Open Men
The open men's division was incredibly fast again this fall, and it seems that the Washington region is seeing more and more international runners each ranking period. Of course, for the purpose of these rankings, we have limited the runners to "amateur" runners--though the times these young men are able to produce are certainly impressive.

Arlington's Andre Williams is king of the fall rankings, a spot he earns by turning in two of the top four times run by local men under age 35. Williams had the fastest time of the ranking period at the NTELOS 8K, where he ran 23:05 to finish as the first local finisher. He also was second (top local finisher) at the Georgetown Classic 10K in 30:26.

At the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, Tim Covington of Crozier beat David Spiller and collects the runner-up slot in the fall rankings. Covington finished fifth at the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, running across the line in 2:25:25 for his best race of the fall. Spiller, who finished the SunTrust Richmond Marathon in 2:34:53, had his best race at the Lynchburg BB&T Ten Miler, where he ran 50:09 for the second fastest time run this ranking period by any man in the group.

The Lynchburg race was the key factor in determining the fourth spot in the fall rankings as well. Right behind Spiller was Mike Fox of Harrisonburg, who crossed the line in 50:32. Fox's other qualifying time was a 51:18 overall race victory at the Harrisonburg 10 Miler.

Finally, rounding out the top five is Springfield's Chris Banks, who was among the group's most prolific runners, posting six qualifying times. Banks' best race was at the very fast Vanguard Run for Recovery, where he ran 14:42 for fourth place. He was also fifth at the Outback Steakhouse Corridor Classic 8K and was the overall winner at the Kensington 8K.

Place	Name	                Hometown
  1	Andre Williams	        Arlington, VA
  2	Tim Covington	        Crozier, VA
  3	David Spiller	        Harrisonburg, VA
  4	Mike Fox	        Harrisonburg, VA
  5	Christopher Banks	Springfield, VA
  6	Peter Sherry	        Lynchburg, VA
  7	Tommy Maguire	        Roanoke, VA.
  8	Jason Dejoy	        Randallstown, MD
  9	Lake Stockdreher	Harrisonburg, VA
 10	Eric Estrada	        Parkville, MD
 11	Joel Brusewitz	        Baltimore, MD
 12	Dan Courtney	        Owings Mills, MD 
 13	Michael Ryan	        Arlington, VA
 14	David Howe	        Silver Spring, MD
 15	Anthony Fleg	        Clarksville, MD
 16	Patrick Muturi	        Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
 17	David Mead	        Bethesda, MD
 18	Christopher Koehler	Fredericksburg, VA
 19	Craig Morrell	        Baltimore, MD
 20	Andre Smith	        Hayes, VA
 21	Jim Strand	        Rockville, MD
 22	Chris Conboy	        Baltimore, MD
 23	Mike Fox-Boyd	        Washington, DC
 24	Pascal Brazey	        Washington, DC
 25	William Swick	        Norfolk, VA

Men 35 - 39
Only ten men in the 35-39 division managed to get two qualifying times this fall; however, those ten had some exciting performances. The group was led by Mitchellville's Darrell General. General is the only man in this group to run a 5K under 15:00. He ran the Vanguard Run for Recovery in 14:36 and the Paul VI Runfest in 14:55, to post the two fastest 10K equivalent times run by men over 35.

At the Vanguard race, General beat out Mark Stickley, who is our second ranked runner this fall. Stickley, who hails from Winchester, ran 15:05 at the Vanguard race to finish in seventh place. At his other race, the Georgetown Classic 10K, he ran 31:39 to beat out Chris Chattin and cement his position as division runner-up, while Chattin must settle for third place. Chattin's best performance, however, was a 2:29:14 fifth place finish at the Baltimore Marathon.

Suitland's Joseph Daniels is the fourth place finisher in the sub-masters division this fall. He earns this honor with a very fast race at the Baltimore Fila 5K in 15:23. Finally, rounding out the top five is John Piggott of Newport News, who had his best race at the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, running over the finish in 2:30:45 for a seventh place finish.

