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Men Autumn 2003
2003 Autumn WRR Runner Rankings
Men's Division
by Roland Rust
January/February 2004
For the Washington Running Report
Photo: Ben Cooke (26) of Silver Spring, MD is 4th in the open division (Photo by Kathy Freedman)
Open Men
There were eleven qualifiers in the Open division, which was led by Araya Haregot of Washington, DC by way of Ethiopia. Haregot (50:08) defeated second-ranked Julius Gwako (50:58) of Petersburg, Virginia and Kenya at the decisive BB&T Virginia 10- Mile in Lynchburg, Virginia. Haregot also recorded an outstanding 14:29 5K at the Baltimore 5K.
Gwako had seven qualifying performances, with his best being a 1:06:50 win at the Mulberry Island Half-Marathon in Fort Eustis, Virginia, a 23:47 at the nTelos 8K in Richmond, and an exciting sprint victory over fifth-ranked Mikhail Khobotov at the Van Metre 5-Mile in Ashburn, Virginia (both timed in 23:56).
Olympic Trials qualifiers Chris Banks of Alexandria, Virginia and Aaron Church of Herndon, Virginia were ranked 8th and 10th respectively, illustrating the strength of the Open division. Haregot was the youngest qualifier, and the oldest qualifier was 45-year-old Andrey Kuznetsov of Rockville, Maryland and Russia.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Araya Haregot 22 Washington, DC
2 Julius Gwako 29 Petersburg, VA
3 John Henwood 31 Washington, DC
4 Ben Cooke 26 Silver Spring, MD
5 Mikhail Khobotov 30 Gaithersburg, MD
6 Eric Post 24 Fairfax, VA
7 Kyle Smits 24 Washington, DC
8 Chris Banks 25 Alexandria, VA
9 Andrey Kuznetsov 45 Rockville, MD
10 Aaron Church 27 Herndon, VA
11 Michael Wardian 27 Herndon, VA
Men 35 - 39
The strength of the 35-39 division was in Virginia, which contributed eight of the nine qualifiers. 2002 ratings champion John Piggott of Williamsburg, Virginia rises to the top for the first time in 2003, with the decisive race being the Mulberry Island Half-Marathon, where Piggott (1:11:31) defeated second- ranked Michael Mann (1:13:47) of Hampton, Virginia. Piggott also ran a 2:38:54 at the Anthem Bay Bridge Marathon in Virginia Beach.
Mann earned the second spot by defeating (16:03) third-ranked Robert Hinkle (16:13) of Newport News, Virginia at the William & Mary Homecoming 5K in Williamsburg, Virginia. Alex Hetherington of Stafford, Virginia is fourth in a close decision over Douglas Marocco of Quantico, Virginia. The two runners split two meetings, with Marocco (1:14:59) beating Hetherington (1:15:05) at the Quantico Half-Marathon, but Hetherington turning the tables by running 2:37:07 to beat Marocco (2:43:09) at the Marine Corps Marathon.
The only qualifier from outside Virginia was Joseph Daniels of Temple Hills, Maryland, whose best performance was a 16:38 at the Baltimore 5K. The competition in the 35-39 division was not as strong as some of the older divisions, as the leaders from the 40-44 and 45-49 divisions would also have led the 35-39.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 John Piggott 37 Williamsburg, VA
2 Michael Mann 35 Hampton, VA
3 Robert Hinkle 38 Newport News, VA
4 Alex Hetherington 36 Stafford, VA
5 Douglas Marocco 39 Quantico, VA
6 Brian Schmidt 35 Leesburg, VA
7 Joseph Daniels 36 Temple Hills, MD
8 Roberto Martinez 36 Manassas, VA
9 Sean Killeen 38 Richmond, VA
Men 40 - 44
There were 12 qualifiers in the 40-44 division, and the division was strong enough that the top-ranked runner, Joe Abernethy of College Park, Maryland, out-performed all of the runners in the 35-39 division. Abernethy leads the rankings for the second time in 2003. The best of Abernethy's five qualifying performances was a 15:53 at the Kingstowne Faith 5K in Kingstowne, Virginia. He also ran a 27:12 8K at the Kensington 8K.
Mark Donahue of Virginia Beach, Virginia takes the second spot, by virtue of a 16:03 at the Beach Ford All-American 5K in Virginia Beach, and a 26:40 at the Neptune Festival 8K, also in Virginia Beach. Neville Anderson of Baltimore takes the third spot, with six qualifying performances, including a 16:14 at the Western Family YMCA 5K in Catonsville, Maryland.
