Masters Races at 2023 Club Cross - Did the Favorites Deliver in the Overall Championships?

December 13, 2023 Tallahassee FL USATF Club Cross Country Championships. On Saturday, December 9, 2023 the Cross Country course at Apalachee Regional Park, was the site for the 2023 edition of Club Cross. The Masters Races were scheduled for the morning, with Women, over 6 Km, at 9 AM, Men 60+, over 8 Km at 10 AM, and Men 40+, over 10 Km, at 11 AM. The weather conditions for the later races were warm and humid. For most athletes it did not seem to be a major problem, but the humidity took a toll on those who are more affected by that factor. There were no medical problems that I know of. The course has hosted national cross country championships in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2021. It was selected this year to be the site of the 2026 World Cross Country Championships!

This recap focuses on the competition to be the Overall Winner in each Masters race. After the gun sounded to start the race, who crossed the finish line first?

WOMEN The Women's 6 Km race is two loops of 3 Km each. It is a rolling course, mostly grass, with a sandy stretch for about 800 meters, sometimes referred to as the 'Shell Path.'  There are no steep hills. The steepest and longest is referred to as 'The Wall' and comes about 2.3 Km into the 3 km loop. 

There were co-favorites in this competition, both running for Oregon teams. Carrie Dimoff Bowerman Track Club and Renee Metivier Team Red Lizard were going head-to-head as Masters athletes for the first time. It was the track ace vs. the Cross Country specialist. Dimoff had an outstanding Open career on the track and later, on the roads. She made Team USA in the Marathon for the Doha World Championships, finishing 13th. That was the race held at midnight with temperatures around 90F and 73% relative humidity. Only 40 of the 68 starters were able to finish. We can presume Dimoff knows how to run in warm and humid conditions. Of course, it is too simplistic to label Dimoff a track ace. She has good XC credentials too. She ran in San Francisco last year at Clubs as an Open runner. She finished 51st out of 264, finishing a minute behind the winner, Stephanie Bruce. Metivier counters with being on team USA for five World Cross Country Championships between 2006 and 2010, usually finishing among the top 3 Americans. Her best year, overall, was 36th in 2007. Metivier broke into the Masters ranks in January of 2022 when she entered the USATF Cross Country Championships at Mission Bay in San Diego. Running away from a strong field, she won by 1:46. Others who were expected to contend included Katie Sherron Gulf Winds Track Club who took overall honors two years ago, clocking 22:09 at 2021 Clubs on this same course. Running out of Tallahassee, she has the home course advantage. She has raced on it before as well as trained on it. And she is used to running in humid conditions. She also won the Masters overall competition at the Road Mile Championships in Indianapolis with a 5:05. A 17:30 5K along with a 1:20:17 half marathon shows that she has both speed and endurance. Julia Webb Unattached also ran in the Open race at Clubs last year, finishing 37 seconds behind Dimoff. Metivier's teammate, Carre Joyce Heineck and Vivien Hyman The Janes Elite Racing ran in San Francisco as Masters athletes finishing 5th in 22:51 and 6th in 22:55 respectively. Two others who would be in the action included Jenny Kadavy HOKA Aggies, who was the top Pacific Association Masters runner this year in Women's Cross Country and also finished 2nd in the 10 Mile Masters National Championships in Sacramento. Jennifer Keenan Checkers AC has been the top woman at the Pete Glavin XC Series in upstate New York this year and backs it up with a 17:45 5K and a 37:33 10K.

The gun sounded and Dimoff and Metivier raced to the front; Sherron moved quickly to stay within a few strides. 

Renee Metiver left and Carrie Dimoff sprint to the front of the field in the early going of the Masters Women's 6 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott

The main pack was a few strides back from Sherron. 

