Sam Prakel finishes 3rd in 5000m at USATF champs; O'Sullivan sets MR at Irish nationals...
NEW YORK--On the final day of the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, Seattle resident Sam Prakel (Paul Merca file photo) got a little bit of redemption after not qualifying for the finals in the men's 1500 on Thursday.
Prakel, an alum of the University of Oregon who continues to train under his UO coach Andy Powell, the current men's head coach at the University of Washington, finished third in the men's 5000 meters to close out the four-day national championship meet in the Big Apple.
As expected in a national championship meet, the pace was slow with no one wanting to commit to making the race honest.
The field went through the first three kilometers in 2:45, 5:44, and 8:41, before the pace picked up.
Prakel was positioned anywhere from fifth to eleventh over the first 3000m before he started to edge his way towards the front.
The real running began with about 5 laps to go as the pace jumped down from 66 seconds to 63 seconds, after Oklahoma State's Ryan Schoppe, one of the few collegians in the field, boldly went to the front.
Prakel was in a group of four behind Schoppe with Cooper Teare, Thomas Ratcliffe, and Anthony Camerieri with two laps to go, with Vincent Ciattei, the runner-up in Saturday's 1500 to UW alum Nathan Green, lurking.
The pack of four jumped Schoppe just before the bell, but could not overcome the late charge of Ciattei, who won with a last 400 of 54.36 to take the title in 13:46.75.
Cooper Teare was second at 13:46.88, while Prakel was third at 13:46.93.
Washington alum Acer Iverson, who finished fifth in the 10000 on Thursday, was eighth in 13:53.26.
Courtesy of NBC Sports, here's video of the race (may be geoblocked in certain countries):
Washington State alum CJ Allen put himself in contention in the men's 400 hurdles before fading to fifth over the last three hurdles, finishing in 49.00. Christopher Robinson won the national title in a time of 47.61.
Juliette Whittaker of the Seattle based Brooks Beasts finished sixth in the finals of the women's 800, running 2:00.48, as Paris Olympian and former Brooks Beast Nia Akins won her third national title in a season best 1:59.25.
Washington senior Jimmy Rhoads finished seventh in the men's pole vault with a best of 18-5.25 (5.62m). Two time US Olympian Chris Nilsen won the event with a best of 19-1 (5.82m).
In the women's 5000, Washington alum Kayley DeLay of the Brooks Beasts was in a group of six through most of the race, before fading to eighth, running a season best 15:15.75.
Emily Mackay, who was third in Saturday's 1500 meter race in a tight finish, won the national title in the 5000, running 14:55.82.
DeLay's Brooks Beast teammate Allie Buchalski, was a late scratch and did not start after running the 10000 on Thursday.
Former WSU Cougar Parker Duskin was sixth in the first round of the men's 110 hurdles, running 14.08, and did not make the finals.
O'SULLIVAN WINS SECOND IRISH 1500M TITLE...
In Dublin, Ireland, Washington grad Sophie O'Sullivan (photo courtesy Athletics Ireland) won her second national title over 1500 meters to highlight action at the Irish national championships Sunday.
O'Sullivan took the national title in a championship meet record 4:05.62, breaking the old meet record set in 1995 by mother Sonia O'Sullivan.
In other action at the Irish national championships, Washington alum Brian Fay was third in the men's 5000m in 13:45.29.
Incoming Washington freshman Saoirse Fitzgerald, who is tuning up for the World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Eugene that begins on August 5th, finished fourth in the women's 800 in 2:05.75, competing against senior-level athletes.
In Hengelo, Washington alum Amina Maatoug was fourth in the women's 1500 at the Dutch national championships that concluded Sunday.
Maatoug, a 2025 UW grad, finished with a time of 4:34.07.
NOTE: USA Track & Field, Athletics Ireland, and World Athletics contributed to this report.
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