Deena Drossin Wins Her Sixth 8K Cross CountryTitle
See the story on Saturday's action.

Photo above of Deena Drossin
Quotes from Deena Drossin:
I came into this meet with enough strength to double, and I had every intent of doubling this weekend, but as I crossed this finish line, I will not be doubling tomorrow... the only thing that I will be doing tomorrow here on the course is spectating....
It was so challenging to run on this course, no matter what your strengths are, whether you're a speed based runner, or a strength based runner...this was a tough course for everyone out there, even coming out with a victory, it hurt really badly.
(On the chances for a team medal in Lausanne) I am optimistic about our chances...it's something that I dream about, both for the team and as an individual. I am going to put in a good month of training at altitude at Mammoth Lakes, and be ready to run in Lausanne.
My plan going into the race was to stick with the lead pack for a good lap or so until I felt strong enough to go, but after seeing the course, I didn't have the confidence that I could pull away like I wanted to, so I went from the gun and tried to push it from the start. The problem is, that running aggressively could work against you, especially going down the hill.
My arms were off to the side as I was coming down the hill, trying to do a balancing act...I felt like I was in flats out there...I wasn't gripping anything.
Usually on a cross country course, you try to run the tangents, but it was so muddy because everyone else was running the tangents, so I found myself running wide, and I was able to stay on my feet.

The top-six finishers at this year's USA Cross Country Championships qualify for the 2003 IAAF World Cross County Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland on March 29-30. The USA Championships follows the same format as the upcoming World Championships, with six races over a two-day span.

Robert Gary Leads the Way on the Men's 4K Course
Photo of Robert Gary above
Robert Gary:
I didn't plan to take the lead early, but once I was up there, I tried to keep things rolling. At the same time, I am not a very big fan of sitting back in cross country races.
I wasn't planning on slowing down and giving anyone a chance to get back into the race. In the 4K, I've tried to go out and hammer from the gun, unlike the 12K, where I've waited for things to happen.

Amazing Shayne Culpepper Wins Women's 4K
Photo above of Shayne Culpepper by Lisa Coniglio
Shayne Culpepper:
Yesterday I made a big mistake and I went out way too hard, so I really sat back today and let the race unfold. I felt yesterday in my head, I was really focusing toward longer events - 8K, 10K - and conditions caught me by surprise.
On the opportunity to go to the World Championships with Alan: We'll see what happens. Right now I'm just trying to soak up the win. It's my first national title and I've been working really, really hard, so yesterday was really crushing, so I really saw that my hard work and my strength came through to help me.
Yesterday I just panicked. [Culpepper dropped out of yesterday's women's 8 km championships]. It was the conditions and I wasn't expecting that. I didn't really pay attention to how I was feeling and I got caught up in the race. Today I just stayed focused on myself and how I was feeling, and let the race unfold.
Actually, going up-hill is one of my strengths; downhill is one of my weaknesses. When we got here on Thursday, I was really pleased with the course. I think it was laid out completely perfectly. The mud, however, was what I had to adjust my plans for.
On when she felt she might be able to win: About halfway ... I saw kind of where my gap was and knew how I felt and thought I should be able to catch the leader. [Collette Liss]
On winning fall and winter titles this season: The conditions were similar to this at that race so just getting out there and being on that terrain. It was as sloppy in certain areas, but Rocklin (the fall site) had that backstretch that was a little bit drier and you could get your momentum going better. This was bad almost every step of the way, and yesterday was worse than today.
On motherhood and running: I think it's helped me tremendously with my life and my training. It puts life in perspective and you don't have time to sit around and sulk about bad races and bad workouts. You have a baby there and it's such joy and such fun.
I was able to get up today have a fresh start and refocus.

Collette Liss
I just ran as best as I could. Shayne's such an incredible runner. She was tough today. I was running scared the last 200 meters. I didn't want to come all this way and get passed (at the end), so I just gave it everything I could, and took off as fast as possible.

Ann Marie Brooks
The strategy was to hang on with the front people as long as I could, and not let up...I found out from running the 8k yesterday (11th) that if you gave an inch on the mud, you can never regain it. If the top girls got even two feet, you can't get it back, and lose contact. I was tired from the 8k but the knowledge I gained more than made up for it.
The World Cross Country Championships will be way upscale competition. I came here and was only entered in the 8k, but my husband Clay said, "You go down and pay the $15 and enter the 4k. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here'.

