Open Women
Charlottesville's Dana Coons (photo) is the top ranked woman this winter, a title she earns with a very strong performance at the Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon, where she finished in 1:17:24, good enough for second overall (first local) in the women's division. In doing so, she beat out competition from many strong area runners, including Alison Holinka and Carin Ward. Coons had her other qualifying time at the Ashburn Farms Turkey Day 10K, where she completed the course in 35:17.

Alexandria's Heather Hanscom is the winter rankings' runner-up, a spot she grabbed with two overall race victories this season. She won the Potter Homes Turkey Trot in 16:58, beating age group competitors Liz Boyer and Kristin McCann. She also won the Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 10K in 35:50, a race at which she had a lot of tough competition from familiar names like Cathy Pugsley, Sharon Servidio, and Melissa Rittenhouse.

Alison Holinka of Williamsburg is consistently a top finisher at the big races in the southern reaches of our region. This year, at the February half marathons, she finished just behind Coons in third place at the Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon in 1:18:43. At the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon, she ran a much slower 1:22:18, which was still good for fifth place.

(Photo: Carin Ward of Charlottesville, VA, 16th in the open division.)

Cathy Pugsley of Annandale was relegated to the fourth slot when she lost to Hanscom in head-to-head competition at the Jingle Bell race. Pugsley finished fourth in that race with a time of 37:46; however, her best result was a 27:52 at the DCRRC Turkey Trot Five Miler. Finally, rounding out the top five we have Virginia Beach's Delores Ware, who had her best race at the Virginia Beach Turkey Trot 10K, where she covered the course in 36:39. Ware also had four other qualifying times, including two top ten finishes at the Falcon 5K and the Penguin Run-Walk 5K.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Dana Coons	        Charlottesville, VA	
  2	Heather Hanscom	        Alexandria, VA	
  3	Alison Holinka	        Williamsburg VA	
  4	Cathy Pugsley	        Annandale VA	
  5	Delores Ware	        Virginia Beach, VA	
  6	Connie Buckwalter	Lancaster, PA	
  7	Melissa Rittenhouse	Baltimore, MD	
  8	Aurora Scott	        Portsmouth, VA	
  9	Desiree Ficker	        Potomac, MD	
 10	Amanda Pagon		
 11	Denise Knickman	        Baltimore, MD	
 12	Liz Boyer	        Triangle, VA	
 13	Kristin McCann	        Stafford, VA	
 14	Marjan Huizing	        Gaithersburg, MD	
 15	Susannah Kvasnicka	Great Falls, VA	
 16 	Carin Ward	        Charlottesville, VA	
 17	Mary Davison	        Chesapeake, VA	
 18	Julie Seymour	        Virginia Beach, VA	
 19	Julia Smith	        Tappahanock, VA	
 20	Sherry Esposito		
 21	Kris Wilson		
 22	Allison Masters	        Afton, VA	
 23	Nancy Watkins	        Stafford, VA	

Women 35 - 39
(Photo: Kendall Tata of Virginia Beach, VA, is 7th in the submasters category.)

Patty Fulton is the queen of the women's sub-masters category this winter. Fulton had the two fastest times run this winter, and was the only woman in this group capable of consistently running sub-40:00 10K equivalents this ranking period. Fulton's best race was a 37:40 at the George Washington's Birthday Classic where she finished in second place. Fulton also won the Country Road Five Miler in 30:58.

Diane Haupt, who spent the winter running around the southern portion of our region, is our second ranked runner, based on her stellar performances at the Run for Independence 5K and the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon. At the Run for Independence 5K, she ran 19:10 for the third fastest time run by any woman ranked in this group. At the Running Crab race, she crossed the line in 1:28:33, and beat out strong competition from Christy Prillaman and Debbie Kopecky.

LaVale's Maureen Hall ran 19:13 at the Westernport Turkey Day 5K, which qualified her for the third ranking in this division. Fourth place belongs to Columbia's Julie Thienel, who had her best race at the Carrabas 5K, where she ran 19:20 to finish in the top 25. Theinel backed this performance up with a 19:56 at the Penguin Pace 5K and a 1:08:25 at the RRCA Ten Mile Challenge.

