San Diego SoCal RoadRunners

News

USATF Cross-Country National Championship 2008, Mechanicsville, Virginia:
San Diego SoCal RoadRunners win four team titles!!!

Conditions were right for the San Diego SoCal RoadRunners at the USA Track & Field Jr. Olympics Cross Country National Championships last weekend in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Unlike the freezing temperatures experienced in Jr. Olympic National events of previous years, temperatures on Saturday, December 13th seemed almost balmy in comparison as they hovered in the mid 40’s with light winds.
Nearly 2000 youth athletes from around the country aged 8 to 18 battled against each other over the challenging course in Pole Green Park, a beautiful 232 acre wooded area in Hanover County, Virginia. These talented young runners were all vying for the boys’ and girl’s USA Track and Field (USATF) National Team Champion titles in 5 age divisions, namely, Bantam (10 and under) racing just under 3 kilometers, Midget (11-12) racing 3 km, Youth (13-14) racing 4 km, Intermediate (15-16) racing 5Km and Young Men/Women (17-18) also racing 5 km. At the end of the day, the San Diego SoCal RoadRunners captured 4 National titles in 3 of these 5 divisions with the Bantam Boys, Bantam Girls, Midget Girls and Youth Girls teams all winning the national crown. For the Midget Girls team, it was their 3rd straight National Championship title, however this years’ win was a bit of a surprise, and especially significant, since only two of the team members were returning "veteran" runners from last year. "All in all, this was a huge success for all our kids", said RoadRunners Head Coach, Mike Mena, of the results. "We are so happy for all of them".
This years’ National Champions were: Bantam Girls division - Katherine Morales, Sarah Abrahamson, Hazel Groff, Catherine Garritson, Eva Bilange, Delaney Toth, Gabrielle Burns and Elizabeth Spiering; Bantam Boys - Matthew Spiering, Spencer Dodds, Evan LeDesma, Burak Tufekci, Sam Hodges, Jarrod Garritson, Steven Abrahamson, and Jacob Aries; Midget Girls - Anne Charles, Shelby Garritson, Emma Abrahamson, Helen Lopez, Halie Whitley, Quincey Hettinger, and Rachel Heisner; and Youth Girls - Kelly Lawson, Sarah Heisner, Catie LeDesma, Allison Meyers, Mariah Slack, Ellie Abrahamson, Andie LeDesma, and Morgan Mahlock.
Also running for the club in the Jr. Olympics were Derrick LeDesma, Frank Dejong, Kevin Burnard, Rebekah Bosler, Erin Green, Rachel Bosler, Bailie LeDesma, Ruben Millan, Lindsay Ward, John Garritson, Christopher Spiering and Scott Gisel (RBV)
In addition to winning 4 team titles, sixteen members of the club earned All-America honors by finishing in the top 25 in their respective divisions: Katherine Morales (5th) and Sarah Abrahamson (15th), Bantam Girls; Matthew Spiering (3rd), Spencer Dodds (8th), and Evan LeDesma (19th), Bantam Boys; Anne Charles (2nd), Shelby Garritson (7th), and Emma Abrahamson (11th), Midget Girls; Ruben Millan (18th) and Christopher Spiering (25th), Midget Boys; Kelly Lawson (13th), Sarah Heisner (21st), and Catie LeDesma (23rd), Youth Girls; Scott Gisel (7th), Youth Boys; Maeghan Garritson (10th), Intermediate Girls; and Richard Garritson (4th), Young Men’s division. (See full results)
San Diego SoCal RoadRunners was founded by Head Coach Mike Mena in 1994. Over the years, the club has trained and mentored many youth athletes who have gone on to continued success in high school. This was very evident in this year’s 2008 CIF finals as RoadRunner Alumni and former USATF All Americans, Chris Brewer, Brian Baker, Shanna St. Laurent, Collin Jarvis, Billy West, Jamie West (Rancho Buena Vista), Tiffany Duffy (Escondido), Erin Gillingham, Andrew Ward (Torrey Pines) Graham Hettinger (Vista) Sallie Privett (Coronado) Julia Yang (West View) Ana Mohammed-Zade (Rancho Bernardo and Alex Fleischhacker all advanced to the CIF State Championship Cross Country Meet in Fresno, CA.

