|
XO
Representin’ Coast to Coast!
News Release
CONTACT:
Ross Krempley—Team XO Director
Tel: 541.579.8326
Email: ross@teamxo.com
Mail: P.O. Box 3915 Eugene, OR 97403
XO Representin’ Coast
to Coast!
XO Representin’ Coast to Coast!
The first weekend in March saw XO athletes
span the map with members competing in Oregon, Washington, and
Florida. The latter was the site of the inaugural IAAF NACAC (North
America, Central America, and Caribbean) Cross Country Championships.
It can be said that the introduction of this meet will act as
a regional championships and precursor to the World Cross Country
Championships. Amadeus Francis, NACAC Chairman and Vice President
of the IAAF said, “Today's event was a critically important
first step in a series of events in which the United States will
continue to provide leadership in this area.” Both Paul
Kezes and Max King were invited to represent Team USA.
Although only three countries brought enough
runners to qualify as a full team (scoring the top four runners
per team), twelve countries were represented in the small thirty-one-man
field. The race was won by Team USA over Puerto Rico and Jamaica
with XO’s own Max King leading the way. “I liked the
course; it's really hilly and sandy with a lot of turns,”
said King after his third place overall finish. “I just
wished that I could've hung on to those first two guys. I think
they slowed down a bit after they got by me.”
24-year old Paul Kezes also settled in with
the elites and used this meet as a tune-up for the World Cross
Country Championships to be held later this month in St. Galmier,
France. He finished twelfth overall in the race helping Team USA
in winning the debut of the NACAC Championships.
The final meet of the indoor track season
saw two XO athletes competing in Seattle, WA. Ben Mangrum saw
his first action since the fall Regional and National Cross Country
Championships. In a race better suited for his current fitness,
Mangrum settled into the lead pack in the second heat of the day’s
3000 meter races. “It was a good race,” says Mangrum
after his nine second personal record. “Training has been
going very well, and I had a couple fast [workouts] last week
that told me I’m ready to race. I was able to get out with
the leaders and had a couple guys to kick down in the last lap.”
Mangrum caught four runners in the final 307 meter lap placing
him fourth in his heat.
Rookie XO middle distance runner, Kevin Ullman,
accepted an unexpected invitation to pace Sydney Olympian Adam
Goucher through 1000 meters of the men’s mile. “It
was a lot more stressful than I thought it would be,” says
Ullman after realizing his fatigue in the 800 meters. “But
it was still fun and I’d do it again, I just wouldn’t
race afterwards!” To his credit, Ullman brought the field
through the thousand in 2:29 and Goucher went on to run a sub-four
minute mile to take the win.
Two other meets, held at Linfield College
and Willamette University, both outdoor tracks, saw four other
XO athletes compete and four XO first place finishes.
Colin Mcarthur debuted his season in the
long jump, his jump of 6.95m (22-9.75) was good enough for the
win. “I just wanted to see some action,” says Mcarthur
of his win. “I’ll be over the twenty-four foot barrier
in no time, this was a decent first-meet jump.”
The Willamette University track crowd saw
an exciting finish in the men’s 800 meter race where XO’s
Brayce Forsha came out on top over Willamette’s Everett
Thomas (1:55.22, 1:55.30 respectively). “It was a fun race,
just something to keep the wheels spinnin’,” says
Forsha in a post-race interview.
XO High Jumper Kyley Johnson won by two inches
in the at the Willamette Open. He managed a height of 2.05 meters
(6-8.75) to win by two inches.
The lone XO competitor at the Linfield Icebreaker,
Justin Carvalho, dominated the field in the men’s Hammer
Throw winning by over ten meters. At his level, Carvalho has difficulty
finding competitive fields so we look forward to the “big
meets” that start in the next few weeks at Hayward Field
and other west coast venues.
Note: Honorable mention goes out to Carlos
and Esteban Trujillo who are currently training with the XO/Lane
Distance Project under the wisdom of XO Team Director Ross Krempley.
The twins finished fourth and eighth respectively at the Willamette
Opener 1500 meter race. Other members of that team will open their
season soon at the Mt. Hood Open. We will watch Krempley’s
inaugural collegiate distance team with great interest. Good luck
to Ross and all his athletes!
Kevin Ullman
800m specialist
XO PR Writer
____________________________________________
Team XO Track & Field Club was founded and created in 2002
by former University of Oregon track athletes. We are located
in Eugene, Oregon, home of historic Hayward field and known internationally
as Track Town, USA. Our team is comprised of primarily post-collegiate
athletes that train in the state of Oregon or have graduated from
universities in Oregon. Team XO has been created for elite post
collegiate track & field athletes looking to continue their
athletic career, while competing at the highest possible level.
We look to provide a home and unified team atmosphere where driven,
focused athletes can work together to achieve success both individually
and as a team. Our Web site is located at www.teamxo.com.
|