Finally, rounding out our top five is Lisa Buckman-Lewis who had her best race at the Tidewater Striders Tune-Up 20K, where she ran 1:24:39, and more significantly, beat out age group competition from Diane Haupt and Debbie Kopecky.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Patty Fulton	        Silver Spring, MD	
  2	Diane Haupt	        Virginia Beach, VA	
  3	Maureen Hall	        Lavale, MD	
  4	Julie Thienel	        Columbia, MD	
  5	Lisa Buckman-Lewis		
  6	Christy Prillaman	Newport News, VA	
  7	Kendall Tata	        Virginia Beach, VA	
  8	Linda Boring	        Frederick, MD	
  9	Lana Marsh	        Fredericksburg, VA	
 10	Debbie Kopecky	        Virginia Beach, VA	
 11	Edie Ashton	        McLean, VA	
 12	Robyn Humphrey	        Ellicott City, MD	
 13	Suzanne Edgar	        Leonardtown, MD	
 14	Jane Wikman	        Germantown, MD	
 15	Laeticia Warring	Reston, VA	
 16	Ellen Jones	        Fredericksburg, VA	

Women 40 - 44
(Photo: Sheri Segal of Virginia Beach, VA, 6th in the 40-44 division.)

When Gretchen Triantos of Rockville crossed the line at the DCRRC Turkey Trot Five Miler in 30:19, she earned the top slot in these rankings in the very first week of the ranking period. Triantos's run at the Turkey Trot translates to a 38:14 10K equivalent time, the fastest run by any woman ranked in this division. Triantos got her second time at the Turkey Burn-Off 5 Miler, where she ran 31:31 to win the women's race.

The second fastest time of the season in this group belongs to King George's Debi Bernardes, who ran 18:54 at the Potter Homes Turkey Trot to finish fourth overall in the women's race. This, in combination with her 25:15 showing at the Shamrock Four Miler, is enough to give her the runner-up spot in these rankings. Third place belongs to Sherry Volk, who hails from Williamsburg. Volk was the next fastest woman in this group, a feat she accomplished at the Anheuser-Busch Colonial 5K, where she ran 19:13.

(Photo: Beth McCann of Falls Church, VA, ranked 11th in the 40- 44 division)

Finally, head to head competition between Centreville's Laura Gaydos-Freix and Washington's Win Persina determined fourth and fifth place. At the Turkey Trot Five Miler, both women came across the line in a tie for fourth place, not far behind Triantos. At the Red Ribbon Run 5K, however, Gaydos-Freix smoked Persina, finishing in 19:37, almost a minute ahead of Persina's 20:31.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Gretchen Triantos	Rockville, MD	
  2	Debi Bernardes	        King George, VA	
  3	Sherry Volk	        Williamsburg, VA	
  4	Laura Gaydos-Freix	Centreville, VA	
  5	Win Persina	        Washington, DC	
  6	Sheri Segal	        Virginia Beach, VA	
  7	Pat Wilkerson	        Virginia Beach, VA 
  8    	Cinda O'Dell            Virginia Beach, VA
  9	Marjorie Boyd	        Annapolis, MD	
 10	Sarah Buckheit	        Reston, VA	
 11	Beth McCann	        Falls Church, VA	
 12	Monica Allard		
 13	Jennifer Lundeen	Port Republic, MD	
 14	Karen Koffler	        Severna Park, MD	
 15	Bernadette Flynn	Fairfax, VA	
 16	Jean Betz	        Cabin John, MD	
 17	June Ciuba	        Arlington VA	

Women 45 - 49
Germantown's Linda Wack is the clear victor this winter in the women's 45-49 division. She owns two of the fastest times run by women in this division, including a 32:39 third place finish at the Country Road Run Five Miler and an overall race win at the Jingle Bell Jog 8K, where she ran 33:29.

It comes as no surprise then, that the runner-up slot belongs to Falls Church's Betty Blank, who was, as always, one of the group's most prolific runners. Blank had five qualifying times, the best of which was a 33:06 at the Turkey Trot Five Miler. Blank also beat out strong age group competition from Rebecca Strode at the DCRRC 25K Championship, where she crossed the line in 1:55:54.

Goode's Nancy Ferris is our third place finisher this winter, a result of her excellent showing at the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon, where she finished in 1:34:05, representing a 10K equivalent time of 42:31, making her the only woman besides Wack and Blank to be able to turn in a 10K equivalent time under 43:00. Ferris's other qualifying time was a 44:47 at the Peaks of Otter 10K.

Lynn Higgins was simply the next fastest woman out there in this division, so she is our fourth place finisher this ranking period. Though Higgins stayed away from the biggest races, when she ran, she did so very well, finishing the Santa Claus Shuffle in 20:44 and the Jennifer Braun Memorial 5K in 21:00.