Chase Pack Forming Up Behind the Early Leaders- From Right-Laura Osman, Carre Joyce Heineck, Mary Le Brun Schultz, Jennifer Boerner, Jenny Kadavy, Jennifer Pesce in the Masters Women's 6 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott

They pushed up the rise towards the back loop, bending around to the north. The first timing mat was at 1170 meters. Dimoff and Metivier approached it locked in stride at 4:00. Sherron was 4 seconds back with another 3 back to Keenan. Hyman and Kadavy trailed Keenan by 4 seconds. Heineck and Webb started more conservatively and were at the front of a 6-athlete chase group 7 seconds behind that duo. They zipped around that back field and headed onto the shell path through the woods. Metivier was glued to Dimoff although it was Dimoff setting the pace. Sherron struggled to maintain contact and, in the process, separated herself further from the rest of the field. The second mat was a kilometer along at 2170M. Dimoff and Metivier crossed it at 7:33, with just two seconds on Sherron. The pace of those three had blown apart the chasers. It was now ten seconds back to Keenan and another 7 to Kadavy. Hyman was 4 seconds behind Kadavy with Heineck and Webb now running in tandem at 8:01. Dimoff and Metivier continued up the 'Wall' and along behind the starting area as they battled toward the end of the first 3 km loop. Sherron started to lose some ground as they approached the 'Wall'. Dimoff and Metivier continued to battle as they raced downhill toward the Jumbotron screen at 3 Km. 

Carrie Dimoff #531 and Renee Metivier locked in a Duel Halfway through the Masters Women's 6 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott

They crossed that mat at 10:38. Sherron had lost close contact, running alone about 25 meters back. But Sherron was still pulling away from the rest of the field. It was 40 meters back to Keenan in 4th, with Kadavy almost another 40 meters back. Hyman, in 6th, was only ten meters back from Kadavy though, with Webb, in 7th, just a couple of strides behind Hyman. If those two could keep working together they might be able to move up. 

Vivien Hyman leads Julia Webb at the halfway point, 6th and 7th in the Masters Women's 6 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott

As they crested the hill up to start the 2nd loop, Metivier, for the first time, allowed a small gap to open up. Dimoff continued to press. By the time they crossed the 4000M mark, Dimoff, at 14:13, had a good 20 meters on Metivier. Sherron had neither gained nor lost ground relative to Metivier but had stretched her lead over Keenan to a hundred meters. Kadavy and Webb were now running together, in 5th and 6th, 40 meters back from Keenan. Hyman was another 20 meters behind Hebb, with Heineck another 15 meters back in 8th. It was time for Dimoff to put on the pressure; she did just that, opening the lead over Metivier to 50 meters. Metivier was not giving up but could not match Dimoff's killer pace. Metivier was falling back from Dimoff but Sherron could not take advantage, finding herself now 60 meters back from Metivier. Keenan was soldiering along in 4th just over a hundred meters back from Sherron. Webb had separated herself from Kadavy and was now only 30 meters behind Keenan in 5th. Kadavy, in 6th,  was 20 meters behind Webb but still had 30 meters on Hyman, with Heineck a few strides behind her in 8th.Dimoff had no problems as she climbed up The Wall and hugged the trees on the edge of the top field, heading down toward the finish next to the Jumbotron with a commanding lead. Dimoff took 1st in 21:18, an average pace of 3:33 per Km. She enjoyed the win with 100 meters to spare. 

Carrie Dimoff takes the win in the Masters Women's 6 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott

Metivier never gave up, claiming the Silver overall medal in 21:41. 

Renee Metivier finishing 2nd in the Masters Women's 6 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott 

Sherron performed well, taking 3rd in 22:06, three seconds faster than her winning time two years earlier. 

Katie Sherron closes off the podium with her 3rd place finish in the Masters Women's 6 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott  

Webb continued to move up, edging Keenan for 4th by 15 meters, in 22:24. Hyman, Kadavy and Heineck finished in 6th through 8th respectively. Heineck edged Jennifer Lutz Battle Road Track Club and Elizabeth Camy Cal Coast Track Club by a single second. 

Carre Joyce Heineck #636 outkicks Jennifer Lutz mostly obscured, pink shoes and Elizabeth Camy Lime green singlet in the Masters Women's 6 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott  

It was a great victory for Dimoff who now has Oregon XC bragging rights! Metivier will hope for another chance to match up against the fleet runner from Bowerman.

