Photo: John Nepolitan Armory Track

As Erin Finn (Michigan) went through the 3K split at 9:33, it looked as if she was defending her National Title and taking down her own 5K record of 16:19.69, set last year at The Armory.   24 laps through the race and Finn made it look as if the race was over, but Wesley Frazier (North Carolina) wanted to get the crowd on their feet.

Making it a race to remember at The New Balance Nationals, with 150 meters remaining, Frazier opened up the wheels a ton, soaring through the backstretch of the Armory’s track, making up ground.

Frazier was reeling in Finn with only 50 meters to go, but there’s only so much real estate left.  For the majority of the race Erin Finn looked like no one would deny her back-to-back victory or even take a shot at her National Record, until now. The tape looked so far, but was so close.

BOOM! DOWN GOES FRAZIER…through the tape that is as, she took advantage of a faltering Finn, as both runners crossed the tape together.  

The crowd was silent as the two runners look towarded the scoreboard for an answer.  It wasn’t clear as to who the winner was quite yet.  Scoreboard showed “Erin Finn 16:18.02. National Record," but the timing staff quickly investigated the photo finish, as this time would be unofficial.

What must have felt like hours for the top two finishers, a few minutes passed by, as there was still no official time posted yet.  Cheers were heard throughout the crowd as the scoreboard lights up:

Wesley Frazier 16:18.01 National Record
Erin Finn 16:18.02 National Record

Post-race, Wesley was shocked with the win and the time, as she was looking for a PR, but not necessarily something as fast as 16:18.

Finn, still ran a great race, but she was over coming a sinus infection and stayed with the medical staff for some time afterwards. 

On the first day of competition, the Frazier - Finn battle started off one of many exciting finishes of the weekend as there will be many more to come.