by Larry Eder
Ammar Moussa, 2010 XC Champs, photo by PhotoRun.net. Ammar Moussa and Christine Bayless are at different ends of the race career spectrum, as Ammar is finishing his senior year in high school and Christine is just entering the high school firmament. We wish them well, and look forward to seeing how their journey in this sport goes!
(Christine Bayless from Jan 2010 issue of Cal Track).
Moussa and Bayliss repeat as Junior Olympic champions
Hoover,
Ala. – Ammar Moussa and Christine Bayliss continued their winning ways
from 2009 and once again turned in impressive performances that landed
them atop the podium of the Young Men’s and Youth Girls’ races Saturday
at the 2010 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships at
Veterans Park in Hoover, Ala.
More
than 2,000 young runners participated in the championship events. The
athletes enjoyed a clear day of crisp Alabama weather. The USATF Junior
Olympic program age divisions are bantam (10 and under) racing over 3
kilometers; midget (11-12) racing 3 km; youth (13-14) racing 4 km;
intermediate (15-16) racing 5 km; and young men/women (17-18) racing 5
km.
The
last race of the day played out in dramatic fashion as Moussa (Obriens
Army) battled Raymond McCormack (Lanier Running Club) from the first
mile all the way to the finish. Moussa won last year’s Junior Olympic
title in the Intermediate division and McCormack is the defending Young
men’s champion. The two ran away from the rest of the field and netted a
lead of more than 30 seconds over their closest competitor. Moussa was
successful in repeating his win in a time of 15:22, while McCoramck
finished six seconds back in a time of
15:28.
Bayliss
(Oak Hill Racing) was the sole female champion from last year who was
able to replicate her success. She covered the 4 km course at 5 seconds
per mile faster than her closest competitor to win in a time of 14:16.
Four
other girls claimed top-honors by winning their divisions. Lauren
Turner (Team Bliss) turned in a dominating performance with an 18 second
lead to claim the Bantam title in a time of 11:37 for 3 km. Claire
Graves (So Cal) broke the tape for the Midget Girls in 11:03. Samantha
Hicks (Gate City Striders) led the Intermediate Girls race and clocked
the fastest girls’ time of the day in 18:40 for 5 km. Krista Menghini
eclipsed her nearest competitor by one second to become the Young
Women’s champion with a time of 19:02.
The
boys’ competition had several close finishes, but at the end of the
day, only one could win each race. Coleman Mitchell (Triangle TC) sped
over the 3 km course in a time of 11:14. In the closest
race of the day, Jacob Ogden (South O) narrowly edged out his closest
competitor to win in a time of 10:17. In the 4 km Youth Boys’
competition, Miguel Bautista (Equalizers TC) was the top runner of the
day, clocking a time of 12:55. Parker Deuel covered the 5 km
Intermediate Boys course in a time of 16:10.
In
team competition, the Equalizers Track Club dominated the day with a
total of four wins. The Equalizers claimed top honors for the Bantam
Girls, Midget Girls, Youth Girls and Youth Boys. The following teams also earned a year’s worth of bragging rights: Cougar
Track Club (Bantam Boys), San Diego SoCal Road Runners (Midget Boys),
Buffalo Chips Running Club (Intermediate Girls and Young Women), Hoosier
Harriers (Intermediate Boys), Obriens Army (Young Men).
For more information, including complete results of the 2010 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships, 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.
