Standout Performances by PA Grads at the U.S. Olympic Trials

Standout Men's Performances: 

Josh Izewski (Central Bucks East '08, University of Florida '13), a three-time PA State Medalist, was the top man PA native with an incredible 8th-place finish in 2:11:09. 

The former Gator ran an evenly split race, clocking 1:05:32 at the half, averaging 5:01 per mile over the entire race, looking at home racing in the humid Orlando air. His race execution was enough to snag a 17-second PR.

"I have mixed feelings about my performance yesterday," Izewski said on Instagram. "I came in with a solid race plan, but unfortunately fell short of my goal, making the Olympic Team." 

Izewski's post on his performance

Izewski improved upon his 19th-place seed and left the trials with $11,000 in prize money.

Joshua Kalapos (Mount Lebanon '16, Carnegie Mellon University '19) had himself a day at the trials with an unbelievable "underdog" performance. 

Kalapos entered the trails as the last qualifier, ranked 169th, with a time of 2:18:00, the exact cut-off mark. In an awe-inspiring race, he averaged 5:08 pace per mile, clocking a time of 2:14:26 for 17th place. 

Matt Gillette (Parkland '09, Shippensburg University '13), a two-time PA State Medalist and six-time NCAA Division 2 All-American, squeaked into a qualifying spot with a  2:17:57, like Kalapos. 

Despite being the 163rd seed, Gillette ran a conservative race, finishing 55th overall in 2:19:42. He went through the halfway point in 1:09:38, working his way through the field in the latter half of the race. 

Nick Wolk (Peters Township High School '16, University of Pittsburgh '21) and Dominic Hockenbury (Lake-Lehman High School '16, Syracuse '22) are others who improved upon their qualifying ranks. Wolk was ranked 130th but ended up running 2:20:53 to finish 67th. Meanwhile, Hockenbury was ranked 116th but clocked 2:21:15 to finish 72nd. 

2024 PA Men's U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Results:

Standout Women's Performances:

Regan Rome (Dallas High School '14, William & Mary '17, Providence '19), an 11-time PA State Medalist and three-time NCAA Division 1 All-American, was the top-performing PA high school graduate on the women's side. 

Rome was the 61st-ranked runner going into the trials and finished in 33rd, running 2:35:29. Her effort was incredibly consistent throughout the race, averaging 5:56 pace per mile. 

Rome ran a three-second negative split, going through the first half in 1:17:46, followed by a 1:17:43 second half. 

Veronica Eder (Central Bucks East '13, Auburn '17), a three-time PA State Medalist and multiple-time NCAA Division 1 Championship qualifier, finished one place behind Rome at the trials on Saturday.

Eder was 34th, running a PR in 2:35:46. She averaged 5:57 pace per mile. 

Neely Spence Gracey (Shippensburg High School '08, Shippensburg University '12), a four-time PA State Medalist and 11-time NCAA Division 2 All-American, wasn't far off Rome and Eder.

Spence Gracey clocked a time of 2:37:09. She went through the halfway point in a strong 1:16:04, running sub-six-minute pace until mile 18, where she began to slow down. She was able to hang on and still finish 42nd. 

2024 PA Women's U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Results: