AGE DIVISIONS
40-44 Melody
Fairchild dominated this division
as she did the overall race but the rest of the podium was contested by Sarah Raitter, and the Boise Betty
teammates, Allison Nuxoll and Sarah Barber.
Among those three, Raitter went out fastest, ending the first loop 12 seconds behind Fairchild but 8 ahead of Nuxoll with Barber 3 seconds further back.
Barber pushed the pace in the 2nd loop to try to close with Raitter but she could only take 2 seconds off her lead. And that proved costly in the end as Raitter pulled away on the final loop to win by 21 seconds., and Barber's teammate, Nuxoll, had a little more in the tank for the last loop,
eventually closing and then passing her teammate to claim the bronze medal by 8 seconds.
Fairchild 24:02 Raitter 25:20 Nuxoll 25:41
.
 |
| Sarah Raitter headed for the 40-44 Silver Medal at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
Barber pushed the pace in the 2nd loop to try to close with Raitter but she could only take 2 seconds off her lead. And that proved costly in the end as Raitter pulled away on the final loop to win by 21 seconds., and Barber's teammate, Nuxoll, had a little more in the tank for the last loop,
 |
| Allison Nuxoll, 40-44 Bronze Medalist at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
eventually closing and then passing her teammate to claim the bronze medal by 8 seconds.
Fairchild 24:02 Raitter 25:20 Nuxoll 25:41
.
Sallberg, Howell and Gardiner took 1-2-3 in this division as
well as overall. After establishing a modest 7 second lead on the first loop, Sallberg soared away from everyone, adding nearly half a minute to his lead every loop as he ultimately won by 90 seconds. Gardiner and Howell had a stirring battle for 2nd as they matched surge for surge with never more than a second or two separating them. In the final loop, Howell made a surge that Gardiner could not match and pulled away for an 8 second win.
David Angell who hung tough with Gardiner and Howell over the first three loops ended up in 4th, 11 seconds back from Gardiner.
Sallberg 26:29 Howell 27:59 Gardiner 28:07
 |
| John Howell leading John Gardiner at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
David Angell who hung tough with Gardiner and Howell over the first three loops ended up in 4th, 11 seconds back from Gardiner.
Sallberg 26:29 Howell 27:59 Gardiner 28:07
45-49 Grace Padilla, who was second overall,
won this division by over
a minute. and Angela Lindbo, though
not as dominant, led Sonya Wilkerson by 7 seconds at the end of loop1, by 18 seconds at the end of 2 loops and pulled further ahead on the final loop, to take 2nd by 30 seconds.
Cindy Abrami and Sonya Wilkerson, who battled for 2nd and 3rd overall last year, renewed their rivalry. It looked like Wilkerson might reverse their order of finish last year as she led Abrami by 4 seconds at the end of 1 and by 6 seconds at the end of 2 loops. But those two laps took a toll. Abrami turned it up a notch on the final loop while Wilkerson struggled.
As a result Abrami was able to close and then pass Wilkerson, growing the margin to 14 seconds by the finish line, and claiming the bronze medal. Wilkerson had to be satisfied with 4th place.
Padilla 24:52 Lindbo 26:11 Abrami 26:41
 |
| Angela Lindbo on her way to the 45-49 Silver Medal at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
Cindy Abrami and Sonya Wilkerson, who battled for 2nd and 3rd overall last year, renewed their rivalry. It looked like Wilkerson might reverse their order of finish last year as she led Abrami by 4 seconds at the end of 1 and by 6 seconds at the end of 2 loops. But those two laps took a toll. Abrami turned it up a notch on the final loop while Wilkerson struggled.
 |
| Sonya Wilkerson heading for the 45-49 Bronze Medal at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
As a result Abrami was able to close and then pass Wilkerson, growing the margin to 14 seconds by the finish line, and claiming the bronze medal. Wilkerson had to be satisfied with 4th place.
