LYUDMILA VASILYEVA AND PAUL KEZES VICTORIOUS AT USATF NORTHWEST REGIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sherrie Szymeczek and Tom O’Malley top prognosticators in Turkey Trot XI


(Seattle, WA., 23 November)—Russian internationalist Lyudmila Vasilyeva of Renton and former Western Washington University standout Paul Kezes emerged victorious at today’s USA Track & Field Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships today at Lincoln Park in West Seattle.

Despite a wrong turn taken by Vasilyeva, second place finisher Sabrina Monro, and two other lead runners at the end of the first of three laps of the 6.1 kilometer (3.79 miles) course, Vasilyeva regained control of the race to easily defeat Monro with a winning time of 22:11, besting Monro, a recent University of Washington graduate by 11 seconds.

Monro (22:22) now competing for Club Northwest, led teammates Vanessa Hunter (22:31), Pam Bradbury (22:48), and Kathleen Harri (22:53) across the line to give Club Northwest the women’s team title, with a team score of 21 points. Vasilyeva’s Seattle Running Company squad finished in the runner-up position with 50 points, while the University of Washington placed third with 63 points.

Kezes, who like Vasilyeva, won the Pacific Northwest Association cross country title two weeks ago, took command of the 8-kilometer (4.97 miles) early, as the Club Northwest runner cruised to victory in a time of 24:22. Team Eugene’s Aaron Moody (24:37) and Nick Smith’s (24:41) 2-3 finish led Team Eugene to a spirited 33-34 victory over Club Northwest, with the Eugene-based Team XO a distant third with 87 points.

Opening today’s racing on the spectator-friendly Lincoln Park cross country course was Turkey Trot XI, a unique predicted time cross country run. Tom O’Malley and Sherrie Szymeczek of Seattle were today’s top male and female prognosticators in Turkey Trot XI, as they came within 1 second and 39 seconds of their predicted time over the 4.2 (2.6 miles) kilometer course.

Kenny Johnson of Seattle (14:54), and Amy Forrey (16:58) were the top male and female runners across the line in Turkey Trot XI, which was the preliminary race to today’s championship races.

Race director and Club Ballard team manager Paul Merca was pleased with the outcome of today’s races, particularly with the quality of both championship races.

The USATF Northwest Regional Championship is one of several races hosted around the United States designed to assist the nation’s top post-collegiate distance runners preparing for the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships on December 7th in Greensboro, N.C.

The USA Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships are supported by: Talking Rain, Pike Place Bagels, and Active.com, with special assistance from the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Pacific Northwest Association of USA Track & Field.

Complete results of the USATF Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships and Turkey Trot XI are available at Club Ballard's web site at http://www.clubballard.com

--cba—

Top 10 results—
Women—6.1 kilometers

1 615 Lyudmila Vasilyeva Seattle Running Company 1 22:11
2 644 Sabrina Monro Club Northwest 2 22:22
3 696 Vanessa Hunter Club Northwest 3 22:31
4 645 Pam Bradbury Club Northwest 4 22:48
5 648 Kathleen Harri Club Northwest 5 22:53
6 612 Tatiana Salazar Seattle Running Company 6 22:58
7 646 Linda Huyck Club Northwest 7 23:01
8 700 Susan Ashlock Seattle Running Company 8 23:03
9 662 Regina Joyce Club Northwest Masters 23:06
10 677 Jenny Rodgers Team XO 23:10

Teams: Club Northwest—21; Seattle Running Company—50; University of Washington, 63.

