Kelis Seccrest, a junior from Ramstein High School, strides toward his win in the Divisions I and II cross country championships in Heidelberg. John Markman from Naples finished second while Baudoin Fort from the Internation School of Brussels took third. Ramstein boys won the overall D-I team title for the eighth straight year, while Patch took the D-II boys title. (Ben Bloker / S&S)
Kelis Seccrest, a junior from Ramstein High School, strides toward his win in the Divisions I and II cross country championships in Heidelberg. John Markman from Naples finished second while Baudoin Fort from the Internation School of Brussels took third. Ramstein boys won the overall D-I team title for the eighth straight year, while Patch took the D-II boys title. (Ben Bloker / S&S)
Maggie Redmond, a senior from Patch High School, punishes the Divisions I and II girls field with a huge cross country championship win in Heidelberg. Rachel Poock form Bitburg took second while Shelby Whatley from Lakenheath finished third. Ramstein girls won the D-I team title, while Bitburg won D-II. (Ben Bloker / S&S)
Seth Moore, a junior from American Overseas School in Rome, leads Chris Tobiere from AFNORTH on the way to the country championship in Heidelberg. Tobiere finished second and Matt Clidas from Würzburg placed third. Würzburg won the D-III team title, with Brussels winning D-IV . (Ben Bloker / S&S)
Eva Pedersen, a sophomore from American Overseas School in Rome, dominates the Divisions III and IV girls race, winning the cross country hampionship in Heidelberg. Jennifer Patron and Katie Hancock, both from Sigonella, took second and third respectively. AOSR won the overall D-III team title, with Sigonella winning in D IV. (Ben Bloker / S&S)
Shelby Whatley, a junior from Lakenheath High School, rests in the arms of her parents, Seaborn and April Whatley, after finishing third in the girls Divisions I and II cross country championship Saturday in Heidelberg. (Ben Bloker / S&S)
SCHWETZINGEN, Germany — On her fourth and final go-round at the DODDS-Europe cross country championships, Patch senior Maggie Redmond didn’t feel the need to leave anything on the course.
Not even body parts.
“It started getting hard about the second ‘K.’ I felt like I was going to leave my lungs out there,” Redmond said Saturday after winning the girls Division I-II race.
Instead, Redmond, who set four course records in six meets this season, pushed on through to cover the sandy 5,000-meter course at Tompkins Barracks here in 20 minutes, 36.45 seconds.
“I thought to myself, ‘This is my last year,’” said Redmond, second here last year. “I pushed it and held it.”
“Pushed” might be an understatement. Redmond and the rest of the field reached the finish in various states of exhaustion, ranging from wobbly legs to nausea. Redmond found it hard to stand, murmuring to her helpers at the finish, “Please carry me.”
Minutes later, her breath recovered, Redmond was able to reflect on her achievement.
“Emotion was definitely a part of it,” she said of her spent state. “I’m really glad I won. Being able to take home a win after four years is a good feeling.”
As with the other three winners in this year’s championship races, Redmond led from start to finish.
That strategy’s a no-brainer, according to Division III-IV winner Eva Pedersen of the American Overseas School of Rome.
“You sprint at first and then keep up the pace,” said Pedersen, a junior who clocked 22:11.24. “Then you sprint again at the finish.”
It’s the way to avoid the crowds, added boys Division I-II winner Kelis Secrest, a Ramstein junior running his first Europeans.
“At one point, I used to try to pick people off from the back,” Secrest said after finishing in 16:21.96 to edge Division II champion John Markman of Naples. “But it’s much easier to get ahead and stay there.”
Markman kept pace with Secrest, who spent his previous high school career running in the 6,300-foot atmosphere of Cheyenne, Wyo., much of the way.
“I felt good most of the way,” said Markman, who clocked in at 16:31, “but that last hill killed me.”
Junior Seth Moore finished in 18:28.12 to win his race and give AOSR a sweep of the III-IV races.
“It’s the first time we’ve had anyone come in first,” he said after his 15-second victory over Chris Tobiere of AFNORTH.
Moore regretted, however, the split-field format used at the Europeans.
“I think it would be nice if [all divisions] all ran together,” he said. “Even if you don’t win, you’ll have a better time because there are more people to give you more push.”
