The women’s Elite Division races down State Street. (Presidio Sports Photos)
Two close finishes in the elite races and a handful of fresh age-group records highlighted the Hoka One One State Street Mile on Sunday in Santa Barbara.
Jorge Jabaz and Tracee van der Wyk broke into the lead in the final seconds of their respective Elite Division races to capture titles on the downhill street course through downtown Santa Barbara. Over a thousand participated overall.
The men’s elite division had four times under four minutes. Jabaz’s winning time was 3 minutes and 54 seconds as he finished a fraction of a second ahead of Daniel Herrera (3:54). Scott Smith was third (3:56) and Scott Bauhs fourth (3:58).
Jabaz, 28, a running coach at Concordia University in Irvine, had run the State Street Mile three times before finishing as high as second.
“The early pace was a bit slower than I expected, but knowing the course helped me gauge my kick,” said Jabaz, 28, who had finished 7th in the 2013 race. “For sure, this is the biggest win of my career; it means a lot to me to win the State Street Mile.”
Daniel Herrera leads Jorge Jabaz, Scott Smith and Scott Bauhs on the downhill course.
Jabaz led much of the way until Herrera pushed ahead 400 yards from the finish. After falling behind a few strides, Jabaz made a successful move on the final stretch. Jabaz said he was encouraged by the hundreds of spectators at the end including some of the athletes that he coaches.
“The fanbase was awesome. People were cheering me on on both sides of the street,” Jabaz said.
The women’s Elite race was equally close. Van der Wyk ran in a tight group with Ann Dunn, former champion Katja Goldring and Valerie Sanchez. Dunn, 29, was out in front before van der Wyk, 23, overtook the pack on the final street block.
“I just felt like I had some left so I just took off and tried to finish. I tried to pass at least one of them but then I ended up getting all them together,” van der Wyk said.
The Pasadena resident said she was racing with tired legs after competing in two events at the Jim Bush Track & Field meet yesterday before driving to Santa Barbara early this morning.
“I was a little shocked (to win),” van der Wyk said.
Van der Wyk tied the course record for women with a time of 4:33. Dunn was second at 4:34.
Jabaz and van der Wyk were each awarded $1,000 for their victories.
The new age-group records were set by Joshua McGregor, 14, at 4:31, and Brianna Valles, 13, at 5:10. In the 50-59 group, Kimberly Hazard, 51, recorded a time of 5:42.
Mark Fennell, 54, won the age-graded Masters Elite title with a time of 4:38. Fran Finney, 60, won the age-graded Masters Elite women in 6:03.
The Family Mile drew hundreds of runners from every generation.