Top 10 Results—
Men—8 kilometers

1 633 Paul Kezes Club Northwest 1 24:22
2 601 Aaron Moody Team Eugene 2 24:37
3 602 Nick Smith Team Eugene 3 24:41
4 642 Uli Steidl Club Northwest 4 25:01
5 698 Jose Garcia Club Northwest 5 25:19
6 674 Brayce Forsha Team XO 6 25:21
7 603 Jed Chappell Team Eugene 7 25:22
8 617 Chris Charles Seattle Running Company 8 25:30
9 600 Aaron Davis Team Eugene 9 25:33
10 640 Zach Boteillo Club Northwest 10 25:34

Teams: Team Eugene—33: Club Northwest—34; Team XO—87; Seattle Running Company—99; Club Northwest-Masters—132; Seattle Running Company-Masters—174; Snohomish TC—203.

Individual Prize Money--$125/$75/$50 1st-2nd-3rd;
Team Prize Money--$100 per winning team.

Turkey Trot XI (4.2 kilometers)—
Predicted time winners: Tom O’Malley (1 second) and Sherrie Szymeczek (39 seconds), both Seattle

Top Male/Female runners: Kenny Johnson, age 18, Seattle (14:54); Amy Forrey, age 25, Kirkland (16:58).

PNTF CHAMPIONS LYUDMILA VASILYEVA AND PAUL KEZES HEADLINE FIELD FOR USATF NORTHWEST REGIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS AT LINCOLN PARK THIS SUNDAY

Turkey Trot XI Opens Day of Racing


(Seattle, WA, 20 November 2003)--Final preparations are underway for Sunday’s (November 23rd) running of the USA Track & Field Northwest Regional Cross Country Championship at Lincoln Park in West Seattle.

Sunday’s racing on the Lincoln Park course begins at 10:00 AM with Turkey Trot XI, a 4-kilometer (2.46 miles) community run, followed by the women’s 6-kilometer (3.74 miles) championship race at 11:00 AM, , and the men’s 8-kilometer (4.97 miles) championship race at noon.

The USATF Northwest Regional Championship is one of several races hosted around the United States designed to assist the nation’s top post-collegiate distance runners prepare for the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships on December 7th in Greensboro, N.C.

Russian internationalist Lyudmila Vasilyeva, (left; photo courtesy Alison Wade, NYRRC) who resides in Renton, is the leading female athlete entered, according to race director Paul Merca. Vasilyeva, who is better known as a 1500-meter specialist on the international track and field circuit with a personal best of 4:02.45, enters the USATF Northwest Regionals after winning the Pacific Northwest Association championships two weeks ago at Lower Woodland Park in north Seattle. 

Vasilyeva is the top runner on the Seattle Running Company squad that won the PNA title two weeks ago over Club Northwest.

Others who may give Vasilyeva a run for the title include Seattle Running Company teammate and 2001 USA World Championships team member Jennifer Tonkin; Club Northwest’s Sabrina Monro, a recent University of Washington graduate and NCAA qualifier at 10000 meters, along with Club Northwest teammates Pam Bradbury and Karen Steen.  Steen and Tonkin are two of Washington state’s qualifiers for next April’s United States Olympic Team Trials in the marathon.

On the men’s side, Paul Kezes of Club Northwest and Aaron Davis of Team Eugene (below; photo courtesy Alison Wade, NYRRC)are the two leading contenders. Kezes was a decisive winner of the PNA championship two weeks ago, defeating his nearest opponent by 2:03 over the 10-kilometer course at Lower Woodland Park. Davis finished second at the Northwest regionals at Lincoln Park two years ago. He won the Willamette University cross country invitational last month over an 8-k course, running 24:31.

The Kezes-led Club Northwest squad is expected to face a heavy challenge by the Team Eugene squad on Sunday. Former University of Washington standouts Jason Fayant and Mike Hill, who did not compete at the PNA meet, will run for Club Northwest, while Team Eugene counters with Aaron Moody, who recently set a personal best of 29:53 for 10 k on a road course, and Japanese national Takamichi Hayashi, who recently set a half-marathon personal best of 1:10:10 in San Francisco last month.

