University of Richmond Athletics
Chris York To Represent Team USA At 2010 World Mountain Running Championship
07/27/2010 | Cross Country
July 27, 2010
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - Richmond standout distance runner Chris York has been selected to compete at the 2010 IAAF World Mountain Running Championships, joining a long list of Spiders that have represented the United States at the World Championships. The race includes athletes from 36 countries and is set for Sunday, September 5th in Kamnik, Slovenia.
York, a rising sophomore, capped a stellar freshman campaign for the Spiders with his seventh-place 10K finish in last month's U.S. Track & Field (USATF) National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
Earlier in the season, he ran 31:28.32 under perfect conditions in his first 10K on the track at the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va. His next 10K was the Atlantic 10 Championships in Amherst, Mass where he followed his teammates Matt Llano (1st) and Tim Quinn (3rd) to place eighth with a career-best of 31:26.91 in hot conditions. Both of his 10K marks were well under the USATF Junior Qualifying Standard of 32:45.00.
"I'm really excited to be selected to the USA team for the World Mountain Running Championships", said York. "I look forward to competing against the best mountain runners in the world and to seeing the Alps."
The race will be held Sunday, September 5 in the Alpine town of Kamnik, Slovenia with the Junior (under 20 years of age) Men's 8.5K (~5.3 miles) Race scheduled for 10:00 a.m. local time. York is one of four USA Junior Men to race with the team goal of earning a medal by finishing in the Top Three teams.
"I'm happy for Chris", said Richmond head coach Steve Taylor. "He works hard and listens to our team leaders trying to emulate their footsteps by making sacrifices required to excel at the highest level of our sport. He knows this is a great opportunity for him."
York joins Andrew Benford, who finished 12th in the junior race 2006 and 13th in the senior race in 2009, and Tim Smith and Levi Grandt, who took fifth and 13th respectively in 2008's junior race. Those finishes stand as the Top-Three American junior performances all-time at the event.