After finishing second a year ago, Amanda Vestri won her first national title at Saturday's USA Track and Field Women's 6K Championships.
CANTON — To be a national champion, Amanda Vestri chose to emulate one.
That was a perfect formula for success for the Webster, N.Y., native at the 2025 USA Track and Field Women's 6K Championships.
Vestri won her first national title on Saturday, July 12 in downtown Canton. The 25-year-old grabbed the lead after the first mile and won in 18:28.57, almost seven seconds ahead of the field.
The win was a big step for Vestri after finishing runner-up to Annie Rodenfels in 2024. Rodenfels did not compete in this year's race.
Vestri's strategy this time? Just try to be Annie.
"She is a pretty fearless competitor," Vestri said. "I just wanted to emulate that a little bit this time around. I wanted to have the confidence to win like she did last year."
Familiarity with Canton's 6K road course was Vestri's asset. It starts at Malone University and has some quick turns through the city's Ridgewood neighborhood before finishing downtown.
"Just knowing the course, the turns and the elevation helps a lot," Vestri said. "There's a decent sized hill right after two miles. You have to grind it a little bit. After that it's a pretty nice downhill the rest of the way."
Vestri earned $6,000 for the win. She would have received an additional $1,500 if she broke the course record of 17:52 set by Keira D'Amato in 2022. On a humid morning with the temperature approaching 80, D'Amato's record was safe.
"I'm not going to lie. Torward the end I was getting pretty hot," Vestri said. "It started to get a little bit too warm. I really just tried to manage my effort throughout the race. The last 1K was probably the hardest part, but overall it was a good effort."
Vestri ran collegiately at Iowa State and Syracuse. She finished sixth in the indoor 5,000 and seventh in the outdoor 10,000 at nationals with Syracuse in 2023.
A pro runner for Brooks, Vestri has stretched out come courses over the past year. She made her half marathon debut in Orlando in December. She finished fourth in Houston in January and third at the USA Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta in March.
"My coach and I always knew that we wanted to go up into the longer distances," Vestri said. "This year it just kind of worked out."
Vestri's victory was her first since March 2024 when she won the 10,000 at The TEN in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. She has finished in the top 10 in every race over the past two years.
Her sights are now set on the USA Track and Field Championships which start July 31 in Eugene, Oregon.
"The season has been really good," Vestri said. "I've had a lot of growth and maturity since last year which was my first year as a pro. I learned a lot of things about myself as a racer and am trying to build on that going forward."
Annie Frisbee finished second in 18:35.26. Fiona O'Keeffe (18:37.18), Molly Born (18:40.01) and Ednah Kurgat (19:04.81) rounded out the top five.
North Royalton's Alyssa Thomas won the community 6K. Her time was 20:22.42.
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Amanda Vestri wins USA Track and Field Women's 6K Championships
Category: General Sports
