Eric van der Els goes 14:24 and Sarah Disanza 16:36 at the Matanzas 5000

USATF certification of the course for Saint Augustine, Florida's Matanzas 5K expired in 2022. That means that the 2023 and 2024 races were run on an uncertified course. That's a shame, because the Matanzas 5000 bills itelf as "Florida's FASTEST 5K," and that's not entirely hype. For instance, at the 44th annual Matanzas 5000 on Saturday morning, 20 January 2024, three athletes broke 15:00. The fastest of those was Eric van der Els, who threw down a 14:24 for the win. Sarah Disanza was the women's champ, placing tenth overall in 16:36.


It wasn't van der Eles's fastest 5K performance; while a senior at the University of Connecticut he had run 13:36.28 on the track. But 14:24 was fast enough for the former Husky to shake off the other two athletes in the lead pack, Alec Sandusky and Jacob Klemz. Sandusy ended the race second in 14:30, while Klemz took third in 14:40.

Aaron Rowe was the fastest master runner in the race, placing seventh overall in 15:58.


Sarah Disanza's 16:36 put her 200 meters ahead of the next woman in the race, so she had little motive to run faster. Disanza has run faster, though. At the University of Wisconsin, she was a four-time NCAA All-American with a best of 15:20.57 in the 5000--a time that set a Big Ten conference record in the event.


Brittany Eberson finished runner-up to Disanza in the women's standings, placing 22nd overall in 17:16. Amelia Bjornson was the third woman and 34th overall in 17:53. Thirteen-year-old Peyton Cerasi, an eighth-grader at Indian Trails Middle School, ran 18:01 to take fourth in the women's division and 38th overall. Michelle McCreary of Ponte Vedra Beach was the first woman master and fifth female finisher, 41st overall in 18:06.


878 athletes finished the 2024 Matanzas 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2024 Matanzas 5K

1. 14:24, Eric van der Els (M, 25)
2. 14:30, Alec Sandusky (M, 26)
3. 14:40, Jacob Klemz (M, 26)
4. 15:33, Jonathan Besselink (M, 26)
5. 15:35, Christopher Haynes (M, 31)
6. 15:47, Jonathan Hulzebos (M, 28)
7. 15:58, Aaron Rowe (M, 43)
8. 15:58, Matthew Taddeo (M, 28)
9. 16:00, Daniel Erlandson (M, 30)
10. 16:45, Tyler McFarland (M, 32)

Top Ten Women, 2024 Matanzas 5K

1. 16:36, Sarah Disanza (F, 28)
2. 17:16, Brittany Eberson (F, 35)
3. 17:53, Amelia Bjornson (F, 31)
4. 18:01, Peyton Cerasi (F, 13)
5. 18:06, Michelle McCreary (F, 40)
6. 18:06, Heather Henning (F, 36)
7. 18:09, Sydney Johnson (F, 13)
8. 18:08, Kristen Dixon (F, 43)
9. 18:10, Lydia McRae (F, 42)
10. 18:34, Charlotte Joseph (F, 16)

Matanzas 5000 winners
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
27 January 1996		17:00, Rachel Cook
25 January 1997	14:31, Yuri Punda	16:06, Alla Doudaera
31 January 1998	14:56, Gary Meyers	16:47, Laura Mykytok
30 January 1999	14:41, Andrey Kuznetzov	16:22, Kim Pawelek
29 January 2000	14:47, Sergey Shalomeyev	16:32, Tetyana Pozdnyakova
27 January 2001	14:39, Darin Shearer	15:59, Jennifer Rhines
26 January 2002	14:28, Zepherinus Joseph	17:49, Clair Domingo
25 January 2003	15:18, Jerry Lawson	17:35, Tatiana Titova
31 January 2004	14:21, Darin Shearer	15:42, Galina Alexandrova
22 January 2005	15:11, Paul McRae	18:34, Stephanie Paulk
28 January 2006	14:43, Ryan Woods	16:01, Firiya Sultanova
27 January 2007	14:27, Gareth Turnbull	16:14, Amy Rudolph
26 January 2008	14:36, Ryan Woods	16:01, Molly Huddle
24 January 2009	16:47, John Metzgar	16:03, Yuliya Gromova	1193
23 January 2010	15:08, Ryan Woods	16:33, Jolene Williams	1665
22 January 2011	14:31, Christian Hesch	16:20, Lindsay Sundell	1576
21 January 2012	14:32, Christian Hesch	16:26, Megan Brown	1509
26 January 2013	14:28, Enoch Nadler	16:39, Lauren Goss	1608
25 January 2014	14:54, Christopher Moen	16:35, Cynthia Jerop	1207
24 January 2015	14:06, Eliud Ngetich	16:52, Kaitlin Donner	934
30 January 2016	14:51, Matt Crowe	16:39, Kaitlin Donner	1177
21 January 2017	14:37, Mark Parrish	17:05, Stephanie Pezzullo	985
27 January 2018	14:08, Ian La Mere	15:54, Anne-Marie Blaney	873
26 January 2019	14:28, Andrew Colley	17:05, Joanna Thompson	985
18 January 2020	14:07, Enoch Nadler	15:56, Cleo Boyd	933
22 May 2021	No Race, Virtual Run
22 January 2022	14:00, David Bett	15:52, Natosha Rogers	620
28 January 2023	14:09, Ben Kendell	16:32, Madison Offstein	833
20 January 2024	14:24, Eric van der Els	16:36, Sarah Disanza	878

Links

• Complete results of the 2024 Matanzas 5K
  https://app.box.com/s/quiiesf3m8svh0i3qova4hjpow0pqq3f
  
  
• 2019 story, “Andrew Colley, Matt McClintock, and Joanna Thompson ZAP the field at the Matanzas 5000”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2019/01/matanzas-2019.html
  
  
• 2018 story, “14:08, 14:08, and 14:10 for La Mere, Kenyon, and Izewski at the Matanzas 5000”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/01/matanzas-2018.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “Parrish tears a 14:37 at the Matanzas 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/01/matanzas-2017.html
  
  
• USATF course certification map FL12049EBM for the 2022 Matanzas 5K
  https://www.certifiedroadraces.com/certificate/?type=l&id=FL12049EBM
  
  
• Find future fast 5K road races on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https:troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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