In the Circle: Opening Weekend Throwing

In the debut of a new regular DtB feature we're calling "In the Circle," Kevin Holubar keeps an informed eye on Minnesota's top throwers. He attended the Northwest Open last Saturday and offers the following early season "notes and quotes" from around the throwing event circles.

You can also follow the throwing events on Kevin's blog Throwing Farther, HERE.

Opening Weekend Highlights
By Kevin Holubar

Division I ... Lynne Anderson, University of Minnesota Women's Throws Coach, entering his 28th season, said meets this early in the season are a "chance for them to show me what they've got and it looks like we're off to a good start." Kari Schmidt won the women's shot put with a throw of 47-9. Schmidt, a senior out of Chisago Lakes, who ranks #9 in shot put all-time at the U of M, started off her final season in maroon and gold well.

Former Gopher All-American Lynden Reder on the opening performance of the 2009 men: "We were basically training through this meet and most of January. It was a great opportunity for some of our younger throwers to step up." Micah Hegerle, red shirting freshmen from Kasson-Mantorville, performed well in his first meet at the U (49-6 weight throw).

"We got a good performance out of Micah. He's got a lot of potential and has some great guys to learn from," Reder said. The Gophers are returning two scorers from last year's Big Ten Championships and have several athletes with the potential to score in '09. Aaron Studt leads the returning core of the throwers. Studt was a national qualifier in the shot put (62' 7 1/2") and weight throw (65-4 3/4) in 2008. 5th-year senior Andy Bastain and senior Jerry Netland along with freshmen Tyler Kleinhuizen and Trey Davis round out the team. "We have a good chance to have several scorers at Big Ten's this year. We're going to be training through most of January because these guys performing at their best in February at Big Ten's is what it's all about," said Reder.

Division II ... At the MSU Alumni meet held at Minnesota State - Mankato, Adam Kershaw (54-1 1/4) of St. Cloud State and Michael Robinson ( 54-9 1/2) of Mankato had promising marks to open the season. Travis Zins, Throws Coach of SCSU said that it's a great start to the season. "He's been working hard and it's nice to start off with a personal best in the first meet of the season."

Throws Clinic ... St. Cloud State will offer a throwing clinic for boys and girls in grades 9-12, on Monday, Jan. 19. The clinic will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the indoor track of SCSU's Halenbeck Hall.

The clinic will feature expert instruction from St. Cloud State University coaches and athletes in the basics of the discus and shot put (rotational and glide). The cost is $30 per athlete, and the clinic includes a free lunch for all participants.

For complete registration information, contact Travis Zins at 320-308-1255 or e-mail him at tczins@stcloudstate.edu.

Brown Seventh at Edinburgh International

Team USA Minnesota's Emily Brown finished 7th at the loaded BUPA Great Edinburgh Cross Country race on Saturday. The Gopher alum clocked 19:33 over the 5.6K course in Scotland.

Kenyan 10,000 record-holder Linet Masai won the race in 19:02, while Ethiopian World Cross Country Championships silver-medalist Mestewat Tufa was second in 19:13.

The race completed a three-race return to competition for Brown who was bothered by a sacrum injury for much of the latter half of 2008. She finished runner-up at the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run 4 Mile on January 31 in New York City and finished 4th at the Antrim International Cross Country in Northern Ireland.

Gopher Pole Vaulters Open Well

University of Minnesota pole vault stars Ben Peterson and Alicia Rue opened their 2009 campaigns well at Saturday's Northwest Open, hosted by the Gophers.

Both achieved provisional qualifying marks for the NCAA Indoor Championships scheduled for March 13-14 in College Station, Texas.

Peterson, (pictured) the defending Big Ten indoor champ, cleared a personal-best height of 17-4 1/2 to win the men's pole vault. Peterson’s vault is the sixth-best in school history.

Peterson, a junior, was one of six Gopher men's winners at the meet.

Find full men's and women's results HERE.

Rue, a junior, won the women's pole vault with an NCAA provisional qualifying height of 13-3 1/2. Sophomore teammate Samantha Sonnenberg was second with a height of 12-3 1/2.

The Golden Gopher women's team is currently ranked #10 in NCAA Division I.

Two-time NCAA Division II outdoor champion Jennifer Hensel of Minnesota State - Moorhead no-heighted at the meet.

Photo by Sean Hartnett, Peterson competing at the 2008 Big Ten Indoor Championships.

Gophers Open Season Today

The curtain will rise on the University of Minnesota track and field seasons -- and on the Steve Plasencia era for the men's team -- when both squads compete in the Northwest Open today at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse.

Competition begins at noon.

Heat sheets for the meet are posted HERE.

Meet previews from the Gopher sports media department are HERE (men) and HERE (women.)

Results from the meet will appear HERE.

Grand Prix Opens Monday with Meet of Miles

The 2009 Minnesota Distance Running Association Grand Prix kicks off Monday, January 12 with the Meet of Miles at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse. Racing begins at 6:15.

Proceeds from the event help support the University of Minnesota Track and Field teams. Event director Tim Zbikowski estimated that the Meet of Miles has raised $6000 to $8000 for the programs during its long history.

The mid-winter miling fixture -- race organizers are unsure how old the event actually is! -- is the first leg of MDRA's thirteen-race Grand Prix series that runs through November. The entry fee for the meet of miles is $5; registration for the year-long Grand Prix costs an additional $5.

"The Grand Prix is a fun way to compete against fellow runners every year," MDRA excutive director Heidi Keller Miler told DtB. "If you complete 10 of the 13 races you get a special prize just for the effort, 19 people managed that this year. If you complete all 13 races you get an even better prize -- we had 3 people manage that this year - John Naslund, Michael Vought, and Don Wright."

Kirk Walztoni and Eileen Moran won the 2008 Grand Prix, earning $100 gift certificates from Run N Fun for their efforts.

Van Nelson: 1968 10,000 Meter Olympian

Kicking off a new ongoing series we're calling Where Are They Now?, DtB contributor Chad Austin interviews 1968 Olympian Van Nelson.

During the course of 2009, Austin and other DtB contributors will track down some of the heroes of Minnesota track and running history to remember their careers and find out what they're doing these days.

