Open Men
Photo at left: Ray Pugsley of Annandale, VA, ranked 10th in the open division

Ben Cooke of Silver Spring won the Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K, and earns the top ranking for the summer period. His 24:26 run, which translates to a 30 minute 10K equivalent, was the fastest time of the season run by any ranked man. Cooke backed that performance up with a second place finish at the Lawyers Have Heart 10K in 30:36, and another overall win at the Kentlands 5K, where he turned in a 14:52 result.

Right behind Cooke at the Lawyers Have Heart 10K was Chris Banks, who finished third in 30:50, and earned second position for the summer. Banks also won the Clifton Caboose 5K in 15:25.

At the Rockville race, Kyle Smits was a mere ten seconds behind Cooke, finishing the race in third place. Smits also finished just behind Cooke at the Kentlands 5K in 15:03. These two results are enough to earn Smits the third slot.

A 15:02 run at the GBMC Father's Day 5K was fast enough to earn Jason DeJoy the fourth ranking. Eric Estrada and John Suspic did battle for fifth and sixth ranking. In the end, we award the fifth slot to Estrada, who beat Suspic at the GBMC race, and also turned in top performances at the St. Agnes Labor Day 5K and the MCVET 5K. Suspic, who beat Estrada at the Dundalk Heritage 6K, has to settle for sixth place.

Pl	Name            	Hometown
  1	Ben Cooke       	Silver Spring, MD
  2	Chris Banks     	Springfield, VA
  3 	Kyle Smits      	Washington, DC
  4	Jason DeJoy     	Randallstown, MD
  5 	Eric Estrada    	Parkville, MD
  6	John Suspic     	Baltimore, MD
  7	Michael Wardian 	Arlington, VA
  8	Craig Morrell   	Baltimore, MD
  9	Dan Courtney     	Owings Mills, MD
 10	Ray Pugsley     	Annandale, VA
 11	Bryce Ruiz      	Williamsburg, VA
 12	Youssef Ennaciri	Baltimore, MD
 13	Dustin Lieb     	Arnold, MD
 14	Jeffrey Olenick 	Newport News, VA
 15	Michael Mann    	Hampton, VA
 16	Tommy Holland    	Virginia Beach, VA
 17	Aaron Church    	South Riding, VA
 18	Rich Cochrane   	Annapolis, MD
 19	Brian Biel      	Stafford, VA
 20	Jeff Binggeli	
 21	Armondo Tijerna 	Baltimore, MD
 22	Ryan Neuhart    	Newport News, VA
 23	Michael Styczynski	Clarksville, MD
 24	Doug Oates      	Hagerstown, MD
 25	Christopher Dean	Alexandria, VA
 26	Jaron Hawkins	
 27	Yanley Hall     	Arlington, VA
 28	Bob Schneider    	College Park, MD
 29	Joe Racine      	Arlington, VA
 30	Jonathon Conklin	Owings Mills, MD

Men 35 - 39
Charles Powell of Baltimore, MD, is ranked 7th in the 35 - 39 division

John Piggott finished 21st overall at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, with a time of 1:12:04, which was enough to earn the crown of the men's sub-masters division. Piggott also had the fastest time in this division, a 15:48 at the Yorktown Freedom Run 5K.

Mark Hoon and Chris Chattin went head-to-head at the Kentlands 5K. Hoon came out ahead, finishing in 15:58, more than 30 seconds ahead of Chattin, whose 16:31 performance was still enough for 13th place overall, and to earn him third place for the summer. Hoon, to his credit, also won the Capital Crescent 5K, while Chattin was second at the MCVET 10K.

At the Norfolk Women's Distance Festival 5K, Bryan Mordecai finished second overall, with a time of 16:38, a fast enough time to qualify him as the fourth ranked runner in this group. Mordecai was also third at the Alltel 10K, where he ran 34:50 for his second qualifying time.

