The 50th running of the Quad-City Times Bix 7 road race offered a who's who of former and current Iowa collegians and preps. In short, Davenport was the place to be on Saturday.
And leaving his mark again on the national road racing scene was seven-time Big 12 Conference champion Wesley Kiptoo. The 2021 NCAA champion for Iowa State in the indoor 5,000 cruised to his first Bix 7 victory in 32 minutes, 27 seconds while picking up the top prize of $12,500. Kiptoo leads off this edition of the WEEKEND UPDATE of the best performances by Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes.
The HOKA Northern Arizona Elite athlete based in Flagstaff, Ariz., threw down a vicious pace on the first half of the out-and-back course starting on Brady Street. Kiptoo covered the first 3.5 miles to the turnaround at McClellan Boulevard in 15:57, or a staggering 4:33 per mile. Kiptoo, 28, owned a 25-second lead over eventual third-place finisher Nathan Martin, who was leadng the chase pack.
Kiptoo's advantage slipped over the hilly second half when he averaged 4:43 per mile, but the native of Marakwet, Kenya, was never threatened for the win. Kiptoo won by 16 seconds over Mohamed El Aaraby, 34, of Morocco.
"No victory without suffering," Kiptoo, who will look to defend his title at the Falmouth Road Race on Aug. 18, wrote on Instagram.
The men's elite competition featured three former Iowa collegians finishing in the top 10, including defending champion Biya Simbassa. Finishing fourth and pocketing $1,500 was two-time American steeplechase Olympian Hillary Bor. The former Iowa State All-American now based in Colorado Springs, Colo., with the HOKA/American Distance Project club ran 32:46. Bor, 34, is the leader in the USATF Running Circuit men’s standings with 37 points. He finished 13th in the U.S. Olympic Trials 3,000 steeplechase final in June.
Simbassa, 31, was just one second back in fifth place. The Under Armour Dark Sky team member now based in Flagstaff, Ariz., won $1,000 after running 32:47. Simbassa, the 2021 USATF Running Circuit men’s champion, ran 32:34 in his winning effort from a year ago.
Former University of Iowa standout Max Murphy finished as the top non-professional and 15th overall after running 34:39. The former Pleasant Valley prep star won the Gregg Newell Award as the top Quad-Citian after seeing his fellow Running Wild Elite teammate, Devin Allbaugh, pass him in the final meters for that trophy a year ago.
This time, Murphy left no doubt, running 17 seconds faster than a year ago while setting a new RWE club record. The Big Ten runner-up in the 5,000 and 10,000 outdoors had knee surgery in January and missed the entire NCAA indoor and outdoor seasons. Murphy graduated from Iowa with a degree in mechanical engineering and will run in the fall at North Carolina as a graduate transfer. He has two years of eligibility remaining after battling various injuries during his Hawkeye career.
"I was really excited to get out and race for the first time in awhile," Murphy, 22, told me afterward. "I didn't know what to expect. I played it a bit smarter (with race strategy.) I was excited to finally get this. I looked back to make sure he (Allbaugh) wasn't coming."
Finishing 16th behind Murphy was former Sioux City North prep standout Merga Gemeda. Gemeda, 24, is a Minnesota Distance Elite athlete now residing in Minnetonka, Minn. Former Iowa City High prep star Ford Washburn, 19, was the next-best college athlete in 20th place. The Northern Arizona University sophomore ran 35:15, or a 5:02 pace.
Blake Whalen led the Runablaze Iowa team with a 21st-place finish in 35:16. That time is third best in club history. Whalen, 28, is a former Dubuque Senior and Iowa Central standout who resides in Des Moines. Teammate and former Morningside College five-time All-American Garret Ehlers, 32, grabbed 24th in his Bix debut. The Sioux City resident ran 35:27, which is fourth best in Runablaze history. Former Loras College and Davenport Central star Mason Tope covered the 7-mile route in 35:30 for 26th place. Tope, 28, now resides in Birmingham, Ala.
Former Dordt University NAIA steeplechase runner-up Eric Steiger led the Fitness Sports Distance Project team with a 28th-place finish. Steiger ran 35:38. He was followed by former Davenport Assumption and St. Ambrose runner Steve Froeschle, 30. The Running Wild Elite athlete based in Davenport ran 35:39, which is good for fourth best in club history. Four seconds behind him was Allbaugh. The RWE men's team coordinator and former Pleasant Valley prep from Bettendorf ran 35:43.
Runablaze athlete and former Wartburg College athlete Sam Pinkowski, 25, of Des Moines ran to a 32nd-place finish in 35:53. FSDP athlete Cody Baele, the reigning IMT Des Moines Half Marathon champion, mustered a 33rd-place effort in 35:55. Southeastern Community College head track coach and RWE athlete Lucas Keifer, 29, of Burlington came in 34th and was the final male ahead of women's champion Rachel Chebet. Keifer ran 35:58 for the No. 5 time in RWE history. RWE's Mike Gille of East Moline, Ill., was the 35th-best man in 36:12.
Former Hudson prep and Loras College athlete Wyatt Kelly of Dubuque ended up 38th among the men in 36:19. Kelly, 24, is a Runablaze athlete. Current Wartburg athlete Lance Sobaski, 20, of Brighton took 40th in 36:24. Sobaski is a former Washington High athlete. Fitness Sports' Jack Moran ran to a 42nd-place finish in 36:30. Moran, 23, is an Iowa State graduate student. Coe College senior-to-be Lewis Kleman, 22, was 4rd in 36:35. He is a former Cedar Rapids Washington prep. Northern Iowa athlete and former Tipton prep Caleb Shumaker, 21, took 44th in 36:38. The top 50 was rounded out by RWE's Dan Froeschle, 34, a former Davenport Assumption prep who ran 36:45 for 47th and Brett Rosauer, 33, of Iowa City in 48th in 36:50. The RWE men won the team title and $1,500 with a 35:30 average time, with Runablaze second 56 seconds behind and picking up $750. FSDP ended up third with an average of 36:29 and won $500.
