2011 Nittany Valley Running Club Indoor Mile #4 and 3000m Race
Saturday, February 5, 2011
by Marty Mazur

The Indoor Mile Series finale was our biggest meet ever, and the crowd had some fast runners in it. A record 4 heats of the mile and one of the 3K were run and 5 Club records were broken (4 by one guy). The first heat was an all-ladies heat. Series regular Kelsey Markham went out strong and held the lead through 5 laps. But Gina Ranieri ran a steady race and finished first in 5:25.87. Meira Minard, who was near the middle of the pack, built her pace through the entire race, picking off one runner after another. In the end, she could not run down Ranieri, who finished very strong. But Meira was second in 5:28.64. Kelsey Markham was third in 5:29.48. Another Series regular, Tara Murray, probably gets the prize for the most ridiculously negative splits. Tara went out slow, running here first half in over 3:05. But she surged ever stronger in the last 4 laps to run under 2:50 for her second half-mile!

The second heat saw Will Aldridge pull out a comfortable win in 5:13.06. Anmol Khurana wassecond in 5:23.57, followed closely by Tim Yosca in 5:24.32. The third heat was a little closer for 1-2. Jonathan Fleming came in at 4:51.59, followed within half a second by Stephen Williamson in 4:52.04. Dan Green was third in 4:58.89.

In the fast heat, Nick Berra came in from Harrisburg for a second shot at the Club record, which was just lowered by a smidge last week by Mark Burnham. Burnham likes to put one hard race in during the series so as not to push his tendonitis. He probably should made this his race week, because we'd have seen a heck of a battle for the new record. As it was, the very experienced Berra ran a smart race against his two closest rivals. Will Appman and Mike Mahoney both ran strong, but both surged too early. Berra sensed when each of them tired and pushed the pace and passed them in turn. Berra finished in a Club Open record time of 4:24.07. He also beat his own Club Masters record, set at the first meet. Putting the two meets together, Berra also now owns the Club Open and Masters Series records.

The 3000 had some of the best footraces of the day. The lead pack of three guys were stride for stride for the entire race. Travis Prejean finally broke away for the lead, but it wasn't really decided until the final stretch. Prejean finished first in 8:57.72. Matt Fischer was second in 8:58.22 and Mike Williams just missed going under 9, crossing the line in 9:00.05. A foursome of women also had a hard time shaking each other. Cassi Knight, Lauren Philbrook, Beth Herndon, and Kathie O'Regan ran with each other for over half the race. Then Philbrook and Knight put some distance between themselves and Herndon and O'Regan. Philbrook, the Club 3K record holder, looked like she might break her own record and win the race as she slowly built a good lead on Knight. Well, she accomplished the former, but not the latter. Knight, who won the Nittany Half-Marathon in December, put on a great kick to win the women's race in 10:01.24, establishing a new Club record. Philbrook also broke her own now-eclipsed record of 10:12.11, finishing in 10:07.31. Herndon was third in 10:18.07, and O'Regan was fourth in 10:20.46.

The Predicted Time contest was won this year by Derek Gerberich, who clocked a 4:48.12 in the mile, only 0.12 seconds off his predicted time. This is about as close to the record of 0.05 as we've ever seen!

Results

Mile Run

Heat 1
------

Place  Name                      Time
-----  ----                      ----
 1.    Gina Rinieri             5:25.87
 2.    Meira Minard             5:28.64
 3.    Kelsey Markham           5:29.48
 4.    Kathryn Schmiech         5:40.91
 5.    Marie George             5:41.94
 6.    Tara Murray              5:54.34
 7.    Kathryn Simpson          5:57.46
 8.    Alyson Frederick         6:10.80
 9.    Kerrin Koch              6:27.39
10.    Kristen Cummings         6:28.08

Heat 2
------

Place  Name                      Time
-----  ----                      ----
 1.    Will Aldridge            5:13.06
 2.    Anmol Khurana            5:23.57
 3.    Tim Yosca                5:24.32
 4.    Rob Liebers              5:27.61
 5.    Corry Neff               5:36.12
 6.    Bill Maloney             5:51.62
 7.    Jonathan Thurley         5:52.53
 8.    Michael Goldfine         5:55.02 (M)
 9.    Marty Klanchar           6:09.51 (M)

Heat 3
------

Place  Name                      Time
-----  ----                      ----
 1.    Jonathan Fleming         4:51.59
 2.    Stephen Williamson       4:52.04
 3.    Dan Green                4:58.89
 4.    Adam Moore               4:59.01
 5.    Jack Quindlen            5:00.54
 6.    Kevin McClernand         5:02.93
 7.    Chris Avery              5:04.88
 8.    Nick Fornicola           5:05.81
 9.    Brian McGovern           5:07.14
10.    Kenny Roman              5:07.54
11.    Jeff Smucker             5:11.58 (M)
12.    Robert Kirsten           5:12.90

Heat 4
------

Place  Name                      Time
-----  ----                      ----
 1.    Nick Berra               4:24.07 (R,MR)
 2.    Will Appman              4:29.74
 3.    Mike Mahoney             4:33.08
 4.    Britt Kern               4:39.86
 5.    Chad Fitz                4:40.31
 6.    Tony Kresz               4:47.40
 7.    Derek Gerberich          4:48.12
 8.    Brian Beatty             4:48.35
 9.    Bob Long                 4:49.81
10.    Tim Richardt             5:03.29


3000 Meter Run

Place  Name                      Time
-----  ----                      ----
 1.    Travis Prejean           8:57.72
 2.    Matt Fischer             8:58.22
 3.    Mike Williams            9:00.05
 4.    Nate King                9:11.39
 5.    Steve Van Wert           9:16.31
 6.    Christopher Rinschler    9:19.80
 7.    Andy Wang                9:22.58
 8.    Elijah Shekinah          9:24.88
 9.    Cassi Knight            10:01.24 (R)
10.    Lauren Philbrook        10:07.31
11.    Elizabeth Herndon       10:18.07
12.    Kathie O'Regan          10:20.46
13.    Cory Neff               11:47.34

 
  (R) - NVRC Record
   (M) - Designates Masters (over 40) runners.
Photos by Marty Mazur

The Ladies Heat of the Mile gets instructions from the starter.
The rest of the starters of the Ladies Heat. The eventual winner Gina Ranieri wears #8.

NVRC Legends Marty Klanchar and Michael Goldfine.
Nick Berra cruises to a Club Open and Masters record.

The 3K starters get their instructions.
The staggered part of the 3K start included the winners Travis Prejean (#14) and Cassi Knight (#11).

Back to Indoor Mile Results Page.
Return to NVRC home page.