Open Women
The open women's division is always fairly large, and these young women tend to turn up at large races, so there is plenty of head-to-head competition. Still, we have never believed head- to-head competition to be the last word in all circumstances, since different runners may choose to focus on different races, particularly in a ranking period such as this one, when there are so many big races to select from. Arlington's Casey Smith (photo at left by Kathy Freedman) won the Army Ten Miler in October, with the fastest time run by a woman this fall (58:21, which translates to a 35:04 10K equivalent), and, as such, is clearly the top ranked woman in the open division. Smith backs this performance up with a 35:28 third place overall finish at the also important Georgetown Classic 10K.

No stranger to the top of the rankings is our runner-up this fall. Silver Spring's Naoko Ishibe, who turned in two very fast qualifying times, was not on hand for any of the season's huge races. Ishibe's 28:14 at the Kensington 8K, where she finished just inside the top ten, was the third fastest time run by a woman ranked in this division. Ishibe's other race was a 17:27 at the 3M 5K. We note that she ran 2:47:22 at the Berlin Marathon September 29 to qualify for the US Olympic Trials Marathon! (That may explain her absence from local races this fall. Editor)

Elizabeth Scanlon of Alexandria was on hand at the Army Ten Miler, and managed a third place finish among all the women, in 1:00:19, which is evidence enough that she belongs in the top three of the fall rankings. The next week, she won the Marine Corps Marathon in 2:57:27. Scanlon was also second at the National Capitol 20 Miler, where she ran 2:11:56.

Fourth place in the open division has been awarded to Cecily Tynan, for her two strong performances this fall--a 17:40 third place finish at the Paul VI Runfest, where she beat age group competition from Lory Gray, and a fifth place show at the Wings Over Loudoun 10K in 36:17, for her fastest show of the season.

Closing out the top five is Lauren Burawaski, who had her best run at the Ntelos 8K, where she ran 28:36, a 10K equivalent time of 36:18. Burawaski also ran the Harrisonburg 10 Miler, where she covered the course in 1:01:45.

Pl	Name            	Hometown
  1	Casey Smith     	Arlington, VA
  2	Naoko Ishibe     	Silver Spring, MD
  3	Elizabeth Scanlon	Alexandria, VA
  4	Cecily Tynan     	Sterling, VA
  5 	Lauren Burawaski	Harrisonburg, VA
  6	Megan McLaughlin	Alexandria, VA
  7	Kristin Barry    	Arlington, VA
  8	Lory Gray       	Alexandria, VA
  9	Delores Ware    	Virginia Beach, VA
 10	Nadia Baadj     	Williamsburg, VA
 11	Heather Hanscom 	Rockville, MD
 12	Kristine Wilson 	Newport News, VA
 13	Denise Knickman 	Baltimore, MD
 14	Brett Romano    	Harrisonburg, VA
 15	Julia Sith      	Tappahannock, VA
 16	Sharon Donovan  	Arlington, VA
 17	Lou Hohnka      	Herndon, VA
 18	Katie Filipczyk  	Chevy Chase, MD
 19	Sherry Esposito 	Westminster, MD
 20	Hilary Cairns   	Washington, DC
 21	Kerry Rodgers   	Washington, DC
 22	Margaret Polcawich	Durwood, MD
 23	Erin Conroy     	Hawthorne, NY
 24	Kristin McCann   	Quantico, VA
 25	Meredith Faulkner	Williamsburg, VA
 26	Dara Ono        	Fort Carson, CO
 27	Jennifer Quarles	Williamsburg, VA

Women 35 - 39
Photo at left: Ly Pham of Alexandria, VA was 11th in women's 35 - 39 Photo by Kathy Freedman

As always, the women's submasters division is small, yet competitive. Only 12 women in this division earned the required two qualifying times during the fall season. However, these women were fast. Leading the group is Laura Nelson, the only woman in this crowd to run sub-40:00 10Ks. Nelson did this in both her races, turning in a 58:28 at the Great Allegeny 15K, and a 2:18:39 at the National Capital 20 Miler.

Since there was very little head-to-head competition in this division, rankings were assigned based on fastest performance of the season. Using the criteria, Betsy Berry, who ran the Pepsi 10K in 40:04, is the runner-up.