USATF JO T&F National Championship 2008, Omaha, NE

This year San Diego Roadrunners sent a very limited contingent back to the USATF National Junior Olympics. A HUGE congratulations to Katherine Morales for finishing 2nd in Bantam Girls 1500m with a time of 5:21.37 and Emma Abrahamson for finishing 4th in the Midget Girls 3000m with a time of 11:05.35 at the 2008 USATF National Junior Olympics in Omaha, NE. Great job girls!
(See full results)

USATF Cross-Country National Championship 2007, Lawrence, Kansas:
RoadRunners overcome chill at JO National Championships

By: North County Times
Braving blustery conditions, 51 team members from the San Diego Southern California Roadrunners traveled last weekend to Lawrence, Kan., to compete in the USA Track & Field Jr. Olympics Cross Country National Championships. The event was held Dec. 8 on the Rim Rock Farm cross-country course designed by former Kansas University coach Bob Timmons.
Despite bitter cold temperatures, the San Diego SoCal Roadrunners brought home a national championship when the Midget Girls team (ages 11-12) took first place to repeat as national champions. The Youth Girls team (ages 13-14) placed third, and 12 RoadRunners earned All-American honors by placing in the top 25 of their respective races. Each division had no less than 280 runners as more than 2,100 athletes ages 8-18 from all 57 USATF Associations competed for boys' and girls' titles in five age divisions.
"My gosh it was unreal," RoadRunners coach Mike Mena said of the conditions. "At one point it was 20 degrees, and the wind chill factor was announced at minus-9. "It was the coldest meet we've ever been to." The Bantam Girls (ages 9-10) started the day with three girls earning All-American honors, including Katherine Morales (fifth place), Helen Lopez (17th) and Sarah Abrahamson (24th). The RoadRunners' Bantam Girls team finished fourth overall on the 3-kilometer course. Frankie Dejong followed in the Bantam Boys race by placing 14th for an All- American finish.
As the defending 2006 national champions in the Midget Girls division, the San Diego SoCal RoadRunners had an unprecedented two teams qualify out of the Southern California Region, a region that is reputed for having some of the fastest runners in the nation. With a total of 19 teams represented from throughout the country, the 16 girls representing the RoadRunners ran well with both teams placing in the top five in a highly competitive race. "I think the key to their success is that they all enjoy running," Mena said of his Midget Girls teams.
Running to the team title were Sabrina Seay, Emma Abrahamson, Shelby Garritson, Andie LeDesma, Marion Meyers, Ellie Abrahamson, Kaelyn Harbison and Rebekah Bosler. Seay led the way with a fourth-place individual finish. Catie LeDesma, Rachel Bosler, Sara Carrasco, Hallie Whitley, Alana Uriell, Bailie LeDesma, Bobbie Hutchinson and Quincey Hettinger earned a fifth-place team finish. In addition, three girls made All-American, including Seay (fourth), Abrahamson (ninth) and Garritson (14th).
In the Midget Boys division, Nick Bieraugel ran strong with a 17th-place All-American finish. As the Youth Girls were getting ready to run their 4K race, the temperature dropped and the wind blew harder. Yet once again, despite frozen cheeks and toes, the RoadRunners' Youth Girls team consisting of Sarah Heisner, Kelly Bieraugel, Megan Garritson, Mariah Slack, Jenna Ingrande, Julia Yang, Jamie West and Lindsay Ward ran strong and finished in third place. Yang finished in 20th place, earning All-American.
In the next race, the Youth Boys had three All-American runners, including Chris Brewer (fourth), Scott Gisel (11th) and Brian Baker (18th). Returning San Diego SoCal RoadRunners alumni who followed up their high-school seasons by competing at the Jr. Olympic Nationals included Shanna St. Laurent, Claire Menchaca, Billy West, Andrew Ward, Samuel St. Laurent, Brad Littooy, Richard Garritson and John Garritson. (See full results and All-American list)

