2009 DOWN UNDER CROSS COUNTRY ALL AMERICAN MEET GIRLS RACE: The girls’ race takes off first. Montana’s Heather Demorest goes right to the front of the pack as does Reida and Francka. A large pack follows at the 800 meter mark. Adopted by the Illinois team, Demorest smiles and blushes as the Oak Forest trio, along with Darby High School teammate Seth Garbett, cheer obnoxiously for her. As the group makes its way around the first 2.5k loop, it’s clear that Reida, Francka, Demorest, and Nebraska Sophomore Samantha Suppor are the class of this competition. They traverse the first loop in 9:40 and are on pace to run 19:20. The pack held together for another 2 kilometers before Reida made a big move. Demorest failed to respond to that move right away, but rebounded to pull away from Francka. It stayed that way for the final 800 meters with Soupir finishing 4th. “I didn’t know what to expect,” said Reida after the race, “My coach said surge so I just went.” That move proved to be what it took to win the race in 19:39 to Demorest’s’ 19:52. BOYS RACE: The boys’ race took off very fast with a majority of the runners going out faster than they should have. At the 800 meter mark, the runners who were there to race rose to the front of the pack, including Eddie McDaniels of Oak Forest and Bingham. Also in the front of the pack is Andre McLean, a senior from Virginia. What stands out about McLean to the rest of the runners isn’t necessarily his 9:45 personal best for 3200 meters, but the fact that he is hearing impaired. McLean is one of the more outgoing runners on the trip, inserting himself amongst the group and teaching others on his team how to sign. As a last resort, the Virginia teammates have been passing a cell phone amongst themselves to communicate with McLean. By the mile mark, the boys lead pack has decreased to two, with Bingham taking a noticeable lead over McDaniels. The pair come through the 2.5k mark on pace to break 16:00. The rest of the pack follows shortly behind, including Josh Driver, also from Oak Forest, and Montana’s Garbett. Garbett has run perhaps the smartest race, slowly moving up the pack after sitting in 15th place at the mile mark. As the leaders headed out for the second loop, McDaniels continued to close the gap. With 1000 meters to go he had caught Bingham. 200 meters later he put in a big surge to pull away. Garbetts’ start slowly tactic paid off, as he finished third, just shy of Bingham. McLean’s tactics didn’t pay off as he faded, while Driver, McDaniels teammate, finished seventh. INTERNATIONAL MEET GIRLS RACE: In the girls field, Katelyn Simpson of AB Patterson College Prep is competing. According to Simpson, she is looking forward to the opportunity to compete for her country in the Czech Republic. Simpson is in her first year of eligibility for Junior Competition and has only lost an age group national championship once, when she was 10 years old. 02 As the girls race goes off, there’s no doubt that Simpson is out to take control of the race. At the 1k mark, she has a clear lead over Heather Demorest and Olivia Franka. Right behind Demorest and Franka is a pack of PBC runners. Notably absent from the front pack is the American race champion Liz Reida. Reida is in 16th place at the 1k mark. She later reveals that she was sick the night before, and this caused her to have a slow start. By the 2.5k mark, Reida is back in the pack, but the pack is far behind Simpson, who has opened up a 100 meter lead. The chase pack now consists of Demorest, Reida, Francka, and the Palm Beach top five runners. Samantha Soupir, 4th place finisher from the American race, has fallen off the pack and sits in 11th place after having run the first mile with the PBC pack. With the pack thinning out over the final 2.5k, Demorest and Reida manage to hang with the top PBC runner, while watching Simpson cruise to and easy victory. PBC’s top runner, Chelsea Burgess finds herself in a footrace with Demorst and Reida but manages to hang on for second place while Reida once again finishes ahead of Demorest. Two seconds separate 2nd and 4th places. Palm Beach is clearly the top team in the event, as the clear the next four spots ahead of Francka. North Carolina’s Leslie Pence finishes as the next American runner, placing 10th overall. BOYS RACE: The boys race goes off exactly as planned for McDaniel and Bingham. The top two Aussies go right to the front, whils McDaniel and Bingham hang back with fellow Americans Andre McLean, Seth Garbett followed by a pack of California and Australian runners. Having seen Simpson dominate the girls race, McDaniel and Bingham aren’t going to let the Australian runners run away with this race. Over the next mile they tighten the gap between themselves and the Australians. Joining them in their quest to compete for the title is McLean and Texas’ Armando Fierro. McLean was with the leaders at this point in the American race, but looks a little more fresh and aggressive. As the group rounds the 2.5k mark, one of the Australians is dropped from the pack. In the final loop of the race, McDaniel and Bingham are talking with one another. The race has gone exactly according to their plan. With a mile to go the duo makes a big move and separates from the lead pack. It’s clear that it’s a two man race with 1000 meters to go. Bingham, who went out fast in the American race, is a bit fresher in this race and make a move. McDaniel is unable to respond, but hangs on to settle for second. “I wanted to win, but if I was going to get beat I’m glad it was by Tyler and not anyone else.” Recalled McDaniel. “Going out slower definatel helped”, recounted Bingham. “I felt a lot stronger at the end of this race than I did on Wednesday and Ed got the best of me then.” Ross Freeman of Australia ends up finishing 3rd, while McLean finished 4th. The race was a redeemer for McLean, who faded at the end of the American race. The second Australian runner, Andrew Arkinstall, faded to finish 10th, just ahead of Josh Driver. Driver finished the race as the top 16 and younger runner, and won the age group.
CROSS <strong>TRACK</strong> COUNTRY & <strong>FIELD</strong> 2010 SCHEDULE HISTORY The <strong>Down</strong> <strong>Under</strong> International Games began in 1998 and cross country was one of the original sports to be part of the Games. Cross Country runners from the United States and Australia will compete against one another. This will be our 13th year of competition. MEET INFO International Meet Gold Coast Marathon 5 KM Race July 4th, 2010* All American Meet Pizzey Park July 7th, 2010* Depart - Return June 28 - July 8, 2010 June 30 - July 11, 2010 • First 10 finishers in each age group receive medals • Individual and team scores • First 5 finishers from each team count towards team score * Dates subject to change * Practice scheduled in Australia TRAVEL DATES 03
Change language