SAN DIEGO, December 13, 2003 – Midwest Regional Champion Matthew Withrow of Tinley Park, Ill., and Midwest Regional Champion Katelyn Kaltenbach of Aurora, Co., won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals at Morley Field in Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif., today.
The boys’ race began with an extremely fast pace, hitting 800 meters in 2:15. A string of 12 runners led the field, including Withrow, Galen Rupp of Portland, Ore., and Shadrack Kiptoo of Albuquerque, N.M. Rupp and Kiptoo were the clear frontrunners, with the lead constantly exchanging hands. Passing two-miles in 9:39, Withrow made a huge move, flying to the front. Rupp and Kiptoo answered by pulling ahead, battling each other for the lead. With only 300 meters remaining, Withrow again made a tremendous kick, claiming a five meter lead and placing first in 14:55. Rupp, a senior at Central Catholic High School, inched ahead of Kiptoo, to place second in 14:57. Kiptoo, a senior at La Cueva High School, was third in 14:58.
The girls’ race also started with a fast pace led by South Regional Champion Jennifer Barringer of Ovieda, Fla. Controlling the course at the two-mile mark was a pack of eight runners, including Barringer, Kaltenbach, Marie Lawrence of Reno, Nev., and defending National Champion Zoe Nelson of Kalispell, Mont. With a quarter-mile to go, Lawrence pulled ahead, with Kaltenbach at the front of the pack that chased closely behind. With 100 meters remaining, Lawrence and Kaltenbach were side-by- side when Lawrence flew ahead to claim a 10 meter lead, until the final stretch when Kaltenbach surged past her to claim the first place position in 17:24.
Lawrence, a freshman at Reno High School, took second in 17:25 and Barringer, a junior at Oviedo High School, placed third in 17:35.
The runners competed under sunny skies with good course conditions and temperatures in the mid-sixties. The Foot Locker Cross Country Championships is comprised of four regional 5K races, which took place across the country in the Midwest (Kenosha, Wis.), Northeast (Bronx, N.Y.) and South (Charlotte, N.C.) on Nov. 29, and the West (Walnut, Calif.) on Dec. 6. The top eight finishers in each of the boys’ and girls’ seeded races qualified for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals.
The Foot Locker Cross Country Championships is supported by presenting sponsor Nike.
For more information check out, www.footlockercc.com