Team USA announced for North American 5 km Team Challenge
Posted Tuesday, 27 September, 2005
Contact:
Jim Estes
LDR Programs Manager
USA Track & Field
317-261-0500 x315
USA Track & Field has announced the Team USA for the North American 5 km Team Challenge, hosted by the Arturo Barrios Invitational in Chula Vista, Calif., on October 23.
The U.S. team will be competing against teams from Canada, the 2004 team champions and Mexico for a total prize purse of $25,000. Each team will be represented by 6 athletes, 3 men and 3 women, scoring the top two times for each sex from each team. The winning team will receive $12,000, second place $6,000 and third $3000.
Below is the Team USA lineup:
Fernando Cabada, 23, Bristol, Va. The 2005 NAIA 5,000 and 10,000 meter champion, Cabada has earned numerous All-American honors at Virginia Intermont College. He was a member of the championship U.S. team that won the inaugural NACAC Cross Country Championships in March.
Ian Connor, 25, Lenoir, N.C. A 2002 graduate of Ohio State, Connor was on the 2003 U.S. World Cross Country team. An Olympic Trials semifinalist in the 1,500m, he owns a personal best in that event of 3:40. In 2005, Connor ran a 5,000m PR of 13:43 and qualified for the USATF Outdoor Championships.
Peter Julian, 34, Boulder, Colo. Julian, a four-time All-American at the University of Portland, earned a spot on the North American team after finishing sixth at the USA 5 km Championships in Providence, R.I. A fixture on the USA Road Running Circuit for several years, Julian has also finished in the top-ten at the 2005 USA 8 km and 10 Mile Championships. Now the head Cross Country and Track coach at Metro State in Denver, Colo., Julian was also responsible for the city of Boulder's successful bid to host the 2007 USA Cross Country Championships.
Lauren Fleshmen, 24, Stanford, Calif. A 14-time All-American at Stanford, Fleshman made an impressive transition into the professional ranks becoming one of the United States' top prospects in the middle distances. Finishing 2nd in 5,000m at USA Outdoors in 15:16.80, she then went on to run a PR of 15:02.52 in Rome this summer and competed at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships. Earlier this year she was the top U.S. finisher at World XC (11th, 13:44), leading Team USA to team bronze medal.
Amy Yoder-Begley, 27, Albuquerque, N.M. A 15-time All-American at the University of Arkansas, Begley is the 2004 USA Women's 10 km champion. She was seventh in the 5,000 meters at the 2005 U.S. Outdoor Tack & Field Championships and was fourth at the 2005 USA 5 km road championships.
Amy Mortimer, 24, Boston, Mass. An assistant track coach at Boston College, Mortimer was a member of the U.S. women's bronze-medal winning team at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships. She was third at the 2005 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at 1500 meters, fifth at the USA 5 km Championships and ninth at the USA 8 km Championships.
For more information on the 2005 North American 5 km Team Challenge visit www.usatf.org.
i