Padilla 24:52 Lindbo 26:11 Abrami 26:41
Matthew Farley took it out hard on the first loop but Liam Collins stayed right with him, trailing by only two seconds as they headed out for the 2nd loop.Craig Godwin and Steven Frisone were 6 and 11 seconds back respectively.
 |
| Matthew Farley [#364] at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
On the second loop Farley pulled away from Collins, who was caught and passed by Steven Frisone. Craig Godwin, also passed by Frisone, moved up to within 3 seconds of Collins.
 |
| John Gardiner [#382], Liam Collins [#432] and Torrey Lindbo [#428] at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo posted on Team Red Lizard's Facebook page] |
Farley and Frisone added to their respective leads and try as he might, Godwin could not get past Collins.
 |
| Orin Schumacher leading Steven Frisone at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
Farley took the division gold medal, with Frisone 16 seconds back in second. A half minute later Collins was over the line for bronze, with an 8 second margin over Godwin.
Farley 29:02 Frisone 29:18 Collins 29:50
50-54 Tania
Fischer, Susan Hay, and Marisa Sutera Strange took 1-2-3 in
this division just as they went 3-4-5 overall. Fischer and Hay had a terific race with Fischer getting out to a 7 second second lead and then Hay gradually chipping away at that lead, taking a few seconds out of it each loop. But try as she might, Fischer's resolve was too strong as she held on for the two second victory. Strange started out at a more measured pace, feeling her way around the tricky parts of the course, but flew on the second to close all of the gap to Hay and pass her, almost closing on Fischer. But then the 3rd loop had the better of Strange and she had to settle for 3rd place. Kirsten Leetch finished 4th and in 5th it was Kathleen Cushing-Murray, who finished between Fischer and Strange at Club XC, but was one of those who tangled with the course and carried the evidence through the race.
Fischer 24:55 Hay 24:57 Strange 25:13
 |
| Kathleen Cushing-Murray, trying to close the gap on the leaders at the 2017 USATF XC Championship in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
Fischer 24:55 Hay 24:57 Strange 25:13
Carl Combs was looking to repeat his dominant win of 2016 on this course. Rob Arsenault is a tenacious runner on the roads and the turf and was probably the only runner likely to give him a battle. The firs three loops played out just like the year before. The first loop saw Combs take a 7 second lead on David Engstrom, with 16 seconds on Arsenault. The second loop saw Arsenault pass Engstrom but lose another 7 seconds to Combs. Heading into the final loop, Combs had 34 seconds on Arsenault and it looked like he could stroll in with the victory. But Combs succumbed to the sick bug that had bothered him before the race on the last loop and that put an end to Combs's repeat chances. Combs struggled, and Arsenault threw in his best loop of the day to claim the victory by half a minute.
David Engstrom never threatened Combs, finishing a minute back in 3rd, but with 45 seconds on Rob's brother, Dan Arsenault, who finished in 4th..
R. Arsenault 30:23 Combs 30:56 Engstrom 31:55
 |
| Rob Arsenault at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo posted on Facebook by Leilani Rios] |
David Engstrom never threatened Combs, finishing a minute back in 3rd, but with 45 seconds on Rob's brother, Dan Arsenault, who finished in 4th..
R. Arsenault 30:23 Combs 30:56 Engstrom 31:55
55-59 Gail
Hall took it out hard, building a 14 second lead over Betsy Miller who, in turn had 5 seconds on Kelly Kruell. Hall accelerated her pace in the 2nd loop as the other two strugled with Kruell passing Miller.
Hall took the gold in 28:28 by over a minute and a half, with Kruell 2nd and Miller 52 seconds further back in third.
Hall 28:28 Kruell 30:16 Miller 31:08
 |
| Jennifer Anderson (right) leading Gail Hall (left) at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
Hall took the gold in 28:28 by over a minute and a half, with Kruell 2nd and Miller 52 seconds further back in third.