Finally, rounding out the top five we have Rebecca Strode, who earned her spot with head to head competition, beating out Carol Talley at the Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon by more than two minutes. Strode's 1:37:02 at that race is backed up by her 1:48:21 at the DCRRC 25K Championship, where she finished less than three minutes behind the very speedy Blank.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Linda Wack	        Germantown, MD	
  2	Betty Blank	        Falls Church, VA	
  3	Nancy Ferris	        Goode, VA	
  4	Lynn Higgins		
  5	Rebecca Strode	        Springfield, VA	
  6	Carol Talley	        Williamsburg, VA	
  7	Debbie Flynn	        Gaithersburg, MD	
  8	Renee West	        Bethesda, MD	
  9	Pamela Goodling	        York, PA	
 10	Donna Harper		
 11	Katharine Daragan	Wheaton MD	
 12	Jean Lauzon	        Spotsylvania, VA	
 13	Debra Harber	        Fredericksburg VA	
 14	Diana McWhite	        Virginia Beach, VA	
 15	Linell Smith	        Baltimore, MD	

Women 50 - 54
Once again, Winchester's Sandra Adams is at the top of the list this winter, earning her spot simply by being the fastest woman over fifty out there. Adams had the fastest time run by any woman ranked in this division this winter; a 33:55 at the Reston Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis 8K. Adams backs that performance up with a very impressive 21:24 at the FCPRD Thanksgiving Day 5K.

Running in the southern reaches of our region, Norfolk's Jeanne Kruger-Williams is the only woman to pose a serious threat to Adams's top ranking. However, once again she had to settle for runner-up in the age division. Kruger-Williams earns her position this time by beating out very strong age group competition from Lake Ridge's Callie Edmundson at the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon. Kruger-Williams made it over the line in 1:38:53, less than a minute ahead of Edmundson, who finished in 1:39:41. This, coupled with even faster performances at several Tidewater Striders Tune-Up Series races, was enough to firmly situate Kruger-Williams in the second place spot. Edmundson, for her efforts at the Running Crab race, grabs the third place finish, a result she backs up with a 21:39 at the Potter Homes Turkey Trot.

Stafford's Nancy Crippen made a valiant effort to chase down Edmundson at the Potter Homes race, and, while she came up a little short, clearing the course in 22:20, it was a good enough effort to vault her into the fourth place spot in the winter rankings. Crippen's other qualifying time was a 30:19 at the Shamrock 4 Miler.

Finally, rounding out the top five is Jeanne Bowers, who earns her slot with consistent performances at the local Tidewater Striders races, where she consistently played runner-up behind Kruger-Williams. Bowers saved her best for the big show, however, running 1:44:27 at the Running Crab Half Marathon, to finish behind Kruger-Williams and Edmundson, but ahead of age group competitors Terry Miffleton and Peggy Frederick.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Sandra Adams	        Winchester, VA	
  2	Jeanne Kruger-Williams	Norfolk, VA	
  3	Callie Edmundson	Lake Ridge, VA	
  4	Nancy Crippen	        Stafford, VA	
  5	Jeanne Bowers	        Norfolk, VA	
  6	Terry Miffleton	        Richmond, VA	
  7	Ann Foster	        Elkton, MD	
  8	Maria Shields	        Crofton, MD	
  9	Peggy Frederick	        Virginia Beach, VA	
 10	Christy St. Clair	Glen Arm, MD	
 11	Sandy Salazar	        Columbia, MD	
 12	Alice Franks	        Rockville, MD	
 13	Bernadette Carter	Chantilly, VA	
 14	Linda Rose	        Baltimore, MD	
 15	Anne Viviani	        Arlington, VA	
 16	Sandy Burton	        Port Republic, MD	
 17	Kathy Luby	        Baltimore, MD	
 18	Susan Carnohan	        Fredericksburg, VA	

Women 55 - 59
Ten strong women in this division braved the winter weather and ran at least two area races to earn the qualifying times required for these rankings. Alexandria's Mary Ellen Gonyea ran away with the winter rankings this time, collecting five qualifying times, four of which represent 10K equivalents under 50:00. Gonyea didn't shy away from bigger races this winter, either, as she managed a top fifty finish at the George Washington Birthday 10K, where she had her best race in 47:56. She was also on hand at the Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon (1:50:16) and both the Red Ribbon 5K and Rudolph's Red Nose 10K.

Just behind Gonyea is B.J. King, who is the only other woman to consistently run sub-50:00 10K equivalent times. King had her best performance at the Washington Birthday 5K, where she ran 23:15. She also turned out for the RRCA Ten Mile Challenge where she beat the likes of age group competitors including Judith Gilbert, Danalee Green and Priscila Prunella.

Stevenson's Gilbert came in behind both King and Green at the RRCA race; however, we feel it is appropriate to award her the third place ranking this winter, in recognition of her 1:45:38 showing at the B&A Trail Half Marathon, her best performance of the season.