In Part I of a two-part interview, Nelson, a Minneapolis Washburn and St. Cloud State alum, talks about getting his start in the sport and running in the Olympic Games 10,000 meters.


DtB: How did you first get involved with the sport?

Nelson: I started when I was a junior at Washburn High School. I went out for the cross-country team in the fall of 1962. I had always done well at the 660-yard physical fitness run in school and the previous year I had watched the cross-country team run. So I said to myself, “I could do that.”

DtB: Had you participated in other sports before that?

Nelson: No, not really. I played some intramural basketball, but that was about it.

DtB: Did you have any major influences at the time?

Nelson: At that time Al Haley was a major influence. He was the coach at Southwest and they were the powerhouse in cross country at the time. They’d run the State Meet and 7 of the first 10 or 12 runners across the line were from Southwest. I was always right up there, so Al would come over and talk to me. And since I lived by Lake Harriet, I’d go down there and train all by myself and I’d see Al down there with all his guys.

DtB: Did you qualify for State your first year? What was the rest of your high school and college career like?

Nelson: Yes I did. I did quite well, but then I didn’t train at all after the season. The next spring I went out for track. At the time, the mile was the longest event they had. I went to the Twin City Indoor meet at the U of M and I thought I was going to set the world on fire. I took off like I was shot out of a cannon. After 2 laps I started fading, and fading, and fading. I came in dead last in like 5:15. I was embarrassed, but I used it as motivation.

That summer I trained with a kid from Southwest named Oliver and we put in over 1,000 miles. That fall in cross country Oliver and I were just burning up the turf on the cross country course. At the time, everything, including the City Meet and the State Meet was held on a 1.8-mile course around Lake Nokomis. No one had run under 9-minutes on that course. If you ran 9:10, you were considered a super runner. At the City Meet that year, a kid from Minneapolis Central – Barnett, I think his name was – ran an 8:36. Unbelievable! I was 2nd in 8:40 and Oliver was 3rd in 8:41. I think there were 10 or 12 kids under 9-minutes. After that I went to the State Meet where I think I finished 8th or 9th.

Then I really got inspired and trained hard. I knew the U of M’s coach, Roy Griak, from when he was at St. Louis Park. I asked him if it’d be possible for me to run intervals in the field house over the winter. He said yes, so three times a week I’d go there and run 220-yard intervals. I went back to the Twin City Indoor meet. This time I took off and never looked back. I won in 4:26.

After the race, Bob Tracy, the coach at St. Cloud State came up and talked with me and I was really impressed with him. He asked what my plans were and asked if I’d like to be a National Champion some day. I said yes, but that I’d also like to go to the Olympic Games. I think he thought I was nuts. But I thought if I could keep improving like I had been, I might just be able to get on the Olympic team.

That spring I ran 4:17 for the mile, which was the all-time Minnesota state high school record. That ranked me as the 5th fastest high school miler in the U.S. Of course, Jim Ryun was ranked first. After that, guys like Garry Bjorklund and Steve Plasencia came along and started running really fast miles. It was kind of nice to pioneer distance running in Minnesota. We always had distance running, but this helped take it to the next level.

Of course, Roy wanted me to come to the U of M, but I thought a smaller school would be better for me. That’s how I ended up at St. Cloud State.

When I first got there, they didn’t even have a cross country team. We had myself, Chuck Spoden, and Kenny Mitchell. We founded the first cross country team at the school. We’d run in meets, but didn’t count in the team scoring. I qualified for the National Meet and ended up 8th. After that we had a team with guys like Lewis Johnson, Warren Slocum from White Bear, Bruce Johnson from Minnetonka, Chet Blaycheck, and Earl Glavitz.

DtB: Can you tell us a little bit about your Olympic experience?

Nelson: The 1968 Olympic Games were held in Mexico City, which is at altitude. So after qualifying, the bulk of the team trained in South Lake Tahoe on top of Echo Summit. It was cool and dry. Then we went to Mexico City where it was hot and humid at the same altitude and on top of that there was some smog to deal with. Some of us had a hard time. Even Ron Clarke, who was the 10,000m World Record Holder, had to be carried off on a stretcher after finishing 7th or 8th. I ended up 28th even though I was ready to get a medal.

My world rankings going into the Games were 4th at 5,000m and 8th at 10,000m. I qualified for both and although I was used to running both events at meets, I decided to focus on just one event because of the conditions. Based on how I ran at the trials, my coach, Bob Tracy, and I thought I had a better chance to medal in the 10,000m. I felt so good at Tahoe. I felt strong. I was strong. I was ready to get a medal. I just couldn’t withstand the conditions. We thought we were doing the right thing by training for the altitude, but we didn’t take the other conditions into account.

But you know what? I was happy. I made the team. I was in the finals and no one can ever take that away from me. We’re all a brotherhood, all the Olympians.

DtB: It seems like 1968 was kind of the start of the dominance by the Africans at the distance events.

Nelson: Yeah, Kep Keino was the first one. I remember locking horns with him once when he first came on the scene. He was a phenomenon and everyone loved him. He’d go to meets and people would flock to see him run. In his early days he used to wear a hat and his trademark was to throw to the sidelines right when he was making his final push for the finish line. He’d throw it down and take off and all the other runners would freeze. Well in this particular indoor 2-mile I used that to my advantage. I ran right behind him and then when I saw him start to reach up for his hat, I kicked it into overdrive and blew right by him and won the meet. That was the last time he ever wore a hat.

DtB: What happened with your career after the Olympics?

Nelson: After the Olympics I concentrated on finishing school. I would still run a few meets here and there. Then in the fall of 1969 I was student teaching and that took half a year. I’d still do some jogging once in awhile, but I wasn’t in the shape I used to be in. Back then they didn’t have running circuits like they do now and you didn’t get paid like you do now. I had to get on with my life. I couldn’t be running all the time.

DtB: So was there a conscious decision to retire?

Nelson: In the summer of 1970 I was working construction on the new Apollo High School in St. Cloud. We were laying sod and it happened to be really wet and heavy. As I was unloading the sod, I ruptured the L5 vertebra in my lower back. That left my right leg 18% disabled after surgery.

The following spring I ran my last international meet and finished 4th. In my opinion I didn’t do very well. I had always finished in the top-3.

