Bay State Native Sean Quigley Wins New Haven 20K

NEW HAVEN – Sean Quigley (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Magdalena Lewy Boulet
(Oakland, Calif.) took the men’s and women’s titles Monday at the USA
20 km Championships hosted by the Stratton Faxon New Haven 20K. 
Quigley ran 59:21 to win by eight seconds over Mo Trafeh (Duarte,
Calif.), while Boulet cruised home in 1:07:41 for a 45 second win over
Stephanie Rothstein (Flagstaff, Ariz.).

Warm,
sunny skies met a record field of more than 6400 as a pack of 15 men
led the field through a relaxed opening mile of 4:52.  The lead pack
included defending champion Brett Gotcher (Flagstaff, Ariz.), Ben Bruce (Eugene, Ore.), James Carney (Flagstaff, Ariz.), Patrick Smyth (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), Justin Young (Superior, Colo.) and Quigley.

As
the pace steadily picked up, the main pack remained largely intact with
various contenders taking a turn at the lead.  By seven miles, Young
had taken charge of the lead pack as it was reduced to Carney, Smyth,
Quigley and Trafeh. 

Young
made several surges, gaining as much as five meters on his rivals only
to have the gap closed each time.  As the pack raced down the final
hill on the course past ten miles, Trafeh made his bid for the title. 
Opening a 15 meter lead, the race looked to be his but Carney and
Quigley fought their way back, catching Trafeh. 

At
11 miles, the race looked to be Carney’s as he opened a five meter lead
but a half mile later Quigley made his move and steadily pulled away to
take his first USA road title.  Trafeh held on for second, running
59:29, as Carney took third in 59:33.  Young held on for third in 59:45
while Smyth rounded out the top-five in 59:54.

In the women’s race, Boulet took charge of the lead pack early with a group of six that included Rothstein, Amy Hastings (Flagstaff, Ariz.), Tera Moody (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Clara Grandt (West Union, W.V.) and Nan Kennard (Broomfield, Colo.).

After
seven miles, Boulet steadily pulled away from the field, capturing her
first U.S. title of 2010.  Rothstein finished 45 seconds later to take
the runner-up spot in 1:08:26, while Kennard took third in 1:08:38.
 Grandt and Moody took fourth and fifth in 1:09:02 and 1:09:38
respectively.  

Video highlights

Highlights of the USA 20 km Championships are available in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.

About the USARC

The
USA 20 km Championships was the eighth stop for men and the sixth for
women on the 2010 USA Running Circuit (USARC) and will pay $40,000 in
U.S. prize money with Quigley and Boulet each taking home $8,000 for
the respective men’s and women’s titles.

The
USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA
Championships from one mile to the marathon and attracts the best U.S.
distance runners. The circuit features ten events each for men and
women.  Antonio Vega (Minneapolis, Minn.) leads the men’s standings with 44 points, while Boulet’s win gives her the women’s lead with 31 points.

The
2010 USARC will once again see a record amount of circuit prize money
for a non-Olympic year with total prize purse of $623,850 offered by
host events. U.S. athletes will also have the opportunity to qualify
for various Team USA events, including the IAAF World Half Marathon
Championships and the Chiba International Ekiden.

The
first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12
for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500
grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and
women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon
Championships will be doubled.

The
mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote
U.S. runners.  Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races
have provided over $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

For more information on the 2010 USA 20 km Championships visit www.USARunningCircuit.com.