Photo above: Alisa Harvey of Manassas, VA is 2nd among submasters women in 2004.

Open Women
Atalelech Ketema of Washington, DC and Ethiopia repeats as number one. The Cherry Blossom 10-Mile was a great race, with Ketema (57:15) beating second-ranked Naoko Ishibe (57:47) of Silver Spring, MD, fourth-ranked Anna Pichrtova (58:38) of Waynesboro, VA and the Czech Republic, and fifth-ranked Sharon Lemberger (59:31) of Washington, DC.

Atalelech Ketema faced off three times against third-ranked Elena Orlova of Gaithersburg, MD and Russia, beating her two out of three. Orlova (16:37) defeated Ketema (16:49) at the Plaza America 5K, but Ketema (16:25) turned the tables at Baltimore's Run to Remember 5K, and then clinched her advantage at the Paul VI Runfest 5K, running 16:21 to beat Orlova's 16:24. Lee DiPietro of Ruxton, MD was the oldest qualifier at 45 years old, and Ketema was the youngest. The median age of the Open qualifiers was 30 years old.

Pl	Name       	 Age	Hometown
  1	Atalelech Ketema  21	Washington, DC
  2	Naoko Ishibe	  35	Silver Spring, MD
  3	Elena Orlova	  34	Gaithersburg, MD
  4	Anna Pichrtova	  30	Waynesboro, VA
  5	Sharon Lemberger  30	Washington, DC
  6	Lee DiPietro	  45	Ruxton, MD
  7	Jackie Concaugh	  28	Alexandria, VA
  8	Victoria Lynch	  30	Washington, DC
  9	Susannah Kvasnicka 32	Great Falls, VA
 10	Jill Krebs	  23	New Windsor, MD
 11	Lisa Thomas	  28	Alexandria, VA
 12	Alisa Harvey	  38	Manassas, VA
 13	Mary Kate Bailey  29	Fredericksburg, VA
 14	Sharon Donovan	  29	Washington, DC

Women 35 - 39
Naoko Ishibe of Silver Spring, Maryland enters the division at number one. At the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, Ishibe (57:47) defeated fourth-ranked Helen Beven (62:59) of Kensington, Maryland, and fifth-ranked Elizabeth Feldman (64:06) of Chevy Chase, Maryland.

The 2003 runner-up and Fall champion, Alisa Harvey of Manassas, Virginia, is second, with a best performance of 17:47 at Arlington's 9-11 Memorial 5K. The Winter champion, Marjan Huizing, is third. She earned the spot by running 37:42 to beat Beven (38:41) at Gaithersburg's Piece of Cake 10K. Ishibe and Harvey also qualified in the Open division.

 Pl	Name     	  Age	Hometown
  1	Naoko Ishibe	   35	Silver Spring, MD
  2	Alisa Harvey	   38	Manassas, VA
  3	Marjan Huizing	   35	Gaithersburg, MD
  4	Helen Beven	   39	Kensington, MD
  5	Elizabeth Feldman  36	Chevy Chase, MD
  6	Denise Knickman	   35	Baltimore, MD
  7	Maria Kozloski	   38	Washington, DC
  8	Kristin DiDomenico 37	Potomac Falls, VA
  9	Maureen Hall	   39	Lavale, MD
 10	Vicki Lang	   35	Columbia, MD
 11	Linda Sawvell	   38	Newport News, VA
 12	Meredith Valmon	   35	Rockville, MD

Women 40 - 44
The 40-44 division continues to be one of the strongest, with 22 runners qualifying in 2004. The top three spots are unchanged from 2003. All three faced off in the Sallie Mae 10K, with Maria Spinnler (38:05) of Hagerstown, Maryland getting the better of second-ranked Laura Freix (39:14) of Centreville, Virginia, and third-ranked Leslie Minnix-Wolfe (40:19) of Herndon, Virginia.

Leslie Minnix-Wolfe earns the third spot over Monica Grillo of Arlington, Virginia by virtue of the Fair Lakes 8K, where Minnix-Wolfe (31:32) narrowly edged Grillo (31:35). Grillo, in turn, earned the fourth spot over Jill Hargis of Annapolis, by running 1:08:17 to beat Hargis (1:09:24).

