Ritzenhein, Flanagan Win USA Cross Country Crowns Again
Dunbar, Greany Junior champions; Becker, De Reuck top age-graded Masters

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By Jim Estes, USATF
Posted Tuesday, 16 February, 2010

From Ryan Lamppa, Running USA

SPOKANE, Wash. - (February 13, 2010) - U.S. record holders and Olympians Dathan Ritzenhein (Portland, Ore.) and Shalane Flanagan (Pittsboro, N.C.) dominated the Open men's and women's fields at the 2010 USA Cross Country Championships Saturday at Plantes Ferry Recreation Park in Spokane. Running 34 minutes, 34 seconds for the men's 12-kilometer race, Ritzenhein won his third USA Cross Country title, while Flanagan's 25:10 for the women's 8-kilometer was good for her fourth national cross country crown.

In addition to the national titles, the top-six Open and Junior men and women qualified to represent Team USA at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships on March 28 in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

2008 Olympic bronze medalist cruises to women's title
Flanagan, 28, took control of the women's 8K from the gun with two-time USA 10K champion Molly Huddle (Providence, R.I.) the only one that tried to keep pace. By the end of the first 2-kilometer loop, Flanagan (left, PhotoRun) held a five second lead over Huddle. Over the final six kilometers, the two-time Olympian extended her lead to finish with a 51-second victory. Huddle held off a late charge by Amy Hastings (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) to hold on for second, running 26:01. Hastings was timed in 26:06, while Magdalena Lewy Boulet took fourth (26:09).

Renee Metivier-Baillie (Boulder, Colo.) and Sara Hall (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) rounded out the Team USA qualifiers, finishing fifth and sixth in 26:26 and 26:37 respectively.

Patience pays off for Ritzenhein in men's U.S. championship
In the men's 12K, Ritzenhein (left, PhotoRun), 27, was content to let emerging stars Patrick Smyth (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Scott Bauhs (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) take the pace for the first four laps of the six lap course before making his move at 9-kilometers.

While Ritzenhein's lead grew to 18-seconds over the final lap, Smyth continued to battle with Bauhs for second before pulling away to claim the runner-up position, running 34:52. Bauhs clocked 35:01, while Ben Bruce (Eugene, Ore.), Bobby Curtis (Ardmore, Pa.) and Ryan Vail (Gresham, Ore.) completed the qualifiers for the U.S. team, running 35:16, 35:22 and 35:25 respectively.

Greany grabs Junior women's title
In the Junior women's race, Providence College freshman Shelby Greany (Providence, R.I.) broke away from pack of four runners to secure the victory on the final lap of the 6-kilometer race.

Greany ran 20:27 to finish five seconds clear of high school senior Emily Sisson (Chesterfield, Mo.) who ran 20:32.

Gaining the final four spots to Poland were Juliet Bottorff (Newark, Del.) of Duke who ran 20:32, followed by Georgetown freshman Emily Jones (Harvard, Mass.) at 20:33. Laura Tremblay (Loveland, Colo.) was fifth in 20:46, followed by Sophia Ziemian (Lewisburg, Pa.) at 20:49.

Dunbar dominates Junior men's field
Trevor Dunbar (Kodiak, Alaska) ran away with the Junior men's 8-kilometer championship, building up an early lead that extended to 17 seconds at the halfway mark, before cruising to a six-second win in 24:04.

Walter Schafer (Centennial, Colo.) finished runner-up in 24:10, followed by Andrew Colley (Williamsburg, Va.) of North Carolina State who ran 24:16.

Local favorite Andrew Kimpel of Spokane, a freshman at Washington State University, gave the home crowd something to cheer about, as he nabbed the fourth position, posting a 24:19. Michael Lynch (Columbia, Md.) finished fifth in 24:24 and Ammar Moussa (Arcadia, Calif.) earned the final Junior spot in 24:28.

USA Masters Championships
Opening the day of racing at Plantes Ferry was the Masters men's and women's 8K championships as four-time Olympian Colleen De Reuck, 45, Boulder, Colo. and Tracy Lokken, 44, Marquette, Mich., a past Masters national champion, won their respective titles in 27:27 and 25:39. De Reuck and Rick Becker, 55, Selah, Wash., who ran 26:51, earned the age-graded titles with performances greater than 94% (world class).

USA Cross Country Championships
Spokane, WA, Saturday, February 13, 2010

MEN - 12K
1) Dathan Ritzenhein (OR), 34:34, $2400
2) Patrick Smyth (MN), 34:52, $1000
3) Scott Bauhs (CA), 35:01, $800
4) Bruce Benjamin (OR), 35:16, $700
5) Bobby Curtis (KY), 35:22, $600
6) Ryan Vail (OR), 35:25, $500
7) Bobby Mack (NC), 35:34, $400
8) Antonio Vega (MN), 35:41, $300
9) Stephen Furst (NC), 35:45, $200
10) Matt Gabrielson (MN), 35:47, $100

WOMEN - 8K
1) Shalane Flanagan (OR), 25:10, $2400
2) Molly Huddle (RI), 26:01, $1000
3) Amy Hastings (CA), 26:06, $800
4) Magdalena Lewy Boulet (CA), 26:09, $700
5) Renee Metivier-Baillie (CO), 26:26, $600
6) Sara Hall (CA), 26:37, $500
7) Emily Brown (MN), 26:55, $400
8) Blake Russell (CA), 27:07, $300
9) Katie McGregor (MN), 27:08, $200
10) Kathy Newberry (VA), 27:19, $100

A total of $21,000 in stipends for Team USA members will be awarded based on the rank order of finish among Team USA members at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships as follows: $3500, $2500, $1500, $1200, $900 and $900.

Masters (40 and over) Age-Graded
MEN - 8K
1) Rick Becker, 55, WA, 26:51, $1000 (94.05%)
2) David Cannon, 53, WA, 27:12, $600 (91.31%)
3) Joe Sheeran, 52, WA, 27:08, $450 (90.79%)
4) Tracy Lokken, 44, MI, 25:39*, $300 (90.14%)
5) Mike Blackmore, 48, OR, 26:37, $150 (89.62%)

WOMEN - 8K
1) Colleen De Reuck, 45, CO, 27:27*, $1000 (94.17%)
2) Kathryn Martin, 58, NY, 32:14, $600 (93.91%)
3) Laura Haefeli, 42, CO, 29:13, $450 (86.34%)
4) Laura Bruess, 49, CO, 31:30, $300 (85.56%)
5) Lisa Goldsmith, 45, CO, 31:17, $150 (82.65%)
*overall Masters champion

Complete results, videos and more at: www.usatf.org/events/2010/USAXCChampionships