The only head-to-head match-up among the top five ranked runners decided the fourth spot in the rankings, with Jean-Christophe Arcaz (34:25) of Rockville, Maryland defeating Curtis Southern (34:35) of Urbana, Maryland at the Veterans Day 10K in Washington, DC Ted Poulos of McLean, Virginia again led the division in qualifying performances with 11.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Joe Abernethy 43 College Park, MD
2 Mark Donahue 44 Virginia Beach, VA
3 Neville Anderson 41 Woodlawn, MD
4 Jean-Christophe Arcaz 41 Rockville, MD
5 Curtis Southern 43 Urbana, MD
6 Ted Poulos 41 McLean, VA
7 Dave Haaga 41 Rockville, MD
8 Doug Kuderna 42 Odenton, MD
9 Raymond Ochs 43 Virginia Beach, VA
10 Chris Samley 40 Charlottesville, VA
11 Tim Marshall 40 Winchester, VA
12 Brian Daugherty 43 Crofton, MD
Men 45 - 49
When Andrey Kuznetsov, of Rockville, Maryland and Russia, gets into top shape he is a fearsome competitor, and he seems to be rounding into top condition now. That, combined with Spring and Summer leader Jim Hage of Kensington, Maryland not being in top form, pushed Kuznetsov to the top spot in the Fall.
Kuznetsov's stiffest competitive challenge came from fourth-ranked Dan Lawson of Kensington, Maryland in the Veterans Day 10K in Washington, DC It was no contest, as Kuznetsov (31:36) crushed Lawson (34:12) with a performance that is age-graded at the 91% level, the top age-grading achieved in any age category in the Fall rankings. Kuznetsov followed up with a 2:26:43 at the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, achieving another 91% age-graded performance. Kuznetsov's competitive performances would have made him the leader of either the 35-39 or 40-44 age divisions, and he is the oldest runner to qualify in the Open division, besting all runners older than 31.
Second-ranked is Mark Malander of Oak Hill, Virginia. Malander earned his ranking by running 57:16 to defeat third-ranked James Bates (57:53) of Hampton, Virginia and fifth-ranked Mark Carper (58:37) at the Army 10-Mile. Malander also recorded a 27:29 at the Van Metre 5-Mile.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Andrey Kuznetsov 45 Rockville, MD
2 Mark Malander 45 Oak Hill, VA
3 James Bates 46 Hampton, VA
4 Dan Lawson 46 Gaithersburg, MD
5 Mark Carper 45 Newport News, VA
6 Jim Wadsworth 46 Washington, DC
7 David Andrews 47 Bethesda, MD
8 Paul Serra 47 Lusby, MD
9 Stephen Chantry 48 Williamsburg, VA
10 Tom Blanchard 45 Virginia Beach, VA
11 Norton Compton 49 Fairfax, VA
12 Maurice Pointer 47 Baltimore, MD
13 Bruce Hamilton 48 Fairfax, VA
Men 50 - 54
Photo above: Herndon's Tim Doescher, 4th in the competitive men's 50-54 division.
This always competitive age group produced 17 qualifying runners in the Fall period. 2002 rankings champion Chuck Moeser of Sterling, Virginia led the category, and has led every ratings period in 2003.
Two races served as showdown races in the category. At the Army 10-Mile, Moeser (55:17) defeated second-ranked Rick Platt (59:04) of Williamsburg, Virginia and fourth-ranked Tim Doescher (1:02:29) of Herndon, Virginia. At the Veterans Day 10K in Washington, DC, Moeser (33:55) beat third-ranked Richard Adams (37:09) and fourth-ranked Tim Doescher (37:25), both of Herndon, Virginia.
David Webster of Stevensville, Maryland recorded some fine times, including a 36:42 at the B&A Trail 10K in Glen Burnie, Maryland, but did not run against any of the other top competitors, and thus ranks fifth.