Prior to the National Championships, the RoadRunners hosted the Region 15 Jr. Olympic Championships held Nov. 18 at Kit Carson Park. Seay had a first-place finish in the Girls Midget race, and Shelby Garritson placed third. In the Girls Bantam race, Morales and Lopez placed second and third, respectively. DeJong placed fourth in the Boys Bantam race. Meagan Garritson (third) and Bieraugel (fifth) had top-five finishes in the Youth Girls race, and Gisel had a third-place finish in the Youth Boys race. In the Girls Intermediate race over a 5K course, Shanna St. Laurent ran unattached and won with a time of 20:07.5. John Garritson placed eighth in the Boys Intermediate race.

USATF JO National Championships 2007 Mt.Sac. CA :RoadRunners Updates.

Tuesday Jul 24
Name	Event	Time	Place in Finals
St. Laurent, Shanna	IG 2000 SC	7:37.84	2nd
Jarvis, Collin	IB 2000 SC	6:19.89	2nd
Hettinger, Graham	IB 2000 SC	6:51.97	10th
Wednesday Jul 25
Name	Event	Time	Place in Finals
Abrahamson, Ellie	MG 4x800 relay	10:21.25	5th
Abrahamson, Emma
Harbison, Kaelyn
Seay, Sabrina
Acord, Aaron	MB 4x800 relay	10:48.86	10th
Millan, Ruben
Spiering, Christopher
Bieraugel,Carson
Bieraugel, Kelly	YG 4x800 relay	10:00.01	4th
Heisner, Sarah
Slack, Mariah
Yang, Julia
Thursday Jul 26
Name	Event	Time	Place in Finals
Hettinger, Graham	IB 3000	9:41.21	14th
West, Billy	IB 3000	9:32.13	12th
Friday Jul 27
Name	Event	Height	Place in Finals
Slack, Mariah	YG High Jump	1.50m	13th
Saturday Jul 28
Name	Event	Time	Place in Finals
Abrahamson, Ellie	MG 3000	11:48.42	12th
Acord, Aaron	MB 3000	10:09.63	2nd
Bieraugel, Kelly	YG 3000	11:05.98	14th
Spiering, Christopher	MB 3000	10:51.27	11th
Stlaurent, Shanna	IG 3000	10:48.89	6th
Sunday Jul 29
Name	Event	Time	Place in Finals
Abrahamson, Ellie	MG 1500	5:28.52	20th
Abrahamson, Sarah	BG 1500	5:47.25	21st
Acord, Aaron	MB 1500	4:40.08	2nd
Dejong, Frank	BB 1500	5:41.77	23rd
Heisner, Rachel	BG 1500	6:24.01	26th
Morales, Katherine	BG 1500	5:27.37	7th
Spiering, Matthew	BB 1500	5:31.13	19th

USATF Cross-Country National Championships 2006,Spokane, WA :
RoadRunners are once again victorious despite harsh weather conditions.