I did continue to run to help strengthen my leg and even ran a 4:28 mile when I was 41-years-old. After that I didn’t do much running again. I guess I was a little down on myself because I wasn’t where I used to be. The mind was there, but the body wasn’t.

DtB: It sounds like you have very high standards for yourself?

Nelson: Yeah, I did. My philosophy was, when I worked out, I never cheated. If I was 10 yards from the end of my workout, I ran those 10 yards. I never took a shortcut. If I was supposed to run for an hour, I didn’t stop at 59 minutes.


We'll publish Part II of Chad Austin's interview with Van Nelson early next week. In it, Nelson talks about how he trained, who his biggest influences were, and what he's been up to recently.

Fitger's 5K Registration Opens Today

One last item from Duluth ...

Online registration for the 20th annual Fitger’s 5K Run & Walk opens this morning. Athletes interested in competing in the Saturday, April 18 event, should visit the Grandma's Marathon web-site, HERE.

Fitger’s 5K registration will be conducted online exclusively for the first time. The 2009 field is limited to the first 1,500 and there will be no race day registration.

The race, which drew a record 1,355 registrants last year. All net proceeds from the event benefit the Young Athletes Foundation, a Grandma's Marathon program that focuses on the promotion and development of youth athletics in the Duluth and Superior region.

Dateline Duluth: Goucher, Keenan, & Comp

Today we've gathered some recent news from our Duluth Bureau ...

Kara Goucher Day ... Tuesday, December 30 was Kara Goucher Day in Duluth. The hometowner made-good -- Olympian, World Champ medalist, TC 10 Mile Champ -- was awarded the honor by Duluth Mayor Don Ness during Goucher's first return to the city since competing in Beijing.

Find details (and a photo of the event) HERE, on Kevin Pates' Rink and Run blog at the Duluth News-Tribune.

Runner's World Daily also recently posted THIS interview with Goucher, done shortly after the NYC Marathon.

Grandma's Keenan "Running" ... Speaking of Duluth city government, Grandma's Marathon executive director Scott Keenan has put his name in the hat for a vacant Duluth City Council seat. Keenan, who has previously served on the council, answered THESE questions for the DNT yesterday.

Competition for Grandma's ... Pates also spoke with Keenan recently about the competition his race will be getting from two new, ambitious spring marathons in Minnesota. The Stillwater Marathon, scheduled for May 24 ,and the Minneapolis Marathon, set for May 31, seem poised to steal some participants from Grandma's.

Keenan appears nonplussed, however. He told Pates, "“As long as the sport keeps growing, there’s room for everyone.”

More Minnesotans to Race USA Half Marathon

Before the holidays we reported, HERE, that Team USA Minnesota's Jason Lehmkuhle and Gopher alum and former Team USA-er Andrew Carlson would be racing at the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston on January 18.

It now looks like the pair will have a lot of familiar company on the starting line.

According to the latest startlists for the race, published by Track and Field News yesterday, nearly a dozen other runners with Minnesota ties will compete in the mid-winter long distance racing fixture hosted by the Chevron Houston Marathon and contested as part of the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.

In the men's field, Lehmkuhle and Carlson will be joined by: Team USA Minnesota's Antonio Vega and Josh Moen, former Gopher Chad Johnson, Stillwater High School alum Luke Watson, St. John's University alum Chris Erichsen, and local masters star Paul Giannobile.

On the women's side, Team USA Minnesota's Kristen Nicolini Lehmkuhle, Michelle Lilienthal, and Meghan Armstrong are scheduled to compete as is Chaska High School alum Stephanie Herbst-Lucke, a masters star.

The full startlist can be found HERE.

Emily Brown Kicks Off 2009 Early, Often

Emily Brown is starting off her 2009 season like ... well, like she lost the better half of her 2008 season to injury.

The Team USA Minnesota distance runner, who is currently in Great Britain preparing for Saturday's BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country 5K has already raced twice since New Year's Eve.

Shortly before the big ball dropped in Times Square on Wednesday night, Brown (pictured) finished a close second in New York City's Emerald Nuts Midnight Run 4 Mile held in Central Park. The Golden Gopher alum clocked 21:22 but was edged by a second by Ethiopia's Aziza Aliyu who outkicked her in the race's final meters.

On Saturday, Brown finished 4th in Northern Ireland's Antrim International Cross Country meet. Brown ran 18:35 for the 5.6K course. Stephanie Twell of Great Britain won the race in 18:25.

Brown, of course, had her inaugural professional season cut short by injury last year. After scorching PRs of 9:45.38 in the 3000 meter steeplechase and 15:19.57 for 5000 meters in the spring, Brown suffered a stress fracture in her sacrum which slowed her at the Olympic Track and Field Trials.

A recurrence of the injury last August ended her fall racing plans, which at one point included the USA 10 Mile Championships held in conjunction with the Medtronic Twin Cities 10 Mile.

Photo by Gene Niemi.

Grossinger, Ward Take Prospect Park Hill Climb Titles

Despite frigid, icy conditions, Chris Grossinger and Erin Ward turned in impressive times in winning the open division titles at the 5th annual Prospect Park Hill Climb in Minneapolis on Sunday. Grossinger completed the 2.055 mile uphill course in 13:05, just 15 seconds in front of Derek Phillips. Erin Ward ran 14:30 to set a new women's course record. Ward was using the event as a final tune-up for the Rock 'n Roll Arizona Marathon on January 18th.

Full results and statistics are available on the race website. A photo gallery has been posted on the USATF Minnesota site.

Photo by Pete Miller. Derek Phillips (left) challenges Chris Grossinger in the early going.

Happy Holidays and Thanks from DtB!

Happy Holidays everyone!

As I look out my office window at flurries in the air and a rich blanket of snow on the ground, I certainly feel the holiday mood. Like many of you. I'm sure, I'm ready to take a little break to focus on family and to enjoy some time in the wintry outdoors.

With this post, Down the Backstretch will punctuate its coverage of running and track in Minnesota for 2008. Sure, we'll make time to cut in if a big story breaks, but we're guessing the sports' news-makers will be taking some down-time too. It's Christmas after all!