Several of the Northwest’s top masters runners (40 years of age and up) are also entered in the USATF Northwest Regionals, as they also are using this meet to prepare for their national championships two weeks later in Greensboro. Among the leading masters runners entered this weekend include American mile record holder Tony Young of Club Northwest; and, 1984 Irish Olympian Regina Joyce, who also competes for Club Northwest.

Opening the day of cross country competition on the Lincoln Park course at 10 AM, Turkey Trot XI gives runners of all ages and abilities the opportunity to compete against each other in a unique predicted-time event over a four-kilometer course.

In Turkey Trot XI, the person who comes closest to or correctly runs their predicted time over the course will be the overall winner.

"With this format, and the fact that the race is run over a cross country course, this gives any competitor, no matter what their ability levels are, an opportunity to win. The winner will not necessarily be the one who crosses the line first," Turkey Trot XI race director William Ayears said.

The course used for the USATF Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships and Turkey Trot XI is the same spectator-friendly 2-kilometer loop used for the Seattle Open Cross Country Classic in late January, one of the country’s final high-performance races before the USA National Cross Country Championships

Runners who wish to enter either USA Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships or Turkey Trot XI may sign up for the races beginning at 9:30 am in front of picnic shelter #5 for a $15 entry fee.

The USA Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships are supported by: Talking Rain, Pike Place Bagels, and Active.com, with special assistance from the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Pacific Northwest Association of USA Track & Field.

For more information on the USATF Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships or Turkey Trot XI please contact Merca at 206/499-4329, or visit Club Ballard's web site at http://www.clubballard.com

--cba—

CLUB BALLARD NOTES: This meet is the first time that an eight-kilometer race has been contested on this particular course, which was designed in 1998 by USA Track & Field cross country chairman Mike Scott, and race director Paul Merca. 

The course record for the women’s 6k is 20:29, held by Emilie Mondor of Canada set at the 2003 Seattle Open in January. The fastest men’s 10k run on this course is 29:49, set by Rob Cook of Seattle in winning the 2000 Seattle Open.

The last time Club Ballard hosted the USATF Northwest Regional Championships was two years ago on this Lincoln Park course. Former University of Oregon standouts Melody Fairchild (21:07) and Dan Nelson (30:36) were the winners....

The team announced that it will host the 2004 Seattle Open Cross Country Classic on Sunday, January 25, 2004 at Lincoln Park.

The Seattle Open will consist of a men’s and women’s 4-kilometer race; a women’s 6-kilometer race; and, a men’s 8-kilometer competition.

The Seattle Open is the final major cross country competition before the USA Winter Cross Country Championships on February 7th and 8th in Indianapolis, IN. The Indianapolis meet is the selection meet for the USA team that competes in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in March in Brussels, Belgium.  More information on the Seattle Open will be available shortly through the Club Ballard web site, at http://www.clubballard.com.


Top 10 Times— Lincoln Park Women’s 6k
(actual distance 6.1k)
1 Emilie Mondor British Columbia 20:29 (course record-2003)
2 Tina Connelly British Columbia 20:30 (2001)
3 Tina Connelly British Columbia 20:35 (2000)
4 Tina Connelly British Columbia 20:45 (1999)
5 Emilie Mondor British Columbia 21:03 (2002)
6 Melody Fairchild, Oregon 21:07 (2001 USATF NW Reg)
7 Lisa Nye Oregon 21:08 (2001)
8 Susannah Beck, Oregon 21:18 (2001 USATF NW Reg)
9 Allison Rendell, British Columbia 21:21 (2001 USATF NW Reg)
10 (tie) Robyn Meagher British Columbia (2001) & Sarah Howell Alberta (1999), 21:25

