Ritzenhein, Flanagan run to USA Cross Country crowns

By: RICK HOFF - Staff Writer | Saturday, February 16, 2008 11:43 PM PST ∞

Racers Dathan Ritzenhein of Oregon, left, and Ryan Hall of of Mammoth Lakes, Calif. are in the lead during the USA Cross Country Open Men's Championships Saturday at Mission Bay Park.
J. KAT WORONOWICZ For the North County Times
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SAN DIEGO ---- The spotlight may have been on Ryan Hall, but the finish line belonged to Dathan Ritzenhein.

Ritzenhein put on a commanding performance to join Shalane Flanagan as the winners of the open races Saturday at the USA Cross Country Championships. The USA Track & Field-sponsored event was held at Mission Bay Park, marking the Championships' first visit to San Diego since 1971.

"It feels incredible to win a race like this with so many national champions, Olympians and All-Americans here," said Ritzenhein, who won the men's open 12K race in 35 minutes, 3 seconds. "I really didn't expect to do it like this."

Ritzenhein, Hall and Jorge Torres were running together after six kilometers, but Ritzenhein began to pull away from there. By the end of the next 2K loop, Ritzenhein had a 13-second lead over Torres and a 25-second lead on Hall. When Ritzenhein went through the 10K mark in 29:07, Hall was 40 seconds behind.

"The turnover just wasn't quite there," said Hall, the winner of the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in November. "I didn't feel like I had a lot of pop in my legs."

Ritzenhein, 25, also is a member of the U.S. Olympic marathon team, and he led a parade of U.S. qualifiers for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, scheduled for March 30 in Scotland.

"We could have a hell of a team in Edinburgh," he said.

Torres finished second in 35:29, and Hall faded to fifth in 35:50.

"It's good to get my butt kicked because it helps get me motivated," said Hall, 25, a native of Big Bear now training out of Mammoth Lakes. "I was expecting to run better today, but I'm not going to let this shake my confidence."

Hall said he would skip World Cross to maintain his marathon training by competing in the London Marathon on April 13.

Flanagan, 26, a 15-time All-American at the University of North Carolina, turned a small lead at the end of the first 2K loop into a 27-second advantage by the end of the second of four loops in the open women's 8K race. The women's American record-holder in the outdoor 5,000 meters and indoor 3,000 meters wound up winning by more than a minute with her time of 25:26.

"Last year was extremely hard when I finished second to Deena, so this is nice," Flanagan said, referring to her runner-up finish to Deena Kastor in the 2007 Championships in Boulder, Colo. "I needed to be aggressive but still run within myself.

"I still need to practice my mental toughness. I've been training hard, but you never know until you get out there."

Renee Metivier of Boulder was second in 26:36, and Emily Brown of Minneapolis placed third in 26:37.

Saturday's races also included junior and masters championships. Jordan Hasay, 16, of Arroyo Grande won the junior women's 6K in 20:32, adding another national win in San Diego to her collection. She also won the Foot Locker National Championships as a high school freshman two years ago at Balboa Park, and she placed third in the same race this year while running for Mission College Prep of San Luis Obispo.

Stanford University runner Alex Gits was the junior women's runner-up in 20:45.

Two-time California state cross country champion German Fernandez out-kicked Ryan Sheridan to win the junior men's 8K race by one second in 24:18. Fernandez, 17, won the state Division IV title for Riverbank High as a sophomore and again last November as a senior.

In the masters women's 8K, Jody Hawkins of Frisco, Texas, pulled away from former Ironman triathlon world champion Heather Fuhr to win with a time of 29:06. Fuhr, of Encinitas, was second in 29:54.

The masters men's 8K title went to Sean Wade of Houston, who led most of the way but needed a late pass in the final stretch to hold off Tracy Lokken of Marquette, Mich.

"It was an honest course," said Wade, 42, whose time was 25:15, four seconds faster than Lokken. Peter Magill was third in 25:24.

Contact staff writer Rick Hoff at (760) 740-3545 or rhoff@nctimes.com.

