Atlanta Track Club Claims Two Titles

BEND, Ore. – On a chilly, snow-filled day in Bend, Ore., nine teams and multiple individuals took home titles at the 16th USATF National Club Cross Country Championships held at River’s Edge Golf Course.

The Beasts Track Club from Seattle, Wash. took home the women’s open title with five top-15 finishers. Leading the club was Deborah Maier (Seattle, Wash.), and Angela Bizzarri (Seattle, Wash.), who turned in a 3-4 finish to help Beasts to the women’s title with 34 points.

On the men’s side, Champions League Athletic Performance captured the men’s open title, led by Brent Vaughn’s (Blackhawk, Colo.) fourth-place finish (31:20). Champions League clinched the men’s crown by the narrowest of margins, defeating ZAP Fitness Reebok by one point, 127-128.

The Atlanta Track Club swept the men’s and women’s 40+ titles, with Chad Newton and Sonja Friend-Uhl leading its men’s and women’s teams.

Cal Coast Track Club saw success in the men’s 50+ field, as Jeff Ambos was the top finisher in the age group with a time of 36:41. Cal Coast utilized three top-five finishes to take home the men’s 50+ title.

Club Northwest’s Joe Gray and Boulder Track Club’s Laura Thweatt claimed the open men’s and women’s individual titles on Saturday.

Gray (Lakewood, Wash.) bested a field of over 400 athletes in the open men’s 10K in 31:05, edging runner-up Sean Quigley (Boulder, Colo.) of Boulder Track Club by just six seconds. Quigley crossed in 31:11 while third-place finisher Maverick Darling (Madison, Wisc.) of the Wisconsin Runner Racing Team completed the course in 31:18.

Thweatt (Boulder, Colo.) won the open women’s 6K in impressive fashion, crossing the finish 20 seconds (21:43) ahead of the runner-up Amy Van Alstine from Team Run Flagstaff (22:03).

Full results and final standings can be found here.

16th USATF National Club Cross Country Championships

Bend, OR, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013