Top 10 Times— Lincoln Park Men's 10k
(actual distance 9.8 k)
1 Rob Cook Washington 29:49 (course record-2000)
2 Rob Cook Washington 30:08 (1999)
3 Chad Johnson Oregon 30:17 (2003)
4 Scott Larson Colorado 30:19 (1999)
5 Ian Solof Oregon 30:25 (2001)
6 (tie) Jeremy Deere Alberta 30:27 (1999), and Dave Davis, Oregon (2003)
8 Mike Donnelley, Oregon 30:30 (2003)
9 Peter Cardle British Columbia 30:33 (2001)
10 Dan Nelson Oregon 30:36 (2001 USATF NW Reg)

CLUB BALLARD SET TO HOST USATF NORTHWEST REGIONAL CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS AT LINCOLN PARK

(Seattle, WA, 13 November 2003)—Several of the Pacific Northwest’s leading cross country teams will converge upon Lincoln Park in West Seattle on Sunday, November 23rd for the USA Track & Field Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships.

The USATF Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships is one of four regional meets held throughout the United States leading up to the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships on December 7th in Greensboro, N.C.

Club Ballard Athletics team manager Paul Merca, who is directing the regional championship, states that several of the Pacific Northwest region’s top distance specialists will compete in what’s considered one of the final tune-up races before USA Track & Field’s national club cross country championships.

In the regional championships, the men will race over eight kilometers, while the women will compete over six kilometers.

Among the leading contenders expected to compete in next Sunday’s event are Lyudmila Vasilyeva of the Seattle Running Company team, and Paul Kezes of Seattle’s Club Northwest. Vasilyeva and Kezes emerged victorious at the USATF Pacific Northwest Association championships on November 9th at Lower Woodland Park in Seattle.

According to Merca, the club has received entries from teams and individuals from the Pacific Northwest, led by the Seattle-based Club Northwest squad.

In addition, several of the region’s top masters (40 years and older) running clubs will compete against each other at the regional championships, including the Snohomish Track Club, Club Northwest, and the Seattle Running Company.

Kicking off the day of running at Lincoln Park is Club Ballard’s Turkey Trot XI, which gives runners of all ages and abilities the opportunity to compete against each other in a unique predicted-time event over a four-kilometer (2.46 miles) course running through Lincoln Park.

The course used for the USA Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships and Turkey Trot XI is the same spectator-friendly 2-kilometer loop used for the Seattle Open Cross Country Classic in late January, one of the country’s final high-performance races before the USA Winter Cross Country Championships

Runners who wish to enter either the USATF Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships or Turkey Trot XI may sign up before November 18th by sending a $10.00 entry fee to CLUB BALLARD ATHLETICS, POB 70601, Seattle, WA. 98127-0601. Runners may also sign up for the races beginning at 8:30 am in front of picnic shelter #5 for a $15 entry fee.

The USA Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships and Turkey Trot XI are supported by: Talking Rain, Pike Place Bagel Company, and Active.com, with special assistance from the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Pacific Northwest Association of USA Track & Field.

For more information on the USATF Northwest Regional Cross Country Championships and Turkey Trot XI, please contact Merca at 206/499-4329, or visit Club Ballard's web site at http://www.clubballard.com.

--cba—

CLUB BALLARD NOTES: Here is the time schedule:

8:30 am—Registration opens

10:00 AM—TURKEY TROT XI

11:00 AM—USATF NW Regional open and masters women’s 6K

NOON—USATF NW Regional open and masters men’s 8K

The course record for the women’s 6K is held by Canada’s Emilie Mondor, who ran 20:30 to win the 2003 Seattle Open. There is no course record for the men’s 8K race, as this is the first time an 8K race has been competed on this particular course.

The USATF Northwest Regional Cross Country meet was last hosted by Club Ballard at Lincoln Park on November 18, 2001, with former University of Oregon standouts Melody Fairchild (20:26) and Dan Nelson (30:36 for 10k) winning the titles

Prize money will be awarded to the top three overall finishers in the men's and women's races. Additionally, the Pacific Northwest Association's masters committee today announced team prize money to the winning team in the men's 40+, 50+, 60+, and 70+, and to the winning masters womens team.