USA Cross Country Championships

At Mission Bay Park

Open Men's 12K

1. Dathan Ritzenhein (Eugene, Ore.) 35:03, 2. Jorge Torres (Boulder, Colo.) 35:29, 3. Josh Rohatinsky (Beaverton, Ore.) 35:41, 4. Edward Moran (Williamsburg, Va.) 35:42, 5. Ryan Hall (Mammoth Lakes) 35:50, 6. James Carney (Boulder, Colo.) 35:56, 7. Max King (Eugene, Ore.) 35:57, 8. Ryan Bak (Eugene, Ore.) 35:59, 9. Edwardo Torres (Boulder, Colo.) 36:01, 10. Scott Bauhs (Danville) 36:16.

Open Women's 8K

1. Shalane Flanagan (Pittsboro, N.C.) 25:26, 2. Renee Metivier (Boulder, Colo.) 26:36, 3. Emily Brown (Minneapolis) 26:37, 4. Katie McGregor (St. Louis Park, Minn.) 26:38, 5. Molly Huddle (Elmira, N.Y.) 26:52, 6. Blake Russell (Marina) 26:54, 7. Katherine Newberry (Williamsburg, Va.) 27:07, 8. Amy Hastings (Flagstaff, Ariz.) 27:12, 9. Julia Lucas (Mammoth Lakes) 27:13, 10. Sara Slattery (Lafayette, Colo.) 27:19.

Junior Men's 8K

1. German Fernandez (Riverbank) 24:18, 2. Ryan Sheridan (Melville, N.Y.) 24:19, 3. Emil Heineking (Chardon, Ohio) 24:34, 4. Bobby Moldovan (Fort Wayne, Ind.) 24:38, 5. Kevin Williams (Lakewood) 24:39, 6. Benjamin Johnson (Albuquerque) 24:41, 7. Brendan Gregg (Davis) 24:41, 8. Ryan Little (Eden Prairie, Minn.) 24:50, 9. Joshua Mathis (Potosi, Mo.) 24:56, 10. Matthew Tebo (Albuquerque) 24:58.

Junior Women's 6K

1. Jordan Hasay (Arroyo Grande) 20:32, 2. Alex Gits (Edina, Minn.) 20:45, 3. Emily Reese (Dunwoody, Ga.) 21:26, 4. Marissa Treece (South Bend, Ind.) 21:33, 5. Emily Schwitzer (Durham, N.C.) 21:34, 6. Lauren Saylor (Clovis) 21:36, 7. Laurynne Chetelat (Davis) 21:51, 8. Jacque Taylor (Petaluma) 21:53, 9. Colleen Wetherbee (Yarmouth, Mass.) 21:53, 10. Megan Burrell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 21:58.

Masters Men's 8K

1. Sean Wade (Houston) 25:15, 2. Tracy Lokken (Marquette, Mich.) 25:19, 3. Peter Magill (South Pasadena) 25:24, 4. Ken Pliska (Arvada, Colo.) 25:52, 5. Danny Martinez (Alhambra) 25:58, 6. Andrew Ames (Boulder, Colo.) 26:38, 7. Hector Lopez (Gardena) 26:51, 8. Dan Arsenault (Santa Ana) 27:00, 9. Andy DiConti (San Gabriel) 27:02, 10. Darren DeReuck (Boulder, Colo.) 27:04.

Masters Women's 8K

1. Jody Hawkins (Frisco, Texas) 29:06, 2. Heather Fuhr (Encinitas) 29:54, 3. Carmen Ayala-Troncoso (Austin, Texas) 30:09, 4. Tania Fischer (Santa Monica) 30:27, 5. Lisa Goldsmith (Nederland, Colo.) 31:06, 6. Ellen Hart-Pena (Denver) 31:11, 7. Beth Ellickson (Glendale, Ariz.) 31:13, 8. Sissel Berntsen-Heber (Santa Monica) 31:21, 9. Lisa Valle (Albuquerque) 31:36, 10. Rosalva Bonilla (Big Bear City) 31:43.