Rick Kern is our final selection for the top five this summer. Kern's fastest run was a seventh place finish at the Frederick Memorial Hospital 5 Miler, where he covered the course in 27:34. He also finished third, behind Hoon, at the Capital Crescent 5K with a time of 16:45.

Pl	Name            	Hometown
  1	John Piggott    	Williamsburg, VA
  2	Mark Hoon       	Kensington, MD
  3	Chris Chattin   	Columbia, MD
  4	Bryan Mordecai  	Virginia Beach, VA
  5	Rick Kern       	Urbana, MD
  6	Steve Jaeger    	Alexandria, VA
  7	Charles Powell  	Baltimore, MD
  8	Michael Wilson  	Ashburn, VA
  9	Tony Yurko      	Cumberland, MD
 10	Steve Dillard   	Baltimore, MD
 11	Craig Hymes     	Yorktown, VA
 12	Jeff Kostoff    	Gaithersburg, MD
 13	Mark Vann       	Winchester, VA
 14	Brad Rippey     	Fredericksburg, VA
 15	J. Scott Mersiowski	Fredericksburg, VA
 16	Mike Feinberg   	Bel Air, MD
 17	Malcolm Lester  	Washington, DC

Men 40 - 44
Photo at left: Clifton's Stephen Comber, 27th among men 40 - 44

Jim Hage of Lanham is, at age 44, still one of the fastest men around. At the Annapolis Ten Miler, not only did he win his division, but also was third overall with a time of 54:29. He was in the top ten at the Lawyers Have Heart 10K, running across the line in 32:54. He was also second at the Paul Thurston 5 Miler, in 24:03, and third at the Cure Autism Now 5K.

Dai Roberts won the masters division at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in 1:12:46. Roberts also looked sharp at the Rockville Twilight 8K where he finished in 14th place in 26:26. Roberts also won the masters division at the AllTell 10K with a time of 32:55 for his best showing of the season.

Ted Poulos, always one of the most prolific runners, is our third place finisher for the summer, with his most impressive performance being a 26:44 at the Paul Thurston 5 Miler. Poulos also finished inside the top fifteen at the Lawyers Have Heart 10K in 33:51. Poulos had an additional ten qualifying times, making him a very strong presence in this division.

Neville Anderson turned in two remarkably consistent times, which were enough to earn the fourth place ranking. At the GBMC Fathers Day 5K, he ran 16:34, and he finished the Bel Air Town Run 5K in 16:35. Finally, Pat O'Mara sneaks into the final slot in the top five masters runners, on the strength of a very strong performance at the Paul Thurston race, where he finished only four seconds behind Poulos.

 Pl	Name            	Hometown
  1	Jim Hage         	Lanham, MD
  2	Dai Roberts       	Virginia Beach, VA
  3	Ted Poulos        	McLean, VA
  4	Neville Anderson	Baltimore, MD
  5	Pat O'Mara        	Vienna, VA
  6	Frank Kurtz     	Thurmont, MD
  7	Joe Abernethy     	College Park, MD
  8	Mark Jones      	Fairfax, VA
  9	Jean-Christopher Arcaz	Bethesda, MD
 10	David Haaga     	Rockville, MD
 11	Bill Bustin      	Yorktown, VA
 12	Layne Party       	Baltimore, MD
 13	Terry McLaughlin	Spotsylvania, VA
 14	Burkhard Spiekerman	
 15	Dennis Coleman  	Gaithersburg, MD
 16	Jeff Regelman   	Reston, VA
 17	Steve Dietz     	Springfield, VA
 18	Mark Casteel    	York, PA
 19	Mark Rosasco    	Arnold, MD
 20	Marty Horan     	Gaithersburg, MD
 21	Ronald Hess     	Silver Spring, MD
 22	Douglas Moyer    	York, PA
 23	Ned Berg         	Lee Hall, VA
 24	Andrew Smythe     	Falls Church, VA
 25	Ed Nannenhorn     	Alexandria, VA
 26	William Allen     	Prince Frederick, MD
 27	Stephen Comber   	Clifton, VA
 28	Matt Mace       	Arnold, MD
 29	Dan Esser        	Reisterstown, MD
 30	Curtis Davis      	Gaithersburg, MD
 31	John Goodling     	York, PA
 32	Fesshaye Haile	
 33	Randy Garber    	Fredericksburg, VA

