Drossin Wins Fifth 8K Title at USA Winter Cross Country Championships

    VANCOUVER, Wash. - Deena Drossin won her fifth U.S. women's 8K national
title at the 2002 USA Winter Cross Country Championships Saturday in
Vancouver, Wash. Drossin easily defended her crown by winning the race in 26
minutes, 31 seconds.

    Other winners today included Tim Broe, who successfully defended his 4K
men's title, and Boston College freshman Maria Cicero, who won the Junior
Women's 6K championship.

    The action resumes tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Fort Vancouver National
Historic Site with the Junior Men's 8K Championship, followed by the Senior
Women's 4K race at 11:00 a.m. This year's Winter Nationals conclude with the
Men's National 12K Championship at 11:45 p.m.  The top six finishers in the
senior and junior races are eligible to compete at the IAAF World Cross
Country Championships, March 23-24 in Dublin, Ireland.

    The following is a listing of the top 15 finishers in today's races that
determined roster spots for the 2002 World Cross Country Championships,
along with quotes and a race in review for each contest. Full results may be
found on the USATF Web site at: http://www.usatf.org.

SENIOR WOMEN - 8000 METERS

1.  Deena Drossin (Asics), 26:31

2.  Colleen De Reuck (Nike), 26:46

3.  Elva Dryer (Nike), 26:51

4.  Jen Rhines (adidas), 27:04

5.  Milena Glusac (adidas), 27:12

6.  Amy Rudolph (adidas), 27:18

7.  Sarah Toland (Unattached), 27:52

8.  Liz Wilson (Unattached), 28:02

9.  Amy Yoder-Begley (Asics), 28:03

10. Sara Wells (Unattached), 28:05

11. Magdalena Lewy (Nike Farm Team), 28:06

12. Sarah Hann (New Balance), 28:12

13. Kristin Harper (Track West), 28:17

14. Kim Fitchen (Nike), 28:18

15. Rachel Sauder (New Balance), 28:28


Race Conditions: Sunny and chilly, 42 degrees and calm winds. The course
featured thick grass with occasional slick spots.

Race in Review: 54 women toed the line for four laps over the 2K loop. One
mile was passed in 5:06, with a lead pack of Deena Drossin, Colleen De
Reuck, Elva Dryer, Amy Rudolph, Jen Rhines and Milena Glusac. This pack
continued together through 2K (6:35). 

On the second loop, the group remained together, with a 4K split of 13:25. At the end of 6 kilometers (19:51) this group was strung out but still in the lead. Drossin led the race followed by De Reuck (20:01), Dryer (20:06), Rhines (20:10), and Glusac and Rudolph
together (20:20). This group maintained their dominance to the finish. The
Dublin team will be Drossin, De Reuck, Dryer, Rhines, Glusac and Rudolph.

SENIOR MEN - 4000 METERS

1.  Tim Broe (adidas), 11:26

2.  Jorge Torres (Univ. of Colorado), 11:27

3.  Tony Cosey (adidas), 11:28

4.  Dave Davis (Unattached), 11:29

5.  Matt Lane (Nike), 11:30

6.  Bryan Berryhill (adidas), 11:33

7.  Andy Downin (Nike), 11:36

8.  Jonathan Riley (Unattached), 11:37

9.  Robert Gary (adidas), 11:37

10. Mark Croghan (adidas), 11:39

11. Jared Cordes (Wisconsin Runner), 11:43

12. Sandy Rebenciuc (Army), 11:45

13. Anthony Famiglietti (adidas), 11:47

14. Ray Hughes (Nike), 11:47

15. Emry Carr (Hansons Running), 11:50

Race Conditions:  Mostly sunny and 42 degrees with calm winds. The course
featured thick grass with occasional slick spots.

Race In Review: For the second event of the day, continued excellent weather
prevailed. 78 men started this two-lap course for a total of 4 kilometers to
select the "short course" senior team for Dublin. At one mile (4:33) the
pack was huge, headed by Clint Wells, Robert Gary, Bryan Berryhill and
Jonathan Riley. At 2 kilometers (5:50) Tim Broe had joined this lead group.
The pack continued to race the second loop without separating. It was a
sprint finish, with Broe in the lead, followed by Jorge Torres, Tony Cosey,
Dave Davis and Matt Lane forming the team.

JUNIOR WOMEN - 6,000 METERS

1.  Maria Cicero (Boston College), 21:05

2.  Erika Odlaug (Unattached), 21:19

3.  Sara Bei (Stanford University), 21:26

4.  Nicole Lee (Unattached), 21:33

5.  Valerie Lauver (Unattached), 21:40

6.  Kathryn Anderson (Unattached), 21:41

7.  Anne Bersagel (Unattached), 21:53

8.  Felicia Guliford (Wings of America), 21:55

9.  Jacqueline Zeigle (ASC Striders), 22:02

10. Michelle Wale (Penn State University), 22:04

11. Paris Edwards (Unattached), 22:14

12. Laura Zeigle (ASC Striders), 22:19

13. Paige Miller (Unattached), 22:21

14. Jessica Scalzo (Club Northwest), 22:22

15. Danielle Coon (Unattached), 22:22

RACE CONDITIONS:  Mostly sunny and 40 degrees, with calm winds. Thick grass
with a few slick spots.

RACE IN REVIEW:  Excellent weather greeted 38 Junior women for their
three-lap run of this two kilometer loop course. The one-mile point was
passed in 5:08, with Sara Bei, Maria Cicero and Nicole Lee together. They
passed two kilometers in 7 minutes, breaking away from the main group. On
the second circuit, Cicero led the pack at 4 kilometers in 14:07, with Bei
at 14:10 and Lee at 14:15. The third lap saw Cicero win the race, with Erika
Odlaug running strongly, coming from behind to place second, with Bei third.

Cicero Notes: A freshman at Boston College, Cicero finished 16th at last
year's NCAA Cross Country Championships. She will compete at the Big East
Indoor Championships next weekend, and will also compete at the 2002 World
Cross Country Championships.

Cicero Quotes: I've been waiting for a while to make a national team. My
plan was to stay with Sarah Bei and pretty much go from there. I came in
here confident of my fitness level, and I came in here ready to race, and
that's what I did. This is a big honor.

For complete results from Saturday's competition at the 2002 USATF Winter
Nationals, visit our Web site at:  www.usatf.org.