Shelby Houlihan’s running career has come full circle.
The 2016 Olympian and 16-time Iowa state champion running for Sioux City East claimed her 13th national title at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene, OR, on Sunday, Aug. 3. Houlihan outsprinted the competition in the final 100 meters of a slow women’s 5,000 to claim victory in 15 minutes, 13.61 seconds.
Houlihan missed a chance to represent the United States at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo when she was suspended for the banned anabolic steroid, nandrolone. Her appeal was denied in 2021 and she missed the U.S. Olympic Trials in June of 2021.
Now, Houlihan is headed to the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo to represent the U.S. at the World Athletics Championships in September and leads off this edition the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes.
“I don’t have to sit at home and watch this year,” Houlihan told reporters at Hayward Field after the race. “It feels like a full circle moment, going to Tokyo, finally.”
Houlihan showed she was on the right path in February when she qualified for the U.S. team that competed at the IAAF world indoors competition in Nanjing, China, in March. Houlihan then won silver in the 3,000 meters at Nanjing for her first medal at a world competition.
Now she has made her second U.S. team in as many tries this year. Houlihan waited out a slow pace over the first 4,000 meters until Josette Andrews picked up the pace. Andrews was ahead with one lap to go, with Elise Cranny, Bailey Hertenstein and Houlihan following. Houlihan, who still owns the American 1,500 record, charged past Hertenstein off the final curve and easily fought off Cranny by .65 of a second. Houlihan ran the final 200 meters in 30.56 seconds. Andrews was third in 15:15.01.
“I felt like I’ve been working really hard the last four or five years to maintain that fitness and come back as well as I could, so I felt like it was there,” Houlihan told reporters. “It was just whether or not I could get my body feeling good on the day.”
Houlihan owns the world standard so her trip to Tokyo is secured. She is now coached by her sister, Shayla, who is the head cross country coach at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.
Finishing sixth for a second consecutive race at USATF Outdoors was former Dowling Catholic star and two-time Olympian Karissa Schweizer. The Nike Swoosh TC team member ran 15:16.76.
On the opening day of competition July 31, Schweizer took sixth in the 10,000 final at Hayward. The six-time Missouri NCAA champion ran 32:10.82 in a race won by Brooks’ Emily Infeld in 31:43.56. Two former Iowa State University standouts competed. Brooks athlete Amanda Vestri, who competes for the ZAP Endurance team based in North Carolina, ended up eighth in 32:28.90. Cailie (Logue) Hughes, a 13-time Big 12 Conference champion for the Cyclones, grabbed 14th place in 33:23.29. Hughes is a Puma athlete running for the Minnesota Distance Elite squad.
Native Iowan Gable Sieperda capped a strong week at the Trials with a 13th-place finish in the 3,000 steeplechase final on Aug. 2. The 2024 third-place finisher in the NCAA 3,000 steeplechase final while competing for Iowa State, Sieperda ran 8:36.99 in his first U.S. final. Sieperda ran near the back of the field most of the race. The U.S. champion was 2024 Olympic silver medalist Kenneth Rooks in 8:26.58.
Two days earlier, the Fitness Sports Distance Project runner qualified out of the first round on time. The former Central Lyon-GLR prep ran 8:23.13 to place seventh in heat 2. He was the next-to-last time qualifier.
His former Iowa State teammate, Janette Schraft, ran the 17th-best time in the first round of the steeplechase on July 31. The former Glenwood and East Mills prep ran 9:55.19 to take eighth in heat 1. The final time qualifier ran 9:40.71. Schraft, like Sieperda, was third at NCAAs in the steeplechase a year ago.
Shifting to European track and field, where former Iowa Central Community College six-time NJCAA champion Adva Cohen claimed her eighth Israeli national steeplechase title at Givat Ram Stadium in Jerusalem on Aug. 2. The Under Armor Dark Sky squad athlete based in Flagstaff, AZ, and Israeli record holder ran 9:57.39 for the 7 1/2 laps.
The United Kingdom championships were held at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England, and former Drake University Missouri Valley Conference champion Adam Fogg missed qualifying for the 1,500 final by .04 of a second. The Under Armour Mission Run Baltimore Distance athlete ran 3:48.73 in the slower of two heats to place fifth on Aug. 2.
“Felt all out when I took the lead and just could not hold everyone off when they moved, missed the final by .04 after thinking there was almost no race scenario where I shouldn’t have qualified,” Fogg wrote on Instagram. “… no real excuses, just did not have it.”