The San Diego SoCal RoadRunners once again proved that freezing temperatures, snow flurries and even icy rain would not slow them down. Despite the harsh weather conditions, the team earned two more National Championship Team Titles and two 2nd place team titles. In addition, an unprecedented 15 runners earned All American Status by finishing in the top 25 in their race.
The Bantam girls led off the day with 4 outstanding All American performances, which earned the young team the National Championship Title for that division. Shelby Garritson once again led the group with a strong 3rd place finish, followed closely by Emma Abrahamson in 6th place, Alana Uriell in 9th place and Kathy Morales in 20th place. Quincy Hettinger also placed strongly in 27th place just missing All American by less than 4 seconds. The 5 front-runners were supported strongly by fellow teammates, Hallie Whitley (43),Sarah Abrahamson (57) and Micaela St. Laurent (82). Rachel Heisner and Gabrielle Burns put in strong individual performances as well.
The Bantam Boys team boasts 2 All American Performances by Christopher Spiering, 8th place and Ruben Millan, finishing 22nd. Frankie DeJong gave a strong performance finishing in 32nd place, with excellent support provided by Matthew Spiering, (82) and Carson Bieraugel (123) earning these 5 young runners a 2nd place team medal.
The Midget girls ran an exciting race with five talented runners giving All American Performances to earn the second National Championship title of the day for the RoadRunners. Sarah Heisner led the team with an impressive 2nd place finish followed closely by Julia Yang in 4th place, Kelly Bieraugel in 9th place and Catie Ledesma 11th place with Rebeckah St. Laurent in 25th place. Andie Ledesma put in an impressive performance finishing in 31st, followed by strong performances by Ellie Abrahamson (47) and Mariah Slack (62)
In the Midget Boy division, Aaron Acord and Buchanan Garritson both put in admirable individual performances with Aaron finishing 53rd and Buchanan finishing 112th.
The Youth Girls team once again carried the experience of "veteran" RoadRunners Shanna St. Laurent, Vanessa Zucker, Meaghan Garritson, Tiffany Duffy and Nicole Van Duzer. Shanna earned her 4th All American Title finishing in 14th place and Vanessa Zucker earned her 2nd All American Title finishing in 25th place. Maegan Garritson ran an excellent race just missing All American with a 26th place finish, with Tiffany Duffy (81), Nicole Van Duzer (134), Claire Menchaca (136) and new comers MaKenna Yarbor (157) and all providing strong support earning the RoadRunners another 2nd place team finish for the day.
Experience was also evident in the highly competitive Youth Boys division with Parker Stinson putting in yet another outstanding individual performance with a 22nd place finish earning his 3rd All American Title and Brad Littooy running a fine race to finish 131.
The Intermediate Boys finished 9th out of 15 very highly competitive High School teams. Collin Jarvis lead the team with an exciting overall 3rd place finish earning him his 2nd All American as a RoadRunner. He was followed by Richard Garritson (48), Samuel St. Laurent (56), Valente Villalobos (76), Graham Hettinger (78), Diego Vega (108), John Garritson (106) and Billy West (126)
Congratulations to all our athletes for an outstanding 2006 National Championship meet!!!!
(See full results and All-American list)

USATF Cross-Country National Championships 2005:
Snow problem is no problem for RoadRunners

A snowstorm which dumped ten inches of snow on the course the day before the 2005 USATF Cross-Country National Championships on Dec 10th in Smithfield, Rhode Island made conditions very difficult but didn't deter the group of 41 RoadRunner athletes who made the long trip from San Diego. The Bryant University campus looked like a winter wonderland on race day with deep snow and slippery conditions presenting new challenges to runners from warmer climes.

The Bantam girls had the unenviable task of running the opening race but responded brilliantly with a 2nd place in the team event, led by an outstanding 7th placing by Shelby Garritson. Rebekah Bosler (32) and Rebeckah St. Laurent(33) were way up near the front and Rachel Bosler (49), Quincey Hettinger(53) and Alana Uriell(54) produced a great display of team running. Rachel Heisner(178) and Gabrielle Burns(186) put in great efforts on the tough course.

The boys Bantam race featured a breakthrough performance by Steven Fahy who improved over 100 spots on last year's finish to gain 4th place in 12:31, only 14 seconds behind the winner. Christopher Spiering(71) finished in the top 3rd of the field while his 7-year old brother Matthew (197) fared extremely well under challenging conditions. All three are eligible to run in this division next year.

The Midget girls team had to deal with increasingly slushy conditions over parts of the course as temperatures rose during late-morning. Mariah Slack(24) and Meagan Garritson(26) had excellent top-30 finishes, followed closely by Nicole Van Duzer (35). Sarah Heisner(168), Jamie West(180) and Lindsay Ward(216) battled hard to a 6th place team finish.

