Mile posts: Items on Sammy Rotich, Kevin Lewis, Andrea Toppin, Sam Pinkowski, Jay Welp, Becca Mallon
It's the calm before the storm in track and field.
Few of the top athletes from Iowa and Iowa colleges were in action as they prepared for this week's USATF Outdoor Championships at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. But that doesn't mean there wasn't a few results last weekend among Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes in this edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE.
Saturday's Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., was the highlight race, with many top Iowa runners faring well. Leading the way was former two-time Dam to Dam winner Sammy Rotich, 35. The former West Des Moines resident and native of Kenyan captured runner-up honors in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 7 seconds. The resident of Coon Rapids, Minn., was racing neck and neck with eventual winner Dominic Ondoro until the final stretch, when Ondoro averaged 4:48 pace for the final 2.3 miles and Rotich averaged 4:57. Ondoro became a two-time Grandma's winner after defeating a strong field in 2:09:34.
Finishing 10th was former Iowa All-Big Ten runner Kevin Lewis, 28. The Minnesota Distance Elite athlete based in Richfield, Minn., ran 2:13:48. His best for the 26.2-mile distance is 2:12:02 at Chandler, Ariz., in December of 2020.
Minnesota Distance Elite's Tyler Jermann, 29, of St. Paul, Minn., was on a solid pace before fading over the final 2.3 miles. Jermann averaged 5:46 pace over the final 2.3 miles to fall from 16th to 24th in 2:16:50. The former Iowa State runner still earned the automatic qualifying time for the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials.
Former Runablaze Iowa athlete Ryan Root, 30, of Boulder, Colo., finished 63rd in 2:25:21. Former Iowa athlete Ian Eklin, 24, of Plymouth, Minn., ended up 79th among the men in 2:28:25.
Running Wild Elite's top athlete was Keith Sands. The resident of Rock Island, Ill., and former Augustana College athlete finished 82nd among all men in 2:29:23. Sands was making his marathon debut.
A current Runablaze athlete, MacCoy Benzen, cracked the top 100 by placing 92nd in a new personal-best 2:31:13. Benzen, a former Iowa State student, resides in West Des Moines. Tyler Culver, 30, of Cedar Rapids also ran 2:41:09.
Former Iowa State runner and Clear Lake native Andrea Toppin was the top Iowa native in 37th place. The resident of Broomfield, Colo., was 37th in 2:42:46.
"Yesterday I thought I would be lucky to break 3 hours and I winged a 2:42 marathon matching my PR that qualified me for the Olympic Trials back in 2020," Toppin wrote on Instagram. "I was on 2:39 pace (PR pace) until I dropped my fuel bottle at mile 19 - and I hit a wall from miles 20-26.2, but still managed to run slightly over my marathon PR."
Jen Van Otterloo, 36, of Sioux Center was the top Runablaze athlete in 48th place in 2:46:56. Van Otterloo, fourth in the 35-39 age division, is a former Dordt College runner.
Recent Luther College runner and Runablaze athlete Tricia Serres, 28, of Asbury was 52nd in 2:48:25. Teammate Jessica Hruska, 42, of Dubuque was 57th in 2:49:06. Hruska is a former Wartburg College runner and Dubuque Hempstead prep. Hruska was fifth in the 40-44 age division. Another former Wartburg and Hempstead athlete, Amanda Edwards, of Dubuque ran 2:54:13 for 77th place. Former Wartburg runner Carina Collet ran a personal-best 3:01:15. Collet is a Running Wild Elite athlete.
In the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, also held Saturday in Duluth, former Wartburg College runner Sam Pinkowski finished 16th overall in 1:06:27. Pinkowski now resides in La Crosse, Wis.
Former ADM of Adel prep and IMT Des Moines Half Marathon winner Mason Frank finished 23rd. His 1:07:09 time is well off his best of 1:04:35 from 2020.
Running Wild Elite's Tanner Osing ran 1:09:39 in his half marathon debut. Osing is a former Augustana College runner.
Running Wild Elite's Jay Welp, a former Morningside College and BCLUW (Conrad) prep, was the overall winner of the Bob Goldman Memorial Scholastic Challenge 5K on Saturday in Springfield, Ill. The Iowa City resident ran 15:23.
Running Wild teammate Becca Mallon, a former Northern Iowa and Davenport Assumption athlete, took the women's overall win at the Maple City 4 in Geneseo, Ill., on Saturday. Mallon ran 25:04. Her father, Michael Mallon, ran 22:57 to win the 50-59 age division and was second overall.
Iowa residents took the top places at the Paul Skeffington Memorial 5-mile race in DeWitt on Saturday. Zach Hein was the overall and male winner by 37 seconds in 30:46. The women's winner was Trisha Nelson in 32:13.
At the Alive and Running 5K in Dunkerton on Saturday, Kristine DuBois, 32, of Cedar Falls was the women's winner and fifth overall in 19:44. DuBois ran 19:33 at the Fools 5K in April.
Star world and national age-group runner Gary Patton, 76, won the 60-plus age division at the Heritage Days 5K Road Race on Saturday. The Rock Rapids resident stayed in his hometown and ran 21:24. The winner was Zach Hentschel, 20, in 16:28.
Louden Foster, 20, of Stuart was the overall winner of the Stuart Good Egg Days 5K on Saturday. The Simpson College athlete and former West Central Valley of Stuart athlete ran 16:25.
At the Des Moines Corporate Games at Drake Stadium recently, Northern Iowa senior-to-be and former Urbandale prep Ben Daumueller captured the 19-29 division of the 800 meters. Daumueller ran 2:02.17.
Ending with trail racing and the Schuetzen Nein Endurance Run on Saturday in Davenport. Jeff Friedman, 38, of Zwingle repeated as overall winner after covering 47.60 miles in nine hours.
MISSING A TOP DISTANCE RUNNER OR TRIATHLETE?: Let me know at bergeson@registermedia.com.
Want to hear more about distance running in Iowa. Listen to my podcast here: https://anchor.fm/lance-bergeson8
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Sammy Rotich, Kevin Lewis, Andrea Toppin, Sam Pinkowski, Jay Welp, Becca Mallon