A strong field toed the line at the TD Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on Aug. 2. Reigning U.S. 10K record holder Biya Simbassa, 32, picked up fourth place in 28:07, 27 seconds better than a year ago. The former Iowa Central and Sioux City North great is now an Asics athlete based in Flagstaff.Crown Running athlete Mason Tope finished 22nd overall in 30:32 while running even splits of 15:16 over the two halves. The former Davenport Central and Loras College great is now based in Las Vegas.
The winner was American Conner Mantz in 27:26, a time that broke the course record. His time is :06 faster than Simbassa’s U.S. record, but is not eligible for the record.
Moving to triathlon and the Muscatine Triathlon on Aug. 2. Organizers offered a $20,000 prize purse and 10 professional men showed up to try to pick up the cash. Former Johnston prep and Iowa Central athlete Tyson Wieland finished fifth overall in the sprint format race (750-meter swim, a 20K bike ride and 5K run) in 55:32. The Des Moines man leads the Runablaze Iowa team. The winner was Matthew McGoey in 52:09.
In the women’s competition, Runablaze’s Elaina Biechler of Dubuque finished seventh in 1:13:52. Biechler is a former Coe College standout. The winner was Dominika Jamnicky in 59:45.
Cedar Falls senior-to-be Jaden Merrick took the win at the Shamrock N’ Run in downtown Waterloo on Aug. 2. Merrick ran 15:28 to top former Cedar Falls runner Tanner Tangen by 50 seconds.
At the Wapsi Wiggle in Riceville, Runablaze’s Amanda Edwards of Grundy Center was the winner. Edwards ran 19:32.
Kiera Andersen of Ames was the winner of the Panorama Days 5K in Panora on Aug. 2. The Gilbert High senior-to-be ran 19:38 to finish third overall. She held off Panorama junior-to-be Kylie Rochholz by two seconds.
GOING BACK ONE WEEK: The 51st Quad-City Times Bix 7 road race was delayed for the first time – an hour – by bad weather on Saturday, July 26. The bad weather delayed by an hour a superb battle betwen former college rivals Alex Maier and Wesley Kiptoo. Maier, the former Oklahoma State athlete, pulled away over the final downhill stretch toward Third Street to unseat the defending champion and set the fifth-fastest time in race history, 32:02. That is a 4:34 average. It’s the fastest Bix 7 time by an American. Maier, 25, of Chapel Hill, NC, won $12,500. Kiptoo, a seven-time Big 12 Conference champion with Iowa State, settled for second in 32:14. Kiptoo, 26, is a HOKA Northern Arizona Elite team member based in Flagstaff. He won the 2021 NCAA indoor 5,000 title.
Former Sioux City North great Merga Gemeda, 25, missed the top 10 by two spots. The Minnesota Distance Elite athlete now living in Minnetonka, MN, ran 33:36. The top Iowa resident was Cody Baele, 30, of the Fitness Sports Distance Project club. The Des Moines man ran 35:11 for 19th overall and first among the non-invited elites.
Tope, the former Loras runner now with Crown, led that team with a 20th-place effort in 35:19. That is a new best for the 29-year-old. The leader for Runablaze ws Matt Lorenz of Swisher. Lorenz finished 24th in 35:35 to help his men’s team take third in the team competition. Devin Allbaugh of the Running Wild Elite team picked up his third Gregg Newell Trophy as the fastest male in the Quad-Cities. The former Pleasant Valley prep, 35, of Bettendorf ran 35:42 to place 26th overall.
“It never gets old,” Allbaugh told the Quad-City Times. “I’m always thinking about it and always trying. I’m usually just trying to place as best I can.”
Former Indian Hills Community College runner Marcus Graham was the No. 2 runner for FSDP in 27th place in 35:48. Graham now resides in Colorado Springs, CO. Running second for Runablaze was former Dubuque Senior and Iowa Central standout Blake Whalen, 29, of Des Moines. The reigning Drake Relays 10,000 track champion ran 35:59 for 28th. Steve Froeschle, 31, of Davenport was the No. 2 runner for RWE. The former Davenport Assumption and St. Ambrose athlete ran 36:00 for 29th. Teammate Joe Langridge, 22, of Rock Island was 31st in 36:12.The Lothar Running team made its debut at Bix and finished fourth in the team race. Leading the way was former Cedar Rapids Kennedy prep Jacob Green, who ended his tenure at Wartburg College in the spring. Green ran 36:12 for 32nd. He held off current Wartburg athlete Lance Sobaski, who had the same time. Sobaski, 21, ran for Washington High. Lothar’s Seth Bailey, 19, was 37th in 36:25. Bailey is a current Wartburg runner who went to New London. Mike Gille was the next finisher for RWE in 38th place. Gille, 25, of East Moline ran 36:27. Former Cardinal (Eldon) runner Trevor Albert, now representing FSDP, took 39th in 36:28. Albert, 26, resides in Marion. Lucas Keifer was the No. 5 runner for RWE in 40th place in 36:32. Keifer, 30, resides in Burlington.