Two former Iowa prep stars cracked the top 10 in the women's professional competition. Loras College seven-time NCAA champion Kassie Parker, 24, of Rochester Hills, Mich., grabbed seventh place in 38:24. The former Clayton Ridge (Guttenberg) prep now runs for the Hansons-Brooks team in Rochester, Mich. Parker paced a team called the Midwest HEcKlerS that won the women's team competition with an average time of 42:53. They also picked up $1,500.
Current Arkansas sophomore Paityn Noe, the Iowa 5K cross country record holder when she was at Ballard (Huxley), ended up ninth in 38:34. Noe finished ninth in the NCAA 10,000 outdoor final in June in Eugene, Ore. Pasca Cheruiyot, 38, paced the Runablaze team's effort with a 13th-place finish in 41:00. The 2014 Grandma's Marathon champion now resides in Ames. Former Tipton prep star Ashley (Miller) Carreon grabbed 15th in 42:30. Carreon now resides in Moore, Okla. Fitness Sports' Lexi Brown, the reigning American Rivers Conference cross country champion and a former Wartburg star, was 16th in 42:46. Brown is a former New London prep.
Running Wild Elite's Trisha Nelson, 33, of Maquoketa crossed 17th in 42:48. That time is second best in RWE history. Former Newton prep and Drake athlete Casey McDermott, 35, of Malcom took 19th in 43:18. Nine-time Mount Mercy NAIA All-American Andrea (Ertz) Albert, 25, of Coralvile grabbed 20th in 43:25. Albert is a former Marion prep standout. Former Iowa City West prep and Iowa runner Gabby Skopec, 25, of North Liberty ended up 21st in 43:25. FSDP's Deanna Newhouse, 26, of Coralville was next in 43:27. Newhouse is a former Mount Mercy and Linn-Mar (Marion) athlete. RWE's Jacey Schickel, 24, of Lemont, Ill., set the No. 3 time in club history with a 43:32 time. She was 23rd. Ashley Bowser, 20, of Davenport grabbed 26th in 43:57. Dubuque Hempstead graduate and Iowa State commit Keelee Leitzen, 18, of Dubuque took 27th in 44:07. Crown Running's Jess Hruska, 44, of Dubuque was the top masters athlete in 29th place. The former Wartburg College and Dubuque Hempstead athlete ran 44:20. Iowa Hawkeye and former Iowa City High prep Rowan Boulter, 20, of Iowa City was 31st in 44:49.
RWE's Brenna Gray, 29, captured the Eloise Caldwell Award as the fastest female Quad-Citian. The former Pleasant Valley athlete ran 44:48 for 32nd among the women. Gray set the fifth-best time in club history. FSDP's Ceyda Albert, 24, of Coralville was next in 44:56. She is a former Indian Hills Community College and Grand View University runner. Ana Barroso, 19, of Iowa City ran 44:58 for 34th. Melanie Hamilt, 29, of Iowa City grabbed 36th in 45:15. Last year's Caldwell Award winner, RWE's Kelsey Allbaugh, finished 37th this time in 45:17. Allbaugh resides in Bettendorf.
Fitness Sports finished second in the women's team race with an average time of 43:53. The RWE team was third with a 44:07 average time.
Moving to the track, where former Drake University star and Missouri Valley Conference champion Adam Fogg finished third in the 1,500 at the Meeting voor Mon in Leuven, Belgium on Saturday. The British athlete ran 3:36.59 to trail only American Sam Prakel (3:36.18) and New Zealand's Samuel Tanner (3:36.52). Fogg is a Mission Run Baltimore athlete.
Mission Run Dark Sky athlete Adva Cohen of Israel took 11th in the women's 1,500 in 4:10.92. Cohen is a former NJCAA champion at Iowa Central Community College. The winner was Great Britain's Elizabeth Bird in 4:06.56
Going back to the roads, where former Center Point-Urbana prep Josh Yeager and former Iowa All-American Nathan Mylenek were competing in the Ryan Shay Mileas part of the Venetian Festival Races in Charlevoix, Mich. Yeager, a Minnesota Distance Elite athlete, ran 4:02.8 for 12th place among the men Saturday. Mylenek was 14th in 4:12.2, but the Very Nice Track Club member earned a bonus for leading at the halfway point. Winner Nick Foster broke Ben Flanagan's 2022 course record by running 3:52.4.
At the eighth annual Amazing Grace's Lemonade Race 5K in Ames on Saturday, former Gilbert prep Nathan Patel was the winner. Patel, 22, of Ames ran 15:29.40. Another former Gilbert prep, Ethan Mesenbrink, 23, of Ames was second in 15:53.10.
At the annual Elvelopet cross country races in Decorah Saturday, Runablaze's Sarah Bakula set a new 5K best by 16 seconds while running 17:32 to claim the women's title and third overall. Bakula, 36, is a former Waukon prep and Simpson College athlete. She was just 34 seconds behind winner Lars Elsbernd, 24. Former Luther College athlete Evan Neubauer, 33, finished third in the featured 15K race in 59:13. The winner was Jonah Johnson, 21, of Stillwater, Minn., in 57:39.
MISSING A TOP DISTANCE RUNNER OR TRIATHLETE?: Let me know at bergeson@registermedia.com.
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This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Wesley Kiptoo, Hillary Bor, Biya Simbassa, Max Murphy, Kassie Parker, Paityn Noe, Adam Fogg
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