Gainesville's Susan Lucas ran 1:00:30 at the Burke Lake 12K, which was enough to help her just edge Andrea Hess in these rankings and capture the fourth slot. Hess, to her credit, ran 1:50:26 at the Colonial Half Marathon, a feat impressive enough earn the final berth in the top five.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
  1	Mary Ellen Gonyea	Alexandria, VA	
  2	B.J. King	        Annapolis, MD	
  3	Judith Gilbert	        Stevenson, MD	
  4	Susan Lucas	        Gainesville, VA	
  5	Andrea Hess	        Midlothian, VA	
  6	Dee Nelson,	        Gaithersburg, MD	
  7	Danalee Green	        Annapolis, MD	
  8	Betty Brothers	        Virginia Beach, VA	
  9	Priscila Prunella	Rockville, MD	
 10	Joan Smith		

Women 60 - 64
The 60-64 division yielded six women who earned at least two qualifying race times this winter. Arlowene Garland of Warsaw is our winner for the winter, a title she earns with three qualifying times, the best of which was a 1:05:41 at the Riverbank 12K. She also ran a very comparable 25:59 at the Potter Homes Turkey Trot.

Runner-up in the division belongs to Silver Spring's Anna Berdahl, who had her best showing at Rockville's Jingle Bell Jog 8K, where she crossed the line in 42:47, representing a 10K equivalent time of 54:19. Berdahl was also on hand at the Turkey Burn-Off 10 Miler and the Country Road Run Five Miler.

Third place in this division goes to Judith Brennan, largely in recognition of her strong performance at the B&A Trail Half Marathon, where she ran 2:03:08. She got her other qualifying time at the Frozen Finger 4 Miler, where she ran 35:32.

Baltimore's Jill Mottus is our fourth ranked runner, with a 26:59 at the Superbowl 5K and a 27:27 at the Towson Turkey Trot 5K.

Finally, our fifth and sixth ranked runners, Betty Munden and Sylvia Boecker, went head to head three times at the Tidewater Striders tune-up races this winter, and Munden came out ahead twice. Therefore, she gets the fifth place ranking, while Boecker must settle for sixth.

Place	Name	                Hometown	
1	Arlowene Garland	Warsaw,VA	
2	Anna Berdahl	        Silver Spring, MD	
3	Judith Brennan	        Mt. Airy, MD	
4	Jill Mottus	        Baltimore, MD	
5	Betty Munden		
6	Sylvia Boecker	        Williamsburg, VA	

Women 65 - 69
Only two women in the 65-69 division ran enough to earn rankings this winter. Our leader is, without a doubt, Lusby's Tami Graf, who had an impressive seven qualifying times. Graf's fastest performance was a 53:18 at February's George Washington's Birthday Classic 10K. Graf was also on hand at some other big winter races, including the Pomoco Running Crab Half Marathon where she finished in 1:58:54.

The other woman ranked in this division is Fredericksburg's Betty Dameron who had three qualifying times. Dameron's fastest effort was a 1:12:14 at the 2001 Riverbank 12K.

Place	Name	        Hometown	
1	Tami Graf	Lusby, MD	
2	Betty Dameron	Fredericksburg, VA	

Women 70 - 74
Three women in this division managed to amass the necessary two qualifying times to earn rankings in the winter. Leading the charge is Yvonne Aasen of Severna Park, who only recently turned 70. She gets the top slot by running the two fastest times of any woman in the division-a 47:36 at the Glen Burnie Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis and a 31:37 at the Washington's Birthday 5K.

The next two women to earn rankings in this division actually ran head to head twice this winter. Monica Friedman of Silver Spring and Lee Glassco of McLean battled it out at both the Turkey Burn-Off 5 Miler and the Country Road Run, with Friedman coming out on top both times. As a result, Friedman takes the second ranking, while Glassco must settle for third.

Place	Name	           Hometown	
1	Yvonne Aasen	   Severna Park, MD	
2	Monica Friedman	   Silver Spring, MD	
3	Lee Glassco	   McLean, VA	

Women 75 & Over
Only one women over the age of 75 managed to earn a ranking this winter. That woman, Kay Morrison of Potomac, did so in grand style, posting three qualifying times. Her fastest effort of the ranking period was a 1:51:49 at the RRCA 10 Mile Challenge. She also had very consistent performances at the Turkey Burn-Off 5 Miler and the Country Road Run 5 Miler.

Place	Name	        Hometown	
1	Kay Morrison	Potomac, MD	

See the Men's Winter 2002 WRR Runner Rankings