Young, Kelati Earn Big Wins at the USATF 10 km Championships

USATF Release

NORTHPORT, New York – Wet and windy conditions couldn’t slow down Clayton Young and Weini Kelati on Saturday morning in Northport, New York, as the duo used differing race tactics to claim titles at the USATF 10 km Championships.

The USATF 10 km Championships are the eleventh stop on the 2023 USATF Running Circuit. Race highlights and coverage of the event, hosted by the Cow Harbor Run 10K, are available and can be viewed with a +PLUS subscription on USATF.TV.

As the cannon sounded the start of the race Saturday, the men’s field packed together up front and a group of 13 men charged through the early stages of the race in Northport with James Quattlebaum leading the way. 

Just past the 5 km mark, USATF Running Circuit leader Leonard Korir took over the lead and started to push the pace. Quattlebaum followed off Korir’s shoulder, while Young, Tai Dinger, Daniel Mesfun, and Willy Fink made it a six man race up front.

The pack of six would remain together over the next mile, with only Quattlebaum and Dinger dropping off as they passed through the five mile marker.

With less than a mile to go, it was Young, Korir, Fink, and Mesfun pulling away and driving hard to the finish. As the finish line came into sight, Young powered away from the lead pack, charging through the finish line for his third win on the USATF Running Circuit season in 28:49.

Fink outlasted the rest of the field, running arguably his best race of the year to finish second in 28:52. Korir would outlast Mesfun for third in 28:54, while Mesfun finished two seconds back with a fourth place time of 28:56.

Quattlebaum and Dinger weren’t far off the lead quartet. Quattlebaum took home fifth in 29:00, while Dinger earned sixth in 29:02. 

The chase pack came in nearly half a minute back, with Christopher Alfond placing seventh in 29:29. Veteran Emmanuel Bor claimed eighth in 29:33, finishing a half step ahead of Nick Randazzo who placed ninth in the same time of 29:33. Sydney Gidabuday rounded out the top ten with a time of 29:41.

Both Young and Korir added substantial points to their USATF Running Circuit totals. Korir cemented his place atop of the standings with another 10 points, giving him 73 points on the season with one race to go. Young moved from third place to second place with his additional 15 points, giving him 57 points overall.

While the men’s race was a battle until the end, Kelati made sure the women’s race was anything but that. The frontrunner jumped to the lead from the start. No one followed her early pace and by the half way mark, which Kelati passed through in 16:02, she had more than 150 meters on Ednah Kurgat, who was running alone in second place.

Kelati continued to add distance on Kurgat and the rest of the field. By the fourth mile she had built a 200 meter lead and that distance only lengthened the rest of the way. Despite the large lead, Kelati never slowed, never eased up, pushing hard all the way to the finish and breaking the tape in 31:57, a mere five seconds short of breaking the course record.

While Kurgat never challenged the early pace, she ran consistently throughout the Northport course. Kurgat maintained both pace and form all the way to the finish, claiming second in 32:40, and giving her five top three finishes on the 2023 USATF Running Circuit season.

Behind Kurgat, Emma Hurley ran away from the rest of the field and took home an impressive third place finish in 32:56, her third top three finish on this year’s USATF Running Circuit. Amanda Vestri ran well over the back half of the race to claim fourth place in 33:02, while Jeralyn Poe finished fifth in 33:13.

With her runner-up effort, Kurgat secured another 12 points towards her USATF Running Circuit overall standings lead, giving her 64 points heading into the final race of the USATF Running Circuit season. Hurley’s third place finish awarded her 10 points, moving her from a tie for fourth into third place with 39 points, just a single point behind Nell Rojas, who sits second with 40 points.

Rounding out the top ten, Anne-Marie Blaney earned another top ten finish at the USATF 10 km Championships, this time securing sixth place in 33:31. Sophia King placed seventh in 33:50, with Regan Rome a few seconds behind in 33:58, good enough for eight place. Grace Moore and Mackenna Curtis-Collins placed ninth and tenth in 34:00 and 34:06.

The final stop on the 2023 USATF Running Circuit takes place on Saturday, November 4, as the USATF 5 km Championships get underway in New York City, hosted by the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K.

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 $41,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 10 km Championships

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 10 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