Sisson Dominates in USATF Women’s 10 km Championship Victory

10/10/2016

 

BOSTON -- Despite cool and blustery conditions, Emily Sisson put on a show, dominating her competition on her way to victory at Monday’s USATF Women’s 10 km Championships, hosted by the Tufts Health Plan 10K in Boston.

 

The USATF Women’s 10 km Championships are the tenth and final stop on the 2016 USATF Running Circuit and with her winning performance, Sisson moved up to third overall in the USATF Running Circuit standings with 46.5 points, only trailing overall champion Aliphine Tuliamuk-Bolton with 63 points and Lindsey Scherf with 50.5 points.

 

From the start, Sisson and Boston-based runner Sarah Pagano put themselves at the front of the pack. Pushing the early pace, the two ran through the first mile mark in 5:02, ten meters up on the rest of the field.

 

Through two miles the duo remained close, as Sisson ran a 10:11 split, with Pagano only three seconds back. Their front-running tactics clearly working, third place Lauren Paquette and fourth place Becky Wade were nearly 100 meters back leading the chase pack.

 

It was just past the two-mile mark where Sisson started to make her move. Over the course of the next mile, Sisson would put almost 100 meters on Pagano, then coming through the halfway point in 15:49.

 

From there on out, it seemed only a matter of time before Sisson would raise her arms in victory, and that she did, as she cruised the final half of the race, building her lead and ultimately winning her first national title in 31:47.

 

While Sisson seemed to coast the last few miles on her way to her first national title, Pagano hung tough to hold off Paquette, crossing the finish in 32:31. Paquette finished a strong third in 32:53, giving her a nice finish to the USATF Running Circuit season.

 

Wade, who tried early on to push the pace and best Paquette, finished fourth overall in 33:03, while Scherf doubled back from her top ten finish at Sunday’s USATF 10 Mile Championships to earn a big nine points in the USATF Running Circuit standings with a fifth place finish of 33:04. Scherf was able to hold off Sisson in the standings, finishing the season second overall.

 

Olympian Jen Rhines continues to run well on the roads, picking up a sixth place finish Monday in Boston with a time of 33:31. She finished just ahead of seventh place Hannah Davidson, who earned another top ten finish at the USATF Women’s 10 km Championship, this time running 33:36. HOKA ONE ONE Norther Arizona Elite athlete Rochelle Kanuho placed eighth overall in 33:59, while Kinsey Gomez and Kaitlin (Gregg) Goodman (Davis HS; UC Davis) finished ninth and tenth respectively in 34:03 and 34:07.

 

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 $31,450 in prize money was awarded at the USATF Women’s 10 km Championship.

 

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF Women’s 10 km Championship, 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