FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Defending Champions Return for B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile
American record holder Ben True and Ethiopia's Buze Diriba aim to retain
B.A.A. 5K titles, while global medalist Nicole Sifuentes leads B.A.A.
Invitational Mile field.
BOSTON - The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced an elite
field of world class competitors for the 2018 B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A.
Invitational Mile, to be held on Saturday, April 14, two days prior to the
2018 Boston Marathon®. New Hampshire's Ben True will return to Boston
looking to earn his fifth B.A.A. 5K title, while Ethiopia's Buze Diriba
will defend her 2017 crown.
Following the B.A.A. 5K, Canada's Nicole Sifuentes and American Drew Hunter
will lead world-class fields at the tenth annual B.A.A. Invitational Mile.
The B.A.A. Invitational Mile will also include Middle School 1K races and
Scholastic Mile races featuring youth athletes from the eight cities and
towns of the Boston Marathon course.
A $39,900 (USD) prize purse will be distributed to the top finishers of the
B.A.A. 5K, while a $14,500 (USD) prize purse will be available in the
B.A.A. Invitational Mile.
True is a veteran and New England favorite on the roads of Boston, having
broken the American record twice at the B.A.A. 5K in both 2015 and 2017. A
year ago, True timed 13:20 en route to his fifth win in seven years. Coming
off a win at the NYC Half in March, True will drop down in distance and
face a tough field that includes fellow Americans Eric Jenkins, Tommy
Curtin, and Scott Fauble. Jenkins, a native of New Hampshire, is a two-time
NCAA champion and was runner-up at last year's USA Championships 5000m on
the track.
Leading the international challengers are 2016 Olympic 5000m bronze
medalist Hagos Gebrhiwet, three-time B.A.A. Half Marathon champion Daniel
Salel, and last year's B.A.A. 5K fourth place finisher Philip Langat.
Charles Philibert-Thiboutot of Canada is also in the field.
Ethiopia's Buze Diriba earned a nailbiting victory a year ago, denying
Molly Huddle her fourth straight victory by two seconds. Crossing the line
in 14:54, Diriba set a new personal best; since then she's been a
consistent winner on the U.S. road racing scene. Diriba placed third at the
B.A.A. 10K in June of 2017, and won the NYC Half last month.
Americans Emily Sisson, Molly Seidel, Diane Nukuri, Sarah Pagano, and
Elaina Tabb will all toe the line alongside Diriba. Sisson represented Team
USA at the 2017 IAAF World Championships 10,000m, while Seidel finished
second at the USA 5K Championships last November. Pagano and Tabb each are
part of Team B.A.A. - training in Boston under B.A.A. High Performance
coach Ricardo Santos - and have represented the USA in cross country and on
the roads.
Kenya's Monicah Ngige and Ethiopians Fotyen Tesfay and Gotytom Gebreslase
join Diriba as the top women's international entrants. A field of 10,000
participants will take part in the B.A.A. 5K, the first event of the 2018
B.A.A. Distance Medley. The race starts and finishes on Charles Street
adjacent to Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden, and passes the
Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street approximately 2.4 miles into
the race.
Returning to the B.A.A. Invitational Mile a year after setting a course
record is Nicole Sifuentes of Canada. In 2017, Sifuentes clocked an event
record 4:33.7 to take the title, finishing a step ahead of Cory McGee. The
two-time Olympian returns looking to become the first woman to earn
back-to-back B.A.A. Invitational Mile crowns.
Sifutentes will again face McGee, as well as fellow University of Michigan
alums Shannon Osika and Becca Addison. Lauren Johnson, Katrina Coogan, and
Amanda Rego round out the field. Johnson is a member of Team B.A.A., and
finished fourth at last year's USA Outdoor Championships 1500m.
The B.A.A. Invitational Mile men's field features Drew Hunter, a 3:56.79
miler and one of the top young talents in track and field. Hunter will be
joined on the line by Patrick Casey, Daniel Winn, Daniel Herrera, Sam
Parsons, John Simons, and Julian Oakley. Oakley placed ninth at the IAAF
World Indoor Championships last month representing New Zealand.
A detailed start list and schedule of events for both the B.A.A. 5K and
B.A.A. Invitational Mile can be found below. The men's event record for the
B.A.A. 5K stands at 13:20, set by Ben True in 2017, while the women's event
record is 14:50 run by Molly Huddle in 2015. The men's and women's event
records for the B.A.A. Invitational Mile are 4:03.3 (Nick Willis, 2013) and
4:33.7 (Nicole Sifuentes, 2017).
The B.A.A. Invitational Mile includes six races, held shortly after the
2018 B.A.A. 5K. The first two races feature middle school age students from
the eight cities and towns of the Boston Marathon course - Hopkinton,
Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston. The
girls' and boys' Middle School 1K races include runners between sixth and
eighth grade and finish at the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston
Street.
Following the Middle School 1K races is the Scholastic Mile, which features
girls' and boys' races for high school students from the eight cities and
towns of the Boston Marathon course. The Scholastic Mile follows the same
three-lap, USATF-certified course the professional mile athletes run,
finishing at the Boston Marathon finish line.
SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2018 - SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
8:00 a.m. B.A.A. 5K, Boston Common
10:30 a.m. Girls' Middle School 1K, Boston Marathon Finish Line
10:40 a.m. Boys' Middle School 1K, Boston Marathon Finish Line
10:55 a.m. Girls' Scholastic Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
11:05 a.m. Boys' Scholastic Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
11:20 a.m. Men's Invitational Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
11:30 a.m. Women's Invitational Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
MEN'S 5K ELITE FIELD
Name Age Country Road 5K PB Track 5000m PB
Ben True 32 USA/NH 13:20 13:02.74
(AR, B.A.A. 5K '17)
Daniel Salel 27 Kenya 13:27 13:08.23
Hagos Gebrhiwet 23 Ethiopia 13:14 12:47.53
Philip Langat 27 Kenya 13:30 13:48.0
Eric Jenkins 26 USA/OR N/A 13:05.85 (indoors)
Tommy Curtin 24 USA/MA 13:58 13:26.55
Reid Buchanan 25 USA/CA 13:51 13:27.83
Scott Fauble 26 USA/AZ 14:21 13:50.81 (indoors)
Matt Llano 29 USA/AZ N/A 13:59.62 (indoors)
Trevor Dunbar 26 USA/CO 14:01 13:26.27
Brian Schrader 26 USA/MA 13:57 13:29.13
Joe Stilin 28 USA/NC 13:49 13:32.21
Luis Vargas 24 USA/NC 13:38 13:47.00 (indoors)
Charles Philibert-Thiboutot
27 Canada 14:03 13:33.25
Brandon Doughty 24 USA/NC 13:55 13:39.06
Jackson Thomas 24 USA/OK 14:26 14:32.33
Mohamed Hrezi 26 Libya/MI N/A 13:39.62 (indoors)
Brian Harvey 30 USA/MA 14:01 14:13.93
Eric Ashe 29 USA/MA 14:36 14:36.30
WOMEN'S 5K ELITE FIELD
Name Age Country Road 5K PB Track 5000m PB
Buze Diriba 24 Ethiopia 14:54 14:50.02
Emily Sisson 26 USA/RI 15:42 15:02.10 (indoors)
Fotyen Tesfay 20 Ethiopia N/A 15:12.06
Monicah Ngige 24 Kenya 15:29 15:58.50
Diane Nukuri 33 USA/AZ 15:34 15:41.75 (indoors)
Molly Seidel 23 USA/MA 15:35 15:15.21 (indoors)
Gotytom Gebreslase 23 Ethiopia 15:17 14:57.33
Sarah Pagano 26 USA/MA 15:46 15:18.57
Elaina Tabb 26 USA/MA 15:59 15:32.49
Lauren Paquette 31 USA/TN 15:44 15:14.45
Violah Lagat 29 Kenya/AZ 15:35 15:35.12
Tori Gerlach 23 USA/MA 16:12 15:50.49 (indoors)
Sasha Gollish 36 Canada 16:10 15:24.12
Sarah Brown 31 USA/MA 15:48 16:20.78
Rosie Donegan 24 Australia/MA N/A 15:59.08 (indoors)
Dana Giordano 24 USA/MA 16:09 15:53.96
Rosa Moriello 25 USA/MA 16:19 16:03.57
Emily Durgin 23 USA/MA N/A 16:00.93 (indoors)
Marci Klimek 30 USA/MA 16:22 16:05.82
B.A.A. 5K PRIZE STRUCTURE (Equal for both men and women)
Place Open Masters Push Rim Wheelchair
1 $7,500 $300 $300
2 $4,000 $200 $200
3 $2,500 $100 $100
4 $1,500
5 $1,000
6 $750
7 $600
8 $400
9 $300
10 $200
GRAND TOTAL: $39,900
MEN'S MILE ELITE FIELD
Name Age Country Road Mile PB Track Mile PB
Drew Hunter 20 USA/CO N/A 3:56.79
Sam Parsons 23 USA/NC N/A 4:07.53
Daniel Herrera 25 MEX/LA 3:54 3:56.13
John Simons 27 USA/NH 4:09 3:59.32 (indoors)
Patrick Casey 27 USA/OR 4:01 3:52.62
Daniel Winn 26 USA/NY 3:58 3:56.73
Julian Oakley 24 NZL/RI N/A 3:55.10 (indoors)
WOMEN'S MILE ELITE FIELD
Name Age Country Road Mile PB Track Mile PB
Nicole Sifuentes 31 CAN/MI 4:29.14 4:28.51
Shannon Osika 24 USA/MI 4:28 4:27.55 (indoors)
Cory McGee 25 USA/MA 4:36 4:27.67 (indoors)
Katrina Coogan 24 USA/MA 4:38 4:33.00
Lauren Johnson 30 USA/MA 4:31 4:25.04
Amanda Rego 27 USA/CO N/A 4:26.28 (indoors)
Becca Addison 26 USA/MI 4:38 4:30.70 (indoors)
B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE PRIZE STRUCTURE (Equal for both men and women)
Place Open
1 $3,000
2 $2,000
3 $1,500
4 $750
5 $500
GRAND TOTAL: $14,500
ABOUT THE BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (B.A.A.)
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit
organization with a mission of promoting a healthy lifestyle through
sports, especially running. The B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon is the world's
oldest annual marathon, and the organization manages other local events and
supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs.
Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John
Hancock. The Boston Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors,
along with international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, and
New York City. More than 60,000 runners will participate in B.A.A. events
in 2018. The 122nd Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 16, 2018.
For more information on the B.A.A., please visit www.baa.org.
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