CROSS COUNTRY CHAIRS SHARE COMMON ALMA MATER: USA Track & Field men's cross country chairman Bill Roe from Bellingham, WA., and women's cross country chair Anne Timmons from Missoula, MT., are both graduates of the University of Washington. Roe was the track team manager in the late 1960's and early 70's, while Timmons was an 800-meter runner (as Anne Phillips) at Huskyville, and graduated in 1981 with a degree in communications. In yet another coincidence, another product of the University of Washington's communications program, and a classmate of Timmons (also Washington '81) who crossed paths on the track, is none other than media relations director Paul Merca, who was the Huskies' team manager.
THE LAST TIME THE NATIONALS WERE HELD IN WASHINGTON STATE: The USA senior men's national cross country championships were last held in Washington November 1978 at the West Seattle Golf Course in Seattle. Greg Meyer of the Greater Boston TC won a thrilling duel over Alberto Salazar of the University of Oregon, while the Mason-Dixon AC from Kentucky won the team title. The meet was also remembered for a gaffe in which a course monitor accidentally sent the entire field in the wrong direction. Some quick thinking by race director Bill Roe enabled the field to run the correct distance of 10 k, by rearranging the sequential order of loops run.
The world cross country championship team selection trials were held at the Tyee Valley Golf Course, near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in 1989 and 1990. The womens' races were won by Sabrina Dornhoefer (89) and Lynn Jennings (90). Pat Porter (89) and Ed Eyestone (90) won the mens' trials races. The junior mens' trials races were won by John Morrison of the University of Wisconsin in '89, while John Coyle of Notre Dame won the '90 edition. The junior womens' races at Tyee Valley were won by Tina Hall of the University of Texas in '89, and by Colorado high schooler Melody Fairchild in 1990.
THE LAKE SPANAWAY COURSE: The Lake Spanaway course is a 2000-meter, spectator-friendly international-style championships venue, designed to simulate many of the conditions that the runners will face at the World Cross Country Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
BILLY MILLS IN TOWN FOR THE NATIONALS: As has been the case over the last several years, 1964 Olympic 10000-meter champion Billy Mills is scheduled to speak to the Wings of America team members at a pre-race dinner on Friday night. The New Mexico-based Wings group has sent teams to the nationals since 1988. For more information on the Wings, contact Margie Kamine at 505/982-6761, or at the Shilo Inn beginning Thursday (253/475-4020).
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS ENTERED IN THIS MEET: National cross country champs that have won titles this decade who are entered (excluding the four defending champs--Dan Browne, Tim Hacker, Amy Rudolph, & Deena Drossin) include Todd Williams ('91, '93) and Reuben Reina ('94 & '96) on the men's side; Lynn Jennings ('90-93, '96), and Joan Nesbit ('95). Jennings was also a US junior champion, winning it in 1977.
Athletes who have made the US Olympic team this decade that are entered include Mark Croghan (steeplechase, 92-96); Todd Williams (10000, 92-96); Brad Barquist (10000, '96); Annette Peters (3000, '92); Joan Nesbit (10000, '96); Lynn Jennings (10000, '92; 5000, '96); and Amy Rudolph (5000, '96).
Peters and Barquist are both products of Washington high schools; Peters from Spokane's Central Valley HS, and Barquist from Bellevue's Interlake High. Both have fond memories of Tacoma as preps, as they competed and won at Star Track, the Washington state high school championship meet at Lincoln Bowl.
MOST CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL TITLES: Those go to Pat Porter, who won eight straight USA titles from 1982-1989, and to Lynn Jennings who owns nine senior womens' gold medals (1985, 87-93, 96), in addition to her junior title.
DID YOU MISS ANY OF THE TELECONFERENCES? USA Track & Field held three teleconferences with leading contenders for these national championships. Please contact either Merca or Surber, and they will give you the phone numbers to listen to each of the three teleconferences. The first teleconference featured Seattle-area athletes Rob Cook, Brad Barquist, Craig Dickson and Katrina Price-Crosby; the second were with 1997 long-course champs Tim Hacker and Deena Drossin; and the final teleconference featured 1998 short-course champions Dan Browne and Amy Rudolph.
THE NORTH AMERICAN WINTER CROSS COUNTRY SERIES: As a buildup to the national title meet, several cross country meets were staged in various venues around the country as a way for athletes to prepare themselves to compete in these inagural winter championships.
Meets were conducted beginning in November in Boston; Tacoma; Long Beach, CA; Orlando; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; San Francisco; New Jersey; and, Seattle.
Winners of those meets:
BOSTON: Peter Sherry and Sinead Delahunty
TACOMA: Nick Rogers and Rachel Sauder
LONG BEACH: Gary Stolz and Andrea della Monica
ORLANDO (national club championships) Andre Williams and Blake Phillips
WINSTON-SALEM, NC: Tony Cosey & Janelle Krauss (long-course); Jon Russell
&
Joan Nesbit (short-course)
SAN FRANCISCO: Alan Culpepper & Carmen Troncoso (long course); Shayne
Culpepper (short course-women only)
READINGTON, NEW JERSEY: Terrance Mahon & Lynn Jennings
SEATTLE: Rob Cook & Tina Connelly (long course); Todd Davis & Mindy
Leffler (short-course)
Special thanks to those meet directors who staged these meets on short
notice. It's anticipated that the series of winter cross country meets
will be expanded at the start of the new millenium.
Top
HIGHLIGHTS OF USATF MEDIA TELECONFERENCE FEATURING AMY RUDOLPH & DAN BROWNE
Tues, February 9, 1999
Thanks to Greg Crowther for creating this transcript.
Questions have been paraphrased in some cases; all answers are direct quotes.
Q: Amy, how do you feel about your prospects for this weekend in light of your performance at the USTAF 8K road championship in Columbia last weekend?
AR: It gives me a lot of confidence. I'm doing the 4K [this weekend]. I ran a 3K [an 8:59 in Gainesville] the week before and it went really well. I feel very strong and also feel that I have enough speed to do well in the Trials. I'm going to work on that, obviously, for the worlds.
Q: What are your reasons for picking the 4K over the 8K race?
AR: I feel a lot more confident running 8K over road than I do in cross country, especially considering the conditions that are going to be in Tacoma and for the worlds. I just don't feel that I'm that sort of runner over cross country through mud and wet terrain.
Q: What's your racing plan for this year?
AR: If the training goes well, as it's been going over the last three months, I think we'll go into world cross country with a pretty good outlook. And then obviously the goal for the summer is [the 5K at] the world championships in Spain, and then to run some PRs again this year. It's been a few years since I've run a PR.
[DB joined the teleconference at this point.]
Q: How does cross country fit into your yearly plan, especially now that you have a choice of distances?
DB: It's definitely a really neat thing that they're doing. Cross country has changed in the last year or two in the sense that ... we're racing in January and February as opposed to October and November and then getting ready for nationals in December. Now we're kind of moving to that international schedule. I do like the options that they have.... It's neat to be able to choose one over the other, and I think it does help you with your strength and development as you go into the outdoor season.
Q: Why do you pick the 4K over the 12K?
DB: Sort of along the same lines as what Amy was talking about, I feel a little more confident going faster over cross country terrain as opposed to long, drawn-out races. You have to train differently when you're running a 12K as opposed to a 4K. I've been doing indoor races, and so I felt that the 4K cross country would be a nice complement to some of the indoor races that I'm doing and plan on doing in the future.
Q: Dan, how happy were you with your performance at Millrose in the 3000 meters last week?
DB: I was happy with it.... Obviously, there were two guys ahead of me, so there's definitely room to improve. Given the circumstances of that week of training, I think did as well as I probably could have, and I'm looking forward to running faster very soon.
Q: Amy, did you find last year that cross country helped your track season?
AR: I think [cross country] is a good break in that long buildup phase when you go into the summer. I think a good idea is, either focus on trying to do the indoor worlds or the world cross country.... It gives you something to look forward to. If you're just kind of banking your whole year on the summer, you know, things don't always go that way.
Q: Amy, last year you won the 4K title race against Elva, but then at the world cross country meet Elva came in a place in front of you. Can you describe the differences between those two races and how the interaction between the two of you shaped up during the races?
AR: Well, I just barely beat her at our trials -- it was pretty much a lean -- and we finished pretty much together at worlds as well. I think Elva and I are very similar in that we have a range from 15 to 5.... I think our running strategies are very similar, so that's why we finish a lot together.
Q: During both those races, did you run pretty closely in contact with each other throughout the races?
AR: Yeah. We were pretty much head-to-head in the Trials, and then at Worlds, I think I made the move first, and then I started to fade a little bit, and she came around, and when she came on, it kind of woke me up a little bit, so it was great. We really worked together as a team at that race.
Q: Dan, who do you expect to be some of the top contenders this weekend?
DB: The conditions are going to be interesting, and they're going to put an interesting twist into the whole thing of, well, who runs better in bad conditions and everything, because sometimes fitness isn't the only thing to take into concern when you're running cross country.... But there's Adam Goucher and [Alan] Culpepper, and my teammate Jason Stewart -- he's looking really good right now. And I think there's plenty of others that I can't even name right now that I know are getting fit and are going to be tough.
Q: Dan, what is a typical day like for you?
DB: My typical day is one where I'll wake up sometime between 7:30 and maybe 8 in the morning and usually grab something to eat. And then I'll go out with guys and we'll do our run at about 9 in the morning. And usually the morning workout is our longer one -- we'll do 10 to 12 miles -- and I'll get back around 11 or so and stretch for a while and then grab something for lunch.... I have an afternoon run of three or four miles at about 5 or 6 in the evening. I do help out as much as I can, given my time and the travel that I do, with the ROTC program in Boulder, Colorado. It's not my primary duty. My primary duty is to make the Olympic team in 2000, and I take that very seriously. So that's my mission, and I'm out here to accomplish it.
Q. So that's the duty that's been assigned to you by the Army -- to strive to make the team?
DB: Yes, absolutely -- to _make_ the team.
Q: Amy, how will the course affect your race?
AR: The hills take a lot out of you; if it's flat, that's great for me. I'm sort of a rhythm runner, so when you're going up hills, it breaks your rhythm a little bit.... We can't do anything about the elements. The course is there; it's put in front of you; you don't have a choice. So you really just have to go out there and be ready beforehand and just go for it.
Q: How important is the team competition for the Army?
DB: We were just speaking about it this morning, because we really had a fantastic workout, and we were just saying to ourselves how much we're looking forward to competing as a team in the 4K and also the 12K races. We're actually developing a fairly deep team out here, and everyone, to my surprise and happiness, is coming along amazingly, and I think people are going to be surprised. It's going to be a different team than what you saw over in Florida [at the association championships], for sure. The team is totally different. They were ahead of me this morning, so ... it's pretty cool.
Q: What's your race strategy for this weekend? Will you be looking over your shoulder for Goucher, who was close to you at Millrose?
DB: Cross country is so different from track. I feel more comfortable, sort of like Amy, running on the track than I do on cross country terrain. I am, in the same way, a rhythm runner. And I know Adam has a very good reputation of running well in cross country. It's going to come down to a matter of will and who wants it more. I think for all intents and purposes we're about in the same fitness category right now. It's a short race, and it'll be decided pretty quickly.... You go out hard, you run hard the second mile, and then you kick.
Q: Could you do both world indoors and world cross?
DB: If things keep going the way I want them to go, I think they can be sort of complementary. Basically, when I was in California training, I would do one track workout a week and I would do one cross country workout a week. And seeing as how there's only a K difference between both races, you can pretty much train for the same thing.
Q: What is the current condition of the course?
Mike Scott: It's been raining in the Puget Sound area for months now.... We had two weeks of heavy rain going into the regional competition there on November 21st; the course held up surprisingly well.... I would predict that the Saturday morning championships will be on fairly good footing. However, I think things will degenerate by the 4K on Sunday ... sorry Amy!...and by the time the 12K gets done doing five laps over it, I'm sure it will be fairly mucky out there.