In the spirit of the season, let me extend my thanks to all of you who have made DtB a regular stop in your day. Your readership sustains our efforts. We're honored to bring the news of our sport to each and every of you. Thanks!

Let me also thank the TC Running Company and owner Adam Lindahl and USA Track and Field - Minnesota and its Board of Directors for their generous support of DtB in 2008. We're proud that they see the merits and value of our little enterprise and have supported it with their hard-earned resources.

Finally, let me thank my regular contributors: co-founder Pete Miller; columnist Chris Lundstrom; correspondents Chad Austin and Chris Marshall; pinch-hitter-while-I-was-away-in-Antarctica Jim Ferstle; photographers Gene Niemi, Sean Hartnett, and Victor Sailer; and Miles' List mavens Bill and Tim Miles. DtB is better because of each and every one of them.

So, again, best wishes during the holiday season everybody. Thanks again for your visits to our corner of the Internet. We hope the spirit of the season smiles upon each and every one of you.

And, we hope to see you again starting on January 5.

Happy Holidays!

Keenan Wins USATF's Steinfeld Award

Grandma's Marathon executive director Scott Keenan earned USA Track and Field's Allan Steinfield Award at the group's annual meeting recently.

The award, conferred by the Men's Long Distance Running Committee, recognizes "outstanding contributions to men’s long distance running within a road race organization." The honor is named after long-time New York City Marathon director Allan Steinfeld.

Keenan is the founder of Grandma's Marathon and the director of the event for its entire 33-year history.

"I was extremely honored to be selected as a recipient of this award," Keenan told DtB. "Allan Steinfeld has been instrumental in the development and success of long distance running, so to receive any recognition associated with his name is a great honor. Allan’s leadership, vision and friendship have been so important to my career that I eagerly accepted the opportunity to be presented with the award."

In Other Grandma's News ... Race organizers announced that registration for next spring's Fitger's 5K will be conducted on-line exclusively. The sign-up period for the race will open Thursday, January 8, 2009 on the Grandma's web-site. Officials said that in an effort to become more environmentally-friendly, paper entry forms for the 3.1-mile race will no longer be printed.

In Other Duluth News ... Two Duluth natives made Running USA's "10 Best Moments for U.S. Distance Running in 2008."

Ranked #9 is Scott Jurek's third straight win at the Spartathlon endurance race in Greece. The Seattle resident traversed the grueling 152.8 mile course from Athens to Sparta in 22 hours, 20 minutes, 1 second, his fastest time there and the 5th-fastest ever.

Ranked #6 is Kara Goucher's third place, 2:25:53 marathon debut at the ING New York City Marathon. Goucher broke Deena Kastor's U.S. marathon debut record of 2:26:58 from New York in 2001. Goucher is the third fastest U.S. woman marathoner ever behind Kastor and Joan Benoit Samuelson.

The full Running USA listing can be found HERE.

One More Duluth Thing ... Former Duluth resident Brandy Erholtz was named USA Track and Field's female Mountain Runner of the Year. Erholtz currently resides in Bailey, Colorado.

Borner, Gleason Named Athletes of the Month

USATF-Minnesota announced yesterday that Marie Borner and Brandon Gleason are the organization's Athletes of the Month for December.

Borner, a Bethel University junior, was honored for winning the women’s individual title at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships held in Hanover, Indiana last month. Borner, the two-time Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference cross country champion won the 6K event in 20 minutes, 43 seconds.

Gleason, a senior at Hamline University, was recognized for his 13th place finish in men’s competition at the meet. Gleason, who suffered serious injuries while on a training run in February of 2007 when he was struck by a motor vehicle, earned all-American honors for the first time in his career with a 24:47 performance over the 8K course.

USA Track & Field Minnesota selects Athletes of the Month to honor excellence in track and field and its related sports in Minnesota.

Kara Goucher to Run Boston

Olympian and World Championships' bronze-medalist Kara Goucher will compete in the Boston Marathon next April, race organizers have announced.

Goucher, who finished third in the ING New York City Marathon in November in a debut 2:25:53, will continue her marathoning career on American pavement.

"I could not be more excited to participate in the 2009 Boston Marathon on the John Hancock Elite Team," Goucher said in a media release. (John Hancock is the primary sponsor of the Boston Marathon. )

"As an American, Boston is an incredible opportunity to run a Major Marathon," the Duluth native continued. "The race has a history like no other and it's legacy spans generations. I am so thankful to continue my journey toward my goal of becoming the best runner in the world here in the United States."

Read the full media release HERE.

Also ... The Duluth News Tribune's Kevin Pates has a story, HERE, about the Boston announcement. It includes interviews with Goucher and coach Alberto Salazar.

TCM: USA Championship Central

In the next four years, Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. will host twelve USA Road Racing Championships at distances from the mile to the marathon, the organization announced last week.

In addition, the long-time hosts of the USA Masters Marathon Championship will continue in that role until at least 2015. USA Track and Field awarded the championships to TCM at its recent annual meeting.

TCM will host the USA Men's and Women's Road Mile Championships at the Medtronic TC 1 Mile from 2009 to 2012. The 2009 event is scheduled for Thursday night, May 7 on the Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.

The event will mark the inaugural running of a USA Road Mile Championship. The 2009 event will offer a $20,000 prize purse.

In the next two years, TCM will host USA championships at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and the Medtronic TC 10 Mile. In 2009, TCM will host the USA Women's Marathon Championship and the USA Men's 10 Mile Championship.

In 2010, the event will host the men's marathon championship and the women's 10 Mile championship.

The 2009 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and Medtronic TC 10 Mile are scheduled for Sunday, October 4. Athletes will compete for a USA Women’s Marathon Championship prize purse of $72,500 and a USA Men’s 10 Mile Championship prize purse of $25,000.

"USATF is delighted to work with Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. in presenting these championship events," Fred Finke, the organization's Interim High Performance Division Chairman and Long Distance Running Chairman said in a TCM media release.

"Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. has a long history of support for American athletes and the development of distance running in this country," he added. "Their quality events and attention to the athletes reflects the mission of USATF and makes the Twin Cities a natural choice for hosting national championships."

