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Women Summer 2003
2003 Summer WRR Runner Rankings
Women's Division
by Roland Rust
November/December 2003
For the Washington Running Report
Open Women
Ten runners qualified for the Open division, and the big battle was the Rockville Twilight 8K. Top-ranked Tatyana Maslova of Gaithersburg, Maryland won this battle of the titans, running 27:46 to defeat second-ranked and Olympic Trials qualifier Naoko Ishibe (27:51) of Silver Spring, Maryland, third-ranked Megan McLaughlin (28:38) of Alexandria, Virginia, fourth-ranked Cathy Pugsley (28:39) of Annandale, Virginia, fifth-ranked and Olympic Trials qualifier Lee DiPietro (29:02) of Towson, Maryland, sixth- ranked Alisa Harvey (29:06) of Manassas, Virginia, seventh- ranked Susannah Kvasnicka (29:09) of Great Falls, Virginia, and eighth-ranked Kristin Barry (29:35) of Vienna, Virginia. It is difficult to recall another race in which all of the top eight runners faced off head-to-head. DiPietro, at age 45, was the oldest qualifier in the Open division.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Tatyana Maslova 36 Gaithersburg, MD
2 Naoko Ishibe 34 Silver Spring, MD
3 Megan McLaughlin 23 Alexandria, VA
4 Cathy Pugsley 33 Annandale, VA
5 Lee DiPietro 45 Towson, MD
6 Alisa Harvey 37 Manassas, VA
7 Susannah Kvasnicka 30 Great Falls, VA
8 Kristin Barry 29 Vienna, VA
9 Irina Suvorova 32 Gaithersburg, MD
10 Emily Enstice 24 Potomac, MD
Women 35 - 39
There were 11 qualifiers in the 35-39 age group, and Open division winner Tatyana Maslova of Gaithersburg, Maryland assumes the top spot. All of the top five runners faced off in the Rockville Twilight 8K, where Maslova (27:45) won overall, defeating Alisa Harvey (29:02) of Manassas, Virginia, Denise Knickman (30:07) of Baltimore, Helen Beven (31:22) of Kensington, Maryland, and Julie Thienel (31:52) of Columbia, Maryland. Maslova also recorded a fine 35:23 at the Lawyers Have Heart 10K, which she also won overall.
Harvey's best performance was a 17:14 at the Kentlands/Lakelands 5K, and Knickman had a 37:08 at Baltimore's MC VET 10K, where she beat Thienel (39:02). Beven's best performance was an 18:50 at Potomac's Cure Autism Now 5K.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Tatyana Maslova 36 Gaithersburg, MD
2 Alisa Harvey 37 Manassas, VA
3 Denise Knickman 35 Baltimore, MD
4 Helen Beven 36 Kensington, MD
5 Julie Thienel 39 Columbia, MD
6 Robin Humphrey 39 Ellicott City, MD
7 Marjan Huizing 35 Gaithersburg, MD
8 Maria Kozloski 38 Washington, DC
9 Monica Grillo 38 Arlington, VA
10 Maureen Hall 38 Lavale, MD
11 Linda Sawvell 37 Newport News, VA
Women 40 - 44
Photo above: Leslie Minnix-Wolfe of Herndon, VA, 11th in the 40-44 division
The 40-44 division was one of the most competitive women's age groups, with 17 runners qualifying. Maria Spinnler of Hagerstown, Maryland repeated as number one. Spinnler's most important race was the Lawyers Have Heart 10K, where her 38:59 defeated fifth-ranked Laura Freix (40:42) of Centreville, Virginia.
Pat Keating of Dayton, Maryland, took the second spot, with her best race being a 19:18 at Columbia's Women's Distance Festival 5K, beating fourth-ranked Pat Wilkerson (19:58) of Columbia. Cecilia Lutz of Reston, Virginia took the third spot, with her best performance being a 19:01 at Fairfax's Tim Harmon 5K. She might have placed higher, had she run against any of the other top competitors.
Photo below: Robin Goodwin of Timonium, MD is ranked 12th
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Maria Spinnler 41 Hagerstown, MD
2 Pat Keating 41 Dayton, MD
3 Cecilia Lutz 42 Reston, VA
4 Pat Wilkerson 44 Columbia, MD
5 Laura Freix 41 Centreville, VA
6 Jeanne Grillo 42 Potomac, MD
7 Gloria Santarpia 41 Odenton, MD
8 Marjorie Boyd 41 Annapolis, MD
9 Kendall Tata 40 Virginia Beach, VA
10 Debi Bernardes 44 King George, VA
11 Leslie Minnix-Wolfe 41 Herndon, VA
12 Robin Goodwin 44 Timonium, MD
13 Monica Allard 42 Virginia Beach, VA
14 Valerie Plyler 43 Newport News, VA
15 Julie Caprio 42 Columbia, MD
16 Patricia Zerfas 41 Kensington, MD
17 Laeticia Warring 40 Reston, VA
Women 45 - 49
The 45-49 division was the most competitive women's division, starting with Lee DiPietro of Towson, Maryland, who qualified for the 2004 Olympic Trials and ranked fifth in the Open division. An impressive 23 runners qualified for ranking.
