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DyeStat Cross Country 2000
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Midwest Regional |
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AR, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, OK, SD, WI |
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Photos - boys seeded race
by Brandon Daniels
Ritzenhein Wins Back-to-Back Titles!
On a calm Saturday morning, at the Foot Locker Mid-West course, hundreds of runners gathered to compete with midwest's top runners. The pictorial Racine, Wisconsin course brought the feeling of a true cross country course to coaches, fans and runners alike. The boys seeded race, headed by Rockford, Michigan's Dathan Ritzenhein, was quite an open field. Ritzenhein, the defending Foot Locker National Champion, was the favorite by posting incredible times all season of 14:18 at the Michigan Regional meet and 14:11 at Michigan's State Championships. Ritzenhein previously signed a letter of intent to attend The University of Colorado next fall.
Several other favorites remained on the bubble for qualifying for Foot Locker Championships, which did not include the second place favorite, Nick Schneider. The Minnesota native was the highest finishing returner [15:10], but did not compete in the race. With a full first mile of uphill, the race was set between the 600 meter mark and just before the mile mark. Many realized that leg speed should have been key factor in determining the outcome of the race; however, the race was determined by the runners with the best execution of their race strategies.
As the cannon sounded, runners headed for the first uphill very quickly. At the top of the first hill, Ritzenhein headed the race, followed by a wall of runners, with Missouri runners: Tommy Neal of Leeton, Josh Davis and Adam Perkins of Liberty high school. Davis claimed, "When we got to the top of the hill, I looked beside me and 'Ritz' was right there. I didn't want to be up there too fast, but I looked back and there were too many runners back there for me to slow down." After the first 600 meters, the course winded around towards the wooded portion of the course. At this point, the conservative runners began to move into position. The Missouri State Champion, Jason Sandfort of West Plains high school, headed the chase pack with Timothy Moore of Michigan. The mile mark was delighted with the site of Ritzenhein blazing through with a time of 4:36. Sandfort and Moore remained ahead of the chase pack with Davis and Perkins following in the eigth and ninth postitions. "Kansan" Scott Loftin remained in contention for trip to Orlando, Florida by contending with the chase pack. At the mile, the chase pack followed Ritzenhein closely coming through at 4:40.
After an all uphill first mile, Ritzenhein began to pull away from the chase pack. Ritzenhein plowed downhill, through the second mile at 9:16, approximating a 4:40 second mile. Davis, Loftin, and Perkins dropped back feeling the effects of a quickly ran uphill mile. Fisher, Sandfort and Moore stayed in contention by trading spots up until the 2.5 mile point. At the 2.5 mark, Ritzenhein dashed up and around the final hill sprinting cruising towards the final straight-away. With a desperate kick to chop as much time as possible off of his 14:55 course record, Ritzenhein claimed his second Mid-West championship in 14:35. The commonly shunted Sandfort lost a competitive battle for second place against Moore, but will take a trip to Disney World for December ninth's Foot Locker Championship race.
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Aaron Fisher IN |
| Fisher leads chase pack at 2-mile mark (Ritz is out of the picture, of course)  |
Erik Grumstrup |
Tim Moore, Jason Sandfort (red) lead small group |
Marc Tegenkamp's red hair is easily spotted |
Eric Gross AR leads group in woods |
And finally, the author, Brandon Daniels himself,
posing as the Foot Locker man balloon
Return to Foot Locker Midwest Regional page