Carlson 2nd, Zivec 5th, Streich 6th, RNF 15th

In each of the culminating events of the 2008 cross country season, Minnesota representatives have something to celebrate heading into the holiday season.

Carlson 2nd at Club Cross ... Golden Gopher alum Andrew Carlson finished 2nd at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships in Spokane, Washington on Saturday. Carlson finished just two seconds behind NCAA Division II champ Scott Bauhs who won the 10K event, held in blustery conditions with temperatures in the high 20s, in 30:47.

Carlson clocked 30:49.

Led by Carlson, the Flagstaff, Arizona-based McMillan Elite, the former Team USA Minnesota runner's new squad, won the men's team competition with 47 points, tipping Eugene, Oregon's Bowerman Athletic Club which scored 64.

St. Paul-based Run N Fun finished 15th in the men's competition with 488 points, improving on their 23rd-place finish a year ago.

You can read a race re-cap HERE. Individual results are HERE. Team results are HERE.

Injured Zivec 5th at Footlocker ... Despite a heavily taped right ankle, Jacub Zivec finished 5th in Saturday's Footlocker Finals. The Grand Rapids High School exchange student from the Czech Republic ran 15:29 over the 5K course in San Diego, California.

Solomon Haile of Maryland won in 15:15.

Zivec (pictured right) ran with the leaders through first mile, according to race reports, but like the rest of the elite 40-runner field, had no answer when Haile made his move in the second mile. Prior to the race, reports suggested Zivc would either be unable to compete or significantly slowed by his injury.

With the finish, Zivec has two wins (Nike Cross Nationals Heartland Regionals and Footlocker Midwest Regional) a runner-up finish (NXN Nationals), and the Footlocker Finals 5th place to celebrate from his abbreviated American harrier season. Zivec was only allowed compete as a junior varsity athlete in Minnesota State High School League competitions this fall.

You can read a race re-cap and see results from Dyestat HERE.

Flotrack has a post-race interview with Zivec HERE.

Streich 6th at Junior Olympics ... Janesville's Shane Streich finished 6th in the Midget Boys' division of the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships held in Mechanicsville, Virginia on Saturday.

Streich, racing against other eleven and twelve-year-olds finished just nine seconds behind race winner Samuel Blake. Streich clocked 10:27 over the 3K course.

Find results of all the Junior Olympic races HERE.

Photo by Randy Miyazaki/Track and Field Photo.

Report: Zivec Hobbled by Ankle Injury

Grand Rapids exchange student Jakub Zivec has an injury that may keep him from running in the Footlocker Finals today in San Diego, the high school cross country and track web-site Dyestat is reporting.

In THIS preview of the boys race, Dyestat's Steve Underwood reports that an ankle injury Zivec suffered at Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon has worsened enough that it may cause him to withdraw from the race and would seriously affect his performance, if he races.

Live web-stream video of the Footlocker Finals will be available HERE beginning at 11:00 a.m. CST.

FLASH: Zivec 5th at Footlocker Finals. (We should all be so injured!)

Find results HERE.

The End is Near ... for the Cross Country Season

The 2008 cross country season comes to a climactic close tomorrow at the Footlocker Finals, the USA Club Cross Country Championships, and the USA National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships.

Minnesotans will be racing to the finish line in each of those events.

Zivec Eyes Title ... At Footlocker Finals in San Diego, Grand Rapids exchange student Jacub Zivec (pictured) will be one of the favorites for the boys' individual title. Zivec finished second last weekend at Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon, but Reid Connor of Texas, who out-kicked Zivec and the rest of the final contenders at NXN, isn't competing at Footlocker.

Joseph Manilafasha of Colorado, whom Zivec topped in his Footlocker Midwest Regional victory two weeks ago, is a prime challenger as are Trevor Dunbar of Alaska and Solomon Haile of Maryland.

Dyestat, as usual, has impressive wall-to-wall coverage of the Footlocker Finals HERE.

Run N Fun, Individuals Race ... 2008 Team Circuit champions Run N Fun will compete at the USA Club Cross Country Championships taking place in Spokane. Last year, RNF finished 23rd in the event which saw 50 teams compete.

Among the Minnesotans also toeing the line in Spokane are former Golden Gopher and Team USA Minnesotan Andrews Carlson, competing for McMillan Elite, and Minnetonka High School alum Will Leer, competing for the Oregon Track Club Elite.

The info page for the meet is HERE.

Five Minnesota J.O. Champs Competing ... When the USA National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships get underway in Mechanicsville, Virginia, five Minnesota Junior Olympic champions will race. Grace Foster and Shane Streich will compete in the Midget Girls' and Boys' competition, respectively. Kaila Urick of Chaska will compete in the Intermediate Girl's race. Finally, Briana Berthiaume of Harris and Joel Johnson of Chisholm will compete in the Young Women's and Men's races, respectively.

The info page for the JO meet is HERE.

Photo by Randy Miyazaki/Track and Field Photo.

Lehmkuhle, Carlson to Return to USA Half

Two of Minnesota top long distance runners will compete for the USA Half Marathon Championship early next year.

Team USA Minnesota's Jason Lehmkuhle and former teammate Andrew Carlson, a U of M graduate now based in Flagstaff, Arizona, are slated to compete at the 2009 USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston, Texas on January 13. Men's race headliners include defending champion James Carney, U.S. Olympic marathoner Dathan Ritzenhein, and former Twin Cities Marathon champion Dan Browne.

Lehmkuhle was the runner-up in last year's race, held in conjunction with the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, finishing just 11 seconds behind Carney in 1:02:32. You can read DtB's report on the 2008 race HERE. In 2008, Lehmkuhle was coming off his 5th place finish at the Olympic Trials Marathon held the previous November.

In 2007, Carlson ran 1:02:44 on the streets of Houston to finish 4th in the championship. You can read about his reaction to that performance HERE. On Thanksgiving Day, Carlson finished 4th at the 72nd Manchester Road Race, running the hilly 4.748 mile course in 21:58.2.

Read the full media release for the USA Half Marathon HERE.

USATF-Minn's Whethem Talks Team Circuit

USA Track and Field - Minnesota recently announced its 2009 Team Circuit schedule. The nine-event road racing series kicks off on March 22 with the Human Race 8K in St. Paul and culminates with the City of Lakes 25K in Minneapolis on September 13. Our news story on the 2009 circuit is HERE.