DiPietro outclassed the rest of the division, with a best performance of 17:42 at Towson's GBMC Father's Day 5K. The second spot goes to Leisa Ensle of Virginia Beach, Virginia, whose best performance was an 18:40 at the Virginia Beach Independence Day 5K. She also ran a 1:25:20 at the Rock & Roll Half-Marathon.
Third is Claudia Cortes of Sterling, Virginia, who ran 32:37 to defeat fourth-ranked Gretchen Triantos (32:42) of Rockville, Maryland at the Twilight 8K. The fifth ranking goes to Sharon White of Langley AFB, who was the model of consistency, running 20:41 at the 5K Run for Mental Health, 20:39 at Yorktown's Freedom Run 5K, and 20:38 at the Super Day 5K in Fort Eustis. Note also that her times get slightly faster each race!
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Lee DiPietro 45 Towson, MD
2 Leisa Ensle 45 Virginia Beach, VA
3 Claudia Cortes 48 Sterling, VA
4 Gretchen Triantos 45 Rockville, MD
5 Sharon White 46 Langley AFB, VA
6 Carol Talley 48 Toano, VA
7 Mary Siemann 46 Frostburg, MD
8 Katharine Daragan 46 Wheaton, MD
9 Alison Suckling 48 Arnold, MD
10 Joan Nugent 45 Silver Spring, MD
11 Linda Ingleson 46 Williamsburg, VA
12 Laura Roman 47 Baltimore, MD
13 Lisa Schrader 48 Annapolis, MD
14 Mary Lang 49 Pasadena, MD
15 Linda Wack 47 Germantown, MD
16 Stephanie Shipp 49 Great Falls, VA
17 Bernadette Flynn 45 Fairfax, VA
18 Linnea Olsen 47 Alexandria, VA
19 Carole Roeder 46 Ashburn, VA
20 Evie Thompson 48 Virginia Beach, VA
21 Dorothy Winn 47 Norfolk, VA
22 Linda Kidder 46 Williamsburg, VA
23 Elizabeth Snyderwine 45 Potomac, MD
Women 50 - 54
The 50-54 age group was again competitive, with 16 runners qualifying. Sandra Adams of Winchester, Virginia, the 2002 champion, achieved the top ranking for the first time in 2003. Her best performance was a 20:57 at the Tim Harmon 5K. The battle between the top three runners was very close, with the decisive factor being Adams (43:57) defeating sixth-ranked Karen Erb (47:30) of Alexandria, Virginia, at the Leesburg 10K.
Barbara Mathewson of Virginia Beach, Virginia takes the second spot, with her best race being a 20:26 at the Virginia Beach Independence Day 5K. Spring leader Betty Blank of Falls Church, Virginia takes third, with her times including a 20:25 at Baltimore's MC VET 5K.
Linell Smith of Baltimore is fourth, with a best performance of 21:44 at Baltimore's Women's Distance Classic 5K, and Linda Gulick of Richmond, Virginia takes fourth, having recorded a 21:36 at the Innsbrook 5K. The top five runners all had similar performances, and the rankings were determined by strength of competition defeated.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Sandra Adams 53 Winchester, VA
2 Barbara Mathewson 53 Virginia Beach, VA
3 Betty Blank 50 Falls Church, VA
4 Linell Smith 50 Baltimore, MD
5 Linda Gulick 51 Richmond, VA
6 Karen Erb 52 Alexandria, VA
7 Valerie Campbell 52 Wheaton, MD
8 Susan Wait 52 Baltimore, MD
9 Peggy Davis 50 Falls Church, VA
10 Rita Twist 50 Linthicum, MD
11 Sandy Salazar 51 Columbia, MD
12 Maria Shields 52 Davidsonville, MD
13 Jean Lauzon 50 Spotsylvania, VA
14 Patricia Brooks 52 Ellicott City, MD
15 Brenda Mitchell 52 Williamsburg, VA
16 Cathy MacFawn 50 LaVale, MD
Women 55 - 59
Photo above: Alice Franks of Rockville, MD, on top of the 55 - 59 group
The 55-59 age group saw seven runners qualify in the summer ratings period. The center of excellence for the age group was Montgomery County, Maryland, which contributed four of the top five runners. Alice Franks of Rockville, Maryland repeated as the number one runner, and had eight qualifying performances.
Priscilla Prunella, also of Rockville, took second. Surprisingly, given that they live in the same city, Franks and Prunella did not run against each other. Franks gets the decision based on much faster times, including a 45:35 at the Leesburg 10K. Prunella's best performance was a 23:15 at Bethesda's Capital Crescent 5K, and her most important races were the Gaithersburg Cross-Country 5K, where her 25:28 defeated third-ranked Cathy Van Brocklin (25:40) of Gaithersburg, Maryland and fifth-ranked Dee Nelson (26:41) of Gaithersburg. Prunella also ran a 1:50:27 at the Riley's Rumble Half-Marathon, beating Van Brocklin (1:57:20).