Third and fourth rank were a tough call, since the two women involved have almost identical 10K equivalent times, but they did not run head to head. In the end, we have awarded third to Susan Maher, who was third in her age division at the Army Ten Miler, where she ran 1:07:34 for her best showing of the season (40:36 10K equivalent). Our fourth ranked runner, Christy Prillaman, also had a 10K equivalent of 40:36. However, the race she selected was the Hilton Village 5K, where she crossed the line in 19:30. Both women also had 41:00 10K equivalent times-- Maher at the Kensington 8K, and Prillaman at the Mulberry Island Half Marathon.

Rounding out the top five in this division is Maureen Hall, who had her best race at the Autumn Glory 5K, where she ran 19:42. She also finished behind Nelson at the Great Allegeny 15K, where she ran 1:03:20.

 Pl	Name            	Hometown
  1	Laura Nelson     	Waynesboro, VA
  2	Betsy Berry        	Quinque, VA
  3	Susan Maher       	Arlington, VA
  4	Christy Prillaman	Newport News, VA
  5	Maureen Hall      	Lavale, MD
  6	Robyn Humphrey     	Ellicott City, MD
  7	Andrea Marsh     	Washington, DC
  8	Kay Jones         	Fairfax Station, VA
  9	Bonnie McDonald 	Roanoke, VA
 10	Suzanne Scoggin 	Reston, VA
 11	Ly Pham          	Alexandria, VA
 12	Lana Marsh        	Fredericksburg, VA

Women 40 - 44
Photo at left: Gloria Santarpia of Odenton, MD 8th among women's 40 - 44 Photo by Kathy Freedman

The women's masters division is always among the largest groups included in the women's rankings, and this fall was no exception. An impressive 32 women earned the necessary two qualifying times to earn a slot in the fall 2002 rankings. Leading the group is Lee DiPietro, clearly the fastest woman in the group. DiPietro, who hails from Ruxton, MD, earns her slot essentially by being the only woman in the division capable of running sub-38:00 10K equivalents. DiPietro did this in both of her races this fall, running a 36:17 to finish fourth at the Georgetown Classic 10K, and a 2:53:22 to finish in the top 15 at the Baltimore Comcast Marathon, proving she is a strong competitor at a number of race distances.

In seventh place at the Georgetown Classic race, and in second place in these rankings, we find Maria Spinnler of Hagerstown, who was at her best at the big race, finishing in 38:34. Spinnler's second qualifying time was a 1:07:05 at the Virginia Ten Miler.

Third place in this division belongs to Laura Freix, who managed sub-40:00 10K equivalents in four of her six qualifying races. What assured her the third place finish, however, was her 38:41 finish just behind Spinnler at the Georgetown Classic 10K. Freix's fastest race, however, was actually a 38:39 at the United We Stand 10K, proving that her Georgetown results were no fluke.

Velda Kannewurf looked strong this fall, and managed to propel herself to a fourth place ranking. A 31:06 at the Ntelos 8K translates into a sub-40:00 10K equivalent, and was enough to keep Kannewurf ahead of the rest of her competition. Fifth and sixth place in this division were battled out at the King Henry 15K, where Kendall Tata and Debi Bernardes both stepped up to the line. In the end, Tata came across the finish in 11th place about a minute ahead of Bernardes, who finished 13th, with a time of 1:02:10. Tata's 1:01:08 finish gave her the distinction of the last woman in the group to run a sub-40:00 10K equivalent; thus she grabs the final slot in the top five, and Bernardes must settle for sixth.

Photo below: Carol Housaman of Woodbridge, VA, 32nd in women's 40 - 44

 Pl	Name              	Hometown
 1	Lee DiPietro     	Ruxton, MD
 2	Maria Spinnler    	Hagerstown, MD
 3	Laura Freix       	Centreville, VA
 4	Velda Kannewurf 	Mechanicsville, VA
 5	Kendall Tata      	Virginia Beach, VA
 6	Debi Bernardes    	King George, VA
 7	Lisa Warren       	Sykesville, MD
 8	Gloria Santarpia	Odenton, MD
 9	Sherry Volk     	Williamsburg, VA
 10	Marjorie Boyd	
 11	Tammy Rall        	Stafford, VA
 12	Deborah Barnett 	Columbia, MD
 13	Valerie Plyler    	Newport News, VA
 14	Carla Darr        	Vienna, VA
 15	Brenda Averette 	Midlothian, VA
 16	Beth McCann       	Falls Church, VA
 17	Linda Fournier	
 18	Sandy Blasey	        Kensington, MD
 19	Maribeth Cowan	
 20	Carole Rosasco    	Arnold, MD
 21	Lynn Bridges      	Cumberland, MD
 22	Christy Dale-Slavin	Silver Spring, MD
 23	Renee Butler      	Washington, DC
 24	Sarah Buckheit    	Reston, VA
 25	Karen Koffler     	Severna Park, MD
 26	Victoria Trunnell	McLean, VA
 27	Kim Harwig        	Yorktown, VA
 28	Robin Goodwin     	Timonium, MD
 29	Maureen Cook      	Chantilly, VA
 30	Wendy Ponvert     	Bethesda, MD
 31	Cindy Conant      	Kensington, MD
 32	Carol Housaman    	Woodbridge, VA