Q: What are your recollections of last year's foul-weather race in Portland? How does the weather affect you?
AR: I wasn't there last year, but I heard about it and was really glad that I didn't go. [Laughs.]
DB: I was standing at the starting line of that race and I remember praying, I hope this race gets done with _very_ quickly.... I couldn't even hold a pen after the race.... Everyone has to deal with [the conditions]. Everyone says that, but the more you believe that, and the more you just relax in the settting that you're in and focus internally, the better you're going to do.
Q: Do you think the 4K championships are as prestigious as the longer races?
DB: I think you can see with the caliber of field we have in the 4K, I think you could probably say that the 4K, in my mind at least, is going to be more competitive than the 12K.... The fields are great in both races, and the 4K is going to be a tough team to make.
AR: The 4K, going into the situation in Morocco last year, probably was not as prominent, but I think at the end of the weekend -- at the end of the races -- it definitely was right up there with the 8K and the 12K.
DB: I've gotten the impression in talking to a few international
competitors over the last month or so that, around the world, the 4K race
is going to be more hotly contested than it was last year and that more
international-caliber runners are focusing on that shorter distance. I
guess they figure if they can make 50 grand running 4K instead of 12K, why
not do that, you know? I mean, it makes sense to me. That's why I'm
doing it. [Laughs.]
Top
1999 USA Winter Cross Country Championships Here are highlights of Wednesday's USATF media teleconference featuring 1997 USA Cross Country champions Tim Hacker & Deena Drossin, both of whom are entered in the USA Winter Cross Country Championships, presented by adidas, February 13-14 at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Tacoma, Washington. Notes were compiled by Greg Crowther, Championships Media Relations Staff.
Q: How has your training been going?
TH: My training's been a bit less than ideal. I was training well this fall, and then got injured, then was training pretty well early December and then got injured again, so.... I've been pretty regular since about the first of the year and feel pretty good. I feel like my chances are reasonable of at least making the team. I'd probably say I'm in the best shape that I've ever been in for age 36.
Q: Have you had continued success since winning cross country nationals last year, or has it been kind of quiet?
TH: It's been pretty quiet. I ran a personal best in the spring at 5000 meters [at the Mount SAC Relays] -- 13:37 -- and then I was promptly injured after that. It took me a while to get over that, and I ran one race on Labor Day, and that's actually the last race I've run.
Q: You've had a lot of injuries. Has it always been the same thing, or a series of unrelated things?
TH: They've been pretty much related -- either my plantar fascitis or calf problems, which I think are related; one kind of causes the other. Usually when I'm favoring my foot, something goes wrong with my calf.
Q: Why do you like cross country?
TH: You get to battle two elements: you get to battle the nature and the course, plus the competition. It seems like, in track, you're only going against whoever's there.... It reminds me of a good football game that's played on the grass.... It sort of has that gritty element to it.... Track is more pristine, I guess.
Q: Given your 1500-meter background, might you be able to kick to another win this year?
TH: My sharpness isnt great, but anytime that I can be close in the last 1000 meters, then my feet can take over.... And I don't think the field has real depth this year, so sometimes that makes for a little bit slower race in the beginning, which kind of plays into my hands.
[Deena Drossin joined the teleconference at this point.]
Q: How has your training been going?
DD: We've actually been real lucky here at Alamosa this year. We've gotten in great training due to the weather, unlike last year, [when] the weather here at Alamosa was totally unforgiving and had us compromising on our speed and workouts.
Q: Was it a surprise to beat Lynn Jennings last year?
DD: It wasn't so surprising in that I was in extremely good shape last year, and I went to the starting line with complete faith in my training, and I wasn't focused on any other runners out there, just doing my own job.
Q: What's your favorite distance on the track?
DD: The 10,000, I think, is going to my strength in the upcoming years, but, to this day, it still seems a little too long for me, so I'm going to have to say the 5,000 is still my pride right now.
Q: What are your racing plans for the rest of the spring?
DD: I haven't set a plan yet for track.... Right after cross country nationals I'm going to do a cross country race in [Chiba] Japan and hopefully have to get ready for the world championships.
Q. Will you double back in the 4K on Sunday?
DD: My main focus will be the 8K, but, depending on my recovery, I'm planning on running the 4K as well -- the 8K just to try and make the U.S. team, and then the 4K just for the pure joy of cross country. [Laughs.]
Q: Why do you enjoy cross country so much?
DD: I love the challenge of new courses all the time. And, internationally, they have such a dense field of distance runners, it's just extremely gratifying to be racing against [them].
TH: I think it's nice, too, to run against milers to marathoners, and it's fun go up against all those different types with all their different strengths and weaknesses. It's another added element that you don't get when you're just running a 5000 on the track.
Q. Tim, did the win last year change your life?
TH: I found that a lot more people around my area are living more vicariously through me. There's a lot of old people -- or older people, I should say -- [saying], "Way to go, way to show the young guys, it gives me new hope." A lot of people told me I really inspired them, so that really made me feel good. And I was thinking that was going to be my last race, and that sort of reinspired me and rejuvenated me to get going again.
Q: What are your thoughts on this year's nationals course?
DD: I just know the weather's going to be ugly out there, and that excites me. I've always liked racing in adverse conditions.
Q: Deena, who's in your Alamosa training group?
DD: It's a Reebok training group, and three of the guys that are training here are going to be on the Reebok racing team in Tacoma. There's Peter De La Cerda and Jeff Campbell and Bryan Dameworth, who I also went to high school with -- he was a Kinney national champion.
Q: Tim, does the experience you've amassed throughout your career give you an advantage over the younger guys?
TH: I think it really does. One of the things I've noticed over the years is that, particularly in cross country, sometimes you really have to be patient, or you have to know when to be patient.... [Last year], I got out poorly, and I really need to be patient early, and I saw a lot of people getting antsy and doing things early in the race that were just burning up energy rather than making them faster. I think that's where my experience really pays off.
Q: How did you deal with last year's foul weather, and did it turn out to be an advantage for you?
TH: For me, it was a real advantage, because I'm a real strength runner, and so the worse the conditions are, the better for me. And you just won't get much worse than that. I run well when it's a sloppy, hard course.... A great story was that some friends came out to watch me run, and they saw that I was in about 70th place at the mile, and they were so cold, they went home.... That's the kind of conditions I train in a lot, anyway. That's what I've been dealing with all winter.
Q: Deena, in a kickers' race, would you like your chances?
DD: I've actually been working on my speed a lot the past three months. That
was one of the reasons why, last year at the cross country nationals, I
didn't settle into any type of pack there -- because I knew that would play
into Lynn Jennings' hands. She likes races to go that way -- to just pack up
and then show her kick off at the end.
Top
FOOT LOCKER WOMEN'S CHAMP SULLIVAN ENTERS USA WINTER CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPS
Championships director Mike Scott announced today that two-time Foot Locker high school cross country champion Erin Sullivan has submitted her entry for the 13-14 February USA Winter Cross Country Championships, presented by adidas.
Sullivan, a senior from Mt. Mansfield HS in Jericho, Vermont, won her second consectutive Foot Locker title on Dec. 12 in Orlando, Florida--a feat that only two other women (Erin Keogh and Melody Fairchild) have been able to duplicate.
Even more amazing is the Sullivan is in only her second season of running cross country; prior to 1997, she played soccer in the fall. A year ago Sullivan--also a standout soccer player--participated in both sports enroute to her first Foot Locker triumph.
The inaugural USA Winter Cross Country Championships, presented by
adidas, are scheduled for February 13-14 at Lake Spanaway Golf Course
near Tacoma, WA. The early entry deadline is Saturday, February 6,
although entries will be accepted up until 9:00pm, Friday, February 12.
Top
FOOT LOCKER CHAMP TORRES TO FACE WASHINGTON CHAMP TENFORDE IN TACOMA
Championships director Mike Scott announced today that reigning Foot Locker high school cross country champion Jorge Torres has submitted his entry for the 13-14 February USA Winter Cross Country Championships, presented by adidas, where he will face Washington state champ Adam Tenforde (Hanford [WA] HS), who finished a surprising third at last fall's Foot Locker championships.
Torres, who will attend the University of Colorado next year along with twin brother Edwardo, made Foot Locker history this fall by becoming the first four-time male finalist. He improved his finish each year, placing 13th as a frosh, 3rd as a sophomore, and 2nd as a junior beforing winning as a senior. Last fall, Jorge became the first Illinios prep to win three state harrier titles when he recorded a swift 14:00 performance on the historic Dettweiler Park, the fastest time since 1977 (when future Olympian Jim Spivey also ran 14:00).
Jorge finished 3rd at last year's US junior cross country championships to garner a spot on the US junior national team that competed at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. In Morocco, Jorge placed 37th among the world's top junior athletes.
Looking to challenge Jorge in Tacoma will be Hanford's Adam Tenforde, the Washington state 3A prep champion. Tenforde surprised many observers with a 3rd-place finish at the Foot Locker championships after finishing 5th at the West Regional.
Joining Jorge and Tenforde will be Edwardo Torres--Jorge's twin brother--who is himself a 3-time Foot Locker finalist. Edwardo, who finished 6th in the Foot Locker finals each of the last two years, made history himself this fall by finishing in a tie for 8th-place (the final qualifying spot for the finals) at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional, the first time this had happened in Foot Locker history. Both he and fellow eighth-place finisher Neil Hanson advanced to the finals.
The inaugural USA Winter Cross Country Championships, presented by
adidas, are scheduled for February 13-14 at Lake Spanaway Golf Course
near Tacoma, WA. The early entry deadline is Saturday, February 6,
although entries will be accepted up until 9:00pm, Friday, February 12.
Top
DEFENDING CHAMPS COMMIT TO USA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
(1 February 1999) -- Championships director Mike Scott announced today that all four reigning champions have confirmed that they will be present in Tacoma to defend their crowns at the 13-14 February USA Winter Cross Country Championships, presented by adidas. National 12k champion Tim Hacker (Madison, WI) and 8k champion Deena Drossin (Alamosa, CO) will run in the long course races, while 1998 USA World Cross Country Team 4k Trials winners Dan Browne (Boulder, CO) and Amy Rudolph (Kane, PA) are slated to run in the short course events.
Veteran Tim Hacker, who won his first US harrier title 14 months ago in Portland's harsh conditions, first exploded onto the national scene back in 1985 when he won the NCAA cross country title for Wisconsin. In 1989, Hacker nearly caught 8-time US champ Pat Porter, garnering runner-up honors in a torrential rainstorm after winning the US 5000 crown earlier that year. 1991/1993 US champ Todd Williams (Knoxville, TN), 1994/1996 US champ Reuben Reina (Fayetteville, AR), 1998 Fall Nationals winner Andre Williams (Washington, DC), 1996 NCAA 5000 champ Alan Culpepper, and hometown favorite Rob Cook (Seattle, WA) are expected to challenge Hacker for the title.
Former Arkansas standout Deena Drossin also won her first national cross country title in Portland, when she thwarted 9-time champ Lynn Jennings' (Newmarket, NH) bid for an unprecedented 10th US harrier crown. Drossin won the gold medal at the 1997 World University Games 10,000. Drossin will have to hold off the likes of 3-time world champion and 1992 Olympic bronze medalist Jennings--who is making another try at winning her 10th US cross country title--1995 US cross country titlist Joan Nesbit (Chapel Hill, NC), and 1992 Olympian Gwyn Coogan (Boulder, CO).