Place	Name	        Hometown
 1	Darrell General	Mitchellsville, MD
 2	Mark Stickley	Winchester, VA
 3	Chris Chattin	Columbia, MD
 4	Joseph Daniels	Suitland, MD
 5	John Piggott	Newport News, VA
 6	Ted Poulos	McLean, VA
 7	Douglas Marocco	Montclair, VA
 8	Steve Jaeger	Alexandria, VA
 9	John Dill	Norfolk, VA
10	Ian Clements	Arlington, VA

Men 40 - 44
Premier masters runner John Tuttle was in town for several races this fall and he is far and away the fastest over 40 man to participate in races run in this region. Tuttle was on hand three times this fall. He had a top five finish (fourth) at the Georgetown Classic 10K, where he ran 31:28 for his best race in this area. He was also at the Outback Steakhouse Corridor Classic 8K and the NTELOS 8K.

At the Outback race, some local men made a serious attempt at hunting Tuttle down. Joe Abernethy of College Park ran 25:41 and Dave Berardi was two seconds back from him, finishing in 25:43. Seven seconds later, Jim Hage came tearing across the line in 25:50. Still, neither effort was quite enough to beat out Tuttle, who covered the course in 25:11. Still, it was an impressive enough performance to place Abernethy second in these rankings, Berardi third, and Hage in fourth. All three of these local men had other excellent performances. Abernethy had two overall race victories--Becca's Run and the Rockville MTA 5K. Berardi had four qualifying times, including a 15:19 run at the Baltimore Fila 5K, where he was ninth overall. Hage, to his credit, won the 3M 5K and finished 11th at the Georgetown Classic in a time of 32:36.

Finally, our fifth place ranking goes to Dai Roberts of Virginia Beach who won the masters division at the Lynchburg BB&T Ten Miler in a time of 53:33. In addition, he placed well at the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, where he came across the line in 2:30:47.

Place	Name	                Hometown
  1	John Tuttle	        Douglasville, GA
  2	Joe Abernethy	        College Park, MD
  3	Dave Berardi	        Baltimore, MD
  4	Jim Hage	        Glen Arden, MD
  5	Dai Roberts	        Virginia Beach, VA
  6	Paul Okerberg	        Herndon, VA
  7	Kirk Baird	        Centreville, VA
  8	Mark Malander	        Oak Hill, VA
  9	Jean-Christ Arcaz	Rockville, MD
 10	Steve Dietz	        Springfield, VA
 11	Steven Berry	        Ashburn, VA
 12	Doug Kuderna	        Odenton, MD
 13	Bill Bustin	        Yorktown, VA
 14	Mike Cook	        Alexandria, VA
 15	Kevin Lounsbury	        Crozet, VA
 16	Dennis Coleman	        Gaitherburg, MD
 17	Terry McLaughlin	Spotsylvania, VA
 18	Stephen Lewia	        Chantilly, VA
 19	David Kelly	        Potomac, MD
 20	Rob Levinksy 	        Virginia Beach, VA
 21	Martin Stiegmann	
 22	Jim Wadsworth	        Alexandria, VA
 23	Craig Ruetzel	        Virginia Beach, VA
 24	Mark Rosasco	        Arnold, MD

Men 45 - 49
The men's 45-49 division, with 29 ranked runners, is the largest men's division in these fall rankings. Always a challenging age group to rank, as there are many runners of very close ability levels, this fall was no exception. In the end, we chose to award the divisional crown to Ed Frohnapeel, who was on hand from Morgantown, WV for several races this fall. Frohnapeel had two of the five fastest times run by men ranked in this division. He ran 50:32 at the Great Allegany Run 15K for fourth place and 2:44:33 at the Baltimore Marathon for a 15th place finish there.

Second to Frohnapeel in these rankings we find Reston's Steven Ward, who earns his slot on the strength of a very fast SunTrust Richmond Marathon, where he crossed the line in tenth place in a time of 2:36:09 for his best run of the fall. Ward also ran 1:18:05 at the LAWS Run for Shelter Half Marathon where he beat out age group competition from Bruce Halpin.