Recently, we talked to USATF-Minnesota Long Distance Running Competition Chairman Ed Whetham about his take on the 2009 Circuit, including some tweaks made to the scoring system.

DtB: How do you feel about the make-up of the 2009 Team Circuit?

Whetham: I have mixed feelings about the Team Circuit for 2009. I like the races that were chosen for the team circuit this year, and I like that we had great participation at the selection meeting. In my opinion a good Team Circuit is comprised of races that you can see yourself competing, and I can see myself running all of these races. My thoughts of the circuit are mixed because I had a mental plan of how a meeting would unfold and what races would get selected, and none of the meetings I have conducted have turned out the way they did in my preparation. I was surprised by some of the points brought up, but that is what is great about having everyone in the same room to decide the circuit, feedback.

DtB: I see a marathon is back in the mix but the 5000 meter track event is out. What kinds of discussions took place around which races to include or not for 2009?

Whetham: There was little discussion about the track 5k. I enjoyed the event last year, but it was voted down by a significant majority. The only discussion that occurred with the marathon was in regards to the half-marathon. If Grandma’s was selected as the marathon, then we could not have Garry Bjorklund as the half-marathon. When Grandma’s Marathon applied to be the marathon championship, there was little to discuss, and the marathon was approved easily.

DtB: It seems like there are a lot of USATF-Minnesota Championship races this year. What do the races get from USATF-Minnesota for being a championship? And, what does USATF-Minnesota get from the races?

Whetham: We decided to offer eight USATF-MN Championship distances this year, with distances ranging from 1 mile to the marathon. When your raced is named a USATF-MN Championship race, the race is automatically placed on the Team Circuit. Based on past numbers, a race that is a championship race or on the team circuit, will experience an increase in participant numbers. USATF-MN receives a dollar amount from each championship race, which is matched by USATF-MN, and then awarded to the racing teams based on their performance at that race.

DtB: Is the number of events bidding for championships growing? What are the basics of the bid process?

Whetham: The number of races or events bidding this year as compared to last year was relatively the same. We are fortunate that we have a race or event bidding at each distance. There were only three distances that had competition for the bid.

The bidding process includes USATF-MN sending out a bid application to race directors in early November, and having interested race directors complete the bid and return it to USATF-MN before the team circuit selection meeting. Each bid application has to submit a dollar amount, and registration information, along with other information important to becoming a championship event. The application process is pretty simple, receive the application, complete the application and send it back to USATF-MN. We then include your race in voting for a USATF-MN Championship at the team circuit selection meeting.

DtB: We see that some of the scoring rules got tweaked for 2009. What were the issues there?

Whetham: I am actually curious to see how the new scoring system unfolds. A majority of the complaints that I received last year, were based on how difficult it was to gain ground on teams in front of your team if you were off to a slow start, or had a poor showing at a race. The concept of the new scoring system is to create opportunity for teams that got off to slow starts, or teams that had a poor showing at one race to gain ground on the teams in front of them. The “throwing” a race out concept should allow for this to happen. It will also benefit teams that have strong showings at all races. It is similar to some college courses, in that you can be a C+ student and get to throw out one test to become a B- student, and at the same time you can be an A- student, and throw out one test to become an A student. Scoring double points at the final race seemed to create some excitement for the final race during the cross-country circuit, so I figured why not apply it to the road racing circuit. I am quite happy with the new scoring system. I hope it creates some exciting team races towards the end of the season.

Rocks Now Training in Minnesota

Meet Minnesota's newest track and field power couple: Andrew Rock and Missy Buttry Rock.

The elite tracksters-- Rock won an individual World Championships silver medal at 400 meters in 2005, Buttry Rock has been a member of two USA World Cross Country squads -- have moved to Minnesota where they hope to revive their competitive careers.

Rock (pictured, left) is training at the University of Minnesota with former Golden Gopher quarter-mile stars Mitch Potter and Aaron Buzard under the direction of University of Wisconsin assistant coach Mark Guthrie.

Rock, a Wisconsin native who competed for the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse (where Guthrie was his coach), weathered a disappointing 2008 season that saw him DNF in the opening round of the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon.

Rock sports a 44.35 PR for 400m.

In 2006, Rock was the USA 400m champion. He earned 4 x 400m relay gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics -- where he ran in the prelims -- and at the 2005 World Championship, where he carried the stick in the lead-off leg of the finals.

Guthrie framed Rock's 2009 objectives, where he'll likely race 3-4 times indoors prior to a fuller outdoor campaign as, "getting excited about training again and getting back into the blocks." Rock had been training in Madison, Wisconsin prior to the move to Minnesota. He and Potter trained together in La Crosse in 2005-2006.

Buttry Rock (pictured, right) joins the Team USA Minnesota long distance training group. The Iowa native and Wartburg College alum, has been hobbled by injures of late. While a collegian, she won three NCAA Division III cross country titles and 14 D3 titles total.

She has a PR of 15:37.48 for 5000 meters.

Buttry Rock made two USA World Cross Country teams while at Wartburg, finishing 4th in 2004 and 3rd in 2005 in the USA Cross Country Championships 4K races.

"We're glad Missy has joined our group," Team USA Minnesota coach Dennis Barker said in a media release. "She's had a series of injuries since she got out of college and we hope to help her return to competitive running in the coming year."

Photo of Rock by Randy Miyazaki/Track and Field Photo.

Photo of Buttry Rock courtesy of Team USA Minnesota.

Brophy Achman Elected Women's LDR Chair

Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. executive director Virginia Brophy Achman was elected chairwoman of the Women's Long Distance Running Committee of USA Track and Field at the organization's annual meeting in Reno, Nevada last week.

Brophy Achman (pictured), who was elected to a four-year term, succeeds Elizabeth Phillips who held the post since 2002.

The Women's LDR Committee has jurisdiction over women's off-track running events longer than 10K. The committee selects and conducts USA road racing championships for women, including the USA Marathon Championship.

