Open Men
(Photo: Craig Morrell of Baltimore, MD is 5th in the Open division)

Chris Banks won every race he entered this winter, and had three of the five fastest times this ranking period by men eligible to hold a ranking. Banks's best effort was a 24:23 at the DCRRC Turkey Trot Five Miler. This Springfield resident did not stop there, however. At the Red Ribbon 5K, he ran 14:54 to cross the line first, and at the George Washington Birthday Classic 10K, he looked sharp in 31:18. At only 23, we expect to see Banks at the top of these rankings for years to come.

Blacksburg's George Probst raced five times this ranking period, and all were top five finishes. He also owns the second fastest time run this winter, a 30:59 run at the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 10K, where he finished in second place overall, and more importantly for his ranking, beat Erik Kweder by eleven seconds. Probst also won the Rotary Resolution 10K and finished third overall at the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon. Kweder, who at age 23 is yet another youngster to reckon with, is our third ranked runner. Despite losing to Probst at the Jingle Bell race, he was a very strong contender this winter, winning the Potter Homes Turkey Trot in 15:03 over Jason Van Horn and Probst.

(Photo: Michael Mann of Hampton, VA, ranked 7th among open men.)

Fourth, fifth and sixth places are so close this winter it was almost impossible to rank these guys. In the end, fourth goes to Glen Mays, who ran 54:51 at the RRCA Ten Mile Challenge, and in doing so beat Craig Morrell who finished second in 55:59. Morrell, to his credit, gets fifth place because he beat Jason Van Horn at the George Washington Birthday Classic 10K, crossing the line in 32:30, as compared to Van Horn's 32:53. To Van Horn's credit, he had a stellar winter, beating George Probst at the Potter Homes race, and finishing the Red Ribbon 5K in fourth place, just behind Probst. Still, he must settle for sixth this winter.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Chris Banks	        Springfield, VA	
  2	George Probst	        Blacksburg, VA	
  3	Erik Kweder	        Alexandria, VA	
  4	Glen Mays	        Washington, DC	
  5	Craig Morell	        Baltimore, MD	
  6	Jason Van Horn	        Fredericksburg, VA	
  7	Mike Mann	        Hampton, VA	
  8	Andre Smith	        Hayes, VA	
  9	Horton Heat	        Washington, DC	
 10	Eric Desautels	        Arlington, VA	
 11	Gregory Moliterno	Williamsburg, VA	
 12	Douglass Marshall	Matthews, VA	
 13	Mark Manny		
 14	Eric Sorenson 	        Falls Church, VA	
 15	Chad Walton	        Stafford, VA	
 16	Rob Magin	        Gaithersburg, MD	
 17	Sean Dinces	        Corona, CA	
 18	Mike Wardian	        Arlington, VA	
 19	Aaron Church	        South Riding, VA	
 20	Todd Martin	        Herndon, VA	

Men 35 - 39
(Photo: John Dill of Norfolk, VA is ranked 7th in the submasters category)

The men's 35-39 division is generally a small group; however, it always yields some strong performers. Leading the charge this winter is John Piggott, who ran 1:11:49 at the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon to finish in sixth place overall. Piggott got his second time at the Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon where he finished just outside the top ten overall, but was the first man over 35 to finish.

Mark Hoon finished seventh at the RRCA Ten Mile Challenge, beating out good age group competition from Steve Jaeger and David Brendle. The 56:31 that Hoon ran at the ten miler was his best performance of the season; however, he also had a second place finish at the Country Road Run Five Miler, where he crossed the line in 27:17.

Ted Poulos, in his swan song in this age group, grabs the third slot, the result of his 26:42 showing at the DCRRC Turkey Trot. Poulos also won the Belle Haven Half Marathon in 1:15:23; and was second at the Jingle Bell Jog 8K in 27:35.

