Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Watson, Costescu Headline TC 1 Mile Field

Former Stillwater High School and Notre Dame University star Luke Watson will attempt a three-peat and Michigan-based Romanian Denisa Costescu will attempt win back her title at tomorrow's TC 1 Mile, sponsored by the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

Watson won last year's race in 4:16 and was victorious in the inaugural race in 2005 as well. Costescu won in 2005 in 5:05. Defending women's champ Kristen Nicolini is not competing this year.

Watson, a former Team USA Minnesota athletes who is back in South Bend as an assistant coach for his alma mater, won the Drake Relays 8K road race last weekend. Hoping to dethrone Watson are Blake Boldon of Ames, Iowa who finished second in the Drake Relays mile in 4:03, Ryan Kleimenhagen of Team USA Minnesota who was 5th at Drake in 4:08, Christian Hesch of Morro Bay, California who has a personal mile best of 4:02, Richard Kimeli of Kenya who was 3rd at Get In Gear this past weekend, and Ryan Meissen of Mukwonago, Wisconsin who has been the runner-up in both TC 1 Mile races.

Team USA Minnesota's Jenelle Deatherage looks like Costescu's toughest competition. She won the Drake Relays 1500m last weekend in 4:13.97. Also in contention are Kenyans Rebecca Tallam and Leah Kiprono the second and fifth place finishers at Get in Gear and Katherine Bloemker of Shawnee, KS, the sixth place finisher at the 2006 TC 10 Mile.

The race, which gets underway at 6:50 on Thursday, starts at Yale Place near Loring Park in Minneapolis and finishes on Nicollet Avenue between 8th and 9th streets.

Marathon Registration Opens ... Registration for the 2007 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon open Thursday as well. Find details HERE.

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