Men 45 - 49
The men's 45-49 division was fairly large this summer, with 22 men earning rankings. At the front we find Gaithersburg's Dan Lawson, who had the top three qualifying times this ranking period. Lawson's best race was a 16:22 at the Kentlands 5K, where he finished 12th, beating age group competition from the likes of second ranked Peter Kirk. Lawson also finished 15th at the Lawyers Have Heart 10K and was the overall winner at Sue Wen's 4 Miler.

Peter Kirk, who lost to Lawson at Kentlands, had his day in the sun at the Rockville Twilight 8K, where he beat a number of other strong runners in this group, including George Buckheit, David Webster, and Paul Peterson.

Jim Bates of Hampton finished second in the division at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon with a time of 1:18:51. This, in combination with his 17:00 run at the Williamsburg Women's Distance Festival and a 35:48 finish at the Williamsburg Jaycee's 10K, is enough to make him our third place finisher this summer.

Pete Gibson ran up from North Carolina and grabs our fourth slot, on the strength of a 16:58 show at the East Coast Surfing Championships, and a 17:21 at the Norfolk Women's Distance Festival 5K.

Fifth through seventh places were determined largely at the Twilight 8K, where George Buckheit finished in 28:34, to claim the fifth slot. Paul Peterson was less than a minute behind, giving him sixth place in the rankings, and David Webster, who grabs the seventh slot, came across the line in 29:45, less than 30 seconds behind Peterson.

 Pl	Name              	Hometown
  1	Dan Lawson        	Gaithersburg, MD
  2	Peter Kirk        	Rockville, MD
  3	Jim Bates       	Hampton, VA
  4	Pete Gibson     	Murfreesboro, NC
  5	George Buckheit 	Reston, VA
  6	Paul Peterson     	Bethesda, MD
  7	David Webster    	Stevensville, MD
  8	Maurice Pointer 	Baltimore, MD
  9	David Goucher     	Ellicott City, MD
 10	Bruce Halpin      	Ashburn, VA
 11	Finley Mears    	Baltimore, MD
 12	Carlos Pena	
 13	Jim Adams       	Towson, MD
 14	Robert Costanza 	Sterling, VA
 15	Bruce Delaplaine	Bethesda, MD
 16	Stephen Chantry 	Williamsburg, VA
 17	Bob Burns       	Columbia, MD
 18	Kevin Finnegan	
 19	Steven Lerner	
 20	Denis McDonald  	Woodbine, MD
 21	James Moreland  	Gaithersburg, MD
 22	Henry Peck      	Timonium, MD

Men 50 - 54
Chuck Moeser is once again the undisputed champion of this group, posting the top five times run by men over 50. At the Leesburg 10K, he ran 33:54 for his fastest 10K time of the summer. He also finished in the top thirty overall at the Twilight 8K, and finished sixth overall (first in division) at the Annapolis Ten Miler, with an impressive 57:34.

Rudolph Pekarek had a very impressive showing at the Civitans10K, running 37:05. This was enough to grab the second place ranking. He backed his performance up with two other strong shows: a 30:06 at the Heritage Festival 5 Miler and a 1:03:29 at the WaWa Hartwood Ten Miler.

Bill Hart is next in line, the result of very consistent running this summer at several smaller races around the southern portion of our region. He ran the Alltel 10K in 37:22 for his fastest race, and backed those results up with an 18:14 at the YMCA Independence Day 5K.

Jay Wind, on the strength of fast times at smaller races (28:17 at the Paul Thurston 5 Miler), and good age group showings at both the Kentlands 5K and the Annapolis Ten Miler, is our fourth ranked runner this summer. At the Annapolis race, he beat out other strong age group runners like Richard Morgan, Timothy Morgan, and Mick Slonaker. Richard Morgan's 1:04:28 finish at the Ten Miler was in fact, enough to help him past both Slonaker and Timothy Morgan into the top five in the division. Morgan also had a dynamite race at the Leesburg 10K, where he ran 38:23.

