Five Team USA Minnesota Runners Place in Top 10 at USA Cross Country Championships
Jason Lehmkuhle Wins Mercedes Half Marathon in Birmingham
Press Release
Minneapolis/St. Paul - Feb. 15, 2010 - Five Team USA
Minnesota distance runners placed in the top 10 of their respective open
races at the USA Cross Country Championships in Spokane on Feb. 13. The
Minnesota men included Patrick Smyth, who led the race through
9 km of the 12 km race and finished second in 34:52 (winning time was
34:34). Following Smyth to the finish line were Antonio Vega
who was eighth in 35:41, and Matt Gabrielson who
placed tenth with a time of 35:47.
In the women's 8 km championship race, Emily
Brown was the first Team USA Minnesota finisher across the line in
seventh place with a time of 26:55, followed by Katie McGregor
in ninth in 27:08. Meghan Armstrong placed
13th with a time of 27:33.
"The race plan was definitely to get up there and push,"
said Smyth, who was making his first appearance at USA Cross. "I was
feeling good and wanted to get the field strung out early. As for how the
race played out, I was convinced I'd be ready to cover any move Ritz (Dathan
Ritzenhein who finished first) or Bauhs (Scott Bauhs who was third) threw in
once the three of us had broken away. But the two small consecutive
uphills on the course got progressively more difficult for me in the latter laps
(there were six laps of 2 km each). Ritz perceptively sensed this and made
a very aggressive move on the penultimate lap's uphill portion. After
that, I just tried to continue to compete and to break Bauhs."
The Spokane championships were conducted under sunny skies
with unseasonably warm temperatures in the low 50s. "I thought the conditions were near perfect for cross country," said
Smyth. "There was a bit of a headwind, but the footing and temperature
were perfect. The course was both runner and spectator friendly in my
opinion with some nice scenery to boot. It was great to see another strong
finish from all the Team USA Minnesota athletes, particulary the men with a
2-8-10 finish."
The first six finishers in the men's 12 km and women's 8
km races qualified for the U.S. team that will compete at the IAAF World Cross
Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on March 28.
"Making this world team was extremely high on my
priorities for this fall/winter," said Smyth. "This is my first World
Championships team of any kind and getting the chance to represent one's country
is, in my opinion, the greatest privilege in sports. I'm
extremely honored to have qualified, but know qualifying is only half the
battle. Dennis and I now need to make all the preparations necessary to
post a top finish in Poland. I think I can be a top-20
contender."
Mercedes Half Marathon - Feb.
14
Jason Lehmkuhle won the Mercedes Half
Marathon in Birmingham, Ala., on Feb. 14 with a time of 1:03:38. Running
at the front throughout the race, Lehmkuhle was using the half as part of
his buildup for the Boston Marathon. The event was his first time back on
the roads since the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 1, where he finished
sixth in the USA Men's Marathon Championship and tenth overall.
Next up for Lehmkuhle will be the USA 15k Championships in
Jacksonville, Fla., on March 13.
Tyson Invitational - Feb. 12
New Team USA Minnesota member Heather Dorniden
finished third in the 800 meters at the Tyson Invitational with a time
of 2:04.63, bettering the 2:05.49 that she ran at the Jack Johnson Invite
at the University of Minnesota on Jan. 23. Dorniden will compete in the
800 meters at the USA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque on Feb.
27-28.
About Team USA Minnesota
Team USA Minnesota is based in the Twin Cities of
Minneapolis/St. Paul. Formed in 2001, the purpose of the training center
is to improve the competitiveness of post-collegiate American distance running
and to develop Olympians. The athletes are coached by Dennis Barker, head
cross country and track coach at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Team USA
Minnesota's major sponsor is Life Time Fitness (www.lifetimefitness.com) and its
silver sponsor is Twin Cities in Motion (www.mtcmarathon.org). It is also
supported by the New York Road Runners and the USA Distance Project along with a
grant from Running USA. For more information, visit the team's web site at
www.teamusaminnesota.org.
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