6'1" Culpepper Claims a Cross Country Title in 12K
Photo above of Alan Culpepper
Alan Culpepper:
On the conditions: It's a pretty close toss-up between here and Ireland in 1999. Here there were almost no places where there was solid, safe footing. So, it was definitely a challenging course. I was just trying to stay on my feet and run hard. When you have conditions like this, you can't have too much of a game- plan, I was just running and see what happens
It was just random where each of us felt better than the other one and we'd go around and you couldn't get away.
On the final circuit versus Keflezighi: I felt strong, actually I was doing really well on the downhills which typically isn't my strength, so I was able to roll up a lot of that just on that last steep downhill and then I caught him on the uphill and we stayed together until about 600 to go or so.
Once I caught him again and went around him, I felt pretty confident once I get to that last half-mile go. He's a tough runner - he's really tough - so I'm definitely psyched when I get to beat him.
I think both of us came in not completely at our bests, honestly. The marathon can kind of throw things off a little bit with our normal build-ups, and I think he was in the same situation. Because of running the marathon in the fall, I didn't get a normal base phase running into this race, so I'm just kind of out of my element having not done a typical build-up
On Shayne and he both winning: It's exciting, I'm so proud of her. I knew she had a bad day yesterday and I knew she was really fit. I'm just glad she was able to be mentally strong and come back and run a great race.
On a possible" family affair" at World Cross: I'm not sure yet, we have to figure out some of the details. I'm not completely set whether I'm going or not, honestly. Cross country isn't my favorite thing in the world. Our plate's pretty full and I've learned I can't do everything. I have to pick and choose the things I think are important for myself. Moving more toward the marathon in the coming years I want to solidify my 10K and especially my 5K PRs, and make a shot at that American record in the 10K. I just have to weigh all the options.
Meb Keflezighi
Alan's a great runner, and it was a good dual, and I tried to make a surge before the kick, but he wanted to get it over before the kick. I did the best that I could for today, and I am happy to be going to Lausanne. I think we've got the potential for a pretty good team going to Lausanne. I think we can do very well.
It was hard trying to pass...hard to accelerate through the mud...I had a hard time going down the hill, but I was running well up the hill. I was strong up the hill, but Alan was stronger down the hill.
Edwardo Torres 2002 NCAA Cross Country Champion:
This course was a perfect fit for me...mud, hills. My training leading up to this race has been great, even though I have not had George (twin brother Jorge) and Dathan to train with. It's been a different situation for me. I've been able to train myself to get into good shape. I plan on running the 5k indoors (for the Univ. of Colorado) before the world championships.

The Weather Report from Houston: "Mud"
Photo above of Sara Wells and Deena Drossin taking the mud in stride

Steeplechaser Robert Gary Experiences Victory in the 4K
Photo above of Robert Gary at the finish
Gary's victory is the first U.S. title of his career. A 1996 Olympic Games 3,000m steeplechaser, Gary finished ninth at the 2002 USA Cross Country Championships.

USA National Cross Country Championship Senior Results

Senior Men's 12K
1. Alan Culpepper (adidas)  38:22 
2. Meb Keflezighi (Nike)    38:34 
3. Edwardo Torres           39:04 
  (University of Colorado) 
4. Nick Rogers (Nike)       39:31 
5. Abdi Abdirahman (Nike)   39:36 
6. Chad Johnson (Nike)      39:43 
7. David Cullum             39:44 
  (Nike Farm Team) 
8. Robert Gary (adidas)     39:45 
9. Gregory Jimmerson        39:52 
  (Nike Farm Team) 
10. Michael Donnelly (Nike) 40:03 


Senior Women's 8K
1. Deena Drossin (ASICS)    29:06 
2. Colleen De Reuck (Nike)  29:42 
3. Milena Glusac (adidas)   30:17 
4. Katie McGregor (adidas)  30:27 
5. Jen Rhines (adidas)      30:29 
6. Sara Wells (ASICS)       30:29 
7. Amy Rudolph (adidas)     31:02 
8. Elva Dryer (Nike)        31:19 
9. Sarah Toland (Nike)      31:24 
10. Dana Coons (adidas)     31:35 


Senior Men's 4K
1. Robert Gary (adidas)       12:53
2. Dan Wilson (ASICS)         12:57
3. Luke Watson (Notre Dame)   12:57
4. Sandu Rebenciuc (U.S. Army)12:58
5. Karl Savage (Unattached)   12:58
6. Dan Browne (Nike)          12:59 
7. Chad Johnson (Nike)        13:00 
8. Brad Hauser (Nike)         13:03 
9. Ian Connor (Nike)          13:05 
10. Mathew Gabrielson         13:14
   (Team USA Minnesota)


Senior Women's 4K
1. Shayne Culpepper (adidas) 15:10 
2. Collette Liss (Nike)      15:19 
3. Ann Marie Brooks          15:22 
  (Team New Balance)
4. Amy Rudolph (adidas)      15:23 
5. Sarah Toland (Nike)       15:27 
6. Molly Austin (Unattached) 15:34 
7. Heather Sagan (adidas)    15:36 
8. Sara Gorton (Unattached)  15:37 
9. Sally Hauser (Nike)       15:41 
10. Katie Sabino (adidas)    15:44