Photo above: Washington, DC's Sharon Donovan is twelfth among open women for the summer season.

Open Women
For whatever reason, the foreign influence was virtually non- existent in the Summer rankings period. Nevertheless, there were 13 qualifying runners. The top spot goes to Olympic Trials qualifier Christina Wells of Woodbridge, Virginia. The showdown race was the Race for the Cure, where Wells (16:41) defeated second-ranked Sharon Lemberger (17:39) of Washington, DC, and fifth-ranked Lisa Thomas (17:41) of Alexandria, Virginia.

The most competitive race was the Rockville Rotary Twilighter 8K, where Lemberger (28:22) defeated third-ranked Victoria Lynch (28:52) of Washington, DC, fourth-ranked Susannah Kvasnicka (29:10) of Great Falls, Virginia, and fifth-ranked Lisa Thomas (29:17) of Alexandria. The oldest ranker was 45-year-old Olympic Trials qualifier Lee DiPietro of Ruxton, Maryland, and the youngest was 22-year-old Samia Akbar of Herndon, Virginia.

 Pl	Name	          Age	Hometown
  1	Christina Wells    29	Woodbridge, VA
  2	Sharon Lemberger   30	Washington, DC
  3	Victoria Lynch	   30	Washington, DC
  4	Susannah Kvasnicka 32	Great Falls, VA
  5	Lisa Thomas	   28	Alexandria, VA
  6	Naoko Ishibe	   35	Silver Spring, MD
  7	Samia Akbar	   22	Herndon, VA
  8	Alisa Harvey	   38	Manassas, VA
  9	Jackie Concaugh	   28	Alexandria, VA
 10	Jill Krebs	   23	New Windsor, MD
 11	Lee DiPietro	   45	Ruxton, MD
 12	Sharon Donovan	   29	Washington, DC
 13	Victoria McParland 28	Rockville, MD

Women 35 - 39
Photo by George Banker: Kelly Barton of Baltimore is eleventh in the 35-39 division.

Spring champion Naoko Ishibe of Silver Spring, Maryland again leads the category. Her best race was a 17:05 at the Baltimore Women's Classic 5K, defeating fifth-ranked Maureen Hall (19:10) of LaVale, Maryland.

Second is 2003 runner-up Alisa Harvey of Manassas, Virginia, whose best race was a 17:47 at the 9-11 Memorial 5K in Arlington, Virginia. Third is Christina Morganti of Severna Park, Maryland, who ran a 31:00 at the Dawson's Father's Day 5- Mile in Annapolis. Christy Underdonk of Kensington, Maryland is fourth, with her best race being an 18:40 at Bethesda's Capital Crescent 5K. Ishibe and Harvey also qualified in the Open division.

 Pl	Name    	  Age	Hometown
  1	Naoko Ishibe	   35	Silver Spring, MD
  2	Alisa Harvey	   38	Manassas, VA
  3	Christina Morganti 39	Severna Park, MD
  4	Christy Underdonk  35	Kensington, MD
  5	Maureen Hall	   39	LaVale, MD
  6	Helen Beven	   36	Kensington, MD
  7	Denise Knickman	   35	Baltimore, MD
  8	Maureen Ackerly    35	Richmond, VA
  9	Kristin DiDomenico 37	Potomac Falls, VA
 10	Maria Kozloski	   38	Washington, DC
 11	Kelly Barton	   39	Baltimore, MD
 12	Meredith Valmon	   35	Rockville, MD
 13	Roxann Polo-Reasor 38	Blacksburg, VA
 14	Susan Volpe	   35	Herndon, VA
 15	Linda Sawvell	   38	Newport News, VA
 16	Lana Marsh	   37	Fredericksburg, VA

Women 40 - 44
The 40-44 division was again quite competitive, with 17 runners qualifying. Monica Grillo of Arlington, Virginia enters the division with a bang, taking the top spot. The decisive race was the Annapolis 10-Mile, where Grillo (1:08:17) defeated second- ranked Jill Hargis (photo at left, 1:09:24) of Annapolis, and fourth-ranked Julie Thienel (1:09:30) of Columbia, Maryland.

