The winning youth relay team - the Cambridge Jets
Photo: Steve Vaitones
A packed house enjoyed and encouraged an elite field of international competitors at the 15th Reebok Boston Indoor Games on Saturday, and were rewarded with a new US record in the 5000 meters. The noise level never fell off during the men's 5000 race, as double Olympic gold medalist Bernard Lagat had the best kick to clock 13:11.50 for a new American standard. Galen Rupp, who pushed the pace in the second half, placed 4th in 13:14.21, also breaking the old record.
Multiple-time world champion Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) ran 14:44.53 in the women's 5K, among the top 10 times in history, and Olympic silver medalist Nick Willis (New Zealand) led six men under 4:00 in the mile.
Locals joined in the event excitement, as Chris Teague (HFC Striders) took the win over 15 others in a competitive masters mile in 4:29.05. Katrina Coogan (Phillips Exeter Academy) placed fifth in the junior girls mile (4:59.86), and the Cambridge Jets repeated as winners in the co-ed youth 4x200 relay (1:42.93).
Full results, stories, and pictures at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games website.
WEEKEND ACTION SEES LOCAL At the 103rd Millrose Games in New York City, Francis Hernandez (Bishop Guertin, Nashua NH) placed third in the prestigious high school mile, clocking 4:17.58 (his third sub-4:20 of the month), just three seconds behind the winner. Byron Jones of Westborough MA was 10th in 4:29.28.
Closer to home, at the Boston U Terrier Classic, a pair of New Englanders have run under 14:00 in the 5000 for the first time in several years; Ruben Sanca (3rd, 13:56.46) and Nate Jenkins (4th, 13:56.74) achieved lifetime Personal Bests in the race.
On the roads, Brett Ely (Natick MA / BAA) captured the women's title at the ING Miami Marathon in 2:45:36, achieving the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials "B" standards for women. She was a 2008 qualifier as well.
Hall of Fame Award of Mary Carew Armstrong, and her Olympic gold medal from 1932.
(Photo courtesy Steve Vaitones)
The Mass. State Track Coaches Association inducted six new members into their Athlete Hall of Fame on Sunday. The 2010 inductees span two centuries and include four Olympians:
Thomas Edmund Burke (Boston English 1893) Sprinter, Olympian 1896
Mildred Wiley Dee (Quincy 1918) High Jump, Olympian 1928
Mary Carew Armstrong (Medford 1931) Sprints, Olympian 1932 (gold medal)
Fran Washington (Boston Trade 1955) Hurdles
Liz Natale (Newton North 1982), Distances
Jonathan Riley (Brookline 1997) Distances, Olympian 2004
The group represents the rich history of the sport in our area, and their biographies are impressive reading.
In its 25th anniversary year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, the Gatorade Company, in conjunction with ESPN RISE, announced its 2009-10 State Cross Country Runner of the Year award-winners. The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse.
Winners from the states in the New England association:
- Massachusetts: Andrea Keklak, (Lincoln-Sudbury); Patrick McGowan (Mansfield)
- New Hampshire: Heidi Caldwell (Hanover); Eric Jenkins (Portsmouth)
- Rhode Island: Abigail Jones (Barrington); Jake Sienko (Bp.Hendricken, Warwick)
- Vermont: Hannah Rowe (St.Johnsbury); David Sinclair (Green Mt Valley, Waitsfield)
Boston Athletic Association runners Lucas Meyer and Heidi Westover made a mark on the US road scene for 2010 as they both recorded a top 10 finish at the USA Half Marathon Championships hald at the Houston Aramco Half Marathon on Sunday.
Meyer took 10th place in the race at 1:03:51 behind US Champion Antonio Vega of Minnesota (1:01:54). Westover placed seventh in 1:12:59 as women's race winner, Marblehead MA native Shalane Flanagan, made her debut at the distance. Her 1:09:41 was both a USA Championship record and course record.
Full results and story at usatf.org.
Fields for the prestigious Millrose Games scholastic mile races were finalized this weekend, with 2 New England boys picked for the race.
