Rojas and Korir Nab Runner-Up Finishes at 10 km Championships in New York

Results
 
The 2022 USATF 10 km Championships were held on Saturday (17-Sept) in Northport, NY as part of the Great Cow Harbor 10K Run.  

Twelve (12) members of USATF Colorado competed in the championships with seven of them earning top-10 finishes.

The leading performances were turned in by Nell Rojas, 34, of Boulder and Leonard Korir, 35, of Colorado Springs as they both earned runner-up finishes.  

In the women’s race Rojas (adidas / RISE Athletics) ran 31:57 to finish just four second behind Stephanie Bruce of Arizona.  Fellow Coloradan Ednah Kurgat, 31, (Nike) of Colorado Springs finished fourth running 32:04.

Early in the women’s race, a pack of four women pulled away from the field, establishing a pace that no one else could cover. Bruce, Annie Frisbie, Rojas, and Kurgat formed a tight pack and worked with one another along the streets of Northport. The quartet came through the halfway point mark in 16:05, all four looking strong and able to handle the fast pace. Little changed among the top four until the final mile and a half, when Kurgat started to drift off the back of the pack, while the other three charged ahead. Over the final mile, Bruce charged to the lead, ramping up the pace, a move that would prove decisive. Bruce pulled away from Rojas, Frisbie, and Kurgat, and never looked back, raising her arms as she crossed the line 31:52. Rojas was able to break free of Frisbie and Kurgat in the final 800m to place second in 31:57, while Frisbie (31:59) and Kurgat (32:040 finished third and fourth, respectively.

Other Coloradans earning top-10 finishes were Molly Grabill (7th, 32:55, RISE Athletics) of Superior and Carrie Verdon (9th, 33:06, Tracksmith / T.E.A.M Boulder) of Boulder.
 
With her runner-up effort, Rojas added 12 more points to her USATF Running Circuit standings total, giving her 33 points overall and moves her up into third place in the standings.  Emily Sisson and Keira D’Amato are tied for first with 55.5 points.

In the men's race Korir (Nike), ran 28:35 to finish second behind Biya Simbassa of Arizona who stopped the clock in a new course record time of 28:13.

At the half way point Korir (14:27) was approximately five seconds off the lead pack comprised of of Jacob Thomson (Flagstaff, AZ), Sam Chelanga (Buford, GA), and Simbassa.  Thomson would fall off pace shortly after halfway, with Simbassa and Chelanga taking over the pacing duties and pushing the pace over the next mile. Korir sat just behind in third.  With less than two miles to go, Simbassa pushed the pace and opened an immediate gap on Korir and Chelanga. Simbassa continued to push over the next mile, opening a nearly 20-second lead heading into the final mile of the race. Behind Simbassa, Korir and Chelanga waged an epic battle to the finish, with Korir pulling ahead by a step in the final meters to claim second overall in 28:35, while Chelanga placed third in 28:36. 

Other Coloradans nabbing top-10 finishes were Geoffrey Kipchumba (7th, 29:01, U.S. Army) of Colorado Springs and Brian Barraza (10th, 29:35, adidas / Tinman Elite) of Boulder.

With Korir’s runner-up finish, his second of the USATF Running Circuit season, he elevated himself to an even more dominant first-place standing, with a 104 point total. 

The complete Colorado results scoreboard can be found here.