Fourth and fifth place were determined at the RRCA Ten Mile Challenge when Steve Jaeger ran 57:37 to beat David Brendle, who crossed the line in 58:03. Jaeger also finished in the top ten at the DCRRC Turkey Trot, in 27:22, not far behind Poulos. Brendle got his second qualifying time at the George Washington Classic 10K, where he actually had his best race, finishing in sixth place with a time of 33:32.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	John Piggott	        Virginia Beach, VA
  2     Mark Hoon               Kensington, MD	
  3	Ted Poulos	        McLean, VA	
  4	Steve Jaeger	        Alexandria, VA	
  5	David Brendle	        Baltimore, MD	
  6	Greg West	        Ruther Glen, VA	
  7	John Dill	        Norfolk, VA	
  8	Ian Clemants	        Arlington, VA	
  9	J. Scott Mersiowsky	Fredericksburg, VA	
 10	Brad Rippey	        Fredericksburg, VA	
 11	Bryan Mordecai		

Men 40 - 44
The men's masters division is a notoriously fast and competitive group, so earning the top slot is no small accomplishment. This winter, the crown goes to Virginia Beach's Dai Roberts, who won the masters division of the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon with a time of 1:12:21 for his best race of the season. Roberts also got qualifying times at the Tidewater Striders Tune Up 20K and the Virginia Beach Turkey Trot 10K, which he won in a time of 33:07.

Second in this group belongs to Jim Hage, who is actually the owner of the fastest time run this winter. Hage finished fourth at the DCRRC 26th Annual Turkey Trot Five Miler, where he ran 25:54. Hage also won the Washington's Birthday 5K, the Carrabas 5K, and the Greenbelt 10 Miler, making him well deserving of the runner-up slot.

Joe Abernethy had to earn his third place ranking, taking on and beating age-group newcomer Ted Poulos not once, but twice. Abernethy ran 56:08 for his best race of the season and finished the RRCA Ten Mile Challenge more than two minutes ahead of Poulos. At the Country Road Run, Abernethy blasted across the line in 27:26 to take third place overall. Poulos, however, is our clear fourth place finisher, as he is the only other man to own a "top ten" time run by men ranked in this division this winter. Poulos managed to get in ten qualifying times after his fortieth birthday this winter. His best race was a 33:46 at the George Washington Birthday 10K, where he finished eighth.

Finally, rounding out the top five, we have Jean-Christopher Arcaz of Rockville, who had his best race at the George Washington Birthday Classic, finishing in the top twenty in a time a 35:08. Arcaz also finished fourth at the Belle Haven Half Marathon, with a time of 1:21:30.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Dai Roberts	        Virginia Beach, VA	
  2	Jim Hage	        Lanham, MD	
  3	Joe Abernethy	        College Park, MD	
  4	Ted Poulos	        McLean, VA	
  5	Jean-Christopher Arcaz	Rockville, MD	
  6	Jim Wadsworth	        Alexandria, VA	
  7	Steve Dietz	        Springfield, VA	
  8	Terry McLaughlin	Spotsylvania, VA	
  9	Larry Ormerod	        Elizabeth City, NC	
 10	Steven Berry	        Ashburn, VA	
 11	Jimmy Price	        Stafford, VA	
 12	Neville Anderson	Baltimore, MD	
 13	David Haaga	        Rockville, MD	
 14	Bill Bustin		
 15	Doug Kuderna		
 16	Jerry Chapman		
 17	Marty Horan	        Gaithersburg, MD	
 18	David Kelly	        Potomac, MD	
 19	Paul Hough	        Arlington, VA	
 20	Mark Castell	        Dallastown, PA	
 21	Ronald Hess	        Takoma Park, MD	
 22	Fesshaye Haile	        Virginia Beach, VA	
 23	Rob Levinsky	        Virginia Beach, VA	
 24	Marty Stiegmann	        Glen Allen, VA	
 25	Paul Boyette		
 26	Bret Schmidt	        Woodbridge, VA	

Men 45 - 49
Dan Lawson of Gaithersburg is our clear winner this winter, as he is the only man in this group to run a sub-35:00 10K equivalent. As a matter of fact, he did it not once, but three times, representing the three fastest times run by men ranked in this group. Lawson's best race was a 41:42 at the Carderock 12K, where he was also the overall winner. Lawson also won Rockville's Jingle Bell Jog and the Reston Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 8K.