Francis Hernandez (Bishop Guertin, Nashua NH) won Saturday's automatic qualifier race at Yale in 4:14.98; he has also won the Dartmouth Relays in 4:17.28 and the RI classic in 4:18.82 this season. Fall XC Footlocker finalist Byron Jones (Westborough MA), second in that same race at Yale in 4:16.18 (and second at December's Boston Holiday Challenge), will also toe the line in Madison Square Garden on January 29.
Only 10 runners, selected from a combination of automatic qualifier races, head to head competitions, and season performance lists, make the cut for the race. The last New England winner was Chris Barnicle (Newton MA) in 2005. Lindsay Crevoiserat of Glastonbury CT was the only girl picked from the six state region this year. Read more on the Millrose HS miles at dyestat.com.
The 2009 USATF New England President's Award for contributions to Youth Athletics was presented to John Hrones of Needham Track Club on Sunday during the club's Northeast Indoor Classic. The meet, held at the Reggie Lewis Center, is the largest youth indoor meet in the New England states.
John's involvement with Needham Track Club reached 25 years in 2009, nearly the lifetime of the organization. In those years, he's been an integral part of the summer program that serves 300 plus kids each season, as well as being the go-to guy for the club's three signature events:
- The Great Bear Run road races for all ages.
- The Northeast Indoor Classic, which has grown through four facilities and now has a home at the Reggie Lewis Center.
- The Summer Youth Classic which turned 20 years old in 2009, and is the largest youth meet in New England outside of the Junior Olympics.
Even while captaining for all these projects, he also helped the town of Needham in the project that opened a new track facility this past summer. We thank John and the Needham Track Club for their dedicated service to youth athletics in the association.
The traditional starting gun for the winter big-meet season was fired in Hanover NH over the weekend, as three days of action worked through the Dartmouth indoor track and field facility. A full schedule of scholastic, open, and masters events took place.
Big noise came on the scholastic front, where a number of top-5 HS season marks were registered by New England athletes. Will Geoghegan (Brunswick ME) edges Jake Sienko (Westerly RI) in the nation's leading 2 mile time, 9:18.70 to 9:20.78, and Robert McShane (Bishop Feehan MA) is now #2 in the 1000 meters at 2:32.63. Dom Filiano (Hanover NH) spun the 20lb weight 67-3.5" (#4 US) and Carla Forbes (Newton MA) bounded the #3 triple jump, 39-1.25. Amity CT and Bishop Hendricken (RI) placed one-two in the distance medley, moving to US #2 and #3 in 10:29.58/10:30.81.
A variety of meet records were also set. Full results can be found at lancertiming.com.
A trio of meets are upcoming this weekend for open and youth competitors. Saturday (Jan 2), the Boston University Mini-meet runs at 10 a.m. with the 200, 400, 800, mile, and 3000. At 4pm, a more complete meet is the Roxbury Community College Invite at the Reggie Lewis Center; more sprints and most field events are included (see directathletics.com). On Sunday, Waltham Track Club hosts a youth open meet at Kennedy Middle School in Waltham beginning at 5 p.m.; see walthamtrackclub.com.
More information is at our track schedule, usatfne.org/track.
National Track & Field Hall of Famer and marathon legend Bill Rodgers leads a group of 14 athletes elected to the USA Track & Field Masters Hall of Fame for 2009. Rogers has set eight US masters records in his career, and was a leader in the masters road running movement. In addition to Rodgers (Boxborough MA), two other local active Masters athletes enter the Hall of Fame; multiple World Championship medalist in long distance events Mary Harada (Liberty AC / West Newbury MA) and 93 year old sprinter Bob Matteson (NE 65+ Club / Bennington VT).
The Hall now contains 58 women and 118 men. The complete list is at mastershistory.org.
With two world records and several other close attempts while running in Boston, Ethopian ace Tirunish Dibaba is comfortable on the on the Reggie Lewis Center track. After a year away from the well known blue-and-blue mondo oval, she'll be returning to the Reebok Boston Indoor Games this February with an eye on reclaiming the world indoor 5000 meter record.
The youth Ethiopian already owns two Olympic gold medals, track and road world records, and multiple world titles in cross and track.
