Young Out Duels Tough Competition at the USATF Men’s 8 km Championship

USATF Release

KINGSPORT, Tennessee – A weather delay and warm weather couldn’t slow down a talented field from putting on a great race Saturday evening in Kingsport, Tennessee, as Clayton Young ran to victory over the final mile at the USATF Men’s 8 km Championships.

Race highlights and coverage of the USATF Men’s 8 km Championship, hosted by the Crazy 8s 8K Run and the eighth stop on the USATF Running Circuit are available and can be viewed with a +PLUS subscription on USATF.TV.

Summer storms rolled through eastern Tennessee Saturday evening, delaying the start of the race, but once the gun sounded kicking off the championship event, the field immediately hit a quick pace and the race heated up. 

Connor Winter, Aidan Reed, Andrew Colley, and Young jumped to the early lead, pushing the pace. The honest effort dropped a number of contenders in the first miles, but a pack of a dozen men continued to run together for much of the first half of the race.

The lead pack came through the 4 km split in 11:31, as Winter and Young continued to set the pace. With just under two miles to go, Young started to push the pace, with Colley and Oklahoma State All-American Isai Rodridguez following closely behind. 

As the pack strung out, it was clear the race would come down to the final mile and whoever could maintain the quick pace. Young continued to drive as the former BYU standout charged through the final mile split. Colley and Rodriguez left the rest of the field behind and it was a three-man race to the finish.

With the finish line in sight, Young was able to hold off the competition, sprinting to victory, crossing the line in 22:45, earning his second USATF Running Circuit title of his career. Colley edged Rodriguez in the final moments of the race, claiming second in 22:49, while Rodriguez finished third in 22:50.

Emmanuel Bor finished fourth in 22:54, finishing just ahead of Reed, who placed fifth in 22:56. Olympian Leonard Korir took home sixth in 23:01, earning another top finish on the USATF Running Circuit season, while USATF Running Circuit veteran Sam Chelanga took seventh in 23:05.

Rounding out the top ten, Nick Randazzo hung on in the final stages of the race to finish eighth overall in 23:15. Kirubel Erassa ran a good race from start to finish to place ninth in 23:27, while Brogan Austin finished tenth in 23:38.

By finishing sixth in Kingsport, Korir added another five points to his USATF Running Circuit standing lead with 51 total points. Jacob Thomson and Hillary Bor retain their second and third place positions with 43 points and 33 points, while Emmanuel Bor moves up to fourth overall with 27 points and Brian Shrader sits fifth with 26 points.

The next stop on the USATF Running Circuit is the USATF 7 Mile Championships, which take place on July 29 in Davenport, Iowa, hosted by the Quad-City Times Bix 7.

About the USATF Running Circuit

The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $15,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF Men’s 8 km Championship.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF Men’s 8 km Championship, scoring is set as 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7 ,6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.

The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.

Contributed by Scott Bush