Laura Freix of Centreville, Virginia is third. She ran 19:23 at Fairfax's Tim Harmon 5K to defeat fifth-ranked Leslie Minnix- Wolfe (19:35) of Herndon, Virginia. Spring and 2003 champion Maria Spinnler is only seventh this time, having not faced off against any of the other top 17 runners.


Photo below: Cathy Friedel travels up to the DC area from Solomons, MD to race and is currently ranked eleventh.

 Pl	Name    	Age	Hometown
  1	Monica Grillo	 40	Arlington, VA
  2	Jill Hargis	 43	Annapolis, MD
  3	Laura Freix	 42	Centreville, VA
  4	Julie Thienel	 40	Columbia, MD
  5	Leslie Minnix-Wolfe 42	Herndon, VA
  6	Robyn Humphrey	 40	Ellicott City, MD
  7	Maria Spinnler	 42	Hagerstown, MD
  8	Andrea Wright	 42	Charlottesville, VA
  9	Gloria Santarpia 42	Odenton, MD
 10	Pat Keating	 43	Dayton, MD
 11	Cathy Friedel	 40	Solomons, MD
 12     Patricia Zerfas  42     Kensington, MD
 13	Donna Karasic	 40	Baltimore, MD
 14	Donna Elder	 41	Forest, VA
 15	Sushila Nanda	 43	Arlington, VA
 16	Marjorie Boyd	 42	Annapolis, MD
 17	Laeticia Warring 41	Reston, VA
 18	Pamela Lovett	 41	Newport News, VA

Women 45 - 49
The 45-49 division was very strong in the Summer period, with 19 qualifiers. The top two runners would also have led the 40-44 division. Unfortunately, none of the top five runners competed against each other.

The Spring and 2003 champion, Lee DiPietro of Ruxton, Maryland, again tops the category. Her best performance was a 17:53 at Baltimore's Bay Cafe Labor Day 5K. A strong second is Patty Shull of Asburn, Virginia, whose performances include a 37:55 at Washington's Lawyers Have Heart 10K. Third-ranked Dorothy Beckett of Columbia, Maryland ran a 20:51 at Columbia's Women's Distance Festival 5K, and fourth-ranked Alison Suckling ran a 42:48 at the Crofton 10K. Both edged fifth-ranked Debbie Flynn of Gaithersburg, Maryland, on the basis of quality of competition defeated. Flynn's best performance was a 33:41 at Rockville's Twilight 8K.

 Pl	Name      	   Age	Hometown
  1	Lee DiPietro	    45	Ruxton, MD
  2	Patty Shull	    45	Ashburn, VA
  3	Dorothy Beckett	    46	Columbia, MD
  4	Alison Suckling	    48	Arnold, MD
  5	Debbie Flynn	    48	Gaithersburg, MD
  6	Carole Rosasco	    45	Arnold, MD
  7	Robin Goodwin	    45	Timonium, MD
  8	Carol Talley	    49	Toano, VA
  9	Dorothy Winn	    48	Norfolk, VA
 10	Carole Roeder	    47	Ashburn, VA
 11	Laura Roman	    49	Baltimore, MD
 12	Elizabeth Snyderwine 46	Potomac, MD
 13	Becky Roed	    45	Springfield, VA
 14	Linda Ingleson	    46	Williamsburg, VA
 15	Claudia Mackintosh  49	Norfolk, VA
 16	Mary Cupo	    48	Baltimore, MD
 17	Myra Washington	    47	Montgomery Vill., MD
 18	Jenny Rexrode	    49	Fredericksburg, VA
 19	Lisa Schrader	    49	Annapolis, MD

Women 50 - 54
The baby boom generation produced a very competitive age group, with 20 runners qualifying. Linell Smith of Baltimore is number one, based largely on Baltimore's MCVET 10K, where Smith (45:41) defeated second-ranked 2003 and Winter rankings leader Betty Blank (47:09) of Falls Church, Virginia, and fifth-ranked Mary Lang (47:22) of Pasadena, Maryland. Smith's best time was a 21:04 at Baltimore's Bay Cafe Labor Day 5K.