In the Midget boys event, the 2004 Bantam National champion Darren Fahy moved up strongly from 10th place at the 1km mark to finish 2nd, earning a fourth consecutive All-American award. Chris Brewer also earned All-American status with an outstanding 23rd place in his first season with the RoadRunners. Brian Baker(42) and Bryce Brady(65) ran extremely well up front and Buchanan Garritson (160) scored to earn a 6th place for the team.

The Roadrunners fielded a deep, experienced team in the Youth girls event and responded with a great 3rd place in the team event. Shanna St.Laurent, unfazed by having to borrow Steven Fahy's spikes for the race (two All-American awards out of one pair of shoes!) led the way with a stellar 15th place in 16:21 over the 4k course, followed closely by Vanessa Zucker in 19th place with another All-American effort. Tiffany Duffy placed strongly in 34th, and Sara Studer (78), Haidee Ortiz (82) and Sallie Privett(116) conquered the difficult conditions to capture the team bronze medal.

Not to be outdone the Youth boys produced two more All-Americans with high-school freshman Collin Jarvis (13) and Graham Hettinger (17) finishing within 3 seconds fo each other. Parker Stinson (64) and Andrew Ward (71) scored big for the Roadrunners as did Billy West (92). Connor Kuhlman (160), Roscoe Milner(201) and Drew Diachenko (220) gained valuable experience over tough course where the team had a commendable 4th place finish.

In the Intermediate boys 5K race the Roadrunners fielded a team of athletes coming off a long high-school cross country season. Samuel St. Laurent led the way with an excellent 28th place effort, around the same time as his El Camino HS teammate AJ Acosta was winning the Footlocker Nationals in Balboa Park. Andrew Hunter (78), Richard Garritson (84), David Slack (91) and Valente Villalobos (132) all scored to earn a 4th place team finish.

At the end of the day, the club walked away with 2nd(BG) and 3rd(MG) place team finishes as well as a record-equaling nine All-American awards. Special thanks to coaches Mike Mena and Mike Stinson, as well as Maria Duffy, John and Lisa Hettinger, Mark and Jeanette Mena, Lee Zucker and Dena Baker for their organizational efforts. Let the snowball fights begin!
(See full results and photos)

Ex-RoadRunners at 2005 State CIF Finals (Woodward Park Fresno, Nov 26th)

Girls
Place CIF	Name	Div	Grade	Time	School
2	Erin Gillingham	1	9	16:28	Torrey Pines
9	Aisha Coons	1	9	17:11	Mission Hills
30	Sara Studer	1	9	18:04	El Camino
4	Olivia Tidd	5	9	18:53	Calvary Christian School
Boys
Place CIF	Name	Div	Grade	Time	School
36	Todd Vanduzer	1	10	17:18	Fallbrook
8	Travis Kuhlman	2	11	16:55	Westview
8	Timbo Stillinger	3	12	17:06	San Dieguito
3	Ben Enowitz	4	10	17:29	Coronado
2	Jon Keller	5	11	17:21	Calvary Christian School
8	Blaine Gregson	5	12	18:35	Santa Fe Christian

2005 USATF JO Cross Country Nationals Course Maps

Bryant University, Smithfield, RI., December 10th
View course maps and descriptions of the Nationals course:
3000 meter course (Bantam/Midget)
4000 meter course (Youth/Intermediate)
5000 meter course (Young Men/Women)

USATF JO Track & Field National Championships 2005 Report

Erin Gillingham runs 4:42.50 in the 1500m

Three of the five Roadrunners who qualified made the late-July trip to Indianapolis, Indiana for the National Junior Olympic championship meet. The National meet pits the top three age-group qualifiers from each of 15 Regions around the country. With five age divisions, and separate boys and girls races, the meet hosts more than 5,000 young athletes over six days of competition.
First up for the Roadrunners on Friday were Erin Gillingham and Tiffany Duffy in the pressure-cooker qualifying heats for the Youth Girls (born 1991-92) 1,500m. The heats saw a total of 41 girls in three heats compete for only 12 spots in the finals, with the top three in each heat plus the next three fastest times overall earning berths. At the end of the three heats, Erin had advanced to the finals, while Tiffany joined the crowd of fast kids who missed the cut.
On Saturday, Erin and Tiffany were back for the finals of the 3,000m (no qualifying heats for the longer race). The frontrunners set a brutal pace that quickly strung out the field, with Erin and Tiffany favoring a more even pace. Erin found some extra speed to pass several runners over the last two laps, good for a sixth-place medal in a time of 10:41. Tiffany ran a fine race to finish 18th in the Nation, in a time of 11:22.

