EAGLE ROCK, CALIFORNIA, May 24 — A near return-to-form by steepler Kenneth Rooks, a pair of 5000s that smashed or approached national records, and another step on the comeback path for Olympic 800 gold medalist Athing Mu-Nikolayev were among the highlights at Saturday’s Sound Running Track Fest in Los Angeles.
After a handful of modest performances on the flat indoors, Rooks made his outdoor debut a fast one, clocking a U.S.-leading 8:14.05, clear by 6 seconds of Duncan Hamilton’s 8:20.28. The mark dipped under the World Championship qualifying standard of 8:15.00 and is the second-fastest in the BYU grad’s career, trailing only his Olympic silver medal-winning performance in Paris last summer.
It also continues his string of great runs in the Track Fest. In ‘23, Rooks crushed a breakout 14-second PR 8:17.62 en route to his first NCAA title season. Last year, he repeated in another career best 8:15.08, that stood as his PR until the Games.
“It’s so fun to be back doing the steeplechase. I love it so much,” Rooks said. His fastest lap was his penultimate one (62.91), thanks in part to a “rocky” final water jump. “I’ve done workouts, but you can’t ever simulate the last two laps in the steeple perfectly, so it was good to feel that today… good to get an opener underneath the standard, which is awesome.”
Both 5000s featured furious finishes with winners that blasted past the World Championship-qualifying pace lights they were chasing in the preceding laps. In the men’s race, Mexico’s Eduardo Hererra was just behind Australian Ky Robinson with two laps left (11:01.20–11:01.95) — having moved strongly from the chase pack a lap earlier. Then he surged ahead to go for the 13:01.00 qualifier. After a 59.25 that edged him slightly closer, the Colorado alum roared to a 57.37 finish. He not only surpassed the standard with room to spare, but his 12:58.57 also took down the outdoor Mexican record of 13:07.79 that national legend and 10,000 WR-setter Arturo Barrios had set way back in ’89.
The 27-year-old Herrera, whose previous PR was his 13:06.36 indoors in Boston, had broken his country’s 1500 national record with a 3:36.31 in this meet last year (a mark he would surpass twice more in ‘24). He was clearly overwhelmed with profound joy and triumph after Saturday’s race.
“I think I was just letting my emotions come out,” he said. “I think this is such a special night, one I’m definitely going to remember since it’s my first time sub-13. … This is such a talented field and to be able to put it away like that and just feel strong doing it just makes me feel so good moving forward.
“I just felt so tired of being in that realm,” he added, regarding feeling stuck in the low 13s. “I just wanted to do something and I think obviously with my training, this has paid off and I’m just super happy.”
Robinson, who could only launch a modest kick after doing much of the work during the race, was still 2nd in 13:05.23 and Morgan Beadlescomb 3rd in 13:05.47. Both were just shy of their PRs. Two-time Olympian Woody Kincaid, who finished in 57.54, was 4th in 13:06.16.
An event earlier, Brit Melissa Courtney-Bryant and Australian Linden Hall were pursuing the 14:50.00 standard in the women’s race and they were about 4 seconds back of that tempo at 3800 with 11:20.42 and 11:20.55, respectively. Then Hall took over and closed in 69.08, 69.01 and 64.98 to finish in 14:43.61, a big 15-second PR and less than 3 seconds off the Aussie NR set by Rose Davies last year.
Courtney-Bryant hung on for 14:48.20 in 2nd and her compatriot, Hannah Nuttall, sprinting a 64.11 closer, just missed in a PR 14:50.42.
Fans had plenty to be intrigued about not only in the fast section of the women’s 1500, but also the second and third. In the former, newly crowned Big 10 800 champ Klaudia Kazimierska outkicked Emily Mackay, 4:03.26–4:03.33. The Oregon senior rocketed up to No. 3 on the all-time collegiate list and cut 3.59 seconds off the PR she ran in the NCAA prelims last spring before finishing 3rd in the final.
Shelby Houlihan, continuing her comeback from suspension, was just 5th in 4:04.76. “I really have to take a step back and analyze it,” she told Letsrun. “Off the bat, I was a little disappointed. I didn’t really have a lot of expectations, so I just wanted to use it as a gauge. I’ve really been really feeling tired the last month or so. Plus I had a hamstring issue last week and took a week off of workouts.… I didn’t feel great, especially the last 400 meters.”
In the third section of the 1500, Mu-Nikolayev ran a competitive race at close to national class-level for the first time this year. The field let her lead early (51.96 at 300, a 4:19 pace), even though no one went with the rabbit’s 4:08 tempo. The pace picked up and Mu slipped to 6th, but then steadily worked her way back up. She was 3rd at the bell, then moved into 1st with 150 left before Sadie Sargent kicked past for the win in 4:10.01 to Mu-Nikolayev’s 4:10.70.