Women 45 - 49
Linda Wack, at age 46, is still one of the area's top performers. This fall, she finished just outside the top ten in 12th place at the Georgetown Classic 10K, with a time of 40:21, a time more than one minute faster than the next fastest 10K equivalent time. Wack's other qualifying time was a 36:39 at the Run Through the Grapevine 8K.

Second place in this division belongs to Richmond's Cecil Astrop, who had two strong performances this fall at races in the southern portion of our region. She had her fastest showing at the Autumn Harvest 10K, where she ran 41:28. Her second race was the Richmond Marathon, where she finished in an impressive 3:28:16, good enough for 31st place among the women.

Sharon White ran 33:00 at the Ntelos 8K, to lock up the third place position, a feat she accomplished by beating Falls Church's Betty Blank in head-to-head competition at the Richmond area race. At the Georgetown Classic 10K, age group constant Blank finished in 22nd place, with a time of 41:47, making her worthy of the fourth place ranking in this group. Of course, Blank had several other qualifying times, including the 33:20 finish behind White at the Ntelos 8K, and top ten finishes at the Paul VI Runfest and the Vanguard Run for Recovery.

Finally, rounding out the top five is Dorothy Winn, who earned her slot by running very quickly at the Norfolk Toys for Tots 5K, where she finished the course in 20:05, in what was actually the fourth fastest time of the season for the women ranked in this group. Unfortunately, she didn't participate in any head-to- head competition, so fifth was the highest ranking we are able to award.

 Pl	Name               	Hometown
  1	Linda Wack       	Germantown, MD
  2	Cecil Astrop     	Richmond, VA
  3	Betty Blank       	Falls Church, VA
  4	Dorothy Winn      	Norfolk, VA
  5	Sharon White      	Richmond, VA
  6 	Alison Suckling	
  7	Mary Siemann      	Frostburg, MD
  8	Karen Keefer      	Chambersburg, PA
  9	Laurel Easterson	Hampton, VA
 10	Ofelia Perotti    	Alexandria, VA
 11	Carol Talley    	Toano, MD
 12	Ellie Murphy     	Baltimore, MD
 13	Bernadette Flynn	Fairfax, VA
 14	Helene Burden     	Reston, VA
 15	Deirdre Sugrue    	Mt. Airy, MA
 16	Betsy Henderson 	Roanoke, VA
 17	Merrilee Seidman	Alexandria, VA
 18	Molly Gerke	
 19	Karen Miller      	Roanoke, VA
 20	Katharine Daragan	Silver Spring, MD
 21	Sharon Wake       	Richmond, VA
 22	Liz Recto          	Lexington Park, MD
 23	Valerie Gamache 	Arlington, VA

Women 50 - 54
Nothing has changed in the women's 50-54 division, as Winchester's Sandra Adams is on top once again. There is little dispute that Adams belongs at the top of the pile, as she has four of the top ten times run by women ranked in this group this fall, including second in division (first among the ranked) at both the Marine Corps Marathon and the Army Ten Miler, her fastest race in 1:11:53. Adams also was on hand at the Fair Lakes 8K and the National Capital 20 Miler.

Richmond's Linda Gulick is the runner-up this fall in the women's 50-54 division, an honor she earns on the strength of a 34:42 showing at the Ntelos 8K, representing the second fastest time run by a woman ranked in this division. Gulick also owns the third fastest time of the group, a 44:04 at the Autumn Harvest 10K.

At the United We Stand 10K, Deborah Gebhardt of Adelphi and Alice Franks of Rockville went head to head. Gebhardt finished in 45:31, with Franks close behind her, finishing in 46:14, good enough to earn Gebhardt the third place finish, with Franks taking fifth. Between Gebhardt and Franks, in the fourth place slot, we find Frostburg's Ann Rose, who collects her ranking on the strength of a 1:10:48 performance at the Great Allegeny 15K. Rose's other showing was a 23:22 at the Baltimore Women's Classic 5K.

