DES MOINES, Iowa — Rachel Schneider of Sanford and Isaiah Harris of Lewiston each recorded second-place finishes Sunday at the U.S. track and field championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

Schneider, a Georgetown University graduate, was outkicked in the 5,000 meters by Shelby Houlihan, who also won the 1,500 on Saturday. Houlihan’s time was 15 minutes, 31.03 seconds. Schneider finished in 15:32.71.

A day earlier, Schneider placed fourth in the 1,500.

Harris, running his first race as a professional after announcing Saturday that he’ll pass up his final season of eligibility at Penn State, was the runner-up in the 800 for the second straight year. He briefly moved ahead of 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy with about 150 meters to go, but Murphy pulled away for the victory in 1:46.50. Harris was clocked in 1:47.11.

Harris said he’s been thinking about turning pro for the last couple weeks, after winning the NCAA championship on June 8.

“I was just ready for more competitive meets, and preparing for the (2019) world championships, which is a lot later next year, versus running 30 something races in a collegiate season,” Harris said in a YouTube video posted by LetsRun.com. “That was the biggest deciding factor. I think I’m ready for it, and excited to just go race against the best in the world.”

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Harris plans to return to school in the fall and continue training with Coach John Gondak.

“I have one year left, so I want to graduate and get my degree,” said Harris. “Everything has been working well with Coach Gondak and I don’t see a reason to switch things up when I know it works.”

Schneider was in good position on the final lap but couldn’t match Houlihan’s blistering kick.

“I got up on Shelby’s shoulder with about 400 to go, and then with 100 to go I still felt good, but then Shelby put that kick in and I didn’t quite have it,” Schneider told LetsRun.com.

Schneider plans for this summer include trying to lower her 1,500 personal best of 4:06.90.

“I’m gonna head over to Europe for a little bit,” said Schneider. “I’d really love to hit my 1,500 PR because that’s from three years ago in a race that I rabbited, so I think that one’s long overdue. So that’s probably my main goal for the summer.”

In the men’s 5,000, Riley Masters of Bangor finished fourth in 13:20.23, less than a second behind winner Paul Chelimo.


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