Dan Browne's win at last year's US Trials marked the beginning of a stellar year for the West Point grad. Highlight's of Browne's year included US titles in the Indoor 3000, Outdoor 10,000, as well as at 5k and 10k on the roads. Browne, who has already recorded a sub-4:00 mile indoors this year, is expected to face stiff challenges from US outdoor 5000 champ Mark Davis and from NCAA harrier champ Adam Goucher in Tacoma.
Former 5000m American record holder Amy Rudolph edged Indoor 3000 champ Elva Dryer (Albuquerque, NM) in the stretch to win last year's US Trials. 1996 Olympian Rudolph went on to finish a step behind Dryer at IAAF World Cross Country Championships as the twosome finished 8th and 9th individually. Dryer is expected to challenge for the crown, while Drossin and Nesbit are scheduled to double back from the long course races and could be a factor.
The inaugural USA Winter Cross Country Championships, presented by
adidas, are scheduled for February 13-14 at Lake Spanaway Golf Course
near Tacoma, WA.
Top
ROB COOK AND TINA CONNELLY SCORE WINS AT SEATTLE OPEN
(Seattle, WA)--Seattle's Rob Cook and Canadian Tina Connelly both ran away from their competition today to score wins at the Seattle Open Winter Cross Country Meet at Lincoln Park in Seattle. The Seattle Open was the final stop on the inaugural North American Winter Cross Country Series, which was developed to provide high-performance racing opportunities for athletes preparing for the USA Winter Cross Country Championships, presented by adidas.
Three-time US national cross country team member Rob Cook, who finished fifth at the 1996 and 1997 USA harrier championships and won the 1996 USA/Reebok Cross Country Grand Prix, found himself pulling away from the field during the first lap over the 5-loop rolling hill course.
"I wasn't planning to move that early," stated Cook in a phone interview immediately after the event. "But as we started up the hill the first time, I suddenly found myself 10 yards and decided to just keep going."
Colorado's Scott Larson closed a bit on Cook during the fourth lap, but Cook edged away again over the final 2k to win in 30-minutes, 8-seconds over the 9,836-meter course. Larson finished 11-seconds back in 30:19. Olympia's Craig Dickson finished strongly to garner 3rd in 30:38.
In the Northwest International Team Challenge, the team from Washington (Rob Cook, Craig Dickson, Uli Steidl, and Brad Barquist) held off their challengers from British Columbia and Alberta.
Like Cook, Canadian national champ Tina Connelly left her competition behind early and was never challenged as she won in 20:45 for the 6,130-meter course. Fellow Canadian Sarah Howell finished 2nd in 21:15
In the Northwest International Team Challenge women's competition, British Columbia's squad (Tina Connelly, Lori Duward, Cari Rampersad, Cindy O'Krane) downed their hosts from Washington.
University of Portland steeple standout Todd David won the men's 4k event in 13:12 over the 4,277-meter course, while former Georgetown star Mindy Leffler won the women's event in 15:39.
The USA Winter Cross Country Championships, presented by adidas, will be contested on February 13-14 at Lake Spanaway Golf Course near Tacoma, Washington. For more information, contact Paul Merca, Championships Media Relations Director (phone: 206/499-4329; email: clubalrd@accessone.com or at the Championships Website at www.pntf.org/usaxc99.
Seattle Open Winter Cross Country Meet
Lincoln Park, Seattle, WA
January 30, 1999
Top-10 Men (9,836-meters)
1. Rob Cook, New Balance, 30:08
2. Scott Larson, New Balance, 30:19
3. Craig Dickson, Club Northwest, 30:38
4. Rob Shoaf, Colo, 30:45
5. Uli Steidl, Club Northwest/GER, 30:57
6. Jeremy Deere, Calgary/CAN, 31:09
7. Brad Barquist, Nike, 31:18
8. Paddy McClusky, CAN, 31:37
9. Brian Montgomery, Club Northwest/GBR, 31:42
10. Graham Cocksedge, BC, 31:50
Team: Washington (10 points) downed British Columbia (29 points)
Top-10 Women (6,130-meters):
1. Tina Connelly (BC), City TC/CAN, 20:45
2. Sarah Howell (AL), Royals/CAN, 21:25
3. Shelley Smathers (WA), New Balance, 21:40
4. Lori Duward (BC), Kajaks, 21:58
5. Cari Rampersad (BC), Royals/CAN, 22:03
6. Cindy O'Krane (BC), Kajaks/CAN 22:11
7. Carolyn Murray (BC), CAN, 22:17
8. Kim Bender (WA), 22:18
9. Jennifer Hillier (WA), 22:21
10. Tara Stryuk (AL), CAN, 22:22
Team: BC women over Washington.
Top-3 Men (4277-meters):
1. Todd Davis, University of Portland, 13:12
2. Ray McClanhan, Portland, Or, 13:20
3. Nathan Spear, Portland, Or, 13:48
Top-3 Women (4277-meters):
1. Mindly Leffler, Club Northwest, 15:39
2. Regina Joyce, Lynnwood, WA, 16:20
3. Jenn Wakely, CAN, 17:20
Top
EXPECT HOMETOWN HEROICS FROM EDMONDS' SMATHERS
As an elite distance runner, Edmonds' Shelley Smathers has traveled all over the U.S. in search of competition and fast times. Yet many of her best races have come in her home state of Washington.
While attending Morton High School in Morton, Smathers was a three-time state track champion. After a successful collegiate career at the University of Montana, she returned to Washington, where she has triumphed in such events as the 1997 Firecracker 5000 and the 1998 St. Patrick's Day Dash.
On February 13, she will have yet another opportunity to shine in front of her fellow Washingtonians: the 8K senior women's race, one of eight championship events to be contested that weekend at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Tacoma. The race will consist of four laps of a 2-kilometer loop which Smathers describes as "a wonderful course for both runners and spectators."
Track, rather than cross country, will be Smathers' top priority this year. Nevertheless, she says, a top-15 finish at cross country nationals would be a satisfying prelude to her spring track races. "I'm hoping to have a really good base, go in there, work through cross country, do well ... and then have a really good track season," she says.
Indeed, Smathers has achieved some notable successes on the oval; she was a semifinalist at the 1996 Olympic Trials in the 10,000-meter run and boasts a 10K track best of 33:07. However, she also has two top-30 national cross country finishes to her credit, including a 22nd-place showing at the 1997 meet in Portland.
Smathers works as a physical therapist at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.
Q AND A WITH SHELLEY SMATHERS
Q. At the PNTF cross country championships in November, you described that meet as your "starting line" and said that your goal was to be in great shape in February. How have things been going for you since that meet?
A. Since that meet, I actually have put on a bigger base, so I've been doing a lot more mileage than I normally would. And I feel like I have the strength; I just don't have the sharpness at this time. But I have a month, so....
Q. What will your training be like in these next few weeks?
A. For the next couple weeks I'll try to keep [my mileage] at [50-60 per week] and then just try to do more quality, and then.... [My coach and I] don't really look to peak too much at cross country nationals. My goal is more track, so we're going to work through the cross country season, work through the nationals ... and then really focus on sharpening and speedwork in the track season.
Q. Who else among local athletes do you expect to place well at nationals?
A. Katrina Price ... she'd be one to look for -- I _think_ she's running it.... And then Jenn Hillier -- she's having a really good season. With the men, of course, you need to look out for Rob [Cook].
Q. What would you consider to be your biggest career highlights to date?
A. One is definitely the Olympic Trials: the atmosphere of being around high-quality athletes; the sensation you get when you're in the Olympic stadium. Of course, it was in Atlanta, so we were right there in the Olympic stadium.
Q. Were you satisfied with how you raced at the Trials?
A. No. I wanted to make it to the finals, but I didn't. But that's what the next Olympic Trials are for. [Laughs.] Hopefully I'll get to the finals, if I make it [to the Trials].
Q. So, is getting back to the Trials a major goal at this point? What are your other long-term goals, if any?
A. In the next couple years, I definitely want to want to do the Olympic Trials again. That's my goal, and then.... I'll have to sit back after that and think [about] where my career will go from there, if I'll go more professionally with my profession or if I think I should stick with my running profession.
Q. How do find the Seattle/Washington area as a place to train?
A. I think the nice thing about Seattle is there is a wide variety [of training partners] with some variety of talent. So if you're looking for somebody to do a long, slower run with, you can call up somebody that's perfect. If you want to do something that's shorter and quicker, there's other people that you can call to do another workout. Weather-wise, it could be a little sunnier here.... There are numerous awesome places to train: Discovery Park; the Arboretum, even though you're not supposed to run there; trails everywhere....
Q. What makes cross country interesting or unique or special relative to track and other sports?
A. Cross country is special because of the varied course, terrain, weather.... In track, you can get on a rhythm; it's more rhythmic. But cross country challenges you to be a more diverse runner.
Q. Do you consider yourself best on the trails, on the track, or on the roads? Which is your specialty?
A. I used to say track, but I think the roads are starting to become in my favor.... I think cross country is probably my downfall.... I just don't feel like I have the strength most runners do. Hills are very challenging for me, whereas [on] the track I can get on a rhythm. I'm more of a rhythmic runner, so if I set a pace, usually I stay with it. And on a cross country course I have a hard time doing that because of the varied terrain, going up and down the hills.
[Interview conducted 1/8/99.]
Top
OLYMPIA'S DICKSON LOOKING FORWARD TO NATIONALS IN HIS "BACK YARD"
For Craig Dickson, the Lake Spanaway Golf Course, site of the 1999 U.S. national cross country championships, is a mere 20-minute drive from his home in Olympia. But the short commute is not the only advantage he will bring to the starting line.
The veteran runner has considerable racing experience, having made the U.S. national cross country teams in 1990 and '94. And he is coming off a strong fall season in which he won the Western Washington University Invitational and placed third at the USA Northwest Regional meet.
"This past fall ... was definitely my best cross country season -- probably my best running -- since I've been out in Washington," Dickson says. "It did give me motivation to set some higher goals for February nationals." Is another trip to the world championships in his immediate future? "I have made the [U.S. national] team in the past, and it would be great to make it again, but I do know I have a lot of work to do still," he opines.
While Dickson began running in high school, he blossomed at Adams State College in Colorado under the tutelage of the legendary Joe Vigil, who coached Pat Porter to eight straight national cross country titles in the 1980s. As a junior at Adams State, Dickson narrowly missed qualifying for the 1988 Olympic Trials in the 5000-meter run. He then won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) cross country championship that fall.
After graduating, Dickson worked odd jobs for a number of years in order to pursue his running career. More recently, he has earned a degree in education from St. Martin's College in Olympia. While continuing to train about 70 miles per week, Dickson now teaches secondary school in the Olympia/Tumwater district. In addition, he has served as an assistant cross country coach at St. Martin's for the past three years.
Q AND A WITH CRAIG DICKSON
Q. Is making the U.S. national team again -- if not this year, then in a subsequent year -- an important long-term goal of yours?
A. Yeah, definitely.... The world cross country [meet] is as prestigious an event [as any] for a distance runner to compete in; it's probably one of the most competitive there is around. Since I have had a taste of it, it is a goal to be there again.... Before I'd retire, I'd want to be on that team again.
Q. What other long-term goals do you hope to accomplish before you retire?
A. Getting into the [U.S. Olympic] Trials in 2000. That's probably the main thing I'm still doing this for.
Q. In the marathon, or 10K, or...?
A. The marathon for sure. If I do get on the track and run a good [10K], I'd be happy to run in that as well.
Q. Among the local athletes, who besides yourself do you expect to run well in February?
A. Rob Cook would be one.... Brad [Barquist], if he's running like he can, will be a contender. I don't really know how he's doing. I hope he's doing well; I'd like to see him up there.... There's [Eric] Tollefson, of course.... We have a strong group of guys, especially on [Club Northwest], who could run a good one -- a lot of guys who could be up in the top 30, I think.
Q. When did you first get serious about competitive running?
A. I did get started in running in high school. I don't really know how serious I was until my senior year.... My coaches convinced me that I had some talent to do pretty well, so I finally took them seriously and did some full-time training.
