Folders |
XO Representin’ Coast to Coast!Published by
News Release
CONTACT:
XO Representin’ Coast to Coast! XO Representin’ Coast to Coast! The first weekend in March saw XO athletes span the map with members competing in Oregon, Washington, and Florida. The latter was the site of the inaugural IAAF NACAC (North America, Central America, and Caribbean) Cross Country Championships. It can be said that the introduction of this meet will act as a regional championships and precursor to the World Cross Country Championships. Amadeus Francis, NACAC Chairman and Vice President of the IAAF said, “Today's event was a critically important first step in a series of events in which the United States will continue to provide leadership in this area.” Both Paul Kezes and Max King were invited to represent Team USA. Although only three countries brought enough runners to qualify as a full team (scoring the top four runners per team), twelve countries were represented in the small thirty-one-man field. The race was won by Team USA over Puerto Rico and Jamaica with XO’s own Max King leading the way. “I liked the course; it's really hilly and sandy with a lot of turns,” said King after his third place overall finish. “I just wished that I could've hung on to those first two guys. I think they slowed down a bit after they got by me.” 24-year old Paul Kezes also settled in with the elites and used this meet as a tune-up for the World Cross Country Championships to be held later this month in St. Galmier, France. He finished twelfth overall in the race helping Team USA in winning the debut of the NACAC Championships. The final meet of the indoor track season saw two XO athletes competing in Seattle, WA. Ben Mangrum saw his first action since the fall Regional and National Cross Country Championships. In a race better suited for his current fitness, Mangrum settled into the lead pack in the second heat of the day’s 3000 meter races. “It was a good race,” says Mangrum after his nine second personal record. “Training has been going very well, and I had a couple fast [workouts] last week that told me I’m ready to race. I was able to get out with the leaders and had a couple guys to kick down in the last lap.” Mangrum caught four runners in the final 307 meter lap placing him fourth in his heat. Rookie XO middle distance runner, Kevin Ullman, accepted an unexpected invitation to pace Sydney Olympian Adam Goucher through 1000 meters of the men’s mile. “It was a lot more stressful than I thought it would be,” says Ullman after realizing his fatigue in the 800 meters. “But it was still fun and I’d do it again, I just wouldn’t race afterwards!” To his credit, Ullman brought the field through the thousand in 2:29 and Goucher went on to run a sub-four minute mile to take the win. Two other meets, held at Linfield College and Willamette University, both outdoor tracks, saw four other XO athletes compete and four XO first place finishes. Colin Mcarthur debuted his season in the long jump, his jump of 6.95m (22-9.75) was good enough for the win. “I just wanted to see some action,” says Mcarthur of his win. “I’ll be over the twenty-four foot barrier in no time, this was a decent first-meet jump.” The Willamette University track crowd saw an exciting finish in the men’s 800 meter race where XO’s Brayce Forsha came out on top over Willamette’s Everett Thomas (1:55.22, 1:55.30 respectively). “It was a fun race, just something to keep the wheels spinnin’,” says Forsha in a post-race interview. XO High Jumper Kyley Johnson won by two inches in the at the Willamette Open. He managed a height of 2.05 meters (6-8.75) to win by two inches. The lone XO competitor at the Linfield Icebreaker, Justin Carvalho, dominated the field in the men’s Hammer Throw winning by over ten meters. At his level, Carvalho has difficulty finding competitive fields so we look forward to the “big meets” that start in the next few weeks at Hayward Field and other west coast venues. Note: Honorable mention goes out to Carlos
and Esteban Trujillo who are currently training with the XO/Lane
Distance Project under the wisdom of XO Team Director Ross Krempley.
The twins finished fourth and eighth respectively at the Willamette
Opener 1500 meter race. Other members of that team will open their
season soon at the Mt. Hood Open. We will watch Krempley’s
inaugural collegiate distance team with great interest. Good luck
to Ross and all his athletes!
____________________________________________ |
