Dressel, Huxham, Suver, Babcock & Gray help USA win trio of team titles in Colombia...
BARANQUILLA, Colombia—Mount Spokane HS senior John Dressel’s (left/photos by Mike Scott) fourth place finish helped Team USA to one of three team victories in the Copa Panamericana de Cross Country meet Sunday in the Colombian city.
Dressel, the third place finisher at the USA junior championships two weeks ago who signed a national letter of intent to attend the University of Colorado, ran 19:23 on a course that allegedly was between 5 and 6 kilometers, as Justyn Knight from Canada took the win in 19:04, followed by USA national junior champ Conner Mantz in 19:13.
University of Washington freshman Fred Huxham finished eighth in a time of 19:43, as all five USA scorers finished in the top 10, earning a low score of 20 (4 score) to runner-up Canada’s 38.
In the senior women’s announced 7k race, Eastern Washington alum Mattie Suver finished fifth in a time of 21:36, with Gladys Tejada of Peru winning in 21:18, followed by top American Kellyn Taylor in 21:34.
Washington alum Christine Babcock (above/photo by Mike Scott), who had battled injuries over the last eight months, was ninth in 22:03, as the USA took another team trophy by a 22-43 count over Canada.
In the senior men’s race, Stanford graduate student Maksim Korolev produced a late surge on the hard and flat course announced at 10k to win in his international debut in a time of 28:21, as Team USA placed five runners in the top eight.
Lakewood resident Joe Gray finished seventh in 29:07 as Team USA’s final scorer to help the squad garner its third team championship of the day, scoring a team low 15 points over runner-up Ecuador’s 52.
NOTE: The Association of Pan American Athletics and USA Track & Field contributed to this report.
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