PRT Women Fall 2014 Wrap-up

The women of the New Balance Prado Racing Team wrapped up 2014 with team victories and multiple personal records.

The Women of PRT after braving the heat, hills, and dust of the Balboa 4-miler

As always, the team focused on the San Diego Dirt Dog Cross Country series during the fall, competing in a total of eight cross country races spread out over San Diego County. The PRT women had a full scoring squad in seven of the eight races, and went undefeated for the 2014 season.

Darcy, Angela and Gina compete at the
Dirt Dog Championships 

The women showed their strength early in the series at the Balboa 4-miler, where the women were led by Jenna Munguia, who finished second overall in the race. She was followed by teammates Courtney Staruch (3^rd), Hilary Corno (4^th), Caela Timinsky (5^th), and Gina Merchant (8^th). For the first time ever, the PRT women had a Masters runner competing in the Dirt Dog Series. Darcy Davidson won the Balboa 4-miler in the Women’s 40+ division, and would remain undefeated in all races that she ran for the season.

The strongest regular-season race for the PRT women came in mid-October at the Cougar Challenge. PRT had three runners under 18 minutes on the cross country course, led again by Jenna Munguia, who was first overall in 17:12. She was followed by Courtney Staruch, who set a new 5K PR of 17:21, and Hilary Corno, who ran 17:37. Also finishing for PRT was Gina Merchant (18:17), Angela Moll, who ran 18:32 only six days after competing in the Chicago Marathon, and Julie Sawyer (19:47).

Jenna leaves the competition behind at the Dirt Dog
 Cross Country Championships

The PRT women went into the championship race undefeated, and as the reigning Dirt Dog Champions. The women did not disappoint in an exciting race. Jenna Munguia showed her strength by pulling away from the lead pack early in the race and running all the way to victory. Jenna’s victory in the championship race also sealed her individual champion status in the Dirt Dog Series. She was followed by Cortney Staruch, who ran a gutsy race to hold on to second place. Marie and Hilary finished next, in 4^th and 5^th, respectively. Darcy Davidson was the fifth PRT woman to cross the line, and the first Masters woman, clinching her Masters individual title. She was followed by Gina Merchant (9^th) , Angela Moll (10^th), Caela Timinsky (12^th), and Sara Sanchez (21^st). Overall, the PRT women claimed seven of the top ten spots at the championship race, and seven of the top ten spots for individuals in the series, including the individual champion. As a team, PRT once again repeated as the Women’s Open Champion.

Marie and Hilary after the Long Beach Half

In addition to a full cross country schedule, the PRT women were busy racing on the roads and trails during the 2014 Fall season.  Both Hilary Corno and Marie Schaper competed in the Long Beach Half Marathon, finishing first and second, respectively, in times of 1:19:35 and 1:20:28.

Darcy Davidson ran several trail half marathons and came away with impressive wins in both the Stairway to Heaven Trail Marathon and the Raptor Ridge Trail Half Marathon (where she placed seventh overall – including the men!).

PRT had two women PR in the marathon this fall. First, Angela Moll ran the Chicago Marathon in a speedy 2:51:31, good for a new personal record.  Then in early December,  Hilary Corno tackled the California International and finished with a new PR of 2:47:11. Both ladies significantly reduced their prior times in the marathon.

Cortney, Marie, and Hilary compete at the
Dirt Dog Cross Country Championships

Finally, Darcy and Marie decided to wrap up 2014 with a set of PRs of their own. Both women competed in the Holiday Half Marathon in San Diego and took down the 1:20 barrier! Darcy finished in 1:18:38, followed by Marie in 1:19:43.

After a solid season of cross country and road racing, the PRT women gear up for the 2015 spring season, where they’ll focus on several team races in San Diego, as well as participate in events on the track, the trails, and the roads. Check back for more updates and PRs!

PRT Men Fall 2014 Wrap-up

The PRT Men made more than 100 race appearances this past fall, consistently bringing scoring teams in both the Open and Masters divisions to the Dirt Dog XC Series races. The Masters team, led by Robert Verhees and Stephen Johnson, won the overall team title, while the Open Men, coming in third in a closely fought championship race with San Diego Track Club and Milestone Track Club, took second in the overall team scoring, and had three men in the top-ten individual scoring (Tyler Underwood, Derek Bradley, and Alex Phipps).

PRT Men's Team training at Mission Bay

Alex Phipps led the Open team at the first race of the series, the Wild Duck 5K, running 16:13. He was closely followed by Dan Seidel (16:14), Thomas Whitcomb (16:15), Chuck McKeown (16:19), and new member Rory Golden (16:51). Stephen Johnson won the Masters race in 16:54, followed by team captain Brian Culley (17:03), Greg McMillan (17:21), Jason Lewis (17:21), and Iron Dog Sean Fader (17:39).

At the very tough Balboa 4-Miler, new member Justin Turner made an immediate impact, finishing just behind Derek Bradley (22:07) in 22:09, followed by Dan Seidel (22:12) and Chuck McKeown (22:50). Rob Verhees took second in the Masters race, and Jeff Creighton, running in the 50+ division, took fifth overall Master.

The PRT Open Men won their first team race of the season at the Bonita Stampede (8K), with an outstanding performance by new member Tyler Underwood, who took second overall in 26:25. Seidel, Phipps, Whitcomb, and Bradley all finished within a minute of Tyler to seal the team victory.

In early October, PRT had a great turnout at the Balboa Boogie 5K, with all top five Open men (Derek Bradley, Dan Seidel, Eduardo Mariscal, Justin Turner, and Alex Phipps) running well under 16 minutes on the rolling course. For the Masters, Rob Verhees took second in 16:13, followed closely by Stephen Johnson (16:21) in third.

Alex Phipps turned in a terrific sub-26-minute performance at the Cougar Challenge 8K to lead the Open team, and Rob Verhees and Stephen Johnson again took second and third, respectively, for the Masters, with additional strong races by Jeff Creighton, Sean Fader, and Joel Bernard, all breaking 30 minutes.

Iron Dog Sean Fader at Cougar Challenge 8K

Derek Bradley led the Open men to a team win at the Cuyamaca 6K on November 1, taking second overall in 19:19. He was followed by Tyler Underwood, Alex Phipps, Eduardo Mariscal, Daniel Farmer, and Patrick Baldwin. The Masters men swept the top four spots, with Stephen Johnson taking the top spot in 20:35, followed by Jason Lewis, Jeff Creighton, and Sean Fader.

After a long season, the Dirt Dog Championship 8K race was held on November 16 on a tough, four-loop grass course at Mission Bay. Justin Turner, who also ran a 2:25 marathon in October, led the Open men in 26:57, and scoring behind him were Tyler Underwood (27:03), Alex Phipps (27:16), Derek Bradley (27:22), and Thomas Whitcomb (27:56). 

Justin Turner and Tyler Underwood at Dirt Dog Champs

The Open men narrowly took third in the race but earned second place overall in the Dirt Dog Series. The Masters men, extending their dominance from earlier in the season, won the race and the series, with Rob Verhees (28:15; 2^nd), Stephen Johnson (28:31; 3rd), Jason Lewis (29:46), Jeff Creighton (29:51), and Brian Culley (30:09) making up the top five.

In the overall individual standings for the Dirt Dog series, Tyler Underwood took second place, and Derek Bradley and Alex Phipps also finished in the top ten. Stephen Johnson and Rob Verhees took second and third overall, Jeff Creighton was second in the 50+ division, and Sean Fader achieved “Iron Dog” status, running all races in the series. All in all, a great season for the PRT men’s team, and they look forward to another great year in 2015!