Track and Field Blogs - Justin Kopunek

1981.

At the 1981 World Cross Country Championships, Craig Virgin won gold in the Men's Senior race, while Keith Brantley nabbed bronze in the Junior Race. Could anyone have predicted that after that day, no American male would stand on the podium at the championships for 2 decades? US running didn't fall off the face of the earth, but a new era of distance running had begun; the African dominated one. The team battle has been equally lopsided. Kenya and Ethiopia have been the only 2 teams to have won the Senior Men's race from 1981 until last year's race. The junior race was won by the US in '81 and the top 2 spots have been swept by the two East African nations since, with one exception (Eritrea was 2nd in 2007). The third team spot has been occupied primarily by African and Middle Eastern (many running African born team members) countries during this time period.

In 2001, high school senior Dathan Ritzenhein moistened the US Men's medal drought racing to a bronze in the junior race. In fact, he is the only non-African to stand on the podium for the junior championships since 1984, when a Spaniard and Canadian took home gold and bronze. The US junior men were in the hunt for a team medal that year, as well. Right behind Ritz was Wisconsin freshman Matt Tegenkamp, who placed 5th. That formidable top 2 had the Americans in the mix with Kenya and Ethiopia. The latter 2 had depth that far outmatched the performances of Ritz and Teg, but 3rd place was still a possibility for the US team. Immediately following the race, the individual bronze medalist said, "Me and Matt decided to work together in front. We wanted to try and do a team race. I don't know yet what the other American runners have done."

What they had done was quite impressive. Tegenkamp's fellow Badger, Josh Spiker, crossed the line in 24th while Stanford freshman Ian Dobson finished 39th. When the team scores were tallied, Kenya squeaked out a 1 point victory over Ethiopia, 24-25. The battle for bronze came down to Uganda and the US, with the former edging the red, white, and blue by a mere 3 points. It was a valiant effort by the young American team that boasted 3 future Olympians, but the depth of the African nations was too much to overcome, even with 2 runners finishing in the top 5.

With the 2009 World Cross Country Championships in Amman less than 1 week away, the American Junior Men's team looks to do what the 2001 team, as well as no other American Junior Men's team has done since 1982; score a team medal. The team is led by Oklahoma State freshman German Fernandez, who holds the 2 fastest indoor mile times recorded by a junior in history. He was the top American finisher in this race last year at 25th and has since run 3:55 and 7:47, suggesting a dramatically higher finish this time around. An individual medal for Fernandez is a reasonable goal and top 10 should be expected, barring any disasters. The team's greatest assets may be in the 2nd and 3rd positions. As freshmen in college at Stanford and Oregon, respectively, Chris Derrick and Luke Puskedra have already garnered a combined 5 NCAA All American honors, have both gone under 13:50 for 5k and 8:00 for 3k and were top 10 at the NCAA XC Championships. Both should be shooting for a top 15 finish and if they work together in the race, can really cement a low team score for the US through 3 runners.

Who will determine whether the US team scores a medal is going to be the lesser known members of the team. NC State frosh and ACC Rookie of the Year in cross, Ryan Hill, was 4th at the US Junior Championships. Hill was the Wolfpack's 3rd runner all cross country season, which culminated with a solid 104th place finish at NCAA XC. As a senior in HS, Hill was 11th at Foot Locker Nationals and earlier this month he won the North American, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association Junior Cross Country Championships. The US men won that race led by Hill's victory. Qualifying for Worlds behind Hill were Syracuse teammates Pat Dupont and Tito Medrano. It should be noted that the Orange had 2 other freshmen, Griff Graves and Zach Rivers, in the top 15 at the US Junior Champs and is definitely a team to watch. Dupont was 17th at the 2007 Foot Locker National meet and the New York State Federation Champ in XC, the 3,200m and 3,000m Steeplechase. Medrano is also a former Foot Locker Finalist, placing 30th at the finals, and was the runner-up in the 2008 Indiana State 3,200m. Of Hill, Dupont, and Medrano, one will need to keep the spread between the USA's 3rd and 4th finishers as minimal as possible. Only 4 runners score at the World Championships, so the 4th runner will be integral to the team's success.

These 6 teenagers will have their work cut out for them in Amman. Kenya and Ethiopia are expected to be at the top again this year, leaving the rest of the world fighting over the final medal spot. Ethiopia is lead by 2008 runner-up Ayele Abshiro. Uganda was 3rd at last year's meet and Eritrea was 2nd 2 years ago. Both field a strong team each year. Middle Eastern countries, such as Qatar and Bahrain, will most likely benefit from this years venue. The Bahraini team, made up of mostly Ethiopian and Kenyan born athletes, won the Asian Cross Country Championships earlier this month and looks to place highly at the World meet. They have an individual medal contender in Ethiopian born Alemu Bekele, who changed allegiances only a few months ago. A young crop of Australian harriers are being lauded as a distance running revolution for their home country. 18 year old Ryan Gregson, who has run 3:37 1,500, as well as Richard Everest, 18, and Cameron Page, 17, are Australia's answer to Fernandez, Derrick and Puskedra. Page will unfortunately not be running in Jordan since he was too sick to run the trials, but Everest boasts a 13:49 5k best. He and Gregson could both be a factor up front for their team.

The junior men will not be the only runners competing for America this weekend. The junior women are led by NCAA DII Cross runner-up and US Junior Champion Neely Spence and 2007 Foot Locker Champ Ashley Brasovan. The Senior men will be with out the top 2 finishers from the US Champs, but will have NCAA 5k Champ Bobby Curtis, Ed Moran, Ed Torres, OSU's Ryan Vail, and Bret Gotcher. The senior women's team consists of Katy Newberry, Julie Culley, Samia Akbar, Rebecca Donaghue, Oregon's Lindsey Scherf and 'Hey There' Delilah DiCrescenzo. However, it is the junior men who look to have the best chance to bring an individual or team medal home to the US and help end this drought that has been plaguing the country for decades. Ritz, Teg and the 2001 junior squad gave us a light drizzle. Hopefully 2009 is the year the skies open up again for America.