Carrie Dimoff 21:18     Renee Metivier 21:41     Katie Sherron 22:06

MEN 60+ Last year in San Francisco, the top 60-64 runners, and Jacob Nur, from 65-69, (not entered this year) met to sort out who was the fastest XC runner. Nat Larson  29:24 pulled away from the field. Steve Schmidt 29:43 closed strong to take 2nd place ahead of Nur, with Rick Lee 29:52 and John Van Danacker 29:59 4th and 5th. Those four, Larson, Schmidt, Lee and Van Danacker would meet again to test their prowess on the turf. They would have some new challengers as well. Two newly minted 60-year-olds, Alan Evans and Mark Zamek, would be in the mix. As always there was an elder statesman who could not be ignored. Rick Becker, 69, three-time Masters Harrier of the Year, was a longshot for the podium, but would almost surely be in the top ten overall. Others who could make some noise included: Joe Mora, 9th overall in San Francisco but the winner of the 2022 5K 60-64 championship in Atlanta; Mark Neff, 4th at Cross Nationals in Richmond this past January; and Kevin Ostenberg, who finished 11th in San Francisco but 5th in Tallahassee the year before.

Larson Greater Springfield Harriers was the strong favorite, not only because he won by 19 seconds last year, but because this year he set numerous American 60-64 Records on the roads, at distances from the 8Km to the Half Marathon. He already owned the 1 Mile and 5K records from 2022 performances. Lee Shore Athletic Club and Van Danacker TC Running Company had been able to defeat Schmidt Ann Arbor Track Club on the roads, Lee at the 5K and 12K and Van Danacker at the 5K and 10K. But the three had not met again on the turf after San Francisco. Van Danacker came in ahead of Lee at Cross Nationals on the turf but a month later Lee took Van Danacker's measure at the 5K Championships. How would those three sort out this time? 

Evans Genesee Valley Harriers has not competed at Clubs recently but finished 6th in 55-59, with a 37:13 over 10K, at Lehigh in 2019. At those championships he finished 1:13 behind Larson and 1:06 behind Zamek. In addition to that history, Zamek Shore AC came out of rehab just as he aged up to the 60-64 division. He finished 3rd, ahead of Schmidt, at the 10K national championships and took 1st, ahead of Schmidt, on the turf at the 5Km XC Masters on a warm, muggy day in Boca Raton. Becker Atlanta Track Club had an off day at San Francisco last year, finishing 3rd in 65-69 behind Nur and David Westenberg reater Lowell Road Runners. Becker had his mojo back in Boca Raton, where he took the 65-69 win in 18:57, a time that would have put him 3rd had he been in 60-64, just a half minute back from Schmidt.

When the gun sounded, Larson went to the front, with Zamek falling in right behind him. Lee went past after the first hundred meters but then settled in, next to Larson. 

From Right-Rick Lee, Nat Larson, and Mark Zamek surge to the lead in the early going of the Masters Men's 60+ 8 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott  

By the time they passed the Jumbotron and headed up the hill, Lee had fallen in behind Zamek, leaving Larson to set the pace.

The Chase Pack forming up behind the leading Trio- from right-Jeff Soares, John Van Danacker, Henry Notaro, Alan Evans, Joe Mora, Patrick Billig, and Mark Neff - The Masters Men's 60+ 8 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott  

When they passed the first split at 1170M, those three were still leading, with Van Danacker, 4th, 12-15 meters back, followed by Ostenberg and Henry Notaro Shore AC, about the same distance behind Van Danacker. A few meters back was a chase pack that was led by Evans but included the other main contenders, Mora, Neff, Schmidt and Becker, and a few others, including Becker's rival for the 65-69 crown, David Westenberg. Westenberg finished 2nd in San Francisco and won the division in Richmond. Around the back field and into the forest for the first time, Larson continued to apply the pressure from the front, with Zamek hanging on gamely. Lee allowed a small gap to develop but then closed it up. They were blasting the chasers apart though. Van Danacker was over 30 meters back, with Ostenberg a few strides back in his wake. It was another ten meters back to the Schmidt-Mora-Neff- chase pack. Larson was firing on all cylinders, but his gait is so smooth you could hardly tell. Up 'The Wall' and onto the flat section behind the starting line, and then down past the Jumbotron. Zamek was now pressing to hold on and Lee had been dropped by the duo. 

