T
Tenkman
Guest
The USATF Junior National CC Championships were held in Albuquerque New Mexico on Dec. 13. To
participate, an athlete had to be on one of the top three teams (in the age group) or top 20 runners
in the given state. State runners had to qualify at one of 16 different regionals. The top 25
runners at a region and the top three teams qualified to run nationals.
Both of my sons (Daniel 14, Russell 11) qualified to run regionals but Daniel was on a super league
basketball team and he wanted to make the all tournament team so he didn't run regionals. He had a
real chance to medal at regionals and possibly nationals (if he didn't get sick in the middle of the
race) but declined. Russell qualified for nationals in the midget category (11-12 year-olds) by 1.5
seconds. At regionals, I also took one of Russell's friends who qualified named Devin Pierson. He is
a very fast 12 year-old
Russell and I flew into Albuquerque on Friday the 12th. This would be the first time we have ever
gone to a national meet and it turned out to be awesome. We went to Old Town and to the Atomic Air
museum and tried to relax on Friday.We ate a good meal and went to bed at 10:00 pm. We arrived at
the Beranillo soccer complex (23 soccer fields) which was so packed that it took us a half hour to
walk to the race area. the temps were ~40 degrees F with 10-20 mph winds. They had ~3500 kids
running (ages 8-17) in separate categories from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
What an awesome sight. Tons of people, excited kids everywhere, and uptight parents and coaches
everywhere. Some teams arrived by bus whereas others flew in. The western regionals were also in
Albuquerque 3 weeks earlier which featured 50mph winds with dirt flying everywhere. These were easy
conditions though it must be noted that this is mile high country so eastern teams were at a
distinct disadvantage.
Russell run 13:42 three weeks earlier on the same course in the 3000 meter competition but he had
been improving and seemed to peak for the nationals. It was a huge group of kids that took off and
you really didn't want to get caught behind a lot of kids going to the first turn. Russell ended up
getting 101st (and improved to place 5th on his team) with a 12:50 and as a young midget, that
places him nicely for next season. He had a ~50 second improvement in three weeks and is really
hyped about running next season.
A couple of side notes. A kid on Russell's team, Shaine Kirtright, won the bantam division (10 and
under) and did a 6:05 pace for 3000 meters (and this was a hilly course). The same kid won the
national championship last summer in the 1500 meters. This kid is a stud and I have no idea if he
will burn out or what his training is like because they train privately. Also, I know some are
skeptical about young kids running CC but I saw nothing but positives. The kids are all in great
shape, they are as excited as all get out, and the parents end up spending a lot of time with their
kids. I see a much darker side to elite divisions of youth sports in baseball, basketball, tennis,
football, ect. I haven't witnessed anything negative in the running areas. My boys have been running
3-5 years now and I just haven't seen the downside.
BTW, there is some great shopping for native American stuff in Old Town Albuquerque. I bought some
jewelry and some paintings from an old Indian guy that someone referred to me which will make some
nice presents.
Here is the URL to the results:
http://www.usatf.org/events/2003/USATFJuniorOlympicXCChampionships/resul ts/national/national.shtml
participate, an athlete had to be on one of the top three teams (in the age group) or top 20 runners
in the given state. State runners had to qualify at one of 16 different regionals. The top 25
runners at a region and the top three teams qualified to run nationals.
Both of my sons (Daniel 14, Russell 11) qualified to run regionals but Daniel was on a super league
basketball team and he wanted to make the all tournament team so he didn't run regionals. He had a
real chance to medal at regionals and possibly nationals (if he didn't get sick in the middle of the
race) but declined. Russell qualified for nationals in the midget category (11-12 year-olds) by 1.5
seconds. At regionals, I also took one of Russell's friends who qualified named Devin Pierson. He is
a very fast 12 year-old
Russell and I flew into Albuquerque on Friday the 12th. This would be the first time we have ever
gone to a national meet and it turned out to be awesome. We went to Old Town and to the Atomic Air
museum and tried to relax on Friday.We ate a good meal and went to bed at 10:00 pm. We arrived at
the Beranillo soccer complex (23 soccer fields) which was so packed that it took us a half hour to
walk to the race area. the temps were ~40 degrees F with 10-20 mph winds. They had ~3500 kids
running (ages 8-17) in separate categories from 10:00am to 2:00pm.
What an awesome sight. Tons of people, excited kids everywhere, and uptight parents and coaches
everywhere. Some teams arrived by bus whereas others flew in. The western regionals were also in
Albuquerque 3 weeks earlier which featured 50mph winds with dirt flying everywhere. These were easy
conditions though it must be noted that this is mile high country so eastern teams were at a
distinct disadvantage.
Russell run 13:42 three weeks earlier on the same course in the 3000 meter competition but he had
been improving and seemed to peak for the nationals. It was a huge group of kids that took off and
you really didn't want to get caught behind a lot of kids going to the first turn. Russell ended up
getting 101st (and improved to place 5th on his team) with a 12:50 and as a young midget, that
places him nicely for next season. He had a ~50 second improvement in three weeks and is really
hyped about running next season.
A couple of side notes. A kid on Russell's team, Shaine Kirtright, won the bantam division (10 and
under) and did a 6:05 pace for 3000 meters (and this was a hilly course). The same kid won the
national championship last summer in the 1500 meters. This kid is a stud and I have no idea if he
will burn out or what his training is like because they train privately. Also, I know some are
skeptical about young kids running CC but I saw nothing but positives. The kids are all in great
shape, they are as excited as all get out, and the parents end up spending a lot of time with their
kids. I see a much darker side to elite divisions of youth sports in baseball, basketball, tennis,
football, ect. I haven't witnessed anything negative in the running areas. My boys have been running
3-5 years now and I just haven't seen the downside.
BTW, there is some great shopping for native American stuff in Old Town Albuquerque. I bought some
jewelry and some paintings from an old Indian guy that someone referred to me which will make some
nice presents.
Here is the URL to the results:
http://www.usatf.org/events/2003/USATFJuniorOlympicXCChampionships/resul ts/national/national.shtml