Edwards earns first mile victory in more than a year, with Harrison fifth; Watson holds off Segrave to prevail in outdoor 800 for first time since 2018 and Amankwah follows win at Ed Murphey Classic with late surge to edge Alvarado

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Jake Edwards didn’t want to be upstaged by his younger competitors Saturday in the men’s mile at the Atlanta Track Club Classic, especially by one athlete half his age.

Edwards, 32, demonstrated his veteran savvy by sitting on the outside shoulder of 24-year-old Kasey Knevelbaard, before making his move in the final 100 meters to prevail in 4 minutes, 2.84 seconds at Atlanta International School.

Alex Amankwah of District Track Club won the men’s 800 meters in 1:47.22 and Sammy Watson of adidas prevailed in the women’s 800 in 2:03.66 in the other two professional races on the schedule.

RESULTS

It marked the first win of the year for Edwards, representing Columbus Running Company, and first outdoor mile victory since last year’s Drake Relays.

Knevelbaard, a former standout Southern Utah and Florida State, took runner-up in 4:04.58. He entered the meet as the fastest American outdoor performer this year at 3:58.08 from the Music City Distance Carnival on Aug. 15 in Nashville, Tenn.

Kendall Muhammad, 23, clocked 4:05.53 for third, marking the second top-three finish during the outdoor season for the Tinman Track Club athlete.

Rheinhardt Harrison, a junior at Nease High in Florida, placed fifth in 4:08.56.

Harrison, representing Tinman Junior Elite, had run 4:01.34 in the Music City Distance Carnival mile Aug. 15 to set the sophomore class and age 16 national records. That performance ranks No. 9 in the U.S. and 29th in the world among outdoor mile marks this year.

Amankwah, representing Ghana, made a final surge in the last 15 meters of the 800 to edge Atlanta Track Club’s Abraham Alvarado (1:47.55). Edose Ibadin of District Track Club took third in 1:49.52.

Amankwah, 28, earned another 800 victory after clocking 1:46.67 on Aug. 22 at the Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis, Tenn.

Watson, 20, closed strong in the final 50 meters to edge Great Britain’s Hannah Segrave, as the New Balance athlete clocked 2:03.85. Atlanta Track Club’s Allie Wilson was third in 2:05.20.

Although Watson triumphed in her qualifying race at the USATF Indoor Championships in February in New Mexico, her victory Saturday was the first for the former Texas A&M standout and NCAA Division 1 winner in an outdoor 800 race since the U.S. Under-20 Championships in June 2018.