Q. In college, you ran for Joe Vigil. Was he an important figure in your development as a runner?
A. Oh, yeah. Joe is a good motivator. He's a technically sound coach, but he's more of a motivator, I would say. He knows how to get you to bring your best out. And [he's] a very team-oriented type of person. His main philosophy was to have the team aspect pull you along -- to know that there's someone else out there working just as hard.... He's a very good role model, also -- a very stable person. When you're in college and you're still growing, it's important to have someone like that.
Q. As a post-collegiate athlete who needs to earn a living and so forth, is it difficult to maintain your competitive edge?
A. Yeah, it is. In distance running ... there's no set-up program for you when you get out of college. It's not like somebody invites you to go train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center or anything -- and if they did, there's not really any coaches there for you.... I try to be an important part of my family and work and just keep that all balanced. And it can be hard. Running is a selfish pursuit ... but you have to make it clear to yourself and those around you what you want to do.
Q. Any thoughts on nationals being (a) in February and (b) in Tacoma?
A. Regarding the time frame of the switch [from December to February], when they first said they were going to do that, I had mixed feelings on it, just because the fall nationals is kind of a traditional thing. But then as far as selecting a team [to go to the world championships in March], I think it's a lot better; you get guys that are fitter a month before the world championships, so that definitely can help in getting the best [U.S.] team to the world championships. So I don't mind it at all, really.... It being in Tacoma is great; it's in our back yard.... I had the chance to run the course a couple months ago, and I liked it a lot.
Q. To you, what makes cross country interesting and unique compared with track and other sports?
A. Out of track and road racing and cross country, cross country is my favorite.... The start is kind of chaotic, just trying to make sure you stay on your feet and get out well. That's the kind of panic that you don't get in road racing or at the start on the track.... The fact that it's on varied terrain keeps it interesting. You're competing against yourself and other people and the course itself; it's definitely unique in that aspect. And if it's a team competition, that definitely makes it interesting, too.... If I had to quit road racing and track and just stay with cross country, that would be fine with me.
[Interview conducted 1/7/99.]
Top
A Talk with: KATRINA PRICE-CROSBY by Paul Merca, Media Relations Director 1999 USA Winter Cross Country Championships, presented by adidas
Only if you were a hard-core road running junkie would you have known that Katrina Price-Crosby was in the Pacific Northwest. After moving to Seattle upon graduation from the University of Texas Law School in Austin, Texas this spring, Price-Crosby won two local road races in Seattle, the Shore Run, and the AT&T Wireless Jingle Bell Run in December. Oh yeah...did we tell you that she also passed the Washington State Bar Exam this summer on her first attempt?
The crack research team at the media relations department of the 1999 USA Cross Country Championships, presented by adidas, had to forage through the 1998 FAST (Federation of American Statisticians of Track) annual and the USA Track & Field Cross Country media guide to find out more about Price-Crosby.
The low-down on Katrina: Born June 30, 1970. 5-2 1/2, 105 pounds. Currently competes for adidas. Graduated from Riverside-Brookfield High School in Riverside, Illinois in 1988, where she was a Track & Field News high school All-American in the 1600 meters. Graduated from North Carolina State University where she ran the 3000 and 5000. Has track personal bests of 9:14.89 at 3000, and 15:56.62 for 5000. Won the Olympic Festival 5000 meter race in 1995 at Colorado Springs.
Price-Crosby made the USA junior cross country team as a NC State freshman in 1989 in the snow at Tyee Valley Golf Course, near Sea-Tac Airport, finishing third in the trials. She placed 26th in the junior world championships as the third American across the line that year in Stavangar, Norway.
We spoke to the newest member of the Seattle running community, and gathered her thoughts on the upcoming USA National Cross Country Championships and beyond.
Q: Talk about your recent half marathon in San Diego (on January 17th)--
KATRINA PRICE-CROSBY--it was a last-minute decision...originally, I was going to run the mile at the University of Washington indoor meet on Sunday...the course turned out to be a hilly course. Didn't see (eventual winner) Joan Nesbit...I ran about 1:17 or so.
The real story happened after the race. We were driving past the California/Oregon border when we hit a patch of black ice...the car spun out...it damaged the door pretty badly...fortunately, there were a lot of people that helped us out...the car was fixed up, and we limped back to Seattle ok at lower speeds.
Q: What happened to you after your senior year of 1992 at North Carolina State?
PRICE-CROSBY: I got married, settled down, and decided I did'nt want to go into competitive running after getting out of school. When I decided to get back into running competitively, my then-spouse did'nt want to support my efforts.
In 1994 (her first year back competing), I placed 17th at the Peachtree 10 k in Atlanta, and won the Daisy 5 k in Austin. I got a local sponsorship from Fleet Feet that helped me get on my way. The next year, I made a national ekiden (road relay) team, and competed in Seoul.
Q: Your thoughts on the changes of training in Seattle (Price-Crosby moved to Seattle from Austin, Texas after graduation from the University of Texas law school):
PRICE-CROSBY--Mostly realized the benefits of the move...that's largely due to the set-up in my life as well...the year I'm spending in Seattle is the complete opposite...my husband (Ian) is working for a federal judge....I'm concentrating full time on training and getting massages, and getting some good input from Dr. Dave Martin out on the east coast (Atlanta)...
Immediate plus was the lack of heat and humidity....I needed any help I can get mentally and physically...one of the biggest negatives is not having the sunshine (it's a minus)...it's been a struggle...to get out the door some days....
One of my favorite places to run is through the canyon through Ravenna Park...
Q: Tell me about some of your recent cross country experiences?
PRICE-CROSBY: In 1995, I finished 17th at nationals in Boston. It was really neat, as I was the first unattached runner to finish that year. (she finished 17th in the nationals the following year at Stanford).
The 1997 nationals in Portland was a nightmare. With the wind and rain and stuff, it was far and away the most miserable experience I've ever been in (she placed 37th).
Q: Which event will you run at nationals?
KATRINA PRICE-CROSBY: I'm running the 8k & I'm fairly certain that most of the people who are previously running the 6k distance will run the 4k after the 8k, depending on how they do (the women's 8k is scheduled on Saturday, while the 4k occurs the next day).
Q: What are your thoughts on the Lake Spanaway course?
PRICE-CROSBY: Golf courses are good to me. I know that based on what everyone who ran on it in November at the USA Northwest regionals said, that it was fast. I'm really happy that the course is spectator-friendly.
Q: What are you shooting for place-wise at nationals?
PRICE-CROSBY: I'm looking for a top-10 placing for sure. I'd be
disappointed if I finished out of the top fifteen.
Top
BARQUIST AND COOK HEAD MEN'S FIELD FOR SEATTLE OPEN; CANADIAN CHAMP CONNELLY LEADS WOMEN'S ENTRIES
In final preparation for the USA Winter Cross Country Championships in Tacoma, Washington two weeks later, the eyes of the Pacific Northwest's top distance runners are focused on Seattle's Lincoln Park this Saturday at 11 AM for the inagural Seattle Open Cross Country Classic and Northwest Team Challenge.
The Seattle Open, sponsored by NIKE, with assistance from Odwalla, AT&T Wireless Services, and the Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation, features the NORTHWEST TEAM CHALLENGE. In the men's 10km and women's 6km races, athletes will be grouped into teams representing the US states and the Canadian provinces. The first four finishers across the line from each state or province score for their team, while the first six place, under IAAF rules.
"We are very excited to host this inagural event", said race director and Club Ballard team manager PAUL MERCA. "With the field that we've assembled, I think that fans who come out to Lincoln Park to watch the Seattle Open will be entertained. As the course is a spectator-friendly two-kilometer loop that mimics what the top athletes will face in Tacoma and at this year's world championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it will be easy for the fans to cheer on their favorite runners."
The race director also anticipates a slew of last-minute entries. "I've received calls from several athletes who will make a last-minute decision on whether or not to race, depending on how their training is going."
In the men's 10-kilometer race that starts at 11:45 AM, the Washington state team is led by 1996 US Olympian at 10000 meters, BRAD BARQUIST of NIKE (Bainbridge Island); New Balance star ROB COOK (Seattle); and, Club Northwest standout CRAIG DICKSON (Olympia). All three runners have represented the United States at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships at least twice in their careers.
Of the trio, Cook is perhaps the most race-fit, as the Virginia grad, who is looking to make his fourth straight US national cross country team, as he's run two races on the North American Winter Cross Country circuit, placing ninth at the USATF Club Championships in Orlando in December over 10 k, and second at the Pacific Association Winter meet in San Francisco on January 17th.
Barquist is rounding into race-shape after missing the entire 1998 track season with a foot injury, while Dickson has laid low after a 23rd place finish at the USATF Club Championships.
Adding to what Merca is considering a very good field is the presence of a large contingent of runners from Canada, as they too are preparing members of their national team for this year's IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland. "The Canadians are taking this meet very seriously," Merca said.
The Canadian group is led by JEREMY DEERE, the 1998 CIAU cross country champion and member of his nation's world cross country team; GRAEME FELL, the former world class steeplechaser, and the 1998 British Columbia Cross Country Champion; ALLAN KLASSEN, the Canadian 1500m champion; PADDY McCLUSKEY, another 1999 Canadian World Cross Country team member; and, OLIVER UTTING, the 1998 CIAU 3000m silver medalist. Lastly, DAVID MILNE, the 1998 Canadian junior (19-under) cross country champion will move up and run with the seniors.
Not to be outdone by the men, the women's 6-kilometer race, which also starts at 11:45 AM is loaded with star talent as well. The Washington team will be led by SHELLEY SMATHERS (Edmonds) of the New Balance team; KATRINA PRICE-CROSBY (Seattle) of adidas; and, JENNIFER HILLIER (Seattle) from the Asics squad.
Both Smathers, who competed collegiately at Seattle Pacific and the University of Montana, and Price-Crosby, a former North Carolina State University All-American, have represented the US at the World Cross Country Championships as juniors, while Hillier, the former Kansas State standout, is perhaps the area's rising star, based on her fourth place finish at the USA Northwest regional cross country meet in November.
Like the men's race, the women's entries also has a loaded field of Canadian athletes looking for a tune-up race before heading to Belfast in March. The are led by their national champion, TINA CONNELLY of New Westminster's City Track Club and NIKE-Canada. Among the other Canadian elite athletes are: CARI RAMPERSAD, the three time NAIA cross country champion from Simon Fraser University and member of the 1999 World Championships team; CINDY O'KRANE, the fifth place finisher in 1500m at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur; and, LORI DURWARD, the 1997 World Student Games 5000m silver medalist.
SARAH HOWELL, the front runner from Calgary, Alberta and national team member who will also represent Canada in Belfast; and, EMILY KROSHUS, the 1999 Canadian junior world cross country team member who will be looking to gain some invaluable experience while competing against senior athletes.
Action at the Seattle Open gets underway at 11 AM, with the men's and women's 4-kilometer citizens' race, followed by the featured men's 10-kilometer and women's 6-kilometer races.
Runners wishing to participate in any of the races may sign up on race day starting at 9:30 AM at shelter 5 at the north end of Lincoln Park. The entry fee is $15.00.
The Seattle Open is the final stop of the North American Winter Cross Country series. This fall and winter, meets in the series have been contested in Boston, Tacoma; Long Beach, CA; Orlando, Houston, Winston-Salem, NC; San Francisco; and, last Saturday in Readington, New Jersey.
--end--
NOTES: The entry list and results from the Seattle Open will be posted on the Club Ballard website at http://www.accessone.com/~clubalrd
Directions to Lincoln Park: From Interstate 5, take the West Seattle
Bridge and follow it to the end. Head towards Fauntleroy Way SW, and
follow all signs leading to the Vashon Ferry terminal for about three
miles. The park will be on the right hand side past the Texaco Mini-Mart.