Jim Bates of Hopewell is almost as fast as Lawson, and we awarded him the second place ranking. Bates's best race was a top twenty finish at the Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon, where he covered the course in 1:17:49. Bates was also sharp at the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon, where he finished just outside the top twenty, winning his age division in 1:18:25. At the Pomoco race, Mike Fuller had his best race of the season, and was a mere ten seconds behind Bates, taking second in the age division there, and with it, third in these rankings. Fuller was also behind Bates at the Colonial Half Marathon, finishing that race in 1:19:30.

Peter Kirk turned in two strong performances this winter, the best of which was a 59:06 at the RRCA 10 Mile Challenge, where he finished in the top twenty. Of course, he wasn't bad at the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 10K either, clearing that course in 35:40 to finish just outside the top ten in eleventh place. These two races are evidence that Kirk is fast enough to be ranked fourth. Finally, rounding out the top five is David Webster who earns his slot with a valiant effort to chase down Kirk at the RRCA race. Webster came up a little short, finishing in 59:29, for his best showing of the season.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Dan Lawson	        Gaithersburg, MD	
  2	Jim Bates	        Hopewell, VA	
  3	Mike Fuller	        Chesapeake, VA	
  4	Peter Kirk	        Rockville, MD	
  5	David Webster	        Stevensville, MD	
  6	Jeff Douglass	        Chesapeake, VA	
  7	David McDonald	        Norfolk, VA	
  8	Robert Rodriguez	Arlington, VA	
  9	Dave Bollinger	        Kensington, MD 	
 10	Jim Whitnah	        Chevy Chase, MD	
 11	Brent Phillips	        Frederick, MD	
 12	Bruce Delaplane	        Bethesda, MD	
 13	Steve Lerner	        Glen Allen, VA	
 14	Richard Morgan	        Silver Spring, MD	
 15	Steven Johnson	        Alexandria, VA	
 16	Frank Faykes	        Alexandria, VA	
 17	Peter Clardy	        Rockville, MD	
 18	Roger Claussen	        Woodbridge, VA	
 19	John Price	        Virginia Beach, VA	
 20	Jim Adams		
 21	Denis McDonald	        Woodbine, MD	

Men 50 - 54
The men's 50-54 division is consistently the most difficult division to rank-there is considerable head-to-head competition, and many of the age group rivalries tend to swing both ways. The only ranking that was truly self-evident in this group was the top slot, which belongs to Chuck Moeser. Moeser owns the fastest five times run in this division, and, even at age 50, is still capable of finishing races in the top five. Moeser's fastest race was a 1:15:51 at the Running Crab Half Marathon which put him 15th in the men's division and second in the over 40 category.

Second place was considerably less clear. In the end, we chose to award it to Richard Adams, who beat out Jay Wind at Rudolph's Red Nose 10K and the George Washington Birthday Classic 10K. Adams's fastest race, however was an 18:11 at the Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K. Third place then belongs to Jay Wind, largely in recognition of the 37:55 he turned in at the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis10K; a performance in which he beat Chevy Chase's David Lowe by a mere 5 seconds. This time also made Wind the second fastest man, behind Moeser, on any race course this winter, so he earns a berth in the top three.

Since Wind just edged Lowe at the Jingle Bell race, it is only fair to award fourth place to Lowe. Lowe unfortunately did not run more races against age group competition; however, he did get a second qualifying time at the Turkey Burn-Off Ten Miler, where he ran 1:05:28.

