Kusoro, Desco world champions; Megan Morgan earns individual Junior silver; U.S. Senior women team bronze

MADESIMO, Italy – (September 6, 2009) – The 25th running of the World Mountain Running Championships
were held under clear and crisp blue skies with temperatures in the
upper 50s for the start of the competition on Sunday. The venue was in
the winter ski village of Madesimo, Italy, located three hours by bus
from Milan. The course was lined with fans not only from the host
country, but with worldwide fans. The sound of ringing cowbells and
pulsating air horns filled the air. A total of thirty-five countries
were represented in the four races.

The Junior women started the day with a single lap
of the 4.3K course. The runners were tested with steep climbs and some
rocky sections on the descents. The terrain was a mixture of grass,
packed dirt trail and grassy sections with some rocks and roots to keep
the athletes focused on their footing. In order to run well the
athletes would have to be strong climbers, fearless descenders and able
to transition between the various grades.

Megan Morgan, 17, Del Mar, CA,
was the first U.S. athlete of the day to cross the finish line, earning
a silver medal – the best individual Junior finish following last
year’s bronze medal by Californian Alex Dunne. Turkey’s Can Yasemin won the gold medal 22 minutes, 18 seconds with Morgan just 17 seconds back. Angelica Mach of Poland was the bronze medalist in 22:56. Robyn Arnold, 16, Redlands, CA, rounded out the U.S. scoring taking 23rd in 25:39. Alex Dent,
17, Scott Depot, WV, was unable to finish after taking a spill on a
road crossing approximately two miles into the race. In all, 42 Juniors
(at least 16 in the year of competition and not yet 20) completed the
course.

Turkey captured the Junior girls team title with
five points (the top two finishers on the team count in the scoring).
Romania placed runner-up with 13 points and Poland finished in bronze
medal position with 20 points. The next three teams were all separated
by just one point. Team USA finished in seventh position with 25
points. A total of 14 full teams competed in the Junior women’s
division. This was the second best finish for the Junior girls trailing
only the 2007 team that took the silver.

Morgan was beaming when she accepted her award at
the post-race flower ceremony immediately following her finish, “We got
our medals and then when we left the podium they took them back from
us. I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t see my medal again, and then I
then realized we’d get them back at the awards ceremony in the evening.”

Morgan also told her Mom, who accompanied her to Italy, that the race was one of the best she’d ever done.

The Junior men were up next, with two circuits and
8.6K to complete. The teams from Turkey and Italy had a close battle
with Italian Xavier Chevier taking a decisive victory, crossing the line in 38:26 nearly a minute up on his closest challenger. Turkish teammates Mzaffer Bayram and Alper Demir, took second and third respectively in 39:22 and 39:32. Nineteen seconds later Brandon Lord,
17, Hixson, TN, crossed the line after running a controlled race
starting in ninth position and moving to eighth after the first loop
and picking off other competitors to move up in the standings. Lord
bettered Tim Smith’s fifth place from 2008 and is now the all-time top
placing U.S. Junior man. This is all the more impressive as this was
Brandon’s first mountain race. Dan Nafziger, 18, Harrisonburg, VA and Brian Rooney,
19, Arlington, VA were the next two U.S. finishers closing out the team
scoring in 39th and 41st places respectively. They finished 12 seconds
apart in 44:11 and 44:23. Tim Smith, 19, Roanoke, VA, took 55th place in 46:10 in the field of 68 finishers.

Turkey was the top Junior boys team with 14 points
(three runners score) with Italy just two points back. Great Britain
took home the bronze with 52 points. The U.S. team finished 8th among
the 17 countries; the 8th place finish ties the second best all-time
(2006).

The Senior women were the third to compete over
two loops of the course which featured 1,800′ of climb and descent.
Average grades on the climb were 20% and 10% on the descent. The U.S.
women ran packed tightly together passing through the first lap with
the four athletes each in the top 20. That grouping would not change by
the finish with all four crossing within 48 seconds. Elisa Desco (43:39), Valentina Belotti (44:04) and Maria Grazia Roberti
(44:23) all used their “home field advantage” to lead Italy to a total
domination of the team scoring (three runners score) with a perfect
score of 6 points.

For the USA, Brandy Erholtz, 32, Bailey, CO, led the way finishing tenth in 45:23 and followed by Christine Lundy, 39, Sausalito, CA, (45:41) 13th; Megan Kimmel, 29, Silverton, CO, (45:46) 15th and Megan Lund,
25, Basalt, CO, (46:11) 17th who earned the bronze medal with 38
points. They finished 16 points behind the silver medal squad from
Great Britain. The third place finish trails only the two gold medal
finishes of 2006 and 2007. There were 69 finishers representing 14
countries.

The final race of the day was the Senior men’s
three grueling circuits of the course, all between 5,000′ and 6,300′.
The African teams moved to the front in the early going. Geoffrey Kusoro of Uganda forged a 54 second lead by the end, crossing the line in 54:51. Azerya Teklag Weldemariam of Eritrea took the silver in 55:45 with the final medal by James Kibet of Uganda in 55:54.

The U.S. team was led by former Junior team member (12th place 2006) Andrew Benford, 21, Roanoke, VA. He moved into the top 15 and passed teammate Joe Gray,
25, Lakewood, WA with approximately a mile to go. Benford placed 13th
in 58:09 with Gray finishing 16th in 58:43. The final four team members
all finished in a tight pack in places 42, 46, 47 and 48, with only 12
seconds separating them. Matt Byrne, 34, Scranton, PA and Zac Freudenberg, 31, St. Louis, MO were the scoring members in 1:01:26 and 1:01:34 in a field that featured 138 finishers. Rickey Gates, 28, Boulder, CO and Tim Parr, 27, Gunnison, CO crossed seconds later in 1:01:36 and 1:01:38.

The men’s team competition was won by Eritrea with
24 points with Italy second (39 points) and Turkey rounding out the
medals with 75 points. The U.S. men finished in sixth with 117 points.

25th World Mountain Running Championship
Campodolcino e Madesimo, ITA, Sunday, September 6, 2009

SENIOR MEN – 12.9K
1) Geoffrey Kusoro (UGA), 54:51, Gold
2) Azerya Teklag Weldemariam (ERI), 55:45, Silver
3) James Kibet (UGA), 55:54, Bronze
U.S.
13) Andrew Benford (USA), 58:09
16) Joe Gray (USA), 58:43
42) Matt Byrne (USA), 1:01:26
46) Zac Freudenberg (USA), 1:01:34
47) Rickey Gates (USA), 1:01:36
48) Tim Parr (USA), 1:01:38

TEAM (top four score)
1) Eritrea, 24 points
2) Italy, 39
3) Turkey, 75
6) USA, 117

SENIOR WOMEN – 8.6K
1) Elisa Desco (ITA), 43:39, Gold
2) Valentina Belotti (ITA), 44:04, Silver
3) Maria Grazia Roberti (ITA), 44:23, Bronze
U.S.
10) Brandy Erholtz (USA), 45:23
13) Christine Lundy (USA), 45:41
15) Megan Kimmel (USA), 45:46
17) Megan Lund (USA), 46:11

TEAM (top three score)
1) Italy, 6 points
2) Great Britain, 22
3) USA, 38

Complete results at: www.wmrc2009.org