Park either on the street or in the main north parking lot. The
registration area (picnic shelter #5) is about 200 meters north of the
north parking lot.
Top
Here are highlights of the first of a series of media teleconferences leading up to the USA Winter National Cross Country Championships, presented by adidas. The national championships are February 13-14 at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Tacoma.
The first teleconference, held January 21st, featured top Seattle area contenders Brad Barquist (Bainbridge Island); Rob Cook (Seattle); Craig Dickson (Olympia); and, Katrina Price-Crosby (Seattle), along with meet director Mike Scott, and media relations director Paul Merca.
The four athletes participating in the teleconference have represented the United States in previous World Cross Country championship competition.
Members of the media who missed today's teleconference and wish to listen to it may call Tom Surber at USA Track & Field (317-261-0500, extension 317) to receive the information on how.
---------------
Explain how you're going to get the course ready---
MIKE SCOTT: The course set up (at Lake Spanaway Golf Course) begins at first light that day (Friday)...being that the course is on a golf course, it should be fairly easy...the course itself is fairly flat...it's designed to simulate a lot of world cross country courses which are fairly flat...it's a 2k loop over fairly flat terrain; it's very spectator friendly.
There will be no obstacles (hay bales) on the course...it's our understanding that there won't be any obstacles (in Belfast)...
Comments on the course
ROB COOK--It's a flat course, although it's not extremely fast. I think it's a fair assessment for sending the best team to the world championships. It's fairly similar to most of the world cross courses I've run...
BRAD BARQUIST: The course is very well sheltered from the wind...unless we have a huge storm, we won't have hardly any wind at all...
Has there been a major meet held at this course?
MIKE SCOTT--This is the second meet that's been on this course (the USA Northwest regionals in November was the course's debut)...the course is primarily on the rough (of the golf course)...and it uses most of Lake Spanaway's first nine holes.
Explain your injury problems (Barquist, a 1996 Olympian at 10000 meters, missed the 1998 season with an injury to his flexor hallucis longus tendon):
BRAD BARQUIST: I'm pretty much 100% healthy. I had FHL tendon problem in my right foot. It's not common among distance runners and was difficult to diagnose... Trying to figure out how I got it and how to get rid of it were two challenges...I finally got some low volume training in September-October...I don't expect to be anywhere near top form in February.
(the FHL) is one long tendon starts at the top of the Achilles tendon and controls the downward pull of your big toe...
...the combination of not having boots that were not supportive enough and the high volume (he was running 100 mile weeks in the fall of 1997 when the injury happened, while fly fishing in Montana with his brother)
Discussion on splitting the nationals (having a fall national championships for clubs, and the winter nationals as the world cross country championships selection meet)--
BRAD BARQUIST--I'm still sort of torn on the issue...I'm concerned with the leadup to the world championships...I'm concerned on how it will affect the turnout...
KATRINA PRICE-CROSBY--It does the winter meet a disservice. I'm not certain (that the fall meet) is really necessary.
ROB COOK--I actually prefer the system as is...I like to run world cross...having the national meet in February makes it a lot easier to prepare for the world cross country championships...response from the athletes has been a little less than what I had expected. People requested it, and now they need to take advantage of it.
CRAIG DICKSON--The competition among the clubs was fun (in December)....Having the championships close to the worlds is good...travel is a negative thing...having to choose between the two meets...
Changes of training in Seattle (Price-Crosby moved to Seattle from Austin, Texas after graduation from the University of Texas law school):
KATRINA PRICE-CROSBY--Mostly realized the benefits of the move...that's largely due to the set-up in my life as well...the year I'm spending in Seattle is the complete opposite...my husband (Ian) is working for a federal judge....I'm concentrating full time on training and getting massages, and getting some good input from Dr. Dave Martin out on the east coast (Atlanta)...
Immediate plus was the lack of heat and humidity....I needed any help I can get mentally and physically...one of the biggest negatives is not having the sunshine (it's a minus)...it's been a struggle...to get out the door some days....
One of my favorite places to run is through the canyon through Ravenna Park...
Which event will you run?
KATRINA PRICE-CROSBY: I'm running the 8k & I'm fairly certain that most of the people who are previously running the 6k distance will run the 4k after the 8k, depending on how they do (the women's 8k is scheduled on Saturday, while the 4k occurs the next day).
BRAD BARQUIST: 12k
ROB COOK: 12k
CRAIG DICKSON: 12k
Last time the nationals were held in Seattle:
PAUL MERCA--It was in 1978 at the West Seattle Golf Course. That was the year that Greg Meyer and Alberto Salazar dueled it out for the title...the world cross country championship team trials were held in Seattle in 1989 and 1990 at the Tyee Valley Golf Course.
Talk about your recent half marathon in San Diego (on January 17th)--
KATRINA PRICE-CROSBY--it was a last-minute decision...originally, I was going to run the mile at the University of Washington indoor meet on Sunday...the course turned out to be a hilly course. Didn't see (eventual winner) Joan Nesbit...I ran about 1:17 or so.
Should you make the team, will you go to Belfast?
BRAD BARQUIST--That's a high probability...I'm getting in good shape fairly fast. My fitness level is fairly short of where Rob is right now...if I get the opportunity to select myself
KATRINA PRICE-CROSBY--I would travel if I made the team.
CRAIG DICKSON--I would go if I made the team...there would not be any hesitation about it.
ROB COOK--(making the team) is one of my goals for the season.
Top
adidas AMERICA SIGNS ON AS PRESENTING SPONSOR OF 1999 USA WINTER CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
(January 21, 1999) The 1999 USA Winter Cross Country Championships organizing committee today announced that adidas America will serve as the meet's presenting sponsor for the February 13-14 event at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course outside of Tacoma (WA).
"I am very excited to have adidas involved in such a major way with the championships," said championships meet director Mike Scott.
"adidas has a long history supporting the sport, including recently taking a leading role in the Foot Locker High School Cross Country Championships. adidas is providing us with the support necessary to produce a first class national championship, one that will set a high standard for future championships to achieve," Scott said.
USA Track & Field chief executive officer Craig Masback, speaking from his office in Indianapolis, expressed delight at adidas' title sponsorship of the national championships.
"We are thrilled that adidas has agreed to support one of our key championship events. Combined with what they are doing for our youth athletics program, our elite track and field events, and our indoor and outdoor track and field championships, adidas is playing a key role in the development of our leading athletes," Masback said.
"We at adidas are very excited about expanding our partnership with USA Track & Field and teaming with them on another outstanding event," stated Todd Klein, adidas America Promotions Manager. "We will continue to reinforce our commitment to the sport as the presenting sponsor for the 1999 USA Winter Cross Country Championships."
In addition to providing apparel and a variety of equipment and supplies for the championships, adidas is also contributing significant financial support that will provide for the championships' prize money purse.
Scott said that details on the prize money purse for the meet's top competitors will be announced shortly.
adidas is one of the world's leading athletic footwear and apparel
suppliers. Among its major sponsorships involving track and field
includes backing the International Amateur Athletic Federation, the
worldwide governing body for the sport.
Top
Tom Surber, USA Track & Field Media Relations
317-261-0500, extension 317
MEDIA ADVISORY: TELECONFERENCES WITH LEADING CONTENDERS FOR USA WINTER CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS SET TO BEGIN ON THURSDAY JANUARY 21ST
Members of the media are invited to participate on Thursday January 21st at 11 AM Pacific time (2 PM on the East Coast), in the first of a weekly series of teleconferences with leading athletes competing in the 1999 USA Winter Cross Country Championships on February 13-14, 1999 at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course outside of Tacoma.
Scheduled to participate in Thursday's teleconference, which focuses on the top local contenders competing at the national cross country championships, are: Brad Barquist (Bainbridge Island); Rob Cook (Seattle); Craig Dickson (Olympia); Shelley Smathers (Edmonds); and, Katrina Price-Crosby (Seattle).
All five runners have represented the United States at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in their careers.
The five athletes are also scheduled to compete in the final stop of the North American Winter Cross Country Challenge Series, the Seattle Open, at Lincoln Park, on January 30th.
For more information on participating in the teleconference, please
call Championships Media Relations Director Paul Merca at 206/499-4329, or
Tom Surber of the USA Track & Field Media Relations Department at
317/261-0500, extension 317.
Top
BRAD BARQUIST INTERVIEW (CONDUCTED JANUARY 7, 1999)
For Brad Barquist, 1998 was an aberration. After a two-year span in which he competed on the US Olympic team in the 10000 meters, and on the national team at the World Track & Field Championships in Athens in the same event, Barquist was nowhere to be found competing at the national level. A freak injury to his foot suffered while fly fishing with his brother at the end of the 1997 track season wiped out any hopes he had of running with this country's elite distance runners.
After months of rehabilitation, including pool running and stationary bike work ("There are only so many laps of the pool you can do before you start going crazy"), the Bainbridge Island resident began what he considered serious training towards the end of 1998.
In between talks about his fantasy football team ("Herman Moore of the Detroit Lions was killing my team, so I traded him....soon as I traded him, he starts producing!"), Barquist, a product of Bellevue's Interlake High School and the University of Michigan, who has competed at the World Cross Country Championships three times, discussed his plans for the 1999 season and beyond.
Q: How is your training progressing, given that you've really only started serious training since late last year?
BARQUIST: My fitness is returning. (The first goal) is staying healthy. I have not run three hard days since spring 1997. I really am training with June (and the USA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon) in mind. I have a long way to go. I'm not as strong as I want to be. Yet, I feel like I'm in a position to really start training.
When I can run sub 4:50 per mile on a tempo run, 65s for 400 repeats, or sub 4:30s for mile repeats, then I'll be ready to start racing.
Q: Back in November, you ran at the USA Northwest Regionals on the nationals course (he finished 35th in a time of 34:05 over 10 k). Describe that day.
BARQUIST: The Lake Spanaway race was a very humbling experience, to say the least. The last time that I took that bad of a beating was at the 1996 US nationals at Stanford (he finished 34th in 30:11 over 10k).
Q: What is your overall impression of the Lake Spanaway course?
BARQUIST: The course is very fast. You've got trees protecting the course, so the wind won't be as much of a factor. The only hill on the course is of no consequence, and the turns won't really break up your running rhythm as much as say, either the Stanford course or (Franklin Park in) Boston.
There is a bit of an advantage to having a course that's relatively easy compared to some of the other courses that we've had in past nationals...you can bluff your way through the race, where you can't on some of the tougher courses. (When you're going to a race of this caliber), you want to have total body fitness. I'm just not there yet.
Q: Do you feel any pressure at all to having to race at home?
BARQUIST: You always do, especially when friends or people that you know come out to a meet anywhere, whether it's an all comers meet or the World Championships, just to see you. Yes, but I welcome the pressure.
Q: Who do you see as the top contenders for the men's 12K national championship?
BARQUIST: Gary Stolz; Andre Williams (the winner of the USA Club Championships meet in Orlando in December); Dan Browne, if he decides to run the long race; Rob Cook; Nick Rogers; Mark Coogan; Matt Guisto and Pete Julian. In fact, anyone who enters this meet that's finished in the top ten the last couple of years has to be seriously considered. (Recent collegiate graduates) Adam Goucher and Mebrahtom Keflezighi have to be considered as well based on what they've done.
Q: You've competed on the course where the World Cross Country Championships in March in Belfast, Northern Ireland will be held. What are your impressions of the Belfast course?
BARQUIST: The weather conditions could get ugly. The wind is terrible. There are spots on the course that I recall where the grass is at least four inches high. You'll need the longest possible spikes on your shoes if you want to have good footing. But other than that, the crowd in Belfast is great! You'll have folks lined up, huddled in blankets and heavy coats, cheering and rooting for you every step of the way!
