University of Richmond Athletics
Ruskan Wins U.S. Title; Chavez Places Second
07/18/2014 | Cross Country
LINCOLN, N.H. - The University of Richmond was well represented in the 2014 U.S. and Collegiate Mountain Running National Championships held on the slopes of Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, New Hampshire on July 6.
Richmond's Marisa Ruskan ran her way to the 2014 U.S. Junior U-20 National Championship title, becoming the first athlete in Spider history to win a USATF national junior title. For the Spider men, Jordan Chavez raced his way to become the 2014 Collegiate National Championship runner-up and narrowly missed making the U.S. national team with his seventh place overall performance.
The Loon Mountain Race marked the first time in history that college students competed for the title of Collegiate Mountain Running National Champion. The race attracted the best mountain runners in the nation, crowning not only the College National Champion, but also the U.S. Mountain Running Champions with the top six men and top four women earning automatic berths to the 2014 U.S. Mountain Running Team (USMRT).
A record 498 participants were on hand for the races and 15 colleges represented in the first ever Collegiate Running Association's Mountain Running National Championships. With new NCAA legislation permitting varsity NCAA DI athletes to accept prize money for actual and necessary expenses for their sport, the newly formed Collegiate Running Association provided $6,000 in prize money specifically reserved for college students who were enrolled in at least one college course at any level between January 1 and the day of the race.
The women's race was a 4.8-mile race while the men competed in a 12K climb with over 3,000 vertical feet of elevation gain with the final ascent reaching an incline exceeding 40%. Known in the running world as a race to put on your “bucket list”, its mystique met every expectation.
With temperatures around 60 degrees at the start of the women's race, it was nearly ideal for our nation's best to tackle one of the steepest trail races in North America. With a fast start, Spider teammates Emily Graber, Marisa Ruskan and Liz Schinski worked their way up the mountain. The women's 4.8 mile race had gradual climbs in the first 2.5 miles before the harsh terrain and intense inclines took over. Graber would be the first Spider to cross the finish line placing fourth in the Collegiate National Championship and 14th within the U.S. Championships, with Ruskan following in fifth and Schinski in sixth among collegians.
Ruskan, who was named the 2013 Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year in Cross Country and earned NCAA All-Region honors last fall, was crowned the U.S. Junior National Champion with her fourth-place, 57:38 effort easily outdistancing runner-up Gabrielle Vandendries, who ran 1:04:38. With her win, Ruskan became the first junior (under 20) athlete in program history to win a USATF junior national title. She will be considered for the 2014 U.S. Junior Mountain Running Team (USMRT) for the 30th World Mountain Running Championships to be held September 13 in Casette di Massa, Italy.
“Our athletes performed really well”, said Coach Lori Taylor. “They just started their summer training about 3 weeks ago following the track season, so we were not sure how they would handle a race this long and certainly this steep. They did a great job. This racing is as pure as it gets. It's not about time, splits or how well the course is groomed. This race was about pure competitive spirit and the athlete's ability to push themselves when every part of their body was giving them reasons not to. I couldn't be more pleased with how our athletes competed.”
Richmond's Jordan Chavez, a member of 2012 and the 2013 U.S. Junior Mountain Running Team's for the 28th and 29th World Mountain Running Championships, led five Spider men to the top of Loon Mountain. He charged past competitors on the steepest sections of the course in the last 3K of the race moving from 12th to seventh overall and from fourth to second among collegians.
His effort narrowly missed earning him a spot on the U.S. Mountain Running Team. Chavez, who is entering his junior year, was awarded $750 for his second place finish among collegians. Later this summer he will compete for the U.S. (Senior Men's) Mountain Running Team in the NACAC Mountain Running Championships to be held July 20 in Mexico.
“I'm really excited about the way the men and women competed today on a tough, demanding course”, said Coach Steve Taylor. “Jordan, Emily and Marisa were brilliant. They showed tough, hardnosed racing and tremendous discipline in fighting the internal demons you face on a course like this. This was a great race and a great opportunity to get together in the summer for a strength race. We are in the base building phase of our training as we look ahead to cross country season. So, having a college mountain running championship for the first time in history and for it to be held within the U.S. championships race is a perfect opportunity to expose our athletes to another type of running and racing. Everyone runs trails, now they are learning there's a whole world of racing on trails. It's really exciting. Also, Paul Kirsch, Chris Dunn and the folks at Loon Mountain did a great job putting together this event. One of our athletes called it 'epic' and I agree. This is not a race I will forget anytime soon. You just can't describe what we witnessed here today.”
Next was to cross the line behind Chavez was Spider Alumni Andrew Benford (UR '11), who earned $600 for his third place finish in the Collegiate National Championship. Benford started graduate work at Princeton University making him eligible for the Collegiate Running Association's National Championships. He earned NCAA DI All-America honors in the 3KSC for the Spiders in 2011 and was crowned Atlantic 10 Cross Country Champion in 2010 helping the Spiders to a 24th place finish in the 2010 NCAA DI Cross Country Championships. He was selected to the 2006 U.S. Junior (under 20) Mountain Running Team (USMRT) and ran his way onto the 2009 USMRT.
Winning the Collegiate title was Patrick Smyth (Notre Dame) and rounding out the top five college men were Drew Best (UMASS) and Patrick Rich (Concordia University) while Spiders standouts Ryan Lee (sixth), Paul Myer (eighth), Justin Keefe (ninth) and Adam Owens (11th) placed in the top 11 among college students.
Players Mentioned