Shelby Whatley of Lakenheath finished behind Redmond to earn the girls Division I championship, while Sigonella’s Jennifer Patron chased Pedersen across the line to claim the D-IV crown.
Jimmy Russell, released from the hospital after undergoing some tests on Tuesday, took the Division IV title and helped Brussels to the D-IV team crown. He finished fifth overall.
Secrest led a parade of six Ramstein runners in the top 10 as the Royals won their eighth-straight boys D-I crown. Ramstein’s girls took over as D-I champs behind the two-three finish of Stephanie Polzer and Elizabeth Doe, and the five-six clocking of Victoria Lyle and Alexa Polenz.
Bitburg claimed the girls D-II crown behind the two-three effort of Rachel Poock and Sandra Davbidson, and AOSR and Sigonella triumped in Divisions III and IV.
Patch’s boys won D-II, while Würzburg topped D-III.
DODDS-Europe championshipsSCHWETZINGEN, Germany — Top finishers Saturday in the 2007 DODDS-Europe high school cross country championships on a 5,000-meter course at Tompkins Barracks. Divisions I and II team scores are totals of top 5 runners; Divisions III and IV are totals of top 4 runners:
Boys
Division I
Team scoring—Ramstein 22, Lakenheath 69, International School of Brussels 89, Heidelberg 105, Kaiserslautern 112, Frankfurt International School 152.
Individual leaders—1, Kelis Secrest (Rams) 16:21.96; 2, Baudoin Fort (ISB) 16:44.25; 3, Kevin Edwards (Rams) 17:15.40; 4, Blake Langford (Heid) 17:20.56; 5, Walker Nikolaus (Rams) 17:20.56; 6, Will Barnes (Rams) 17:26.26; 7, Matt Lein (Rams) 17:17:37.01; 8, Dillon Wadsack (Rams) 17:42.50; 9, Arley Morelock (FIS) 17:51.54; 10, Joshua Hoffman (Lake) 17:54.23; 11, Chris Fraser (Lake) 17:58.35; 12, Matthew de Jong (ISB) 18:06.51; 13, Alex Cunningham (Kais) 18:08.12; 14, Laz Ramos (Rams) 18:16.17; 15, Gabe Flood (Lake) 18:17.64; 16, Trevor Snapp (Lake) 18:22.42; 17, George Waring (Lake) 18:28.52; 18, Brandt Langford (Heid) 18:31.13; 19, Sean Gallegos (Lake) 18:42.04; 20, Michael Sallinger (Kais) 18:45.01; 21, Jon Hoffman (Heid) 18:45.31; 22, Joe Hoffman (Lake) 18:45.75; 23, Edward Jezisek (Kais) 19:06.70; 24, Harry Cross (ISB) 19:23.08; 25, Miles Bason (ISB) 19:24.91.
Division II
Team scoring—Patch 61, Wiesbaden 62, Aviano 70, Naples 92, SHAPE 133, Vilseck 161, Bitburg 170, Ansbach 175, Mannheim incomplete.
Individual leaders—1, John Markman (Napl) 16:31.00; 2, Ryan Poock (Bit) 16:57.97; 3, Daniel Slade (Avi) 17:13.94; 4, Kyle Murray (Wies) 17:33.81; 5, Braden McGregor (Pat) 17:56.71; 6, Alex Fraser (Wies) 18:03.65; 7, Sean Wilson (Avi) 18:15.23; 8, Sterling Teal (Ansb) ; 9, Kyle Mears (Napl) 18:26.37; 10, Alex Cornelius (Mann) 18:27.35; 11, Michael Brown (Avi) 18:28,02; 12, Ross Paxton (Pat) 18:35.44; 13, Alan Gray (Wies) 18:39.94; 14, Sean Beckman (SHP) 18:41.14; 15, John Mark Farlett (Pat) 18:44.50; 16, Zach Griffitt (Pat) 18:49.70; 17, Mike Adams (Pat) 18:55.27; 18, Thomas Todd (Avi) 18:56.64; 19, Vince Calcaterra (Wies) 19:03.17; 20, Zach Green (Vils)19:04.17; 21, P.J. Cruz (Vils) 19:05.20; 22, Derek Lowry (Bitb) 19:25.59; 23, James Denzine (Wies) 19:27.14; 24, Mike Marshall (Napl) 19:37.00; 25, Clark Frederickson (Wies) 19:39.03.