BARQUIST AT THE WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS:
1992--(Boston) 76th, 38:44
1994--(Budapest, Hungary) 146th, 37:33
1995--(Durham, England) 60th, 36:04
Top
SEATTLE'S COOK HOPES TO MAKE IT FOUR IN A ROW
NOTE: This is the first of a series of profiles of leading contenders competing at the USA Cross Country Championships February 13-14 at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course outside of Tacoma in Spanaway. Between now and the national championships, Seattle resident Rob Cook, representing New Balance, will compete in a cross country race in San Francisco on January 17th, and at the Seattle Open on January 30th at Seattle's Lincoln Park.
Seattle's Rob Cook has made each of the last three U.S. national cross country teams. On February 14, he will shoot for his fourth consecutive team berth.
Cook will face the nation's best in the 12-kilometer senior men's race, one of eight championship events to be contested at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Spanaway, Wash. the weekend of February 13 and 14.
Cook is no stranger to the Tacoma area, having taught math and science at Tacoma Community College for two and a half years. He currently works in the University of Washington's Office of Computing and Communications.
Prior to his arrival in the Pacific Northwest, Cook was a standout collegiate runner at the University of Virginia. While at Virginia, he copped Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) titles in the 3000-meter steeplechase (twice) and 3000m and 5000m runs. In addition, he placed eighth in the 1994 NCAA steeplechase.
Since moving to Seattle in 1995, the New Balance runner has established himself as one of the nation's premier distance runners. In the last three U.S. national cross country meets, he has placed 17th (1995), 5th (1996), and 5th (1997). He also was a finalist in the steeplechase at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Q AND A WITH ROB COOK [Interview conducted 12/22/98.]
Q. How has your training been coming along over the last few weeks?
A. It's going very well. [According to] some benchmark workouts that I've done for the last few years at different points in the season, I'm running as fast as I ever have, so I'd say it's coming along nicely for February.
Q. Give me an example of a "benchmark workout."
A. I did three laps of Discovery Park basically as fast as I ever have this past weekend. It's a 2.8-mile loop which I do three times, each time getting faster. I ran it in 43:02 total for the three laps.
Q. Describe a typical week at this stage of your training in terms of mileage and workouts.
A. I run about 100 miles a week -- twice a day Monday through Friday and then once a day on Saturday and Sunday. [I do] a moderate workout on Mondays -- it might be a five- or six-mile tempo run or ... a mini-fartlek run. Wednesday is a pretty hard workout: maybe 1000s on the grass or some sort of hill workout. And then Saturday is also a decent workout -- something like the Discovery Park workout or repeat miles at the Arboretum, with Sunday being what I call a long run -- it's 15 miles or so. And that's pretty consistent every week.
Q. Looking ahead to February 14, do you have any specific goals in mind, or do you just hope to race as well as you can?
A. Yeah, all you can really hope for is to run as well as you've set yourself up to run.... I do have a specific goal in that I really would like to make the world cross country team again, which is to finish top-six. If I can at least put myself close to that, I'd be pretty happy, but I really would like to go to [the world championships] again.
Q. At last year's cross country nationals, you took the lead about a mile into the race. Can we expect similar tactics from you this year?
A. Probably not. I'll probably try to stay a little more in the pack -- maybe a little more like I ran at Stanford two years ago, just making sure that I'm in that lead pack. That way, if and when a move occurs, I can hopefully cover it. Or maybe if it's late enough in the race and I feel like I need to make a move -- because I'm probably not going to be able to outkick people like Reuben Reina -- be able to make the move.
Q. How do you feel about the fact that this year's national championships will take place in Tacoma?
A. I love not having to travel.... I like [the Lake Spanaway course] a lot. They've done an excellent job of picking a course that is really similar to any world cross course I've ever seen in that it's relatively flat, it's a 2000-meter loop, it's an excellent spectator course.... Plus I think the weather will be to my liking.
Q. Can you specify what you mean by "to your liking"?
A. I think it's better for me personally if it's kind of rainy and cold and miserable. I feel like I run fairly well in that kind of stuff. At least it doesn't adversely affect my performance, typically.
Q. Given your high finishes at the last two national cross country meets, is there any added pressure on you this year?
A. I don't think so.... I'm going to run the race as well as I can, and if I fall on my face and don't finish, I'll be disappointed as much as anyone. But I feel like as long as I've trained well, I'm going to at least be competitive with most people in the race, and if there are six other guys that are in better shape than I am, well, that's the way it is. You can't stress out about those things, though. You'll drive yourself nuts.
Q. What do you consider to be your biggest athletic achievement to date?
A. Certainly one was making the final of the Olympic Trials. That was a goal for three years ... so it was nice to accomplish that.... It would have been nice to have run a little better in the final, but overall I was really happy with doing that. And I guess my other accomplishment I'm proud of is that, every national cross country race I've run in, I've finished at least as well as I have the year before [30th in 1994, 17th in '95, 5th in '96, 5th in '97].... If I can keep doing that, that would be nice.
Q. Of course, it's going to get harder and harder....
A. Yeah, it's going to get harder. Last year, I didn't improve any; I kind of stagnated. [Laughs.]
Q. What are your thoughts on the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney?
A. I would like to go back to the Olympic Trials, and I'd like to make the final, and, ultimately, you want to put yourself in a position where, if it's your day, you're going to finish top-three.... I think under 8:20 [in the steeplechase] is a reasonable goal for me, and if it happens in the final of the Olympic Trials, then you've probably made the team. So I think I'd like to go to 2000, although I am going to reserve the right to say, if I get tired of it, I'll move on with other things.
Q. To you, what makes cross country special as a sport?
A. There's a lot of things I like about it, but I think what I like about it most is, you just line everybody up on the starting line, and the gun goes off, and the first one across the finish line wins. It's very simple.... The other thing I like about it is, typically, you get muddy and you run on grass and you run in dirt and trees and woods and stuff like that. To me, that's a lot more exciting terrain than a track, most of the time. The other thing is, it's sort of a chicken-and-egg question, but I've always been pretty good at cross country, so I don't know if I like it because I'm good at it or I'm good at it because I like it.... But I've always felt like I've run at a different level in cross country than I have on the track, which is frustrating during track season, but it's nice during cross country season.
Q. What about those rumors linking you to Monica Lewinsky?
A. I'd have to talk to my lawyers about that. I'm not sure I'm allowed to
comment.
Top
CLUB BALLARD TO HOST SEATTLE OPEN CROSS COUNTRY CLASSIC ON JANUARY 30TH
Club Ballard Athletics announced today that the Seattle-based track and field club will stage the Seattle Open Cross Country Classic on Saturday, January 30th at Lincoln Park in Seattle as the final stop in the North American Winter Cross Country Series.
Race director and Club Ballard team manager Paul Merca states that the meet will offer many of the athletes from the Pacific Northwest a final competitive opportunity before the USA Winter Cross Country Championships at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course outside of Tacoma two weeks later.
"As USA Track & Field has moved the national championships to mid-February from its traditional late November/early December window in order to conform with the international calendar, the competitive opportunites for athletes wishing to run cross country races domestically after December is very limited."
"Club Ballard is happy to provide the distance runners of this area a chance to see where they are before the national championships, and we're delighted to stage this meet", Merca said. "We anticipate the participation of many of the Pacific Northwest's elite distance runners in both the short-cross (4K) and the long races, including several runners who have competed at the international level of the sport."
The meet will consist of a men's and women's 4-kilometer race and community run at 11:00 AM; a women's 6-kilometer race; and a men's 10-kilometer competition, both of which starts at 11:45 AM.
All races will be contested over a European-style 2-kilometer loop course going through the north and central portions of Lincoln Park. This course was originally designed for the 1999 USA Women's World Cross Country Team Trials, before the Pacific Northwest Association of USA Track & Field was awarded the USA Winter Cross Country Championships.
The men's 10K and the women's 6K races also features an international team challenge competition between teams representing American states and Canadian provinces. The first four finishers from each state or province will score for their team, while the first six displace per International Amateur Athletic Federation rules. There is no team scoring in the short cross country race.
Entry forms for the race are now available at several Seattle-area sports stores, including Super Jock 'n Jill in Green Lake; Foot Zone on Capitol Hill; and NIKE TOWN in Downtown Seattle. Interested participants may send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Club Ballard, Box 70601, Seattle, WA., 98107-0601. An entry form will also be posted shortly at the team's web site, which is:
The entry fee for the event is $10.00, before January 23rd. There will be day-of-race registration; however, the entry fee on race day is $15.00.
So far, meets in the North American Winter Cross Country Series have been staged in Boston; Tacoma; Long Beach, CA; and Orlando, FL. The remaining meets in the series are in Houston on December 19th; Winston-Salem, NC (9 January); San Francisco (17 January); and, Readington Township, NJ (23 January).
Telephone inquiries for the race may be directed to Paul Merca at
206/499-4329. You may also send email inquiries to clubalrd@accessone.com,
or visit the club's web site at www.accessone.com/~clubalrd.
Top
CHAMPIONSHIPS DIRECTOR AWARDED DORIS HERITAGE AWARD
Orlando, FL)--USA Track & Field awarded Mike Scott (Newport, RI) the Doris Heritage Award at the organization's recent annual meeting in Orlando. The Doris Heritage Award is presented annually to an individual for distinguished contributions to the sport of women's cross country.
Scott, an academic advisor for student-athletes at the University of Rhode Island (Kingtson, RI), was honored for his efforts in organizing the inaugural USA Winter Cross Country Championships, which will be held in Tacoma (WA) on February 13-14, and for developing a fall and winter series of cross country meets to provide high performance competitive opportunities for athletes preparing for the USA Championships.
USATF women's cross country chair Anne Timmons presented the award with the following citation:
"I had the privilege of first meeting Mike Scott when he was an athlete at Harvey Mudd College. He later went to graduate school at my alma mater, the University of Washington.
"Little did we all know what an impact he would have on cross country in just about every area of the country in just a few years hence. First in Seattle, he became active in association event and in coaching area athletes for Club Northwest. As an instrumental organizer, he made use of his talents when he made a bid for his association and was awarded the trials for the women's team selection for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. When the men's and women's cross country committees decided to go for a new format with fall and winter championships, Mike rose to the occasion and accepted the responsibility to now host the first winter national championships which will be held in Tacoma in 1999. But Mike was not finished. In order to insure that this new undertaking was to be successful, he went on to organize a series of fall and winter cross country meets which lead to the Winter National Championships.
"Additionally, Mike has been a the key player in putting together the CanAm track series in the Northeast and a similar series in the Northwest. Another item of note is Mike's contributions to the internet track news group where he is a regular contributor."
Scott qualified individually for two NCAA cross country championships while at Harvey Mudd College. While working on his masters degree at the University of Washington, he ran on the Seattle-based Club Northwest squad that won the 1990 USA 12k Cross Country Championships.
Following his retirement as competitive athlete, Scott took over Club Northwest's reigns and coached the club's women's cross country team to national championship titles in 1991, 1993, and 1996 and the men's team to a national title in 1991 as well as a runner-up performance in 1995. The three women's titles in six years are more than that of any other women's team this decade. Scott also served as Team Leader for the USA National Team that competed at the 1994 Yokohama (Japan) International Ekiden.
Also while in Seattle, Scott directed numerous events including the 1997 PAC-10 Track & Field Championships, the 1993 USCAA Relays, the Seattle International Track Classic (which he founded in 1991 as part of the Northwest International Track & Field Series), and the PNAC Cross Country Meet. Earlier this year, Scott helped found the highly successful CanAm High Performance Distance Circuit to provide high performance competition opportunities for North America's elite and emerging athletes during the summer months.
