Momentum picked up a little bit in the world of distance running last weekend. And, as always in mid-August, the ASICS Falmouth Road Race attracted many of the world’s best road racing specialists to the quaint spot along the coast of Massachusetts.
Former Iowa State seven-time Big 12 Conference champion Wesley Kiptoo was seeking a second title in three years in the 7-mile race along the Atlantic Ocean from Woods Hole to Falmouth on Sunday, Aug. 17. Kenya’s Amon Kemboi had other ideas. He and Patrick Kiprop separated from the men’s professional field after 10 kilometers and Kemboi held off Kiprop to claim victory in 31 minutes, 12 seconds. Kiprop was another five seconds back. Kiptoo, in the lead pack after 5K, settled for fourth place in 31:54, a 4:34 pace per mile, and leads off this edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes.
Wesley Kiptoo is the co-holder of the course record (31:08), sharing it with Gilbert Okari. He was returning to compete in the race after missing it last year. The 2021 NCAA indoor 5,000 champion is a HOKA Northern Arizona Elite team member based in Flagstaff, AZ.
Also finishing in the top 10 was reigning U.S. 10K record holder Biya Simbassa. The former Sioux City North and Iowa Central Community College athlete who now runs for ASICS captured sixth in 32:11. Simbassa also resides in Flagstaff.
Switching to track and field and the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Championships in Freeport, the Bahamas, from Aug. 15-17. That was where former Indian Hills NJCAA 800 champion Tyrice Taylor set the new Jamaican national record in the 800 final on Aug. 16. Taylor, who finished his eligibility with Arkansas in June, took third place in 1:43.74. That time also qualifies Taylor for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo next month. Taylor also won his nation’s 800 national title in June. The winner of the final was Hadal Roban of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 1:42.87. In the first round on Aug. 15, Taylor was second in heat 1 of the 800 in 1:49.12. Roban posted the top time in the heat, 1:48.96.
Former Dowling Catholic star Karissa Schweizer pivoted in her season after not qualifying for the U.S. team that will compete at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The Nike Swoosh TC team member traveled to Chorzow, Poland, for the Diamond League Silesia meet at Silesian Stadium on Aug. 16. The six-time Missouri NCAA champion picked up ninth place in the 3,000 in 8:40.35. Schweizer was the top American. Kenyan great Faith Kipyegon ran the No. 2 time in history, an 8:07.04 effort, that set a Diamond League record.
Also competing was former Iowa State All-American Festus Lagat. Lagat picked up 10th in the 1,500 in 3:34.69. Lagat, an Under Armour Mission Run Dark Sky athlete, was the third best of four Kenyan athletes. The winner was American Yared Nuguse in 3:33.19.
Shifting to Iowa and the Watermelon Stampede 10K on Aug. 16 in Muscatine. Running Wild Elite team member Dalton Rice picked up the win in a fine 32:44 time on muggy morning. The former Clinton High and Clinton Community College runner living in Davenport won by nearly five minutes.
At the Denver Days 5K on Aug. 16, former Denver High and Wartburg College athlete Curren Matthias was the winner in 16:02. Matthias topped teenager Jesse Gomez by eight seconds. Another former Knight, Sam “Frosty” Lorimer, grabbed third place in 16:43. He ran for Springville. Denver senior Caden Knoblock ran 17:03 for fourth. His senior teammate, Myles Matthias, was next in 17:07.
Former Fairfield and Wartburg runner Ashley Bloomquist, 24, picked up the women’s title at the John Deere 5K in Waterloo on Aug. 16. The Fitness Sports Distance Project athlete, now living in Waverly, ran 19:13.3. Macala Donnelly, 36, of Cedar Falls was second in 19:34.6. The men’s winner was former Northeast (Preston) and Wartburg athlete Wyatt Schmidt, 26, of Waverly in 17:20.6. He topped Randall Bill, 43, of Cedar Falls by 21.3 seconds.
Runablaze Iowa athlete Tricia Serres, 31, won the overall half marathon title at the Ainsleys Angels Alzheimers Races in Dubuque on Aug. 16. The former Luther College standout ran 1:25:41 to win by more than 15 minutes.
Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Slader Buckheister, 17, was the winner of the Palo Fun Days 5K on Aug. 16. Buckheister ran 16:13 to win by 2:39.
Former Des Moines Christian prep Evan Fopma of Urbandale won the Summer Sizzler 5K in Des Moines. Fopma, 17, ran 17:36 to win by 30 seconds. Lyndi DeVries, 41, of Pella was the women’s winner in a fine 19:29 time.
The Annett Nature Center Iowa Trail Run Series was held Aug. 16 near Indianola and Caleb Sorensen took the overall win in 20:59. He topped Grinnell College assistant coach Keegan Parrott by 20 seconds.
GOING BACK ONE WEEK: Former Spirit Lake prep great Alec Baldwin was the winner of the Cheeseman Park Circuit race by the Denver Botanical Center in Colorado on Aug. 10. Baldwin, 32, and a Denver resident covered the 1.2-mile loop in 5:10.26 to win by nearly six seconds over Ryder Searle. Baldwin ran the mile in 4:19.23.
Moving to Iowa and the Mines of Spain Trail Races in Dubuque. Running Wild Elite’s Brett Rosauer, 34, covered the half marathon course in 1:30:30 to claim victory. The Iowa City man topped Running Wild Elite teammate Dalton Rice by 17 seconds. Ross Salinas, 44, of Iowa City rounded out the men’s podium in 1:33:46.
Grundy Center senior star Emerson Vokes grabbed the win at the Adel Sweet Corn Festival 5K on Aug. 9. Vokes ran 16:17 to top Max Thompson by 49 seconds. Whitney Penny was the women’s winner and eighth overall in 19:25.
The Watermelon Days 5K in Atkins on Aug. 9 had a fast champion. Max Selbach, a 25-year-old former South Dakota State athlete, was the champion in 15:54. The North Liberty resident won by 1:38.
RWE’s Nathan Hopp was the champion at the Dusk Hustle in Durant on Aug. 8. Hopp, 42, ran 16:19 to top Wartburg runner and former Davenport West product Camden Kilker, 20, of Walcott by 40 seconds.
Loras College sophomore Brayden Frey, who ran for Cedar Falls, took the win at the Lansing Fish Days 5K on Aug. 9. Frey ran 16:26 to top Travis Tock by 20 seconds.
Runablaze’s Elise Wieland was the women’s winner and fourth overall at the Kemin Journey Run 5K in Des Moines on Aug. 8. The former Southeast Warren and Simpson College athlete ran 20:16.
Miles Harbert, an Ankeny student who races for Z3 Triathlon, won the Twin Lakes Triathlon on Aug. 9. Harbert covered the sprint distance in 56:40 to top his older brother, Matt, by 6:30.
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Wesley Kiptoo, Biya Simbassa, Tyrice Taylor, Karissa Schweizer, Festus Lagat, Dalton Rice, Alec Baldwin
Reporting by Lance Bergeson, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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