On each side of the North American continent on Thursday night, Flagstaff-based distance runners vied for spots in the women’s 3,000 Meter Steeplechase. One on the East succeeded; two on the West Coast did not.
In Montreal, Dark Sky Distance’s Regan Yee, the 2023 Canadian steeplechase champ, was beaten by last year’s runner-up, Ceili McCabe at the Canadian Bell Trials but still will be named to her country’s Olympic team based on ranking.
Yee, who fell at the water jump a mile in, used a strong kick on the bell lap to move up from fourth to second in 9:42.07, nearly 10 seconds behind McCabe, who led wire-to-wire. Yee does not have the Olympic Trials standard of 9:23 — her PR this year is 9:26.12 at the Yangtze Diamond League. But she is ranked 23rd in the world in the steeple; she will officially find out in a week if she falls within the quota.
Because of the fall in the steeple and an ankle tweak, Yee was a late scratch from the 5,000 meters, held less than two hours later.
Meanwhile, Flagstaff runners faltered in a speedy U.S. women’s steeplechase final. Dark Sky’s Angelina Ellis finished 11th in 9:28.19, about two seconds off her personal best.
NAZ Elite’s Krissy Gear, the defending U.S. steeplechase champion, dropped out after the first 1,000 meters. Gear, unlike in the semifinals, went out with the leaders after the gun and was in fourth place early on. But she quickly faded and dropped. After the race, NAZ Elite posted on social media that Gear had hamstring issues, but Gear herself posted that she was not injured and just “quit.”
Preliminaries
— In the men’s 5,000 meters semifinals, the last event of the night, five Flagstaff-based runners advanced. The second heat proved the faster and more competitive, as Mike Smith-coached training partners Woody Kincaid (13:23.91) and Abdi Nur (13:24.14) looked as if they were doing a workout on NAU’s track, pulling away to finish first and second, respectively.
Also in the second heat, Dark Sky’s Kasey Knevelbaard came from last place with two laps to go, but went far to the outside and finished seventh to get a time qualifier in 13:25.13. NAZ Elite’s Ahmed Muhumed, who was as high as fifth with 1,000 meters to go, finished eighth and moves on via time qualification.
In the first heat, it was a case of sit-and-kick for almost the whole pack. NAZ Elite’s Olin Hacker finished fifth in 13:34.72 to automatically qualify for the finals, but Dark Sky’s Ben Veatch, eighth in the first heat, failed to advance.
— The first round in the women’s 1,500 held few surprises. Flagstaff’s Nikki Hiltz (third) and NAU’s Maggi Congdon (fifth) easily advanced in their heat, which went out in an exceedingly slow first three laps. Hiltz stayed in third the entire race, on the outside to stay out of trouble. Congdon held back early but used her 800-meter speed to make up ground on the bell lap.
— In the men’s 800, Dark Sky’s Abe Alvarado surged in the final lap to finish second in his heat and eighth fastest overall in the first round. He ran 1:46.76 and moves on to the semifinals. .
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