Christopher Spiering started the day for the Roadrunners on Sunday, running in the Bantam Boys (born 1995-96) 1,500m. As the youngest competitor in the race, Christopher accepted the challenge of racing the older and mostly bigger kids, finishing a fine 16th in the Nation in a time of 5:24. Look for Christopher to take on this same division next year!
Last up on Sunday afternoon was Erin in the Youth Girls 1,500m final. The frontrunners again set a brutal pace that left Erin in last place through 800m. But Erin then started making up ground, passing three runners on the third lap and four runners on the final lap, ending up with a fourth-place medal in a personal-best and club record time of 4:42.50.
Running in the National meet is an accomplishment in itself, with or without medals to bring home. All of the runners who get the National meet have trained hard to earn the right to compete, and all come away with the experience of having toed the line with the best in the Country. Congratulations to all of our Nationals runners. (See full results).
(Article courtesy of Doug Gillingham)

New!:Search Database of 2005 Junior Olympics Association/Regionals results

2005 USATF Track & Field Regionals Report

Christopher Spiering

Shelby Garritson

Tiffany Duffy

Erin Gillingham

Jesse Torres

(See Full Results)
Our RoadRunners were out in force at the 2005 USATF Jr. Olympic Regional Championship on June 26/27 at the new Rancho Buena Vista High School track in the North County. After a weekend of intense competition including several personal bests, a group of five athletes qualified for the Jr. Olympics National Championship which will be held in Indianapolis in late July. Last year's Nationals medallists Erin Gillingham(4:52.29/10:54.39) and Tiffany Duffy(4:58:20/10:57.57) dominated the Youth Girls 1500m and 3000m, finishing 1-2 in both races with Tiffany recording personal bests in both events. Jesse Torres looked very impressive in the Youth Boys 1500m, his finishing kick over the last 300 meters earning him 2nd place in a tight race. His time of 4:27.63 was a new SD-SCRR division record. Later in the day he followed up with another 2nd place in the 800 meters in a time of 2:06:07, one of the fastest times in the country this year. In the Bantam Boys 1500m, Christopher Spiering had his best race of the season, with an exciting come-from-behind 3rd place finish in 5:18.41. His effort was matched by Shelby Garritson in the Bantam Girls 1500 with a PR of 5:25.31, good for 3rd place.
Congratulations to ALL of our athletes on a great track season!!!.
The runners representing us at Nationals will be:

Christopher Spiering	Bantam Boys 1500
Shelby Garritson	Bantam Girls 1500
Tiffany Duffy	Youth Girls 1500 and 3000
Erin Gillingham	Youth Girls 1500 and 3000
Jesse Torres	Youth Boys 800 and 1500

4th Annual Summer Cross Country Camp

The 4th Annual Summer Cross Country Camp will be held from July 16-21. This year camp will be held at the Pine Rose Cabins in Twin Peaks near Lake ArrowHead. The cost of camp this will be $175.00 for 5 days/ 5 nights; This will include lodging, food, fun, and a camp t-shirt. We have space for only 24 athletes! To save your spot, we will need a deposit of $100.00 by June 10th, 2005.
For complete details download the flyer.

USATF Cross-Country National Championships 2004:
RoadRunners have record medal haul

The SD-SCRR team (photo) took Schaumburg, Illinois by storm during the 2004 USATF Cross-Country National Championships on Dec 11th with a record-breaking medal haul in team and individual events. Months of hard training and racing in the highly competitive Region 15 (Southern California/Nevada) division paid off with several memorable performances over the Busse Woods course in the Chicago area (See full results).