 Pl	Name              	Hometown
  1	Sandra Adams      	Winchester, VA
  2	Linda Gulick      	Richmond, VA
  3	Deborah Gebhardt	Adelphi, MD
  4	Ann Rose          	Frostburg, MD
  5	Alice Franks      	Rockville, MD
  6	Marjorie Marque 	Alexandria, VA
  7	Janet Smith       	Harrisonburg, VA
  8	Mary Egger       	Fairfax Station, VA
  9	Sandy Salazar     	Columbia, MD
 10	Linda Rose        	Baltimore, MD
 11	Esther Buchser    	Abingdon, MD
 12	Amy Rockhill     	Roanoke, VA
 13	Jeanine Matte     	Arlington, VA
 14	Maria Shields     	Davidsonville, MD
 15	B. J. Derring     	Virginia Beac,h VA
 16	Dana Ann Scheurer	Reston, VA
 17	Christy St. Clair	Glen Arm, MD

Women 55 - 59
Photo by Kathy Freedman at left: Priscila Prunella of Rockville, MD, 16th in the women's 55 - 59 group

Norfolk's Jeanne Kruger-Williams is no stranger to the top slot, and this fall she finds herself in this position once again. She earns this honor with an age group win at the Marine Corps Marathon, one of the most important races of the fall season. At the overwhelmingly popular race, she ran 3:32:22, which equates to a 45:24 10K equivalent time, the fastest 10K equivalent run by any woman in this group. Kruger-Williams also ran the Norfolk Half Marathon and the Cape Henry 15K, to confirm her worthiness of the divisional victory this fall.

Second place was earned at the other big military sponsored race this fall, the Army Ten Miler, where Hideko Pirie fended off tough competition from runners like Dee Nelson and Lynn Hays, who were second and third in the division at the Army race. Pirie ran 1:16:47, well ahead of Nelson (1:22:21) and Hays (1:22:33) at her best race of the season. However, their performances at the Army Ten Miler were enough to earn Nelson and Hays the third and fourth rankings. Nelson was also on hand at the Fair Lakes 8K, where she finished in 39:11 behind Pirie (37:00), while Hays had a strong race at the Georgetown Classic, where her 50:46 performance put her less than two minutes behind Pirie.

At the 5K Run for Hospice at Ford's Colony, Hampton's Barbara Ivey beat Dee Nelson across the line, which was enough to let Ivey slide into the third place slot this fall. Ivey was a mere four seconds ahead of Nelson, finishing the race in 24:23 for her best race of the season. Ivey got her other qualifying time at the Mulberry Island Half Marathon, where she completed the course in 1:51:07.

 Pl	Name            	Hometown
  1	Jeanne Kruger-Williams	Norfolk, VA
  2	Hideko Pirie      	Leesburg VA
  3	Barbara Ivey      	Hampton, VA
  4	Dee Nelson        	Gaithersburg, MD
  5	Lynne Hays        	Arlington, VA
  6	Judy Gilbert	
  7	Connie Friend     	Charlottesville, VA
  8	Andrea Hess	
  9	Mary Kuta        	Rockville, MD
 10	Ruth Hens	
 11	Sissy Logan       	Salem, VA.
 12	Candice Michalik	Lynchburg, VA
 13	Barbara Davidson	Fredericksburg, VA
 14	Loida Velilla     	Falls Church, VA
 15	Betty Brothers    	Virginia Beach, VA
 16	Priscila Prunella	Rockville, MD
 17	Shelia Bailey     	Norfolk, VA
 18	Lucia Davidson    	Arlington, VA

Women 60 - 64
There wasn't an abundance of head-to-head competition in this division, so rankings are based largely on 10K equivalent times. The exception to this rule, however, was the top slot, which was hotly contested between Washington's Barbara Szoradi and Jane Metzler of Falls Church. Szoradi and Metzler both lined up for the Georgetown Classic 10K, and Szoradi turned up at the finish line just under a minute ahead, with a time of 52:44, for her best run of the fall. Metzler, therefore, is runner-up in this division, finishing the Georgetown race in 53:27. Metzler also had a 50:59 at the United We Stand 10K.