What has become the top elite meet in the USA, the Reebok Boston Indoor Games promises to deliver another exciting evening of track and field, with the chance for world and national records always in the cards. The meet is always a sell-out; ticket information is at BostonIndoorGames.com.
With two world records and several other close attempts while running in Boston, Ethopian ace Tirunish Dibaba is comfortable on the on the Reggie Lewis Center track. After a year away from the well known blue-and-blue mondo oval, she'll be returning to the Reebok Boston Indoor Games this February with an eye on reclaiming the world indoor 5000 meter record.
The youth Ethiopian already owns two Olympic gold medals, track and road world records, and multiple world titles in cross and track.
What has become the top elite meet in the USA, the Reebok Boston Indoor Games promises to deliver another exciting evening of track and field, with the chance for world and national records always in the cards. The meet is always a sell-out; ticket information is at BostonIndoorGames.com.
Alexander Gallo (Sentinel Striders / North Providence RI) ran to a bronze medal at today's USATF Junior Olympic National Cross Country Championships held in Reno Nevada. Gallo, in the Intermediate Boys (15-16) division, clocked 16:05 over the 5000 meter circuit, just 11 seconds off the winner's pace. Top girls placing was turned in by Gwenyth Winship (Granite State Flash), 5th in the Midget Girls run. Conditions were wintery, and the day's races were delayed an hour due to weather conditions.
Top New Englanders in other divisions were:
- Bantam Girls: 37-Anna McCusker, Unattached; Bantam Boys: 29 Joey Weston Bradford ES
- Midget Boys: 21-Jake McMaster, Nashua PAL
- Youth Girls: 25-Maddy Berkson, Prov.Cobras; Youth Boys: 35-Patrick Chabot, Granite State Flash
- Intermediate Girls: 60-Brittany Abbott, Granite State Flash
- Young Women: 28-Katharine Meinertz, Sentinels; Young Men: 74-Samuel Belcher, Sugarloaf
Highest placing team in the competition was the Bradford Elementary School taking fifth in the Bantam (10 & Under) Boys race. Full results at usatf.org.
The Green Mountain AA Men's 50+ team made every place count and placed first among 15 clubs from around the country in the division to bring home the gold medals at the USA Fall National Cross Country Championships in Lexington KY. The Vermonters had just a one point margin over Club Northewest, 75-76, with their New England rivals Greater Lowell Road Runners in the bronze medal position at 79 points. <<br /> GMAA was led by Norm Larson (3rd individual M50) as their depth through 5 runners gave them the edge. GLRR had a pair of individual division winners among their 5 scorers; John Barbour won the M55 category and Bill Dixon was 1st 60+.
Top placing team in the men's 40+ division (18 teams) was Dirigo RC at 109 points, with New England champ Greater Springfield Harriers sixth. Best individual was NE champ Kent Lemme (GSH/Williamstown MA), 10th overall 9th M40-44) in the field of 293 men. Other individual medalists were Mike Payson (Dirigo, 3-M45) and Mark Reeder (GLRR, M50-2).
No men over 70, nor any women masters at all competed in the meet. Detailed scoring at usatf.org.
New England champions Jenn Donovan and Lucas Meyer led the New England contingent competing at the USA Fall National Cross Country Championships in Lexington KY on Saturday.
Donovan (New Balance Boston/Brighton MA) improved a spot from last year, placing fourth among 234 open women and 16 seconds behind winner Serena Burla (Ellisville MO, and 4th at the Boston Mayor's Cup). She also led the New Balance Boston team to a sixth place finish, one spot up on the BAA (top placer: Kristin Murphy, 31st) and ahead of Greater Boston (14th, Allison McCabe 47th) among 29 clubs; Boulder Running Company took team honors with 79 points.
Meyer (Boston AA/Ridgefield CT) scored fifth place in a 318 runner field with 42 scoring teams. His Unicorn squad placed 10th with New Balance Boston (14, Ari Zamir 25) and Greater Boston TC (31, Ryan Place 67) also in the mix. Full results at usatf.org.
Local athletes and administrators were recognized by their peers at last week's USATF national Annual Meetings in Indianapolis.