 Pl	Name              	Hometown
  1	Chuck Moeser     	Sterling, VA
  2	Rudolph Pekarek 	Kinsale, VA
  3	Bill Hart        	Virginia Beach, VA
  4	Jay Wind          	Arlington, VA
  5	Richard Morgan    	Silver Spring, MD
  6	Timothy Morgan    	Damascus, MD
  7	Dave Crawford    	Arlington, VA
  8	Mick Slonaker    	Columbia, MD
  9	Richard Kersey    	Davidsonville, MD
 10	Roger Claussen    	Woodbridge, VA
 11	Richard Adams   	Herndon, VA
 12	Larry Washington	Washington, DC
 13	Shah Mehrabi      	Fredericksburg, VA
 14	William English 	New Carrollton, MD
 15	Earl Swartzendruber	Hunt Valley, MD
 16	Bill Alto         	Newport News, VA
 17	Christopher Payne	Bel Air, MD
 18	Patrick Gary      	Millers, MD
 19	Kimble Jett       	Phoenix, AZ
 20	Ron Greene        	Fairfax, VA
 21	Patrick Clarke    	Columbia, MD
 22	Steve Hill        	Silver Spring, MD
 23	John DiCarlo      	Virginia Beach, VA
 24	Marc Wolfson      	Olney, MD
 25	Eric Peltosalo    	Annapolis, MD
 26	Wilson Truehart 	Baltimore, MD

Men 55 - 59
Jim Noone of Fairfax, 13th in the 55 - 59 division

Patrick Griffith has become almost a fixture atop the men's 55- 59 division, and this summer is no exception. In addition to being far and away the group's fastest runner, he is also generally its most prolific. This summer, he turned in 16 qualifying times at included races. Even at age 57, he has top ten performances regularly, finishing fourth at the Mitzvah 5K, fifth at SPCA Rescue Run and the Hugh Jascort 4 Miler, seventh at the Run with Dad 5K, and eighth at the Tim Harmon Memorial 5K. Remarkably, his 16 times also are the 16 fastest times run by men included in these rankings, so there is little doubt that he is number one.

Second and third rankings were decided at the Annapolis Ten Miler, where John Kirkpatrick and Ronnie Wong went head to head. Wong came out ahead, finishing second in the division with a time of 1:06:47, as compared to Kirkpatrick's 1:09:23, clearly not his best performance. However, that was enough to catapult Wong into second and leave Kirkpatrick in third. To his credit, however, Kirkpatrick was much faster at the Father's Day 10K where he ran 39:27 and the Annapolis Women's Distance Festival Run After the Women (18:58), so he does manage to garner a top three ranking for the summer period.

Roger Kilgore, Gaithersburg, MD, 19th among men 55 - 59

Virginia Beach's Paul Steele looked dynamite at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon where he won the division by nearly two minutes, finishing in 1:31:42. As a result, we have awarded him fourth place. Finally, John Haubert has earned our last place in the very competitive top five. He gets this honor as a result of his 40:36 show at the Capital One Toucan 10K and his 19:36 at the Orioles Advocates 5K.

 Pl	Name             	Hometown
  1	Patrick Griffith	Alexandria, VA
  2	Ronnie Wong     	Catonsville, MD
  3	John Kirkpatrick	Annapolis, MD
  4	Paul Steele       	Virginia Beach, VA
  5	John Haubert      	Alexandria, VA
  6	Ed Lecates        	York, PA
  7	John Churchman    	Arlington, VA
  8	Mike Golash       	Washington, DC
  9	John Lange        	Hunt Valley, MD
 10	Bob Chase         	Falls Church, VA
 11	Merle Maffei       	Annapolis, MD
 12	Clifford Gaddy  	Kensington, MD
 13	Jim Noone         	Fairfax, VA
 14	Bob Trost         	Falls Church, VA
 15	Robert Wiener	
 16	Gary Chidester    	Woodbridge, VA
 17	Imants Celtnieks	Wheaton, MD
 18	Lawrence Davis    	Chesapeake, VA
 19	Roger Kilgore     	Gaithersburg, MD
 20	Gary Wolfe        	Falls Church, VA
 21	Mark Patterson	

