Cincinnatus Track Fest 2026 Recap
- Kyle Klingler
- 11 hours ago
- 8 min read
On August 8th, we held our third annual Cincinnatus Track Fest. After storms have made their way through the Ohio valley off and on over the last couple weeks, we were gifted with clear skies for a night on the oval. However, the downside meant some pretty high temps and brutal humidity. Nonetheless, the runners and fans showed up big time at this community track! We saw nearly double the amount of registrants as the prior year
and what looked like a few hundred in the crowd at least!
Many from the Cincy community and far beyond ran in an event or two. Speaking with so many of you and hearing your story for why you were there was really special. A few that stood out were Nathaniel Reid, who came from St. Louis and ran his first track race since 1998! Patrick Stieber, who I believe was our sole international competitor, making his way down from Canada for the mile/5k double. And how about the Mattoon High School team showing up from Illinois before a day at Kings Island! These stories are what this event is all about!!
Whether you were able to attend or not this year, check out the recap of all the action on the track in our write up below. Everyone who toed the start line absolutely crushed it. Plus, a majority of the meet records went down. Nothing better than a night on the track!!
Sprint Events
Open 100M: The field size for this event tripled from last year with 11 men showing up to throw down their fastest 100 over 3 heats to kick off the meet. It would be the final heat that all 5 men would make it a close one, but Tristen Bauer would pull away in the last 30 meters to win in a new meet record of 11.20 followed by Tajer Harding (11.43) and Billy Chahantry (11.46) in 2nd and 3rd.
Open 400M: Former OSU Buckeye standout, Ty Fajardo, returned to defend his title and meet record from last year. He would have to take on also a nearly triple sized field from before (sprinters showed up this year!!). He would inevitably claim the 400M title once again in the final heat, but not without Robert Diehl making him work for it a little bit on the back stretch. Ty ran a meet record of 51.13 with Rob taking 2nd in 52.17 (also under last year's record). Rounding out 3rd would be Matthew Luebbers from Freddy's Speed Squad in heat 2.
On the women's side, we had 3 blazing fast ladies throw it down! Brooke Grauel would establish the now meet record of 1:05.20 with Sarah Buckley (1:11.70) and Daphne Bryant (1:22.71) to round out the podium spots.
Mid Distance Events
Men's Elite 800M: Last year, we had 2 men toe the line for the 2 lap race. This year, we had a full heat show up. In one of the most impressive efforts of the night, Joey Stimler, would lead the race through the halfway point before opening up a massive lead to win and crush the meet record by almost 10 seconds with a 1:56.38! Not bad for the dad who hadn't ran an 8 in quite a few years! Grant Koch (2:00.31) and Jack Cordonnier (2:00.57) would round out the top 3. We hope to see some ladies in the field next year!
Open Mile: The second event of the day in some primetime heat didn't deter the runners from giving their best 4 laps a go. A tight pack up front would come down to the wire with Camden Hedges (5:06.37), Patrick Stieber (5:08.28), and Corrin Cassady (5:11.97) finishing top 3. For the women, Julia and Allison Temple would stay close and finish in 6:00.95 and 6:02.91, respectively. Irene Logsdon, of the MVTC Greene Frogs, finished it out in 7:08.57.
Master's Mile: This new event brought quite the field this year! In a tight race of many CE master's men up front, Dave Minner would come out on top with a fast final lap to break 5 in 4:57.28 with Pat Witte (5:00.97) and Brad Deaton (5:07.94) not too far behind. On the women's side Christine Collins would lay down the fastest time in 6:33.83 with Betsy LeRoy (6:52.34) and Jennifer Wagner (7:31.32) rounding it out. Both these winning times will be the newly established Master's Mile records!
The Bukola Pereira Women's Elite Mile: The most special event of the evening went to our women's elite mile, named in honor of our Cincinnatus Elite teammate who we lost this year. After a moment of silence, the race took place with a small but mighty field of women running in honor of Bukola. In some blazing time, Shelby Nolan (5:13.12), Krista Fehring-Gustavsson-Bronzie (5:37.69), and Megan Helgeson (5:44.43) took the top 3 spots. A very meaningful race and a reminder that every chance we get to run is a blessing. To continue honoring her, please consider a donation to her foundation: https://charitysmith.org/bukola-pereira-showole-foundation/
Men's Elite Mile: After a good battle up front, Kyle Klingler (are you thinking: is this guy really talking about himself in third person right now? Who does he think he is?) would take the win in a new meet record of 4:30.6 with Jimmy Chisholm (4:36.92) and William Blakes (4:45.2) just behind.
The 5ks
Open 5k: Patrick Stieber, hailing all the way from Canada, would double back from the earlier open mile and win in 17:16.16! Cam Mallet (17:55.15) and Ben Clark (18:22.87) would finish 2nd and 3rd. For the women, Sarah Bergmann would be the lone female to
finish in 22:39.89.