The USATF Mountain/Ultra/Trail Running (MUT) Council named two New Englanders among their 2009 award winners. The Men's Masters Mountain Runner of the year is Dave Dunham (CMS/ Bradford MA). Dave took home the gold in the age 45-49 group at the US Mountain Championships at Mt Cranmore, was the USATF New England champion (45-49), and USATF-NE Mountain running series champion with firsts in all series race age divisions. Dave is also official scorekeeper for the USATF NE Mountain series, and directs multiple trail/mountain races.
Contributor of the Year honor goes to NE chairman Paul Kirsch. Kirsch was the race director for NACAC/USA Mountain Running Champs including coordinating housing and transportation for elite athletes; he did the same for elite athletes for the Mount Washington Race. Kirsch serves as the USATF-NE Mountain /Ultra/Trail Chairperson, and heads up the USATF-NE Mountain Running Circuit which saw increased participation this year. He also successfully recruited the Rhode Island 6 Hour Ultra to be USATF-NE Ultra Championships. Kirsch provides website design and maintenance for the US Mountain Running Team website & blog (usmrt.com).
Three local legends were among the 13 athletes formally selected for the USATF Masters Hall of Fame. 2009 honoreees include distance runner Mary Harada (West Newbury MA / Liberty AC), all event runner Bob Matteson (Bennington VT), and marathoner Bill Rodgers (Sherborne MA).
Additionally, the 2010 Mt.Washington Road Race, celebrating its 50th anniversary, will host the USA Mountain Running Championship which will select the entire US team for next fall's World Mountain Running Championship.
Read more about the convention at www.usatf.org
With sadness, we report that long time New England runner and coach Larry Olsen of Hopedale MA passed away on Sunday at age 63 while on a club run.
Larry, founder of the Tri Valley Frontrunners, won dozens of individual New England championship titles on the roads, track and cross courses in his career. An enthusiastic competitor in the Grand Prix series, he won the series eight times in the 40-49, 50-59, and 60-69 divisions since 1989, and had contested over 100 of our road championships in that time period. He also set several US National Masters records, and had the distinction of being the outright winner of races in each decade of his life from his teens to age 60+.
He owned his own store, "Front Runner" for many years, and had been coaching at Hopedale HS, as well as some local open runners. He will be missed on the New England running scene.
(From Dyestate.com report) Despite the longshot label they carried, Bishop Hendricken (Warwick RI) came up with an emotionally charged upset victory over several highly ranked teams to gain an automatic qualifier spot for the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) in two weeks. None of the top ranked boys or girls teams at the race held in Wappingers Falls NY earned auto qualifiers.
Hendricken raced in memory of the late great runner from RI, Bobby Doyle, whose son is a senior on the team. They beat 5 nationally top-40 ranked teams to get a spot on the starting line in Oregon in 2 weeks.
Similarly, the unranked girls teams from Bishop Feehan (Attleboro MA) and LaSalle (Providence RI) went 1-2 with 114 and 121 to take the girls' automatic qualifiers. Qualifying as individuals based on a top 5 finish were Aaron Watanabe (Hanover NH, 3rd) along with Abby Jones (Barrington RI, 4th) and Jacy Christiansen (Mascenic Regional NH, 5th).
In the Footlocker Northeast Regional at Sunken Meadow Park on Long Island (an individual focused meet with just 4 qualifying races around the country), just a single NE association based runner will make the trip to San Diego; John Murray of Shrewsbury just 11th at the Mass. Div I Championship, placed 10th to nail the final qualifying spot. Two girls from Maine - including the highest placer from the 6 NE states, Abbey Leonardi of Kennebunk in second - and four runners from Connecticut will join Murray on December 12.
Read about both races at dyestat.com, the most complete source for HS XC and TF.
She started working for the CIGNA Falmouth Road Race 38 years ago, and Kathleen Sherman has received the recognition she truly deserved. Sherman was named the MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Race Director of the Year at the recent Road Race Management race directors' meeting held in Hollywood Beach Florida.
"It's really nice after all these years for someone to say, 'good job,'" Sherman said in accepting the award which was presented by the Running Network. Sherman was selected by a panel assembled by Road Race Management, the newsletter and service organization dedicated to road race directing. Her selection reflected the judges' opinion that she had displayed exemplary service to one of the America's best-known road races, doing jobs as varied as supervising truck loading and handling the race announcing.
