See and Kavan take first place title in the Muddy Midwest.
Kenosha, Wis., November 27, 2004 – Jeff See of Middletown, Ohio, and Ramsey
Kavan of Yankton, S. D., won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships
(FLCCC) Midwest Regional at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha,
Wis., today.
In the boys’ race, Mohamud Ige of Denver, Colo., and
Levi Fox of Troy, Ohio, maintained a significant lead for the majority of the
race Ige in the lead at the one-mile mark in 4:50, just a second ahead
of Fox. The two runners held tight until newcomer Jeff See, a senior at
Middletown High School, began to bridge the gap by the 1.5-mile mark.
See made up a lot of distance on the hills in the last half mile, and
in a dramatic finish overtook the runners with only 100 meters remaining
to win the race in 15:22.
Fox, a senior at Troy High School, finished
in a close second in 15:23, with Ige, a junior at Denver South High School,
placing third in 15:33. This is the first time both runners qualified
for the National Finals.
The girls’ race was a virtual two-person show
led by two-time FLCCC National Qualifier Ramsey Kavan, a senior at Yankton
High School, and newcomer Whitney Anderson of Silverthorne, Colo. The
girls ran neck-and-neck with Anderson leading by the one-mile mark and
Kavan trailing a mere second behind. Anderson held tight onto a slight
three-second lead by the two-mile mark until Ramsey overtook her in the
hills and went on to capture the Regional title in the last stretch in
17:25. Ramsey placed second in last year’s Regional race and sixth at
the National Finals.
Anderson, a senior at Summit High School, placed
second in 17:29 and Brittany Tinsley of Russells Point, Ohio, finished
third in 17:50.
The course conditions were extremely wet and muddy due
to overcast skies and a heavy mist. The temperature was mild in the mid-40s.
Place |
Name |
Hometown |
High School |
Time |
1) |
Jeff See |
Middletown , Ohio |
Middletown High School |
15:22 |
2) |
Levi Fox |
Troy , Ohio |
Troy High School |
15:23 |
3) |
Mohamud Ige |
Denver , Colo. |
Denver South H.S. |
15:33 |
4) |
John Black |
Bloomfield Hills , Mich. |
Brother Rice H.S. |
15:34 |
5) |
Justin Switzer |
Waterford , Mich. |
Waterford Kettering H.S. |
15:37 |
6) |
Christopher Rombough |
Fremont , Wis. |
New London H.S. |
15:38 |
7) |
Daniel Roberts |
Vicksburg , Mich. |
Vicksburg High School |
15:42 |
8) |
John McGuire |
Golden, Colo. |
D’Evelyn High School |
15:42 |
NTN |
Sean McNamara | Elmhurst, Ill . | York High School | |
NTN |
Matt Dettman | Bensenville, Ill. | York High School |
Place |
Name |
Hometown |
High School |
Time |
1) |
Ramsey Kavan |
Yankton, S.D. |
Yankton High School |
17:25 |
2) |
Whitney Anderson |
Silverthorne , Colo. |
Summit High School |
17:29 |
3) |
Brittany Tinsley |
Russells Point , Ohio |
Indian Lake High School |
17:50 |
4) |
Madeline McKeever |
Littleton , Colo. |
Heritage High School |
17:59 |
5) |
Katelyn Kaltenbach |
Aurora , Colo. |
Smoky Hill High School |
18:11 |
6) |
Keara Sammons |
Centennial, Colo. |
Smoky Hill High School |
18:16 |
7) |
Allison Eckert |
Sioux Falls , S.D. |
Sioux Falls Roosevelt . |
18:17 |
8) |
Elizabeth Yetzer |
Lakeville , Minn. |
Lakeville High School |
18:18 |
9) |
Rebekah Smelzer | Monroe, Mich. | Jefferson High School | 18:21 |
10) |
Molly Waterhouse | Vicksburg, Mich. | Vicksburg High School | 18:24 |
BY PETER JACKEL
Journal Times
SOMERS - During four years of competing in the Foot Locker Midwest Regional Cross Country Championships at UW-Parkside, Ramsey Kavan's progression went something like this on the 5-kilometer course: As a freshman in 2001, she suffered a bloody nose from the dry air, threw up because she was so nervous and finished 146th in 20:34. As a sophomore, blood trickled out of her nose once again and she lost another breakfast, but finished 34th in 19:19. Her real breakthrough came last year, though, considering her nose was dry, her stomach was settled and she finished second in 17:34. As difficult as that was to improve upon, the Yankton, S.D., senior did just that Saturday morning, navigating a treacherous course in the rain to win the Midwest Regional in 17:25. She defeated runner-up Whitney Anderson of Frisco, Col., by four seconds.
"This has been my dream since I was a freshman,'' said Kavan, the three-time Class AA South Dakota girls' state champion. "It's just one of the best feelings in the world. I feel like all my hard work has paid off.'' Meanwhile, Katelyn Kaltenbach of Aurora, Col., who was last year's Midwest Regional and national champion, had a triumphant return to competitive running. After not competing since Sept. 17 because of a stress fracture in her left foot, Kaltenbach earned a return trip to the national meet by finishing fifth in 18:11 (her winning time was 17:29 last year). Jeff See of Middletown, Ohio, who has already received a full scholarship to Ohio State University, won the boys' seeded race in his first Foot Locker appearance. See, who had not run previously because of a succession of illnesses, covered the 5-kilometer course in 15:22 - one second faster than Levi Fox of Troy, Ohio. The top eight finishers in the girls' seeded race and the boys' seeded race qualified to compete in the Foot Locker National Championships, to be held Dec. 11 at Balboa Park in San Diego. Making the cut for Wisconsin was Jeff Rombough, the WIAA Division 1 champion at New London High School, who finished sixth in 15:37. The top Racine County finisher was Ryan Birkholz of Burlington, who finished 23rd in 16:07. Nick Simon of Park was the best Racine finisher, placing 184th in17:37. So how did Kavan finally complete her dramatic progression in such an ultimate manner? Kaltenbach not being at full strength was certainly a factor. More than anything, though, it was just a natural maturation process. "I'd say it was just getting used to running with that many runners,'' said Kavan, referring to a girls' seeded race field of 376 runners. "In South Dakota, there's not a lot of girls and I don't run in a lot of big races. "Just competing against this many people gets kind of crowded and you've got to learn to run your race with that many people.'' For Kaltenbach, it was just a matter of qualifying for the national meet and not necessarily on winning. "I only had like four weeks of training, so I just wanted to run a smart race and qualify so I can get two more weeks under my belt for nationals,'' Kaltenbach said. The top Wisconsin finisher in the girls' race was Melissa Manke of East Troy, who finished 35th in 19:15. See's victory was particularly impressive considering he was completely unfamiliar with Parkside's Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course. Having to deal with the muddy, rainy conditions made his performance all the more remarkable. "I talked to everybody who's run here before, so I knew what to expect kind of,'' See said. "Everybody talked about the hard first hill and how it's so narrow on the trails. I didn't really know what to expect exactly, but I knew it was going to be a strength race rather than just getting into a rhythm. "I was kind of out on a limb today never having run it before, but it wasn't too bad. I really liked the course.''