Garrett Heath, Amy Van Alstine Kick to Victory at Club XC Championships
Garrett Heath, Amy Van Alstine Kick to Victory at Club XC Championships
Professional cross country proved to be alive and well Saturday as Brooks Beasts’ Garrett Heath and NAZ Elite's Amy Van Alstine executed strong kicks to cla
Professional cross country proved to be alive and well Saturday as Brooks BeastsÂ’ Garrett Heath and NAZ Elite's Amy Van Alstine executed strong kicks to claim victories at the USATF Club Cross Country Championships in San Francisco.
The menÂ’s race proved to have exciting final moments as Heath came from behind in the last quarter of the race to throw down a massive surge over Boulder Track ClubÂ’s Jonathan Grey.
The lead pack that emerged early on was Grey, Heath, Skinny Raven Running ClubÂ’s Trevor Dunbar, NAZ EliteÂ’s Ryan Dohner, Atlanta Track ClubÂ’s Kirubel Erassa, Boulder TCÂ’s Sean Quigley, NAZ EliteÂ’s Scott Fauble and Craig Lutz. The pack rolled through the first 3K of the race in the 8:36-8:39 range.
By the 7K mark, Grey had established a four-second lead over Heath, and Heath had a seven-second lead over remaining contenders Dunbar and Dohner.
With a quarter remaining in the race, the victory was seemingly going to be won by Grey, who had a sizable lead. But the middle-distance talent in Heath kicked in at the perfect moment, allowing the Beast to roll past Grey for the victory in 29:06. The performance marked Heath's second victory over the cross country distance this year after he claimed the win at the Great Edinburgh meet last January.
The men's team title was claimed by NAZ Elite who tallied 60 points to take down runner-up Boston Athletic Association who trailed with 106 points. NAZ Elite was led by a standout performance from Scott Fauble who led the Hoka One One squad with a third-place individual finish.
A known threat on the cross country course, Van Alstine put herself in position to contend from the very beginning of the women's race. The Flagstaff, Arizona native ran with two-time champion Laura Thweatt, Boston Athletic Association teammates Sarah Pagano and Emma Bates, as well as her NAZ Elite teammate Rochelle Kanuho, and Hansons-BrooksÂ’ Cally Macumber through the 3K split. The pack of Thweatt, Van Alstine, and Pagano all rolled through the halfway mark together in 9:51, and were trailed by the remaining runners by two seconds.
By 1K remaining, the top pack was reduced to Thweatt, Kanuho and Van Alstine, bringing the final stretch down to a furious kick between the three athletes.
Van Alstine executed a successful final effort to edge out the defending champion by just one second to claim the victory in 19:49.
Van Alstine is no stranger to success on the cross country course. She claimed the USATF Cross Country Championships over Jenny Simpson in Boulder in Feb. 2014.
Thweatt, who completed her first marathon in 2:28 just six weeks prior in New York City, closed for second and was followed by NAZ EliteÂ’s Kanuho for third.
The womenÂ’s team title was won by the Boston Athletic Association squad who was led by a a fifth-place individual finish from NCAA Champion Bates and a sixth-place finish from former Syracuse All American Pagano. The team tallied an astounding 28 points to roll over the competition, including runner-up team High Performance West who totaled 107 points.
FULL RESULTS
The menÂ’s race proved to have exciting final moments as Heath came from behind in the last quarter of the race to throw down a massive surge over Boulder Track ClubÂ’s Jonathan Grey.
The lead pack that emerged early on was Grey, Heath, Skinny Raven Running ClubÂ’s Trevor Dunbar, NAZ EliteÂ’s Ryan Dohner, Atlanta Track ClubÂ’s Kirubel Erassa, Boulder TCÂ’s Sean Quigley, NAZ EliteÂ’s Scott Fauble and Craig Lutz. The pack rolled through the first 3K of the race in the 8:36-8:39 range.
By the 7K mark, Grey had established a four-second lead over Heath, and Heath had a seven-second lead over remaining contenders Dunbar and Dohner.
With a quarter remaining in the race, the victory was seemingly going to be won by Grey, who had a sizable lead. But the middle-distance talent in Heath kicked in at the perfect moment, allowing the Beast to roll past Grey for the victory in 29:06. The performance marked Heath's second victory over the cross country distance this year after he claimed the win at the Great Edinburgh meet last January.
.@_garrettheath is most certainly the of XC! FTW unofficially in 29:05! #clubxcnats pic.twitter.com/ME5FTHtLLI
— USATF (@usatf) December 12, 2015
The men's team title was claimed by NAZ Elite who tallied 60 points to take down runner-up Boston Athletic Association who trailed with 106 points. NAZ Elite was led by a standout performance from Scott Fauble who led the Hoka One One squad with a third-place individual finish.
So so so incredibly proud of this crew!!! @NAZ_Elite pic.twitter.com/cqvvkc3FbZ
— Ben Rosario (@BenRosario1) December 12, 2015
A known threat on the cross country course, Van Alstine put herself in position to contend from the very beginning of the women's race. The Flagstaff, Arizona native ran with two-time champion Laura Thweatt, Boston Athletic Association teammates Sarah Pagano and Emma Bates, as well as her NAZ Elite teammate Rochelle Kanuho, and Hansons-BrooksÂ’ Cally Macumber through the 3K split. The pack of Thweatt, Van Alstine, and Pagano all rolled through the halfway mark together in 9:51, and were trailed by the remaining runners by two seconds.
By 1K remaining, the top pack was reduced to Thweatt, Kanuho and Van Alstine, bringing the final stretch down to a furious kick between the three athletes.
The top 3 ladies with 1K to go @thweatt11 @rochellekanuho @alynne77 pic.twitter.com/gW4lkFxTZw
— Sarah Lesko (@drlesko) December 12, 2015
Van Alstine executed a successful final effort to edge out the defending champion by just one second to claim the victory in 19:49.
There's your winner. #clubxcnats @usatf pic.twitter.com/O218fNYgP4
— Louis Cinquino (@LouisCinquino) December 12, 2015
Van Alstine is no stranger to success on the cross country course. She claimed the USATF Cross Country Championships over Jenny Simpson in Boulder in Feb. 2014.
Thweatt, who completed her first marathon in 2:28 just six weeks prior in New York City, closed for second and was followed by NAZ EliteÂ’s Kanuho for third.
@thweatt11 missed the #Thweattpeat by 1 sec. She won 2013, 2014 & 2nd today. Awesome run 6 weeks after @nycmarathon. pic.twitter.com/hDtGKgK2tH
— Lee Troop (@runtroopy) December 12, 2015
The womenÂ’s team title was won by the Boston Athletic Association squad who was led by a a fifth-place individual finish from NCAA Champion Bates and a sixth-place finish from former Syracuse All American Pagano. The team tallied an astounding 28 points to roll over the competition, including runner-up team High Performance West who totaled 107 points.
FULL RESULTS