Division III
Team scoring—Würzburg 14, Milan 48, American Overseas School of Rome 49, Hohenfels 59, Baumholder 67, Bahrain 83. AFNORTH, Bamberg and Marymount International School of Rome incomplete.
Individual leaders—1, Seth Moore (AOSR) 18:28.12; 2, Chris Tobiere (AFN) 18:43.43; 3, Matthew Clidas (Wzbg) 18:46.61; 4, Shaun Simpson 18:49.74; 5, Zane Kennedy (Wzbg) 19:00.38; 6, Joshua Simpson (Wzbg) 19:05.92; 7, Colin Falconer (Mil) 19:16.06; 8, Hirotaka Katayama (Mil) 19:25.13; 9, Sky Seliquini (AOSR) 19:25.61; 10, Drew Martin (Hoh) 19:39.32; 11, Stephen Vandal (Hoh) 19:39.57; 12, Matthew Buck (Bah) 19:42.56; 13, Sean Williams (Bamb) 19:36.48; 14, Nathanael Dejene (Mmt) 19:50.83; 15, Jacob Lamoureux (Baum) 19:51.18; 16, Brad Hayes-Raugh (Baum) 19:57.66; 17, Edwin Cadelinia (Wzbg) 20:27.05; 18, David Bednar (Mil) 20:28.26; 19, Seth Stevens (Baum) 20:48.53; 20, Niko Harris (Hoh) 20: 58.52.
Division IV
Team scoring—Brussels 34, Alconbury 34, Lajes 53, Rota 66, Menwith Hill 67, Sigonella 79, Ankara 89.
Individual leaders—1, Jimmy Russell (Brus) 18:51.01; 2, Ernestas Tyminas (Alc) 18:52.49; 3, Jonathan Schappert (Alc) 18:53.26; 4, Hunter Baudoindajoux (Brus) 19:02.76; 5, Daniel Ramsirez (Ank) 19:04.81; 6, Patrick Roberts (MH) 19:11.70; 7, Cristian Roman-Vazquez (Rota) 19:22.46; 8, Joel Marte (Lajes) 19:31.56; 9, Donavan Crespo (MH) 19:53.73; 10, Scott LaBelle (Brus) 20:07.71; 11, Jarred Truesdell (Lajes) 20:14.84; 12, Jordan Rettie (Sig) 20:19.83; 13, George Corey (Sig) 20:39.10; 14, Anthony Devlin (Alc) 20:45.26; 15, Barndon Geronimo (Alc) 20:55.42; 16, Ryan Corpus (Lajes) 20:58.42; 17, Stephen Schaefer (Rota) 20:59.42; 18, Mason Bowman (Lajes) 21:04.54; 19, Michael Ryan (Brus) 21:05.80; 20, Robert Brown (Rota) 21:12.88.
Girls
Division I
Team scoring—Ramstein 24, Heidelberg 63, Lakenheath 67, Kaiserslautern 86, International School of Brussels incomplete.
Individual leaders—1, Shelby Whatley (Lake) 21:01.21; 2, Stephanie Polzer (Rams) 21:17.11; 3, Elizabeth Doe (Rams) 21:29. 57; 4, Kaitlin Swanstrom (Lake) 21:32.26; 5, Victoria Lyle (Rams) 21:42.23; 6, Alexa Polenz (Rams) 21:43.48; 7, Lauren Brousseau (Heid) 21:49.97; 8, Krystal Webb (Rams) 22:00.86; 9, Justine Buvry (ISB) 22:15.77; 10, Carolina Nikolaus (Rams) 22:17.60; 11, Feklicia Gonzalez (Rams) 22:18.72; 12, Alyx Miser (Kais) 22:19.06; 13, Kristine Bremer (Heid) 22:24.50; 14, Antje Schwarz (ISB) 22:24.82; 15, Olivia Darrow (Heid) 22:25.82; 16, Olyvia Smith (Kais) 22:34.12; 17, Heather Barlow (Heid) 22:38.99; 18, Iva Reece (Heid) 22:42.34; 19, Julie Caldwell (Heid) 22:47.59; 20, Symone January (Kais) 22:50.62; 21, Meagan Searle (Lake) 22:51. 58; 22, Vanessa James (Lake) 23:07.64; 23, Ai Shimura (ISB) 23:16.63; 24, Ruby Plummer (Kais) 23:29.78; 25, Lucinda Hrushka (Kais) 23:30.57.
