2018 Camel City Elite Fields Announced

Fields include Bishop-Nriagu, Chelimo, Cheserek, D’Agostino, Engels and Manzano

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – November 28, 2017 – JDL Fast Track has begun finalizing the fields for the Sixth Annual Camel City Elite, to be held in Winston-Salem, NC, on Saturday, February 3, 2018. 

Facility director and elite athlete coordinator Craig Longhurst put a lot of thought into this year’s fields.  “We actually started preparing lists as far back as May and June of athletes in whom we were interested.  When we found out that Millrose would be the same day as Camel City Elite, it obviously affected us a little, but it just meant that we needed to be more targeted in our approach.”

This year’s event will include defending champions, local heros and world-class talent, sometimes all three traits rolled into one athlete.

This year’s headliners, in alphabetical order, include:

Melissa Bishop-Nriagu (Nike) returns to Camel City Elite as the two-time defending champ in the women’s 800m, which will be sponsored by Total Sports US.  She will try to become the first 3-time Camel City Elite champ in any event.  Bishop-Nriagu is a two-time Canadian Olympian and the Canadian national record holder in the 800m, as well as the winner of the 2015 World Champs silver medal in that event.

Paul Chelimo (US Army) will be familiar to many in the area after graduating from nearby UNC-Greensboro.  Chelimo was the 2016 Olympic silver medalist at 5000m and followed that up with a bronze at the 2017 London World Championships.  He is the defending champ in the men’s 3000m presented by Salem Sports, which he won last year in a facility record 7:45.49.

Edward Cheserek (Skechers) will be running the Mondo Mile.  Many will know Cheserek as a 17-time NCAA champion at distances ranging from the mile and 10k on the track to cross country.  He broke the NCAA record for the indoor mile last year by running 3:52.01 at the distance.  He will make his Camel City Elite debut this year.

Abbey D’Agostino (New Balance) is entered in the Camel City Elite Mile presented by Champion.  D’Agostino gained international celebrity when an untimely fall in the Rio Olympics led to a great show of sportsmanship when she and New Zealand athlete Niki Hamblin helped each other up and she finished the race on a torn ACL.  Abby makes her Camel City Elite debut this year.

Craig Engels (Nike Oregon Project) will be familiar to many in the Winston-Salem area.  Engels attended high school locally before graduating from Ole Miss.  Engels narrowly missed making the 2016 US Olympic team in both the 800m and 1500m.  Engels will be running the Camel City 800m at this year’s event.

Leo Manzano (Hoka One One) will be making his third trip to Camel City Elite to run the Mondo Mile.  Manzano was the 2012 Olympic silver medalist at 1500m in London.

Other notable entries in this year’s event include:

·        Willy Fink (VT Elite) – Camel City 3000m presented by Salem Sports;

·        Hanna Green (Nike Oregon Track Club Elite) – Total Sports US 800m;

·        Caleb Hoover (Asics Furman Elite) – Camel City 3000m presented by Salem Sports;

·        Marisa Howard (IDTC/Fleet Feet Meridian) – Camel City 3000m presented by Visit W-S;

·        Rachel Johnson (Asics Furman Elite) – Camel City 3000m presented by Visit W-S;

·        Ryan Martin (Asics Furman Elite) – Camel City 800m;

·        Georganne Moline (Nike) – Total Sports US 800m (pacer);

·        Drew Piazza (VT Elite) – Camel City 800m;

·        Eliud Rutto (US Army) – Camel City 800m (defending champ);

·        Rachel Schneider (Under Armour) – Camel City Mile presented by Champion (defending champ);

·        Hannah Segrave (Great Britain) – Total Sports US 800m;

·        Sara Sutherland (Saucony) – Camel City 3000m presented by Visit W-S (defending champ);

·        Erin Teschuk (Asics Furman Elite) – Camel City 3000m presented by Visit W-S.

Thanks to its sponsors, this year’s Camel City Elite will feature its biggest prizes to date in six events –men’s and women’s 800m, men’s and women’s mile and men’s and women’s 3000m.  Each race will award prize money of $6000 (1^st), $4000 (2^nd), $2000 (3^rd) and $1000 (4^th).  Prize money will go out to eight places.  Additionally there are $1000 bonuses to the winner of each race if they break certain time barriers in each event.

Special thanks go out to this year’s presenting sponsors Champion, Mondo USA and Visit Winston-Salem, as well as race sponsors Salem Sports and Total Sports US.

Camel City Elite will be streamed live online at www.jdlfasttrack.com as part of the RunnerSpace +Plus subscription package which starts at $12 a month.

ABOUT JDL FAST TRACK (www.jdlfasttrack.com)

JDL Fast Track is a privately owned facility that is quickly becoming one of the premier indoor track and field venues in the southeast. Opened in 2012, the facility houses a 200-meter oval track with a Mondotrack FTX surface—the same surface used at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. With a seating capacity of 1,700, ten HD televisions showing real-time field event results, and five high definition projector screens for video playback, JDL Fast Track offers fans a unique track and field experience.

To date, JDL Fast Track has hosted four national championships:  2014 NCAA Division II, 2015 NCAA Division III, 2015 USATF Masters Indoor and 2016 NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.  JDL Fast Track is currently slated to host the 2019 USATF Masters Indoor and 2020 NCAA Division III National Championships.