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Wisconsin Athletes Help USA Junior Racewalkers Top Canada in Dual Match
Led by Zachary Pollinger (Mahwah NJ) and Maria Michta (Nesconset NY), the USA Junior Racewalk Team defeated Canada 19-27 in a match competiton held in conjunction with the Edmonton International Race Walk in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Sunday, August 29.The USA Junior National Team squad is comprised of the top six finishers from the USA Junior National Track & Field Championships held June 26 in College Station TX; athletes may not turn 20 years old in the calendar year. Men raced 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) and women 5 kilometers (3.1 miles). The top three finishers for each nation score the points of their place, with low score winning. The men's and women's races are scored separately and then totaled to give the overall team winner. Canada won the 2003 match.In the men's competition, Pollinger raced eventual winner Pierre-Luc Menard shoulder-to shoulder for almost the entire race. The two traded the lead and only in the final 500 meters did the Canadian pull away. Both recorded personal best times for the distance, Menard winning in 45:36 and Pollinger taking silver in 45:44. Pollinger, a recent high school graduate from Mahwah, New Jersey, will take a year off before attending Harvard in 2005; he will also be the top returning junior walker in the USA next year.Pollinger was supported by US teammates who moved up to third and fourth by the finish to secure the team win; Jared Swehosky (Stayton OR) was third and also recorded a personal best time of 47:59, while Troy Clark (Lisbon ME) was just off his best ever time in 48:34. Rounding out the US team were Roberto Vergara (Newburg TX) in fifth (52:10, personal best), twin brother Ricard Vergara (53:59) in seventh, and Dan Campbell (Caribou ME) in eighth (56:09).For the women, Michta was walker-up behind Canada's Rachel Lavallee's personal best winning time of 24:57. Michta, entering her freshman year at C.W.Post next week, clocked 25:37 in her final race of a long competitive year that stretched back to indoor track season.Katy Hayes (Oconomoc WI), who along with Michta represented the US at the World Junior Championships in July, was third in 26:01, while Dana Vered's surging fifth place finish gave the USA the necessary points to post a 10-11 win for the women; Vered (Paramus NJ) recorded a lifetime best of 26:49 in her first competition representing the USA. Backing the three scorers and walking strong races for the team were Christina Peters (Yellow Springs OH), seventh in 27:15, and Rosalind Adams (New York NY), eighth in 27:19.The annual dual match, started in 1989 and alternating between US and Canadian sites, is recognized as an important ongoing development program for both countries. It provides an opportunity for Juniors to race in a high level competition while affording many junior walkers their first chance to represent the USA in international competition. Four of the eleven US athletes in the 2004 meet were wearing the USA uniform for the first time (Roberto and Ricardo Vergara, Vered, and Adams), and seven of the young athletes on both team recorded personal best performances in this year's race.
Overall Team Score
USA 19 points (9 + 10)
CAN 27 points (11 + 16)
10K Junior Men
1 Pierre-Luc Ménard CAN 45:36
2 Zachary Pollinger USA 45:44 (Mahwah NJ)
3 Jared Swehosky USA 47:59 (Stayton OR)
4 Troy Clark USA 48:34 (Lisbon ME)
5 Roberto Vergara USA 52:10 (Newburg TX)
6 David Houle CAN 53:54
7 Ricardo Vergara USA 53:59 (Newburg TX)
8 Daniel Campbell USA 56:09 (Caribou ME)
9 Sidney Kitchen CAN 57:04
DQ Alexandre Gagné CAN
Men's Team Score
USA 9 points (2-3-4)
CAN 16 points (1-6-9)
5km Junior Women
1 Rachel Lavallée CAN 24:57
2 Maria Michita USA 25:37 (Nesconset NY)
3 Catherine Hayes USA 26:01 (Oconomowoc WI)
4 Chelsea Rodriguez CAN 26:12
5 Dana Vared USA 26:49 (Paramus NJ)
6 Marilyn Desmarais CAN 26:54
7 Christina Peters USA 27:15 (Yellow Springs OH)
8 Rosalind Adams USA 27:19 (New York NY)
9 Rachel Vanderzwet CAN 28:01
10 Katie Samoil CAN 29:52
Women's Team Score:
USA 10 points (2-3-5)
CAN 11 points (1-4-6)
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