 Pl	Name        	   Age	Hometown
  1	Maria Spinnler	    42	Hagerstown, MD
  2	Laura Freix	    42	Centreville, VA
  3	Leslie Minnix-Wolfe 42	Herndon, VA
  4	Monica Grillo	    40	Arlington, VA
  5	Jill Hargis	    43	Annapolis, MD
  6	Robyn Humphrey	    40	Ellicott City, MD
  7	Donna Karasic	    40	Baltimore, MD
  8	Cathy Friedel 	    40	Solomons, MD
  9	Pat Keating	    43	Dayton, MD
 10	Patricia Zerfas	    42	Kensington, MD
 11	Julie Thienel	    40	Columbia, MD
 12	Andrea Wright	    42	Charlottesville, VA
 13	Gloria Santarpia    42	Odenton, MD
 14	Win Persina	    43	Washington, DC
 15	Marjorie Boyd	    42	Annapolis, MD
 16	Julie Hayden	    44	Ashburn, VA
 17	Sheryl Kline	    41	Arnold, MD
 18	Cindy Conant	    42	Kensington, MD
 19	Kendall Tata	    41	Virginia Beach, VA
 20	Pamela Lovett	    41	Newport News, VA
 21	Terri Rath	    40	Ashburn, VA
 22	Lise Willingham	    40	Earlysville, VA

Women 45 - 49
Lee DiPietro of Ruxton, MD repeats as number one. She competed against second-ranked Patti Shull (photo) of Ashburn, VA twice. At the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile, DiPietro (1:01:14) defeated Shull (1:04:16) and then DiPietro (36:38) beat Shull (38:26) again at the Sallie Mae 10K.

Dorothy Beckett of Columbia, MD takes third, having defeated fourth-ranked Robin Goodwin of Timonium, MD twice, including a 1:10:20 at the RRCA Club Challenge 10-Mile, to beat Goodwin's 1:14:42. Goodwin earns fourth over Dorothy Winn of Norfolk, VA, based on Virginia Beach's Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon, where Goodwin (1:40:12) beat Winn (1:42:40). Top-ranked DiPietro also qualified in the Open division, and would also have been the winner in the 40-44 division.

Photo below: Liz Recto ranked 10th

 Pl	Name         	 Age	Hometown
  1	Lee DiPietro	 45	Ruxton, MD
  2	Patti Shull	 45	Ashburn, VA
  3	Dorothy Beckett	 46	Columbia, MD
  4	Robin Goodwin	 45	Timonium, MD
  5	Dorothy Winn	 48	Norfolk, VA
  6	Carol Talley	 49	Toano, VA
  7	Carole Roeder	 47	Ashburn, VA
  8   Claudia Mackintosh 49	Norfolk, VA
  9	Myra Washington	 47	Mont. Village, MD
 10	Liza Recto	 47	Lexington Park, MD
 11 Elizabeth Snyderwine 46	Potomac, MD
 12	Linda Ingleson	 46	Williamsburg, VA
 13	Becky Roed	 45	Springfield, VA

Women 50 - 54
The Best of 2003, Winter, and Fall champion Betty Blank of Falls Church, Virginia is upended this time in the category by Barbara Mathewson of Virginia Beach and Linell Smith of Baltimore, both of whom beat Blank in head-to-head competition. Mathewson ran 1:33:29 at Hampton's Running Crab Half-Marathon to edge Blank (1:33:46), and Smith ran 45:41 at Baltimore's MCVET 10K to beat Blank (47:09).

Betty Blank earns third over Sandra Adams of Winchester, Virginia, by beating Adams three times, including 1:10:19 at the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile, to beat both Adams (1:11:15) and fifth-ranked Patty Donohue (1:14:11) of Alexandria, Virginia.

