Photo: Ben Cooke (26) of Silver Spring, MD is 4th in the open division (Photo by Kathy Freedman)

Open Men
There were eleven qualifiers in the Open division, which was led by Araya Haregot of Washington, DC by way of Ethiopia. Haregot (50:08) defeated second-ranked Julius Gwako (50:58) of Petersburg, Virginia and Kenya at the decisive BB&T Virginia 10- Mile in Lynchburg, Virginia. Haregot also recorded an outstanding 14:29 5K at the Baltimore 5K.

Gwako had seven qualifying performances, with his best being a 1:06:50 win at the Mulberry Island Half-Marathon in Fort Eustis, Virginia, a 23:47 at the nTelos 8K in Richmond, and an exciting sprint victory over fifth-ranked Mikhail Khobotov at the Van Metre 5-Mile in Ashburn, Virginia (both timed in 23:56).

Olympic Trials qualifiers Chris Banks of Alexandria, Virginia and Aaron Church of Herndon, Virginia were ranked 8th and 10th respectively, illustrating the strength of the Open division. Haregot was the youngest qualifier, and the oldest qualifier was 45-year-old Andrey Kuznetsov of Rockville, Maryland and Russia.

Pl	Name              	Age	Hometown
  1	Araya Haregot     	22	Washington, DC
  2	Julius Gwako      	29	Petersburg, VA
  3	John Henwood      	31	Washington, DC
  4	Ben Cooke        	26	Silver Spring, MD
  5	Mikhail Khobotov	30	Gaithersburg, MD
  6	Eric Post         	24	Fairfax, VA
  7	Kyle Smits        	24	Washington, DC
  8	Chris Banks      	25	Alexandria, VA
  9	Andrey Kuznetsov	45	Rockville, MD
 10	Aaron Church    	27	Herndon, VA
 11	Michael Wardian 	27	Herndon, VA

Men 35 - 39
The strength of the 35-39 division was in Virginia, which contributed eight of the nine qualifiers. 2002 ratings champion John Piggott of Williamsburg, Virginia rises to the top for the first time in 2003, with the decisive race being the Mulberry Island Half-Marathon, where Piggott (1:11:31) defeated second- ranked Michael Mann (1:13:47) of Hampton, Virginia. Piggott also ran a 2:38:54 at the Anthem Bay Bridge Marathon in Virginia Beach.

Mann earned the second spot by defeating (16:03) third-ranked Robert Hinkle (16:13) of Newport News, Virginia at the William & Mary Homecoming 5K in Williamsburg, Virginia. Alex Hetherington of Stafford, Virginia is fourth in a close decision over Douglas Marocco of Quantico, Virginia. The two runners split two meetings, with Marocco (1:14:59) beating Hetherington (1:15:05) at the Quantico Half-Marathon, but Hetherington turning the tables by running 2:37:07 to beat Marocco (2:43:09) at the Marine Corps Marathon.

The only qualifier from outside Virginia was Joseph Daniels of Temple Hills, Maryland, whose best performance was a 16:38 at the Baltimore 5K. The competition in the 35-39 division was not as strong as some of the older divisions, as the leaders from the 40-44 and 45-49 divisions would also have led the 35-39.

 Pl	Name             	Age	Hometown
  1	John Piggott      	37	Williamsburg, VA
  2	Michael Mann      	35	Hampton, VA
  3	Robert Hinkle     	38	Newport News, VA
  4	Alex Hetherington	36	Stafford, VA
  5	Douglas Marocco 	39	Quantico, VA
  6	Brian Schmidt     	35	Leesburg, VA
  7	Joseph Daniels    	36	Temple Hills, MD
  8	Roberto Martinez	36	Manassas, VA
  9	Sean Killeen     	38	Richmond, VA

Men 40 - 44
There were 12 qualifiers in the 40-44 division, and the division was strong enough that the top-ranked runner, Joe Abernethy of College Park, Maryland, out-performed all of the runners in the 35-39 division. Abernethy leads the rankings for the second time in 2003. The best of Abernethy's five qualifying performances was a 15:53 at the Kingstowne Faith 5K in Kingstowne, Virginia. He also ran a 27:12 8K at the Kensington 8K.

Mark Donahue of Virginia Beach, Virginia takes the second spot, by virtue of a 16:03 at the Beach Ford All-American 5K in Virginia Beach, and a 26:40 at the Neptune Festival 8K, also in Virginia Beach. Neville Anderson of Baltimore takes the third spot, with six qualifying performances, including a 16:14 at the Western Family YMCA 5K in Catonsville, Maryland.

The only head-to-head match-up among the top five ranked runners decided the fourth spot in the rankings, with Jean-Christophe Arcaz (34:25) of Rockville, Maryland defeating Curtis Southern (34:35) of Urbana, Maryland at the Veterans Day 10K in Washington, DC Ted Poulos of McLean, Virginia again led the division in qualifying performances with 11.

 Pl	Name              	Age	Hometown
  1	Joe Abernethy     	43	College Park, MD
  2	Mark Donahue      	44	Virginia Beach, VA
  3	Neville Anderson	41	Woodlawn, MD
  4	Jean-Christophe Arcaz	41	Rockville, MD
  5	Curtis Southern 	43	Urbana, MD
  6	Ted Poulos        	41	McLean, VA
  7	Dave Haaga        	41	Rockville, MD
  8	Doug Kuderna     	42	Odenton, MD
  9	Raymond Ochs      	43	Virginia Beach, VA
 10	Chris Samley      	40	Charlottesville, VA
 11	Tim Marshall      	40	Winchester, VA
 12	Brian Daugherty 	43	Crofton, MD

Men 45 - 49
When Andrey Kuznetsov, of Rockville, Maryland and Russia, gets into top shape he is a fearsome competitor, and he seems to be rounding into top condition now. That, combined with Spring and Summer leader Jim Hage of Kensington, Maryland not being in top form, pushed Kuznetsov to the top spot in the Fall.

Kuznetsov's stiffest competitive challenge came from fourth-ranked Dan Lawson of Kensington, Maryland in the Veterans Day 10K in Washington, DC It was no contest, as Kuznetsov (31:36) crushed Lawson (34:12) with a performance that is age-graded at the 91% level, the top age-grading achieved in any age category in the Fall rankings. Kuznetsov followed up with a 2:26:43 at the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, achieving another 91% age-graded performance. Kuznetsov's competitive performances would have made him the leader of either the 35-39 or 40-44 age divisions, and he is the oldest runner to qualify in the Open division, besting all runners older than 31.

Second-ranked is Mark Malander of Oak Hill, Virginia. Malander earned his ranking by running 57:16 to defeat third-ranked James Bates (57:53) of Hampton, Virginia and fifth-ranked Mark Carper (58:37) at the Army 10-Mile. Malander also recorded a 27:29 at the Van Metre 5-Mile.

 Pl	Name     	Age	Hometown
  1	Andrey Kuznetsov 45	Rockville, MD
  2	Mark Malander	45	Oak Hill, VA
  3	James Bates	46	Hampton, VA
  4	Dan Lawson	46	Gaithersburg, MD
  5	Mark Carper	45	Newport News, VA
  6	Jim Wadsworth	46	Washington, DC
  7	David Andrews	47	Bethesda, MD
  8	Paul Serra	47	Lusby, MD
  9	Stephen Chantry	48	Williamsburg, VA
 10	Tom Blanchard	45	Virginia Beach, VA
 11	Norton Compton	49	Fairfax, VA
 12	Maurice Pointer	47	Baltimore, MD
 13	Bruce Hamilton	48	Fairfax, VA

Men 50 - 54
Photo above: Herndon's Tim Doescher, 4th in the competitive men's 50-54 division.

This always competitive age group produced 17 qualifying runners in the Fall period. 2002 rankings champion Chuck Moeser of Sterling, Virginia led the category, and has led every ratings period in 2003.

Two races served as showdown races in the category. At the Army 10-Mile, Moeser (55:17) defeated second-ranked Rick Platt (59:04) of Williamsburg, Virginia and fourth-ranked Tim Doescher (1:02:29) of Herndon, Virginia. At the Veterans Day 10K in Washington, DC, Moeser (33:55) beat third-ranked Richard Adams (37:09) and fourth-ranked Tim Doescher (37:25), both of Herndon, Virginia.

David Webster of Stevensville, Maryland recorded some fine times, including a 36:42 at the B&A Trail 10K in Glen Burnie, Maryland, but did not run against any of the other top competitors, and thus ranks fifth.