"I am honored to be elected to this role and further share my passion for the sport of running and strengthening women’s long distance efforts here in the United States,” Achman said in a TCM media release.. "There is great untapped potential in our sport. It is our job to embrace these opportunities to further develop our future professional athletes, while offering positive associations with fitness. As Chair of USATF Women’s LDR , I will lead with passion, insight, ingenuity and perseverance."

Brophy Achman served as Vice Chair of the Women’s LDR Committee from 2006 through 2008. She is a founding committee member of the USATF Distance Project and currently serves as vice president and Chair of Strategic Planning for Running USA.

When She was a Candidate ... We ran a story about Brophy Achman's run for Women's LDR Chair HERE.

Photo courtesy of Twin Cities Marathon, Inc.

Langenfeld Named to Masters Hall of Fame;Morse, Young Earn USATF Road Awards

Proving that track and field -- jumping events included -- is indeed a lifetime sport, 73-year-old Tom Langenfeld of Edina, who has won 29 USA Masters titles in the high jump, was named to the USA Track and Field Masters Hall of Fame.

Langenfeld (pictured), who won USA Master titles in the high jump both indoors and outdoors this year, was part of a ten-member group inducted into the 162-member Hall of Fame at the recently completed USATF Annual Meeting held in Reno, Nevada.

The USATF-Minnesota Masters Track and Field Chairman won his first USA Masters title in 1975.

You can find a listing of this year's inductees HERE.

The rest of the members of the Hall are found HERE.

You can find a collection of DtB stories about Langenfield HERE.

Morse, Young Win Awards ... Masters road racing stars Dan Morse and Lloyd Young were named Outstanding Athletes of 2008 in their age-groups by the USATF Masters LDR Committee. Morse earned his accolades in the 55-59 age-group, while Young earned his in the 85-89 division.

DtB contributor Chad Austin recently interviewed Morse, HERE.

Photo by Thom Weddle.

Zivec 2nd At Nike Cross Nationals; Eagle Girls 11th, Trojan Boys 18th

Jacub Zivec, the Grand Rapids High School exchange student from the Czech Republic, finished 2nd at Saturday's Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon.

Zivec (pictured above, #377) clocked 15:18 for the 5K course but was topped by Reed Connor of Texas who ran 15:13. Joash Osoro of North Dakota was third, also in 15:18.

Zivec, who had won the Heartland NXN Regional and Footlocker Midwest Regional in the previous two weekends, couldn't match Connor's finishing kick, according t race reports. Connor jumped the lead pack with 250 meters to go for his win.

MSHSL Class AA boys individual champ Lukas Gemar of Moorhead finished 53rd in 16:05. Class AA team champion Wayzata, the two-time Heartland Region champions, finished 18th 341 points.

A complete re-cap of the NXN boys' race is available, HERE, via Dyestat.

Eden Priaire 11th ... The Class AA girls' champions Eden Prairie, finished 11th in the meet with 262 points. The Eagles tied Dana Point the scoring, but lost to the California team on the tie-breaker.

Class AA individual titlist Cassie Opitz led Eden Prairie with a 35th place finish in 18:33.

A complete wrap-up of girls' competition is available, HERE, via Dyestat.

Photo by Randy Miyazaki/Track and Field Photo.

Zivec Begins Pursuit of Historic Double

Grand Rapids JV phenom Jacub Zivec will begin pursuit of an unprecedented Nike Cross Nationals/Footlocker Finals double on Saturday when he toes the starting line at the NXN meet in Portland Oregon.

Zivec has already won both the NXN Heartland Regional title and the Footlocker Midwest crown.

The Czech exchange student, who was only allowed to compete in JV competition during the MSHSL season, enters the final two weeks of the high school cross country "post-post-season" as the favorite for both national meets after edging Colorado's Joseph Manilafasha at Footlocker Midwest last weekend. Manilafasha was the top-ranked preo harrier in the nation going into last weekend's meet, according to Dyestat.

The Footlocker Finals are December 13, in San Diego.

Last year, Illinois prep Chris Derrick, now a freshman at Stanford, came closest to winning the boys double. He won the Nike meet -- called Nike Team Nationals at the time -- and was the runner-up at Footlocker. South Dakota's Ramsey Kavan did likewise in girls competition in 2004.

Other Minnesota individuals slated to compete at NXN are: MSHSL Class AA champ Lukas Gemar of Moorhead, Alexandria's Drew Paradis, and Willmar's Mahad Hassan for boys and Alexandria's Jamie Piepenburg for girls.

Eden Prairie, Wayzata Top 10? ... The Eden Prairie girls and Wayzata boys, this year's Class AA state champions, will compete at NXN with a shot at top-10 finishes in the meet.

The Eagles are ranked #12 in the Harrier Super 25 national poll, while Wayzata is ranked #14. The two squads each won the NXN Heartland titles.

The highest finish by a Minnesota girls' team at the Nike meet is Lakeville North's 19th place result in 2005. In the inaugural Nike championship in 2004, the Marshall High School boys placed 8th -- the top Minnesota boys' result all-time.

Last year, the Wayzata boys finished 20th in the meet.

Watch NXN on Saturday ... NXN will be web-cast HERE on Saturday with action in the championship races beginning around 12:30 CST. Find Dyestat's comprehensive preview of the meet HERE, where results will also be available on Saturday afternoon.

USATF-Mn Announces 2009 Team Circuit

USA Track and Field - Minnesota recently unveiled its 2009 Team Circuit schedule and announced changes to the long-standing team road racing competition.

The 2009 Circuit will consist of nine races contested between March 22 and September 13 and include events as short as one mile and as long as a marathon.

The 2009 USATF Minnesota Team Circuit races are:

March 22 - The Human Race 8K *
April 25 - Get In Gear 10K *
May 7 - TC 1 Mile *
May 25 - Brian Kraft Memorial 5K *
June 20 - Grandma's Marathon *
July 25 - Lumberjack Days 10 Mile
August 2 - Hennepin Lake Classic 5K
August 9 - MDRA Minnesota 15K *
September 13 - City of Lakes 25K *

(Asterisks denote USATF-Minnesota Championships races.)

New Rules ... The meeting of USATF-Minnesota officials and Team Circuit stakeholders which chose the slate of races also modified some of the circuit's scoring rules.