Men 60 - 64
John Elliott of Columbia is king of the men's 60-64 division, an honor he earns by being one of only two men in this group to be able to run 10K equivalent times under 41:00. Elliott's best showing was a 40:01 at the Leesburg 10K, which was also the fastest time turned in by any of the 22 men ranked in this group.

Our second place ranking belongs to Mel Williams, the only other man who can still run sub-41:00 10K equivalents. He managed this only once, at the Norfolk Women's Distance Festival, where he ran 19:37. His second best showing was a 19:47 at the YMCA Independence Day 5K.

At the Annapolis Ten Miler, John Pitarra cemented his place in the top three in this division, something he accomplished by running 1:09:33, thus beating age group competition from strong runners like Art Morey (11th), Louis Van Dyke (16th) and Mike Baziz (17th).

Joel Feldman won the men's 60-64 division at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in 1:28:59, more than five minutes ahead of the second place finisher, and as such is our fourth ranked runner this summer. Feldman was also impressive at the East Coast Surfing Championship 5K, in 20:04.

Finally, in fifth place is Cal Fowler, who earns his slot with a strong showing at the Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K, where he ran 33:07. At the Kiwanis 5K, Fowler finished just outside the top twenty in 20:30, enough to make him faster than anyone ranked outside the top five in this division.

 Pl	Name             	Hometown
  1	John Elliott      	Columbia, MD
  2	Mel Williams     	Norfolk, VA
  3	John Pitarra      	Baltimore, MD
  4	Joel Feldman     	Virginia Beach, VA
  5	Cal Fowler       	Keswick, MD
  6	Robert Wright     	Hampton, VA
  7	Chan Robbins      	Arlington, VA
  8	Hans Moening       	Washington, DC
  9	Ron Bolt         	Crownsville, MD
 10	Ed Brinkley       	Virginia Beach, VA
 11	Art Morey         	Columbia, MD
 12	Stan Neuman       	Timonium, MD
 13	Terry Derk        	Dauphin, PA
 14	Nick Delambo     	Baltimore, MD
 15	Matt Huntmaker    	Gaithersburg, MD
 16	Louis Van Dyck    	Baltimore, MD
 17	Mike Baziz       	Baltimore, MD
 18	Maurice Davidson	Fredericksburg, VA
 19	Chet Coates       	Silver Spring, MD
 20	Dick Pierce       	Rescue, VA
 21	Joseph Hulings     	Burke, VA
 22	Milton Swan       	Baltimore, MD

Men 65 - 69
Chris Catoe of Virginia Beach and Tom Ray of Kitty Hawk, NC went head to head at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, and when Catoe came out on top by a mere 15 seconds, it was enough to earn him the top place in the summer rankings. Catoe, to his credit, also had a 47:51 at the AllTell 10K. Ray had an impressive summer in his own right, earning two of the three fastest 10K equivalents run this summer--a 21:32 (44:55 10K equivalent) at the Williamsburg Women's Distance Festival 5K, and a 21:42 (45:16) at the Coast Guard Day 5K.

Our third ranked runner is Chan Robbins, who turned 65 during the ranking period and is ranked in two divisions. Robbins ran 44:59 at the Leesburg 10K, allowing him to beat stiff age group competition from sixth ranked Alan Rider of Reston. It was at the Rockville Twilight 8K, however, where he truly cemented his ranking, by beating out fourth ranked Richard Williams of Alexandria. Williams, to his credit, ran 22:41 at the Kentlands 5K, which was enough to guarantee his place in the fourth slot in these rankings.

