2019 Camel City Elite Women’s Fields Announced

American Record Holders Ajee’ Wilson and Charlene Lipsey Headline the 2019 Event

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – December 18, 2018 – JDL Fast Track has begun finalizing the fields for the Seventh Annual Camel City Elite, to be held at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, NC, on Saturday, February 2, 2019.  Elite races begin at 2 pm.

According to facility director and elite athlete coordinator, Craig Longhurst, this year has been a challenge to recruit athletes for an event in February.  “With the IAAF World Championships being pushed all the way back to October because of their location in Doha, a lot of athletes really seem to be struggling with how they are going to set up their training schedule for this unique calendar.  With that in mind, many athletes were unwilling to commit to an indoor meet and some even appear to be skipping the indoor season altogether.”

“Other athletes, though, see the opportunity we present with the fabulous prize money we are offering, as a way to stay sharp and keep focused on the meets at the end of the calendar.”

Ajee’ Wilson will be headlining the women’s 800 meters, while Charlene Lipsey will be headlining the women’s mile.  Each is an American record holder, with Ajee’ holding the record outdoors and Charlene holding the indoor record.  Other notable athletes set to compete include Melissa Bishop, Abbey (D’Agostino) Cooper and Georganne Moline.

Athletes will be competing for prize money of $6000 for first place, $4000 for second place, $2000 for third place and $1000 for fourth place. Additional prize money is available through 8^th place.  There are also individual race bonuses of $1000 to the winner if they break a set time: 800m (2:03.00), mile (4:30.00), 3000m (9:00.00).

Below is a list of the professional athletes confirmed in each event:

Women’s 800m Presented by BB&T (www.bbt.com)

·        MELISSA BISHOP | Nike | 2015 World Champs silver medalist and 4th place at 2016 Rio Olympics | Winner of Camel City Elite 800m in 2016 & 2017 | Holds Canadian national record of 1:57.01 | @BishopMelissa

·        HANNA GREEN | Nike Oregon Track Club Elite | Multiple NCAA All-American certificates and ACC Championships while attending Virginia Tech | Defending champ of Camel City Elite 800 | 800m PR of 2:00.09 |@hgreenrun

·        GEORGANNE MOLINE | Xendurance | Pacer | 5th place at 2012 London Olympics at 400m Hurdles | 2013 NCAA runner-up in that event | @Georganne400h

·        RAEVYN ROGERS | Nike | Won 5 NCAA 800m titles while at Oregon (2 indoors, 3 outdoors) | 5th place at 2018 World Indoor Championships | 800m PR of 1:57.69 | @theROYALlife21

·        AJEE' WILSON | adidas | 2016 Olympian at 800m | 2017 World Champs bronze medalist | American record holder at 800m with 1:55.61 PR

Women’s Mile Presented by Champion (www.champion.com)

·        GRACE BARNETT | Mammoth Track Club | 2x NCAA qualifier both indoors (mile) and outdoors (1500m) | Holds college facility record at JDL Fast Track | 4:33.86 mile PR

·        ABBEY COOPER | New Balance | Formerly Abbey D'Agostino, she was a 2016 Olympian at 5000m | While attending Dartmouth, she won a total of 7 NCAA titles during her illustrious career | Mile PR of 4:28.31 | @abbey_dags

·        STEPHANIE GARCIA | New Balance | Member of 2011 and 2015 World Champs teams in 3000m steeplechase | Mile PR of 4:24.68 | @steph_steeples

·        CHARLENE LIPSEY | adidas | Attended LSU and was NCAA runner-up at 800m in 2012 | Indoor American record holder at 800m | Mile PR of 4:27.28 set at Sir Walter Miler | @Charlene800m

·        ANGEL PICCIRILLO | Juventus TC | NCAA indoor runner-up in the mile in 2016 | Mile PR of 4:32.57 | @angelp_1010

·        EMILY RICHARDS | Hoka NJNY Track Club | Pacer | Won multiple NCAA championships while attending D3 Ohio Northern | @e_rich2one

Women’s 3000m Presented by Visit Winston-Salem (www.visitwinstonsalem.com)

·        LINDSEY BUTTERWORTH | Unattached | Pacer | 2015 NCAA D2 champ at 800m | @lindseybutters

·        KATRINA COOGAN | New Balance  | 2016 Big East champ at 1500m and NCAA finalist at 5000m | 3000m PR of 9:01.16 | @katrina_coogan

·        NIKKI HILTZ | adidas | 2-time NCAA runner-up at 1500m while competing for Arkansas | 3000m PR of 9:04.64 | @nikki_hiltz

·        KATHRYN LAZARCHICK | RunCCG | Paced women's Camel City Mile in 2018 and raced it as a college senior in 2017 for Wake Forest | 3000m PR of 9:12.07

·        EMILY LIPARI | adidas | Multiple time Big East champion and NCAA All-American while at Villanova | 3000m PR of 8:51.07 

·        SARA SUTHERLAND | Saucony | 2015 NCAA 3rd place finish at 1500m | Won Camel City Elite 3k in 2017 in a PR of 9:00.35 | @saracsutherland

Admission for the event is $10 for adults, $5 for students and kids 12 and under are FREE.

Camel City Elite will be streamed live online at www.jdlfasttrack.com as part of the RunnerSpace +Plus subscription package which starts at $12 a month.

ABOUT JDL FAST TRACK (www.jdlfasttrack.com)

JDL Fast Track is a privately owned facility that is quickly becoming one of the premier indoor track and field venues in the southeast. Opened in 2012, the facility houses a 200-meter oval track with a Mondotrack FTX surface—the same surface used at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. With a seating capacity of 1,700, ten HD televisions showing real-time field event results, and five high definition projector screens for video playback, JDL Fast Track offers fans a unique track and field experience.

To date, JDL Fast Track has hosted four national championships:  2014 NCAA Division II, 2015 NCAA Division III, 2015 USATF Masters Indoor and 2016 NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.  JDL Fast Track is currently slated to host the 2019 USATF Masters Indoor and 2020 NCAA Division III National Championships.