USATF XC
Winter Nationals

Junior Women 6k

Adam Hall: 
Tegenkamp surges give him the edge as Ritz is missing his famous kick

by Adam Hall for Dyestat

While Wisconsin freshman Matt Tegenkamp may have a lot of respect for the current king of prep distance running, he certainly didn't give him an inch Sunday in the U.S. Junior Cross Country National Championships in Vancouver, Wash. Tegenkamp gave two-time Foot Locker champion Dathan Ritzehein his first loss on a cross country course in more than two years with a two-second victory over "Ritz" in his Wisconsin debut, 24:09-24:11. 

Tegenkamp used a series of surges after the five-kilometer mark to earn his first national title and earn a trip to Dublin, Ireland for the World Cross Country Championships next month. 

Stanford's Ian Dobson (third, 24:29), Wisconsin's Josh Spiker (fourth, 24:43), Arkansas Fernando Cabada (fifth, 24:47) and surprise qualifier Matthew Maline (sixth, 25:03), who kicked past Stanford's Chris Emme in the final homestretch, were the other qualifiers. 

"That last 600 meters was tough," Tegenkamp said. "Me and Dathan were working together (on the last loop). He's tough." 

Ritzenhein didn't make any moves into the lead for nearly the entire race, making only one move with 1000 meters remaining in the eight-kilometer race. The instantaneous surge took Ritzenhein from three meters behind to three in front, but Tegenkamp was able to respond up the final hill that peaked just 200 meters from the finish. 

However, the Rockford native seemed to lack the gut-wrenching final 800-meter move he is so famous for. Nor did he seem nearly as exhausted afterward as he has appeared in previous big races where he has been known to crumple to the ground. "I felt the (previous) hill pretty bad, so I wanted to move before the second hill," Ritzenhein said. "Coming up the last hill he really moved." 

Perhaps pointing toward this track season, Ritzenhein said he hadn't spent much time simulating cross country running since his second Foot Locker win in December, keeping his mileage in the low 80s since January. "I haven't been doing many hill workouts (this season). I haven't run on grass since Foot Locker," Ritzenhein said. 

Ritzenhein and the rest of the field seemed a bit indecisive early on, content to hang in a lead pack that numbered 12-15 runners at three kilometers (9:15). 

Leave it to Dobson, who took the reigns in the 1999 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships to do the same Sunday. "The plan was not to lead until the last 2K," Dobson said. "but my coaches and I started worrying about a kicker's race. When we realized it was slow, I went." While the Oregon native's move left only himself, the Wisconsin duo, Ritzenhein and Cabada in contention, the Stanford yearling lamented afterward that he should have tried to go for the win at that point. "At Stanford we have a saying: 'If you are going to make a surge, make it hard,'" Dobson said. 

Tegenkamp had been biding his time behind Dobson and Ritzenhein, keeping pace with college teammate Spiker before making a surprising move at the 5K. "This wind is kind of tough and we wanted to know where we were at in the field," Tegenkamp said. Tegenkamp's move at five kilometers left Dobson alone in third and Spiker and Cabada to battle for fourth and fifth. 

Spiker, a graduate of Ventura High School in Ventura, Calif., was widely consider one of the best prep harriers in 1999 before an injury hit. The 1999 Track & Field News All-American was finally at 100 percent Sunday and battled fellow California native Cabada for much final three kilometers. "The first 4K felt great," Spiker said. "The last one (hurt) bad. We haven't done a lot of strength training yet." 

When asked about his health, Spiker said that while he had an IT-band problem earlier this year, he has a full bill of health for the first time in a while, but also said he is still trying to regain his fitness. 

The last two qualifiers were a bit of a surprise, if only because neither had any Foot Locker experience in cross country. Cabada, while favored to win a Californai state title in 1999, finished 17th and didn't run well at the qualifying meet for Foot Locker the following week. Maline, a senior at Oakton High School in Virginia, finished ninth at the Foot Locker South meet last November. 