Finally, rounding out the top five in this division we find John Essery, who had his best race at the Williamsburg Women's Distance Festival, where he ran 22:44. Essery backs that performance up with a 48:22 at the Williamsburg Jaycee's 10K.

 Pl	Name             	Hometown
  1	Chris Catoe       	Virginia Beach, VA
  2	Tom Ray           	Kitty Hawk, NC
  3	Chan Robbins      	Arlington, VA
  4	Richard Williams	Alexandria, VA
  5	John Essery	
  6	Alan Rider      	Reston, VA
  7	Al Marcy        	Centreville, VA
  8	Milton Taylor    	Odenton, MD
  9	Armand Zambardi	
 10	Fedor Mesinger    	Fort Washington, MD
 11	Robert Smith      	Dickerson, MD
 12	Thomas Kurihara 	Arlington, VA

Men 70 -74
Six men in this division turned in the necessary two qualifying times to earn a spot in the summer rankings. George Yannakakis and his eight qualifying times lead the pack, with his best race being a 22:02 at the Orioles Advocates 5K. He was unbeaten in the division, and was also on hand at several larger races, including the always challenging Annapolis Ten Miler, where he ran 9:30 for the division win.

Larry Dickerson is our clear runner-up this summer, as it seems that he was on hand to earn division titles whenever Yannakakis wasn't there. He too, had eight qualifying times, and like Yannakakis, was unbeaten in the division. Dickerson finished the Twilight 8K in 38:14, however, his best showing was a 36:55 at the Paul Thurston Five Miler.

Jack McMahon, who had his best race at the Kentlands 5K where he ran 23:57, is our third ranked runner, a position he earns by simply being faster than anyone ranked behind him. Web Chamberlain of Arnold is fourth, a title he earns largely by beating Jospeh Rutkowski at the Father's Day 10K. Finally, rounding out the top five is Don McCarten of Falls Church, who had his best time at the Capital One Toucan 10K, where he crossed the line in 53:19.

 Pl	Name              	Hometown
 1	George Yannakakis	Sparks, MD
 2	Larry Dickerson 	Burke, VA
 3	Jack McMahon      	Rockville, MD
 4	Web Chamberlin    	Arnold, MD
 5	Don McCarten      	Falls Church, VA
 6	Joseph Rutkowski	Baltimore, MD

Men 75 & Over
There is an impressive group of gentlemen over the age of 75 that earned the right to appear in these rankings for the summer months. Seventy-eight-year-old Paul Lackey of Arlington is the leader of this group of ten runners, turning in four qualifying times which are almost four minutes faster than the next qualifier. Lackey turned in an impressive 52:00 showing at the Lawyers Have Heart 10K for his fastest race of the summer.

Second and third rankings for the summer were decided at the Tim Harmon Memorial 5K, when Bill Osburn and Walt Washburn went head to head. Osburn crossed the line in 28:00, a mere 17 seconds ahead of Washburn, so we have awarded the runner-up spot to Osburn, and Washburn must settle for third.

Bill Morrison, who had his best run of the summer at the Leesburg 10K in 1:00:04, is our fourth ranked runner. He was beaten by Osburn at the Capital Crescent 5K by about 15 seconds for his second best showing. Finally, fifth place in this group belongs to Ray Blue, who showed up in top form at the Mitzvah 5K, where he ran 28:52 to firmly support his place in the top five.

 Pl	Name      	Hometown
  1	Paul Lackey	Arlington, VA
  2	Bill Osburn	Bethesda, MD
  3 	Walt Washburn	Vienna, VA
  4	Bill Morrison	Potomac, MD
  5	Ray Blue	Oxon Hill, MD
  6	Cokey Daman	Virginia Beach, VA
  7	Frank Pierce	Bethesda, MD
  8	Dixon Hemphill	Fairfax Station, VA
  9	Ben Moore	Annapolis, MD
 10	John Hickey	Gaithersburg, MD

See the Women's Summer 2002 WRR Runner Rankings