2016 Portland Track FestivalJun 9, 2016 by Taylor Dutch
Top 6 Events to Watch at Portland Track Festival
Top 6 Events to Watch at Portland Track Festival
Olympians, world medalists and national champions highlight what could be the best Portland Track Festival yet as pro athletes and college standouts aim to
Olympians, world medalists and national champions highlight what could be the best Portland Track Festival yet as pro athletes and college standouts aim to run Olympic standard fast. It’s all going down June 11-12 at Lewis & Clark College as part of the Portland Track series. Catch up on the six must-see events going down this weekend.
WATCH THE PORTLAND TRACK FESTIVAL LIVE JUNE 11th - 12th!
Men’s 5K — Paul Banta Memorial ($5,000 PRIZE MONEY)
Who: Galen Rupp, Suguru Osako, Abbabiya Simbassa, Luis Vargas, Morgan Pearson, Sidney, Gidabuday, Kirubel Erassa, Christo Landry, Brendan Gregg, Morgan Pearson, John Dressel
When: Sunday 9:10 p.m. PT
Why: In his first race since winning the Olympic Marathon Trials in February, Galen Rupp is going to take on a 5K in front of his home crowd. The Nike Oregon Project athlete opted to train instead of run the Prefontaine Classic, a Diamond League meet which Rupp almost always has on his race schedule. After three plus months of zero racing, the anticipation for the Olympic silver medalist’s return to the track will be mounting. And the Portland crowd will surely give him a warm welcome.
Watch Rupp talk about the possibility of a marathon-10K Olympic double after winning his marathon debut at the Trials in February:
Men’s 1500m — Presented by FloTrack
Who: Matt Centrowitz, Nick Symmonds, Hassan Mead, Clayton Murphy, Cas Loxsom, Oliver Aitchison, Cristian Soratos, Ahmed Bile, Ciaran O’Lionaird, Chad Noelle, Sydney Gidabuday, Tabor Stevens, Dorian Ulrey, Mac Fleet, Jordan McNamara, Thomas Curtin, Matthew Maton, Ben Saarel
When: Sunday 8:10 p.m. PT
Why: It was recently reported that World Indoor Champion Matt Centrowitz suffered a stress reaction after winning his title in March. Ken Goe of the Oregonian spoke to his coach Alberto Salazar who said two weeks ago that Centrowitz is back to training at altitude in Utah. Like Rupp, he opted to withdraw from the Prefontaine Classic and focus on training. Sunday will mark Centrowitz’s first outdoor race of the season and his first race since winning the World title in March. With just three weeks until the start of the Olympic Trials, Centrowitz is diving back into racing with a 1500m-800m double in competitive fields on Sunday. It will be an interesting test to see if the three-time World medalist is back to full strength and ready to make his second Olympic team.
Brooks Beast and World silver medalist Nick Symmonds will also toe the line after a week that has included Symmonds filing a brief in support of Boris Berian in the Nike v. Berian court case. Symmonds support follows a case which was filed when Nike served Berian with a lawsuit that accused Berian of breach of contract. Symmonds filed a brief claiming that contract reductions are not industry standard. Symmonds’ recently clocked a 1:47 season’s best at the World Challenge in Beijing.
Men’s 800m
Who: Matt Centrowitz, Harun Abda, David Torrence, Charles Jock, Ryan Martin, Drew Windle, Edward Kemboi, Mac Fleet, Elijah Greer
When: Sunday 8:00 p.m. PT
Why: The 800m field will be Centrowitz’s second race of the day in Portland, and he faces some stiff competition in Oregon Track Club’s Harun Abda, Mac Fleet, Elijah Greer, and Charles Jock. David Torrence, who recently announced he will be running internationally for Peru, is also in the field, as well as NCAA Champion Edward Kemboi who recently joined local group High Performance West.