Division II
Team scoring—Bitburg 56, Patch 66, Wiesbaden 88, SHAPE 100, Aviano 108, Naples 139, Vilseck 155, Mannheim 166, Ansbach 241.
Individual leaders—1, Maggie Redmond (Pat) 20:36.45; 2, Rachel Poock (Bitb) 20:57.48; 3, Sandra Davidson (Bitb) 21:03.50; 4, Soledad Padilla (SHP) 21:14.31; 5, Shelby Yoakum (Avi) 21:21.58; 6, Jade Thrasher (Bitb) 21:41. 52; 7, Amber Core (Vils) 21:45.62; 8, Celina Ponte (Wies) 21:50.25; 9, Dominique Anduaga-Arias (SHP) 21:52.78; 10, Sasia Salter-Mack (Avi) 21:59.21; 11, Shannon Cuthbert (Napl) 22:11.03; 12, Caitlyn Eckert (Napl) 22:11.89; 13, Kelly McRaven (Pat) 22:23.53; 14, Shamyra Coleman (Vils) 22:25.19; 15, Kristen Bender (Pat) 22:26.95; 16, Kayleigh Chase (Bitb) 22:39.80; 17, Lindsey Johnson (Pat) 22:49.29; 18, Danielle Hill (Wies) 22:51.34; 19, Alison Ochoa (Wies) 22:52.87; 20, Megan Louk (Pat) 23:03.55; 21, Aubree Reichel (Wies) 23:06.58; 22, Catherine Leknes (Wies) 23:09,99; 23, Anna Cressler (Mann) 23:19.67; 24, Erin Beckman (SHP) 23:25.08; 25, Kasandra Comeua (SHP) 23:26.50.
Division III
Team scoring—American Overseas School of Rome 26, Baumholder 28, Bahrain 41, Marymount International School of Rome 53. AFNORTH, Bamberg and Milan incomplete.
Individual leaders—1, Eva Pedersen (AOSR) 22:11.24; 2, Constanza Uslenghi (Mmt) 22:32.68; 3, Patricia Payton (Bamb) 22:47.19; 4, Sarah Money (Baum) 23:16.22; 5, Jessica Buck (Bah) 23:29.83; 6, Arianna Simpson (Mil) 23:31.10; 7, Derby Ruspoli (AOSR) 24:12.15; 8, Tori Vantine (AFN) 24:20.94; 9, Molly Hayes (Bah) 25:39.67; 10, Sydney Skuodas (Baum) 25:47.64; 11, Jamie Strobel (AFN) 26:55.65; 12, Aimee Lamoureux (Baum) 27:22.13; 13, Nina Pedersen (AOSR) 27:31.36; 14, Marie Lampe (Baum) 28:01.53; 15, Jillian Kneeland (AOSR) 29:36.89.
Division IV
Team scoring—Sigonella 21, Menwith Hill 28, Lajes 44, Rota 49.
Individual leaders—1, Jennifer Patron (Sig) 22:22.17; 2, Katie Hancock (Sig) 22:27.11; 3, Brianna Campbell (Rota) 23:52.64; 4, Isabel DiFranco (MH) 24:37.12; 5, Anne Briggs (Lajes) 25:00.98; 6, Emily Larson (MH) 25:02.98; 7, Danielle Lutes (MH) 25:17.32; 8, Heather Kettle (Sig) 25:29.76; 9, Emily McClain (Lajes) 25:56.21; 10, Caitlyn Hall (Sig); 11, Katie Claycomb (MH) 26:15.19; 12, Jennifer Abing (MH) 26:19.10; 13, Lauren Bachand (Rota) 26:27.27; 14, Macy Walker (Lajes) 26:58.89; 15, Katherine Moore (Rota) 27:19.63.
