Matt Centrowitz With a Hat on Backwards Wins Over Manzano, Heather Kampf Repeats at Grand Blue Road Mile Which is Part of Drake Relays
by: LetsRun.com (Organizer Press Release Below)
April 22, 2015
The Drake Relays kicked off in grand style with the Grand Mile Tuesday night in Des Moines. Matt Centrowitz outkicked Leo Manzano for the win in 4:03.29 and Heather Kampf repeated as champ in 4:35.49 over Nicole Sifuentes. Centro and Kampf picked up $5000 for their road mile wins.
Video from local TV station KCCI of finishes with Centro with his hat on backwards below. Results below that. Then there is a press release from the race. After that are some photos of the race including Centro’s backwards cap courtesy of LetsRun.com visitor Jolene Jungling.
Discuss the mile in our fan forum: Centro vs Manzano vs Lagat vs Will Leer at 1 Mile at Drake.
Centro wins. Photo by Jolene Jungling.
| bib | place | name | location | division | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | Matthew Centrowitz | MEN | 4:03.29 | |
| 10 | 2 | Leo Manzano | MEN | 4:03.57 | |
| 4 | 3 | Garrett Heath | MEN | 4:04.16 | |
| 12 | 4 | Riley Masters | MEN | 4:04.39 | |
| 7 | 5 | Bernard Lagat | MEN | 4:04.67 | |
| 13 | 6 | Jordan McNamara | MEN | 4:05.25 | |
| 8 | 7 | Will Leer | MEN | 4:05.47 | |
| 14 | 8 | Duncan Phillips | MEN | 4:05.66 | |
| 5 | 9 | Matt Hillenbrand | MEN | 4:06.34 | |
| 1 | 10 | Aj Acosta | MEN | 4:07.55 | |
| 9 | 11 | Frezer Legesse | MEN | 4:09.20 | |
| 17 | 12 | Craig Miller | MEN | 4:14.93 | |
| 16 | 13 | Jon Thomas | MEN | 4:17.24 |
Women
| bib | place | name | location | division | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | Heather Kampf | WMEN | 4:35.49 | |
| 26 | 2 | Nicole Sifuentes | WMEN | 4:36.10 | |
| 27 | 3 | Heather Wilson | WMEN | 4:40.03 | |
| 30 | 4 | Violah Lagat | WMEN | 4:41.24 | |
| 25 | 5 | Dana Mecke | WMEN | 4:42.65 | |
| 3718 | 6 | Stephanie Jenks | Aurora, IA | WMEN | 4:45.37 |
| 31 | 7 | Kerri Gallagher | WMEN | 4:46.21 | |
| 24 | 8 | Kirsty Legg | WMEN | 4:47.81 | |
| 32 | 9 | Melissa Selarno | WMEN | 4:48.26 |
MB: Centro vs Manzano vs Lagat vs Will Leer at 1 Mile at Drake.
Heather Kampf wins. Photo by Jolene Jungling.
Drake Relays Press Release: Heather Kampf And Matt Centrowitz Win Grand Blue Mile Titles
DES MOINES, Iowa – Heather Kampf and Matthew Centrowitz held off tough fields and windy conditions to win the sixth-annual Grand Blue Mile, sponsored by Wellmark and Nationwide on the streets of downtown Des Moines.
Kampf, the event’s defending champion, retained her crown with a time of 4:35.75 aby holding off Nicole Sifuentes. Kampf’s win netted her $5,000 as $30,000 in prize money was awarded to the top men’s and women’s finishers.
“Nicole Sifuentes is a very strong kicker and runner and to be neck-and-neck with her at the end of the race is intimidating,” Kampf said. “I knew when I made my move I had to be extremely bold and give it all I got.”
Centrowitz finished in 4:03.97 to outduel defending champion Leo Manzano (4:04.21) down Grand Avenue. Garrett Heath was third in 4:04.21.
“Glancing back with 50 meters to go, he [Leo Manzano] was right on my shoulder,” Centrowitz said. “I thought I had put a little bit more gap on him, but you’re expecting a tough race anytime you race an Olympic silver medalist.”
Matthew Jurysta of Guelph, Ontario, won the men’s competitive division race in 4:14.17 while Yelena Nanaziashvili claimed the women’s competitive race in 5:19.20.
Approximately 5,000 runners — an event record — took part in the Grand Blue Mile. Elite athletes, competitive and recreational runners competed in five separate events.
“The town really got around this race and I’m looking forward to Saturday and my first Drake Relay,” Centrowitz said.
Many of those elite runners, including both Kampf and Centrowitz will remain in Des Moines and compete on the Blue Oval in the Drake Relays mile and 800-meter races at Drake Stadium on Friday and Saturday.
More Photos by Jolene Jungling.
Centro and his cap. Photo by Jolene Jungling.
Centro and his cap. Photo by Jolene Jungling.
Centro and his cap. Photo by Jolene Jungling.
Kampf celebrates. Photo by Jolene Jungling.