 Pl	Name      	 Age	Hometown
  1    Barbara Mathewson 54	Virginia Beach, VA
  2	Linell Smith	 51	Baltimore, MD
  3	Betty Blank	 50	Falls Church, VA
  4	Sandra Adams	 54	Winchester, VA
  5	Patty Donohue	 50	Alexandria, VA
  6	Karen Marchant	 50	Springfield, VA
  7	Linda Gulick	 52	Richmond, VA
  8	Peggy Davis	 52	Falls Church, VA
  9	Mary Lang	 50	Pasadena, MD
 10	Maria Shields	 53	Davidsonville, MD
 11	Donna Nidds Lund 52	Brambleton, VA
 12	Patricia Gilley	 51	King William, VA
 13	Rita Twist	 51	Linthicum Hills, MD
 14	Julia Mills	 52	Richmond, VA

Women 55 - 59
Alice Franks of Rockville, Maryland repeats as number one. The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile was a great race, with all of the top four competing. Franks (1:15:09) beat second-ranked Jane Godfrey photo (1:20:26) of Takoma Park, Maryland, fourth-ranked Christy St. Clair (1:21:53) of Fork, Maryland, and third-ranked Catherine Van Brocklin (1:22:24) of Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Another spirited competition was Washington's Capitol Hill Classic 10K, where Franks (47:28) again beat Godfrey (49:42) and Van Brocklin (51:14). Van Brocklin gets a close decision for third over St. Clair, having run 1:27:36 at the Annapolis 10-Mile, to beat St. Clair (1:28:38) and having beaten better competition. Fifth is Betty Brothers of Virginia Beach, whose best performance was a 39:07 at the Neptune Festival 8K.

 Pl	Name                 Age	Hometown
  1	Alice Franks          55	Rockville, MD
  2	Jane Godfrey          55	Takoma Park, MD
  3    Catherine Van Brocklin 57	Gaithersburg, MD
  4	Christy St. Clair     55	Fork, MD
  5	Betty Brothers	      57	Virginia Beach, VA
  6	Nancy Avitabile	      56	Bethesda, MD
  7	Barbara Biasi	      56	Yorktown, MD
  8	Meredith Bonta	      58	Crofton, MD
  9	Mary Napoleon	      58	Batesville, VA
 10	Claudia Crawford      57	Stafford, VA
 11	Jane Poole	      56	Falls Church, VA

Women 60 - 64
Sharon Dolan of Gaithersburg, Maryland repeats as number one. She and second-ranked and Spring champion Priscilla Prunella of Rockville, Maryland faced off in two races. In Olney's Country Road 5-Miler, Dolan (39:10) beat Prunella (40:19), and in the Sallie Mae 10K, Dolan (45:37) again took the measure of Prunella (48:26). Prunella earned the second spot by defeating fourth-ranked Dee Nelson (photo) of Gaithersburg in four of five races, including a 1:17:53 at the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile, to beat Nelson (1:17:53).

The 2003 runner-up and Winter champion, Joan Coven of Williamsburg, Virginia, takes third, with her best performance being a 22:23 at Yorktown's Toys for Tots 5K. Fifth is Fall champion Judith Gilbert of Stevenson, Maryland, whose best race was a 47:58 at the Veteran's Day 10K

 Pl	Name       	  Age	Hometown
  1	Sharon Dolan	   61	Gaithersburg, MD
  2	Priscilla Prunella 60	Rockville, MD
  3	Joan Coven	   62	Williamsburg, VA
  4	Dee Nelson	   60	Gaithersburg, MD
  5	Judith Gilbert	   60	Stevenson, MD
  6	Nancy Linck	   62	Alexandria, VA
  7	Mary Ann O'Connor  62	Reston, VA
  8	Judith Brennan	   62	Mt. Airy, MD
  9	Mary Kate Bergland 62	Richmond, VA
 10	Janet Newburgh	   62	Rockville, MD
 11	Sylvia Boecker	   64	Williamsburg, VA
 12	Jeannette Novak	   60	Damascus, MD

Women 65 - 69
The number one and two runners from 2003, Tami Graf of Lusby, Maryland and Nancy Patron of Williamsburg, Virginia, are pushed down to two and three by new entrant E.C. Williams of Reston, Virginia. Williams earned the top spot by virtue of her 27:51 at the Plaza America 5K, beating the 2003, Winter, Summer, and Fall champion Graf (28:47). Williams's best race was a 26:57 at Vienna's Metro Run & Walk 5K.

