Stockade-athon: Mebrahtu's next goal is citizenship
By Mike MacAdam November 9, 2015
PHOTOGRAPHER: ERICA MILLER
Yonas Mebrahtu of Flagstaff, Ariz., was the overall winner at the 40th
annual Stockade-athon Sunday in Schenectady
Yonas Mebrahtu couldn’t precisely explain the lineage, other than to
say that he’s not a first cousin to Eritrean countryman Meb
Keflezighi. Mebrahtu calls Keflezighi a cousin, but no matter how
closely they’re related by blood, the winner of Sunday’s MVP Health
Care Stockade-athon is trying to follow in the footsteps of the
international marathon star, who ran a 2:13:32 at the New York City
Marathon last Sunday to break the U.S. masters record. And ...
http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2015/nov/09/1109_stockadesidebar/
http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2015/nov/08/davidson-mebrahtu-win-stockade-athon/
UPDATED (with results link): Davidson, Mebrahtu win Stockade-athon
By Mike MacAdam November 8, 2015 | Updated 9:52 a.m.
Runners at the start of the 40th Stockade-athon Sunday morning on
State Street in Schenectady.
SCHENECTADY — Former Saratoga Springs High star Hannah Davidson won
her second Stockade-athon 15k in three years this morning, posting a
sharp 51:19 to beat women's runner-up Salome Kosgei by 58 seconds.
Davidson finished 15th overall behind men's winner Yonas Mebrahtu of
Flagstaff, Ariz., who broke away from the lead pack at 5k and covered
the 9.3-mile course in 46:10 on a bright but windy day for the 40th
anniversary of the race.
A 2007 cross country state champion for Saratoga, Davidson said the
Stockade-athon should be a good steppingstone to the Philadelphia Half
Marathon in two weeks. She won the Stockade-athon in 2013 with a time
of 54:12 before finishing second to Megan Hogan on the faster, newly
configured course last year.
"It’s awesome. I love coming back," Davidson said. "It’s a perfect
set-up for Philly. This got me excited for the half."
The 27-year-old Mebrahtu is a native of Eritrea, a small country in
the Horn of Africa, and ran for Iowa State University until he
graduated two years ago. He expects to gain U.S. citizenship by the
end of the month and wants to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon
Trials next February.
By the four-mile mark of the Stockade-athon, he had a 17-second lead
over Sam Morse and Thomas Young, with Eric Macknight not far behind
them.
Macknight was able to pass Morse and Young to finish second 31 seconds
behind Mebrahtu in 46:41, and Morse (46:45) and Young (46:49) sprinted
through the finish line not far behind.
"At the beginning it was very slow, and the wind was very challenging
and the course is hilly, so when I could see I wasn’t going to break
the course record, I just tried to win," Mebrahtu said.
>From humble origins,the Schenectady race has grown to over 1,600
finishers the last four years and is considered one of the best 15k
road races in the country. A total of 1,568 runners finished the race
today. Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic gold medalist in the marathon,
served as official starter to help commemorate the anniversary.
Below are the top 10 men and women and a link to the complete overall results:
MEN
1. Yonas Mebrahtu (27, Flagstaff, Ariz.), 46:10
2. Eric Macknight (26, Ballston Lake), 46:41
3. Sam Morse (32, Camden), 46:45
4. Thomas Young (35, Fort Lee, N.J.), 46:49
5. John Busque (23, Manchester, Conn.), 47:34
6. Conor Cashin (23, Albany), 47:43
7. Jaime Julia (31, Albany), 48:25
8. Kiplangat Tisia (26, Rochester), 48:42
9. Ryan Millar (24, Clinton), 48:44
10. Scott Mindel (29, Ballston Lake), 49:21
WOMEN
1. Hannah Davidson (25, Saratoga Springs), 51:19
2. Salome Kosgei (35, Highfalls), 52:17
3. Jodie Robertson (31, Melville), 53:59
4. Karen Bertasso (31 Albany), 56:10
5. Katie O’Regan (30, Lititz, Pa.), 56:29
6. Renee Tolan (41, Clifton Park), 57:12
7. Sara Dunham (39, Plattsburgh), 57:56
8. Brittany Burns (27, Watertown), 57:58
9. Diane Ryan (33, Malta), 58:58
10. Kimberly Milton (33, Clifton Park), 59:09
www.albanyrunningexchange.org/results/resultsView.php?ID=5426
Received on Tue Nov 10 2015 - 07:33:14 EST