FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Kenny Fried, kfried@bwfcom.com,
202-468-8200
Gabriella
Citrin, gcitrin@footlocker.com, 917-903-3614
San
Diego, Calif., December 11, 2010 – Aisling Cuffe of Cornwall-on-Hudson,
N.Y., and Lukas Verzbicas of Orland Hills, Ill., won the 2010 Foot Locker Cross
Country Championships National Finals (FLCCC) at Morley Field, Balboa Park in
San Diego, Calif., today. The runners competed in perfect racing conditions,
under beautiful sunny skies with a temperature of 60 degrees.
In the girlsÕ
race, Cuffe, a three-time FLCCC National Finalist and senior at Cornwall
Central High School, dominated from the start and powered through the field. Cuffe
took an early lead, pushed the pace and opened the gap even further to capture
the title in 16:53. Rachel Johnson of Plano, Texas, placed second in 17:27, and
Julie Nacouzi of Santa Rosa, Calif., finished third in 17:29. Johnson, a senior at Plano High School and
Nacouzi, a senior at Montgomery High School, are two-time FLCCC National
Finalists.
In the
boysÕ race, a large chase group of runners led by defending FLCCC National
Champion Lukas Verzbicas and Futsum Zeinasellassie of Indianapolis, Ind., set a
hard, fast pace hitting the mile-mark in 4:45. The two runners started pulling
away from the field coming off the hill and ran neck-and-neck heading toward
the two-mile mark, at which point Verzbicas began to push the pace. Zeinasellassie
tried to answer the surge, but Verzbicas continued to open the gap to become
the FLCCC National Champion for the second consecutive year in 14:59. Verzbicas is the third male runner to
capture two consecutive FLCCC National titles in the history of the race
(Abdirizak Mohamud Õ96 & Õ97; Dathan Ritzenhein Õ99 & 2000). Zeinasellassie placed second in 15:10,
with Tony Smoragiewicz of Rapid City, S.D., finishing third in 15:16.
The
Foot Locker Cross Country Championships is comprised of four regional 5K races,
which took place across the country in the Midwest (Kenosha, Wis.), Northeast (Kings
Park, N.Y.), and South (Charlotte, N.C.) on Nov. 27, and the West (Walnut,
Calif.) on Dec. 4, culminating in the National Finals here today. The pre-race
and race footage can be viewed online at footlockercc.com.
*Photos are available
upon request or online at footlockercc.com*