Three, four, and five were determined primarily on the basis of strength of competition defeated. Third-ranked Patron ran a 27:03 at the Governor's Land 5K, fourth-ranked Arlowene Garland of Warsaw, Virginia recorded a 26:55 at Fredericksburg's Run for Shelter 5K, and fifth-ranked Jill Mottus of Baltimore ran a 28:27 at Baltimore's Journey Home 5K Challenge.

 Pl	Name     	Age	Hometown
  1	E.C. Williams	65	Reston, VA
  2	Tami Graf	67	Lusby, MD
  3	Nancy Patron	67	Williamsburg, VA
  4	Arlowene Garland 65	Warsaw, VA
  5	Jill Mottus	66	Baltimore, MD
  6	Jamie Wollard	65	Rockville, MD
  7	Ann Manciagli	68	Williamsburg, VA
  8	Pauline Ely	65	Hampton, VA
  9	Anna Berdahl	65	Silver Spring, MD
 10	Shirley Wampler	67	Mechanicsville, VA

Women 70 - 74
Pat Ewell of Williamsburg, Virginia and Yvonne Aasen of Severna Park, Maryland repeat as one-two. None of the top six ran against each other, so the top positions were determined based on a mix of competition defeated and times run. Ewell recorded a 30:13 at the Warhill 5K. Aasen's best race was a 1:03:06 at the Crofton 10K.

Third-ranked Jacqueline O'Neil of Washington, DC ran a 1:09:40 at the Lawyers Have Heart 10K, fourth-ranked Lee Glassco of McLean, Virginia ran a 1:12:57 at the Pike's Peek 10K, and fifth-ranked Joanne Mallet ran a 31:41 at College Park's Women's Distance Festival 5K.

 Pl	Name	       Age	Hometown
  1	Pat Ewell	70	Williamsburg, VA
  2	Yvonne Aasen	72	Severna Park, MD
  3	Jacqueline O'Neil 72	Washington, DC
  4	Lee Glassco	72	McLean, VA
  5	Joanne Mallet	70	Rockville, MD
  6	Janet Lakey	71	Midlothian, VA
  7	Nancy Welker	70	Roseland, VA
  8	Marjorie Lane	70	Reston, VA
  9	Hiroko Hunt	70	Reston, VA

Women 75 - 79
Kay Morrison of Potomac, Maryland repeats as the 75-79 champion. Her best performances were a 56:44 at the Outback Steakhouse 8K and a 74:04 at the Pike's Peek 10K. Second-ranked and Spring champion Martha Trimmer of Baltimore ran a 42:34 at the Baltimore 5K. She gets a slight edge on the basis of consistency, over third-ranked Helen Schley of Myersville, Maryland, who managed a 39:37 at the Great Frederick Fair 5K. Fourth-ranked is Mildred Lieder of Silver Spring, Maryland.

 Pl	Name	        Age	Hometown
  1	Kay Morrison	77	Potomac, MD
  2	Martha Trimmer	75	Baltimore, MD
  3	Helen Schley	77	Myersville, MD
  4	Mildred Lieder	77	Silver Spring, MD

Women 80 & Over
Hedy Marque of Alexandria, Virginia repeats as the top 80+ runner, and the oldest ranked runner in the 2004 runner rankings. Her best races were a 1:15:54 at the Veterans Day 10K, and a 1:19:04 at the Sallie Mae 10K. Second-ranked and Summer and Fall champion Louise Akers of Christiansburg, Virginia, ran a 38:06 at the Salem Distance Run 5K.

 Pl	Name	        Age	Hometown
  1	Hedy Marque	86	Alexandria, VA
  2	Louise Akers	80	Christiansburg, VA

See the Men's Best of 2004 WRR Runner Rankings