Several safety precautions and strict COVID-19 protocol surround showcase involving HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite training group, along with other talented athletes from surrounding states 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

A grassroots idea stemming from a May conversation involving HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite head coach Ben Rosario and Utah State distance coach Artie Gulden will finally come to fruition Saturday in the form of the KT Tape St. George 5000m Showdown.

Watch Live Here on Saturday, July 11

Following meticulous attention to health and safety guidelines, along with outlining a detailed COVID-19 testing protocol for participating athletes as well as attending support personnel, Rosario and Gulden have coordinated men’s and women’s 5,000-meter races featuring elite professionals from several training groups, along with a couple of select Brigham Young athletes and another from Utah State competing unattached at 2,700 feet elevation. 

“It was fun to pack the bag for a racing trip, and that’s something I haven’t done since February, and most of these folks haven’t done in a long time,” said Rosario, whose NAZ Elite group has been stationed in Flagstaff since returning from the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta.

“We’re like any other industry. We’re not trying to take a giant leap forward here, we’re just trying to stay afloat.”

In addition to creating a race opportunity for NAZ Elite athlete and former Aggies’ All-American Dillon Maggard, Gulden also wanted to gain as much information as possible from medical experts at Utah State in regards to hosting an event with so many significant details involved, in an effort to provide an outline for future competitions during the pandemic.

“It’s been a great group effort through all of this, as we’ve tried to put this together and we expect it to go very well,” Gulden said. “We wanted to give them something to look forward to and something to be excited about. And success would be just making sure that it goes off safely, that everyone stays safe and healthy throughout the process, and then to give all these folks a chance to compete again.”

All athletes involved in both races – with the men’s 5,000 scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. MDT and the women’s competition to follow at 8 a.m. MDT – as well as support personnel have been required to take a COVID-19 test within eight days of the event, with a negative result necessary in order to have the opportunity to participate or attend the event.

Another rapid COVID-19 test Friday, which involves a finger prick for a blood sample, will take place Friday, again requiring a negative result in order to compete or be in attendance Saturday. The final hurdle for both athletes and support personnel will consist of temperature checks Saturday at the venue, in addition to all non-athletes wearing masks throughout the event.

“We’re just trying to keep some opportunities going while the experts figure this thing out and get us past this thing,” Rosario said. “Maybe if this event can be a template for events moving forward, then I think that would be another thing I would say that would be a huge success for us if we can lay the groundwork for things to come.”

Some of the participating athletes in each race have recently competed in virtual events or smaller intrasquad meets or time trials.

Scott Fauble is one of seven NAZ Elite competitors entered in the men’s race Saturday, including rising talents Matt Baxter, Nick Hauger and Rory Linkletter, who are trying to establish themselves in the professional ranks following successful collegiate careers at Northern Arizona, Portland and BYU, respectively.

“It’s been a good training atmosphere in Flagstaff since we’ve been able to meet as a group,” Fauble said. “We’ve got some really good younger guys who have lit a little bit of a competitive fire where I don’t feel like I’m 100 percent in control in all of these workouts.”

Reid Buchanan, representing Mammoth Track Club, and adidas athlete Eric Avila are also among the leading contenders in the men’s race, which features another BYU alumni in Clayton Young – an ASICS professional – joining Linkletter, along with the Cougars’ top returnee Conner Mantz, competing unattached, as well as Utah State athlete Luke Beattie.

The women’s field is highlighted by several athletes who are recognized more for their success at distances longer than 5,000, including several participants in the Olympic Marathon Trials. The race will also benefit from the pacing of adidas professional Nikki Hiltz, the reigning Pan American gold medalist in the 1,500 meters.

Dominique Scott Efurd, an adidas professional competing for South Africa, and Laura Thweatt – an American distance standout representing Saucony – are teammates with the Colorado-based Team Boss group, coached by Joe Bosshard.

Both women participated June 27 in the Team Boss Mile at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, with Thweatt pacing her teammates and Scott clocking 4:47.29 at 4,583 feet elevation. Teammate Maddie Alm, competing unattached, ran 4:57.13 and is also entered in Saturday’s race.

“We got to lace up our spikes and put on our uniforms again and it was really fun, but for both Laura and I, it was way shorter than we’re used to racing with it being only a mile. We’re really excited to race a little bit longer distance. I know for me, it’s my event, for Laura, not quite far enough,” Scott Efurd said. “We’ve been training really hard, but not knowing what we’re training for. The past couple of weeks knowing that we had this race on the horizon was really exciting and gave us a little bit of extra motivation going to the track every day.”

Scott and Thweatt boast the top two entry times, but will be challenged by NAZ Elite competitors Lauren Paquette, Stephanie Bruce, Kellyn Taylor and Alice Wright, in addition to adidas professional Sarah Pagano and ASICS athlete Sara Hall.

Courtney Wayment, one of BYU’s top returnees who will be competing for the Cougars as a graduate student-athlete in the upcoming school year, is racing unattached.

“Racing opportunities right now are so uncertain and all of us are in the same boat as far as not really sure what the year is going to look like. We’re watching a ton of races be canceled for the right reasons, but as an athlete, it’s really difficult to see all these races slowly disappear and your calendar suddenly empty,” Thweatt said. “We’re all putting in the training and trying to kind of channel the mindset of being ready if opportunities present themselves. I’m really excited, I don’t really know what to expect, but I’m just happy to race again, just to get out there and be competitive, so we’ll see what happens.”

Bruce, who competed in the Olympic Marathon Trials in February, has since been focusing her training along with Saturday’s race as a dress rehearsal for what she can expect next year in preparation to try to make the American roster in the 10,000-meter final in June at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

“I’ve been hitting it pretty hard the past couple of months and it’s been fun to kind of test myself and train a few of my weaknesses and try to work on things that I typically hadn’t accomplished or done in the past,” Bruce said. “To have an opportunity to actually be on a start line is very exciting.”

With virtual events and scaled down competitions being the new norm for track and field athletes during the pandemic, all athletes and support personnel involved with the St. George Showdown are hoping they can have the spotlight shine on them, at least for one meaningful morning in Utah.

“I think there is a huge appetite for just sports, in general,” Fauble said. “I sure hope that our sport can sort of capture a little bit of that right now. It would be a great moment for us.”