BY PETER JACKEL
Journal Times | Posted: Saturday, November 24, 2007 12:00 am
Let's go back to Friday, when long-time UW-Parkside coach Lucian Rosa worked tirelessly for about 12 hours with a couple of assistants to get the weathered Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country course into good condition.
"Lucian Rosa and his crew did a fabulous job yesterday working on the course," said Pete Henkes, director of the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships Midwest Regional.
Consider Rosa's exquisite work to be the launching pad for a rocket named Claire Durkin.
The 17-year-old senior from Columbus, Ohio, running in the Midwest Regional for the first time, had a breathtaking performance Saturday morning, winning the girls' seeded race by an astounding 41 seconds and breaking the course record for this event.
Durkin covered the 5,000-meter course on a cold, windy morning in 17-minutes, 1 second to easily hold off the pack of Katie Flood (17:42), Emily Infeld (17:44), defending champion Emily Sisson (17:45) and Stephanie Morgan (17:47). The previous race record of 17:08 was set by Melody Fairchild in 1990, when Durkin was 6 months old.
"She came across the finish line and she didn't even look tired," said former Park coach Harvey Riekoff, a race assistant.
"I don't know if there was ever a 42-second gap between the first and 10th runner," Henkes said when asked if he could remember that much of a gap between the first and second.
"She was really impressive - that's an old record," said Sisson, who made a strong run at Fairchild's record last year. "Melody was an amazing runner, from what I heard of her, anyway. Wow! That's really impressive."
Durkin was among eight runners in the girls' seeded race to advance to the Foot Locker Nationals at Balboa Park in San Diego Dec. 8. The boys were led by Michael Fout of La Porte, Ind., who won in 14:56 in what was his first Foot Locker race.
So, just who is this sensation from Columbus? And why was she able to dominate a talented field, which included Sisson, who ran what was then the second-best time in this race last year, and Flood, who defeated Sisson twice this fall?
Durkin is a somewhat shy interview with a strong interest in math and science who is ranked first in a senior class of 356 at Worthington Kilbourne High School with a 4.2 grade-point average. The reason Durkin hasn't been at this race is because "it was a long time after the regular season ended and my parents had plans for Thanksgiving."
As for her domination, the state champion in the largest division in Ohio this fall has no secrets. She just goes out and runs and let's everything else fall into place.
Running uphill into a stiff southwesterly wind for the first mile of this challenging course, Durkin took an early lead and made it look easy the rest of the way.
"It surprised me that I took the lead right from the beginning," said Durkin, who has not yet decided on a college. "I definitely didn't expect to lead before the first mile, but that's what happened. My goal coming in was just to qualify. I didn't have times or records or anything else in mind."
Fout wasn't nearly as dominating as Durkin, but the Florida State recruit was nevertheless exceptional. Fout, who recently won the invitational-only Mideast Regional in Kettering, Ohio, which featured the top 10 runners from six states, defeated runner-up Christopher Derrick of Naperville, Ill., by eight seconds.
Like Durkin, Fout was running in the Midwest Regional for the first time. Midway through his junior season at La Porte High School, Fout suffered a knee injury that sidelined him the rest of the way.
"Knowing that I had never run here before, I wasn't sure what to expect, so I was just trying to come out here and see what happens," Fout said.
But now that Fout has earned a trip to San Diego, he isn't hesitating to speculate on what he could accomplish.
"I didn't really push it as hard as I could have and I think that was the same for quite a few other people who qualified," Fout said. "I'm going to push it pretty hard these next two weeks and I certainly think I'm capable of winning the national championship."
Foot Locker Cross Country Championships Midwest Regional
At UW-Parkside
All races 5,000 meters
Top 25 results
Boys' seeded race
1. Michael Fout, La Porte, Ind., 14:56; 2. Christopher Derrick, Naperville, Ill., 15:04; 3. Maverick Darling, Ovid, Mich., 15:07; 4. Rob Finnerty, Burnsville, Minn., 15:12; 5. Kevin Havel, Arlington Heights, Ill., 15:17; 6. Kevin Williams, Lakewood, Col., 15:18; 7. Joseph Manilafasha, Denver, Colo., 15:18; 8. Francisco Medra. Lafayette, Ind., 15:18; 9. Bobby Nicolls, Parker, Colo., 15:20; 10. Evan Appel, Littleton, Colo., 15:22; 11. Bobby Aprill, Dexter, Mich., 15:22; 12. Elliott Krause, Appleton, Wis., 15:23; 13. Dey Tuach. Thornton, Colo., 15:24; 14. Nick Holmes, Peoria, Ill., 15:27; 15. Charles White, Cherry Hills, Colo., 15:28; 16. Drew Shields, Fishers, Ind., 15:29; 17. Wesley Rickman, Peyton, Colo., 15:29; 18. Joash Osoro, Bismarck, N.D., 15:33; 19. Pieter Gagnon, Minneapolis, Minn., 15:37; 20. Dan Thaler, Cincinnati, 15:38; 21. Eric Fernandez, Ballwin, Mo., 15:39; 22. James Martin, Fort Wayne, Ind., 15:39; 23. Ben Bizuneh, Indianapolis, Ind., 15:40; 24. Chris Fallon, Copley, Ohio, 15:41; 25. Rick Elliott, Springfield, Mo., 15:41.