Fourth was Mary Napoleon of Batesville, Virginia, who ran a 23:16 at Charlottesville's Fourth of July 5K, but did not run outside of Charlottesville, and did not compete against any of the other top competitors. Fifth-ranked Nelson (photo below) had a best of 23:39 at the St. Agnes Labor Day 5K.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Alice Franks 55 Rockville, MD
2 Priscilla Prunella 58 Rockville, MD
3 Cathy Van Brocklin 56 Gaithersburg, MD
4 Mary Napoleon 57 Batesville, VA
5 Dee Nelson 59 Gaithersburg, MD
6 Mary Thibodeaux 55 Williamsburg, VA
7 Claudia Crawford 56 Stafford, VA
Women 60 - 64
Photo by Bob Mallet above: Janet Newburgh - on the left - ranked 10th in the 60 - 64 category
The 60-64 category had 13 qualifiers, led again by the amazing Sharon Dolan of Gaithersburg, Maryland. She would also have led the 50-54 and 55-59 categories. Her best was a 43:17 at Baltimore's MC VET 10K, and she also ran 21:24 at the Kentlands/Lakelands 5K.
Joan Coven of Williamsburg, Virginia repeats at number two, with a best performance of 22:57 at Williamsburg's 5K Run for Mental Health. Judy Gilbert of Baltimore is third, with her performances including a 24:42 at the St. Agnes Labor Day 5K, beating fifth-ranked Ellen Hocheder (28:19) of Mt. Airy, Maryland. The fourth spot goes to Yolanda Perez of Silver Spring, Maryland, who ran a 54:27 at Rockville's Oy Vay 10K.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Sharon Dolan 60 Gaithersburg, MD
2 Joan Coven 61 Williamsburg, VA
3 Judy Gilbert 60 Baltimore, MD
4 Yolanda Perez 61 Silver Spring, MD
5 Ellen Hocheder 60 Mt. Airy, MD
6 Sylvia Boecker 63 Williamsburg, VA
7 Betty Munden 63 Norfolk, VA
8 Lis Villadsen 63 Charlottesville, VA
9 Mary Ann O'Connor 62 Reston, VA
10 Janet Newburgh 61 Rockville, MD
11 Nancy Jakubec 60 Richmond, VA
12 Arlowene Garland 64 Warsaw, VA
13 Rosemary Schwartzbard 61 Arlington, VA
Women 65 - 69
Photo by James Oesch above: Rockville's Jamie Wollard is ranked 6th among women 65 - 69
Tami Graf of Lusby, Maryland repeated as number one in the age group, with bests of 26:17 at the DC Memorial Day 5K and 35:46 at the Bastille Day 4-Mile. Second goes to Jill Mottus of Baltimore, with her most important race being a 28:38 to defeat fifth-ranked Mary Grillo (29:01) of Gambrills, Maryland at the St. Agnes Labor Day 5K. Mottus gets second rank in a close decision over winter ratings leader Nancy Patron of Williamsburg, Virginia, whose best performance was a 27:47 at the Vineyards of Williamsburg 5K. Mottus gets second on the basis of having defeated higher-ranked competitors than Patron did. Nancy Fraser of Charlottesville, Virginia is fourth, with a best of 28:47 at Charlottesville's Fourth of July 5K, but no races against the other top runners.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Tami Graf 66 Lusby, MD
2 Jill Mottus 65 Baltimore, MD
3 Nancy Patron 66 Williamsburg, VA
4 Nancy Fraser 66 Charlottesville, VA
5 Mary Grillo 65 Gambrills, MD
6 Jamie Wollard 65 Rockville, MD
7 Joanne Schecter 68 Baltimore, MD
8 Betty Lou Wolfe 66 Manassas, VA
9 Ann Manciagli 67 Williamsburg, VA
Women 70 - 74
The 70-74 division came alive in the summer ratings period, with six runners qualifying. First place went to Pat Ewell of Williamsburg, Virginia, previously a high ranker in the 65-69 division. Her most important performance was a 2:22:34 at the Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon, where she defeated third-ranked Hiroko Hunt (2:39:19) of Reston, Virginia.
A close second was Yvonne Aasen, whose performances included a 30:15 at the Annapolis Women's Distance Festival 5K. Third- ranked Hunt also ran a 1:53:56 at the Annapolis 10-Mile, beating fourth-ranked Marjorie Lane (1:59:46) of Reston, Virginia.
Fifth was Lee Glassco of McLean, Virginia, whose best performance was a 47:05 at the Bastille Day 4-Mile.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Pat Ewell 70 Williamsburg, VA
2 Yvonne Aasen 71 Severna Park, MD
3 Hiroko Hunt 70 Reston, VA
4 Marjorie Lane 70 Reston, VA
5 Lee Glassco 72 McLean, VA
6 Winnie Gordon 70 Fairfax, VA
Women 75 & Over
The oldest woman qualifier is Kay Morrison of Potomac, Maryland, who previously led the 70+ group in the Winter and Spring ratings periods. She had four qualifying performances, including a 33:55 at Bethesda's Capital Crescent 5K, and a 57:46 at the Rockville Twilight 8K.
Pl Name Age Hometown
1 Kay Morrison 75 Potomac, MD
See the Men's Summer 2003 WRR Runner Rankings