Mantz Seeks Repeat, Sisson Ready to Race at the USATF 20 km Championships

USATF Release

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut – Conner Mantz eyes a repeat performance of his winning effort in 2022, while Emily Sisson is poised to guide an incredible women’s field along the streets of New Haven, Connecticut on Monday morning at the USATF 20 km Championships.

The USATF 20 km Championships, hosted by Faxon Law New Haven Road Race, are the tenth stop on the 2023 USATF Running Circuit. The race will be shown live on USATF.TV, available with a +PLUS subscription beginning at 8:20am ET.

At the 2022 USATF 20 km Championships, Mantz edged a terrific field, besting runner-up finisher Leonard Korir by five seconds. Mantz built on his effort in New Haven to finish seventh at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2:08:16, the top time run by an American in 2022.

This year, Mantz is having a fantastic racing campaign. At the USATF Outdoor Championships in July, Mantz placed sixth in the 10,000m and tenth in the 5000m. He followed that up with a runner-up performance last month at the TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race. He now seeks a repeat in New Haven in his build up to this year’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Korir, who gave Mantz his strongest challenge for the win in 2022, once again seeks a title at the USATF 20 km Championships. Korir has won three USATF 20 km titles, earning victory in 2019, 2018, and 2016. He’s won the USATF 25 km Championships this USATF Running Circuit season, earned two runner-up finishes at the USATF Half Marathon and USATF 15 km Championships, and most recently placed fourth at the USATF 7 Mile Championships.

Sam Chelanga (3rd), Abbabiya Simbassa (5th), Futsum Zienasellassie (6th), Clayton Young (8th), and Nick Randazzo (9th), are all top ten returnees from the 2022 USATF 20 km Championships, giving the race seven of the top ten finishers returning for a chance to win on Monday.

For Simbassa, Monday’s race offers another chance to finally claim victory in New Haven. While he placed fifth in 2022, Simbassa narrowly lost to Ben True at the 2021 USATF 20 km Championships. He’s showing tremendous fitness heading into Monday’s contest after winning the USATF 7 Mile Championship title just over a month ago, to go along with his runner-up effort at the USATF 10 Mile Championships earlier in the year.

Meanwhile, Zienasellassie continues to build fitness as he prepares to race at the TCS New York City Marathon in early November. Zienasellassie has had a quiet 2023 campaign. He placed third at the USATF Half Marathon Championships early on in the season, while claiming fifth at the USATF 7 Mile Championships in late-July. He ran 2:09:40 in his marathon debut in mid-April at the NN Rotterdam Marathon, making him the second fastest American in 2023 at the moment, sitting only behind Korir’s 2:09:31 effort at the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon

Few athletes are running as well at the moment than Young. At the past two USATF Running Circuit races, Young claimed victory at one and a runner-up finish at another. Young won the USATF 8 km Championship with a thrilling final kick, while narrowly losing the title to Simbassa at the USATF 7 Mile Championships. Young is ready to once again challenge for the title.

Chelanga and Randazzo are each having good seasons in their own right. Chelanga recently placed sixth at the USATF 7 Mile Championships, while Randazzo has earned three top ten USATF Running Circuit finishes this season, including a fourth place finish at the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships.

Emmanuel Bor and Jacob Thomson are two others fully capable of victory on Monday, each having their own major successes on the USATF Running Circuit this season. Bor won the USATF Cross Country Championships to kick off the USATF Running Circuit season, while placing fourth at the USATF 8 km Championships. Thomson is having arguably his best pro season to date, having won the USATF Half Marathon Championships, placed second at the USATF 25 km Championships, and third at the USATF 10 Mile Championships.

The race up front will have a serious impact on the USATF Running Circuit standings, as well. Korir currently leads with 58 points. Thomson sits second with 43 points, while Simbassa currently owns third place with 36 points. Hillary Bor, who is not racing Monday, is fourth with 33 points, while Emmanuel Bor and Young are tied for fifth with 27 points a piece.

