Nagel and Bast win Indiana 1 mile titles

Results

(4 Jun) For the fourth time the USATF Indiana 1 Mile Road Championships were held in conjunction with the Indianapolis Monumental Mile.  The event took place on Wednesday evening  (1 Jun) on a new (record eligible) course that finished beneath the picturesque backdrop of the Indiana State Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

The evening started off warm and humid but following a storm front that moved through the downtown area just after the youth races the temperatures cooled and were ideal for racing.  
 
Ten separate races were conducted as part of the overall event.  Athletes competing in the USATF Indiana Championships competed in the elite, open, masters, and youth races.  
 
Ben Nagel and Hannah Bast won the open men's and women's association titles as they competed in the elite divisions against athletes from around the region.  
 
Nagel, 22, of Indianapolis and a recent University of Indianapolis graduate, broke the tape running 4:10.  His time missed the championship record, held by Cole Hocker, by two seconds.  One week earlier Nagel had finished third in the 800m at the NCAA Division 2 championships.  Finishing second running 4:22 was 2021 USATF Indiana Athlete of the Year Caleb Kerr of Zionsville.   Third place was captured by 47-year old masters sensation Mike Jackson of Bloomington in 4:30.
 
Bast, 29, won the women's Indiana title as she crossed the line in 5:02.  A 2015 graduate of the University of Indianapolis, Bast has set career bests over the past eight months at distances ranging from 1 mile to the marathon. Her time here was a career best by 30 seconds for the 1 mile distance.  Last year's winner, Lucy Hilarides, 25, of Indianapolis finished second in 5:13 and Erica Szczechowski, 23, finished third in 5:21.

In the masters men's championship race Jesse Davis, 40, ran 4:34 to establish a new championship 40-44 division record.  The previous record of 4:47 set in 2019 by Mike Cole. Just 30 minutes later Davis returned to the starting line as he finished fourth in the open championships running 4:39. Joel Kary, 46, of Indianapolis  won the 45-49 division stopping the clock at 6:50.  James Harris, 58, captured the 55-59 division in 6:12. Stephen Bartlett, 68 won the 60-64 division in 7:50.  Steve Fisher, 68, ran 7:08 to win the 65-69 division and set a new championship record.  Wayne Betz, 71, of Valparaiso captured the 70-74 division running 6:50 for a championship record.  On the masters age-grading scoring tables Davis scored 87.19% (the best of all masters competitors on the day) and earned $100. Betz's performances (75.68%) was the second best in the men's division.  Age-Grade scoring is the best way to compare performances across all Masters competitors.

In the masters women's championship Kim Novick, 41, of Bloomington crossed the line first as she won the 40-44 division in a championship record time of 5:31.  Lucie Sulewski, 51, of Westfield was the next to cross the line as she ran 5:50 to win the 50-54 division.  This was Sulewski's fourth straight title at these championships. On the masters age-grading scoring tables, Sulewski scored 81.77% and Novick scored 78.97%. Char Cooper, 71, of Noblesville won the 70-74 division stopping the clock at 8:05 (championship record).  Her age-graded score was 75.63%; the third best women's score. Winning the 45-49 division was Trena Roudebush, 46, of Indianapolis in 7:26.


In the youth championships, the storyline of the day were the championship records set by Taylor Tragesser and Galvin Hunt. Tragesser, 12, of Morristwon ran 5:31 to break the 13-14 girls record by 12 seconds.   Her time also established an overall Monumental Mile youth division record.  Hunt, 9, of Fishers ran 6:13 to win the 9-10 boys title.  His time broke the old championship record by five seconds.  



  Tragesser's younger sisters Presley Tragesser (8U; 7:46) and Chloe Tragesser (11-12; 5:45) each won division titles while her brother Landon Tragesser finished second in the boys 9-10 division.

Colten Smith, 14, of Moorsville ran 5:08 to win the 13-14 division and Quavion Hooks, 16, of Carmel won the 17-18 division running 4:51.  This was Hooks' third 1 mile Indiana title since 2018.

The next USATF Indiana road championships will be held July 16 as part of the Joseph Maley 5 km in downtown Indianapolis.
 

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