Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Top U.S. club teams head to Charlotte for USATF National Club Cross Country Championships

INDIANAPOLIS - Two-time women's team champions Boulder Running Company/adidas and 2008 men's team titlists McMillan Elite (Flagstaff, Ariz.) will join more than 100 USATF club teams Saturday at the 2010 USATF National Club Cross Country Championships at McAlpine Greenway Park in Charlotte, N.C.

The 13th annual USATF National Club Cross Country Championships features America's top post-collegiate club teams from across the United States vying for top honors and bragging rights as the nation's top cross country team. More than 1,100 competitors are entered in the event, which features a 10-kilometer men's race and a 6-kilometer women's race. Clubs will compete for a total prize purse of $30,000, with $25,000 going to the top open teams.

In the women's team race, the Boulder Running Company/adidas will once again face the women of McMillan Elite. In 2009 the two teams dueled through mid-race before Boulder Running Company pulled away for the 15-point win.

Also in the hunt for the team title will be the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, and the Running Republic of Boulder.

Contenders for the individual title will include Desiree Davila of Hansons-Brooks, Renee Metivier Baillie of Running Republic of Boulder, Clara Grandt of RIADHA and Nicole Feest of Boulder Running Company/adidas.

The men's team race will feature a duel between 2008 champions McMillan Elite and three-time (2001-02, 2005) team titlist Hansons-Brooks Distance Project. Also in the mix will be the men of Team Indiana Elite.

The race for the individual title will feature recent NCAA Division II Cross Country Champion and local favorite Michael Crouch (Yucca Valley HS, CA; Queens College, NC; Aaron Braun and Brett Gotcher (Aptos HS; Stanford) of McMillan Elite and Jason Hartmann (unattached).

Team champions will also be crowned in the masters divisions with Club Northwest set to defend their title in the women's 40-49 team division, and the Impala Racing Team defending titles in both the women's 50-59 and 60+ team divisions.

Defending their men's team titles will be the Atlanta Track Club in the 40-49 division; Green Mountain AC in the 50-59 division; and Raritan Valley Road Runners in the 60-69 division.

For more information and video interviews from the 2010 USATF National Club Cross Country Championships, please visit www.usatf.org.

About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the World's #1 Track & Field Team, the most-watched events at the Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States: www.usatf.org.

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