“Well, my legs were burning,” Mu-Nikolayev said when asked how it all felt. “It’s the fastest I’ve gone this season, which everyone probably knows. But it was really fun to run with girls and run in a group, so I’m happy with how it went — and Coach is happy with how it went — so I’m just glad we’re progressing through the season and we’re slowly, slowly getting back.
“I’m just trying to appreciate the little things, to appreciate the meets,” she added, “and get back into the feeling of competing and enjoying the sport and just enjoying where I am.”
The mark was well off Mu-Nikolayev’s 4:03.44 PR from the 2023 USATF meet, but a big step up from the 4:21.18 she ran solo two weeks ago and gave at least a hint that a return to sub-2:00 form in the 800 could be at hand in coming weeks.
In the second 1500 section in between, Ventura (California) prep Sadie Engelhardt ran her first outdoor race of the year following recovery from injury — and an indoor season where she ran a then-high school record 4:27.97 mile. She was timed in 4:18.10 for 8th.
In the women’s steeple, Elise Thorner of Great Britain — a 3-time All-American at Florida (and New Mexico before that) — sliced 11 seconds off her PR for a 9:17.57 that ducked under the 9:18.00 World standard.
Sage Hurta-Klecker, already with a Worlds qualifier in the 800 (1:57.53 PR from last September), went out hard (58.05) and won that event comfortably with a mark just 0.02 shy of that standard, 1:59.02. Brit Jake Wightman took a competitive, if modestly-paced, men’s 1500 in 3:35.26. In the men’s 800, Irish Olympian Mark English exploded in the final 100 to move from 4th to a 1:44.75 victory.
TRACK FEST RESULTS
Men’s Events
800: 1. Mark English (Ire) 1:44.75; 2. Mouad Zahafi (Mor) 1:45.14; 3. Alex Amankwah (Gha) 1:45.61; 4. Craig Engels (US) 1:45.73.
1500: 1. Jake Wightman (GB) 3:35.26; 2. Sam Ellis (US) 3:35.77; 3. Sam Prakel (US) 3:36.03; 4. Luke Houser (US) 3:36.16; 5. Sam Gilman (US) 3:36.24; 6. Joe Waskom (US) 3:36.62.
St: I–1. Kenneth Rooks (US) 8:14.25; 2. Duncan Hamilton (US) 8:20.28; 3. Derek Johnson (US) 8:22.64; 4. Gable Sieperda (US) 8:24.82 PR; 5. Daniel Michalski (US) 8:24.91.
5000: 1. Eduardo Herrera (Mex) 12:58.57 NR; 2. Ky Robinson (Aus) 13:05.23 PR; 3. Morgan Beadlescomb (US) 13:05.47 PR; 4. Woody Kincaid (US) 13:06.15; 5. Ahmed Muhumed (US) 13:07.49 PR; 6. Amon Kemboi (Ken) 13:07.83 PR; 7. Geordie Beamish (NZ) 13:09.80 PR.
Women’s Events
800: 1. Sage Hurta-Klecker (US) 1:59.02; 2. Valery Tobias (US) 1:59.49 PR; 3. Gabija Galvydytė (Lit) 2:00.05; 4. Helen Schlachtenhaufen (US) 2:00.89.
1500: I–1. Klaudia Kazimierska’ (Or-Pol) 4:03.26 (3, 3 C); 2. Emily Mackay (US) 4:03.33; 3. Katie Snowden (GB) 4:03.74; 4. Gabrielle Jennings (US) 4:04.43 PR; 5. Shelby Houlihan (US) 4:04.76; 6. Gracie Morris (US) 4:06.44 PR. II–1. Bailey Hertenstein (US) 4:06.39 PR.
III–1. Sadie Sargent (Nike) 4:10.01; 2. Athing Mu-Nikolayev (Nike) 4:10.70.
St: 1. Elise Thorner (GB) 9:17.57 PR; 2. Angelina Ellis (US) 9:22.03 PR; 3. Sophie Novak (US) 9:23.04 PR; 4. Krissy Gear (US) 9:24.36; 5. Kaylee Mitchell (US) 9:24.95;
6. Gracie Hyde (US) 9:26.24 PR.
5000: 1. Linden Hall (Aus) 14:43.61 PR; 2. Melissa Courtney-Bryant (GB) 14:48.20 PR; 3. Hannah Nuttall (GB) 14:50.42 PR; 4. Lea Meyer (Ger) 14:58.85 PR; 5. Amanda Vestri (US) 15:01.22 PR; 6. Heather MacLean (US) 15:08.72 PR; 7. Katie Camarena (US) 15:10.00 PR.
