The Women's 8K Cross Country Championship
Deena Drossin won her sixth U.S. women's 8 km national title Saturday at the 2003 USA Cross Country Championships on February 15, 2003 in Houston, Texas. Drossin easily defended her crown by winning the race in 29 minutes, 6 seconds

Colleen De Reuck made her first Team USA appearance at the 2002 World Cross Country Championships in Dublin, Ireland in March... A three- time Olympian from South Africa, De Reuck became a U.S. citizen on December 11, 2000, just after finishing 31st at the 2000 Olympic Games in the marathon (2:36:58).
Colleen De Reuck photo below on the race:
I was worried about today, but I had heard that a lot of the other girls were in great shape. Deena really blew us away, and I tried to hang on to her, but I couldn't. It was slow going. I tried to keep my stride short and work up the hills, but there was no traction. My form was off and I was all over the place, but it was fun out there. The point in the course where you go underneath the overpass and go up the steep hill was one of the easiest sections of the course. It looks like we are going to have a pretty good team for Lausanne...just depends on how the Kenyans and Ethiopians run.
See the July 2001 New York Marthon teleconference interview with De Reuck.

Milena Glusac - Third
Milena Glusac photo below, who bears a Serbian name although both her parents are American, had a breakout season in 2001 winning three major road titles. At the 2001 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, she placed fourth (first American woman) with a time of 53:34.
From 1995 to 2000, Glusac suffered from a debilitating combination of chronic fatigue syndrome, Epstein Barr virus, stress fractures, and allergies. With the help of her doctors, she was able to compete again and earn a masters degree in psychology from Oregon.

Jen Rhines - Fifth
Team USA program athletes led the USA to team medals at World Cross 2002 8K women (silver) and won an individual World Cross silver (Deena Drossin). In Dublin 2002, 9 of the 24 athletes on the USA Senior XC teams came from Team USA Training Centers. All except Carrie Tollefson (Team USA Minnesota) were from Team USA California. Five of six members from the World Cross 8K silver medal team - Drossin, Jen Rhines, Milena Glusac, Elva Dryer and Amy Rudolph - were from the Team USA program.

During an interview at the 2002 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, Jen Rhines credited Deena Drossin with teaching her to relax in the face of a big challenge like the marathon. [Jen Rhines debuted in Chicago at the event and ran 2:41:14 for 14th.] Rhines ran the 2002 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, where she placed 14th in 1:18:25.
The 2002 World Cross Country Championship was fun and exciting, she commented. Rhines enjoys all running events but enjoys track the most. She traveled with Reston resident Cheri Kenah on the European circuit and her coach via telephone is Matt Centrowitz, who is at American University.
According to the Chicago Marathon media guide, she started her running career in the eighth grade as a sprinter. At Chicago, she described her training as 105 - 120 miles/week with 100 miles/week a comfortable level. She is getting stronger and ran a marathon in October 2002 when she finally felt ready to take on 26.2 miles.

Dana Coons, Top Ranked Local Woman during Winter 2002
WRR Runner Rankings listed Dana Coons accomplishments in local events last year. At the national level in 2003, she placed tenth in the Women's 8K Cross Country Championship.

Results

Women 8 km (8078 meter) Run CC
=======================================================================
   Name                    Year Team                    Finals  Points
=======================================================================
 1 Deena Drossin                ASICS                 29:06.00
 2 Colleen De Reuck             Nike                  29:42.00    1
 3 Milena Glusac                adidas                30:17.00    2
 4 Katie McGregor               adidas                30:27.00    3
 5 Jen Rhines                   adidas                30:29.00    4
 6 Sara Wells                   ASICS                 30:30.00
 7 Amy Rudolph                  adidas                31:02.00    5
 8 Elva Dryer                   Nike                  31:19.00    6
 9 Sarah Toland                 Nike                  31:24.00    7
10 Dana Coons                   adidas'              X31:35.00
11 Ann Marie Brooks             Team New Balance      32:05.00
12 Blake Russell                Team New Balance      32:25.00
13 Katherine Newberry           Unattached            32:33.00
14 Rachel Sauder                Team New Balance      32:38.00
15 Meghan McLaughlin            Unattached            32:58.00
16 Devra Vierkant               Unattached            33:03.00
17 Jeanne Hennessy              Nike                  33:07.00    8
18 Beth Old                     Atlanta Track Club    33:23.00
19 Cassandra Henkiel            Unattached            33:28.00
20 Ann McGranahan               Unattached            33:29.00
21 Megan Skeels                 Unattached            33:34.00
22 Jackie Rzepecki              Houston Harriers      33:38.00
23 Johanna Olson                Unattached            33:45.00
24 Monica Joyce                 Unattached            34:01.00
25 Melanie Cleland              Transport adidas      34:17.00
26 Michelle Kelly               US Army               34:22.00    9
27 Faith Byrum                  Unattached            34:27.00
28 Katie Courtwright            Unattached            34:33.00
29 Jennifer Michel              Unattached            34:52.00
30 Laura Evans                  Unattached            35:14.00
31 Heather Briggs               Mountain West TC      35:16.00
32 Diana Hossfeld               Unattached            35:24.00
33 Heather Hanscom              Unattached            35:27.00
34 Jaime Flood                  US Air Force          35:51.00   10
35 Emily Blakeslee              Unattached            35:59.00
36 Jill Krebs                   Unattached            36:14.00
37 Kyna Forkins                 Unattached            36:28.00
38 Kate Forehand                US Army               36:30.00   11
39 Christine Reaser             Unattached            36:35.00
40 Lara Coppinger               US Air Force          36:36.00   12
41 Michelle Hannaford           Impala Racing Team    36:38.00
42 Sarah Fullwood               US Marines            36:46.00
43 Kshamata Skeete              US Air Force          37:43.00   13
44 Heidi McKenna                US Air Force          38:01.00   14
45 Brenda Schrank               US Air Force          38:02.00   15
46 Jennifer Ledford             US Marines            38:28.00
47 Jacqueline Chen              US Army               38:50.00   16
48 Kimberly Belmont             US Army               39:32.00   17
49 Terry Luzader                US Air Force          39:36.00   18
50 Ginger Beals                 US Marines            39:50.00
51 Teresa Allman                US Navy               39:59.00   19
52 Lisa Hennings                US Navy               45:14.00   20
53 Kathleen Kenney              US Navy               47:28.00   21
54 Nancy Batten                 US Navy               48:41.00   22