Cabada, racing in his Arkansas jersey for the first time, gave a lot of credit to his training group and coaches in Fayetteville, where the Fresno, Calif. native attends school. The former Buchanan High School star did clock 8:59.08 at the Golden West 3200 as a junior in 1999. "I'm finally in a good program," Cabada said. "I'm training with the best and I wasn't afraid to run with anyone (today)." Despite recognizing the talent that ran aside him in the lead pack, Cabada wasn't worried about the rest of the field. "Before, (with guys like) Dobson, Ritzenhein, I couldn't compete with them. (Now) I have confidence I could do what I did and I have confidence in coach (John) McDonnell." 

Maline worked his way through the pack and picked off a fast-fading Emme in the final straight, earning a ticket to Dublin.

Three members of the 2000 Foot Locker West Regional team placed in the top 15. Teammates David Vidal and Seth Watkins, of Kaispell, Mont.'s Flathead High School finished 10th (25:19) and 17th (25:52) while South Eugene prep Erik Heinonen finished 13th (25:23).

Coverage by Oregon Preps, the site for Oregon HS sports

Matt Tegenkamp (Fr., Wisconsin) handed prep sensation Dathan Ritzenhein (Sr., Rockford, Mich. H.S.) his first loss in two years of cross country racing as he pulled away over the final 400 meters to win the 2001 Junior Men's 8-Kilometer race at the U.S. National Cross Country Championships.

Vancouver, Wash.
The top six finishers qualify for the 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, March 24-25 in Dublin, Ireland.

Under sunny skies and breezy, cool conditions Ian Dobson (Fr., Stanford) and Nick Schuetze (Fr., Portland) ran to the early lead, pacing the pack in a relatively slow 12:28 (6:12, 6:16) over the first four kilometers. On the third 2K lap Ritzenhein made a move with Tegenkamp, Dobson, and Josh Spiker (Fr., Wisconsin) going with him.  After a 5:58 2K Ritzenhein and Tegenkamp were stride for stride at the front of the pack. On the final 2K circuit they started to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field. Tegenkamp started to move with 500 meters to go and gradually pulled away from Ritzenhein, who had no answer. Tegenkamp won by two seconds, 24:09.0 to 24:11.1, as they ran the last two kilometers in the fastest split of the race, 5:43.
"I felt very strong throughout today," said Tegenkamp. "I wanted to be in the top six for the first half, and then when they made their move, I wanted to be ready to go.  The goal coming in was to finish top six and if I felt good to take it from there."

"I really wanted to win," said an obviously disappointed Ritzenhein, who lost to Tegenkamp for the first time in four career meetings. Ritzenhein added, "My main goal was to make the team."
Dobson, a 2000 graduate of Klamath Falls H.S., held on for third (24:29.0) with Spiker claiming fourth (24:43.6).  "I was happy with the finish," said Dobson. "I was going for top three. It was fun being back in Oregon. I really like it when the course is soft and springy, it suits my running style well."  Dobson redshirted this fall for Stanford and is planning on doing the same for track unless he runs a NCAA qualifying time. He plans on running the steeplechase, 5K, and 10K this spring. "I want to run all three well," said Dobson.
Fernando Cabada (24:47.2) and Matthew Maline(25:03.1) garnered the final two spots on the national team.
Schuetze, a 2000 graduate of Hillsboro H.S., held on for ninth place in 25:14.7. South Eugene H.S. senior Erik Heinonen moved up throughout the race to nab 13th in 25:23.7. Aaron Young (Willamette U.), a 2000 graduate of Marshfield H.S., had a strong race to finish 16th in 25:41.8. For other Oregon finishers see the list of final results.

On Saturday, Laura Zeigle, a junior at Bingham H.S. in South Jordan, Utah, handled a more experienced field to win convincingly in the 6,000 meter Junior Women's race. Zeigle beat Stanford freshman Victoria Chang by 12 seconds, 21:18.4 to 21:30.3. Zeigle followed Chang and Alicia Craig through the first three miles, but pulled away over the final 1,000 meters for her first national title.
Filling out the national team were Craig, Alisha Williams, Emily Blakeslee, and Michel de la Vina. The only Oregon finisher, Mandi Fitz-Gustafson (Sr., The Dalles H.S.) finished 18th in 24:31.1.

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