NEW YORK —— Alicia Monson put on a dominant display to take first place in the Women’s 1 Mile Run Invitational at the 2023 Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge on Saturday, Jan 28, 2023. The Nike Track & Field Center at The Armory, played host to the event, and the race was quite exciting.
Monson came away with the victory with a time of 4:23.55 to improve the meeting record and was followed home by Whittni Morgan, who clocked 4:23.97, and Katelyn Tuohy of NC State who recorded a personal best of 4:24.26 for third place. Read more: How to watch the 2023 Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge?
Monson Cruised Behind Pacer
The race began with Kali Long, the pacemaker, making an aggressive start of leading the pack through the opening two laps. Monson and the rest of the pack didn’t start as fast, which resulted in an early gap being formed between Long and the rest of the runners, but they eventually go back to the leader.
After sitting behind the pacer, Monson took over when Long stepped off the track and as the race progressed, the American maintained a steady and controlled pace for the remaining five laps.
Whittni Morgan and Katelyn Tuohy ran hot on the heels of Monson throughout the race, with all three runners maintaining a well-balanced 33.00 seconds 200m pace.
However, as the final three laps approached, the pace picked up to under 33 seconds, and it was then that the real battle for the top spots began. Tuohy slipped past Morgan and into second place with three laps to go, but wasn’t able to preserve the pace and pushed back into third as Morgan charged down the final straight to take second place.
Once she had taken over the lead, Monson, the 2019 NCAA Indoor 5000m Champion, never looked back. She was making her season opener, and it was clear that she was in top form.
Tuohy, the NCAA cross country champion from last November and the 2022 NCAA 5000m champion, put in a strong performance, but ultimately had to settle for third place with Sinta Vissa taking fourth place with a time of 4:28.71.
It’s worth noting that the top four finishers – Monson, Morgan, Tuohy, and Vissa – went faster than the previous meeting record of 4:29.39, set on January 25, 2020, by USA’s Nikki Hiltz.
Women’s 1 Mile Run Invitational – 2023 Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge
Results
- Alicia Monson (OAC) – 4:23.55
- Whittni Morgan (adidas) – 4:23.97
- Katelyn Tuohy (NC State) – 4:24.26 PR
- Sinta Vissa (OAC) – 4:28.71
- Erin Teschuk (New Balance) – 4:31.21
- Susan Ejore (Under Armour Baltimore) – 4:31.54
- Ceili McCabe (West Virginia University) – 4:31.57 PR
- Courtney Wayment (On) – 4:33.42
- Lauren Berman (Tracksmith) – 4:33.93
- Claudia Saunders (Under Armour Baltimore) – 4:33.98
- Abby Kohut-Jackson (Tracksmith) – 4:34.31
— Helen Schlactenhaufen (Nike) DNF
— Kali Long (Unattached) DNF
