O’Hare Repeats, Osika Victorious at HOKA ONE ONE Long Island Mile

LONG ISLAND, N.Y. – On a warm and humid night in Long Island, N.Y., a lively crowd gathered on the track to witness one of the final track events of the season, as the HOKA ONE ONE Long Island Mile assembled experienced men's and women's fields.

Watch both races on-demand on RunnerSpace: Men's Race | Women's Race

The men stepped on the track first and it was clear from the gun that the meet record would not be falling. A modest opening lap of 59-60 seconds, followed by another 60-second lap, left the leaders passing through half way right around two-minutes.

Eric Avila, defending champion Chris O'Hare and Charles Philibert-Thiboutot led the field through the first two laps, at which point, Philibert-Thiboutot and O'Hare took over and stretched the race out. Despite rolling off another 60-second lap, the two had separated themselves from the rest of the field as the bell sounded. 

With 275 meters to go, O'Hare surged past Philibert-Thiboutot, leaving many to wonder if he had gone too early. With 150 meters to go, it seemed as though Philibert-Thiboutot was closing the gap, but O'Hare had one more gear. Rounding into the homestretch, O'Hare switched gears, driving to the finish. With a fist pump, O'Hare crossed the line victoriously in 3:55.53.

Philibert-Thiboutot maintained form in the final straight, taking home an impressive runner-up finish in 3:56.62. He held off a late charge from Neil Gourley and Ben Blankenship, who finished third and fourth in 3:57.20 and 3:57.29, while Rob Napolitano rounded out the top five in 3:57.65.

NCAA 10,000m champion Ben Flanagan set a big personal best in the mile with his sixth-place finish of 3:57.75, leading four other men under the four-minute barrier, giving the Long Island Mile a total of 10 men racing sub-4.

Once the men cleared the track, it was the women's turn to race. Similar in strategy, the lead pack let the rabbit go early on, setting a much more conservative pace than had originally been planned. 

Helen Schlachtenhaufen jumped to the lead, while 800m standout Ce'Aira Brown followed two steps behind. Schlachtenhaufen led the field through the first lap in 66 seconds, a long single-file line of competitors following behind. 

Not much changed as the field covered the next lap, this one in 71 seconds, passing half-way in 2:17. Schlachtenhaufen still led, but the pack started to bunch up, as Shannon Osika move up to Schlachtenhaufen's shoulder. 

Heading across the line as the bell sounded, Osika took over, the lead pack again running a 70-second split. The modest pace meant a furious finish lie ahead.

Osika charged to the front, with Rachel Schneider and Olympian Emma Coburn following closely behind. With 200 meters to go, Coburn made a bid to move up, but simply couldn't catch Osika. 

Into the final homestretch, it seemed Schneider might have enough left to catch Osika, but with the crowd cheering her on a lane over, Osika put in one final move to claim the win, arms raised in 4:29.91. 

Schneider was a half-step behind in second in 4:30.18, while Coburn broke her outdoor mile best by two seconds, finishing third in 4:31.08.

2017 champion Emily Lipari crossed the finish in fourth place in 4:31.26, while Schlachtenhaufen held on to grab fifth place in 4:31.80.

Results

Men 1 Mile Run
========================================================================
    Comp#  Name                Year Team                Seed     Finals
========================================================================
Finals                                                                  
  1 #501 O'Hare, Chris           Adidas                          3:55.53
  2 #502 Philibert-Thiboutot     Asics                           3:56.62
  3 #506 Gourley, Neil           Scotland                        3:57.20
  4 #505 Blankenship, Ben        Nike                            3:57.29
  5 #510 Napolitano, Rob         Hoka Njny                       3:57.65
  6 #500 Flanagan, Ben           Reebok Boston TC                3:57.75
  7 #511 Herrera, Daniel         Mexico – Hpw                    3:58.47
  8 #509 Grice, Charlie          Nike                            3:58.61
  9 #508 McEntee, Sam            Australia                       3:59.25
 10 #504 Parsons, Sam            Adidas                          3:59.70
 11 #507 Avila, Eric             Adidas                          4:01.03
 12 #513 Soratos, Cristian       Adidas                          4:04.19
 -- #503 Crawford, Graham        Hoka Njny                           DNF
 -- #514 Palmer, Ford            Hoka Njny                           DNF
 -- #520 Alexander, Colby        Hoka Njny                           DNF

Women 1 Mile Run
========================================================================
    Comp#  Name                Year Team                Seed     Finals
========================================================================
Finals                                                                  
  1 #526 Osika, Shannon          Nike                            4:29.91
  2 #529 Schneider, Rachel       Under Armour                    4:30.18
  3 #524 Coburn, Emma            New Balance                     4:31.08
  4 #522 Lipari, Emily           Adidas                          4:31.26
  5 #519 Schlachtenhaufen, H     Saucony Freedom                 4:31.80
  6 #527 Van-Buskirk, Kate       Nike                            4:32.09
  7 #521 Brown, Ce'Aira          Hoka Njny                       4:32.23
  8 #515 McGee, Cory             New Balance                     4:32.74
  9 #525 Aragon, Danielle        Hoka Njny                       4:33.90
 10 #516 Sutherland, Sara        Saucony                         4:35.22
 11 #528 Eccleston, Amanda       Brooks                          4:36.27
 12 #518 Hiltz, Nikki            Adidas                          4:39.23
 13 #517 Coogan, Katrina         New Balance                     4:40.50
 14 #523 Schappert, Stephani     Hoka Njny                       4:42.07
 -- #512 Iyevbele*, Kenyetta     Hoka Njny                           DNF