Edwards triumphs in women’s elite mile following third-place finish in 3,000, won by fellow adidas athlete Rawlings; Lopez Segura prevails in men’s elite 3,000 and Anstey achieves mile victory, with North Carolina State’s Napoleon and Emory’s Dean taking top spots in 800 races

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Phil Ponder

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Kaela Edwards gained a greater appreciation Saturday for just how impressive the performances were by Elly Henes and Rachel Smith in their achievement of winning the elite mile and 3,000-meter races in the span of an hour at the Camel City Invitational.

Edwards, an adidas professional athlete, also left the JDL Fast Track facility following the 11th edition of the elite competition with a better understanding of just how physically strong, mentally tough and resilient she can be after attempting the difficult double in her debut at the event.

RESULTS | RACE VIDEOS | INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS by Phil Ponder

Following a third-place finish in the 3,000 in 9 minutes, 10.78 seconds and feeling nauseous in between races, Edwards returned to the track and produced a significant surge in the final 100 meters of the mile to triumph in 4:37.31.

Edwards held off New Balance professional competitor Abbey Cooper in 4:37.51 and Atalanta NYC athlete Emily Richards in 4:37.73.

Smith, then competing as Rachel Schneider, won both the elite mile and 3,000 at Camel City in 2018 and 2021. Henes also achieved the double in 2022.

Richards paced the first half of the women’s elite 3,000, before Tinman Elite representative Savannah Shaw and fellow adidas athlete Taryn Rawlings battled over the final seven laps.

Rawlings made a decisive move with 225 meters remaining and never looked back, emerging victorious in 9:03.41, with Shaw clocking 9:06.11 to secure second.

Antonio Lopez Segura, who took third in 2022 in the men’s elite 3,000 representing Virginia Tech, rebounded from an eighth-place finish last year to earn the win in 7:55.37.

Lopez Segura, representing Tinman Elite and competing for Spain, held off East Tennessee State redshirt sophomore Jason Bowers, running unattached and representing South Africa.

Bowers eclipsed the 8-minute barrier for the first time, running 7:57.36.

Furman’s Cameron Ponder took third in 7:59.44, with North Carolina State’s Brett Gardner finishing fourth in 7:59.91.

Jack Anstey, an Australian competitor representing Under Armour Dark Sky Distance, prevailed in the men’s elite mile with an impressive 3:56.0 effort, covering the final two laps in 57.91 seconds.

Abraham Alvarado, representing Atlanta Track Club Elite while training in Flagstaff, Ariz., with Under Armour Dark Sky Distance, placed second in 3:58.30.

Ben Veatch of Under Armour Dark Sky Distance finished fifth in the men’s elite 3,000 in 8:00.89 and was seventh in the elite mile in 4:11.82, the only male athlete to attempt racing both events.

History was made in both the men’s and women’s elite 800-meter races.

For the first time since the women’s elite 800 was included in the Camel City schedule in 2014, a college athlete achieved the victory, with North Carolina State freshman Angelina Napoleon rallying in the final 50 meters to edge British competitor Gemma Finch of Heartland Track Club by a 2:07.46 to 2:07.92 margin.

Libby Ranocha of Emory University in Georgia took third in 2:13.27 to elevate to No. 2 in NCAA Division 3 this season.

Dawit Dean of Emory became the first collegiate athlete since 2021 to triumph in the men’s elite 800, holding off Delsin Burkhart of University of North Carolina Pembroke by a 1:54.17 to 1:54.37 margin, with Elliot Dotson from Anderson University in South Carolina taking third in 1:54.74.

Dean is also the first Division 3 athlete to win any elite running event in meet history.

Although North Carolina State had athletes sweep the men’s and women’s sections of the unseeded 3,000, with John Malach running 8:12.46 and Alyssa Hendrix clocking 9:43.62, it was Milligan College in Tennessee that benefited the most from the competition.

Caitlin Dominy improved her NAIA-leading mark this season by running a personal-best 9:45.45 to place second behind Hendrix, with Milligan teammate Ellen-Mary Kearney, representing Great Britain, eclipsing the 10-minute barrier for the first time by finishing fourth in 9:48.24 to ascend into the top five among NAIA athletes this year.

Dominy and Kearney also joined Patricia Barrera and Hope Krell in helping Milligan run the fastest women’s distance medley relay in the NAIA this season with a 12:21.78 performance Friday.

Will Stockley, a British competitor, was fourth for Milligan in the men’s 3,000 in 8:17.06, elevating to No. 2 among NAIA competitors this year.

Davidson produced a pair of winners, with Anne Berquist clocking 4:57.58 in the mile and Bella Godoy running 2:57.29 in the 1,000.

Zak Freeland from Queens University in North Carolina won the men’s unseeded mile in 4:08.49.

Ruchen Blaauw of Montreat College clocked 2:34.75 to prevail in the men’s 1,000.

Annie Miller, a junior at Metrolina Christian Academy in North Carolina, won the unseeded women’s 800 in 2:14.79.

Campbell’s Robert Wetherholt took the men’s unseeded 800 in 1:57.12.

Dustin Blevins from Montreat held off East Carolina’s Nathaniel Williams by a 48-1.25 (14.66m) to 48-0.75 (14.65m) margin in the men’s triple jump to elevate among the top five NAIA competitors this season.

L’nya Carpenter of East Carolina prevailed in the women’s triple jump with a 39-6.75 (12.06m) performance.

East Carolina’s Naadiya Faison won the women’s shot put with a mark of 51-3.50 (15.63m).

Shakiel Dacres triumphed for the Pirates in the men’s shot put with a 54-4.50 (16.57m) effort.

Kaitlyn Estep, representing Cary Christian in North Carolina as well as Without Limits, won the girls middle school mile in 5:09.06, eclipsing the 2022 meet record of 5:14.80.

Joshua Palmer of Parkwood Middle School in North Carolina won the boys middle school mile in 4:39.66.