Women's Elite 5k: The sun was going down, but the heat still wasn't doing many favors for 12.5 laps on the track. Sarah Kittle, of Dayton Track Club, would front run for the first couple laps before Michelle Murray, of Cincinnatus Elite, would take the lead and never look back. She would take the win in 18:12.81 with Maura Lemon (18:43.49) and Sarah Kittle (18:46.36) rounding out the podium for the Cincy and Dayton rivals.
Men's Elite 5k: Hamza Mohamed, of Flagstaff AZ, took the race out with a massive lead, blazing through the mile in around 4:36. Through 2 miles, he held a 15+ second lead still, but Zac Holtkamp, of Cincinnatus Elite, would make it interesting - gaining a few seconds each of the final laps before just narrowly running out of real estate. Hamza would win in 15:19.6 with Zac just behind in 15:21.7 and Victor Orsinelli, CRC Elite, in 15:31.17.
Kids, Junior High, and High School Events
Kid's 800 Fun Run: Nearly 30 track stars hit the track for our kid's 800m fun run. It was an absolute blast to see every single one crush the two lap race! Rex Sheldon would finish out with a blistering kick and meet record of 2:55.81 with Jack Grisak (2:57.62) and Aiden Johnston (3:02.56) close behind. Clara Taylor would also set a new meet record by almost a minute in 3:21.89! Mattie Jepson (3:29.33) and Harper Witte (3:45.70) would take 2nd and 3rd. Great job to all the kids!!
Junior High 2000M: This race was tight all the way through! All runners hit the finish line within 1 minute of each other. Hank Feichtner would repeat as the winner in a new 2k meet record time of 7:27.55 with Landon Quiles (7:42.05) and Elliot Jepson (7:50.04) to follow. For the girls, Audrey Smoot would also establish a new girl's 2k meet record in 7:57.3 followed by Mia Moyer (7:59.93) and Katie Welty (8:00.16)
Boys High School 3200M Showcase: Closing out the evening would be our high schools boys and girls 3200M events under the lights. This year saw just about 20 runners in each race! Will Fox, of Summit Country Day, would lead this wire-to-wire and finish in 10:09.57 with the Madeira duo of Blaine Causey (10:28.89) and Patrick Larson (10:42.09) also breaking the sub 11 mark.
Girls High School 3200M Showcase: The top 3 on the girl's side would be swept by the home team of Madeira with a tight battle between 1-2. Lucy Folger would come out on top with Hannah Gemmel just behind in 11:56.81 and 11:58.33, respectively. Both smashing the meet record of 12:43.06 by Hannah last year. Olivia Naegeli would take 3rd in 12:49.57. A preview of what appears to be some very promising XC seasons ahead for these young stars!
The 4x4
4x400M Relay: What's better than the 4x4 relay? That gun goes off and instantly I'm transported back to the high school glory days of unleashing every ounce of energy left into one lap before the meet ends. At Track Fest, we throw this event in right at the end before our showcase 3200M races, and it never disappoints. This year, 2 full heats went at it. The final heat would see maybe the closest race of the night with Verso l'Alto and Freddy's Speed Squad battling back and forth each leg of the relay. Verso would narrowly out lean for the win in a meet record of 3:36.22 followed by Freddy's in 3:36.54. The Daddiez would take 3rd in 3:40.42.
Overall, it was an incredible evening with all of you. There's something special about racing on the track. There's moments where you're running the curve and recollections of past workouts fade into memory. Or when you're coming down the home stretch and all the memories of track meet shenanigans from back in the day come flooding back. We can run a lap and say "man, remember when we used to run this twice as fast?" or maybe "dang, I wish younger me could see me now!" A place of endless data points and times that may seem insignificant on paper, but to you - it means everything. It's a place for people to challenge themselves in their own ways, compete against friends, or just have fun running something new. Humans have a funny way of giving a whole lot of meaning to running around in a circle.
We hope everyone enjoyed Cincinnatus Track Fest. This article is intended to highlight some runners, but everyone who hopped in an event, especially in that heat, is a champ! We hope to see you all next year!
Photos: Chris O'Bryan - @_photobryan on IG
Finally, a major shout out to our event partners and friends. We bring together the best of the best to make this happen.
Madeira High School - Our incredible hosts. Thank you all for taking good care of their facilities during the event.
Fleet Feet Cincinnati - The go-to spot for your running needs in the city!
New Balance - The best running shoe brand in the business. Hopefully you all got to try out some kicks and enjoyed them!
Move Smooth Athlete Cream - The best anti-chafe cream! Snag yours today!
Peak Performance Sports Therapy - The best PT in Cincinnati! Got an injury or need help with PT, strength training, or injury prevention? Book an appointment today!
UC Health - Covered us all evening. Thankfully, we were clear of any emergencies but they were more than happy to be there to hang either way!
Pata Roja Tacos - The best tacos in the city served up by the best people. Got to enjoy some after the event ended and the food is unreal! Check them out downtown.
Kona Ice - Snow cones were a hit all night!
Can't Stop Timing Co. - Truly the best timing company out there! Fast, accurate live results for us all evening. Got a race or event coming up? Keep them in mind if you have any timing needs in the future!
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