Nat Larson driving fromt he front with Mark Zamek matching the pace at the end of the first 3 Km Loop of the Masters Men's 60+ 8 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott

There was a 30-meter gap back to Lee, with another 40+ to Van Danacker. Ostenberg was trying to bridge the gap up to Van Danacker and had only 20 meters to worry about. Schmidt and Evans were now about 15 meters behind Ostenberg. Mora, Neff, and Becker made up a group about 15 meters behind Evans. 

Henry Notaro, in 8th place, leads Patrick Billig, Joe Mora and Mark Neff as they approach the 3 Km timing mat in the Masters Men's 60+ 8 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott

They had another 3 km loop to go, followed by a 2 Km loop. The big news on the second loop was that Larson's inexorable pressure wore down Zamek, who was 20 meters down at the 4000-meter mark, which Larson hit in 14:26. By the end of the 2nd loop, Zamek was still in 2nd place, but now over a hundred meters back, with Lee in 3rd another 120 meters further back. Schmidt had pushed past Ostenberg and Van Danacker and was running alongside Lee in 4th. Ostenberg had caught up with Van Danacker at the 4000-meter mark and by the end of the loop they were 5th and 6th, running in tandem 120 meters behind Zamek and ten meters ahead of Ostenberg. Evans was a half-minute behind Van Danacker in 7th with a 3-athlete chase group of Neff-Becker and Mora ten seconds behind in 8th through 10th. Larson took the last 2 km loop on cruise control, breaking the finish line tape in 29:34.

Larson's Stride Eats Up the Yardage--All alone as He Cruises to the Win in the Masters Men's 60+ 8 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott 

Zamek lost more ground in the first kilometer of that loop but gained back in the 2nd kilometer what he lost in the first. Still there was a good 75 meters of daylight between Larson and Zamek. There was even more daylight between Zamek and the rest of the field. He took 2nd in 29:53. Schmidt had moved up quite a bit in the last 2 kilometers of the 2nd loop. But that was his high point. Early in the last 2 Km loop, Van Danacker and Ostenberg swept past. Lee tried to go with them. Even though that was not successful, he did succeed in opening up a small gap on Schmidt. But Schmidt kept the legs churning and moved past Lee again as they hit the bottom of 'The Wall.' Van Danacker kept his arms pumping and claimed third in 30:26, 7 seconds ahead of Ostenberg in 4th. 

Steve Schmidt in 3rd with 2 Km to go. Kevin Ostenberg and John Van Danacker obscured behind Ostenberg are closing in. In the Masters Men's 60+ 8 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott 

Schmidt kept ahead of Lee all the way to the finish line, taking 5th in 30:38, 5 seconds in front of Lee. Neff, Becker and Mora all had strong finishes, but they could not catch Evans who gutted it out to take 7th in 31:19, with Neff, Becker and Mora, two, three, and five seconds behind in 8th, 9th and 10th!

Larson is about to break the tape as he claims the win in the Masters Men's 60+ 8 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott 

Larson proved once again that he is the man to beat in the 60+ races!

Nat Larson 29:34     Mark Zamek 29:53     John Van Danacker 30:26

MEN 40+. Two years ago, at Clubs on this same course, Jesse Davis Indiana Elite Athletic Club drove the bus, setting a pace at the front of the pack until everyone had to fall back. He won by 17 seconds in 32:56. Roosevelt Cook Cal Coast Track Club finished 40 seconds back in 4th. Last year at Clubs in San Francisco, the weather was horrendous. The rain and the wind picked up as the M60+ athletes competed in near gale conditions. A huge tree toppled, falling right next to one of the Club tents; the Parks Department wanted to cancel the remaining races. The only option for USATF was to move the event to a concentrated area of the park that was away from trees. The M40+ and both Open races were conducted on the Polo Fields track in Golden Gate Park. This was not a modern 400 meter track it is a track designed for horses and is more like 1200 meters around. In any case, the course was not a full 10K and was not a normal Cross Country surface either. But it made for an interesting competition. The times should not be compared directly to times at other 10K XC races though, because it was short. At that race, Malcolm Richards West Valley Track Club led through the early laps, giving way eventually to finish 3rd at 29:10. Davis was 5th at 29:27. Davis's teammate, Bryan Lindsay Indiana Elite, was 10th at 30:15, with Cook 17 seconds back in 12th. 