Despite relocating to Rhode Island in early 1998, Scott is the Championships Director for the inaugural USA Winter Cross Country Championships at Lake Spanaway Golf Course, outside of Tacoma, and continues to coach several Seattle-area athletes including three-time US National Cross Country Team member Rob Cook and fifth-ranked British steeplechaser Brian Montgomery.
For further information, contact:
-
Paul Merca
Media Director, USA Cross Country Championships
206-499-4329
or Mike Scott directly
401-848-5121 home
401-874-7556 work
Top
GARY STOLZ AND ANDREA DELLA MONICA EARN VICTORIES AT USA WESTERN REGIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
(Long Beach, CA) Former Stanford standout Gary Stolz, representing the Nike Farm Team, and Andrea della Monica, competing for Fila Track West, cruised to victory at the USA Western Regional Cross Country Championships at El Dorado Regional Park Course today, with Stolz winning the men's 10 kilometer race in 31:03, and della Monica coming out victorious in the women's 5 kilometer race in 17:08
In today's stop on the North American Winter Cross Country Circuit, the men's race was was relaxed early on, with the leaders crossing the mile mark at 5:00. Steve Frisone made a move between the first and second mile to put some distance on Stolz.
Shortly after the halfway mark of the race, Stolz closed in on Frisone, and pulled away for the victory, extending his victory margin to 37 seconds over Frisone, who earned the silver medal. Dave Schumacher finished third behind Frisone in 31:52.
The women's 5K was a duel between della Monica, a former UCLA middle distance runner making the transition to competing at the longer distances, and Kim Fitchen, formerly of UC Santa Barbara from the gun.
Fitchen led for nearly all of the race at El Dorado Park, before della Monica used her middle distance speed to unleash a lethal and decisive kick in the last 300m for the four-second win over the Farm Team's Fitchen. della Monica's Fila Track West teammate Kristin vonTeuber was a distant third in 17:31. Former Mercer Island High School and Stanford standout Dena Day finished eighth in 18:23.
The Stolz-led Nike Farm Team from the San Francisco Bay area won the men's team title 19-36 over Fila Track West, with the Los Feliz Flyers third with 73 points. della Monica's win led the southern California-based Fila Track West women's squad over the Nike Farm Team 22-52, with the Impala RC third with 74 points.
The USA Western Regional meet at El Dorado Park is part of a series of cross country meets throughout the United States designed to give athletes competitive opportunities leading into the USA Winter Cross Country Championships on February 13-14th at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Parkland, just outside of Tacoma. The top six finishers at the winter nationals in Parkland will represent the United States at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland in March.
The next stop on the North American Winter Cross Country Series tour is the USA Fall National Cross Country Championships in Orlando, Florida on December 7th. Other stops on the tour include Houston, TX (Dec 19); Winston-Salem, NC (Jan 9); San Francisco, CA (Jan 17); TBA-New Jersey (Jan 23); and, Seattle, WA (Jan 30 @ Lincoln Park).
Men's Results:
1 Nike Farm Team 19 1-2-3-5-8
2 Fila Track West 36 4-6-7-9-10
3 Los Feliz Flyers 73 11-14-15-16-17
1 Gary Stolz 31:03 Nike Farm Team
2 Steve Frisone 31:40
3 Dave Schumacher 31:52
4 Christopher Lynch 32:09
5 Mark McManus 32:20 Nike Farm Team
6 Trent Bryson 32:39 Nike Farm Team
7 Israel Pose 32:41
8 Dave Olds 32:42 FILATrack West
9 Rey Flores 32:54 Nike Farm Team
10 Jeff Jacobs 32:56 FILATrack West
Women's Results
1 Fila Track West 22 1-3-4-5-9
2 Nike Farm Team 52 2-8-12-14-16
3 Impalas 74 6-13-15-18-22
1 Andrea Della Monica 17:08 FILATrack West
2 Kim Fitchen 17:12 Nike Farm Team
3 Kristin vonTeuber 17:31 FILATrack West
4 Misty Allison-Cohn 17:51 FILATrack West
5 Jennifer Gonzalez 18:04 FILATrack West
6 Chris Lundy 18:13 Impalas
7 Kellie Archuletta(Scas) 18:15 So Cal T C
8 Dena Dey 18:23 Nike Farm Team
9 Michele Buchicchio 18:26 FILATrack West
10 Jennifer Mills 18:29 FILATrack West
NOTE: Special thanks to Tyson Sacco for providing the race summary.
Top
RACHEL SAUDER AND NICK ROGERS WIN USA NORTHWEST REGIONAL CROSS COUNTRY MEET
(Tacoma, WA) Under drizzly skies, Nick Rogers, a former University of Oregon athlete, and Rachel Sauder, an Auburn University graduate residing in Salem, Oregon, won the USA Northwest Regional Cross Country Championship meet at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course.
Rogers took command shortly after the 8-kilometer mark after running for most of the race in a group of four athletes that included early leaders Craig Dickson of Olympia, Rob Cook of Seattle, and Germany's Uli Stiedl, a graduate student at the University of Washington.
Cook led the first three laps of the 2-kilometer course, running splits of 2:58, 6:03, and 18:30. Shortly after the six-kilometer point, Rogers, a former Washington state 3200-meter champion who attended Mt. Si High School in Snoqualmie, began taking command of the race.
"I wanted to work off the lead groups for the first three laps," said the winner. "I wanted to stay back and make a move after the 6-k point".
In the women's competition, Sauder took command of the race after the first of three laps and never relinquished it, after overtaking early leader Kelly Cordell of Gilbert, Arizona.
Sauder, who finished tenth at last year's USA Cross Country Championships in Portland said, "I wanted to run even today. I wanted to see who (among the women) was going to take it out."
"I feel like I did'nt have to work today. I just ran off the guys," said Sauder, in commenting on the fact that the men and women ran together.
Both winners agreed that the course was fairly fast. "I felt that this course was almost like a track meet. There were lots of turns, but it's a good cross country course", said Sauder.
"The course is great," Rogers said. "It's almost like a European course. If (the nationals at Lake Spanaway in February) it's dry, I think that the nationals will be a fast race.
In the men's team competition, Seattle's Club Northwest exacted revenge upon the Portland-based Red Lizards, scoring 21 points to the Red Lizards' 45. adidas-Runner's Pace came in third with 82, followed by the Oregon State University TC with 108 points. Club Northwest won the women's team title, as they were the only squad to field a full team.
For race organizers, today's race was a dry run for the USA Winter Cross
Country Championships on the same Lake Spanaway course February 13-14th.
The first six finishers in each of the championship races will represent
the United States at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Belfast,
Northern Ireland in March.
Top
BARQUIST & COOK HIGHLIGHT FIELD FOR USA NORTHWEST REGIONALS AT LAKE SPANAWAY
1996 United States Olympic team member Brad Barquist of Bainbridge Island, along with three-time World Championships team member Rob Cook head the field for the USA Northwest Regional Cross Country meet this Saturday afternoon at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Parkland, with the men's ten-kilometer (6.21 miles) and women's six-kilometer races (3.73 miles) starting simutaneously at 3:15 PM.
Saturday's competition at the Lake Spanaway course marks the debut of the new 2000-meter loop course that utilizes the first nine holes of the golf course, which will also be used for February's USA Winter Cross Country Championships. So for many of the competitors, Saturday's race marks the only time that the athletes running will get an up-close glimpse at the course before the USA Winter Cross Country Championships on February 13th & 14th.
"We look forward to having our region's top harriers test the national championships course on Saturday," stated championships director Mike Scott. "I feel Barquist and Cook will both contend for the national title in February, and I look forward to getting their feedback after the regional race."
For Barquist, Saturday's race marks his season debut, as the 1996 Olympian in the 10000 meter run will be testing his fitness after sitting out the 1998 track season with a series of injuries. Barquist, who has represented the USA on three World Cross Country champioship squads, is looking to reclaim the form that made the former University of Michigan standout one of the nation's premier harriers.
Cook on the other hand, goes into Saturday's showdown as having the advantage over Barquist in terms of races competed in this season, as he finished ninth in the Boston Mayor's Cup 8-kilometer cross country race on October 25th (23:51), and second in the Pacific Northwest Track & Field harrier championship meet at Seattle's Lower Woodland Park on November 8th over the 9.7 kilometer distance in 30:15. Like Barquist, the former Unversity of Virginia runner missed most of the 1998 track season, due primarily to an illness he contracted in Morocco in March, days before he was scheduled to run in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
The two former national team members are expected to receive strong challenges over the Lake Spanaway course from a host of runners, including Tacoma road racing standout Eric Tollefson, who won the PNTF cross country title on November 8th; Club Northwest's Craig Dickson from Olympia, who earned a national cross country team vest in 1990 and '94; Uli Steidl, a University of Washington graduate student from Germany and teammate of Dickson's; and, Ian Solof, competing for the Portland-based Red Lizards.
In the team competition, Seattle's Club Northwest hopes to use this race to exact a pay-back on the Red Lizards, comprised of former University of Portland runners. The Red Lizards pulled off the upset at the PNTF race at Lower Woodland on November 8th, winning by one point (27-28). Both teams are expected to be challenged by the US Army/WCAP team from Boulder, Colorado, comprised of several national-class runners.
The women's competition is projected to be an intrasquad meet between runners from Club Northwest, with former University of Washington All-American Danelle Kabush as the team's top runner based on her finish at the PNTF race.
Club Northwest is using this race to set their team's lineup for the USA Track & Field fall national championship race in Orlando, Florida on December 6th.
Perhaps bouyed by their football team's victory over Nebraska on Saturday, ex-Kansas State runner Jennifer Hillier, representing Asics, may challenge for top honors on Saturday. Hillier finished ahead of Kabush at the PNTF race. Additionally, former World Cross Country team members Shelley Smathers and Lisa Nye, along with a trio of entries from Colorado should add some spice to the race.
For athletes wishing to enter on race day, registration begins at 2:00 PM, with the entry fee $15.00.
The stakes will be raised at the winter nationals, as the top six runners in each race will represent the USA at the World Championships in March in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
NOTES: To get to the Lake Spanaway Golf Course from Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport, take I-5 south (to Tacoma), exiting to Hwy 512
east, toward Puyallup. Take the second exit, Pacific Avenue, and turn
right (south). Proceed approx. two miles. The Harry Sprinker Recreation Center
will appear on your right, and is the parking area for athletes and
spectators. The golf course is directly across Old Military Road.
Top
PETER SHERRY AND SINEAD DELAHUNTY WIN AT THE NEW ENGLAND USATF HARRIER MEET AS ROAD TO TACOMA BEGINS
Reebok Enclave member Peter Sherry began the road to Tacoma and the USA Winter Cross Country National Championships on Sunday November 15th by winning the men's competition at the New England USATF championship race at Franklin Park in Boston.
The New England USATF championship races turned into "catch me if you can" after the midway points. Competitor numbers were a bit down in the open fields, according to USATF New England spokesman Steve Vaitoines.
The men were led by a duo from the strong visiting squad of the Atlanta TC. At two miles it was Brian Clas and Sherry (9:52), but the order reversed on the field before three miles and the Reebok Enclave ace was the only runner to better 30:00 for the just-short-of 10K. Darin Shearer moved up to second by the fourth of five laps and took a well deserved 2nd, and headed up a Central Mass Striders team who will be among the favorites at the USA Fall Nationals in Orlando, Florida on December 6th.
Sinead Delahunty of Ireland, representing New Balance, was first off the field and first to the finish in the women's race, leading a stellar field over the 6017 meter course. Rosemary Ryan led the Boston AA to an impressive team win, as the local New Balance squad - with four of the top 8 - was one short of a scoring squad this week.
The New England USATF meet is part of a series of cross country meets throughout the United States designed to give athletes competitive opportunities before heading into the USA Winter Cross Country Championships on February 13-14th at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course in Parkland, just outside of Tacoma.
