Leading the team in the men’s field was Andrew Carlson, who finished seventh with a personal best time of 47:48 (previous best was 48:08), followed by Antonio Vega in ninth place in a time of 47:53. In his first road race as a professional runner and new member of Team USA Minnesota, Jon Peterson was 12th in 48:06.
In the women’s championship race, Ladia Albertson-Junkans – who is joining Team USA Minnesota this month – was eighth in a personal best time of 55:44 (previous best was 57:55), followed byMeghan Peyton who was ninth in 55:58. Next up for both Albertson-Junkans and Peyton will be the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 5k in San Jose on Nov. 22, with Peterson running the 5k as well.
“I felt good but could not pick it up,” said Carlson, a two-time national champion (15k and 25k) who is preparing to run the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 4. “I’m in the last stages of marathon training so my gears aren’t super sharp yet. But this race was considerably better than a month ago (when he competed at the USA 20k Championships on Sept. 3), which is the plan.”
Vega was just 10 seconds off his personal best time of 47:43 and was pleased with his return to competition after an extended layoff due to injury. “This was my first race in two years where I wasn’t hurting,” he said. “Andrew (Carlson) and I worked together to try and catch the group ahead of us but we could not close the gap. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the effort.” Vega will next compete at the Des Moines Half Marathon on Oct. 21. He was the USA Half Marathon champion in 2010.
TC 5k Results
New Team USA Minnesota runner McKenzie Melander won the women’s division of the TC 5k, part of the Medtronic TC Family Events on Oct. 6, with a time of 17:05. Melander, who went to Eastview High School in the Twin Cities, is a Twin Cities In Motion College Scholarship winner.
The scholarship, which Melander won in 2008, is based on academic performance shown through grades, leadership, a commitment to community service or helping others, and a dedication to maximizing running potential. She graduated from the University of Iowa, where she competed in cross country and track, last spring.
About Team USA Minnesota
Team USA Minnesota is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Formed in 2001, the purpose of the training center is to improve the competitiveness of post-collegiate American distance running and to develop Olympians. The athletes are coached by Dennis Barker, head cross country and track coach at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Team USA Minnesota’s major sponsor is Life Time Run (www.lifetimerun.com) and its silver sponsor is Twin Cities In Motion (www.tcmevents.org). It is also supported by the New York Road Runners and the USA Distance Project. For more information, visit the team’s web site at www.teamusaminnesota.org.