Hall 28:28 Kruell 30:16 Miller 31:08
Joe Sheeran, runner up in this division at the 2015 Club XC Championships, gave Pete Magill, winner of the division in the 2016 Club XC Championships quite
a battle for the win. Sheeran was a stride back from Magill at the end of the first loop. But Magill wrestled with the course on the 2nd loop and the course won a fall. Sheeran was now up by 23 seconds as he was able to maintain a rock-steady pace. But Magill was not done, taking 7 seconds out of the lead on the third loop when Sheeran's pace flagged slightly. Magill was able to turn it up a notch on the last loop, even though Sheeran again held tough and made him earn every second. In the end Magill had the victory by 5 seconds.
So the Course could brag that it got a fall up on Magill, but in the end Magill's wrestling match with the course was decided in his favor. Nate Anderson and Steven Kollars contended for bronze. But Anderson went out 16 seconds faster ont he first loop. In the end that was decisive. Kollars took a second out of the lead on the 2nd loop but then Anderson added 6 to it on the 3rd loop before Kollars took the 6 seconds back on the final loop. So Anderson got the bronze medal by 15 seconds.
Magill 30:27 Sheeran 30:32 Anderson 34:27
 |
| Pete Magill [foreground] at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo posted on Facebook by Leilani Rios] |
So the Course could brag that it got a fall up on Magill, but in the end Magill's wrestling match with the course was decided in his favor. Nate Anderson and Steven Kollars contended for bronze. But Anderson went out 16 seconds faster ont he first loop. In the end that was decisive. Kollars took a second out of the lead on the 2nd loop but then Anderson added 6 to it on the 3rd loop before Kollars took the 6 seconds back on the final loop. So Anderson got the bronze medal by 15 seconds.
Magill 30:27 Sheeran 30:32 Anderson 34:27
60-64 Jill
Miller-Robinett had a 3 minute margin on Joanna Harper at the Club Cross Country Championships in December.
But the course and the tricky footing made this a different sort of contest. Harper and Lynelle Paulick went out in 10:09 with a ten second margin on Miller-Robinett and 25 on Suzanne Ray.
Paulick fell back from Harper on the 2nd loop, 26 seconds behind as they headed out for the final loop. Miller-Robinett had closed to within 7 seconds of Paulick and Ray had pulled to within 3 seconds of Miller-Robinett. Harper built her lead on the final loop, finishing with a 47 second margin of victory. Miller-Robinett tried to keep Ray at bay but had no answer when Ray finally passed to claim the silver medal by two seconds. Paulick, who struggled on the last loop came in 4th, a minute back.
Harper 31:02 Ray 31:49 Miller-Robinett 31:51
 |
| Joanna Harper (#476) at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
Paulick fell back from Harper on the 2nd loop, 26 seconds behind as they headed out for the final loop. Miller-Robinett had closed to within 7 seconds of Paulick and Ray had pulled to within 3 seconds of Miller-Robinett. Harper built her lead on the final loop, finishing with a 47 second margin of victory. Miller-Robinett tried to keep Ray at bay but had no answer when Ray finally passed to claim the silver medal by two seconds. Paulick, who struggled on the last loop came in 4th, a minute back.
Harper 31:02 Ray 31:49 Miller-Robinett 31:51
Gary Radford had a great fall season and it looked like he had had a good winter of training as he finished off the first loop in 8:12 with a 4 second bulge on Greg Wilson, and 7 on Sheldon Subith. Wilson and Subith fell back in the 2nd loop as Radford enjoyed a 26 second lead at the end of two loops. Subith now had a 2 second margin on Wilson. Radford maintained his 26 second lead through the end of the 3rd loop, but Wilson fell another 8 seconds back from Subith. On the final loop Subith took 15 seconds out of Radford's lead but there was too much distance to make up and Radford claimed gold with a 12 second gap back to Subith. In the menatime, Subith had pulled further ahead fo Wilson ending up with a 29 second margin. Mark Rybinski used a strong finish to catch and pass Kevin Clinefelter for 4th place.
Radford 34:27 Subith 34:39 Wilson 35:08
Radford 34:27 Subith 34:39 Wilson 35:08
65-69 Jeanette
Groesz had not run a road race in three years until she ran a 7:12 mile
last summer. It hardly looked like she was ready to challenge runners like Jo Anne Rowland and Sharlet Gilbert but she was. Groesz had
a 20 second lead on Gilbert by the end of the first loop, with Rowland another
20 seconds back from Gilbert. Groesz widened the lead the rest of the way,
taking the Gold medal by over a minute. Rowland, who passed Gilbert in the 2nd
loop, came in next with Gilbert 50 seconds back in 3rd.