In the first race of the day,the Bantam Girls 3K, the club got off to a flying start with a great team 2nd place finish, led by an All-Amercan performance by Mariah Slack in 13th place (11:49). She was followed in by Shelby Garritson (31), Rebeckah St. Laurent (33),Bekah Bosler (36), Jamie West (75), Rachel Bosler (122) and Quincey Hettinger (133). Most of this very young team will be eligible for this division again next year. (photo)

In the Bantam Boys 3K, national 1500 meter track champion Darren Fahy completed a memorable season with a wire-to-wire victory in a time of 10:27. Behind him, his good buddy Aaron Acord was having the race of his life, holding off the chasing pack for the entire distance to take the silver medal in 10:52. Strong support from LJ Herrera (44), Buchanan Garritson (47) and Christopher Spiering (62), as well as outstanding efforts by Steven Fahy (109), David Varner (110) and Matthew Spiering (176) gave SD-SCRR the national team title, edging Belvidere TC and Irvine Cougars.(photo)

At that point there was no stopping the Roadrunners. The defending team champion Midget Girls had All-American performances from Tiffany Duffy (3), Haidee Ortiz (5) and Shanna St.Laurent (12). Tiffany had her best race of the season finishing with the bronze in 10:51, a mere 5 seconds out of first place. Haidee and Shanna are repeat All-Americans, Haidee for a club-record 4th time! The team took 3rd place in a very tight race with great performances from Vanessa Zucker (49), Nicole Van Duzer (85), Jacquelyn Gentes (88), Chiara Maruggi (125) and Maegan Garritson (141).(photo)

The Midget Boys 3K race featured a thrilling head-to-head battle between SD-SCRR's Parker Stinson and Jared Kenney of Cornhuskers with both boys going under 10 minutes and Parker taking the silver in 9:58. An All-American performance by Andrew Ward (20), a top-30 finish by Conor Kuhlman (27) and strong support from Alex Fleischhacker (48),Brian Baker (144), Eric Leslie (145), Andrew Robertson (234) and Bryce Brady (239) gave the the club it's second national team gold medal of the day.(photo)

In the Youth Girls 4k race, national track 3000m silver medallist Erin Gillingham capped a highly successful season with an All-American 23rd place effort. While clearly not feeling her best she displayed great toughness in finishing with a time of 15:05. Teammate Sara Studer delivered a solid 16:16 effort (113) over the muddy Busse Woods course (photo).

The Youth Boys team faced hot competition in the 4k race with the top 30 runners going under 14 minutes. The team of Samuel St. Laurent (106), Richard Garritson (140), Graham Hettinger (147), Billy West (148), Valente Villalobos (160) and Jesse Torres (180) tuned up for promising high-school careers with a commendable 13th place team finish.(photo)

When the mud had settled at the end of the day, the Roadrunners had taken home two national titles, a second and third in team competition; one gold, two silvers and a bronze in individual competition; and a total of nine All-American awards. An achievement to be very proud of for the athletes, coach Mena (photo) and the many parents who devoted their efforts into turning SD-SCRR into one of the elite youth clubs at the national level.