Gaithersburg's Dan Lawson had a top 20 finish at the Georgetown Classic 10K, where he ran 34:07; evidence enough that he deserves the third place ranking. Lawson also ran the Kensington 8K in 28:35, where he finished in the top ten.

Carlos Pena of Virginia Beach had two top ten times this fall and so we have awarded him the fourth place spot in these rankings. A 27:32 at the NTELOS 8K was good enough for 21st place and enough to secure Pena's spot in the top five. Finally, rounding out the top five we have Jeff Douglass, a spot he earned when he beat Hopewell's Jim Bates to the finish line at the SunTrust Richmond Marathon. Douglass finished the marathon course in 2:51:24, whereas it took Bates 2:52:47, and therefore Douglass grabs fifth place, and Bates must settle for sixth.

Place	Name	                Hometown
  1	Ed Frohnapeel	        Morgantown, WV
  2	Steven Ward	        Reston, VA
  3	Dan Lawson	        Gaithersburg, MD
  4	Carlos Pena	        Virginia Beach, VA
  5	Jeff Douglass	        Chesapeake, VA
  6	Jim Bates	        Hopewell, VA
  7	Jeffrey Stone	        Salem, VA
  8	Bruce Hamilton	        Fairfax, VA
  9	Robert Trame	        Richmond, VA
 10	Bennett Sweren	        Timonium, MD
 11	Bruce Delaplaine	Bethesda, MD
 12 	James Moreland	        Gaithersburg, MD
 13	Paul Serra	        Lusby, MD
 14	David Webster	        Stevensville, MD
 15	Steve Thompson	        Midlothian, VA
 16	Michael Fuller	        Chesapeake, VA
 17	Roberto Rodriguez	Arlington, VA
 18	David Goucher	        Ellicott City, MD
 19	Jim Adams	        Towson, MD
 20	David Andrews	        Bethesda, MD
 21	Wilhelm Anderson	Annapolis, MD
 22	Kevin Overstrom	        Arlington, VA
 23	Steven Murray	        Darnestown, MD
 24	Bruce Halpin	        Ashburn, VA
 25	Michael Fuller	        Chesapeake, VA
 26	Roland Rust	        Bethesda, MD
 27	Neal Riemenschneider	Winchester, VA
 28	Joseph Ryan	        Richmond, VA
 29	Greg Stick	        Salem, VA.

Men 50 - 54
Fifty-year-old Paul Ryan of Arlington was far and away the fastest man in this group during the fall ranking period. He owns the top five fastest times, and was virtually untouchable by any of his age group competitors. His 10K equivalent times ranged from 35:53 (17:12 at the Vanguard Run for Recovery) to a 36:37 at the Georgetown Classic 10K. Clearly, he is a step ahead of any of the competition and is the sole claimant on the number one ranking.

Williamsburg's Rick Platt is our runner-up this fall, a position he earns as a result of his 17:41 finish at the Hilton Village 5K, a time which is the next fastest time after Ryan's five.

Herndon's Richard Adams is our third place runner this fall, a slot he earns with strong showings at several big races, including the Georgetown Classic 10K where he ran 37:55 to finish just outside the top 50 in 51st place, beating out strong competition from David Low and Jay Wind, while finishing more than a minute behind Ryan. Adams's fastest race was an 18:06 at the Goblin Gallop; however, none of the other ranked men were on hand at that race to line up against him.

Columbia's Mick Slonaker takes the fourth place spot in the 50- 54 division, a ranking he earns with three 10K equivalent times under 40:00. Slonaker's best showing was a 29:55 at the Outback Steakhouse Corridor Classic, where he was behind Ryan. He also turned up for the Baltimore Marathon, where he ran a very noteworthy 3:03:26 and beat out age group competitor Gary St. Onge.