Sherman's husband, Rich, is a founder and co-director of the event. "We've done well working on this race for 40 years," she said of her husband. "And I've really been blessed with sponsors who have stayed with us over the years," she said.
Founded in 1973 with just 92 runners, the race was held for the 37th time this year. Race champions include some of the sport's all-time greats: Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Joan Samuelson, Lorraine Moller, Lynn Jennings, Lornah Kiplagat and Catherine Ndereba. Sherman has been there to see them all. (from Race Results Weekly report)
USATF New England association clubs dominated team scoring in the Region I Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships held at Cony HS in Augusta Maine on Sunday. 19 of the 27 teams headed to the National meet from the Region (all New England states plus New York) will be from USATF-NE. Sentinel Striders won three age divisions (Intermediate Boys and Girls, Young Men) and also qualified both midget teams. Team golds were also picked up by Bradford Elementary (Bantam Boys - their first ever team to Nationals), Nashua PAL (Bantam Birls), Waltham TC (Midget girls), Granite State Flash (Midget Boys), and Gate City Striders (Youth Girls). The Flash scored five other age division team advancers, PAL three others, and Waltham one more.
Three individual winners come from the association; Maddie Berkson (Providence Cobras, RI) in the Youth Girls division, and Intermediate Division winners Felicia Lombardi (Brookline NH) and Alexander Gallo (Sentinel Striders). A majority of individual advancers from the ten races also hail from the association.
The National Championships run on December 12 in Reno, Nevada. Results from Region I are posted at the USA Maine website.
USATF New England association clubs dominated team scoring in the Region I Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships held at Cony HS in Augusta Maine on Sunday. 19 of the 27 teams headed to the National meet from the Region (all New England states plus New York) will be from USATF-NE. Sentinel Striders won three age divisions (Intermediate Boys and Girls, Young Men) and also qualified both midget teams. Team golds were also picked up by Bradford Elementary (Bantam Boys - their first ever team to Nationals), Nashua PAL (Bantam Birls), Waltham TC (Midget girls), Granite State Flash (Midget Boys), and Gate City Striders (Youth Girls). The Flash scored five other age division team advancers, PAL three others, and Waltham one more.
Three individual winners come from the association; Maddie Berkson (Providence Cobras, RI) in the Youth Girls division, and Intermediate Division winners Felicia Lombardi (Brookline NH) and Alexander Gallo (Sentinel Striders). A majority of individual advancers from the ten races also hail from the association.
The National Championships run on December 12 in Reno, Nevada. Results from Region I are posted at the USA Maine website.
Some top performances were turned in by collegians from the six state region at the three NCAA Cross Country Championships held on Saturday and Monday.
At the Division III meet in Cleveland on Saturday, Williams College placed second overall, with Amherst (17), Brandeis (24), and Keene State (29) also making the finals. Three NE men placed in the top 10; Edgar Kosgei led Williams with a 3rd place finish, best from the area, followed by Paul Norton (Brandeis, 6th), and Jesse Faller (Tufts, 7th) in the top 10. In the women's race, Middlebury and MIT, after tying for NE Region honors, placed highest among locals in fourth and fifth in the field of of 32 teams. Tech's Maria Monks (13th) was top individual.
At the Division II meet in Evansville IN, the men's bronze medal came home with American International College (Springfield) freshman Glarius Rop, with NE team interests represented by U.Mass Lowell (16th) and Stonehill (21st). The two hawk varieties swapped positions almost equally in the women's race with frosh Erin Carmone leading Stonehill to 16th, while UML finished 23rd.
Division I's traditional Monday gun at Indiana State found Providence women, the sole NE team, in 11th led by soph Hannah Davidson in 37th; upset winner was Angela Bizzarri of Illinois with Villanova back in the team winner's circle after a lengthy absence.
The Friars were also the sole NE school in the men's tallies, placing 20th. Portsmouth NH product Cory Thorne, running for Louisville, was 24th, Ryan Collins (Mansfield MA/Virginia) was 41st, one place up on Harvard's Dan Chenoweth, top NE collegian. The individual race was a runaway win by Liberty U's Samual Chelanga, and Oklahoma State scored a strong team victory.
