Katie McGregor Wins USA 15k Championship on March 13; Antonio Vega, Jason Lehmkuhle, Patrick Smyth Place 3rd, 4th and 7th in Men’s 15k Championship Field in Jacksonville
Minneapolis/St. Paul – March 14, 2010 – Team USA Minnesota’s Katie McGregor won the women’s race at the USA 15k Championship in Jacksonville, Fla., today after having placed second at the race the last two years. In her fifth appearance at the Gate River Run, which hosts the national 15k championship, McGregor easily took the title from a deep field of elite women that included three previous 15k champions and five Olympians. Her time of 49:51 was a personal best by 5 seconds as well as 36 seconds ahead of the second place finisher.
In the men’s 15k championship, three Team USA Minnesota men were in the top 10 including Antonio Vega, who was third in 43:55 (previous best was 44:45); Jason Lehmkuhle who crossed the line in fourth place with a time of 43:58 (previous best was 44:09); and Patrick Smyth who was seventh in 44:42 and running his debut in the distance. The men’s team, which included Josh Moen in 20th place with a time of 46:00, also won the team competition known as the TenBroeck Team Cup.
The Team USA Minnesota women were second in the women’s TenBroeck competition with McGregor, Meghan Armstrong and Michelle Frey scoring for the team. Armstrong placed 16th with a time of 53:39 and Frey was 22nd in 54:33. Although the elite women started 5 minutes before the men’s elite field and the rest of the 13,000 participants, the race’s Equalizer bonus went to the winning male who crossed the line in 42:58 and ahead of the women.
McGregor is now a five-time national champion (10,000 meters, 10k road twice, 25k and the 15k). “Last year the women went out at a lot easier pace than this year,” said McGregor, who along with eight other competitors went through the first mile in 5:12. “There were so many people together and I didn’t know how long that would last. There was a much deeper field this year with at least 10 women who on any given day could go for the win.”
By mile 3, McGregor and another competitor (three-time Olympian Jen Rhines who ended up finishing second) had broken away from the pack and at mile 6, McGregor made her move and pulled away, going through the 10k mark by herself at 33:07. By the time McGregor reached the mile long Hart Bridge (miles 8 to 9), she had extended her lead by half a minute.
“I never did look back although I was tempted to do so,” McGregor said. “I only wanted to run as hard as I could. I wasn’t aware of when people dropped back although I was watching for shadows, listening to hear anyone breathing and waiting when the next clapping would start after I passed by the spectators. I never did feel super confident that I had the race won until a spectator yelled on the bridge that I had a 200 meter lead.
“I felt really comfortable the whole time and had one of those days where everything came together. I was excited to be able to win today. Even though I had two second place finishes the past two years, I have been happy every time I have come here no matter what because I have raced against good people. This is a fun race and it’s great to be part of the team challenge as well.”
(Note: Emily Brown and Kristen Nicolini did not travel with the team to Jacksonville for the race as previously announced and Matt Gabrielson did not finish).
About Team USA Minnesota
Team USA Minnesota is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Formed in 2001, the purpose of the training center is to improve the competitiveness of post-collegiate American distance running and to develop Olympians. The athletes are coached by Dennis Barker, head cross country and track coach at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Team USA Minnesota’s major sponsor is Life Time Fitness (www.lifetimefitness.com) and its silver sponsor is Twin Cities in Motion (www.mtcmarathon.org). It is also supported by the New York Road Runners and the USA Distance Project along with a grant from Running USA. For more information, visit the team’s web site at www.teamusaminnesota.org.