The Lothar Running team made its debut at Bix and finished fourth in the team race. Leading the way was former Cedar Rapids Kennedy prep Jacob Green, who ended his tenure at Wartburg College in the spring. Green ran 36:12 for 32nd. He held off current Wartburg athlete Lance Sobaski, who had the same time. Sobaski, 21, ran for Washington High. Lothar’s Seth Bailey, 19, was 37th in 36:25. Bailey is a current Wartburg runner who went to New London. Mike Gille was the next finisher for RWE in 38th place. Gille, 25, of East Moline ran 36:27. Former Cardinal (Eldon) runner Trevor Albert, now representing FSDP, took 39th in 36:28. Albert, 26, resides in Marion. Lucas Keifer was the No. 5 runner for RWE in 40th place in 36:32. Keifer, 30, resides in Burlington.
Canaan Dunham, a senior-to-be at Pella High, was the next Iowan in 41st place. Dunham ran 36:33, a 5:13 pace on the hilly, difficult course. Caleb Silver, who spent several years in Pella running for Central College, was next across the line in 36:36. Silver, 24, is a former BCLUW (Conrad) athlete now living in Oskaloosa and competing for Crown. Another former Dutch great, Runablaze’s Austin O’Brien, took 43rd. The former Pleasant Valley prep, 33, now living in Waukee ran 36:37. Former Clinton High and Clinton Community College athlete Dalton Rice, 26, of Davenport ended up 44th among the men in 36:44. Rice runs for the RWE squad. He was followed by teammate and Iowa junior Luke Knepp. The former Pleasant Valley prep ran 36:51 for 45th place. Runablaze’s Karim Achengli, 33, of Urbandale picked up 49th among the men in 37:00. Achengli was a two-time NJCAA champion for Iowa Central. Zach Sporaa, a Wisconsin-Platteville athlete who ran for Madrid, was 52nd in 37:14. Sporaa is 21. RWE’s Brett Rosauer, 34, of Iowa City grabbed 53rd in 37:17. Teammate Elliott Klauer, 29, of Bettendorf was next in 37:20. Yet another RWE runner was next. Grant Ackard, 22, ran 37:21.
Wartburg student Cooper Cook, a Lothar Running athlete, took 56th in 37:21. Cook, 19, ran for Marion. Max Sporaa, brother of Zach and also a former Madrid runner, was 59th in 37:25. Runablaze’s Tyler Lance, 29, of Algona was next in 37:26. Former Iowa and Pleasant Valley runner Konnor Sommer, 25, of Cedar Rapids finished 61st in 37:27. Connor Lancial, who finished his eligibility at Wartburg in the spring, ran 37:30 for 63rd. Lancial, 23, ran for Council Bluffs Lewis Central. Owen Christy, a former Davenport Central prep who now runs for North Central (Ill.), was timed in 37:32. Christy, 20, was 64th. Aidan Armstrong, another North Central athlete who ran for Muscatine, was 68th in 37:44. Armstrong is 22. Runablaze’s Phil Young, 39, of Davenport grabbed 69th in 37:49. AJ Schermerhorn, a former Ankeny Centennial standout who ran for Iowa State last year, was 73rd in 38:04. RWE’s Ean Caskey, 43, picked up top honors as the best male masters runner. The former Cornell College great, 43, residing in Lisbon ran 38:09 for 77th. He was 14 seconds ahead of masters runner-up Artur Mueller, 41, of Davenport. Mueller competes for Runablaze.
Seven-time Loras College NCAA champion Kassie Parker paced the Crown Running women’s team to a second-place finish. The former Clayton Ridge (Guttenberg) athlete, 25, ran 38:45, a 5:32 average per mile, for seventh in the women’s pro competition. The winner was Vibian Chepkirui, 31, of Kenya in 36:40.