Additional individuals from the area peppered the team and indivdual results in all three divisions. All results can be referenced from ncaa.com.
The 2010 USATF-NE Grand Prix Series has been selected by an online vote of the membership. A total of 440 votes were cast during the one-week period from November 11 through 18. The results of the vote have been verified by the LDR Chairs and the winning schedule is Slate "C", as follows:
- Jones Group Realtors 10 Mile, 10M, Amherst MA, Sun, Feb. 28
- New Bedford Half Marathon, 13.1M, New Bedford MA, Sun., Mar 21
- Bedford Rotary Memorial 12K,12K , Bedford NH, Sat., May 22
- Rhody 5K (MEN ONLY) ,5K ,Lincoln RI , Sun., June 6
- Stowe 8 Miler, 8M, Stowe VT, Sun., July 18
- Bridge of Flowers 10K , 10K , Shelburne Falls MA, Sat., August 14
- Providence Ronald McDonald House Women's Classic (WOMEN ONLY) 5K, Providence, Sun, Oct. 3
In a separate vote, the Marathon selected is the Bay State Marathon, Lowell MA, Sun., Oct. 17, 8:00 AM
The vote was the final step in new process in which a selection committee consisting of the Long Distance Running Chairs and representatives from the clubs created a ballot from the 17 bidding races with 4 slates of non-marathon distance races, a separate ballot question for the marathon distance and a survey question on a post-series awards banquet. The Survey Question for a banquet was 54% in favor.
Timothy Davis (Team RUN) had a strong race in winning the Bantam Boys race on The Farm
(Photo courtesy Mark Coddaire)
After the rains of Saturday, it was a perfect day on Sunday for the USATF-NE Junior Olympic Cross Country meet at Freestyle Farm in Amherst NH. The 557 entries was the largest in 5 years.
Five teams took home at least one team title, led by Granite State Flash's four (Midget Girls, Midget Boys, Youth Boys, Intermediate Girls). Sentinel Striders took two wins (Intermediate Boys, Young Men), with Bradford Elementary (Bantam Boys), Nashua PAL (Bantam Girls), and GCS Triad (Youth Girls) each with one team win.
The top 3 teams and individuals finishing in the top 25 advance to this weekend's Region I meet in Augusta Maine. Results are at usatfne.org/cross and Region I info is at meusatf.org.
Jennifer Donovan (new balance Boston / Boston MA) was named to the Team USA squad for the 2009 International Chiba Ekiden to be held Monday, November 23 in Chiba, Japan. Ten nations will be represented in the event. The race features mixed teams of men and women running six alternating legs totaling the marathon distance (26.22 miles / 42.195 km). It's her first selection to represent Team USA.
Ben Nephew and Lisa Mikkelsen at the RI 6 Hour Run on Sunday, the USATF-NE ultra distance championship. It was the first ultra title race in the association in several years.
Nephew (Mansfield MA / CMS) covered 51.323 miles in 5:58:41 (distance based on last complete lap in the time period) running much of the race with Martin Tighe (Providence / TNT) who was one minute behind at 5:59:41 and earning the masters gold. Third USATF-NE finisher was Seth Roberts (Longmeadow MA / GSH) at 37.817 miles in 5:53:57. Mikkelsen (Holliston MA / INOV-8) was first open and master NE runner; the overall women's winner was Danielle Cherniak of Cohoes NY at 41.409 miles. 67 individuals took part in this successful first-ever competition.
The NE ultra championship will vary in distance from 50K through 100K in future years, based on the event selected. Full results at coolrunning.com.
CMS team at the USA Trail Marathon Championship
(Photo courtesy of Dave Dunham)
The Central Mass Striders foursome of Jim Johnson, Dan Verrington, Dave Dunham, and Judge Jones combined to win both the USATF National Trail Marathon Open and Masters Team Championships in Ashland, Oregon on Sunday. The first three took the open gold, and with Jones replacing Johnson in the totals, the masters crown as well. All scored individual medals; Johnson placed fifth overall in 2:56:57, Verrington and Dunham finished 1-2 in the M45-49 division (3:03:10 / 3:09:36) and 9/11 overall, and Jones second 55-59 (3:48:39, 23rd overall.
