McDonald, Sachtleben Take First Place in Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k presented by Kroger

RICHMOND, VA – The 19th annual Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k presented by Kroger kicked off this morning with an enthusiastic greeting from Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, the official starter who then became just the second Governor of Virginia to participate in the race, and continued with excitement in the men’s and women’s races and throughout the field of runners, joggers, and walkers. The 10k again hosted the Collegiate Running Association 10k Road Race National Championships, which drew several thousand college athletes to the streets of Richmond to compete for prize money.

Matthew McDonald, 24, an Atlanta, GA, resident and former track and field standout at Princeton University, took first place with a time of 30:10,finishing ahead of Miles Clikeman, who came in at 30:42. McDonald was an Ivy League 10k champion in 2015 while at Princeton and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering at Georgia Tech.

Bethany Sachtleben, 26, of Alexandria, VA, won her first Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k title with a time of 33:37, followed by second-place finisher Letitia Saayman at 35:24. Sachtleben won the 2017 Anthem Richmond Marathon last November in an Olympic Trials-qualifying time of 2:39:00 and is currently enrolled in graduate classes at Northern Virginia Community College.

Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k – Open Division

Place		Open Men	Time		Open Women	Time
1		Matthew McDonald	30:10		Bethany Sachtleben	33:37
2		Miles Clikeman	30:42		Letitia Saayman	35:24
3		Ryan Roush	30:46		Rachel Ward	36:03
4		Samuel Mueller	30:50		Maddie Ivy	36:07
5		Silas Frantz	31:02		Sarah Bishop	36:15

 Collegiate Running Association 10k Road Race National Championship

Place		Collegiate Men	Time		Collegiate Women	Time
1		Matthew McDonald	30:10		Bethany Sachtleben	33:37
2		Miles Clikeman	30:42		Letitia Saayman	35:24
3		Ryan Roush	30:46		Rachel Ward	36:03
4		Samuel Mueller	30:50		Maddie Ivy	36:07
5		Harrison Toney	31:16		Janel Blancett	36:37
6		Tim Gruber	31:23		Clara Santucci	36:54
7		Joshua Park	31:26		Emily Potter	38:22
8		Al Escalera	31:35		Stephanie Cario	40:41
9		Jonathan Hogue	31:59		Emily Latimer	40:50
10		Ryan Hagen	32:40		Meghan Mulroy	41:15

Although McDonald and Sachtleben finished atop the standings, leading the pack today was Dash for the Cash contestant Amy Garber, a Mechanicsville resident taking part in her sixth Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k. Garber was selected at random from over 16,000 people registered for the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k as of February 1, and based on her past race results was given a head start of roughly 2.5 miles. For beating the rest of the field to the finish line, she takes home the $2,500 prize. This is the 11th year in a row that the Dash for the Cash contestant claimed the prize and the 12th time in the 14 years of the contest overall.

Prize money was also awarded to the top three male and female participants that are Richmond region residents. On the men’s side, Miles Clikeman took first place, followed by Silas Frantz and Tim Gruber. On the women’s side, Julie Patterson, Rachel Wheeler Northup, and Kate Gardner all took home prize money.

Richmond Region 10k Championship

Place		Local Men	Time		Local Women	Time
1		Miles Clikeman	30:42		Julie Patterson	36:49
2		Silas Frantz	31:02		Rachel Wheeler Northup	38:51
3		Tim Gruber	31:23		Kate Gardner	39:05

In addition to over 25,000 registered 10k participants, 1,330 children ages 5-12 participated in the Virginia529 Kids Run, which was also started by Governor Northam. More than 50 bands, spirit groups, and porch parties lined the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k course, in addition to thousands of spectators, providing entertainment throughout the event.

Full results are available at http://results.xacte.com/?id=1999. Registration is now open for the 2019 Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k presented by Kroger, which is set for Saturday, April 13, 2019. Registration can be found at www.sportsbackers.org.

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