HARRA Fall Series Title Could Go Back To The Striders
With such a narrow lead in the HARRA Fall Series Team standings, the Bayou City Road Runners on Sunday have little room to falter to the Houston Striders.
Entering Sunday's Chevron Houston Marathon, BCRR holds a three-point lead (238-235) over the Striders, the 2004 Fall Series champion. Last season, the Striders had the Team title locked up with a decisive 39-point lead that Bayou City was only able to cut two (2) points into. The final margin was 283-246.
In the 2002 Fall Series race, Bayou City held a one-point lead, 144-143, over the Terlingua Track Club but got a Masters Women win and runner-up finishers in Masters Men and Open Women to seal the victory, 179-164. The year before, the Al Lawrence Running Club held a 7-point advantage over Bayou City that it stretched to a 23-point win after the marathon.
In fact, the Striders would have to do what no team has done since the 1999 Fall Series - and that is come from behind after the 30K!
Using the actual marathon registrants from the active.com Runner Update Network database and recent results from HARRA Fall Series competitions, here is how the race might go group-by-group:
Masters Men: Last year this division went Terlingua (13), Tornados (10), Houston Masters (8), the Striders (6) and Bayou City (5).
With Rich Fredrich and Bernie Weber leading the way, Terlingua is primed to win this division again. The Striders with Elias Deetlefs, Bill Schroeder (who will be actually leading the 3:10 pace team), Lance Collins (a mid-season pick up who is primed to qualify for Boston) is poised to finish second. Bayou City will keep it very close with a steady team of Bill Crich, Matthew Nicol, Mark Conrant and Rober Walters. The Tornados, HMSA, Bay Area Running Club and Al Lawrence Running Club should round out the scoring. BARC suffered a big setback with Gabriel Rodriguez's departure to south Florida.
2005: Striders win this division, 10 points to 8 and cut the BCRR lead to one (1), 246-245.
Masters Women: Last year Al Lawrence (13) led Terlingua (10), Bayou City (8) and the Striders (6).
With Caroline and Marla Burum and Melissa Hurta leading the way, look for Al Lawrence to again score the division win. Terlingua with Christie Lammers pacing the team is likely to again finish second. What could be a slight difference in the division is the Striders' pickup of Caroline Chamness. She joins Jackie Connelly, Miriam Terc and Carol Schmidt on a group that is projected to slightly edge Suzy Seeley, Rosella Pessin and Anna Sumrall Helm (who, like the Striders' Schroeder, is leading one of the pace groups).
2005: Striders win this over Bayou City, 8 points to 6 to take the lead by one (1), 253-252.
Open Men: In 2004, the Striders won the division (13) with the Tornados (10), Houston Harriers (8) and Bayou City (6) trailing behind.
The Striders' team on Sunday in this division is its strongest top to bottom with Brett Riley, John Yoder, Thomas King and new additions, Fred Miller III and Andrew Keller. Both the Tornados and the Harriers will keep the pressure on. The Tornados will be led by Joseph Routt while the Harriers will draw on Orange County natives Michael DeFee and Joe Melanson. The sleeper is Al Lawrence's two high performers in Drew Prisner and Vaughn Gibbs. Sleeper in that they could pull ahead of Bayou City in this division, siphoning off a much needed point from the Road Runners.
2005: Striders pull away with a 13-point division win. Bayou City is fifth with 5 points. The Striders stretch their lead now to nine (9), 266-257.
Open Women: Last year Al Lawrence (13) edged Bay Area Running Club (10) with Bayou City and the Striders going third (8) and fourth (6), respectively.
On Sunday, BARC is projected to win this division in 2005 on the strength of Kristen Foxley and Rebecca Whitney. Al Lawrence (paced by Melissa Henderson and Theresa Holland) and Bayou City (led by Anne Esler and Allison Nadolski) will likely finish second and third, but these spots are so close they could flip. The Striders, led by Heather Thompson and Jennie Minken, will more than likely take fourth. Bay Area could almost guarantee victory if Laura Bennett where running the full. Instead, she, like Bayou City's Bonnie Jo Barron, is running the half this year.
2005: Current projection has Bayou City winning this division over the Striders 8 points to 5 and cutting the margin back to six (6), 271-265. However, don't be surprised if it would drop to four (4) if BCRR can close the gap on Al Lawrence in this division.
Veterans Men: In the longer Fall Series races, this is Bayou City's strength as they won this division with Terlingua (10), Al Lawrence (6) and Houston Masters (5) scoring points before the Striders (4).
Jay Hendrickson, Donald Brenner, Tom Radosevich, Jim Braden and Scott Bounds will lead the way for Bayou City while the biggest improvement from 2004 may be the Striders as they will counter with Ted Traynor, Rainer Potthast, Robert Wishart, Kevin Campbell and Steve Shepard. Third, fourth and fifth should be close as the Houston Masters, Terlingua (with Ben Harvie, Roger Boak and Jack Lippincott pacing the team) and Tornados will wrestle it out.
2005: Bayou City scores this division in a 13-to-10 advantage. The Striders lead is cut to three (3), 281-278. Again it could be as few as one (1) here too.
Veterans Women: Last year the Striders and Bayou City took this division 1-2 with Al Lawrence and Houston Masters also scoring eight and five points, respectively.
This year, Nancy Prejean, Maria Camacho and Brigitte Laki are expected to lead Terlingua to a division win over Al Lawrence, who will be led by Carole Uttecht, Susan Middleton and Karen Lancer. Bayou City and the Striders, who will have Karen Bowler running in the half, project to finish third and fourth scoring 8 and 6 points, respectively.
2005: Bayou City edges the Striders by two points in this division cutting the margin to one (1), 287-286. However, with a twist or a turn (and hopefully not ankles), the result could end up the other way by 1-point as well.
