| Running USA Wire 12, Feb 16, 2003 |
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Cross Country for Sweethearts: Culpeppers Collect USA Titles By Charlie Mahler, Running USA wire HOUSTON - (February 16, 2003) - Valentine's Day may have been Friday, but in the muddy world of cross country, Sunday was the day for sweethearts. Alan and Shayne Culpepper each won races at the USA Cross Country Championship here at Buffalo Bayou Park. Alan won the senior men's 12K in 38:22 less than an hour after Shayne had won the senior women's 4K in 15:10. It was a good day for best friends, too, as Colorado teammates and best friends Bill Nelson and Brett Schoolmeester finished 1-2 in the junior men's 8K. Nelson clocked 27:08 and Schoolmeester 27:17. Temperatures in the mid-40s and buffeting winds greeted runners and the mud that made for slippery conditions yesterday gelled into cleat-clogging goo today. Alan Culpepper's win came only at the end of a protracted battle with defending champion Meb Keflezighi of Team USA California. The duo navigated their way through the sticky course, sometimes running in a file, sometimes splitting wide to find firmer footing off the path beaten by eight previous races in two days over the 2K circuit. The Colorado-based, Sydney Olympic 10,000 meter runner used the downhills in the final 600 meters to earn his margin of victory. "There were almost no places where there was solid, safe footing," Culpepper said. "So, it was definitely a challenging course. I was just trying to stay on my feet and run hard. When you have conditions like this, you can't have too much of a game-plan - I was just running." "He's a tough runner - he's really tough - so I'm definitely psyched when I get to beat him," Culpepper said of fellow Olympian Keflezighi. "I think both of us came in not completely at our bests, honestly. The marathon can kind of throw things off a little bit with our normal build-ups, and I think he was in the same situation. Because of running the marathon in the fall, I didn't get a normal base phase running into this race, so I'm just kind of out of my element having not done a typical build-up." The top six runners in each of the day's races earned the right to represent the USA at the 2003 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland on March 29-30. Finishing third was Ed Torres of the University of Colorado in 39:04, fourth was Team USA California's Nick Rogers in 39:31, fifth was Abdi Abdirahman in 39:36 and sixth was 2001 USA 25K Champion Chad Johnson in 39:43. Culpepper, who has declined the World Cross opportunity the past two years, is undecided about whether to make travel to Switzerland a family outing. "Our plate's pretty full and I've learned I can't do everything," the University of Colorado grad said. "I have to pick and choose the things I think are important for myself. Moving more toward the marathon in the coming years I want to solidify my 10,000 and especially my 5000 PRs, and make a shot at that American record in the 10,000. I just have to weigh all the options." Shayne Culpepper's win redeemed what started out to being a bad weekend for her. Culpepper had dropped out of yesterday's senior women's 8K after running briefly with the top women. "Yesterday I made a big mistake and I went out way too hard, so I really sat back today and let the race unfold," the 2002 USA Fall Cross Country Champ said. "Yesterday I just panicked. It was the conditions and I wasn't expecting that. I didn't really pay attention to how I was feeling and I got caught up in the race. Today I just stayed focused on myself and how I was feeling, and let the race unfold." Four of the six women making the World Cross team at 4K doubled back from efforts that fell short of that mark at 8K yesterday. Behind runner-up Collette Liss who took the pace out aggressively and finished in 15:19 were come-backers Anne Marie Brooks, third in 15:22, Amy Rudolph of Team USA California, fourth in 15:23, and Sarah Toland the lone-returning runner from last year's 4K squad, fifth in 15:27. The University of Colorado's Molly Austin was sixth in 15:34. Culpepper thought being a new mother helped her bounce back from the previous day's disappointment. "I think it's helped me tremendously with my life and my training," the 2000 Olympian said. "It puts life in perspective and you don't have time to sit around and sulk about bad races and bad workouts. You have a baby there and it's such joy and such fun. I was able to get up today, have a fresh start and refocus." Bill Nelson, third in the junior event last year, felt his height and weight helped him stand tall in the heavy conditions. "The mud was going to slow things down, but the fact that my short stature and the fact that I am light weight helped, especially going through the hills," he said. "I got a lot of advice from some of the girls on my team, and also from some of the pro runners, in terms of what kind of spikes to wear, keeping on my toes, etc. It didn't change my race strategy, but it did change the way I looked at the course." Nelson and Schoolmeester were elated to make the World Cross team together. "Billy and I are best friends, not only teammates," Schoolmeester said. "We almost didn't want to go unless someone else was going. I can't imagine any better way to spend a weekend!" Also making the USA squad were Andy Weilacher of Northern Arizona University, third in 27:19, Brett Gotcher of Stanford, fourth in 27:25, defending champion Tim Moore of Notre Dame, fifth in 27:29, and James Hower of Georgetown, sixth in 27:31. 2002 Footlocker national champion Chris Solinsky of Wisconsin's Stevens Point Area High School was ninth in 27:53. In team scoring, Nike won the senior's men's race with 14 points to adidas' 32. The Farm Team was third with 57, while Hansons Team USA Michigan was fourth with 65. In the senior women's 4K adidas beat Nike 16-20 in a two team affair. Similarly, Wings of America beat the Metroplex Striders 17-19 in the junior boys 8K. USA Cross Country Championships WOMEN 4K MEN 12K For full results, quotes and more, go to: http://www.usatf.org |
| Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services USATF Road Running Information Center 5522 Camino Cerralvo Santa Barbara, CA 93111 (805) 696-6232, fax (805) 696-6252 |