Two tight finishes in the elite races and a handful of course records highlighted the 17th Annual Hoka One One State Street Mile on Sunday morning.
Alycia Cridebring and Thomas Poston sprinted into the lead during the final seconds of their respective Elite Division races to capture titles on the downhill street course through downtown Santa Barbara.
“People had a great time coming out with their entire families,” said race director Megan Rheinschild. “We cover a lot in the sense that they can have a good time while giving back to the community.”
During the deepest women’s elite field in race history, four competitors finished well under the previous course record of 4:33. This group included Cridebring, UC-Santa Barbara’s 1500 meter record holder Victoria Tsolis, Kristen Findley and defending champion Tracee Van Der Wyk.
“I knew the field was good and we pushed each other all the way to the finish,” noted Cridebring.
With 400 meters remaining, the 23 year-old UC-Davis grad (4:23) produced the best finishing kick to edge past Tsolis (4:24). Findley finished third (4:29) while Van Der Wyk claimed fourth place (4:29).
“It was a great day to race in Santa Barbara and I got the victory, so I’m pretty happy,” commented Cridebring, who is seeking to qualify in the 5000 meters for the upcoming U.S. Olympic Track Trials.
In the men’s elite division race, a record-tying six competitors finished with times under four minutes.
Poston’s winning time was 3 minutes and 53 seconds as he finished a fraction of a second ahead of Scott Bauhs (3:53). His former assistant coach Darius Terry was third (3:54) and Aric Champagne finished fourth (3:55).
“With about two-hundred meters left, I was still feeling pretty good and decided to go for it,” Poston said.
Bauhs had led much of the race until the former Gaucho caught him with only a few feet remaining. With a ferocious scream, Poston edged out the San Luis Obispo native at the finish line.
“I honestly didn’t think that I was going to win but seeing all those people cheering was magical and really lifted me during that final stretch,” Poston added.
With their victories, both State Street Mile champions were awarded $1,000 respectively. However, Cridebring pocketed an additional $1000 for breaking the female course record.
During the inaugural Nobbe Amputee Mile, former Paralympics silver medalist Gilberto Alavez, 56, claimed first place with a time of 5:42. Despite losing his left leg in a terrible car accident, the native of Mexico has not let this predicament get in the way of his passion for running.
“I just followed my soul and didn’t come here to win but raced to have fun,” commented Alavez. “All of us are out here to show that if you believe in something and never give up, then your dreams can be accomplished.”
In the always entertaining Platinum Performance Dog Mile, Brian Duff & Kaydom (a Weimaraner) clocked a record-breaking time of 4 minutes and 13 seconds.
The new age-group records were set by Aidan Scott, 10, at 5:24, and Amanda Gable, 10, at 6:30. In the 30-39 group, Cory Smith, 37, recorded a time of 4:16.
Jerome Vermeulen, 49, won the age-graded Masters Elite title with a time of 4:18. Nancy Thomas, 46 took first in the age-graded Masters Elite women in 5:01.
Overall, nearly 1,200 participants completed the one-mile course through the downtown area. All event proceeds went directly to the District Attorney’s Victim-Witness Assistance Program’s Crime Victim Emergency Fund.
— Noozhawk sports reporter Blake DeVine can be reached at bdevine@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
