Simbassa, Rojas to Defend Titles Sunday at the USATF 10 Mile Road Championships

USATF Release

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Two weeks after Abbabiya Simbassa placed first and Nell Rojas placed second at the USATF 10 km Road Championships, the duo is back in action Sunday at the USATF 10 Mile Road Championships presented by Toyota, hosted by the Medtronic TC 10 Mile in downtown Minneapolis, both seeking to defend their titles from 2021.

The USATF 10 Mile Road Championships are the tenth stop on the 2022 USATF Running Circuit presented by Toyota. 

At least year’s USATF 10 Mile Road Championships, Simbassa won by five seconds over runner-up Augustus Maiyo, pulling away to victory in the final mile of the race. This time around, while Maiyo is not entered this year, Simbassa will enter as the favorite, but will find himself with plenty of competition throughout the race. 

Simbassa won the USATF 10 km Road Championships two weeks ago, besting the field by an impressive 22 seconds. Simbassa seeks to build off that momentum this weekend in Minneapolis, along with adding another top finish to his growing total of top five finishes at USATF Running Circuit events, which stands at three at the moment.

Shadrack Kipchirchir and Sam Chelanga are both two-time USATF 10 Mile Road Champions. Kipchirchir won in 2019 and 2018, while Chelanga won in 2016 and 2015. Both are having successful 2022 campaigns, with Kipchirchir having won the USATF Cross Country and USATF 8 km Road Championships. Chelanga has earned third place finishes three times this season, with those performances coming at the USATF Cross Country, USATF 20 km Road, and USATF 10 km Road Championships.

Futsum Zienasellassie is another USATF Running Circuit standout in contention for the win Sunday. Zienasellassie won the USATF 10 Mile Road Championships title in 2019 and has two runner-up finishes this season on the USATF Running Circuit, at the USATF Half Marathon and USATF 25 km Road Championships. 

In addition, Zienasellassie is looking to add to his USATF Running Circuit point total. Leonard Korir currently sits far atop of the standings with 104 points, with Zienasellassie in second with 56.5 points. A win on Sunday would go a long way to try and catch Korir. Chelanga, Kipchirchir, and Simbassa all sit in the top six of the standings as well, with Chelanga in third with 42 points, Kipchirchir fourth with 40.5 points, and Simbassa sixth with 31 points.

Reed Fischer, Geoffrey Kipchumba, Hillary Bor, and Kiya Dandena are four veteran road athletes to keep an eye on. Fischer claimed third place Simbassa and Maiyo at the 2021 USATF 10 Mile Road Championships and he’s already placed fifth at the USATF Half Marathon Championships this season. 

Kipchumba placed seventh at the recent USATF 10 km Road Championships and is showing strong form, while Bor took home third at the USATF 15 km Road Championships and Dandena claimed third at the USATF 25 km Road Championships.

Rounding out the top list of competitors are Reid Buchanan, Colin Bennie, Joel Reichow, and Noah Droddy. Buchanan placed fourth at the USATF Half Marathon Championships earlier this season, while Bennie placed fifth at the USATF 15 km Road Championships. 

Reichow took home sixth at the 2021 USATF 10 Mile Road Championships, while Droddy claimed tenth and has a runner-up finish to his name at the 2016 USATF 10 Mile Road Championships, so both runners will look to draw on that experience to challenge for a top finish in Minneapolis.

On the women’s side, Rojas returns after finishing four seconds back from Stephanie Bruce to claim second at the USATF 10 km Road Championships only two weeks ago. Rojas pulled off an incredible victory at the USATF 10 Mile Road Championships in 2021, winning by three seconds over Olympian Jenny Simpson.

Rojas enters Sunday’s contest not only with the recent USATF 10 km Road Championships runner-up finish, but placed third at the USATF 20 km Road Championships and fifth at the USATF 15 km Road Championships, which currently puts her third in the USATF Running Circuit standings with 33 points, sitting only behind Emily Sisson and Keira D’Amato, who are tied atop of the leaderboard with 55.5 points.

Rojas will find competition from Annie Frisbie, who placed third at the 2021 USATF 10 Mile Road Championships and finished one spot behind Rojas not only at the USATF 10 km Road Championships earlier this month, but at the USATF 20 km Road Championships and USATF 15 km Road Championships. Frisbie currently ranks seventh in the USATF Running Circuit standings with 25 points.

One spot ahead of Frisbie in the USATF Running Circuit standings is Sarah Pagano with 30 points. Pagano is having a strong 2022 campaign, finishing just ahead of Rojas and Frisbie in fourth at the USATF 15 km Road Championships, while also earning sixth at the USATF 20 km Road Championships. Pagano also placed fourth at the USATF 25 km Road Championships earlier this season.

Emily Durgin is another runner fully capable of taking the win on Sunday. Durgin placed fourth at the beginning of the 2022 season at the USATF Cross Country Championships, following that performance up with a runner-up effort at the USATF 15 km Road Championships. She placed 11th at the USATF 10,000m Championships this summer and most recently took home second at the historic TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race, where she beat a number of competitors who are competing in Minneapolis on Sunday, including Rojas.

Another runner to watch is Ednah Kurgat. Kurgat, who has competed in numerous championship races this season, recently placed fourth at the USATF 10 km Road Championships, finishing only seven seconds behind Rojas and five seconds behind Frisbie. Kurgat is joined by Emma Hurley, who placed fifth at the USATF 10 km Road Championships.

Other top entries include Amy Davis, who placed seventh at the 2021 USATF 10 Mile Road Championships, Dakotah Lindwurm, who placed third earlier this season at the USATF 25 km Road Championships, Tristin Van Ord, who took home eighth place at the USATF 20 km Road Championships, Elaina Tabb, who placed seventh at the USATF 20 km Road Championships, Bria Wetsch, who has two top ten performances to her name at the USATF 10 Mile Road Championships, having claimed tenth in 2021 and sixth in 2019, and Molly Grabill, who placed tenth earlier this season at the USATF 10,000m Championships.

On demand race videos, results, and post-race interviews will be available shortly after the race in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com. Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #USARC.

About the USATF Running Circuit

The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $81,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 10 Mile Championships.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 10 Mile Championships, scoring is set as 22.5 for first, 18 for second, 15 for third, 10.5 , 9, 7.5, 6, 4.5, 3 and 1.5, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.

The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.

Contributed by Scott Bush