The individual race winner was former US world cross country team member Max King of Bend OR (2:40:23). Full results at usatf.org
Back from injuries, Kent Lemme won the masters championship.
Photo: Henry Finch
Lucas Meyer and Jenn Donovan led the men's and women's fields, respectively around Franklin Park on Sunday to win their first New England Cross Country Titles. Two weekend days in a row with great cross country weather made for good racing conditions.
Meyer (BAA) dueled with Ruben Sanca (Boston) and was ultimately first down the straightaway, stopping the clock at 30:05 with his pursuer 13 seconds back after 10K. Donovan (New Balance Boston) had a larger gap over the shorter 6K, winning in 20:
The Boston Athletic Association claimed both open team titles, followed by Greater Boston TC and New Balance Boston in the men's totals; the latter clubs reversed order in the women's tallies.
Kent Lemme (Williamstown MA) led a 1-2-4 finish of individual placers by Greater Springfield Harriers in the masters 8K, enough for the team win over Dirigo. Within the women's race, Christine Reaser was the first 40+ by 7 seconds over Jen Hegarty, and Green Mountain AA won the 40+ team honors over Liberty as both totaled 13 but GMAA having the better third scorer.
Other masters placers and team scores are with the results at usatfne.org/cross
Stonehill College (North Easton MA) and U.Mass.-Lowell will advance both their men's and women's teams to the NCAA Division II Nationals in two week, based on their top two finish placings in the East Region qualifier at Franklin Park on Sunday. Stonehill led UML 51-76 on the women's while the placers were reversed in the men's race, River Hawks winning 43-67 over Sky Hawks. The two squads have dominated the team results in the region in recent years.
Two other New England collegians will advance as individuals by placing in the top 5 overall. Following a series of victories including the all-New Englands this fall, overall men's winner Glarius Rop of American International College (Springfield) dominated the race and clocked 30:16 ahead of runner-up and teammate Victor Kemboi; both will also Evansville IN on November 21.
More information at goriverhawks.com
Under sunny skies and in seasonal temperatures, the first Massachusetts Middle School Invitational Championship, sponsored by Saucony, ran a successful series of races on Saturday at Devens. A team championship plus three grade races for both boys and girls had spirited competition and runners from nearly 100 schools, who covered the 1.7 mile two loop course; the girls team event having the top 3 teams within three points.
Alexia Lipman of Bromfield /Harvard ran the fastest girls time, 9:52 in the team race. Diamond Middle School of Lexington topped all schools with 132 points.
The boys' fastest time was turned in by Jordan Comeau of Murdoch/Winchendon in 9:21 in the eighth grade race. The R.J.Gray Middle School of Acton/Boxborough was the winning boys team at 109 points.
Full results at coolrunning.com
Joan Samuelson at NYC Marathon
Photo: Used with permission from the Running Network
Sunday's New York City Marathon was the largest marathon in history, and several performances of note among the 43,475 finishers in the 40th anniversary race. US Olympian Meb Keflezighi became the first American winner since Alberto Salazar in 1982, clocking a personal best 2:09:15 to beat 4 time Boston Champ Robert Cheruiyot and two time World Champion Jaouad Gharib.
In the USA Men's Championship contest, Pat Tarpey (Providence) was the first New England finisher in his debut at the distance, placing 21st overall/13 US in 2:20:43.
On the women's side (not the championship), reliable Heidi (Westerling) Westover was 13th in 2:44:59. In 17th, Joan Benoit Samuelson continues to defy the aging process, setting a the US women's age 50+ record in 2:49:09.
In other weekend accomplishments outside the 6 state region by locals, Portsmouth NH HS grad Cory Thorne, now at U.Louisville, won the Big East Conference cross country championships held in Kenosha WI, and Harvard's Dan Chenoweth led the field at the Heptagonals (Ivy League) at Van Cortlandt Park, NY. Ryan Collins (Mansfield MA / U.Virginia) was second in the Atlantic Coast Conference title race held in NC Big East Conference Championships
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