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Medur is our go-to person for many of the essential tasks involved in putting on our races: race setup, our lap counting system and our website. An enthusiastic runner himself, he has participated in many editions of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run in Canada and the US.

Sweeney and Gardner National 100 Mile Champions

Connie Gardner of Medina, Ohio successfully defended her national 100 Mile title and Bob Sweeney of Rye Brook, New York struck gold...

Sylvania, Ohio, Sept. 11-12, 2004

Connie Gardner of Medina, Ohio successfully defended her national 100 Mile title and Bob Sweeney of Rye Brook, New York struck gold in his first race beyond 100 kilometers here today. Both Sweeney and Gardner are veteran members of the National 100K Team, Gardner have previously taken national titles at both 100K and 100 miles, and Sweeney here taking his first.

Under a relentless sun which brought daytime temperatures to 82 degreesF, both athletes took the lead from the starting gun and controlled the race throughout. Sweeney was never challenged, extended his lead continuously by the hour, ran steady throughout, and bested runnerup Steve Peterson of Lafayette, Colorado by over an hour at the finish. His 13:05:28 final time was the fastest 100 mile by an American in 13 years, and represents an average pace under 8 minutes per mile.

Gardner, on the other hand, was constantly pursued and challenged by Rebecca Johnson, who hails from the same hometown as Peterson. Having established an early lead of over a full lap of the 1.1 mile certified road loop on which the race is held, Gardner then guaged her ongoing effort on the various attempts Johnson made to unlap herself. The pair waged a tug-of-war until the final hours, when Johnson finally lost the ability to match her more experienced adversary's pace. Gardner's final time of 15:48:04 was, like Sweeney's, a course record.

RESULTS

1. Bob Sweeney, 37, Rye Brook, NY, 13:05:28
2. Steve Peterson, 42, Lafayette, CO, 14:11:26
3. John Geesler, 45, St Johnsville, NY, 14:55:44
4. Serge Arbona, 39, Baltimore, MD, 15:57:39
5. John Nichols, 40, Waterville, OH, 16:06:49

1. Connie Gardner, 40, Medina, OH, 15:48:04
2. Rebecca Johnson, 35, Lafayette, CO, 16:19:13
3. Janet Runyan, 45, Boulder, CO, 17:28:59
4. Susan Hart, 38, Reserve, NM, 18:25:08
5. Sue Albert, 35, Murrsville, PA, 19:40:50

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Knight shines at Morgan State

07-04-2004

BALTIMORE- Bianca Knight of the Jackson Jaguars track club won her second event of the meet on Sunday at the USA Youth Outdoor Championships by placing first in the intermediate girls 400m race in a time of 53.22. On Saturday she also won the 200m race in 23.73 seconds.

"I'm glad I won the race and that is the fastest 400m time I've run," said Knight. "I prefer the 200m, but the 400m is alright. I'm just happy to be finished for now."

Gazelle track club's Tim Grier also had an outstanding meet as he placed first in the intermediate boys 110m hurdles in 14.96. He also placed second in both the 400m hurdles with a time of 54.24 seconds and the decathlon with 5926 points.

In the intermediate girls 400m hurdles Ebony Collins of Quiet Fire track club easily beat her competition by three seconds with a time of 1:00.9 to outdistance second place finisher Keva Ramsey's time of 1:03.3. "I'm glad that I won and I plan to keep practicing and improving my times in the hurdles," said Collins. "For now, it's just a good feeling to win."

The midget boys 1500 meters was won by Roblet Muhudin of the Blazers track club in Colorado with a time of 4:34.01 to beat second place Jared Kenney's time of 4:38.95. "I knew that I would win, but this is one of my slowest times so that is disappointing," said Muhudin. "Track is what I love to do and I'm just trying to continue to get better."

In the bantam boys 400m race Christopher Hall of Miami Northwest Express track club ran away from the competition in a time of 58.77 seconds to just miss the bantam boys record of 58.76 set by William Obea Moore in 1989. Hall's time beat second place winner Joel Coleman's time of 1:02.28. "I usually run 59's so to run a 58 and come close to setting a record feels great."

On Friday 11-year-old DeeDee Robinson of Team Bionix set a national record in the midget girls javelin with a throw of 38.12m/125-01. This surpasses the old record of 35.32m/115-10 set by Leigh Petranoff in 2001. Robinson won the event by four feet. On Saturday, Robinson also placed second to Shannon Mitchell in the midget girls discus with a throw of 23.08m/75-09.

For more information on the 2004 USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the Verizon Youth Series, including results and complete coverage of this year's event, visit the USATF website at www.usatf.org.