| CAPE CANAVERAL - Clara Grandt (Morgantown, W.V.), won her respective race to lead Team USA to team titles Saturday at the 2009 North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Cross Country Championships. Nearly 100 athletes representing nine national federations competed in the fifth annual event at the Chain of Lakes Park in Titusville, Fla.
The day of racing began with the junior women's 4 km as Emily Pritt (North Canton, Ohio), ran 13:18 to finish third, leading Team USA to a second-place finish behind Team Canada. Genevieve Lalonde led Canada to the team win, in 13:00, to finish 17 seconds ahead of Natoya Goule of Jamaica.
Molly Grabill (Poway, Calif.), Colin Ellis (Dallas, Texas), and Rolonda Jumbo (Santa Fe, N.M.), finished in ninth, tenth and 11th running 13:35, 13:40 and 13:47 respectively to complete the team score for Team USA. Canada scored 16 points for a 14 point win over the U.S., Jamaica finished third with 74 points.
The senior women's race saw Grandt jump to an early lead during the first lap with her teammates leading the chase pack. Over the remaining two laps, Team USA was in position for a perfect score but Canada's Catherine Cormier and Chantell Widney ran a strong final lap to break-up the U.S. pack, finishing second and fifth.
Grandt was timed in 20:11 for the 6 km, Cormier finished ten seconds back, while Team USA's Kasie Enman (Huntington, Vt.), Erin Nehus (Indianapolis, Ind.), and Hanna Grinaker (Madison, Wis.) finished in third, fourth and sixth, running 20:23, 20:38 and 20:46 respectively to round out the team scoring. The Team USA women scored 14 points to win by eight points over Canada, while Jamaica finished third with 54 points.
For more information on the NACAC Cross Country Championships visit www.usatf.org. |
