Flanagan sets U.S. women’s 5,000 mark

The stretch run in the women’s invitational 5,000 meters Friday night at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays was hardly a thing of beauty for Shalane Flanagan, but the end result was a U.S. record.

Flanagan, a 25-year-old former Olympian from Marblehead, Mass., crossed the finish line in 14 minutes 44.80 seconds, breaking the 7-year-old U.S. record owned by Regina Jacobs.

“I was really not looking too pretty that last straightaway,” Flanagan said. “I just tried to focus on getting my body to that finish.”

Flanagan followed Nike teammate Erin Donohue through the first 1,000 meters in 2:55. Donohue then left the track after 2,000 meters, and Flanagan was all alone out front.

“I tried to help her as long as I could,” said Donohue, who specializes in the 800.

Flanagan, the 2005 U.S. outdoor champion in the event who sat out last season after foot surgery, was slightly off the record pace at 3,000 meters but bore down over the final laps and clipped Jacobs’ record of 14:45.35.

“I was able to just regroup and get that last [kilometer] down pretty quick,” she said. “That was the goal, come here and run as fast as I could.”

The men’s invitational 5,000 was nearly as exciting, as Juan Barrios of Mexico won in 13:11.37, breaking the meet and stadium records and producing the fastest time in the world this season. Anthony Famiglietti of New York City finished second in 13:11.93, the second-fastest time in the world this season and the fastest by an American.

Korene Hinds of Jamaica won the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase for the third consecutive year, finishing in 9:39.94, the second-fastest time in the world this year and the second all-time fastest on U.S. soil. Carrie Messner of Carbondale, Colo., who had set the meet record of 9:50.16 in 2004, was second in 9:45.18.

In the men’s steeplechase, David Cheromei, a Kenyan who competes for Virginia Intermont College, won in 8:34.78.

dan.arritt@latimes.com