Alexandria's Nancy Linck is our third place finisher this fall, going the distance at the Baltimore Comcast Marathon, finishing in 4:07:07. Linck also ran 2:04:20 at the LAWS Shelter Half Marathon, a good enough performance to firmly cement her third place spot.

Fourth place in these rankings belongs to Mary Kate Berglund of Richmond, who had the fourth fastest time run this season, an age group triumph over Margaret Broaddus at the Ntelos 8K. Berglunch also had a 44:23 performance at the King's Charter 8K, for her second qualifying time of the season.

Norfolk's Betty Munden is our fifth ranked finisher this fall, a title she earns with a 26:17 at the Toys for Tots 5K. Munden was also on hand at the Larchmont RAT Race 5K and the Cape Henry 15K.

 Pl	Name              	Hometown
  1	Barbara Szoradi 	Washington, DC
  2	Jane Metzler       	Falls Church, VA
  3	Nancy Linck       	Alexandria, VA
  4	Mary Kate Berglund	Richmond, VA
  5	Betty Munden    	Norfolk, VA
  6	Donna Fitzgerald	Leonardtown, MD
  7	Margaret Broaddus	Richmond, VA
  8	Brenda Murray     	Chevy Chase, MD
  9	Linda Simpson     	Annapolis, MD
 10	Jill Mottus       	Baltimore, MD
 11	Janet Newburgh    	Rockville, MD
 12	Martha Lacy       	Roanoke, VA

Women 65 - 69
Four women in the 65-69 age bracket earn fall rankings in 2002. Lusby's Tami Graf is, not surprisingly, our age group winner. Graf is not only fast, but prolific, turning in nine qualifying times in the two-and-a-half month season. A 53:52 at the United We Stand 10K was her best showing this ranking period; however, she beat significant age group competition at other races. She ran 43:01 to beat second ranked Betty Dameron at the Fair Lakes 8K, which was enough to guarantee the top ranking.

Dameron had a good fall as well, turning in two qualifying times, the faster of which was a 59:51 at the Georgetown Classic 10K. Her second time was a 47:52 performance at the Fair Lakes race, where she finished behind Graf.

Third and fourth place were decided at the Ntelos 8K, where Mechanicsville's Shirley Wampler and Glen Allen's Barbara Guerrieri went head to head. Wampler finished ahead by nearly nine minutes, making her a clear favorite for the third place ranking, while Guerrieri must settle for fourth. The Ntelos race represented both women's season best showings, so there is little room for argument here.

 Pl	Name               	Hometown
 1	Tami Graf         	Lusby, MD
 2	Betty Dameron     	Fredericksburg, VA
 3	Shirley Wampler 	Mechanicsville, VA
 4	Barbara Guerrieri	Glen Allen, VA

Women 70 - 74
Only two women in the 70-74 division earned the required two qualifying times. Severna Park's Yvonne Aasen is our top ranked runner this spring, turning in two qualifying times, the better of which was a 48:51 at the Down's Park Trail Run 5 Miler. Her second race was a 49:11 at the Dawson's Five Miler.

Washington's Jacqueline O'Neil had three qualifying times, and, as such, is the other woman ranked in this group. O'Neil was at her best at one of the biggest races of the fall, the Georgetown Classic 10K, where she turned in a 1:08:34 finish.

Pl	Name              	Hometown
1	Yvonne Aasen    	Severna Park, MD
2	Jacqueline O'Neil	Washington, DC

Women 75 & Over
Four women over the age of 75 earned rankings this fall, with Kay Morrison of Potomac leading the charge. Morrison had her best race at the Georgetown Classic 10K, where she ran 1:06:02, a performance she backed up with a 1:06:07 10K equivalent at the Somerset Back to School 8K and a 1:06:50 10K equivalent at the 3M 5K.

Monica Friedman of Silver Spring is our second ranked runner this fall, a title she earns with a 33:32 at the National Press Club 5K, and a 59:31 at the Kensington 8K.

Marque, who ran in behind Morrison at the Georgetown race, is our third ranked runner, with her best showing coming in Georgetown, where she ran 1:11:13. Finally, Christianburg's Louise Akers rounds out this group, turning in her best time at the Stop the Clock 5K, where she ran 37:17.

 Pl	Name      	Hometown
 1 	Kay Morrison	Potomac, MD
 2 	Monica Friedman	Silver Spring, MD
 3	Hedy Marque	Alexandria, VA
 4	Louise Akers	Christiansburg, VA

See the Men's Autumn 2002 WRR Runner Rankings