The second spot was decided by Washington's Lawyers Have Heart 10K, where Blank (41:56) decisively defeated third-ranked Patty Donohue (45:15) of Alexandria, Virginia. Donohue's best race was the Annapolis 10-Mile, where she ran 1:18:49 to beat the top- ranked Smith. Fourth is Linda Gulick from Richmond, Virginia, whose best performance was a 21:58 at Richmond's Race Against Domestic Violence 5K.

 Pl	Name     	 Age	Hometown
  1	Linell Smith	  51	Baltimore, MD
  2	Betty Blank	  50	Falls Church, VA
  3	Patty Donohue	  50	Alexandria, VA
  4	Linda Gulick	  52	Richmond, VA
  5	Mary Lang	  50	Pasadena, MD
  6	Maria Shields	  53	Davidsonville, MD
  7	Jean Lauzon	  51	Spotsylvania, VA
  8	Donna Nidds	  52	Brambleton, VA
  9	Karen Erb	  53	Alexandria, VA
 10	Peggy Davis	  52	Falls Church, VA
 11	Rita Twist	  51	Linthicum Hills, MD
 12	Diana Joaquin	  51	Arlington, VA
 13	Patricia Gilley	  51	King William, VA
 14	Linda Mills	  54	Salisbury, MD
 15	Stephanie Shipp	  50	Great Falls, VA
 16	Lainey Bernstein  51	Potomac, MD
 17	Brenda Mitchell	  53	Williamsburg, VA
 18	Kathy Hennes	  52	Laurel, MD
 19	Betsy Henderson	  51	Roanoke, VA
 20	Giovanna Tosato	  54	Bethesda, MD

Women 55 - 59
The 55-59 age group has also gotten much stronger, with 17 runners qualifying in the Summer period, compared to only seven a year before. Alice Franks continues to dominate the division. The most decisive race was the Rockville Twilight 8K, where Franks (36:42) beat third-ranked Freyda Greenberg (38:57) of Falls Church, Virginia, and fourth-ranked Catherine Van Brocklin (39:37) of Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Second is Rose Malloy of Annapolis, who ran 1:22:02 at the Annapolis 10-Mile, to beat Van Brocklin (1:27:36). Malloy also beat fifth-ranked Meredith Bonta twice--36:11 at Annapolis's Dawson's Father's Day 5-Mile to beat Bonta's 39:49, and also 21:53 at Annapolis's Women's Distance Festival 5K to again beat Bonta (23:41).

 Pl	Name     	  Age	Hometown
  1	Alice Franks	   55	Rockville, MD
  2	Rose Malloy	   55	Annapolis, MD
  3	Freyda Greenberg   55	Falls Church, VA
  4	Catherine Van Brocklin 57 Gaithersburg, MD
  5	Meredith Bonta	   58	Crofton, MD
  6	Mary Napoleon	   58	Batesville, VA
  7	Chris Craun	   58	Bethesda, MD
  8	Nancy Avitabile	   56	Bethesda, MD
  9	Nancy Crippen	   57	Stafford, VA
 10	Jane Poole	   56	Falls Church, VA
 11	Betty Brothers	   57	Virginia Beach, VA
 12	Colleen Himelright 56	Fredericksburg, VA
 13	Mary Saunders	   59	Vinton, VA
 14	Christy St. Clair  55	Fork, MD
 15	Barbara Biasi	   56	Yorktown, VA
 16	June Schneider	   57	Millersville, MD
 17	Ann Hirn	   58	Portsmouth, VA

Women 60 - 64
Sharon Dolan of Gaithersburg, Maryland, the 2003 champion, again leads the Summer rankings period, followed by 2003 runner-up Joan Coven of Williamsburg, Virginia. Dolan's biggest rankings challenge was the Bethesda's Burning Tree 5K, where Dolan (22:25) defeated third-ranked Dee Nelson (24:28) of Gaithersburg.

The second-ranked Joan Coven's best race was 22:37 at Williamsburg's Run for Mental Health 5K. Nelson gets third in a very close call over Priscilla Prunella (photo left of Prunella) of Rockville, Maryland. The two runners split in two decisions, with Nelson (27:24) defeating Prunella (28:01) at the Cross-Country 5K in Comus, Maryland, and Prunella (25:59) defeating Nelson (27:34) at the Gaithersburg Cross-Country 5K. Nelson gets the very slight edge due to more qualifying performances. Fifth is Judith Gilbert of Stevenson, Maryland, whose best performance was a 1:42:42 at the Leesburg 20K.

