Defending champions Buze Diriba and Hagos Gebrhiwet join American record holder Ben True to lead full slate of B.A.A. races on Saturday
BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced an elite field of world class competitors for the 2019 B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile, to be held on Saturday, April 13, two days prior to the 2019 Boston Marathon®. Defending champions Hagos Gebrhiwet and Buze Diriba, both of Ethiopia, return to defend their 2018 titles, as American record holder Ben True will look to earn his fifth B.A.A. 5K crown.
Following the B.A.A. 5K, milers from near and far will gather to take part in the B.A.A. Invitational Mile finishing at the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street. 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 along the Boston Marathon course.
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.
B.A.A. 5K
SATURDAY, APRIL 13 | 8:00 a.m., Boston Common
Last year, Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet and Buze Diriba earned hard-fought victories after sprinting down Charles Street to win the B.A.A. 5K. Gebrhiwet fended off four-time winner Ben True and Boston’s own Tommy Curtin at the line, with all three recording the same finish time of 13:42. True and Curtin return with hopes of shuffling the standings; True set an American record of 13:20 en route to winning the 2017 B.A.A. 5K title. Gebrhiwet – an Olympic bronze medalist – has the fastest 5,000-meter time of the field at 12:45.82.
Among other men’s contenders are reigning B.A.A. Invitational Mile and U.S. Indoor 2 mile champion Drew Hunter; Falmouth Road Race winner Ben Flanagan; NCAA Cross Country champion Justyn Knight; and European Championships medalist Chris O’Hare. B.A.A. 10K champions Stephen Sambu and Gabriel Geay will toe the line as well.
On the women’s side, Diriba is looking to join Molly Huddle as the only three-time consecutive champion in B.A.A. 5K history. Last year, Diriba covered the 3.1-mile course through Boston’s Back Bay in 15:22, a mere second up on Fotyen Tesfay and two seconds ahead of Monicah Ngige. Diriba, Ngige, fourth place finisher Gotytom Gebreslase, and fifth placer Molly Seidel are the top returners from a year ago. Seidel, a four-time NCAA champion while at Notre Dame, will look to score a win in her home city. From Ethiopia is two-time world championships silver medalist Senbere Teferi, owning a lifetime best of 14:23.33 on the track. Also entered is Kim Conley, a two-time Olympian at 5,000 meters for the United States.
The B.A.A. High Performance team will be well represented on home turf with Jacob Thomson and Trevor Dunbar competing for the men, and Erika Kemp, Dana Giordano, Kaitlin Goodman, Elaina Tabb, and Katie Matthews racing for the women. Kemp is coming off a victory at the USA 15K Championships in Jacksonville in March.
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.
This year’s B.A.A. 5K will also feature the largest and strongest wheelchair field in race history, bringing together national champions from around the world. Defending B.A.A. 5K champions Jose Argenes Jimenez Hernandez of Costa Rica and Vanessa de Souza of Brazil return, as does B.A.A. 10K winner and Massachusetts-native Katrina Gerhard. A full list of entrants can be found below.