In 2009, points will be awarded based on the number of teams competing at each race -- for example, an event with nine scoring teams would earn the winning team nine points, the runners-up eight points, the third place team seven points, etc. -- but teams will always earn a minimum number of points no matter how few teams participate in a given race. (In open competition, the minimum winner's score will be five points.) In 2008, team scores were based on the number of registered Team Circuit teams, no matter how many participated in a given race.

Also new is a rule that will allow each Team Circuit team to discard the lowest score earned during the circuit. Essentially, the nine-race circuit will be scored on each team's best eight races. Additionally, the City of Lakes 25K, the USATF-Minnesota 25K Championship, will earn doubled points for teams.

Finally, the number of scorers required at various race distances was modified. In 2009, five open runners will be required for a team score in events under 15K; three open runners will score in events 15K and longer.

In 2008, the 15K distance required five scorers.

The Holidays with Team USA Minnesota

A snowy morning in Minnesota -- there's a new white blanket on the ground outside the DtB office window this morning, anyway -- seems the perfect day to note that the athletes of Team USA Minnesota will, as is their Christmas tradition, join the festivities at the Life Time Fitness Reindeer Run 5K this Saturday.

Since we need to get outside to shovel the DtB sidewalks, we'll quote the Team USA media release for details on the event ...

"Among participants dressed as reindeers, Santa Claus, elves and a variety of boxed presents, will be 12 Team USA Minnesota runners celebrating the season at the 21st annual Life Time Fitness Reindeer Run 5k on Dec. 6. The fun run starts at 9:30 a.m. at the Lake Harriet bandshell and goes once around the Minneapolis lake. The holiday favorite attracts more than 3,000 runners and walkers.

"Team USA Minnesota athletes who plan to join in the festivities include 2004 Olympian and three-time national champion Carrie Tollefson, four-time national champion Katie McGregor, 2009 World Outdoor marathon qualifier Matt Gabrielson, 2008 World Half Marathon runners Jason Lehmkuhle and Kristen Nicolini Lehmkuhle, marathoners/half marathoners Chris Lundstrom, Antonio Vega and Michelle Lilienthal, World Cross Country qualifier and steeplechase specialist Emily Brown, and new athletes Josh Moen, Macharia Yuot and Meghan Armstrong.

"'All of us on the team look forward to this event every year,' said Tollefson. 'It's a chance to run with our friends and families and to join in the camaraderie with thousands of Minnesota runners. One or two of us sometimes race the Reindeer Run but often times it is one of the first frigid weekends in December or there's a light dusting of snow. As a result, we don't usually put our game faces on and instead we just enjoy running with everyone else.'

"This is the seventh straight year the Team Minnesota runners have participated in the Reindeer Run, which supports the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve "Toys for Tots" program. The event also includes the Fisher-Price Kids 1k at 9:00 a.m., a 5k Walk at 9:40 a.m., and a costume contest judged by Santa and his helpers."

NCAA Photos -- By Sean Hartnett

DtB contributor Sean Hartnett took some fine photos at last Monday's NCAA Division I Championships. We've published his best shots of Minnesotans below, but you can find his full women's and men's galleries HERE and HERE.

Detroit Lakes native Hanna Grinaker, a Wisconsin junior, finished an all-America 44th at NCAAs

Junior Megan Duwell led the Gophers with an all-America 32nd place finish.

Gopher senior Gabriele Anderson finished 49th.

Winona High School alum Garrett Heath of Stanford shown early-on in his 33rd place run at NCAAs.

Minnesota senior Chris Rombough en route to his 17th place finish and Gopher-record third all-America effort.

Gopher sophomore Hassan Mead earned his second all-America award by finishing 31st.

Winona native Elliott Heath finished 112th for Stanford.

Minnesota junior Mike McFarland finished 171st.

Photos by Sean Hartnett.

Thanksgiving Poll a Turkey, Says Critic

Tom Church, the principal contributor to the Slab City Running Club's web-site, has taken issue -- fork in hand, tongue in cheek -- with our Thanksgiving Poll.

Church claims that we at DtB intentionally and maliciously promoted Gravy in our preview of the competition which unfairly allowed Stuffing and Mashed Potatoes (along with Pumpkin Pie) to supplant Turkey as the rightful Thanksgiving food favorite.

Church asserted that, "the poll's many structural and methodological problems reveal it to be, at best, a viral marketing effort to inflate the value of Gravy, possibly with the aim of destroying Turkey."

You can read all of his delicious article HERE.

Results of the poll can be found on the DtB sidebar.

We at DtB stand by our poll and its results. We welcome Mr. Church's scrutiny and expect it to show that DtB was blameless in its actions.

If, on the other hand, mistakes were made, we expect Mr. Church's criticisms to make future polls more fair and accurate for the sport ... and for Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, and Gravy.

Zivec Wins Footlocker Midwest Crown

Jacub Zivec, the Grand Rapids High School exchange student who was only allowed to compete as a JV runner in Minnesota State High School League sanctioned meets this fall, won Saturday's Footlocker Midwest Regional in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The Czech citizen, clocked 15:09 over the sloppy 5K course. He became the second Minnesotan to win Footlocker Midwest in the last three years. Hassan Mead of Minneapolis South won the 2006 title.

Zivec, who was barred from competing in varsity meets by the MSHSL because he was not part of a recognized international exchange program, closed a two-second gap on Joseph Manilafasha of Colorado in the race's final 200 meters for the victory.

Zivec was the only Minnesotan to advance to the Footlocker Finals in San Diego, California on December 13. The top ten finishers in the boys and girls' races advance to Footlocker Finals. Zivec has also qualified as an individual to the Nike Cross Nationals meet this weekend in Portland, Oregon.

Dyestat has a recap of the boys' race HERE, as well as full results.

Class AA individual titlist Lukas Gemar of Moorhead was the state's #2 finisher at Midwest in 28th place at 15:58. He was the race's top sophomore. Senior Drew Paradis of Alexandria was 33rd in 16:00; senior Jakob Lindaas of Moorhead was 50th in 16:10.

Dyestat's girls' recap and results are HERE.

Sophomore Julia Harrison of Mound-Westonka was 34th in 18:50; junior Emma Bates of Elk River was 46th in 19:07.