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Manzano, Kampf claim Grand Blue Mile titles in Des Moines

Courtesy Doug Wells
Courtesy Doug Wells

DES MOINES – Heather Kampf and Leo Manzano won the USA 1 Mile Road Championships on a beautiful Tuesday evening at the fifth-annual Grand Blue Mile sponsored by Wellmark and Nationwide in downtown Des Moines.

Kampf finished with a time of 4:34.62 as the former Minnesota standout held off former Washington standout Katie Mackey (4:35.30) and two-time Grand Blue Mile Champion Sarah Hall (4:35.81) for her second career USA 1 Mile Road Championship. Kampf was victorious back in 2012 when the USA 1 Mile Road event was hosted in her hometown of Minneapolis and she finished second a year ago in the event.

“I was really excited how the race turned out,” said Kampf. “It was a tight battle between Katie and I coming down the stretch and I really didn’t know who else was coming. Similar to last year, this was a replay of Sarah (Hall) and I battling down the whole second half of the race so I was really worried about those late closers, but I knew I just had to give it my all and see what I could do with the finish.”

Manzano, who was a nine-time NCAA All-American at Texas and was the 2012 London Olympic Games silver medalist in the 1,500 meters, recorded a winning time of 4:05.71. Pat Casey who competed for Oklahoma and Montana State was second with a time of 4:05.81. The defending USA 1 Mile Road Champion Garrett Heath finished third with a time of 4:06.39. Manzano made his move towards the finish line with 400 meters to go and had to hold off a late charge from Casey with 50 meters remaining to claim his first USA 1 Mile title.

“It feels great,” Manzano said upon being crowned the men’s 2014 USA 1 Mile Road Mile Champion.  “First of all I’m so grateful to the community of Des Moines, and to Brian Brown, I’d like to thank him for this opportunity. One of the biggest things is now I can really focus on what matters and, once again, I’m just so grateful for all the people that supported me when I was down. Winning this race is such a weight off my shoulders.”

Kampf and Manzano each earned the top prize of $5,000. $30,000 in prize money was contested across the men’s and women’s championship divisions with a combined total of 29 runners between the two divisions.

Ryan Anderson of Rochester, Minn. was the men’s competitive division winner with a time of 4:41.38, while Traci Kesser from Clive was the women’s competitive division winner with a time of 5:11.59.

More than 4,000 runners of all ages took part in the evening’s series of races in perfect conditions. Elite athletes, competitive and recreational runners and corporate teams competed in six separate events with a slight tailwind out of the east on the homestretch. Many of those elite runners, including Kampf will remain in Des Moines and compete on the Blue Oval in the Drake Relays mile and 1,500-meter races at Drake Stadium on Friday and Saturday.

Grand Blue Mile – USA 1 Mile Road Championships

Men

1. Leo Manzano, 4:05.71

2. Pat Casey, 4:05.81

3. Garrett Heath, 4:06.39

4. Jack Bolas, 4:07.37

5. Jeff See, 4:08.60

6. Matt Elliot, 4:08.85

7. Donald Cowart, 4:08.88

8. Travis Burkstrand, 4:09.24

9. Dorian Ulrey, 4:09.64

10. Craig Miller, 4:09.64

11. AJ Acosta, 4:10.31

12. Jon Peterson, 4:10.60

13. Travis Fitzke, 4:10.65

14. Diego Estrada, 4:12.88

15. Ryan Martin, 4:13.89

Women

1. Heather Kampf, 4:34.62

2. Katie Mackey, 4:35.30

3. Sara Hall, 4:35.81

4. Heather Wilson, 4:36.84

5. Laura Thweatt, 4:37.32

6. Lea Wallace, 4:38.57

7. Stephanie Garcia, 4:39.45

8. Nicole Schappert, 4:39.47

9. Molly Beckwith-Ludlo, 4:40.10

10. Angela Bizzari, 4:41.13

11. Lauren Johnson, 4:42.19

12. Gabrielle Grunewald, 4:45.91

13. Meghan Peyton, 4:47.80

14. Lauren Wallace, 4:58.30

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