Fifth and sixth place in this division were very close again, this time between Mick Slonaker and Richard Morgan. The two ran head-to-head twice this winter, with each man coming out ahead once. At the Carrabas 5K, Slonaker beat Morgan by nearly 30 seconds; however, at the RRCA 10 Mile Challenge, Morgan was nearly 30 seconds better. In the end, we awarded Morgan fifth place because he had a third qualifying time; a 1:25:18 at the B&A Trail Half Marathon. Slonaker must settle for sixth.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Chuck Moeser	        Sterling, VA	
  2	Richard Adams	        Herndon, VA	
  3	Jay Wind	        Arlington, VA	
  4	David Lowe 	        Chevy Chase, MD	
  5	Richard Morgan	        Silver Spring, MD	
  6	Mick Slonaker	        Columbia, MD	
  7	Bill Hart 		
  8	Kevin Breen	        Fredericksburg, VA	
  9	George Neil	        Williamsburg, VA	
 10	Per Kristiansen	        Virginia Beach, VA	
 11	Earl Swartzendruber	Cockeysville, MD	
 12	Eric Peltosalo		
 13	William English	        New Carrollton, MD	
 14	Larry Coley		
 15	Bill Alto	        Newport News, VA	
 16	Harry Wiggins	        Lake Ridge, VA	
 17	Dave Crawford	        Arlington, VA	
 18	Henry Danver	        Gaithersburg, MD	
 19	Patrick Gary	        Manchester, PA	
 20	Wilson Truehart	        Baltimore, MD	
 21	Marc Wolfson	        Olney, MD	
 22	Paul Steele		
 23	Rod Whibley		
 24	Steve Tyndall	        Yorktown, VA	

Men 55 - 59
As is quickly becoming the norm, Alexandria's Patrick Griffith is the champion of this division this ranking period. There is certainly a long list of reasons why Griffith is deserving of this spot. First, he is the only man in this division to run nothing but times that translate into 10K equivalents under 40:00. By comparison to some ranking periods, this was not a particularly prolific period for Griffith; however, he still managed five qualifying times, and several top twenty finishes. His fastest race was the Riverbank 12K, where he ran 46:06. He was also on hand at the Colonial Half Marathon, where he ran 1:26:22 to easily capture the division.

At the Colonial Half Marathon, Colonial Heights's Ben Dyer finished second in division behind Griffith, running over the line in 1:28:59. While this was certainly a strong performance, it was Dyer's other race, the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon, where he was more than a minute faster, completing the course in 1:27:49 to win the division there that earns him the second slot in the rankings.

Third and fourth place were determined at the Colonial Half Marathon as well, where Batersville's Emmons Welch beat Fairfax's Jim Noone, thus making Welch our third ranked runner, while Noone must settle for fourth. Welch was also third in the division at the Running Crab race, where he had his best performance of the winter, a 1:29:02.

Eight times this winter Jim Noone crossed the line under the qualifying standard, making him one of the group's most prolific runners in addition to one of the fastest. Noone's best race was a 19:11 at the Red Ribbon 5K.

Finally, rounding out the top five is Arthur Burger of Doylestown, PA who earns his slot with a very impressive showing at the Northern Central Trail Marathon, where he ran 3:08:04, and beat strong age group competition from Ronnie Wong. Burger's second qualifying time was a 3:10:08 at the B&A Trail Marathon.

Place	Name	                        Hometown	
  1	Patrick Griffith	        Alexandria, VA	
  2	Ben Dyer	                Colonial Heights, VA	
  3	Emmons Welch	                Batesville, VA	
  4	Jim Noone	                Fairfax, VA	
  5	Arthur Burger	                Doylestown, PA	
  6	Ronnie Wong	                Catonsville, MD	
  7	John Haubert	                Alexandria, VA	
  8	John Loughran	                Sandston, VA	
  9	Jim Bell	                Charlottesville, VA	
 10	Steve Frisk	                Virginia Beach, VA	
 11	Bob Chase	                Falls Church, VA	
 12	Robert Trost	                Falls Church, VA	
 13	James Daley	                Alexandria, VA	
 14	Michael Golash	                Washington, DC	
 15	Lawrence Davis		
 16	Maurice Franklin Davidson	Fredericksburg, VA	

Men 60 - 64
Newport News's Winston Collins is our leader in the 60-64 division for the winter. Collins earns his division win with the two fastest times among the ranked this winter, and the distinction of being the only man over age 60 to run a 10K equivalent time under 40:00. Collins's best race was a 1:27:43 at the Anheuser Busch Colonial Half Marathon, a performance he backs up with a 1:28:36 finish at the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon.