The other cities hosting races in the winter cross country circuit include: Parkland, WA (Lake Spanaway GC, Nov 21); Long Beach, CA (Nov 22); Orlando, FL (Dec 6); Houston, TX (Dec 19); Winston-Salem, NC (Jan 9); San Francisco, CA (Jan 17); TBA-New Jersey (Jan 23); and, Seattle, WA (Jan 30 @ Lincoln Park).
The USA Winter Cross Country Championship meet serves as the selection meet for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in March 1999 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The top six finishers in each of the six races (men's and women's junior; senior mens' and women's; and senior men's and women's short-course) will represent the USA in Belfast.
Results, USATF New England Cross Country Championships Franklin Park, Boston
Men's 9855 Meters (CR: Brad Schlapak, 28:49 1995)
1 Peter Sherry Reebok Enclave 29:58
2 Darin Shearer ($50) Central Mass Striders 30:14
3 Scott Bagley Central Mass Striders 30:29
4 Kevin Graham Atlanta TC 30:35
5 Jason Cullinane Central Mass Striders 30:41
6 Jack Dwyer Central Mass Striders 30:43
7 Chris Magill Boston A.A. 30:47
8 Bill Stewart Atlanta TC 30:49
9 Brian Clas New York AC 30:53
10 Adam Stuhlfaut Central Mass Striders 30:54
Women's 6017 meters (CR: 19:05, Joan Nesbit, 1995)
1. Sinead Delahunty ($50) New Balance 20:23
2. Rosemary Ryan Boston A.A. 20:32
3. Molly Watcke New Balance 20:40
4. Lesley Lehane B.A.A. 20:51
5. Jenna Rogers B.A.A. 20:58
6. Maribel Sanchez Central Mass Striders 21:05
7. Mimi Corcoran CMS 21:17
8. Marie McMahon New Balance 21:19
9. Judy Elfassey New Balance 21:33
10. Valerie Young Atlanta TC 21:35
MEN'S TEAM SCORES
1 Central Mass Striders ($150), 21; 2 Boston A.A. ($100), 64; 3 Atlanta
TC, 69; 4 Greater Lowell RR ($50), 116; 5 Greater Boston TC, 141; 6 Westchester TC 170;
7 Boston Running Club, 179; 8 Whirlaway Racing Team, 199
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES
1 Boston A.A. ($150), 29; 2 Central Mass Striders ($100), 50; 3.Atlanta TC,
66; 4 Boston Running Club ($50), 112; 5.Westchester TC 121; 6.Gr Boston TC, 202;
7 Greater Lowell RR 210; 8.Cambridge Sports Union, 221.
NOTE: Special thanks to New England USATF spokesman Steve Vaitoines for
providing information.
Top
TACOMA RESIDENT ROB COOK PLACES TENTH AT BOSTON MAYOR'S CUP CROSS COUNTRY RACE AS THE ROAD TO THE NATIONALS BEGINS
(Boston, MA., 25 October) Unseasonably warm (75 degrees) and sunny conditions kept times away from the course records at the Boston Mayor's Cup Cross Country Race at Franklin Park, one of a series of harrier races around the country leading up to the USA Winter Cross Country Championships in the Tacoma suburb of Parkland on February 13-14th.
Women's winner Lesley Lehane of the Boston Athletic Association ran from the front after the first half mile and was unchallenged the rest of the way, earning $200 in the process.
A trio of Life University runners took out the men's race at 4:08 for the first mile, at which point the NAIA school from Georgia had 6 of the top 7; past winner Abidi Bouazza noted that at 4:26, "I felt like I was dead weight in the pack". Life's strategy appeared t o be to run as fast as possible for as long as possible, and as such, their colors gradually merged with the rest of the race; Sammy Nyamongo, Kirwa, and Silah Misoi had close to 20 seconds on followers by 2 miles, but then the field slowly reeled them in.
2 time defending champ Misoi dropped at 4, and the chasers, led by Ray Pugsley and Chan Pons had caught Nyamongo up Bear Cage Hill, but Misoi flew down the back side and it came to a 200 meter sprint for the win with Kirwa holding on for the victory. Red-shirt North Carolina State runner Pons charged in for third.
Andre Williams of the Washington DC-based Reebok Enclave finished fourth in 23:22 and earned $200 (top three finishers were ineligible for cash prize due to collegiate eligibility).
Meanwhile, Tacoma native Rob Cook, competing for the first time since a series of injuries knocked him out of the 1998 track season, made a solid showing over the 8-kilometer course, as he finished tenth in a time of 23:51.
Cook, the three-time USA national cross country team member is projected by many as one of the runners that will be in prime contention at the national championships at the Lake Spanaway Golf Course to earn a spot on the American team that will compete in the World Championships in Belfast in March.
Boston Mayor's Cup Cross Country Race
Franklin Park, Boston MA.
25 October 1998
WOMEN (3.1 miles)
1, Lesley Lehane ($200), BAA, 16:37
2, Miesha Marzell ($150), Reebok Enclave, 16:44
3, Rosemary Ryan ($100), BAA, 16:57
4, Carol Howe ($50), adidas, 16:53
5, Maribel Sanchez, Central Mass Str, 17:08
6, Jenna Rogers, BAA, 17:12
7, Laura Baker, New Balance, 17:13
8, Mimi Corcoran, CMS, 17:15
9, Suzanne Walmsley, Boston RC, 17:18
10, Michelle Franklin, Syracuse Chargers, 17:28
Teams
1, BAA, 33; 2, Asics Club East, 55; 3, Central Mass Striders, 62
MEN (4.97 miles)
1, Francis Kirwa, Life U, 23:13
2, Sammy Nyamongo, Life U, 23:13
3, Chan Pons, unattached, 23:19
4, Andre Williams ($200), Reebok Enclave, 23:22
5, Ray Pugsley ($150), ReebEncl, 23:25
6, Scott Strand ($100), New Balance, 23:29
7, Mike Donnelly ($50), New Balance, 23:33
8, Brian Spoonire, ReebEncl, 23:48
9, Paul Mwangi, Westchester Puma, 23:51
10, Rob Cook, New Balance (Tacoma, WA) , 23:51
Teams:
1, Reebok Enclave, 36; 2, Life University, 41; 3, Central Mass Striders, 64
Note: Special thanks to Steve Vaitones of the USA Track & Field New
England office for the update.
Top
USA NORTHWEST REGIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP MEET SET FOR NOVEMBER 21ST
Distance running specialists from around the country along with open and club teams from the Northwest will converge onto Parkland's Lake Spanaway Golf Course on Saturday, November 21st at the 1998 USA Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships hosted by the Pacific Northwest Association of USA Track & Field. Racing gets underway with the 10-kilometer men's and the 6-kilometer women's races starting simultaneously at 3:15 PM.
The Northwest Regionals offers competitors coming to the Tacoma suburb a final tuneup race for USA Track & Field's December 6th Fall Cross Country National Championships in Orlando, Florida, as well as an opportunity for teams to vie for regional supremacy, led by Seattle's Club Northwest, perennially one of the country's top post-collegiate club squads.
The Northwest Regional meet is also one of a series of high-performance cross country meets for the nation's elite harriers, leading up to the USA Winter National Cross Country Championships on the same Lake Spanaway course February 13-14th, 1999.
In fact, the Regional meet also serves as the one opportunity for the nation's elite harriers to preview the course over which they vie for individual national titles and places on the USA National Team in February. The top placers in the Winter National Championships will represent the USA at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland in March 1999.
Lake Spanaway's cross country course consists of a series of 2000-meter (1.24 mile) loops encompassing most of the golf course's first nine holes. The race starts on the ninth hole, with each loop finishing near the fourth green. In each loop, the runners will traverse through one hill on the sixth hole.
Individuals wishing to compete in the Northwest Regionals may obtain entry forms from the Pacific Northwest Track & Field office at 4261 S. 184th St., SeaTac, WA 98188, or through the Internet at www.pntf.org/usaxc99. The entry fee for the Regionals is $10.00, with entries postmarked no later than November 14th. Runners who wish to sign up on race day may also do so at the golf course starting at 2 PM on race day for a $15.00 fee.
Competitors will also need to obtain either a 1998 or 1999 USA Track & Field membership card in order to compete in the meet. Applications for the cards may also be obtained through the PNTF office during regular business hours by calling 206/433-8868.
The meet hotel for both the Northwest Regionals and the USA Winter Cross Country Championships will be the Days Inn Tacoma, located at 6802 Tacoma Mall Boulevard in Tacoma. For meet rates, please contact the Days Inn at 253/475-5900 or 800/221-2680, and ask for the USA Cross Country rate.
For more information, contact the PNTF Office at 206/433-8868 or visit the
meet's website at www.pntf.org/usaxc99.
Top
LAKE SPANAWAY GOLF COURSE TO HOST 1999 USA WINTER CROSS COUNTRY NATIONALS
(Tacoma, Washington)--Meet organizers announced today that Tacoma's Lake Spanaway Golf Course will be the site of the 1999 USA Winter Cross Country Nationals on February 13-14, 1999. America's top harriers will vie for national individual titles as well as for places on the US national team that will compete at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland, during March 1999.
"I am very excited that Lake Spanaway Golf Course will play host to the 1999 USA Winter Cross Country Nationals," stated championships director Mike Scott. "We looked at many sites in the Seattle and Tacoma areas and Lake Spanaway is an outstanding venue. We have been able to develop a course at Lake Spanaway similar to that the athletes will face in Belfast at the World Championships."
The site is also excellent for spectators, with a course designed for spectator viewing and ample parking across the street at Sprinker Recreation Center.
"When the Pacific Northwest Association submitted its bid for hosting the National Championships and trials for selecting the team to represent the USA at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Belfast, N.I.," said USATF Women's Cross Country subcommittee chair Anne Timmons, "the joint cross country committees of USATF knew that they could count on exceptional adminstration and enthusiam to put on a first class event. So far, the pre-event planning is on target and I am truly looking forward to seeing all of the fine talent and efforts of the Pacific Northwest Association put to task."
The organizing committee is receiving strong support from the local community. The Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission has awarded a grant from the Sports Commission's Amateur Athletic Fund to help defray meet expenses.
"We are extremely proud that Pacific Northwest Track & Field and USA Track & Field have agreed to host the cross country national championships in our community," said Mike Shields, Executive Director of Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Commission. "We look forward to working with the local organizing committee to ensure that the '99 championships are the best ever!"
The 1999 USA Winter Cross Country Nationals will be the first championships conducted under the new annual schedule approved at the 1997 USATF Annual Meeting. Cross country, long a fall sport in the US, is practiced during the winter months in the rest of the world. Elite athletes successfully lobbied USATF to move its harrier championships and team trials from the fall to bring the US in line with the international calender.
Under the new annual plan, the US's top harriers will compete for the individual crown and national team positions at the winter championships, while teams from Nike, adidas, New Balance, and other national clubs will compete for the National Club Team Championship.
"It gives me a high degree of confidence to have a group of the quality of the Pacific Northwest Association putting this meet on for the first time," stated USATF Men's Cross Country subcommittee chair Bill Roe. "I know the athletes will appreciate the care taken on their behalf by people genuinely concerned about athletes."
Eight championship races will be contested during the two-day meet: the Junior Women's 6k, Junior Men's 8k, Senior Women's 4k and 8k, Senior Men's 4k and 12k, Masters Women's 4k, and Masters Men's 6k.
USATF will continue to contest a fall championship meet. Under the plan approved last December, the fall championships will be contested most years in the same area as USATF's Annual Meeting and will highlight competition among the nation's many local club teams. The 1998 fall championships will be contested in Orlando at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, while the 1999 fall meet is scheduled for Los Angeles.
Plans are also underway to develop both fall and winter cross country
grand prix series to prepare US athletes for the national and world
championships.
Top
| Other Links | Sponsors |
|
|