Former Marion and Iowa runner Madeline Block, 25, of Coralville picked up 17th place in 41:35. Pasca Cheruiyot, 39, of Ankeny paced the Runablaze women to a fourth-place women’s team finish in 18th place. The 2014 Grandma’s Marathon champion ran 42:13. Former Wartburg and New London great Lexi Brown, 23, of Waverly paced the FSDP women with a 19th-place effort in 42:34. Runablaze’s Melanie Hamilt, 30, of Iowa City took 26th in 44:15. Two spots back was teammate Amanda Edwards, 37, of Dubuque in 44:26. Edwards is a former Dubuque Hempstead and Wartburg athlete. Becca Mallon, a former Northern Iowa and Davenport Assumption athlete now with RWE, ran 44:44 for 31st. Mallon, 31, resides in North Liberty. Former Mount Mercy and Marion athlete Andrea Albert, 26, of the FSDP team took 32nd in 44:48. Megan Mooberry, 26, of Iowa City was the next Iowan, placing 35th in 45:11. Anna Keith, 37, of Waverly was the No. 4 finisher for Crown in 36th in 45:11. Jordan De Groot, a former Dordt University runner from Orange City, ran 45:15 for 37th. De Groot now lives in North Liberty. Current Iowa runner Rowan Boulter, 21, picked up 39th place in 45:25. Boulter is a former Iowa City High prep who competes for RWE on the side.
Former Loras College runner Hannah Weiss, now an FSDP athlete, ran 45:26 for 40th place. Weiss, 37, lists Dallas Center as her residence. Teammate Erin Eichler, 26, of Marion took 43rd in 45:36. Northern Iowa runner Leah Klapatauskas, 19, of Dubuque was next across the line in 45:37. She ran for Senior High. Camryn Sattler, an Iowa State student who ran for Clinton High, was 45th in 45:42. Runablaze’s Elise Wieland, 28, of Des Moines broke 46 minutes while taking 46th. Wieland is a former Southeast Warren and Simpson College runner. RWE’s Kelsey Allbaugh, wife of Devin, won her fourth Eloise Caldwell Trophy as the best Quad-Cities female. Allbaugh, 34, ran 46:10 for 49th. She and Devin both swept the local trophies in 2022 and 2023.
The Bowerman 5K was held at Nike’s world headquarters in Beaverton, OR, on July 26. Former Wartburg College All-American Joe Freiburger finished sixth overall in the highly competitive race that featured several of the Bowerman Track Club Elite squad. The former Western Dubuque prep, 26, now based in Beaverton ran a strong 14:29.49. Former Runablaze team member Zachary Katzman, 25, was timed in 15:19.48 for 25th. Alex Slenning won the race in 13:55.33.
Wartburg student Clay Warson picked up the win at the Taste of Hope 5K at Hope Lutheran Church on July 26. The former Madrid prep ran 15:55 to win by 23 seconds over Knights teammate Rylan Martin. Martin ran for New London. Ben Neville, another Wartburg athlete who ran for Johnston, was clocked in 16:49 for third. The women’s winner was Johnston student Eleanor Wharton in 19:31. Wharton was eighth overall.
Wartburg student Eli Larson grabbed a win at the Pickle Days 5K in Walker on July 26. The Center Point-Urbana graduate ran 15:20. Taking second was RWE’s Nathan Hopp, 42, of Cedar Rapids in 16:56.
Runablaze’s Sarah Bakula was the women’s champion at the Elvelopet 15K in Decorah on July 26. The former Waukon and Simpson College athlete, 37, ran 1:00:52 for the 9.3-mile race run on a cross country route. Reese Manternach, a former Cedar Rapids Kennedy prep, was runner-up overall in 58:45. He was 55 seconds behind winner Will Janzen of Minneapolis.
In the 5K, Vinton-Shellsburg grad and Des Moines Area Community College runner Eli Page was the winner in 16:03. Decorah High student Garrett See was runner-up in 16:34.
The Whiterock Ultra was held at the Whiterock Conservancy in Coon Rapids on July 26. Daniel Jensen, 33, of Grimes took the 50-mile title in 8:07:19.5. Jensen finished almost 24 minutes ahead of Walker Day, 31, of Gilbert. The 50K winner was Tyler Voigt, 38, of Johnston in 4:18:47.2. Voigt won by nearly 35 minutes.
NOTE: The Weekend Update will return Aug. 19.
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Shelby Houlihan, Karissa Schweizer, Amanda Vestri, Gable Sieperda, Adva Cohen, Biya Simbassa, Mason Tope
Reporting by Lance Bergeson, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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