Gophers

Two former Villanova runners win women's and men's races in TC 1 Mile

Defending champion Emily Lipari won the women's pro race, while Sam McEntee edged Daniel Herrera on the men's side.

May 11, 2018 at 11:28AM

Defending champion Emily Lipari of San Diego won the women's pro race in the TC 1 Mile on Thursday night in 4 minutes, 39.8 seconds.

Her time was not close to her personal best of 4:31.68, but she was able to edge runner-up Cory McGee of Brighton, Mass., whose time was 4:41.

Sarah Brown of East Weymouth, Mass., was third (4:41.7). The top Minnesota woman was 10th-place finisher Breanna Sieracki of Golden Valley (4:47.7).

Lipari, 25, was the NCAA indoor mile champion in 2014, the same year she graduated from Villanova in suburban Philadelphia. She was an 11-time All-America runner in cross-country and track.

Lipari considered chasing Sarah Hall's course record of 4:30.8 but decided against it. "I wasn't feeling so hot in the beginning, so I'm like I'm just going to chill and see what happens and go for the win." Lipari said. "I'm really happy with what I could get done being really tired."

Sam McEntee, 26, of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., won the men's pro race in 4:03, just ahead of Daniel Herrera of New Orleans (4:03.7) — the runner-up last year as well — and Craig Nowak of Greenville, S.C. (4:03.8).

Joe Coffey of Minneapolis was the top in-state finisher, placing fifth (4:05.7).

McEntee, originally from Perth, Australia, also competed for Villanova and was a six-time All-America runner. He earned $5,000 for his win, as did Lipari. McEntee ran for Australia in the 5,000-meter race at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, finishing 18th.

"I went with 200 [meters] to go, despite my coach's instructions, and that last 50 was real tough, but I hung on," he said. "The crowd was good. There was a great atmosphere here. It's my first time in Minneapolis; it seems like a pretty cool city."

More than 1,700 runners ran in the wave of races held on a course in downtown Minneapolis, with the finish line near the Guthrie Theater.

Staff Reports

For the second consecutive year, Emily Lipari of San Diego won the women’s pro race in the TC 1 Mile on Thursday night in downtown Minneapolis. Her time was 4 minutes, 39.8 seconds, over a second faster than runner-up Cory McGee of Brighton, Mass. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Australian Sam McEntee won the men’s TC 1 Mile on Thursday night in downtown Minneapolis, finishing in 4 minutes, 3 seconds. Five runners were within three seconds of him. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)