Herrera Wins, Lipari Defends Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour
Grand prix tour with 6 stops awarded more than $125,000 plus $10,000 #Tour2018 GP purse; Eric Avila & Shannon Osika earn Tour Performance-of-the-Year bonus; fifth edition also featured Running Warehouse’s “Pick-the-Winner” online contest at every stop
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – (September 30, 2018) – At the 5th Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour finale, The Navy Mile, on a beautiful Sunday morning in Washington, DC, Daniel Herrera, 25, from New Orleans, LA, took the men’s #Tour2018 title with his 4th place finish, scoring 26 points overall. For the women, Emily Lipari, 25, Poulsbo, WA, who did not run the race, defended her Tour title, also with 26 points. As Tour 2018 champions, each earned $2500. The 4th The Navy Mile presented by USAA was won by Josef Tessema, 29, from Colorado Springs, CO and three-time BBTM GP Tour champion Heather Kampf, 31, from Minneapolis, MN, clocking 4 minutes, 2 seconds and 4:41, respectively. Tessema also set an event record.
“We congratulate Daniel Herrera & Emily Lipari as the BBTM Grand Prix Tour 2018 champions, and like the past four editions, the Tour events showcased the Mile and had exciting racing by top athletes, who set one event and two state records,” said Ryan Lamppa, BBTM Founder. “A huge thank you to all six events, the athletes and Running Warehouse for supporting & promoting the Tour.”
The Tour 2018 featured six leading Mile events from across the country, and the overall prize purse for the Tour events exceeded $125,000 plus $10,000 for the top 4 Grand Prix athletes. Per Tour event per gender, the top 6 scored points (10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1) with the top 4 scorers earning Grand Prix money ($2500, $1000, $750 and $500). At the Tour’s 5th edition, 27 men and 26 women scored grand prix points.
The Tour Performance-of-the-Year $250 bonus was earned by Eric Avila & Shannon Osika with their wins at the Ed Murphey Memphis Mile as both set Tennessee state records in 3:55.43 & 4:25.47, respectively.
BBTM GP Tour 2018 champions & highlights:
9th Grand Blue Mile: USA Road Championship
Des Moines, IA, Tuesday, April 24
► Riley Masters (USA / CO), 4:04 (4:03.12), first national title
► Emily Lipari (USA / WA), 4:33 (4:32.87), first national title (photo, right)
13th Medtronic TC 1 Mile
Minneapolis, MN, Thursday, May 10
► Sam McEntee (AUS), 4:03.0
► Emily Lipari (USA / MA), 4:40 (4:39.8), defended race title
7th GNC Live Well Liberty Mile
Pittsburgh, PA, Friday, July 20
► Robert Domanic (USA / TX), 4:01
► Shannon Osika (USA / MI), 4:34
2nd Ed Murphey Memphis Mile
Memphis, TN, Saturday, August 25
► Eric Avila (USA / CA), 3:55.43, Tennessee state record
► Shannon Osika (USA / MI), 4:25.47, Tennessee state record
12th Minnesota Mile
Duluth, MN, Friday, September 7
► Josh Kerr (GBR), 4:11 (4:10.5)
► Amanda Eccleston (USA / MI), 4:47.0
4th The Navy Mile presented by USAA
Washington, DC, Sunday, September 30
► Josef Tessema (USA / CO), 4:02 (4:01.89), event record
► Heather Kampf (USA / MN), 4:41 (4:40.77), 2016 event champion & record holder
BBTM GP Tour 2018 Final Standings
MEN
1) Daniel Herrera (LA), 26 points, $2500 (photo, above)
2) Eric Avila (CA), 18 points, $1250*
3) Riley Masters (CO), 17 points, $750
4) Sam McEntee (AUS), 10 points, $125
Robert Domanic (TX), 10 points, $125
Josh Kerr (GBR), 10 points, $125
Josef Tessema (CO), 10 points, $125
WOMEN
1) Emily Lipari (WA), 26 points, $2500
2) Shannon Osika (MI), 24 points, $1250*
3) Kellyn Taylor (AZ), 16 points, $750
4) Amanda Eccleston (MI), 11 points, $500
*includes $250 bonus for Tour 2018 Performance-of-the-Year
BBTM Grand Prix Tour Champions (2014-18)
2014 Jack Bolas & Heather Kampf
2015 Jack Bolas & Heather Kampf
2016 Riley Masters & Heather Kampf
2017 Ben Blankenship & Emily Lipari
2018 Daniel Herrera & Emily Lipari
Like the past four Tour editions, at each stop, the Running Warehouse “Pick-the-Winner” online contest engaged Mile fans with the lucky winners receiving a pair of shoes from Running Warehouse as well as BBTM swag packages.
Visit http://www.bringbackthemile.com/tour or contact media@bringbackthemile.com for more BBTM Grand Prix Tour news and information.