In September, Davis finished 3rd overall and 1st Masters at the Quad City HM in 1:08:11. He ran his PR Marathon in 2:17:30 at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, finishing 8th Overall, in early November. Cook is the speedster of these three. His 30:58 at the Dana Point 10K in November stands out. But he has also claimed 2nd Masters at Carlsbad this year in 15:12. He took 1st Masters at the So Cal Association XC Championships this fall, with a 20:45 over 6K. Richards clocked a 2:16:15 at Grandma's Marathon in 2022 and racked up a 2nd place at the USATF Masters 10 Mile Championships behind Fernando Cabada in 49:39. He took 1st at the Pacific Association Cross Country Championships in November with a 25:08 over 5 miles.

Those three will be challenged for the overall title by four other athletes from the youngest Masters division; Edward Baker Tracksmith Boston Hares, David Cisewski West Valley, Brian Flynn Garden State Track Club, and Adam Schroeder Club Northwest. 

Two years ago in August, Baker took first Masters at the Ironman 70.3 in Maine, with a 1:14:19 Half Marathon. A month later he was the outright winner of the Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz, albeit with a slower 1:19:13 HM for this final leg. Perhaps more relevantly, Baker took 4th Masters at the prestigious Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine on August 6th with a 33:37. He showed his prowess on the turf by taking 1st Masters at the Boston Mayor's Cup XC race in late October with a minute to spare. In 2021 Cisewski ran 1:11:18 at the Rock N Roll San Jose Half and a year later clocked 2:32:29 at Berlin. This fall he finished 2nd to Richards, 16 seconds back, at the Pacific Association XC Championships. Flynn took 1st at the USATF Masters 12 km Championships in New Jersey this September, clocking a nifty 39:00. That equates via age grading to a 32:11 10K effort. Flynn took 3rd Masters this summer at the Utica Boilermaker 15K with a 49:12 and finished 2nd overall at the Ashland Half Marathon in Virginia with a 1:11:50. Schroeder finished 14th in the 35-39 division of the Open race at Golden Gate Park last December. He ran a 2:44:54 Eugene Marathon in April and followed that with a 1:11:40 HM at the Redmond Harvest Marathon in September.

Three athletes out of the 45 and up divisions deserve mention. Six years ago at Lexington KY, Neville Davey was the main man, storming to Clubs victory overall on a day cold enough to freeze the muddy ruts hard on the course! That day he led his team to victory. More recently he has played a supporting role; he finished 25th overall last year in San Francisco and has been running better this fall. Jaime Heilpern from the 50's is also a stretch to make the podium but he was just 7 seconds behind Davey last year and the year before in Tallahassee was 13th. Frank Zoldak is a new recruit for his 50's team in Boulder. He clocked a 34:17 10K at altitude this year.

When the gun sounded, Richards moved out fast, right to the front. Davis did not react as fast but closed up quickly after the first hundred meters. Heading down the hill toward the Jumbotron it was Richards, Davis, Schroeder, Cook and Flynn, leading the way in that order. There was a tightly bunched field right behind them. By the time they made the turn after climbing the first upslope, Baker and Zoldak had joined the lead pack. By the time they crossed the first timing mat halfway down the back field at 1170 Meters, the lead pack consisted of a tight 7, Richards, Davis, Baker, Cook, Schroeder, Zoldak. There was a Chase Pack about 30 meters back that included Cisewski, Davey, Lindsay, and Heilpern. After circling the back field they head into the forested section with a sandy path to run on. At that point Richards injected some pace and moved nearly ten meters ahead of a Chase Pack consisting of Davis, Cook and Baker, with 20 meters further back to the Schroeder-Flynn-Zoldak group. and then another 40 meters to the Cisewski- Davie-Lindsay secondary chase group. Then it was up 'The Wall' behind the starting area and on down to the end of the first 3K loop. Now Richards had opened up a 25-meter lead on the Davis-Baker Cook chase group. Cook was struggling to keep in contact and Flynn was starting to come across from the 2nd chase group, now just 20 meters behind Cook. Flynn had left Schroeder and Zoldak 20 meters back. They had one more 3K loop and two shorter 2K loops (leaving off most of the back field) to go.

