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USA Track & Field
USA 15K Championships: Mo Trafeh, Jen Rhines Win Second National Titles This Season
From USA Track & Field
March 14, 2011
Indianapolis, IN
Mo Trafeh of Duarte, CA and Jen Rhines of Mammoth Lakes, CA won the men's and women's national titles at the 2011 USA 15K Championships on Saturday, March 12 in Jacksonville, FL. This year marks the 18th year that the Gate River 15K Run has hosted the championships; weather conditions for the race were ideal. There were more than 14,000 finishers in the Gate River 15K, the nation's largest 15K road race. Earlier this season, Trafeh and Rhines had won the USA Half Marathon men's and women's race, respectively, on January 29 in Houston, TX.
Again this year, the race featured the Equalizer Bonus of $5,000 to the first male or female to cross the finish line. The elite women's race started six minutes before the rest of the field.
Jen Rhines and defending champion Katie McGregor of Minneapolis, MN led the women through the opening mile in 5:29; Rhines took control of the race before the 5K mark, opening a gap on everyone except eventual runner-up Nan Kennard of Boulder, CO. By 10K, Rhines had a seven second advantage over Kennard and continued to increase her lead. Rhines won the women's race in 49:31; Mo Trafeh overtook Rhines in the final mile to claim the Equalizer Bonus. Kennard finished second among women (49:56), and newcomer Megan Hogan of Minneapolis, MN placed third (49:57) with a strong finish.
In the men's championship race, Mo Trafeh established an early lead, passing 5K in 14:08, 5 seconds ahead of the field. Trafeh increased the gap to 12 seconds at 10K (28:31), as Ben True of Hanover, NH and Aaron Braun of Flagstaff, AZ battled for second. After catching Rhines with about a kilometer to go, Trafeh won the men's race (42:58) for his second straight 15K title, and also won the Equalizer Bonus a second time. True outkicked Braun to claim the runner-up spot by one second in 43:26.
Video Highlights
Video highlights of the USA 15K Championships are available on demand in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.
Top Men
1) Mo Trafeh (CA), 42:58, $17,000*
2) Ben True (NH), 43:25, $5000
3) Aaron Braun (AZ), 43:26, $3000
4) Scott Bauhs (CA), 43:39, $2000
5) Ryan Vail (OR), 43:44, $1000
6) Jorge Torres (CO), 43:48, $900
7) David Jankowski (NC), 43:51, $800
8) Fasil Bizuneh (AZ), 43:52, $700
9) Scott Smith (AZ), 44:01, $600
10) Jimmy Grabow (CA), 44:07, $500
*includes $5000 Equalizer Bonus
Top Women
1) Jen Rhines (CA), 49:31, $12,000
2) Nan Kennard (CO), 49:56, $5000
3) Megan Hogan (MN), 49:57, $3000
4) Clara Grandt (Waldorf, MD), 50:34, $2000
5) Meghan Armstrong (MN), 51:18, $1000
6) Katie McGregor (MN), 51:21, $900
7) Rebecca Donaghue (PA), 51:52, $800
8) Alisha Williams (CO), 51:56, $700
9) Jen Houck (MN), 52:04, $600
10) Megan Duwell (AZ), 52:22, $500
Complete results at www.gate-riverrun.com
About the USARC
The USA 15K Championships were the third stop on the 2011 USA Running Circuit (USARC), and featured a total championship prize purse of $80,000. Mo Trafeh and Jen Rhines each earned $12,000 for their titles, and Trafeh claimed an additional $5,000 for the Equalizer Bonus.
The 2011 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA long distance running championships and for the first time will include the USA Cross Country Championships. The USARC attracts the best U.S. distance runners, including Olympians Deena Kastor, Ryan Hall, Shalane Flanagan and Meb Keflezighi. The 2011 USARC has ten events for men and nine for women.
The 2011 USARC will feature more than $450,000 in circuit prize money with U.S. athletes competing for the right to represent Team USA in various international competitions.
The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall.
The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided more than $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.
For more information on the 2011 USA 15K Championships, see www.USARunningCircuit.com.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the World's #1 Track & Field Team, the most-watched events at the Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. See www.usatf.org