Other notable entries are Andrew Colley, who earned a runner-up finish at the USATF 8 km Championship, John Dressel, who’s claimed fifth place finishes at the USATF 10 Mile and 25 km Championships, as well as USATF Running Circuit veterans Aidan Reed, Joel Reichow, and Connor Winter.

For Sisson, Monday’s race offers a chance to move up one spot from the 2022 USATF 20 km Championships, where she narrowly lost by six seconds to road rival Keira D’Amato. Sisson has only raced a handful of times in 2023, setting the American half marathon record in 1:06:52 in January at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, winning the USATF 15 km Championships in March, while earning a pair of fourth place finishes in June at the Mastercard New York Mini 10K and BAA 10K. 

Her effort on Monday will be a big part of her build-up to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, similar to 2022 when she ran an American record of 2:18:29 to finish second at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

While Sisson enters as the pre-race favorite, she’ll have plenty of competition, including from the trio of Kellyn Taylor, fellow Olympian Aliphine Tuliamuk, and Ednah Kurgat.

HOKA Northern Arizona Elite teammates Taylor and Tuliamuk are both coming off dominating performances at the USATF 7 Mile Championships. Taylor won the race by five seconds over her teammate, as both showed strong fitness during their fall marathon build-ups. Taylor is preparing to race the TCS New York City Marathon, while Tuliamuk readies to compete at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Of note, Tuliamuk won the 2016 USATF 20 km Championship title.

Meanwhile, Kurgat is having her strongest season as a professional. Kurgat has won two USATF titles in 2023 thus far, claiming victories at the USATF Cross Country and USATF 6 km Championships. While she finished 18 seconds behind Tuliamuk at the USATF 7 Mile Championships for third, she ran with the lead duo for much of the race.

The quartet of Emma Hurley, Annie Frisbie, Molly Grabill, and Dakota Lindwurm are others fully capable of challenging for top five finishes. Hurley is having the best season of the four on the USATF Running Circuit. She’s earned three top four finishes, having finished runner-up at the USATF 15 km Championships, third at the USATF 10 Mile Championships, and fourth at the USATF 6 km Championship.

Frisbie, who is readying to compete at the BMW Berlin Marathon in three weeks, is coming off a fourth place showing at the USATF 7 Mile Championships. She also placed fourth at the USATF 15 km Championships earlier in the year and brings some good experience to the New Haven course, having placed fourth in 2022 at the USATF 20 km Championships. 

Grabill and Lindwurm have both earned a pair of fourth place finishes in the USATF Running Circuit this season. Grabill placed fourth at the USATF Half Marathon and USATF 10 Mile Championships, while Lindwurm claimed fourth at the USATF 15 km and USATF 25 km Championships. Both are ready to challenge for top five on Monday, while Lindwurm looks to build off her ninth place finish at the 2022 USATF 20 km Championships.

Two-time Olympian Des Linden is another top runner to keep an eye on in New Haven. Linden has raced sparingly this year, claiming fifth at the United Airlines NYC Half in March, only to follow that up with an 18th place finish at the Boston Marathon in April. Monday’s contest will be a great indicator of how her training has been in the lead up to next month’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

In the women’s USATF Running Circuit standings, Kurgat sits in a tie atop of the leaderboard with Nell Rojas, each athlete owning 40 points a piece. Hurley is tied in third with Jessa Hanson, each with 29 points. Tuliamuk rounds out the five at the moment with 27 points to her name. With only three races left on the 2023 USATF Running Circuit calendar, every point matters in the race for the top spot.

A long list of USATF Running Circuit regulars highlights the rest of the top contenders in the women’s race. Tristin Van Ord, who placed eighth at the 2022 USATF 20 km Championships and more recently earned fifth at the USATF 6 km Championship, seeks yet another top performance in New Haven. She’ll be joined by Emily Durgin, who earned a third place finish at the 2021 USATF 20 km Championships and a third place finish at the 2023 USATF Cross Country Championships, as well as Olympian Molly Seidel.

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 $38,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 20 km Championships.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 20 km Championships, scoring is set as 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, 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