The second loop saw Richards solidify his lead; he had a hundred meters on Davis. 

Malcolm Richards Firing on all Cylinders with a Commanding Lead in the Masters Men's 40+ 10 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott  

Davis was running well though, on his own, with 50 meters on the rest of the field. 

Jesse Davis, solidly in 2nd place with 2 km to go-In the Masters Men's 40+ 10 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott 

Cisewski caught up with Baker and Cook going up 'The Wall'. Once up and running along the top field, Cisewski was able to quickly pull away and create a gap. By the time they passed the Jumbotron for the 2nd time, the gap was over 40 meters, Cisewski in 3rd, with Cook and Baker chasing. 

David Cisewski moved into 3rd place with one 2 km loop to go in the Masters Men's 40+ 10 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott 
 

It was another 80 meters back to Flynn in 5th; Flynn, in turn, had 15 meters on Schroeder now. 

Brian Flynn running in 6th with 2 Km to go in the Masters Men's 40+ 10 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott 

Lindsay had caught and passed Schroeder with his aim on Flynn. 

From Right-Bryan Lindsay and Adam Schroeder battling for Individual Top Ten and Team Points in 7th and 8th with 2 Km to Go in the Masters Men's 40+ 10 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott 

It was now 30 meters back to Zoldak, the elder statesman of the contenders at 57. 

Frank Zoldak, 57, in 9th place overall, with 2 Km to go in the Masters Men's 40+ 10 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott  

Davey was 80 meters behind Zoldak in 10th with Heilpern another 80 behind Davey in 11th. Just two 2Km loops to go. By the 8Km mark, it was Richards-Davey-Cisewski going 1-2-3. Baker had dropped Cook who was now being tracked closely by Flynn. It had looked like Lindsay might close on Flynn, but Flynn battled and actually grew the gap by 5 meters or so. Nonetheless, Lindsay had 13 seconds on Schroeder who had 15 on Zoldak. Davey was 11 seconds behind Zoldak with Heilpern another 15 seconds back. The final loop saw no change among the leaders. Richards had been driving the bus alone for most of the race. He now enjoyed the cruise into the finish, taking the win in 32:09, with Davis a good 150 meters back in 2nd. 

Malcolm Richards, about to cross the Finish Line and take the Win in the Masters Men's 40+ 10 Km Race at the 2023 USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee FL Photo Credit: Michael Scott  

Davis had no serious rivals at that point. His 32:44 allowed him to take 2nd with 70 meters and 14 seconds to spare. When Cisewski crossed the line in 3rd, it was 200 meters back to his nearest rival, Baker. Baker took 4th in 33:45, with ten seconds on Flynn in 5th. Cook finished 6th in 34:02 with Lindsay twenty seconds behind in 7th. Schroeder's 34:29 nailed down the 8th spot. Heilpern, surprisingly came sailing through with the fastest last kilometer of all the contenders, save the first three. That enabled him to claim 9th in 34:50, a fraction of a second ahead of Davey in 10th. Zoldak finished 3 seconds behind that duo, 11th overall, an incredible performance for a 57-year-old.

Two years earlier, when Richards was still an Open runner, Davis drove the bus to victory. That was Richards's role this time! Davis had a fine outing though, running 11 seconds faster than he had run here in 2021. Cisewski not only claimed third as an individual he really helped his team by giving West Valley 1st and 3rd from their top two runners. Not a bad year for Richards-He became a new Dad and won at Club Cross!

Since the Finishing Tape somehow failed to be stretched out for his win, Richards got to borrow it for a picture--I wonder if he got to keep it as a souvenir!

Richards rules! At least for this year!

Malcolm Richards 32:09     Jesse Davis 32:44     David Cisewski 32:58