Photo below: Dan Eddy of Alexandria, VA is ranked #6 among men 50-54
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Chuck Moeser 51 Sterling, VA
2 Rick Platt 52 Williamsburg, VA
3 Richard Adams 51 Herndon, VA
4 Tim Doescher 52 Herndon, VA
5 David Webster 50 Stevensville, MD
6 Dan Eddy 51 Kingstowne, VA
7 Shah Mehrabi 51 Fredericksburg, VA
8 Rick Hower 52 Reston, VA
9 Larry Washington 51 Rockville, MD
10 Pat Garvey 52 Bethesda, MD
11 Jay Wind 52 Arlington, VA
12 Bob Burns 50 Columbia, MD
13 Pat Gary 52 Manchester, MD
14 Bill Hart 54 Virginia Beach, VA
15 Roger Claussen 50 Woodbridge, VA
16 Dale Abrahamson 53 Yorktown, VA
17 Richard Kersey 52 Davidsonville, MD
Men 55 - 59
Seven runners qualified in the 55-59 age group, with Virginia taking six of the seven spots. Patrick Griffith of Alexandria, Virginia takes the top spot for the third time in 2003. Griffith and second-ranked Jim Noone of Fairfax, Virginia faced off three times, with Griffith coming out on top each time. At the Back to School 8K in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Griffith (31:07) beat Noone (33:07) by two minutes. At the Goblin Gallop 5K in Fairfax, the margin was even greater--18:41 to 20:46. At the Ivymount 5K in Potomac, Maryland it was Griffith (18:46) again over Noone (20:07).
Ronnie Wong of Baltimore, Maryland also ran some fast times (including a 19:16 at the Western Family 5K in Catonsville), but he ranks only third because he did not race against any of the other top-five runners.
Paul Steele of Virginia Beach, Virginia takes the fourth spot. His best performance was a 1:05:06 at the Cape Henry 10-Mile in Virginia Beach. Jim Christol of Yorktown, Virginia is fifth, with his best performance being a 19:45 at the Hilton Village 5K in Newport News, Virginia.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Patrick Griffith 58 Alexandria, VA
2 Jim Noone 58 Fairfax, VA
3 Ronnie Wong 56 Baltimore, MD
4 Paul Steele 56 Virginia Beach, VA
5 Jim Christol 55 Yorktown, VA
6 John Loughran 59 Sandston, VA
7 Lawrence Davis 56 Chesapeake, VA
Men 60 - 64
Photo above: Ben Dyer, 60, of Colonial Heights, VA is on top of his division
Summer rankings leader John Elliott of Columbia, Maryland aged up, which left the way clear for Summer runner-up Ben Dyer of Colonial Heights, Virginia to assume the top spot. Dyer's best performance was a 1:26:05 at the Baltimore Half-Marathon, but he also had an impressive 31:27 at the Van Metre 5-Mile.
Three very competitive races sorted out positions two through five. At the Kensington 8K in Kensington, Maryland, second- ranked Michael Golash (34:09) of Washington, DC edged third- ranked John Churchman (34:19) of Arlington, Virginia. Then at the Paul VI 5K in Fairfax, Virginia, fourth-ranked John Haubert (21:01) of Alexandria, Virginia beat fifth-ranked Stephen Forman (21:22) of McLean, Virginia. Then at the Army 10-Mile, Churchman (1:08:55) defeated Golash (1:10:49) and Forman (1:12:01).
Given the split head-to-head record, Golash gets second by the narrowest of margins over Churchman, on the basis of more qualifying performances (four to two).
