Cardin took home seventh in 50:28, just ahead of Lexie Thompson, who finished eighth in 50:44. Bria Wetsch and Tayler Tuttle earned ninth and tenth place finishes in 51:11 and 51:25.

While Sisson pulled away from the rest of the field after the first two miles of the women’s race, the men’s race was a different story, as a large lead group hung together following the lead of Galen Rupp for much of the morning’s race.

The first 5 km of the men’s race was a tight-knit affair, as Rupp took the early pacing duties, followed closely behind by fellow Olympians Hillary Bor and Leonard Korir, with 18 men crossing the 5 km mark in 14:27.

While the pace remained relatively the same for the next 5 km, with the leaders passing through in 28:52, Rupp led a group of only eight men at this point, still followed closely be Bor and Korir, as well as Colin Bennie and Futsum Zienasellassie. 

The race shifted in a dramatic way at the 33 minute mark, as Bennie jumped to the lead and started to push the pace. Rupp quickly dropped from the lead back into the heart of the lead pack, while Bennie and Bor started to move. 

While the move was intense, the lead group of eight remained mostly intact, and it wasn’t until a few minutes later, cresting the long bridge that marked the final mile to the finish, that Montanez put in a decisive move, charging up the bridge and putting a quick gap of eight seconds on the rest of the field. 

With no one responding to his move, Montanez continued to charge ahead. Using the downhill on the backside of the bridge, then striding through the flats of the final half mile, Montanez race strong and smooth. With a final look over his shoulder heading into the final straight, the Mammoth Track Club standout pumped his fists and crossed the finish line first in 43:09, winning his first USATF title.

Behind Montanez, Korir was able to outlast Bor, finishing second in 43:13. Bor took home third one second back in 43:14, while 2021 USATF Running Circuit champion Abbabiya Simbassa claimed fourth in 43:22. 

Bennie and Zienasellassie battled to the finish, with Bennie finishing slightly ahead in 43:25 to take home fifth, while Zienasellassie finished in 43:28 to claim sixth. Rupp finished strong to place seventh in 43:31, just ahead of Zach Panning, who ran eighth in 43:31. Matthew McClintock ran to a ninth place finish in 43:56, while Jacob Thomson rounded out the top ten in 44:09.

About the USATF Running Circuit

The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $49,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 15 km Championships.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 15 km Championships, scoring is set as 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7 ,6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.

The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.

Contributed by Scott Bush