Our runner-up this winter is John Elliott of Columbia, who turned in four qualifying times, the most impressive of which was 1:07:03 at the RRCA Ten Miler, where he finished in the top 100 overall. Elliott also had a top ten finish this winter, finishing ninth at the Frozen Finger Four Miler in 25:54.

Mel Williams, who is no stranger to the top of the rankings, is our third place finisher this winter, a slot he earns with six strong qualifying times, including a 1:29:51 at the Running Crab Half Marathon, allowing him to finish in the top 100 at less than a minute behind Collins. Williams's best performance, however, was a 2:10:15 at the Tidewater Striders Tune-Up 30K.

Fourth and fifth places were determined at the Superbowl 5K where Baltimore's John Pitarra and Chan Robbins of Arlington went head to head. Robbins made a valiant effort, but Pitarra made it to the line in 19:55, a mere nine seconds ahead of Robbins who came across in 20:04. As a result, Pitarra is fourth and Robbins must settle for fifth this winter.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Winston Collins, Sr.	Newport News, VA	
  2	John Elliott	        Columbia, MD	
  3	Mel Williams	        Norfolk, VA	
  4	John Pitarra	        Baltimore, MD	
  5	Chan Robbins	        Arlington, VA	
  6	Skip Mullaney	        Charlottesville, VA	
  7	Stephen Forman	        McLean, VA	
  8	Robert Wright	        Hampton, VA	
  9	Warren J Prunella	Rockville, MD	
 10	Ron Bolt		
 11	Donald Powers	        Greenwood, VA	
 12	Maurice Davidson	Fredericksburg, VA	
 13	Terry Derk	        Dauphin, PA	
 14	Claude Bell		
 15	Harry Watson		
 16	Ed Brinkley 		
 17	John Munday 		
 18	John Gluck	        Alexandria, VA	
 19	Stan Neumann	        Timonium, MD	
 20	Charles Ross		
 21	Bob Eldridge	        Reston, VA	
 22	Jimmy Williamson	Petersburg, VA	
 23	Milton Swan	        Baltimore, MD	
 24	William Brandenstein	Ellicott City, MD	

Men 65 - 69
Tom Ray (photo) of Kitty Hawk was the fastest man on the road this season in this division, and he is clearly the title holder in this group. Ray had five qualifying times this winter, including the two fastest times run by men ranked in this group. And, he saved his best for when it counted, as he ran two incredibly consistent half marathons, finishing the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon in 1:36:36 and the Colonial Half Marathon in 1:36:39 for his two best performances.

Alexandria's Maynard Weyers is our runner-up, a slot he earns by being the only man besides Ray who was able to post a 10K equivalent time under 45:00. Weyers's best race was a 21:16 (44:22) at the Superbowl 5K. However, he backed that performance up with strong showings at the DCRRC Turkey Trot Five Miler and the Red Ribbon 5K, where he beat out Richard Williams. Leonard Morgan grabbed the third place ranking with a 22:08 showing at the Towson Turkey Trot 5K. Morgan got his second time at the RRCA Ten Mile Challenge where he ran 1:2205.

Chris Catoe of Virginia Beach turned in ten qualifying times for us to consider, and he is rewarded with the fourth place ranking in this group. He earns his spot primarily on his head-to-head triumph over Richard Williams at the Running Crab Half Marathon, where he crossed the line in 1:42:59, an impressive two-and-a- half minutes ahead of Williams, for his best showing of the season.

