VANCOUVER, Wash (2/12/05) - 2004 Olympians Colleen De Reuck and Tim Broe were victorious in the women's 8 km and men's 4 km races respectively Saturday at the 2005 USA Cross Country Championships at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver, Wash.

The USA Cross Country Championships serve as the selection event for the U.S. team that will compete at the 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, March 19-20 in St. Galmier, France. The top six finishers in the Open and Junior races qualify for the U.S. team. The USA Championships follows the same format as the upcoming World Championships, with six races over a two-day span.

On Saturday competitors ran under cloudy skies with temps the low 40s on the challenging Fort Vancouver grassy layout, still wet from an early morning shower.

In the men's Open 4 km championship, 2004 Olympian Tim Broe recaptured the title he won in 2001 and 2002 with a narrow win over two-time USA short course winner Adam Goucher. The 2004 Olympic Trials and 2003 USA Outdoor 5,000m champion, Broe finished 18th in the short course race at the 2001 World Cross Country Championships in Ostend, Belgium.

After the first 2 km, the lead pack included Broe, Goucher, Jonathon Riley, Alan Webb, Jorge Torres and Charlie Gruber. Midway through the final lap, Broe and Goucher began to string out the pack as Webb began to fall off the pace. Right before crossing the road to head up the hill for the final time Broe made a move to break away. Goucher tried to maintain contact with Broe about two seconds ahead of him making the final turn.

"I'm definitely feeling good," said Broe. "I didn't know where I was with my training after Boston. I came out here today to compete. I wasn't too worried about time. Today is a stepping-stone to outdoors and it's always fun to win. In cross country, especially in the 4K, you really don't get away from people. I've been doing a lot of strength work. "

Goucher, the runner-up and the winner of the short course and long course men's U.S. titles in 2000, was pleased with his performance. "I'm coming off the worst year of my life, " he said. "I feel like I'm back."

Open Men's 4 km Top 15

1. Tim Broe (11:37), 2. Adam Goucher (11:39), 3. Donald Sage (11:40), 4. Josh McDougal (11:41), 5. Jorge Torres (11:44), 6. Alan Webb (11:48), 7. Jonathon Riley (11:53), 8. Dave Davis (11:57), 9. Matthew Gabrielson (11:59), 10. Luke Watson (12:01), 11. Paul Kezes (12:02), 12. Max King (12:04), 13. Charlie Gruber (12:06), 14. Matt Downin (12:08), 15. Grant Robison (12:10).

Team Scoring: 1. The Farm Team - 23 points, 2. Team XO - 24, 3. Eastside TC - 34, 4. Sports Warrior TC - 61.

The winner of the 2004 U.S. Olympic Women's Marathon Team Trials in St. Louis, De Reuck captured her second consecutive women's long course title Saturday in Vancouver.

De Reuck led the race after the first kilometer, with Blake Russell, Jen Rhines and Katie McGregor close behind. The pack tightened going up the hill heading into the second lap with De Reuck leading Rhines and Russell by a meter. Halfway through the second lap DeReuck continued to lead with Rhines and Russell refusing to let go. Heading uphill to finish the second lap, De Reuck and Rhines began to pull away from Russell. De Reuck began to separate herself from Rhines at the 5 km mark, building a 7-second lead. Starting the fourth lap, De Reuck's lead was 11 seconds, and midway through the fourth lap she increased the lead to 17 seconds as she cruised the rest of the way for the victory.

"I just had a long break after the Olympics to make my injuries better before I started training again," De Reuck said. "I thought the girls were going to go out hard and I have a bit of a tight hamstring. The course became a bit muddy and that made it more of a strength race, which made a big difference because under dry conditions this can be a fast course. So I'm happy it rained. "

De Reuck made her first Team USA appearance at the 2002 World Cross Country Championships in Dublin, Ireland, where she won the individual bronze medal, and along with silver medalist Deena Drossin, led team USA to a team silver medal. De Reuck made her second Team USA appearance at the 2003 World Cross Country Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she placed eighth overall in the long course event, and along with Drossin, who won the silver medal, led Team USA to a team bronze medal. A three-time Olympian for her native South Africa, De Reuck became a U.S. citizen on December 11, 2000, just after finishing 31st at the 2000 Olympic Games in the marathon. She finished ninth in the 1992 Olympic Marathon before placing 13th in the 10,000m at the 1996 Olympics.

In her first race since the Olympic Games in Athens, Jen Rhines finished as the runner-up and was pleased with her effort. "I ran a solid race and it was fun to get back out there," she said. "I felt really strong aerobically. I got a little stitch when Colleen started to pull away, so I just tried to maintain second place and run strong to the finish.

Open Women's 8 km Top 15

1. Colleen De Reuck (27:24), 2. Jen Rhines (27:44), 3. Blake Russell (27:54), 4. Kathy Newberry (28:01), 5. Katie McGregor (28:04), 6. Lauren Fleshman (28:11), 7. Renee Metivier (28:32), 8. Laura Turner (28:37), 9. Chelsea Smith (28:39), 10. Sabrina Monroe (28:41), 11. Kelly Strong (28:56), 12. Erika Aklufi (28:59), 13. Jennifer Crain (29:03), 14. Patricia Nervo (29:08), 15. Lucinda Hull (29:15).

Contact: Tom Surber, Media Information Manager

Tom.Surber@usatf.org 317-261-0478 x317

For more information on the 2005 USA Cross Country Championships, including the complete results, visit the USATF Web site at: www.usatf.org.

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