Final Rosters Set for Fourth Annual Camel City Elite

Fields include World/Olympic Champs, World Record Holders and HSers

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – January 28, 2016 – JDL Fast Track has finalized all of their fields for the fourth annual Camel City Elite, to be held in Winston-Salem, NC, on Saturday, January 30, 2016.  The Camel City Elite races are the final events as part of the two-day Camel City Invitational.  The first event, the women’s 3000m, will start at 2:15 pm.  Spectator admission on Saturday is $10 for adults, $8 for students and kids 12 and under are free.

Facility director and elite athlete coordinator Craig Longhurst said that this is the best field that has been assembled at Camel City Elite.  “We have really outdone ourselves this year.  With the addition of more prize money and a growing reputation among the elite athletes, we really tried to turn it up a notch or two with our recruiting efforts this year.  We hope that this will be enough to attract a title sponsor for next year’s event so we can continue on that trajectory.”

The fields for the eight races is a “who’s who” of American track and field, with names like Centrowitz, Eaton, Gallagher, Garcia, Heath, Leslie, Lolo, Loxsom, Mackey, Oliver, Richardson, Rollins and Rowbury.  The field also has an international flavor with Canadians Fiona Benson, Melissa Bishop, Brianne Theisen-Eaton, as well as Kenyan Lawi Lalang, Mexican Pablo Solares and Australian Heidi See.

In addition to the professional athletes, the fields assembled include NCAA All-Americans, including Thomas Curtin (Virginia Tech), Hanna Green (Virginia Tech), Eliud Rutto (Middle Tennessee State) and Allie Buchalski (Furman).  There are also four elite high school athletes in the fields.  The 2015 Foot Locker national champions Drew Hunter and Weini Kelati are each competing in their respective 3000m races.  Kate Murphy, the 2015 USATF Jr. champion at 1500m, will be competing in the Mellow Mile presented by Mellow Mushroom.  Finally, Charlotte native Anna Cockrell will test her mettle against the collegians and pros in the 60m Hurdles presented by Champion.  Cockrell made the finals last year as a high school junior.

The races contested will include the men’s and women’s 60m Hurdles, 800m, mile and 3000m races.  Prize money for each of the Elite races is $4000 to the winner, $2000 to second place, $1000 for third and $500 for fourth.  There is also a $1000 bonus for the winner if they break the facility record in each of the races.

Prior to the events, a group of athletes will be participating in a community outreach program at Brunson Elementary on Thursday morning.  There will also be an autograph session at JDL Fast Track during the first day of events on Friday, January 29, from 4:30 pm to 6 pm.  Admission to Friday’s events is $6 for adults, $4 for students and kids 12 and under are free.

The schedule of events for Saturday’s elite races includes:

2:15 pm – Women’s 3000m

2:35 pm – Men’s 3000m presented by Salem Sports

2:50 pm – 60m Dash Finals

3:00 pm – Women’s 800m

3:10 pm – Men’s 800m presented by Total Sports US

3:20 pm – Women’s 60m Hurdles presented by Champion

3:30 pm – Men’s 60m Hurdles presented by Visit Winston-Salem

3:40 pm – Women’s Mellow Mile presented by Mellow Mushroom

3:50 pm – Men’s Camel City Mile presented by Champion

Below are the full rosters of invited athletes for each of the events.

Camel City Elite will also 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 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 three national championships:  2014 NCAA Division II, 2015 NCAA Division III and 2015 USATF Masters Indoor.  In March, JDL Fast Track will serve as the host for the NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.