Wildschutt And Wasserman Claim Individual Titles On A Rainy Morning In Austin

By Scott Bush for DyeStat

David Hicks Photo

On a misty morning in Austin, HOKA NAZ Elite showed why they are one of the premier training groups in the United States at the Sound Running Cross Champs, sweeping both team titles in dominating fashion, with Katie Wasserman and Adriaan Wildschutt kicking to individual victories.

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The women went first Thursday and as the horn sounded a large pack of runners came together and pushed a modest pace early on over the 5-loop course. The HOKA NAZ Elite, Idaho Afoot, and Hansons-Brooks ODP teams packed up and ran together through two loops, with individual entry Katie Izzo running amongst the leaders.

On the third lap, HOKA NAZ Elite teammates Wasserman, Mercy Chelangat, and Abby Nichols began lowering the pace, with only Izzo and Idaho Afoot teammates Marisa Howard and Dana Klein keeping pace. 

The pack of six women continued to run together over the next lap and a half, no runner challenging the group, clearly saving their energy for the final lap.

On the final lap, Wasserman and Izzo pulled away from Chelangat and Nichols, powering down the far side of the course, winding their way into the final 800 meters. As they circled the final turn into the long home-stretch, Wasserman shifted into another gear, pulling away from Izzo and powering her way to first place, crossing the finish, arms raised, in 26:49.4. 

Izzo maintained form once losing contact with Wasserman, holding on for a runner-up finish two seconds back in 26:51.4. Chelangat tried valiantly to catch Izzo in the final stretch, ultimately settling for third in 26:54.5.

HOKA NAZ Elite continued their dominance up front, with Nichols costing to the finish in fourth in 27:08.50, while Idaho Afoot’s Howard and Klein finished fifth and sixth in 27:10.8 and 27:11.6.

As the team scores populated, HOKA NAZ Elite celebrated their win with a mere 14-point effort (four runners were scored per team), while Idaho Afoot bested the rest with their runner-up point total of 34 points.

After the women’s team of HOKA NAZ Elite triumphed with ease, the HOKA NAZ Elite men wanted to run with the same effort up front and have similar results across the board.

From the horn, HOKA NAZ Elite teammates Wesley Kiptoo, Wildschutt, and Ahmed Muhumed jumped to the lead, quickly pushing the pace and stringing out the field. The only runners who maintained contact over the first lap were Under Armour Dark Sky’s Edwin Kurgat, Bowerman Track Club’s Charles Hicks, and Union Athletics Club’s David Ribich. 

The lead pack of six would maintain contact with each other through the first lap, with Ribich dropping off pace shortly after beginning the second loop.

The remaining five athletes took turns leading the race, until Kiptoo and Muhumed started to drop back during the third lap. Wildschutt took over the lead on the fourth lap and started to push the pace again, as Kurgat and Kiptoo remained in tow.

With half a mile to go, Wildschutt made one last decisive move, pulling away from Kurgat, Kiptoo, and Hicks. As the former Florida State standout rounded the final turn, he opened his stride and charged to the finish, crossing the line first in convincing fashion with a time of 22:07.4.

Defending champion Kurgat tried to maintain contact with Wildschutt as best he could, ultimately settling for second in 22:11.4. Kiptoo and Hicks battled over the final quarter mile, with Kiptoo gaining the edge on Hicks over the final 30 meters of the race, claiming third in 22:14.2 to Hicks’ fourth place time of 22:15.0.

Muhumed and Olin Hacker finished up the HOKA NAZ Elite scoring by taking home fifth- and sixth-place finishes. Hacker ran with the chase pack until two laps to go, when he pulled away and ran a solo effort over the later stages of the race. Muhumed ran 22:26.5, while Hacker finished in 22:58.1.

In the final team results, the HOKA NAZ Elite men scored even fewer points than the women’s squad, totaling a mere 10 points. Under Armour Mission Run Baltimore placed second, placing all four of their scorers in the top ten and tallying 29 points.