Groesz 32:01 Rowland 33:11 Gilbert 34:01
Groesz 32:01 Rowland 33:11 Gilbert 34:01
Ignacio Jimenez was in a class by himself in this race, winning
the division Gold by almost 4 minutes. Jerry
Learned showed what a tough Cross Country runner he is, fighting off John Hirschberger who took the honors
between the two of them at Club Cross Country 8 weeks ago. Hirschberger took an
early 3 second lead over Learned. But the Atlanta Track Club veteran reversed
that margin by the end of the 2nd loop, added to it somewhat in the third, and then blew their race open in the final loop, taking the silver medal by 17 seconds over Hirschberger.
John Barry finished 56 seconds back in 4th.
Jimenez 34:34 Learned 38:30 Hirschberger 38:47
 |
| John Barry at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
John Barry finished 56 seconds back in 4th.
Jimenez 34:34 Learned 38:30 Hirschberger 38:47
70-74 Dianne
Anderson took this division
unopposed in 43:43.
Local runner, Paul Caisse, who finished 2nd
last year, established a 3 second gap over Gene French in the first loop. French, in turn, had a 45 second gap on Charlie Patterson. stretched it to 5 seconds
on the 2nd, and to 6 seconds by the end of the 3rd loop.
French closed very slightly on the last loop but Caisse took gold by 5 seconds over
French. Patterson hung tough over the last 3 loops, taking third 42 seconds back from French.
Caisse 44:45 French 44:50 Patterson 45:32
Caisse 44:45 French 44:50 Patterson 45:32
75-79 Andrew Sherwood took the gold medal in this division with nearly 20 minutes to spare. Al Swan
claimed the silver medal.
Sherwood 54:48 Swan 1:14:08
Congratulations to all who took on this tough course and wound up national champions, hats off to those who wound up on the podium, and to all of those who competed!
 |
| Al Swan at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo by Michael Scott] |
Sherwood 54:48 Swan 1:14:08
Congratulations to all who took on this tough course and wound up national champions, hats off to those who wound up on the podium, and to all of those who competed!
TEAMS
In contrast to last
year, the Women’s teams showed up in this event and enjoyed some spirited
competition. And as usual, for both Men’s and Women’s teams, it was primarily a
battle royal between the teams from
California and those from the Pacific Northwest, with a few Eastern teams mixed in
here and there.
W40+ Two regional powerhouses from the area, Team Red Lizard from Portland and the Boise Betties from Idaho aimed to defend the Northwest against the efforts of the
California team, rabbit racing. Also
competing was the Oiselle Running Club.
Despite the national affiliation that name suggests, it is apparently a chapter of the
Oiselle brand that is based in Seattle. The Boise Betties had the top two finishers
but then the Red Lizards’ took the
next two spots and 5th to earn the title 13 points to Boise’s 15.
The rabbit racing team took the bronze with 25 points. Congratulations to
Team Red Lizard: Angele Lindbo, Jennifer
Seibel, Sonya Wilkerson and Janna
Heinonen.
W50+ One eastern team, the
2015 Masters Grand Prix Champions, the Athena
Track Club, challenged Southern Cal’s the Jane’s Elite, Portland’s Team
Red Lizard and Seattle’s Club Northwest in the 50 and up
division. The first 3 runners finishing were from Jane’s, Lizard and Athena in
that order. But then the Jane’s took the next two spots and the race for gold
was over as Jane’s was in with 10 points. When the 2nd and 3rd
runners from the Red Lizards finished ahead of the next two from Athena, the
race for team silver was also done as the Lizards had 16 points to Athena’s 26.