 Pl	Name            	Age	Hometown
  1	Sharon Dolan      	61	Gaithersburg, MD
  2	Joan Coven        	62	Williamsburg, VA
  3	Dee Nelson       	60	Gaithersburg, MD
  4	Priscilla Prunella	60	Rockville, MD
  5	Judith Gilbert    	60	Stevenson, MD
  6	Nancy Jakubec   	61	Richmond, VA
  7	Muffet Chatterton	60	Crofton, MD
  8	Elizabeth Schwartz	62	Laurel, MD
  9	Mary Ann O'Connor	62	Reston, VA
 10	Janet Newburgh   	62	Rockville, MD
 11	Jeannette Novak 	60	Damascus, MD

Women 65 - 69
Winter and 2003 champion Tami Graf of Lusby, Maryland takes first in the 65-69 division. The only race featuring two of the top five runners was the Run for Roses 5K in Wheaton, Maryland, where Graf (27:24) defeated fourth-ranked Anna Berdahl (28:24) of Silver Spring, Maryland.

Second was Arlowene Garland of Warsaw, Virginia, whose best was a 26:55 at Fredericksburg's Run for Shelter 5K. Third-ranked E.C. Williams, the Spring champion, also ran under 27 minutes, recording a fine 26:57 at the Metro Run & Walk 5K in Vienna, Virginia. Jill Mottus of Baltimore is fifth. Her best race was a 29:19 at Baltimore's Women's Classic 5K.

 Pl	Name      	Age	Hometown
  1	Tami Graf	67	Lusby, MD
  2	Arlowene Garland 65	Warsaw, VA
  3	E.C. Williams	65	Reston, VA
  4	Anna Berdahl	65	Silver Spring, MD
  5	Jill Mottus	66	Baltimore, MD
  6	Jamie Wollard	65	Rockville, MD
  7	Pauline Ely	65	Hampton, VA
  8	Nancy Fraser	67	Charlottesville, VA
  9	Ann Manciagli	68	Williamsburg, VA
 10	Lilli Metzger	68	Silver Spring, MD
 11	Roberta Presby	68	Virginia Beach, VA

Women 70 - 74
Pat Ewell, the 2003 and Winter champion, takes the age group, defeating 2003 runner-up and Spring champion, Yvonne Aasen of Severna Park, Maryland. Ewell's edge is very narrow, and was based on number of qualifying performances, because none of the top five runners competed against each other. Ewell's best time was a 30:13 at Williamsburg's Warhill 5K.

Second-ranked Aasen ran a fine 1:03:06 at the Crofton 10K, and third-ranked Joanne Mallet of Rockville, Maryland recorded a 31:41 at the Women's Distance Festival 5K in College Park, Maryland. Jacqueline O'Neil of Washington, DC takes fourth, with a best of 1:09:40 at the Lawyers Have Heart 10K, and Lee Glassco of McLean, Virginia is fifth. Her best race was a 35:44 at Bethesda's Capital Crescent 5K.

 Pl	Name      	  Age	Hometown
  1	Pat Ewell	  70	Williamsburg, VA
  2	Yvonne Aasen	  72	Severna Park, MD
  3	Joanne Mallet	  70	Rockville, MD
  4	Jacqueline O'Neil 72	Washington, DC
  5	Lee Glassco	  72	McLean, VA

Women 75 & Over
The oldest woman qualifier is 80-year-old Louise Akers of Christiansburg, Virginia, who also leads the category. She ran a fine 38:06 at the Salem Distance Run 5K. Second is Martha Trimmer of Baltimore, whose best was a 44:32 at Baltimore's MCVET 5K. Rounding out the category is Mildred Lieder of Silver Spring, Maryland.

 Pl	Name      	 Age	Hometown
  1	Louise Akers	 80	Christiansburg, VA
  2	Martha Trimmer	 75	Baltimore, MD
  3	Mildred Lieder	 77	Silver Spring, MD

See the Men's Summer 2004 WRR Runner Rankings