Related: Tara Welling, Nicole Blood Ride Comeback Train With High Performance West
Women’s 1500m — $2,500 PRIZE MONEY + RECORD BONUS
Who: Kim Conley, Christina Aragon, Ella Donaghu, Katie Rainsberger, Brie Felnagle, Justine Fedronic, Jessica Tebo, Shalaya Kipp, Kate Grace, Marta Freitas, Nicole Sifuentes
When: Sunday 7:40 p.m. PT
Why: A huge match-up in this race will be the high school rivalry of Christina Aragon, Katie Rainsberger, and Ella Donahu. Aragon ran 4:11 at Payton Jordan Invite, the fourth-fastest time ever run by a high school athlete, and just two seconds shy of the Olympic Trials qualifying standard. Donahu ran 4:15 in the heat prior to Aragon’s at Payton and Rainsberger crushed a 4:14 at Oregon in early May. Aragon in particular has a real shot at running 4:09.5, which would be fast enough to allow her to compete at the Trials in a few weeks. The high school standouts will face stiff competition with 2012 Olympian Kim Conley, recent 1:59 800m runner Justine Fedronic, and 4:05 1500m runner Kate Grace.
Watch Aragon talk about her historic season and the prospect of competing at the Trials:
Women’s 5K — Presented by FloTrack
Who: Laura Thweatt, Kim Conley, Gabe Grunewald, Angela Bizzari, Amanda Eccleston, Tara Welling, Jordan Hasay, Erin Finn, Jen Rhines
When: Sunday 8:50 p.m. PT
Why: Jane of all trades Laura Thweatt, who boasts a marathon PR of 2:28, a 10K PR of 31:52, and a 5K PR of 15:04 is presumably attacking an improvement on her 15:28 season’s best from Payton Jordan. Conley is entered and could potentially be executing a tough 1500-5K double, and a host of quality athletes with personal bests around the 15:20-15:30 range will be looking to notch the Olympic qualifying standard mark of 15:24.00.
Women’s 800m — $2,500 PRIZE MONEY + RECORD BONUS
Who: Brenda Martinez, Linden Hall, Geena Gall, Natalja Piliusina, Lea Wallace, Nicole Sifuentes
When: Sunday 8:05 p.m. PT
Why: World bronze medalist Brenda Martinez will make her return to the 800m after notching a 4:03 1500m performance at the Prefontaine Classic two weeks ago. Martinez has yet to break two minutes in the 800m this season, but could very well be aiming to go sub-two against a quality field on Sunday that includes recent Australian 4:01 1500m runner Linden Hall. Hall has gone from being a 4:10 runner to a 4:01 world class athlete in less than a year. She boasts a modest 800m personal best of 2:06 from her college days at Florida State, and will surely run faster this weekend.
Watch Hall take serious chunks off her personal best with her 1500m victory at Payton Jordan last May:
Don’t miss a minute of Portland Track Festival action LIVE on FloTrack Saturday and Sunday!
WATCH THE PORTLAND TRACK FESTIVAL LIVE JUNE 11th - 12th!
Men’s 5K — Paul Banta Memorial ($5,000 PRIZE MONEY)
Who: Galen Rupp, Suguru Osako, Abbabiya Simbassa, Luis Vargas, Morgan Pearson, Sidney, Gidabuday, Kirubel Erassa, Christo Landry, Brendan Gregg, Morgan Pearson, John Dressel
When: Sunday 9:10 p.m. PT
Why: In his first race since winning the Olympic Marathon Trials in February, Galen Rupp is going to take on a 5K in front of his home crowd. The Nike Oregon Project athlete opted to train instead of run the Prefontaine Classic, a Diamond League meet which Rupp almost always has on his race schedule. After three plus months of zero racing, the anticipation for the Olympic silver medalist’s return to the track will be mounting. And the Portland crowd will surely give him a warm welcome.
Watch Rupp talk about the possibility of a marathon-10K Olympic double after winning his marathon debut at the Trials in February:
Men’s 1500m — Presented by FloTrack
Who: Matt Centrowitz, Nick Symmonds, Hassan Mead, Clayton Murphy, Cas Loxsom, Oliver Aitchison, Cristian Soratos, Ahmed Bile, Ciaran O’Lionaird, Chad Noelle, Sydney Gidabuday, Tabor Stevens, Dorian Ulrey, Mac Fleet, Jordan McNamara, Thomas Curtin, Matthew Maton, Ben Saarel
When: Sunday 8:10 p.m. PT
Why: It was recently reported that World Indoor Champion Matt Centrowitz suffered a stress reaction after winning his title in March. Ken Goe of the Oregonian spoke to his coach Alberto Salazar who said two weeks ago that Centrowitz is back to training at altitude in Utah. Like Rupp, he opted to withdraw from the Prefontaine Classic and focus on training. Sunday will mark Centrowitz’s first outdoor race of the season and his first race since winning the World title in March. With just three weeks until the start of the Olympic Trials, Centrowitz is diving back into racing with a 1500m-800m double in competitive fields on Sunday. It will be an interesting test to see if the three-time World medalist is back to full strength and ready to make his second Olympic team.