Congratulations to the Jane’s Elite: Tania
Fischer, Kirsten Leetch, Kathleen Cushing-Murray and Kelle Taylor.
 |
| Victorious Janes Elite [l to r: Kathleen Cushing-Murray, Kirsten Leetch, Tania Fischer] and Grace Padilla at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo posted on Facebook by Leilani Rios] |
W60+ The Impala
Racing team from the San Francisco Bay area went home with the 60 and up
trophy last year but Team Red Lizard
put forth competitive teams in each division to limit the California dominance.
And they were successful here too, taking the top two spots and fourth as well,
winning 7 to 14. Congratulations to Team Red Lizard: Joanna Harper, Suzanne Ray, and Jeanette Groesz.
In terms of regions, that made it two for Oregon
[Pacific Northwest] and one for Southern Cal.
How about the Men’s teams?
How about the Men’s teams?
M40+ Two Oregon teams,
the defending Champion Bowerman Track Club and, who else, Team Red Lizard sought to protect the
home turf against So Cal’s Cal Coast
Track Club, Sacramento’s River City
Rebels and Santa Barbara’s rabbit
racing.Bowerman and Cal Coast split the top two spots but when the Bowerman
team claimed 3rd, 4th and 5th, it was all but
over. When they took 7th also they had the win with 20 points. Cal
Coast was comfortably in 2nd with 51 and the Red Lizards closed off
the podium with 83 points, two ahead of the River City Rebels. Congratulations
to John Howell, Greg Mitchell, Matthew
Farley, Orrin Schumacher, Joshua Gordon, Ahrlin Bauman, Oscar Baumann, and David Ross.
 |
| Bowerman TC M40+ and M50+ at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Posted on Greg Mitchell's Facebook page] |
M50+ The 50 and up division was strictly Cal Coast TC against the Bowerman TC. Cal Coast got the first two spots but Bowerman had the next two so it was still anyone’s game. Cal Coast nabbed the 5th position but then a Bowerman runner nipped a Cal Coast runner for sixth so they had a chance still. But when Cal Coast had the next runner in too, they were in the gold medal position with 23 points to Bowerman’s 33. Congratulations to Rob Arsenault, Pete Magill, Dan Arsenault, Thomas Schumann, Bob Brisco, and Mike Filippow.
 |
| Victorious Cal Coast M50+ Team [l to r: Mike Fillipow, Thomas Schumann, Rob Arsenault, Dan Arsenault, Bob Brisco, Pete Magill] at the 2017 USATF XC Championships in Bend OR [Photo posted on Facebook by Leilani Rios] |
M60+ It was East vs. Southern California.
The Genesee Valley Harriers made the
trip from upstate New York to challenge the Cal Coast TC and the San
Diego Track Club. The defending champion Cal Coast team could never get
untracked, finishing third with 24 points but the other two teams were in a ‘dog
fight.’ Cal Coast got 1st but then San Diego took 2nd and
3rd. When GVH’s 2nd runner came in 4th the 2
teams were tied. But that only lasted 4 seconds as GVH’s 3rd runner
crossed the line that close to their 2nd runner. GVH won with 10 to
San Diego’s 11. Congratulations to Gary
Radford, Mark Rybinski, Kevin Clinefelter, Bill Beyerbach and Tim McMullen.
M70+ The Atlanta
Track Club made the trip from Georgia
but no one showed up to defend the home turf. 1-2-3 adds up to 6 points and the win. Congratulations to Charlie Patterson, Sam Benedict, Curtis
Walker, William Shaffer, and Andrew
Sherwood.
The Men’s victories were split up with one each
for the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, the Northeast and the
Southeast. So overall, the Pac NW got 3 wins, So Cal 2, the NE and SE 1 each.
The home turf was well defended.
That kicks off the 2017 Masters Grand Prix. From
Oregon the tour turns next to Virginia and the 8K Championship at Virginia
Beach on March 18th and then the 10K Championship in Dedham
Massachusetts on April 30th. The Half Marathon Championship on May 7th in Orange County will finish off the spring season.
Check out the full schedule at:
http://www.usatf.org/MGP.aspx
Check out the full schedule at:
http://www.usatf.org/MGP.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment