Open Women
(Photo: Liz Speegle is ranked 7th in the open division, and was profiled in the March-April issue of the Washington Running Report.)

The women's open division was marked by a host of very talented women this year. It was extremely difficult to rank these ladies, as there could be justification for any of the top three women taking the number one ranking. In the end, we chose to award the top slot to Alison Holinka, who was first in the spring rankings after being inadvertently left out of the winter rankings, where a revision demonstrated she would have easily been among the top three women. In the spring, however, she truly proved herself, finishing third at the Microsoft-USO Defenders Ten Miler. More importantly, she beat strong age group competition from both Misti Demko and Naoko Ishibe at the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler to prove that she really deserves to be ranked number one for 2001.

Misti Demko of Hershey trotted into town often enough to earn rankings in the spring and fall ranking periods. She was second to Holinka in the spring, after finishing the Cherry Blossom race five seconds back. In the fall, she earned top honors with a 15:56 performance at the Fila Baltimore 5K, and then backed that performance up with a two second victory over Ishibe at the Avon 5K.

Ishibe then is our third ranked runner this year. She had her chance at the top ranking in the winter period, where the 31- year-old not only won both races she entered, but ran the two fastest times turned in by women during the ranking period. Ishibe was also on top in the summer rankings, a spot which she earned with a strong second place finish at the Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K. Be this as it may, Ishibe was beaten by Demko and Holinka in the spring rankings, and did not return the favor during any of the other periods; therefore, she must settle for third.

Washington's Hilary Cairns had two top five finishes during 2001- - fourth in the spring rankings and third in the winter. This earns her the fourth ranking in the open division. Finally, rounding out the top five is Sharon Servidio, who earns her place with consistent top ten rankings in three of the four ranking periods. Servidio's best result was fourth in the summer rankings. While she was behind sixth ranked Elizabeth Scanlon in those rankings, she was strong in the spring and fall, earning rankings higher than Scanlon in those periods.

Place	Name	                        Hometown
  1	Alison Holinka	                Williamsburg, VA
  2	Misti Demko	                Hershey, PA
  3	Naoko Ishibe	                Silver Spring, MD
  4	Hilary Cairns	                Washington, DC
  5	Sharon Servidio	                Alexandria, VA
  6	Elizabeth Scanlon	        Alexandria, VA
  7	Liz Speegle	                Woodbridge, VA
  8	Sherry Esposito	                Westminster, VA
  9	Denise Knickman	                Baltimore, MD
 10	Bridget Niland-Gwitt	        Alexandria, VA
 11	Vicki Lang	                Columbia, MD
 12	Robin Oswald	                Washington, DC
 13	Connie Buckwalter	        Lancaster, PA
 14	Kristin McCann	                Stafford, VA
 15	Mary Davison	                Chesapeake, VA
 16	Julia Smith	                Tappahannock, VA
 17	Aurora Scott	                Portsmouth, VA
 18	Deirdre McCarthy-Gallagher	Arlington, VA
 19	Susan Rizzieri	                Arlington, VA
 20	Kathy Hoof	                Richmond, VA
 21	Kerrie Bowes	                Columbia, MD
 22	Kristin Bremer	                Baltimore, MD

Women 35 - 39
The women's 35-39 division is the only one in which four different women held the top ranking throughout the year. Only two of these women, however, earned more than one ranking. Ultimately, we have determined that Patty Fulton of Silver Spring, who was the divisional champion in the summer rankings, should be the top runner in the submasters category this year. Fulton was also ranked third in the fall rankings and second in the spring rankings. Fulton's best racing was done during the summer, when she turned in six qualifying times, including a sixth place finish at the Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K.

Second place belongs to Jeanne Grillo (photo), who was on top of the winter rankings, and collected the fifth place ranking in the spring. In the winter, Grillo had two of the top five times among the ranked women, including a 1:28:47 at the Belle Haven Half Marathon.

Laura Freix of Centreville had two top five rankings this year, and thus demonstrated enough consistency to earn the third place ranking for 2001. Freix's fourth place finish this winter was based on her ability to consistently run 10K equivalent times under 40:00. In the spring, she collected the fourth place ranking, in recognition of an overall race victory at the Run vs. Row 10K.

Patsy Long of Sterling is the only other woman in this group to collect two top five rankings during 2001, and, as a result, we have awarded her the fourth slot. Long was ranked fourth in the spring (just before her 35th birthday) and fifth in the summer rankings. Finally, grabbing the last place in the top five this year is Monica Grillo (photo left), whose best result was a third place finish in the summer rankings. Grillo's other ranking was a sixth place finish in the spring rankings.

Place	Name	             Hometown
  1	Patty Fulton	     Silver Spring, MD
  2	Jeanne Grillo	     Potomac, MD
  3	Laura Freix	     Arlington, VA
  4	Patsy Long	     Sterling, VA
  5	Monica Grillo	     Arlington, VA
  6	Kelly Barton	     Baltimore, MD
  7	Kendall Tata	     Virginia Beach, VA
  8	Laura Nelson	     Waynesboro, VA
  9	Maureen Hall	     Lavale, MD
 10	Phillipa Wellborn    Potomac, MD
 11	Debbie Kopecky	     Virginia Beach, VA
 12	Andrea Wagner	     Richmond, VA
 13	Lisa Buckman-Lewis   Virginia Beach, VA
 14	Julie Deutschmann    Baltimore, MD
 15	Marjorie Boyd	     Annapolis, MD
 16	Ellen O'Neill	     College Park, MD
 17	Julie Pape	     Baltimore, MD
 18	Carol Krill	     Stafford, VA
 19	Robyn Humphrey	     Ellicott City, MD
 20	Susanne Nearman	     Alexandria, VA
 21	Sophie Speidel	     Charlottesville, VA
 22	Edie Ashton	     Arlington, VA
 23	Kathleen Hall	     Richmond, VA

Women 40 - 44
(Photo: Kathi Canese of Arlington is ranked 22nd in this division.)

An impressive 24 women in this division appear in the year-end rankings for 2001. Ruxton's Lee DiPietro, who is simply the fastest local woman in this age bracket, leads. DiPietro was ranked first in three of the four ranking periods, and was consistently the fastest woman in this division. DiPietro started the year on a high note, winning the masters division at the POMOCO Half Marathon in 1:20:05. In the summer, she was back on top a result of two sub-38:00 10K equivalent times at local 5Ks. Finally, in the fall she hung onto the top slot by boasting a seventh place finish at the Outback Steakhouse Corridor Classic 8K in 29:44.

In the summer and fall, Rockville's Gretchen Triantos was on the hunt for the top slot, but both times she came up short and therefore has to settle for second overall in 2001. Triantos won the Riley's Rumble Half Marathon this summer, and followed that performance with a top ten finish at the Outback race (behind DiPietro) in the fall.

When Triantos was not occupying the runner-up position in the rankings, Annapolis's Jill Hargis was right there. Like DiPietro, Hargis managed to turn in a 10K equivalent time under 38:00, a feat she accomplished with her 29:46 at the Shamrock Masters 8K, where she was the first local female to cross the line. Hargis must settle for third in the year-end rankings, however, due to the fact that she was ranked fourth, behind both DiPietro and Triantos, in the fall rankings.

Baltimore's Eleanor Simonsick was a force with which to be reckoned all year, finishing twice inside the top three. In the fall, she was third, based solely on speed, as she didn't face much tough age group competition. In the summer, she was just behind Triantos at the Rockville Rotary Twilight 8K, which was enough to earn third in that season as well.

The last slot in the top five for 2001 goes to Debi Bernardes of King George, who had her best ranking period in the fall, where she finished third behind DiPietro and Triantos, but actually beat out Hargis in the rankings. Bernardes's other ranking was a seventh place finish in the summer rankings.

Place	Name	              Hometown
  1	Lee DiPietro	      Ruxton, MD
  2	Gretchen Triantos     Rockville, MD
  3	Jill Hargis	      Annapolis, MD
  4	Eleanor Simonsick     Baltimore, MD
  5	Debi Bernardes	      King George, VA
  6	Pat Wilkerson	      Baltimore, MD
  7	Sheri Segal	      Virginia Beach, VA
  8	Gloria Santarpia      Odenton, MD
  9	Julie Caprio	      Baltimore, MD
 10	Beth McCann	      Falls Church, VA
 11	Win Persina	      Washington, DC
 12	Carole Rosasco	      Arnold, MD
 13	Cinda O'Dell	      Virginia Beach, VA
 14	Robin Goodwin	      Timonium, MD
 15	Deborah Barnett	      Columbia, MD
 16	Dorothy Beckett	      Columbia, MD
 17	Jennifer Lundeen      Port Republic, MD
 18	Brenda Averette	      Midlothian, VA
 19	Joan Nugent	      Silver Spring, MD
 20	Sarah Buckheit	      Reston, VA
 21	Karen Koffler	      Severna Park, MD
 22	Kathi Canese          Arlington, VA
 23	Kiyoko Asao-Ragosta   Charlottesville, VA
 24	Jean Betz	      Cabin John, MD

Women 45 - 49
Germantown's Linda Wack was queen of the women's 45-49 division this year, earning the top slot in three of the four ranking periods. In the spring rankings, she was the only woman in this division to run a 10K equivalent time under 40:00, a feat she accomplished at the Pike's Peek 10K, where she ran 39:38.

Just a few steps behind Wack all year was Falls Church's Betty Blank, who is among the most prolific runners of the group. In the winter, her six fastest times run by ranked women was enough to earn the top slot. In the summer and spring, however, she had to settle for second in the rankings, behind Wack. As a result, we have awarded her the second place ranking for this division.

Donna Lewis of Bel Air is our third ranked runner for 2001 in this group; a position she earns on the strength of two period rankings right behind Blank. In the summer, she was third, based on her ability to be one of three women in the group able to run 10K equivalent times under 43:00. In the fall she was fourth, a position earned by finishing just a few seconds behind Blank at the Fila Baltimore 5K.

Dorothy Winn, who had two period rankings, owns our fourth place ranking. Her most impressive finish was third in the spring rankings, where she turned in a noteworthy finish at the Shamrock Masters 8K in 33:15. She was fifth in the fall rankings. More importantly for her, however, she finished ahead of Christie Wamsley-Morris in the fall rankings due to a head-to- head victory at the Neptune Festival 8K. This is enough to secure Winn's place as fourth for 2001, and force Wamsley-Morris to settle for fifth. To her credit, in addition to the sixth place finish in the fall, Wamsley-Morris was second in the winter rankings, an honor she collected as the result of a 1:36:38 finish at the POMOCO Half Marathon.

Place	Name	                Hometown
  1	Linda Wack	        Germantown, MD
  2	Betty Blank	        Falls Church, VA
  3	Donna Lewis	        Bel Air, MD
  4	Dorothy Winn	        Norfolk, VA
  5	Christy Wamsley-Morris	Colonial Heights, VA
  6	Evie Thomson	        Virginia Beach, VA
  7	Renee West	        Cabin John, MD
  8	Molly Gerke	        Arlington, VA
  9	Valerie Guilfoil	Columbia, MD
 10	Ellen Hoitsma	        Baltimore, MD
 11	Heather Sanders	        McLean, VA
 12	Stephanie Shipp	        Great Falls, VA
 13	Bonnie Legro	        Baltimore, MD
 14	Carol Encarnacion	Germantown, MD
 15	Barbara Bandiera	Glen Allen, VA
 16	Diana McWhite	        Virginia Beach, VA
 17	Jean Lauzon	        Spotsylvania, VA
 18	Mimi Fackler	        Norfolk, VA
 19	Suanne Shocket	        Manassas, VA

Women 50 - 54
Sandra Adams of Winchester and Barbara Matthewson of Chapel Hill fought it out for the top slot in two ranking periods during 2001. Adams came out ahead of Matthewson in the winter rankings, while Matthewson bested Adams in the fall rankings. Adams, however, had another first place ranking, in the spring, where she earned her crown as a result of her 1:08:29 at the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler and a 41:03 at Pike's Peek 10K. As a result, we have awarded Adams the top spot for 2001 in this division, and Matthewson must settle for second overall.

Rose Malloy of Annapolis, who managed to snag the top spot in the summer rankings, is our third place finisher for the year. Malloy got her second ranking in the winter, where she was third behind Adams and Matthewson.

Rounding out the top five we have Norfolk's Jeanne Kruger- Williams and Adelphi's Deb Gebhardt. Both Kruger-Williams and Gebhardt earned rankings in all four periods this year; however, Kruger-Williams finished ahead of Gebhardt in three of the four ranking periods. To her credit, Kruger-Williams never left the top five during the 2001 ranking year, and had her best result when she finished third in the rankings in the spring, on the strength of a 3:33:14 Shamrock Marathon. Gebhardt, always a consistent and prolific runner, had her best results in the summer, where she was ranked second, thanks to a stellar showing at the Annapolis Ten Miler, where she ran 1:15:12.

Place	Name	                Hometown
  1	Sandra Adams	        Winchester, VA
  2	Barbara Matthewson	Virginia Beach, VA
  3	Rose Malloy	        Annapolis, MD
  4	Jeanne Kruger Williams	Norfolk, VA
  5	Deb Gebhardt	        Adelphi, MD
  6	Maria Shields	        Crofton, MD
  7	Judi Carbary	        Columbia, MD
  8	Dana Ann Scheurer	Reston, VA
  9	Mary Ellen Gonyea	Alexandria, VA
 10	Marilyn Bevans	
 11	Melissa McLeod	        Norfolk, VA
 12	Jane Godfrey	        Takoma Park, MD
 13	Patsy Tudor 	        Richmond, VA
 14	BJ Derring	        Virginia Beach, VA
 15	Christy St. Clair	Fork, MD

Women 55 - 59
Sharon Dolan (photo) of Gaithersburg was atop the rankings in this division in all but the fall season. Dolan's dominance is based solely on the fact that she is far and away the fastest woman in this division running local races. She started out the year with a win at the Carderock 12K. In the spring rankings, she had equally impressive results, running the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler in 1:09:43, almost two minutes faster than she ran in 2000. In the summer, she turned in a 21:08 at the Katie DeRosa 5K, representing the fastest time run by women in this division in summer 2001.

Linda Tice of Glen Arm is the only woman aside from Dolan to earn a number one ranking this year. Tice managed this feat in the fall, when she turned in the two fastest times run during the fall in this division. Tice was also second to Dolan in the summer rankings, where she earned her slot with an age group victory over Dee Nelson in the BRRC Women's Distance Festival.

Nelson, who hails from Gaithersburg, is the third place finisher for the year. Nelson, typically one of the most prolific runners in this group, had rankings in all four ranking periods. Her best result was a second place finish in the fall, just behind Tice.

Betty King of Crofton grabbed two top five finishes in the rankings this year, including third in the always competitive spring rankings. In the spring, she finished ahead of tough competition from Dee Nelson, a spot she earned by beating Nelson in a head-to-head battle at the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler. This was good enough to earn fourth place for the overall year-end rankings.

Fifth place for the year belongs to Midlothian's Andrea Hess, the only woman other than Nelson to earn rankings in all four periods. In the winter, Hess was ranked as high as second place, in recognition of her 1:15:46 at the Frostbite 15K.

Fifth place for the year belongs to Midlothian's Andrea Hess, the only woman other than Nelson to earn rankings in all four periods. In the winter, Hess was ranked as high as second place, in recognition of her 1:15:46 at the Frostbite 15K.

Place	Name	             Hometown
  1	Sharon Dolan	     Gaithersburg, MD
  2	Linda Tice	     Glen Arm, MD
  3	Dee Nelson	     Gaithersburg, MD
  4	Betty King	     Crofton, MD
  5	Andrea Hess	     Midlothian, VA
  6	Judith Gilbert	     Stevenson, MD
  7	Priscila Prunella    Rockville, MD
  8	Muffet Chatterton    Crofton, MD
  9	Lucia Davidson	     Arlington, VA
 10	Julie Trapp	     Silver Spring, MD
 11	Mary Kate Berglund	

Women 60 - 64
The only woman to earn the top slot twice this year was Charlottesville's Lis Villadsen who we awarded top honors in the spring and summer rankings. As a result, we have given her the top ranking for 2001 in the women's 60-64 division. Highlights from Villadsen's year include a 25:17 showing at the CTC Independence Day 5K this summer, and a very impressive 1:22:02 in the Charlottesville 10 Miler.

Our second ranked runner in this division is Washington's Barbara Szoradi, who earns her place with a second place ranking in the fall and a third place finish in the spring. Right behind Szoradi in the fall rankings was Anna Berdahl, and we now find her in third place for the year. Berdahl grabbed the top spot in the winter rankings, where she ran a 54:32 at the Carderock 12K for the best performance of any woman in this division during the winter. Berdahl was also one of two women in this division to earn rankings in all four ranking periods.

Fourth in the 60-64 division for 2001 goes to Tami Graf, who aged up midway through the year. Graf finished the winter rankings in second place and was fourth in the spring. Finally, Baltimore's Jill Mottus earned three rankings in 2001, all of them in the top five. As a result, we have awarded her fifth place for 2001.

Place	Name	           Hometown
1	Lis Villadsen	   Charlottesville, VA
2	Barbara Szoradi	   Washington, DC
3	Anna Berdahl	   Silver Spring, MD
4	Tami Graf	   Lusby, MD
5	Jill Mottus	   Baltimore, MD
6	Arlowene Garland   Warsaw, VA
7	Betty Munden	   Norfolk, VA
8	Brenda Murray	   Chevy Chase, MD

Women 65 - 69
The women's 65-69 division is becoming increasingly competitive and, as a result, eight women in this age bracket have earned year-end rankings. Tami Graf of Lusby turned 65 mid-year, and proceeded to easily capture the top slot in both the summer and fall rankings, and, as a result, is our top ranked runner for the year. The summer period was particularly critical to Graf's earning the top slot, as it was during this period that she proved faster than Joanne Mallet, who was the runner-up in the summer rankings.

Mallet is also our 2001 runner-up in the 65-69 age division. In addition to her second place finish in the summer rankings, Mallet captured the top slot in the spring, where she earned her place simply by being the fastest woman (26:46 at Garrett's 5K) over age 65 during the season.

Angela Craighead and Phyllis Altrogge are probably the closest matched in this division in the year-end rankings and they have taken the third and fourth place slots for 2001. Craighead earned rankings in the summer and fall, while Altrogge has rankings in all but the winter period. Craighead earned second place in the fall rankings, based on her stellar performances at both the Marine Corps Marathon and the Montgomery County Marathon in the Parks for her best finish of the year, while Altrogge was second in the spring rankings for her best performance.

Finally, rounding out the top five in this division is Fredericksburg's Betty Dameron, who earned two top five rankings this year, a third place finish in the spring and fifth in the summer rankings.

Place	Name	            Hometown
1	Tami Graf	    Lusby, MD
2	Joanne Mallet	    Rockville, MD
3	Angela Craighead    Potomac, MD
4	Phyllis Altrogge    McLean, VA
5	Betty Dameron	    Fredericksburg, VA
6	Yvonne Assen	    Severna Park, MD
7	Barbara Guerrieri   Richmond, VA
8	Hiroko Hunt	    Reston, VA

Women 70 - 74
Three women in the growing 70-74 age bracket earned rankings in at least two ranking periods during 2001. Leading the charge this year was Lee Glassco of McLean, who earned the top slot twice this year (summer and fall), and was second in the spring rankings.

Martha Trimmer of Grasonville and Terry Hamilton of Reston both have the distinction of earning rankings in all four ranking periods this year. Trimmer, however, was ranked ahead of Hamilton in three of those four periods, and just behind her in the fourth. Hamilton's best season was the summer, where she beat Trimmer at the BRCC Women's Distance Festival and finished third in the rankings, just ahead of Trimmer.

Place	Name	          Hometown
1	Lee Glassco	  McLean
2	Martha Trimmer	  Grasonville, MD
3	Terry Hamilton	  Reston, VA

Women 75 & Over
Two women over the age of 75 earned rankings in the required two ranking periods to earn a year-end ranking. Both women earned rankings in two periods; however, the final determination as to who gets the top slot for 2001 was made back in the spring, where Morrison and Marque were both ranked, and Morrison beat out Marque at the George Washington Parkway Classic 15K to be the top ranked runner in the spring of 2001.

Place	Name	        Hometown
1	Kay Morrison	Rockville, MD
2	Hedy Marque	Alexandria, VA

See the men's 2001 year-end rankings.