ZAP Endurance’s Van Der Els, Schaffer among top finishers in USATF 5K Nationals

By David Rogers. INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — In just his first professional race back following knee surgery in December, Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance team member Eric Van Der Els finished No. 8 among 51 professional runners competing in the U.S. Track and Field National 5K race on May 3.

Van Der Els’ ZAP Endurance teammate Daniel Schaffer finished one place out of the money list, at No. 11, giving the High Country’s leading elite distance running team two athletes among the top finishers in yet another national championship competition.

Olin Hacker, 27, of Flagstaff, Ariz. finished No.1 in 13:31.93. Van Der Els was just over 12 seconds behind, in 13:44.60, while Schaffer stopped the clock at 13:56.31.

“It was a good day for ZAP Endurance,” said the team’s head coach, Pete Rea. “Both of our runners finished among the leaders and Eric’s (Van Der Els) performance was especially constructive since it was his first race back since surgery this past December.

ZAP Endurance has two team member running on May 4, including Andrew Colley in the Prague Marathon (in Prague, The Czech Republic) and Josh Izewski in the Independence Broad Street 10-Mile Run (in Philadelphia, Pa.).

TOP 25 FINISHERS, USATF National 5K Championship

1. Olin Hacker, 27, Flagstaff, Ariz., 13:32 (4:21 mile pace)
2. Casey Clinger, 26, Provo, Utah, 13:34
3. Ahmed Muhumed, 27, Beaverton, Ore., 13:37
4. Kirubel Erassa, 31, Fortville, Ind., 13:42
5. Skylar Stidam, 24, Floyds Knobs, Ind. 13:43
6. Kasey Knevelbaard, 28, Flagstaff, Ariz. 13:43
7. Brian Barraza, 29, Boulder, Colo., 13:44
8. Eric Van Der Els, 26, Blowing Rock, N.C., 13:45
9. Dillon Maggard, 29, Seattle, Wash., 13:46
10. Anthony Camerieri, 25, Brecksville, Ohio, 13:51
11. Daniel Schaffer, 27, Blowing Rock, N.C., 13:57
12. Tanner Chada, 26, Grand Rapids, Mich., 13:58
13. Nick Foster, 24, Ann Arbor, Mich., 14:02
14. Silas Winders, 23, Ames, Iowa, 14:04
15. James Mwaura, 26, Tacoma, Wash., 14:05
16. Nick Randazzo, 25, Ventura, Calif., 14:21
17. Clayton Duchatschek, 26, Minnetonka, Minn., 14:21
18. Caleb Webb, 27, Flagstaff, Ariz., 14:29
19. Andrew Whitinger, 24, New Castle, Ind., 14:31
20. Paul Chelimo, 34, Colorado Springs, Colo., 14:33
21. Jack Kelke, 22, Romeo, Mich., 14:37
22. Mason Tope, 29, Las Vegas, Nev., 14:39
23. Titus Winders, 25, Minnetonka, Minn., 14:43
24. Ryan Witters, 36, Falls Church, Va., 14:53
25. Josette Andrews, 29, Boulder, Colo. 15:06