Gotcher, De Reuck Win USA 20K Titles at New Haven
By Jim Estes, USATF
Posted Tuesday, 8 September, 2009
From Ryan Lamppa, Running USA
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - (September 7, 2009) - Brett Gotcher (Flagstaff, Ariz.) was top man in a three-way battle for the men's national title Monday at the USA 20K Championships in New Haven as four-time Olympian Colleen De Reuck (Boulder, Colo.) took control before halfway to win the women's crown. Gotcher was timed in 58 minutes, 57 seconds (#4 U.S. all-time individual - tie), while the evergreen De Reuck ran 1:07:21, a Masters world record. At 45, De Reuck is the oldest woman to win a major U.S. championship.
At the 32nd Stratton Faxon New Haven Road Race, a Labor Day tradition, defending U.S. champion James Carney (Boulder, Colo.) led the early stages of the race, taking a pack of 12 men through the first mile in 4:34. By three miles, the lead pack was reduced to four men with Carney still in control and Gotcher, Mohamed Trafeh (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Jason Lehmkuhle (Minneapolis, Minn.) following closely.
At five miles, Carney was still in command of the pace with Gotcher, 25, falling off the pack. As the leaders approached six miles, Gotcher rejoined the group and at 10K, Trafeh made a move that would drop Carney from the lead pack, making it a three man race for the title.
From seven miles on, Gotcher, Trafeh and Lehmkuhle would each take turns at the lead with Trafeh surging to the front to open small gaps on occasion. Just past nine miles, the three remained within a stride of each other as Trafeh and Lehmkuhle seemed to be well within their comfort zone.
At 12 miles however, it was Gotcher who surged to the lead, dropping Lehmkuhle as Trafeh held on. Entering the final 100 meters, Gotcher had one more gear and pulled away for a four second win and his first national crown.
Lehmkuhle held third in 59:04 as Andrew Carlson (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Scott Bauhs (Danville, Calif.) rounded out the top five in 59:26 and 59:46, respectively.
In the women's race, 2008 Olympic Marathoner Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.), took an early lead, passing the first mile four seconds ahead of the women's field in 5:18. By three miles she had a 12 second lead when Serena Burla (Baldwin, Mo.) began to press the pace of the chase pack, bringing De Reuck with her.
By five miles De Reuck had dropped Burla and overtook Boulet to cruise to a 17 second win, earning her second USA 20K title (also 2002). Runner-up Burla was timed in 1:07:38 with Boulet taking third (1:08:11). Rebecca Donaghue (State College, Pa.) and Amy Hastings (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) finished fourth and fifth in 1:08:39 and 1:08:58, respectively.
In addition, the top 14 men earned automatic invitations to the USA Men's Marathon Championship which will be held at the ING New York City Marathon on November 1, because they broke 1:01:30. USATF and New York Road Runners designated New Haven as an additional one-day qualifying window for the national championship, provided athletes ran at least 1:01:30.
The USA 20K Championship was also the seventh stop on the 2009 USA Running Circuit (USARC) and paid $40,000 in U.S. prize money with $8000 each for the national champions.
The 2009 USARC, a USA Track & Field road series, features USA Championships from one mile to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The 2009 USARC has ten events each for men and women. Lewy Boulet currently tops the women's standings with 59 points, while Anthony Famiglietti (Knoxville, Tenn.) leads the men with 39 points.
32nd Stratton Faxon New Haven Road Race: USA 20K Championship
New Haven, CT, Monday, September 7, 2009
MEN
1) Brett Gotcher (AZ), 58:57, $8000
2) Mohamed Trafeh (AZ), 59:01, $4500
3) Jason Lehmkuhle (MN), 59:04, $2500
4) Andrew Carlson (AZ), 59:26, $1500
5) Scott Bauhs (CA), 59:46, $1000
6) Jason Hartman (OR), 59:52, $700
7) Fasil Bizuneh (AZ), 1:00:00, $600
8) Seth Pilkington (UT), 1:00:07, $500
9) James Carney (CO), 1:00:21, $400
10) Lucas Meyer (CT), 1:00:36, $300
WOMEN
1) Colleen De Reuck, 45, CO, 1:07:21, $8000
2) Serena Burla (MO), 1:07:38, $4500
3) Magdalena Lewy Boulet (CA), 1:08:11, $2500
4) Rebecca Donaghue (PA), 1:08:39, $1500
5) Amy Hastings (CA), 1:08:58, $1000
6) Kristen Nicolini Lehmkuhle (MN), 1:09:06, $700
7) Elva Dryer (CO), 1:10:09, $600
8) Jill Swope (GA), 1:10:22, $500
9) Sheri Piers (ME), 1:10:43, $400
10) Ilsa Paulson (NY), 1:11:11, $300
Full results at: www.newhavenroadrace.org
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