Photo below: Dan Eddy of Alexandria, VA is ranked #6 among men 50-54

 Pl	Name     	Age	Hometown
  1	Chuck Moeser	51	Sterling, VA
  2	Rick Platt	52	Williamsburg, VA
  3	Richard Adams	51	Herndon, VA
  4	Tim Doescher	52	Herndon, VA
  5	David Webster	50	Stevensville, MD
  6	Dan Eddy	51	Kingstowne, VA
  7	Shah Mehrabi	51	Fredericksburg, VA
  8	Rick Hower	52	Reston, VA
  9	Larry Washington 51	Rockville, MD
 10	Pat Garvey	52	Bethesda, MD
 11	Jay Wind	52	Arlington, VA
 12	Bob Burns	50	Columbia, MD
 13	Pat Gary	52	Manchester, MD
 14	Bill Hart	54	Virginia Beach, VA
 15	Roger Claussen	50	Woodbridge, VA
 16	Dale Abrahamson	53	Yorktown, VA
 17	Richard Kersey	52	Davidsonville, MD

Men 55 - 59
Seven runners qualified in the 55-59 age group, with Virginia taking six of the seven spots. Patrick Griffith of Alexandria, Virginia takes the top spot for the third time in 2003. Griffith and second-ranked Jim Noone of Fairfax, Virginia faced off three times, with Griffith coming out on top each time. At the Back to School 8K in Chevy Chase, Maryland, Griffith (31:07) beat Noone (33:07) by two minutes. At the Goblin Gallop 5K in Fairfax, the margin was even greater--18:41 to 20:46. At the Ivymount 5K in Potomac, Maryland it was Griffith (18:46) again over Noone (20:07).

Ronnie Wong of Baltimore, Maryland also ran some fast times (including a 19:16 at the Western Family 5K in Catonsville), but he ranks only third because he did not race against any of the other top-five runners.

Paul Steele of Virginia Beach, Virginia takes the fourth spot. His best performance was a 1:05:06 at the Cape Henry 10-Mile in Virginia Beach. Jim Christol of Yorktown, Virginia is fifth, with his best performance being a 19:45 at the Hilton Village 5K in Newport News, Virginia.

 Pl	Name     	Age	Hometown
  1	Patrick Griffith 58	Alexandria, VA
  2	Jim Noone	58	Fairfax, VA
  3	Ronnie Wong	56	Baltimore, MD
  4	Paul Steele	56	Virginia Beach, VA
  5	Jim Christol	55	Yorktown, VA
  6	John Loughran	59	Sandston, VA
  7	Lawrence Davis	56	Chesapeake, VA

Men 60 - 64
Photo above: Ben Dyer, 60, of Colonial Heights, VA is on top of his division

Summer rankings leader John Elliott of Columbia, Maryland aged up, which left the way clear for Summer runner-up Ben Dyer of Colonial Heights, Virginia to assume the top spot. Dyer's best performance was a 1:26:05 at the Baltimore Half-Marathon, but he also had an impressive 31:27 at the Van Metre 5-Mile.

Three very competitive races sorted out positions two through five. At the Kensington 8K in Kensington, Maryland, second- ranked Michael Golash (34:09) of Washington, DC edged third- ranked John Churchman (34:19) of Arlington, Virginia. Then at the Paul VI 5K in Fairfax, Virginia, fourth-ranked John Haubert (21:01) of Alexandria, Virginia beat fifth-ranked Stephen Forman (21:22) of McLean, Virginia. Then at the Army 10-Mile, Churchman (1:08:55) defeated Golash (1:10:49) and Forman (1:12:01).

Given the split head-to-head record, Golash gets second by the narrowest of margins over Churchman, on the basis of more qualifying performances (four to two).

 Pl	Name     	Age	Hometown
  1	Ben Dyer	60	Colonial Heights, VA
  2	Michael Golash	60	Washington, DC
  3	John Churchman	60	Arlington, VA
  4	John Haubert	60	Alexandria, VA
  5	Stephen Forman	62	McLean, VA
  6	Lou Shapiro	61	Silver Spring, MD
  7	Lewis Jones	60	Yorktown, VA
  8	Robert Wright	61	Hampton, VA
  9	Ed Brinkley	63	Virginia Beach, VA
 10	Cal Fowler	64	Keswick, VA
 11	Joseph Clorety	60	Crownsville, MD
 12	Stan Neumann	64	Timonium, MD
 13	Maurice Davidson 60	Fredericksburg, VA
 14	Dick Pierce	64	Rescue, VA

Men 65 - 69
The state of Virginia contributed 11 of the 12 qualifiers, but the top-ranked runner is from Maryland. John Elliott of Columbia, Maryland led the 60-64 category in the Summer, and entered the 65-69 division this Fall with a bang. He would also have led the 60-64 division. Elliott's times are substantially better than any others in the category. Most notable were his 19:45 at the Police Pace 5K in Columbia and his 40:49 at the Jug Bay 10K in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Chan Robbins of Arlington, Virginia takes the second spot, running 36:29 at the Fair Lakes 8K in Fairfax, Virginia to beat third-ranked Ken Quincy (37:42) of Vienna, Virginia. Quincy earned his spot at the Veterans Day 10K, running 46:17 to beat fourth-ranked John Gluck (46:55) and fifth-ranked Richard Williams (46:58), both of Alexandria, Virginia.

