2009 Nittany Valley Running Club Indoor Mile #4
Friday, February 6, 2009
by Marty Mazur

The fourth and final running of the Indoor Mile Series drew the biggest crowd in event history. Thirty-eight runners competed in the mile, and seventeen went for the 3000 m run, and there was an event record in that race. And the crowd was almost as fast as last week's bunch, with 11 runners breaking 5 minutes. The first heat included all runners who were running both the indoor mile and the 3K, so there was a big spread in talent. Dave Rassmussen sealed a Series victory by winning the heat in 4:38.6. Mike Williams was second in 4:44.4 and Brian Petraco was third in 4:46.43. Cheryl Capone was the fastest woman in the heat, finishing in 5:47.49. The second heat also had some fast characters. Andy Cunningham ran a seasons best 4:48.47 to take first. And Greg Dillion led a mad sprint down the final straight but lost to younger legs. Chris Avery nipped Dillon at the line to take second in 4:53.51. Dillon sealed his Master's crown in 4:53.76. Dillon was remarkably consistent in this Series, thrice completing a mile in 4:53 and change. Ann Skulas-Ray, this year's women's mile champ, backed off from last week's PR to finish is her second-best time of 5:21.62. In the third heat, Jonathan Fleming finished first  in 4:57.51. Matt Gorman was second in 5:06.02. And Claire Berryman,  running as a PSU red-shirt, ran what would have been a women's Indoor Mile Series record time of 5:10.61. As a guest runner and non-member of the NVRC, Berryman won't enter our Club record books, but ran a great race. Also of note: Jane Brooker achieved a new Masters Women's record for the mile in 6:09.67. Jane also only ran one Series race, so could not take the Masters Series crown, which was vacant this year.

This week's mile run also featured a predicted time contest, where runners ran watchless and without a clock at the lap mark. The prize this year went to Francis Spear, who predicted 5:13 and came in 0.28 seconds under that time.

The other big story this week was the 3000. The field was by far the biggest we've ever had for this event. Seventeen runners competed, enough so that there was some confusion as the officials lost track of laps for some runners in the field.  Kelly Fermoyle won comfortable in an event record 8:52.04, and Dave Moore also broke nine in 8:59.40, besting his previous time in this event two years ago. Third place went to Jason Hoover in 9:23.93. Both the officials and Cheryl Capone lost track of Cheryls laps. She stepped off the track in 10:54.89, but later figured that she had probably needed to go another lap. Her time below is an extrapolation. And based on his known ability in the mile, Jeff Smucker ran an extra lap and his time here  is our best guess.

The Heat 1 starters were pretty intense.

The Heat 3 starters were a little more relaxed
The 3K Heat starters looked like sprinters.

Series Winner David Rasmussen (in light blue) and the Heat 1 lead pack.
Tara Murray strides confidently to a PR.
Stephanie Serriere  was iPod driven.

Kelly Fermoyle (left) laps two runners as he coasts to a 3K win.
Tom Cali's magic shoes propelled him through the 3K.
Cheryl Capone was one of several runners who did both the mile and the 3K.

Results

Heat 1
------

Place  Name                      Time
-----  ----                      ----
 1.    Dave Rassmussen          4:38.60
 2.    Mike Williams            4:44.40
 3.    Brian Petraco            4:46.43
 4.    Ben Huey                 4:53.84
 5.    Adam Moore               4:58.96
 6.    Shawn Kelly              5:04.19
 7.    Rachid Haoues            5:11.31
 8.    Francis Spear            5:12.72
 9.    Jeff Smucker             5:14.44 (M)
10.    Cheryl Capone            5:47.49
11.    John Wilcock             5:56.81
12.    Christine Rodgers        6:17.73

Heat 2
------

Place  Name                      Time
-----  ----                      ----
 1.    Andy Cunningham          4:48.47
 2.    Chris Avery              4:53.51
 3.    Greg Dillon              4:53.76 (M)
 4.    Ben Nieto                4:55.14
 5.    Nick Fornicola           4:57.94
 6.    Tim Richardt             5:07.56
 7.    Rod Stahl                5:15.19 (M)
 8.    Ann Skulas-Ray           5:21.62
 9.    Boyd Brumbaugh           5:24.84 (M)
10.    Shaun Wood               5:48.12
11.    Scott Klettke            6:01.98
12.    Marty Mazur              6:47.09 (M)

Heat 3
------

Place  Name                      Time
-----  ----                      ----
 1.    Jonathan Fleming         4:57.51
 2.    Matt Gorman              5:06.02
 3.    Claire Berryman          5:10.61
 4.    Costas Maranas           5:18.44 (M)
 5.    Tim Brooker              5:28.63
 6.    Greg Luna                5:31.90 (M)
 7.    Kelsey Markham           5:32.13
 8.    Molly Ritter             5:43.06
 9.    Marty Klanchar           5:52.86 (M)
10.    Tara Murray              5:54.54
11.    Jane Brooker             6:09.67
12.    Stephanie Serriere       6:11.12
13.    Earl Lake                6:39.79 (M)
14.    Kate Ryan                6:45.82

3000 Meter Run
--------------

Place  Name                      Time
-----  ----                      ----
 1.    Kelly Fermoyle           8:52.04
 2.    Dave Moore               8:59.40
 3.    Jason Hoover             9:23.93
 4.    Mike Williams            9:36.00
 5.    Brian Petraco            9:44.69
 6.    Ben Holmes               9:45.41
 7.    Ben Huey                 9:50.28
 8.    Adam Moore              10:24.15
 9.    John Quidlen            10:24.90
10     Tom Cali                10:25.33 (M)
11.    Francis Spears          10:42.89
12.    Jeff Smucker            11:16.99 (%)
 13.    Rachid Haoues           11:17.26
14.    Shawn Kelly             11:17.75
15.    Cheryl Capone           11:40.00 (#)
16.    Christine Rodgers       12:44.56
17.    John Wilcock            12:46.16

 
   (M) - Designates Masters (over 40) runners.
  (%) - Interpolated time. Jeff ran an extra lap, but crossed 15 laps at about the same time as Haoues and Kelly.
   (#) - Extrapolated time. Cheryl ran 10:54.89 for 14 laps.

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