Tune in for more details on Sunday and/or Monday!
Entering Sunday's Chevron Houston Marathon, BCRR holds a three-point lead (238-235) over the Striders, the 2004 Fall Series champion. Last season, the Striders had the Team title locked up with a decisive 39-point lead that Bayou City was only able to cut two (2) points into. The final margin was 283-246.
In the 2002 Fall Series race, Bayou City held a one-point lead, 144-143, over the Terlingua Track Club but got a Masters Women win and runner-up finishers in Masters Men and Open Women to seal the victory, 179-164. The year before, the Al Lawrence Running Club held a 7-point advantage over Bayou City that it stretched to a 23-point win after the marathon.
In fact, the Striders would have to do what no team has done since the 1999 Fall Series - and that is come from behind after the 30K!
Using the actual marathon registrants from the active.com Runner Update Network database and recent results from HARRA Fall Series competitions, here is how the race might go group-by-group:
Masters Men: Last year this division went Terlingua (13), Tornados (10), Houston Masters (8), the Striders (6) and Bayou City (5).
With Rich Fredrich and Bernie Weber leading the way, Terlingua is primed to win this division again. The Striders with Elias Deetlefs, Bill Schroeder (who will be actually leading the 3:10 pace team), Lance Collins (a mid-season pick up who is primed to qualify for Boston) is poised to finish second. Bayou City will keep it very close with a steady team of Bill Crich, Matthew Nicol, Mark Conrant and Rober Walters. The Tornados, HMSA, Bay Area Running Club and Al Lawrence Running Club should round out the scoring. BARC suffered a big setback with Gabriel Rodriguez's departure to south Florida.
2005: Striders win this division, 10 points to 8 and cut the BCRR lead to one (1), 246-245.
Masters Women: Last year Al Lawrence (13) led Terlingua (10), Bayou City (8) and the Striders (6).
With Caroline and Marla Burum and Melissa Hurta leading the way, look for Al Lawrence to again score the division win. Terlingua with Christie Lammers pacing the team is likely to again finish second. What could be a slight difference in the division is the Striders' pickup of Caroline Chamness. She joins Jackie Connelly, Miriam Terc and Carol Schmidt on a group that is projected to slightly edge Suzy Seeley, Rosella Pessin and Anna Sumrall Helm (who, like the Striders' Schroeder, is leading one of the pace groups).
2005: Striders win this over Bayou City, 8 points to 6 to take the lead by one (1), 253-252.
Open Men: In 2004, the Striders won the division (13) with the Tornados (10), Houston Harriers (8) and Bayou City (6) trailing behind.
The Striders' team on Sunday in this division is its strongest top to bottom with Brett Riley, John Yoder, Thomas King and new additions, Fred Miller III and Andrew Keller. Both the Tornados and the Harriers will keep the pressure on. The Tornados will be led by Joseph Routt while the Harriers will draw on Orange County natives Michael DeFee and Joe Melanson. The sleeper is Al Lawrence's two high performers in Drew Prisner and Vaughn Gibbs. Sleeper in that they could pull ahead of Bayou City in this division, siphoning off a much needed point from the Road Runners.
2005: Striders pull away with a 13-point division win. Bayou City is fifth with 5 points. The Striders stretch their lead now to nine (9), 266-257.
Open Women: Last year Al Lawrence (13) edged Bay Area Running Club (10) with Bayou City and the Striders going third (8) and fourth (6), respectively.
On Sunday, BARC is projected to win this division in 2005 on the strength of Kristen Foxley and Rebecca Whitney. Al Lawrence (paced by Melissa Henderson and Theresa Holland) and Bayou City (led by Anne Esler and Allison Nadolski) will likely finish second and third, but these spots are so close they could flip. The Striders, led by Heather Thompson and Jennie Minken, will more than likely take fourth. Bay Area could almost guarantee victory if Laura Bennett where running the full. Instead, she, like Bayou City's Bonnie Jo Barron, is running the half this year.
2005: Current projection has Bayou City winning this division over the Striders 8 points to 5 and cutting the margin back to six (6), 271-265. However, don't be surprised if it would drop to four (4) if BCRR can close the gap on Al Lawrence in this division.
Veterans Men: In the longer Fall Series races, this is Bayou City's strength as they won this division with Terlingua (10), Al Lawrence (6) and Houston Masters (5) scoring points before the Striders (4).
Jay Hendrickson, Donald Brenner, Tom Radosevich, Jim Braden and Scott Bounds will lead the way for Bayou City while the biggest improvement from 2004 may be the Striders as they will counter with Ted Traynor, Rainer Potthast, Robert Wishart, Kevin Campbell and Steve Shepard. Third, fourth and fifth should be close as the Houston Masters, Terlingua (with Ben Harvie, Roger Boak and Jack Lippincott pacing the team) and Tornados will wrestle it out.
2005: Bayou City scores this division in a 13-to-10 advantage. The Striders lead is cut to three (3), 281-278. Again it could be as few as one (1) here too.
Veterans Women: Last year the Striders and Bayou City took this division 1-2 with Al Lawrence and Houston Masters also scoring eight and five points, respectively.
This year, Nancy Prejean, Maria Camacho and Brigitte Laki are expected to lead Terlingua to a division win over Al Lawrence, who will be led by Carole Uttecht, Susan Middleton and Karen Lancer. Bayou City and the Striders, who will have Karen Bowler running in the half, project to finish third and fourth scoring 8 and 6 points, respectively.
2005: Bayou City edges the Striders by two points in this division cutting the margin to one (1), 287-286. However, with a twist or a turn (and hopefully not ankles), the result could end up the other way by 1-point as well.
Tune in for more details on Sunday and/or Monday!
posted by WalkSports.com | 3:55 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home