Girls' seeded race
1. Claire Durkin, Columbus, Ohio, 17:01; 2. Katie Flood, Des Moines, Iowa, 17:42; 3. Emily Infeld, University Heights, Ohio, 17:44; 4. Emily Sisson, Omaha, Neb., 17:45; 5. Stephanie Morgan, Barnsville, Ohio, 17:47; 6. Alexandra Banfich, Plymouth, Ind., 17:53; 7. Lindsay Anderson, Leeds, N.D., 17:55; 8. Chelsea Oswald, Medina, Ohio, 17:56; 9. Katie Haines, Rockford, Mich., 17:58; 10. Meggan Freeland, Abion, Mich., 18:00; 11. Rebecca Addison, Spring Lake, Mich., 18:05; 12. Brooklyne Ridder, Cincinnati, Ohio, 18:08; 13. Ashley Beutler, New Glarus, Wis., 18:12; 14. Tiffany Abrahamian, Rochester Hills, Mich., 18:13; 15. Elizabeth Hynes, St. Charles, Ill., 18:13; 16. Kristin Sutherland, Orland Park, Ill., 18:19; 17. Ashlie Decker, Des Moines, Iowa, 18:21; 18. Grace Green, Troy, Mich., 18:23; 19. Annette Glaz, Palos Hills, Ill., 18:24; 20. Megan Ranegar, Valparaiso, Ind., 18:24; 21. Michaela Reynolds, Emporia, Kan., 18:25; 22. Laura Roxberg, Overland Park, Kan., 18:28; 23. Sloan Secord, Gaylord, Mich., 18:31; 24. Megan Wright, Miamisburg, Ohio, 18:35; 25. Renee Masterson, Beech Grove, Ind., 18:36.
Top 10 results
Boys' freshman/sophomore race
1. Zachary Wills, Mason, Ohio, 16:19; 2. Michael Atchoo, Troy, Mich., 16:23; 3. Aaron Beattie, Naperville, Ill., 16:30; 4. Travis Brenner, Yankton, S.D., 16:33; 5. Kevin Colon, Lee's Summit, Mo., 16:35; 6. Nicholas Kern, Ann Arbor, Mich., 16:41; 7. Mike Clark, Waukesha, Wis., 16:45; 8. James Yau, Troy, Mich., 16:47; 9. Alex Johnson, Maple Grove, Minn., 16:47; 10. Daniel Thater, Springfield, Mo., 16:49.
Girls' freshman/sophomore race
1. Emma Drenth, Williamston, Mich., 20:02; 2. Sara Kroll, Westland, Mich., 20:15; 3. Olivia McCormick, West Plains, Ohio, 20:16; 4. Mallory Kreider, Kingsville, Ohio, 20:22; 5. Michaela Carnegie, Beulah, Mich., 20:22; 6. Erin Poss, Antioch, Ill., 20:24; 7. Melissa Roberts, Boulder, Colo., 20:43; 8. Catherine Dulworth, Jackson, Mich., 20:44; 9. Rachel Clark, Pinckney, Mich., 20:57; 10. Sarah Ball, Kenosha, Wis., 20:59.
Boys' junior/senior race
1. Garrett Eklof, Madison, Wis., 16:43; 2. Joe Dixon, Milwaukee, Wis., 16:48; 3. Matt Duncan, Rolla, Mo., 16:50; 4. Race Dorsey, Elkhart, Ind., 16:56; 5. Connor Phyfer, Mentor, Ohio, 16:58; 6. George Goad, Rockford, Mich., 16:59; 7. Phil Kosky, Sterling Heights, Mich., 17:00; 8. Kenny Janosko, Mentor, Ohio, 17:00; 9. Benjamin Stuckey, Fennimore, Wis., 17:01; 10. Jordan Bauss, Sterling Heights, Mich., 17:01.