Having a blast pic.twitter.com/9WUqJIKwVE
— Matthew Centrowitz (@MattCentrowitz) June 5, 2016
Brooks Beast and World silver medalist Nick Symmonds will also toe the line after a week that has included Symmonds filing a brief in support of Boris Berian in the Nike v. Berian court case. Symmonds support follows a case which was filed when Nike served Berian with a lawsuit that accused Berian of breach of contract. Symmonds filed a brief claiming that contract reductions are not industry standard. Symmonds’ recently clocked a 1:47 season’s best at the World Challenge in Beijing.
Men’s 800m
Who: Matt Centrowitz, Harun Abda, David Torrence, Charles Jock, Ryan Martin, Drew Windle, Edward Kemboi, Mac Fleet, Elijah Greer
When: Sunday 8:00 p.m. PT
Why: The 800m field will be Centrowitz’s second race of the day in Portland, and he faces some stiff competition in Oregon Track Club’s Harun Abda, Mac Fleet, Elijah Greer, and Charles Jock. David Torrence, who recently announced he will be running internationally for Peru, is also in the field, as well as NCAA Champion Edward Kemboi who recently joined local group High Performance West.
Related: Tara Welling, Nicole Blood Ride Comeback Train With High Performance West
Women’s 1500m — $2,500 PRIZE MONEY + RECORD BONUS
Who: Kim Conley, Christina Aragon, Ella Donaghu, Katie Rainsberger, Brie Felnagle, Justine Fedronic, Jessica Tebo, Shalaya Kipp, Kate Grace, Marta Freitas, Nicole Sifuentes
When: Sunday 7:40 p.m. PT
Why: A huge match-up in this race will be the high school rivalry of Christina Aragon, Katie Rainsberger, and Ella Donahu. Aragon ran 4:11 at Payton Jordan Invite, the fourth-fastest time ever run by a high school athlete, and just two seconds shy of the Olympic Trials qualifying standard. Donahu ran 4:15 in the heat prior to Aragon’s at Payton and Rainsberger crushed a 4:14 at Oregon in early May. Aragon in particular has a real shot at running 4:09.5, which would be fast enough to allow her to compete at the Trials in a few weeks. The high school standouts will face stiff competition with 2012 Olympian Kim Conley, recent 1:59 800m runner Justine Fedronic, and 4:05 1500m runner Kate Grace.
Watch Aragon talk about her historic season and the prospect of competing at the Trials:
Women’s 5K — Presented by FloTrack
Who: Laura Thweatt, Kim Conley, Gabe Grunewald, Angela Bizzari, Amanda Eccleston, Tara Welling, Jordan Hasay, Erin Finn, Jen Rhines
When: Sunday 8:50 p.m. PT
Why: Jane of all trades Laura Thweatt, who boasts a marathon PR of 2:28, a 10K PR of 31:52, and a 5K PR of 15:04 is presumably attacking an improvement on her 15:28 season’s best from Payton Jordan. Conley is entered and could potentially be executing a tough 1500-5K double, and a host of quality athletes with personal bests around the 15:20-15:30 range will be looking to notch the Olympic qualifying standard mark of 15:24.00.
Women’s 800m — $2,500 PRIZE MONEY + RECORD BONUS
Who: Brenda Martinez, Linden Hall, Geena Gall, Natalja Piliusina, Lea Wallace, Nicole Sifuentes
When: Sunday 8:05 p.m. PT
Why: World bronze medalist Brenda Martinez will make her return to the 800m after notching a 4:03 1500m performance at the Prefontaine Classic two weeks ago. Martinez has yet to break two minutes in the 800m this season, but could very well be aiming to go sub-two against a quality field on Sunday that includes recent Australian 4:01 1500m runner Linden Hall. Hall has gone from being a 4:10 runner to a 4:01 world class athlete in less than a year. She boasts a modest 800m personal best of 2:06 from her college days at Florida State, and will surely run faster this weekend.
Watch Hall take serious chunks off her personal best with her 1500m victory at Payton Jordan last May:
Don’t miss a minute of Portland Track Festival action LIVE on FloTrack Saturday and Sunday!