 Pl	Name            	Age	Hometown
  1	John Elliott     	65	Columbia, MD
  2	Chan Robbins      	65	Arlington, VA
  3	Ken Quincy       	65	Vienna, VA
  4	John Gluck       	65	Alexandria, VA
  5	Richard Williams	67	Alexandria, VA
  6	Maynard Weyers    	67	Alexandria, VA
  7	Joe Polinski      	65	Smithfield, VA
  8	Philip Hager      	65	Falls Church, VA
  9	Alan Rider       	67	Reston, VA
 10	Chris Catoe       	68	Virginia Beach, VA
 11	Leo Wyne          	66	Falls Church, VA
 12	Terence McCarthy	67	Leesburg, VA

Men 70 - 74
Photo above: Larry Dickerson of Burke, VA, 3rd in the 70-74 age group

Seven runners qualified in the Fall period--the most this year in the 70-74 category. Milton Taylor of Odenton, Maryland moved from the second spot to the top rank in the Fall, switching places with Jack McMahon of Rockville, Maryland. Taylor gets the top spot in a close decision, based on more consistent results. Taylor's best race was a 1:20:22 at the Seaside 10-Mile in Ocean City, Maryland. He also ran a 49:44 at the B&A Trail 10K in Glen Burnie, Maryland.

McMahon only ran one really good race, but it was good enough to earn him the second spot. His 47:17 at the Veterans Day 10K defeated Larry Dickerson (47:34) of Burke, Virginia. Dickerson places third in the division for the third consecutive ranking period. McMahon also ran 51:46 to beat fourth-ranked George Waxter (52:48) of Frederick, Maryland at the Rockville 10K. Fifth was Edward Jefferson of Norfolk, Virginia, whose best time was a 1:29:16 at the Army 10-Mile.

 Pl	Name             	Age	Hometown
  1	Milton Taylor     	70	Odenton, MD
  2	Jack McMahon     	72	Rockville, MD
  3	Larry Dickerson 	71	Burke, VA
  4	George Waxter     	72	Frederick, MD
  5	Edward Jefferson	70	Norfolk, VA
  6	Roswell Chamberlin	72	Arnold, MD
  7	Fred Fauber       	71	Lynchburg, VA

Men 75 - 79
Five runners qualified in the 75-79 category with Nianxiang Xie of Rockville, Maryland, taking the top spot for the third consecutive time. The extent of his domination of the category was evidenced by his 1:26:17 at the Army 10-Mile, which defeated second-ranked Dixon Hemphill (2:15:29) by more than 49 minutes. Unfortunately, that was the only head-to-head match-up among the four qualifiers.

Hemphill produced an impressive re-entry into the category, and hangs onto the second spot, by virtue of his six qualifying performances, including a 51:19 at the Van Metre 5-Mile and his 31:33 at the Ivymount 5K in Potomac, Maryland.

George Brown of Fork, Maryland is third, with four qualifying performances and a best of 30:51 at Baltimore's IND Race for Energy 5K. Paul Madden of Virginia Beach, Virginia is fourth, with three qualifying performances, and a best of 30:45 at Norfolk's Jingle Bell 5K

 Pl	Name     	Age	Hometown
  1	Nianxiang Xie	75	Rockville, MD
  2	Dixon Hemphill	78	Fairfax Station, VA
  3	George Brown	77	Fork, VA
  4	Paul Madden	75	Virginia Beach, VA

Men 80 & Over
Walt Washburn of Vienna, Virginia has led the 80+ category since he entered it, and he is again the top-rated runner in the Fall period. His performances include a 60:20 at the Rockville 10K, defeating third-ranked Frank Pierce (65:19) of Bethesda, Maryland.

Henryk Bukowski of Falls Church, Virginia, the oldest runner in the Fall rankings, gets the second spot, thanks to two fast 5- milers, including a 51:27 at the Van Metre 5-Mile. Bill Osburn ages up to the 80+ division and nabs the fourth spot, with his best time being a 36:37 at the Rockville 5K.

 Pl	Name     	Age	Hometown
  1	Walt Washburn	80	Vienna, VA
  2	Henryk Bukowski	83	Falls Church, VA
  3	Frank Pierce	80	Bethesda, MD
  4	Bill Osburn	80	Bethesda, MD

See the Women's Autumn 2003 WRR Runner Rankings