Finally, rounding out the top five in this group is Richard Williams, who had six qualifying times, the best of which were a 22:54 at the Red Ribbon 5K and a 47:48 at the George Washington Birthday Classic 10K.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Tom Ray	                Kitty Hawk, NC	
  2	Maynard Weyers	        Alexandria, VA	
  3	Leonard Morgan, Sr.		
  4	Chris Catoe	        Virginia Beach, VA	
  5	Richard Williams	Alexandria, VA	
  6	Alan Rider	        Reston, VA	
  7	John Essery	        Williamsburg, VA	
  8	George Beasley, Jr.	Mechanicsville, VA	
  9	Robert Smith	        Comus, MD	
 10	Kimball Kahn		
 11	Bill Spruill		
 12	Mike Kelly	        Newport News, VA	
 13	Stanley J Witomski	Hanover, MD	
 14	George Schell	        Norfolk, VA	
 15	Thomas Kurihara	        Arlington, VA	
 16	Al Marcy	        Centreville, VA	
 17	Mike Davila		
 18	Duane Lougee	        Norfolk VA	

Men 70 -74
The top slot in the 70-74 division was a tough call this winter. Larry Dickerson ran the fastest time of any man ranked in this group; however, the next three fastest times belong to George Yannakakis. Unfortunately, the two did not run head to head. In the end, we have awarded the top slot to Dickerson in recognition of the 36:00 performance he turned in at the DCRRC Turkey Trot 5 Miler, as well as to signify the importance of running head to head against others in your age group. Dickerson had age group victories over both Jack McMahon and Don McCarten, whereas Yannakakis did not run at all against those ranked in the age group. Yannakakis, who must settle for runner-up this time, had his best race at the Celtic Solstice Five Miler, where he ran 36:13.

Jack McMahon of Rockville was just over a minute and a half behind Dickerson at the Turkey Trot, and also came across shortly after Dickerson at the Rudolph's Red Nose 10K. In addition, he beat out fourth ranked Keith Olson at the George Washington Birthday Classic 10K by a mere fifteen seconds. As a result, we have awarded him the third place ranking this winter.

Fourth ranked Olson had his best race at the George Washington Birthday Classic, crossing the line in 49:17, to beat out our fifth ranked runner, Don McCarten. McCarten, who rounds out the age division, had his best race at the DCRRC Turkey Trot, where he ran 40:28.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
1	Larry Dickerson	        Burke, VA	
2	George Yannakakis	Sparks, MD	
3	Jack McMahon	        Rockville, MD	
4	Keith Olson	        Silver Spring, MD	
5	Don McCarten	        Falls Church VA	

Men 75 & Over
Six hearty gentlemen ages 75 and above managed to earn rankings this winter. As always, it is a familiar group, with age-group fixtures Bill Osburn, Walt Washburn, Ray Blue, Cokey Daman, and Dixon Hemphill all in the mix. Potomac's Bill Morrison, now 75, has also joined the group, and we hope to see more of him this year.

As always, the men in this group were prolific, and ran head to head frequently, so ranking them is generally easy. Osburn is once again king of this senior-most division. To his credit, he had the fastest time run by a man ranked in this group, a 26:33 at the Rotary Turkey Trot 5K, where he beat out competition from Ray Blue. Osburn also had race victories over everyone ranked in this group, save Daman who runs in the southern part of the region, and Hemphill, who had only two qualifying times.

Second and third place were determined with head-to-head competition at the Rudolph's Red Nose 10K, where Washburn upended Blue by more than two minutes, crossing the line in 57:05, as compared to Blue's 59:12. As a result, we have awarded Washburn second place and Blue third.

Cokey Daman, who did not face any of the other ranked runners, is the fourth place finisher, based solely on time alone. All of Daman's four qualifying times represented 10K equivalent times under 59:00, with his best being a 27:29 at the Run for Independence 5K. Finally, rounding out the top five is relative newcomer Bill Morrison, who earned his ranking when he ran 49:08 at the Over Hillandale 5 Miler. Morrison also had three other qualifying times, all of which were fast enough to put him ahead of sixth place finisher Dixon Hemphill.

Place	Name	          Hometown	
1	Bill Osburn	  Bethesda, MD	
2	Walt Washburn	  Vienna, VA	
3	Ray Blue	  Oxon Hill, MD	
4	Cokey Daman	  Virginia Beach, VA	
5	Bill Morrison	  Potomac, MD	
6	Dixon Hemphill	  Fairfax Station, VA	

See the Women's Winter 2002 WRR Runner Rankings