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Ben Dyer 60 Colonial Heights, VA
2 Michael Golash 60 Washington, DC
3 John Churchman 60 Arlington, VA
4 John Haubert 60 Alexandria, VA
5 Stephen Forman 62 McLean, VA
6 Lou Shapiro 61 Silver Spring, MD
7 Lewis Jones 60 Yorktown, VA
8 Robert Wright 61 Hampton, VA
9 Ed Brinkley 63 Virginia Beach, VA
10 Cal Fowler 64 Keswick, VA
11 Joseph Clorety 60 Crownsville, MD
12 Stan Neumann 64 Timonium, MD
13 Maurice Davidson 60 Fredericksburg, VA
14 Dick Pierce 64 Rescue, VA
Men 65 - 69
The state of Virginia contributed 11 of the 12 qualifiers, but the top-ranked runner is from Maryland. John Elliott of Columbia, Maryland led the 60-64 category in the Summer, and entered the 65-69 division this Fall with a bang. He would also have led the 60-64 division. Elliott's times are substantially better than any others in the category. Most notable were his 19:45 at the Police Pace 5K in Columbia and his 40:49 at the Jug Bay 10K in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Chan Robbins of Arlington, Virginia takes the second spot, running 36:29 at the Fair Lakes 8K in Fairfax, Virginia to beat third-ranked Ken Quincy (37:42) of Vienna, Virginia. Quincy earned his spot at the Veterans Day 10K, running 46:17 to beat fourth-ranked John Gluck (46:55) and fifth-ranked Richard Williams (46:58), both of Alexandria, Virginia.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 John Elliott 65 Columbia, MD
2 Chan Robbins 65 Arlington, VA
3 Ken Quincy 65 Vienna, VA
4 John Gluck 65 Alexandria, VA
5 Richard Williams 67 Alexandria, VA
6 Maynard Weyers 67 Alexandria, VA
7 Joe Polinski 65 Smithfield, VA
8 Philip Hager 65 Falls Church, VA
9 Alan Rider 67 Reston, VA
10 Chris Catoe 68 Virginia Beach, VA
11 Leo Wyne 66 Falls Church, VA
12 Terence McCarthy 67 Leesburg, VA
Men 70 - 74
Photo above: Larry Dickerson of Burke, VA, 3rd in the 70-74 age group
Seven runners qualified in the Fall period--the most this year in the 70-74 category. Milton Taylor of Odenton, Maryland moved from the second spot to the top rank in the Fall, switching places with Jack McMahon of Rockville, Maryland. Taylor gets the top spot in a close decision, based on more consistent results. Taylor's best race was a 1:20:22 at the Seaside 10-Mile in Ocean City, Maryland. He also ran a 49:44 at the B&A Trail 10K in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
McMahon only ran one really good race, but it was good enough to earn him the second spot. His 47:17 at the Veterans Day 10K defeated Larry Dickerson (47:34) of Burke, Virginia. Dickerson places third in the division for the third consecutive ranking period. McMahon also ran 51:46 to beat fourth-ranked George Waxter (52:48) of Frederick, Maryland at the Rockville 10K. Fifth was Edward Jefferson of Norfolk, Virginia, whose best time was a 1:29:16 at the Army 10-Mile.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Milton Taylor 70 Odenton, MD
2 Jack McMahon 72 Rockville, MD
3 Larry Dickerson 71 Burke, VA
4 George Waxter 72 Frederick, MD
5 Edward Jefferson 70 Norfolk, VA
6 Roswell Chamberlin 72 Arnold, MD
7 Fred Fauber 71 Lynchburg, VA
Men 75 - 79
Five runners qualified in the 75-79 category with Nianxiang Xie of Rockville, Maryland, taking the top spot for the third consecutive time. The extent of his domination of the category was evidenced by his 1:26:17 at the Army 10-Mile, which defeated second-ranked Dixon Hemphill (2:15:29) by more than 49 minutes. Unfortunately, that was the only head-to-head match-up among the four qualifiers.
Hemphill produced an impressive re-entry into the category, and hangs onto the second spot, by virtue of his six qualifying performances, including a 51:19 at the Van Metre 5-Mile and his 31:33 at the Ivymount 5K in Potomac, Maryland.
George Brown of Fork, Maryland is third, with four qualifying performances and a best of 30:51 at Baltimore's IND Race for Energy 5K. Paul Madden of Virginia Beach, Virginia is fourth, with three qualifying performances, and a best of 30:45 at Norfolk's Jingle Bell 5K
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Nianxiang Xie 75 Rockville, MD
2 Dixon Hemphill 78 Fairfax Station, VA
3 George Brown 77 Fork, VA
4 Paul Madden 75 Virginia Beach, VA
Men 80 & Over
Walt Washburn of Vienna, Virginia has led the 80+ category since he entered it, and he is again the top-rated runner in the Fall period. His performances include a 60:20 at the Rockville 10K, defeating third-ranked Frank Pierce (65:19) of Bethesda, Maryland.
Henryk Bukowski of Falls Church, Virginia, the oldest runner in the Fall rankings, gets the second spot, thanks to two fast 5- milers, including a 51:27 at the Van Metre 5-Mile. Bill Osburn ages up to the 80+ division and nabs the fourth spot, with his best time being a 36:37 at the Rockville 5K.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Walt Washburn 80 Vienna, VA
2 Henryk Bukowski 83 Falls Church, VA
3 Frank Pierce 80 Bethesda, MD
4 Bill Osburn 80 Bethesda, MD
See the Women's Autumn 2003 WRR Runner Rankings