Finally, the last man to earn a spot among the competitive top five in this division is David Lowe of Chevy Chase, a ranking he earns based on his finish in 38:05, just behind third ranked Richard Adams at the Georgetown Classic race. Lowe's other qualifying time was a 31:09 at the Back to School Classic 8K.

Place	Name	                Hometown
  1	Paul Ryan	        Arlington, VA
  2	Rick Platt	        Williamsburg, VA
  3	Richard Adams Jr.	Herndon, VA
  4	Mick Slonaker	        Columbia, MD
  5	David Lowe	        Chevy Chase, MD
  6	Bill S. Hart	        Virginia Beach, VA
  7	Gary St. Onge	        Westminster, MD
  8	Kenneth Greenwell	Norfolk, VA
  9	Bennett Beach	        Bethesda, MD
 10	Jean-Pierre Bacle	Alexandria, VA
 11	Jay Wind	        Arlington, VA
 12	Gary Adkins	        Salem, VA
 13	Joe Brannan	        Lusby, MD
 14	Carl Randall	        Fredericksburg, VA
 15	Ronnie Wong	        Catonsville, MD
 16	Wilson Trueheart	Baltimore, MD
 17	John Dix	        Bethesda, MD
 18	Patrick Gary	        Manchester, MD
 19	John Lange	        Cockeysville, MD
 20	William English	        New Carrollton, MD
 21	Paul Steele	        Virginia Beach, VA
 22	Thomas Bernard	        Gloucester, VA
 23	Larry Coley	        Chesapeake, VA
 24	Steve Tyndall	        Yorktown, VA
 25	Mark Whisler	        Salem, VA.

Men 55 - 59
Alexandria's Patrick Griffith is once again the top runner in the men's 55-59 age group, turning in a number of noteworthy performances. All 12 of his 10K equivalent times are well under 40:00, with the fastest being a 37:00 10K equivalent that he earned when he ran 18:13 at the Lou McGowan 5K. Griffith was also second overall at the Jug Bay 10K, where he ran 38:32. In his twelve outings this fall, it is also worth mentioning that Griffith continually faced and defeated strong age group competition from other ranked runners.

Keswick's Dan Murray is one of the few runners in this group who didn't go head-to-head with Griffith, however. We have awarded him the second place ranking on the basis of his two strong races--a 1:02:47 at the BB&T Ten Miler and a 29:51 at the NTELOS 8K, both of which included victories over other ranked runners such as Jim Noone, Emmons Welch, and Jim Bell.

Ronnie Wong, who turned 55 midway through the ranking period, starts things off in the new age group with a third place ranking. After his birthday, he ran six races, including two fall marathons. He ran 3:01:36 at the Baltimore Marathon (his fastest race of the period), and a month later, 3:18:47 at the Montgomery Marathon in the Parks.

York's Ed Lecates had eight qualifying times this fall, including a 39:20 performance at the Georgetown Classic 10K, where he finished behind Griffith. He also ran 18:15 at the Baltimore Fila 5K. These two performances, coupled with his six other consistent races, were enough to earn the fourth position for the fall period.

Fairfax's Jim Noone sneaks into the last spot in the top five with his prolific and consistent running. Noone had eight qualifying times, the best of which was a 31:39 finish at the Outback Steakhouse Corridor Classic 8K, where he managed to finish inside the top 50 men overall; certainly an impressive feat. It was also his victory over John Haubert at this race that secured his spot in the top five, and left Haubert having to settle for sixth place.

Place	Name	               Hometown
  1	Patrick Griffith	Alexandria, VA
  2	Dan Murray	        Keswick, VA
  3	Ronnie Wong	        Catonsville, MD
  4	Ed Lecates	        York, PA
  5	Jim Noone	        Fairfax, VA
  6	John Haubert	        Alexandria, VA
  7	John Loughran	        Sandston, VA
  8	Robert Baker	        Morgantown, WV
  9	Jim Bell	        Charlottesville, VA
 10	Emmons Welch	        Batesville, VA
 11	Michael Golash	        Washington, DC
 12	Stephen Whitney	        Ctr. Ossipee, NH
 13	Lawrence Davis	        Chesapeake, VA
 14	Dennis W. Manske	Hampton, VA
 15	James Daley	        Alexandria, VA
 16	Fred Gedrich	        Annandale, VA
 17	Fancisco Sanches	Arlington, VA
 18	Ron Canaway	        Hurwensville, PA
 19	Mark Patterson	        Virginia Beach, VA
 20	George Nixon	        Richmond, VA