B.A.A. 5K MEN'S ELITE FIELD
| NAME | AGE | COUNTRY | ROAD PERSONAL BEST | TRACK PERSONAL BEST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hagos Gebrhiwet | 24 | Ethiopia | 13:14 | 12:45.82 |
| Ben True | 33 | USA/NH | 13:20 (AR) | 13:02.74 |
| David Bett | 26 | Kenya | N/A | 13:06.06 |
| Stephen Sambu | 30 | Kenya | 13:21 | 13:13.74 (Indoor) |
| Clement Langat | 27 | Kenya | 13:41 | 13:15.81 |
| Justyn Knight | 22 | Canada | N/A | 13:17.51 |
| Gabriel Geay | 22 | Tanzania | N/A | 13:20.35 |
| Ambrose Bore | 23 | Kenya | N/A | 13:20.39 |
| Tommy Curtin | 25 | USA/MA | 13:42 | 13:23.11 |
| Alfred Barkach | 22 | Kenya | N/A | 13:25.30 |
| Trevor Dunbar | 27 | USA/MA | 13:55 | 13:26.27 |
| Jacob Thomson | 24 | USA/MA | 14:15 | 13:34.50 |
| Willy Fink | 25 | USA/VA | 14:07 | 13:39.05 |
| Chris O’Hare | 28 | GBR | 13:46 | 13:42.00 |
| Ben Flanagan | 24 | Canada | 13:57 | 13:48.58 (Indoor) |
| Scott Smith | 32 | USA/AZ | 13:51 | 13:49.38 |
| Drew Hunter | 21 | USA/CO | 13:56 | 13:49.56 |
B.A.A. 5K WOMEN'S ELITE FIELD
| NAME | AGE | COUNTRY | ROAD PERSONAL BEST | TRACK PERSONAL BEST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buze Diriba | 25 | Ethiopia | 14:54 | 14:50.02 |
| Senbere Teferi | 23 | Ethiopia | 15:43 | 14:23.33 |
| Gotytom Gebreslase | 24 | Ethiopia | 15:17 | 14:57.33 |
| Laura Thweatt | 30 | USA/CO | 15:52 | 15:04.98 |
| Ann Mwangi | 30 | Kenya | N/A | 15:05.34 |
| Kim Conley | 33 | USA/CA | 15:29 | 15:08.61 |
| Molly Seidel | 24 | USA/MA | 15:33 | 15:15.21 (Indoor) |
| Kaitlin Goodman | 31 | USA/RI | 16:01 | 15:29.89 |
| Hawi Feysa | 20 | Ethiopia | N/A | 15:31.50 |
| Elaina Tabb | 27 | USA/MA | 15:59 | 15:32.49 |
| Katie Matthews | 28 | USA/MA | 15:50 | 15:32.89 |
| Mary Munanu | 24 | Kenya | 16:04 | 15:36.74 |
| Erika Kemp | 24 | USA/MA | 15:50 | 15:41.23 |
| Lindsey Scherf | 32 | USA/NY | 16:10 | 15:42.81 (Indoor) |
| Dana Giordano | 25 | USA/MA | 15:47 | 15:53.96 |
| Monicah Ngige | 25 | Kenya | 15:24 | 15:58.5 |
B.A.A. 5K MEN'S WHEELCHAIR FIELD
| NAME | AGE | COUNTRY |
|---|---|---|
| Jose Argenes Jimenez Hernandez | 36 | Costa Rica |
| Joey Gibbs | 22 | USA/IL |
| Brendan Quinn | 27 | USA/IL |
| Tiaan Bosch | 39 | South Africa |
| Fidel Aguilar Zepeda | 41 | Mexico |
| Christian Clemmons | 24 | USA/IL |
| Tony Nogueira | 51 | USA/NJ |
| Johnboy Smith | 29 | Great Britain |
| Francisco Sanclemente | 30 | Colombia |
B.A.A. 5K WOMEN'S WHEELCHAIR FIELD
| NAME | AGE | COUNTRY |
|---|---|---|
| Vanessa De Souza | 29 | Brazil |
| Katrina Gerhard | 22 | USA/IL |
| Michelle Wheeler | 32 | USA/PA |
| Eliza Ault-Connell | 37 | Australia |
| Margriet van den Broek | 45 | Netherlands |
| Jenna Fesemyer | 22 | USA/IL |
| Yen Hoang | 22 | USA/IL |
| Carla Trodella | 37 | USA/MA |
B.A.A. 5K PRIZE STRUCTURE (EQUAL FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN)
| PLACE | OPEN | MASTERS | 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 | |||
B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE
SATURDAY, APRIL 13 | 10:30 a.m., Boylston Street
The B.A.A.’s signature unicorn uniform will also be racing in the B.A.A. Invitational Mile, where Mike Marsella and John Simons vie for the title. Simons placed second a year ago in 4:09. They will be joined on the line by German national champion Sam Parsons, world indoor championships finalist Julian Oakley, 3:54-miler Robert Domanic, and Eric Avila, who finished second at the U.S. Indoor National Championships in the two mile.