USATF JO Track & Field National Championships 2004:
Peaking to Perfection

It doesn't get much better than this. An opportunity to compete with the best young athletes in the country at historic Hayward Field in Eugene,Oregon, home to such track legends as Steve Prefontaine, Mary Decker-Slaney, Joaquim Cruz and Alberto Salazar. A group of four SD-SCRR athletes ventured north to this track mecca in late July and came away with six national medals, six personal bests and a new national record. The long 5-week gap between Regionals and Nationals was obviously not a problem for these runners as they were clearly inspired every time they set foot on the track.
Our first medal of the games went to Haidee Ortiz in Friday's MG 3000 meter final. Starting near the back, she methodically worked her way through the field and timed her finishing sprint perfectly to outlean Laken Crowder by 4 hundreths of a second for the bronze. Her time of 10:51.88 was a personal best.
Next up in Saturday's YG 3000 meter final was National X-Country silver medallist Erin Gillingham who found the longer distance much more to her liking after running a creditable 2:26 in the 800 meter prelims on Thursday. This event was dominated by Jordan Hasay who took off from the gun en route to a national record 9:48.77, but a spirited race for second was developing, with Erin's smooth stride gobbling up the laps. The status quo remained until the bell-lap when Erin proceeded to demolish the opposition by a full 5 seconds and grab the silver medal in a personal best time of 10:18.46.
Later in the day, Darren Fahy stepped to the line in the BB 800 meter final, having set a personal best (2:27:39) by almost 3 seconds in Thursday's preliminaries. Proving that he has some speed to match his stamina, the 10 year-old ran another fine 2:27 to earn the 7th place medal.
On the final day of the program, Haidee was at it again, this time with her teammate Tiffany Duffy in the MG 1500 meter final. These two girls displayed a wonderful example of controlled running in the early stages of the race before coming through in the clutch to claim 3rd and 4th place with PR's of 5:02.03 and 5:03.33, respectively
Expectations were high for Darren in the BB 1500 meters, after running the fastest time in the nation (4:55) for 2004 at the recent California State Games. And in Sunday's final he did not disappoint. Trailing the leaders by a couple of seconds in an extremely fast opening lap, he took the lead at the 600 meter mark from Nathaniel Jones and Onyx Johnson en route to a blazing 2:31 800 meter split. His mid-race strength was clearly evident as he dropped the field with a 79-second 3rd lap and then hammered the final 300 meters in 57 seconds to win by 50 meters (see photo). His time of 4:47:62 was a new national record, eclipsing the old mark of 4:48:04 set by Connor Revord in 2001.
Win or lose, all these young athletes left with many great memories and one could not help but be inspired by the intense competition, the huge crowds and the magical setting of Hayward Field. No, it just doesn't get much better than this!
(Check out the event photos on the Highlights page. Also, streaming video of the finals is available on the I2sports website.)

Name	Event	Time	Place in Finals	Comment
Tiffany Duffy	MG 1500	5:03.33	4th	Personal Best
Darren Fahy	BB 1500	4:47:62	1st	New National record
Darren Fahy	BB 800	2:27:39	7th	Personal Best
Erin Gillingham	YG 3000	10:18.46	2nd	Personal Best
Haidee Ortiz	MG 3000	10:51.88	3rd	Personal Best
Haidee Ortiz	MG 1500	5:02:03	3rd	Personal Best

San Diego Southern California RoadRunners shine at USATF Track & Field Regionals

Our San Diego Southern California RoadRunners made a very strong showing at the 2004 USATF Jr. Olympic Regional Championship this past weekend. 15 runners participated in all: Aaron Acord, Tiffany Duffy, Darren Fahy, Erin Gillingham, Graham Hettinger, Connor Kuhlman, Haidee Ortiz, Shanna and Becka St. Laurent, Dave and Mariah Slack, Jamie and Billy West and our very newest members, Cory Crawford and Nathan Anderson. Many of our runners achieved a personal record in their race.
In addition, we had six RoadRunners qualify for the Jr. Olympics National Championship being held at the historic Hayward Field in Eugene,Oregon at the end of July. This is the largest group to qualify for Track and Field Nationals thus far. The runners representing us at Nationals will be:

Aaron Accord	Bantam 1500
Tiffany Duffy	Midget 1500
Darren Fahy	Bantam 1500 and 800
Erin Gillingham	Youth 3000 and 800
Haidee Ortiz	Midget 3000 and 1500
Shanna St. Laurent	Midget 3000

We are very proud of ALL of our RUNNERS. They all worked very hard this track season to achieve the personal goals they set for themselves. Congratulations to all for their accomplishments and best wishes to all the runners moving on to Nationals!!!! Check the Results page for complete race results.
(Article courtesy of Maria Duffy)