HOPPEL, WILSON WIN ELITE 800S AT TRACK NIGHT NYC
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2023 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
NEW YORK (19-May) — On a chilly night at Icahn Stadium, Bryce Hoppel and Ajee’ Wilson showed their class by winning the elite 800m races with relative ease at the second annual Track Night NYC, a bronze level meeting of the 2023 World Athletics Continental Tour. The two adidas-sponsored athletes were timed in 1:46.07 and 2:01.28, respectively, and under the meet’s winner-take-all format they each won $8,000.
“We were just trying to get the legs moving,” Hoppel told Race Results Weekly after holding off Puerto Rico’s Ryan Sanchez in the homestretch. “I haven’t raced for a while and we’re just trying to make the steps to do what we really need to be doing. This was a fun event to be out here and just get it going.”
Starting from lane 6, Hoppel got a clean start and was running third behind pacemaker Alex Amankwah and Sanchez at 400 meters (51.04). Down the backstretch, Hoppel tried to pull away, but Sanchez stayed close. Rounding the final bend Hoppel had better position on the inside and eased away from Sanchez to get the win. Sanchez was timed in 1:46.80 and Isaiah Harris of the Brooks Beasts Track Club got third in 1:47.18.
Hoppel, 25, who finished fourth at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, is coming off of a good indoor season where he won the national 800m title. Tonight’s race was only his third 800 of the outdoor season, and he was pleased with his race execution.
“I’d say it was good,” Hoppel said. “My coach said just make sure you’re in there being a competitor. I felt the race wasn’t as fast as I’d like it to be so I tried to take it, and that always hurts a little bit. So, we made it happen so I’m happy for it.”
Wilson, the 2022 World Athletics indoor 800m champion, ran a more tactical race. She ran in a tight pack through the first 400m in a not-too-fast 60.01 seconds with nearly the entire ten-woman field right still in contention. She began to pull away on the backstretch, and by the time she came around the final bend she had a five-meter lead on her nearest chasers, Jamaica’s Adelle Tracey and the Atlanta Track Club’s Allie Wilson. She was never seriously threatened in the final 100 meters, and eased up a little before the finish.
“I was planning on following, but I felt good and went back to leading,” Wilson told Race Results Weekly. “Just keep the pace honest and consistent and go from…
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