Ben Groleau, a native of Framingham and the course record holder for the B.A.A. Scholastic Mile, will race the B.A.A. Invitational Mile, becoming the first athlete to have competed in both levels of the event. Groleau won the B.A.A. Scholastic Mile twice while attending Framingham High School; this past January he broke the four-minute mile barrier by running 3:58.93.
The women’s B.A.A. Invitational Mile field is highlighted by Heather Kampf, a four-time USA road mile champion, and Shannon Osika, runner-up at last year’s event. Emily Lipari, 2018 national champion in the road mile, and Helen Schlachtenhaufen are also entered, along with former Arkansas Razorbacks Nikki Hiltz and Therese Haiss.
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).
B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE MEN'S ELITE FIELD
| NAME | AGE | COUNTRY | ROAD PERSONAL BEST | TRACK PERSON BEST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Domanic | 24 | USA/VA | 4:01 | 3:54.73 |
| Eric Avila | 29 | USA/CA | 3:56 | 3:55.43 |
| Julian Oakley | 25 | NZL/RI | 4:05 | 3:55.10 (Indoor) |
| James Randon | 24 | USA/MA | N/A | 3:58.07 (Indoor) |
| Ben Groleau | 25 | USA/MA | N/A | 3:58.93 |
| John Simons | 28 | USA/MA | 4:09 | 3:58.95 |
| Mike Marsella | 24 | USA/MA | N/A | 3:59.13 (Indoor) |
| Sam Parsons | 24 | Germany | 3:58 | 3:59.70 |
| Jeff Thies | 25 | USA/OR | 4:14 | 3:59.89 (Indoor) |
B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE WOMEN'S ELITE FIELD
| NAME | AGE | COUNTRY | ROAD PERSONAL BEST | TRACK PERSON BEST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shannon Osika | 25 | USA/MI | 4:21 | 4:25:47 |
| Heather Kampf | 32 | USA/MN | 4:21 | 4:27.23 |
| Helen Schlachtenhaufen | 24 | USA/MA | 4:30 | 4:27.09 |
| Emily Lipari | 26 | USA/WA | 4:22 | 4:28.62 |
| Nikki Hiltz | 24 | USA/CA | 4:38 | 4:31.42 (Indoor) |
| Therese Haiss | 23 | USA/CA | 4:39 | 4:34.54 (Indoor) |
| Emily Oren | 25 | USA/MI | 4:37 | 4:35.48 (Indoor) |
| Ashley Stinson | 25 | USA/CO | 4:36 | 4:35.62 (Indoor) |
B.A.A. INVITATIONAL 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 | |||
B.A.A. YOUTH RACES
SATURDAY, APRIL 13 | 10:30 a.m. & 1:00 p.m., Boylston Street, Copley Square
The B.A.A. Invitational Mile also features a quartet of scholastic races ranging from 1K to one mile. The first two races showcases 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.
Completing the day is the B.A.A. Relay Challenge, an event that brings more than 20 schools and 1,000 student-athletes from around Greater Boston together. For the 23rd straight year, the B.A.A. Relay Challenge introduces young people to the benefits of running, teamwork, and active lifestyles. The B.A.A. Relay Challenge is held on Boylston Street between Clarendon and Dartmouth Streets.
SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2019: SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
| TIME | EVENT | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. | B.A.A. 5K | Boston Common |
| 10:30 a.m. | Girls’ B.A.A. Middle School 1K | Boston Marathon Finish Line |
| 10:40 a.m | Boys’ B.A.A. Middle School 1K | Boston Marathon Finish Line |
| 10:55 a.m. | Girls’ B.A.A. Scholastic Mile | Boston Marathon Finish Line |
| 11:05 a.m. | Boys’ B.A.A. Scholastic Mile | Boston Marathon Finish Line |
| 11:20 a.m. | Men’s B.A.A. Invitational Mile | Boston Marathon Finish Line |
| 11:30 a.m. | Women’s B.A.A. Invitational Mile | Boston Marathon Finish Line |
| 1:00 p.m. | B.A.A. Relay Challenge | Copley Square Park |