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DyeStat Cross Country 2000
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National Finals |
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Preview
Alan Webb is ready this year. He knows now "It's not just another race."
By Pearl Watts
Last year at this time, Alan Webb of South Lakes was undefeated during the cross country season and rated as a slight favorite among an extremely talented group heading into the Foot Locker National Championships. Webb was among a lead pack of seven runners who went through the first two miles of that race in 9 minutes and 25 seconds only to falter considerably in the last mile to finish eighth with Dathan Ritzenhein, a junior from Rockford, Michigan the winner.
Webb said after that race, "I tried to treat it as just another race, but it's not just another race."
The victorious Ritzenhein said afterwards that one of the benefits he had over a lot of the runners in the field was that he had qualified for the race the year before (eighth in 1998 as a sophomore) and that having previous Foot Locker Nationals experience was a big factor.
Now the training and racing for Alan Webb of South Lakes this cross country season has been geared almost entirely towards the 22nd Annual Foot Locker National Championships in Orlando, Florida this Saturday and the expected showdown with defending champion Ritzenhein. Webb, as he was last season at this time, is currently undefeated and two weeks ago broke his own meet and course record in winning the South Regional with his time of 14:43 over the 5,000 meter McAlpine Park layout in Charlotte. Webb set a record with his 24 second margin of victory over second place finisher Bobby Lockhart of Handley VA.
Not to be outdone; Ritzenhein, who has not been defeated in a high school cross country race since the national finals two years ago, broke his own meet and course record at the Midwest Regional by a whopping twenty seconds with his time of 14:35 for 5,000 meters as he defeated his closest pursuer, Tim Moore of Novi, Michigan by 32 seconds.
Unlike last year, when any one of a group of a half dozen runners were given a shot at winning the title, this year's edition appears to have Ritzenhein as a solid favorite with only Webb and possibly Ryan Hall of Big Bear Lake, California having a shot at Ritzenhein if the Michigan star is anywhere near his top form.
However Hall, who broke national two mile record holder Jeff Nelson's (8:36.3 in 1979) venerable course record at Mt. SAC earlier this season and ran 3:45.12 (4:02 mile equivalent) for 1,500 meters last season, suffered his first loss of the season at last week's West Regional although he did qualify for this Saturday's championships off of his fourth place finish.
The boys race on Saturday will be contested at the Walt Disney Wide World of Sports Complex's Oak Trail Golf Course at Shades of Green. The long range forecast calls for partly cloudy conditions with temperatures hovering around 60 degrees for the boys 10:00 a.m. start and the girls 10:40 a.m. start. That should be conducive to some very fast times with Ritzenhein's 1999 course record of 14:29.8 in serious jeopardy. The course is very flat and off of Ritzenhein's performances this season, the University of Colorado bound runner appears capable of a time in the 14:10-14:15 range.
Can Webb or anyone else go with Ritzenhein? South Lakes coach Scott Raczko said, "Alan is ready to go. He's extremely focused this week, just like he has been all season long. Alan wants to be competitive and is looking to contend for the entire race. This is the meet he has been pointing to all season."
Raczko added, "it's no secret that Ritzenhein likes to go out fast; you have to in order to run the times he has this year, and he will be looking to chew up the boys field and the course. If Ritzenhein goes out in 4:25 he will drop most of the field, but Alan's workouts have shown that he should be able to handle that kind of pace. The two mile split could be close to 9 minutes flat and if it is, we'll see what kind of shape Alan is really in. Alan's pumped. Last year he felt the pressure from everyone else, this year the pressure is just what he is putting on himself. The confidence and physical shape appear to be there for a time in the 14:10-14:20 range in good weather on a fast course for him."
The good weather should be there and with that, the fast course. The Oak Trails course is spectator friendly for the first two miles. The first mile is very fast with just a couple of fairly sharp turns to upset a runner's stride. The second mile is somewhat deceptive with some minor peaks and valleys which can be usually found on a golf course. There is usually a gap made by the lead group from the mile and a half to the two mile mark over those peaks and valleys as some of the runners seem to get discouraged at the breaks in their running rhythm. The third mile is contested mostly over a back loop almost devoid of spectators that usually tells the tale before the runners reappear for the final 400 meter finish of the 3.1 mile course.
The boys race has 24 seniors among the elite 32 runner field with Ritzenhein, Webb and Hall expected to be among the early front runners. The next group should include junior Bobby Lockhart of Handley, Brian McGovern of Connecticut, who was the Northeast Region runnerup and Steve Maddox of Texas, three of the five returning finalists from last year along with Ritzenhein and Webb.
Others with top five and top ten potential appear to be Northeast champ Seton McAndrews of New York, West Region winner Seth Watkins from Montana, junior Tim Moore of Michigan and Missouri's Jason Sandfort.
The girls race contains 17 seniors among the 32 finalists. With experience usually a huge factor, the West Region appears to be the strongest with three of the seven returnees from last year. The West has the two top returnees in two time West Region champion Alicia Craig of Wyoming, who was third at nationals last year and West Region runnerup Anita Siraki of California, the fourth place finisher in Orlando in 1999. Also returning is junior Laura Zeigle of Utah, the fourth place finisher in the West Region with third place finisher Sara Bei a finalist for the third time, having also qualified in 1997 and 1998. The other returners are South Region champ Christa Benton of Florida, Jessa Vacek of Texas, Kalin Toedebusch from Rockford, Michigan and New York's Laurel Burdick. Potential top five and top ten finishers also include Northeast Region champ Natasha Roetter of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania's Julia Pudlin and South Dakota senior Penny Splichal, the Midwest Region champ by fifteen seconds.
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