Trafeh Three-Peats USA 15K Title at Gate River
Cherobon-Bawcom, women's national champion, wins Equalizer Bonus; Team USA Minnesota, adidas McMillanElite team titlists
By Katie Landry, USATF
Posted Monday, 12 March, 2012
From Ryan Lamppa, Running USAJACKSONVILLE, Fla. - (March 10, 2012) - At the USA 15K Championships hosted by the 35th Gate River Run, Mo Trafeh (Duarte, Calif.) and Janet Cherobon-Bawcom (Rome, Ga.) dominated the men's and women's fields Saturday morning.
Trafeh ran 43 minutes, 23 seconds to win his third straight USA 15K title, while Cherobon-Bawcom clocked 49:41 to win her first 15K crown. The national championships were hosted for the 19th time by the Gate River Run, the country's largest 15K with more than 16,300 finishers. In addition to the $60,000 individual prize structure, the event featured a gender competition in the form of a $5000 Equalizer Bonus as well as a $20,000 team competition, the TenBroeck Cup.
With unusual clouds and wind, the U.S. professional women started at 8:23am with the men and the rest of the field following 7 minutes later. Cherobon-Bawcom, 33, started quickly, but by the first mile (5:15) a pack of seven had separated themselves from the field. Along with Cherobon-Bawcom, Molly Huddle (Providence, R.I.), Lindsey Scherf (Raleigh, N.C.), Maegan Krifchin (Ithaca, N.Y.), Clara Grandt (Morgantown, W.V.), Alisha Williams (Boulder, Colo.) and Adriana Nelson (Boulder, Colo.) bucking the wind together.
At three miles Huddle and Scherf moved to the front with Cherobon-Bawcom close behind. Scherf then began to push the pace doing much of the work with the chase pack 22 seconds behind.
By four miles Cherobon-Bawcom, Scherf, Huddle and Krifchin were a four-pack. At mile six Huddle and Cherobon-Bawcom pulled away from field and by the seventh mile the order of finish was set with Huddle, Krifchin and Scherf following.
In the men's race, Trafeh, 26, once again staked his claim to the U.S. 15K title with a 4:27 first mile, leading the men's pack by twelve seconds. He followed with a 4:28 second mile that extended his lead to 28 seconds. By the third mile, he was ahead of pace to break Todd Williams' longstanding U.S. record of 42:22 as he began his chase after the women's field and the Equalizer Bonus. Even as Trafeh started to reel in the women's field in rapid succession the wind was taking its toll on the soloist and it was apparent that the Equalizer would go to the women's champion this year for only the second time since 2004.
Trafeh scored an unchallenged 1:14 victory and $12,000 over Christo Landry (Ann Arbor, Mich.), while Tim Ritchie (Brighton, Mass.) took third in 44:41.
The TenBroeck Cup team championship was the closest ever on the women's side as Team USA Minnesota - Katie McGregor, Emily Brown and Meghan Peyton - won by seven seconds over the Boulder Running Company. It was the third Cup for the Minnesota training group. On the men's side, adidas McMillanElite defended their 2011 title with Ben Bruce, Scott Smith and Nick Arciniaga capturing the team title and $6000.
The Gate River Run was the third stop on the 2012 USA Running Circuit (USARC), a road race series consisting of national championships held throughout the year at distances from the street mile to the marathon.
35th Gate River Run: USA 15K Championships
Jacksonville, FL, Saturday, March 10, 2012
MEN
1) Mo Trafeh (CA), 43:23, $12,000
2) Christo Landry (MI), 44:37, $5000
3) Tim Ritchie (MA), 44:41, $3000
4) Ben Bruce (AZ), 44:47, $2000
5) Joseph Chirlee (CO), 44:51, $1000
6) Jeff Schirmer (IL), 44:54, $900
7) Charlie Serrano (CA), 44:57, $800
8) Scott Smith (AZ), 45:00, $700
9) Sean Houseworth (CO), 45:03, $600
10) Matt Llano (MN), 45:38, $500
WOMEN
1) Janet Cherobon-Bawcom (GA), 49:41, $17,000*
2) Molly Huddle (RI), 49:57, $5000
3) Maegan Krifchin (NY), 50:44, $3000
4) Lindsey Scherf (NC), 51:08, $2000
5) Adriana Nelson (CO), 51:37, $1000
6) Alisha Williams (CO), 51:48, $900
7) Clara Grandt (WV), 52:08, $800
8) Sarah Porter (NC), 52:30, $700
9) Clara Peterson (CA), 52:47, $600
10) Brianne Lippoldt (CO), 52:50, $500
*includes $5000 Equalizer Bonus for first runner across the finish line
Full results and more at: www.gate-riverrun.com
