CRR At The USATF National Club Cross Country Championships

by Rick Platt


Video courtesy of Daniel Shaye

A record 32 members of the Colonial Road Runners entered the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships, on December 11 at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, NC, competing against the fastest open and Masters runners in the nation, with Steve Chantry, Greg Dawson, Rick Platt and Connie Glueck leading the way for the CRR.

The CRR had full teams in the men’s 40-49, men’s 50-59, men’s 60-69, men’s open, and women’s 40-49 categories. The CRR team coordinators were Dawson and Chantry, and they led their respective teams. Dawson ran a 10K PR of 36:12.6, to place 33rd of 74 for men 45-49. Kevin White was 61st of 97 for men 40-44 with his 36:35.5. Also on the CRR 40-49 team were Steven Menzies (37:41.8), Daniel Shaye (38:07.3), Paul Pelletier (38:20.6) and David Lockard (40:31.3). The 40+ team placed 19th of 23 with 515 points, averaging 37:23.

Chantry had the highest placing of the day for the CRR men, finishing sixth of 32 for men 55-59, just 19 seconds out of the bronze-medal position. Hank Gleisberg was 52nd of 103 for men 50-54 (the largest age group of the day) with a 38:33.2 Also on the CRR 50-59 team were Robert Whitaker (40:02.1), Andrew Cutler (40:10.9), Jim Thornton (41:31.6) and Jim Goggin (44:57.8). The 50+ team was 14th of 18 with 326 points, averaging 39:30.

The highest team place of the day was the CRR’s 60-69 team, fifth of 14 with 43 points, and an average time of 41:42, and trailing just the Boulder Road Runners (CO), Front Line RT (MI), Bowerman AC (OR) and Green Mountain AA (VT). Rick Platt was eighth of 57 for men 60-64 with a time of 40:34.9, while Ben Dyer was seventh of 15 for men 65-69 with a 44:23.6. Also on the CRR 60-69 team were Bill Hart (42:06.6), Dale Abrahamson (42:25.0), Langston Shelton (44:07.7) and Joe Day (45:07.4).

On an age graded basis, with 80% considered national-class, Chantry led the way with an 85.96%, followed by Gleisberg (82.27), Platt (82.26), Dawson (81.52), Dyer (80.12), Hart (79.99), Menzies (79.49), White (79.44), Abrahamson (79.41), Cutler (78.27), Whitaker (77.93), Shelton (77.69), Thornton (77.66), Pelletier (76.98), Shaye (75.07), Day (73.98), Goggin (72.36), and Lockard (70.62), with 389 finishing the men’s Masters race.

In the separate women’s 6K event, the CRR was 12th of 16 with 124 points, averaging 27:21. Fastest was Connie Glueck, 13th of 32 for women 45-49 in 25:33.8. Mary Beth Bird was 26th of 30 in the fastest 40-44 age group in 27:23.1, with teammate Kimberly Votava 28th in 29:07.8. Ann Hirn had the highest CRR place of the day, second (of a strong two) for women 65-69, in 31:08.7. Age-graded, Hirn was 28th of 106 Masters women with a 79.84%, followed by Glueck (75.76), Bird (68.89) and Votava (64.77).

The CRR open men’s team was 30th of 45, averaging 33:08. Fastest for CRR was ex-William and Mary runner Jason Schoener, 68th of 364 with a 31:20.5, followed closely by ex-New Kent High star Guy Alton (82nd, 31:30.9). Also on the team, all current or former W&M runners, were Bryce Wilk (34:12.2), Busch Gardens Christmas Town 8K winner Richard “Skeeter” Morris (34:15.5), Timothy Rusterholz (34:23.2), Andrew Budiansky (34:29.4), Alex Anthony (37:46.6), Daniel Yates (41:17.6) and Wren Rudolph (45:33.6).

The same morning, the Peninsula Track Club held the inaugural Race Around the Base 10 Miler and 5K at Langley AFB, with 142 finishing the 10 miler and 31 finishing the 5K. The top three men in the 10 miler were Joseph Woten of Jacksonville, NC (1:04:41), Gregory Adams of Fort Eustis (1:05:32) and Timothy Loomis of Newport News (1:07:41), while the fastest women were Brianne Newman of Carrollton (1:09:17), Arlyne Spalla of Yorktown (1:13:23) and Leslie Sampedro of Fort Eustis (1:14:21). Matt Lynch of Goldsboro, NC won the “5K” race (measured as 3.38 miles by Garmin) in 20:24 over Brian Hakes of Williamsburg (21:14), with Linda Kidder of Williamsburg first for the women in 24:15.

Williamsburg’s John Piggott was in Huntsville, AL, last Saturday, running the Rocket City Marathon in 2:43:53 as second Masters. Piggott completed another prolific distance year with best times of 2:40:01 (marathon), 1:14:55 (half marathon) and 56:40 (10 mile).

More pictures, athlete information and full results for the Cross Country Championship can be found at http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/USATFClubXCChampionships/index.asp