Men 60 - 64
The men's 60-64 division always has some great race performances, and this fall was no exception. Severna Park's John Benkert leads the pack this fall, turning in three very impressive performances, two of which were 5K showings under 20 minutes. Benkert's 19:23 at the Vanguard Run for Recovery was the fastest run by a man over 60 this fall, and as a result he is the clear winner of this division.

Moving now to the southern reaches of our region we find Norfolk's Mel Williams taking over the second place ranking. Williams had the third fastest time (behind Benkert's two) run by a man in this division this fall--an amazing 3:11:13 age group triumph at the Marine Corps Marathon. Williams also ran 1:11:14 at the FOP Ten Miler as further testament to his worthiness of the second rank.

Arlington's Chan Robbins, a regularly ranked runner, finds himself near the top this fall, finishing the period in third place. Robbins was 45 seconds behind Benkert at the Vanguard Run for Recovery, for a strong showing there. He also ran 20:11 at the Goblin Gallop 5K, beating out fellow age grouper Stephen Forman.

Columbia's Art Morey stacks up as the next fastest man in the group, and as such we have awarded him the fourth place ranking for the fall. Morey's best race was a 20:18 at the Baltimore Fila 5K. Finally, rounding out the top five is Warren Prunella, who gets the last berth in the top five by beating out Stephen Forman at the DCRRC National Capital 20 Miler, where he finished the course in 2:33:11. Prunella also had a 3:35:13 finish at the Marine Corps Marathon to further justify his ranking.

Place	Name	                Hometown
  1	John Benkert	        Severna Park, MD
  2	Mel Williams	        Norfolk, VA
  3	Chan Robbins	        Arlington, VA
  4	Art Morey	        Columbia, MD
  5	Warren Prunella	        Rockville, MD
  6	Stephen Forman	        McLean, VA
  7	Bob Leaberry	        Gambrills, MD
  8	Tom Willging	        Washington, DC
  9	Doug Walker	        Woodstock, VA
 10	Tommy Harris	        Lynchburg, VA
 11	Terry Derk	        Dauphin, PA
 12	Mike Baziz	        Baltimore, MD
 13	Quin Barber	        Falls Church, VA
 14	John Gluck	        Alexandria, VA
 15	Benito Vazquez          Laurel, MD
 16	Jimmy Williamson	Petersburg, VA
 17	Robert Ryland	        Richmond, VA
 18	Dan Foldenauer	        Richmond, VA
 19	Ron Steele	        Fairfax, VA
 20	Milton Swan	        Baltimore, MD

Men 65 - 69
An impressive 20 men turned in the minimum two qualifying times to earn rankings in this division. The top slot among these men was decided at the Baltimore Marathon, where Sparks's George Yannakakis and Belcamp's Leonard Morgan squared off. Though Yannakakis's gun time was faster, Morgan's net (chip) time was faster, so we are awarding him the top slot for his 3:52:39 finish. Morgan's other qualifying times were a 21:29 at the IND Race for Energy and a 21:37 at the Franklin Square Hospital 5K.

Yannakakis must settle for a strong second place finish this time, a spot which he certainly deserves, not only for his 3:55:14 finish at the Baltimore Marathon, but also for his 40:06 showing at the Jones Falls 8K.

Kitty Hawk's Tom Ray was back in town racing this fall, and he has earned the third place finish as a result of his 21:59 finish at the Hilton Village 5K and a 1:17:44 divisional win over Richard Williams at the Lynchburg BB&T Ten Miler.

Another runner who races in the southern portion of the region sits comfortably in the fourth place position. Virginia Beach's Chris Catoe had five solid qualifying times, including a 36:22 at the Neptune Festival 8K, which was good enough to vault him into the top five runners in the group. Catoe also had particularly good showings at the Holiday House 5K (22:24) and the Norfolk YMCA 5K (22:38).

It was a difficult decision between Maynard Weyers and Richard Williams, both of Alexandria, for the fifth and sixth slots; however, in the end we chose to award fifth to Weyers since he had a faster qualifying time than any of Williams's times. Weyers had his best race at the Kensington 8K, where he crossed the line in 36:54. He backed that performance up with a 37:24 at the Fair Lakes 8K.

Place	Name	                Hometown
  1	Leonard Morgan	        Belcamp, MD
  2	George Yannakakis	Sparks, MD
  3	Tom Ray	                Kitty Hawk, NC
  4	Chris Catoe 	        Virginia Beach, VA
  5	Maynard Weyers	        Alexandria, VA
  6	Richard Williams	Alexandria, VA
  7	Alan Rider	        Reston, VA
  8	Don Singer	        Annapolis, MD
  9	Hank Hatch	        Vienna, VA
 10	Stanley Witomski	Hanover, MD
 11	Bill Spruill 	        Chesapeake, VA
 12	Robert Smith	        Dickerson, MD
 13	Denis Dirscherl	        Williamsport, MD
 14	Alvin Marcy	        Centreville, VA
 15	William Hoss	        Reston, VA
 16	Mike Davila 	        Virginia Beach, VA
 17	Richard Talbott	        Sparks, MD

Men 70 - 74
Three men in the 70-74 division have earned rankings this fall. The fastest of these men is Larry Dickerson of Burke, who takes the division title on the strength of four qualifying times, the fastest of which was a 47:08 at the Georgetown Classic 10K, where he beat out age group competition from second-ranked Jack McMahon.

McMahon captures the second slot, with three qualifying times including a 48:47 finish just behind Dickerson at the Georgetown Classic 10K. McMahon also ran 39:15 at the Fair Lakes 8K.

George Waxter of Frederick is the final man in this division to earn a ranking this fall. Waxter had two qualifying times, the faster of which was a 23:40 at the Baltimore Fila 5K.

Place	Name	          Hometown
1	Larry Dickerson	  Burke, VA
2	Jack McMahon	  Rockville, MD
3	George Waxter	  Frederick, MD

Men 75 & Over
The men's 75 and over age division is always characterized by several prolific runners, and once again a significant number of men in this division earned the two qualifying times necessary to earn a fall ranking. Gainesville's Mel Mattson, who had a season-best performance at the Van Metre 5 Miler where he ran 43:49, holds the top slot in these rankings. His other performances included a victory over age group competitor Walt Washburn at the Fair Lakes 8K and triumphs over Bill Osburn and Ray Blue at the Goblin Gallop.

Second place this fall belongs to Bethesda's Bill Osburn, who had an incredible 13 qualifying times, which represent numerous victories over age group rival Ray Blue. Osburn's fastest outing was a 26:17 at the Goblin Gallop where he was second in the division behind Mattson.

William Foley of Catonsville is the third fastest runner in this group, though he did not face any age group competition from the other men ranked in this group. Foley had his best performance at the Western Branch YMCA 5K where he ran 26:28. This performance was backed up by a 26:29 at the Baltimore Fila 5K.

Fourth place belongs to one of the group's other prolific runners--Vienna's Walt Washburn. Washburn turned in eight qualifying times, including a 55:55 at the Jug Bay 10K where he beat out sixth-ranked Ray Blue.

Place	Name	        Hometown
1	Mel Mattson	Gainesville, VA
2	Bill Osburn	Bethesda, MD
3	William Foley	Catonsville, MD
4	Walt Washburn	Vienna, VA
5	Cokey Daman 	Virginia Beach, VA
6	Ray Blue	Oxon Hill, MD
7   	Albert Boone	Baltimore, MD