Fall 2013 PRT Women's Season Wrap-up

The women of Prado Racing Team continued their dominance in the Dirt Dog Series this past Fall by winning the Women's Open Division and placing 5 women in the top ten individually in the series standings.

The Women of PRT win their third Women's Open Dirt Dog Championship Title
photo credit: Derek Bradley

The PRT Women came into the series as the defending 2011 and 2012 champions with a perfect score of 60 points, having won three races as a team throughout the series. Much of the team's early success depended on the motivation of its members, who were committed to showing up to races throughout the Fall season so that the team was able to field a full team at four out of the six regular season meets, as well as a squad of eight women at the championship meet itself.

Hilary Corno led the team and the Dirt Dog series standings going into the Championship meet. She had a solid season winning the Bonita Stampede 5 miler and placing second in both the Wild Duck 5-K and Bonita 4-miler. All this while training for (and winning) the Long Beach International Marathon in October. 

When the gun went off for the three-loop 6-K Championship race, it was Marie Schaper who stepped up to lead the team to victory, running a gutsy race to finish second only a week after finishing second overall in the Santa Barbara International Half Marathon. Following Schaper was Corno in third, Sawyer in fourth, Timinsky in seventh, Merchant in ninth, Sara Sanchez in 17th, Kelcie Wiemann in 18th, and Jordana Henderson in 31st. The women's combined score of 15 points was enough to clinch the victory for the third year in a row. 

Marie Schaper (far left), Julie Sawyer (middle), and Hilary Corno (far right)
swept the top three places in the individual standings for the Dirt Dog Series.
photo credit: Marc Sawyer

Due to Corno's commanding lead in the series standings, she held on to her overall victory to become the Dirt Dog Series Individual Women's Open Champion. Additionally, the PRT Women swept the top three places, with Sawyer finishing second overall and Schaper finishing third. Rounding out the top ten were Merchant in seventh and Timinsky in eighth.

From left to right, Sara Sanchez, Gina Merchant and Kelcie Wiemann
compete in the Dirt Dog Cross Country Championships
photo credit: Marc Sawyer

After the conclusion of a successful San Diego Cross Country season, many of the women weren't done racing, and a team of six women (Kristin Schleicher, Julie Sawyer, Liz Johnson, Caela Timinsky, Marie Schaper, and Gina Merchant, pictured below) traveled up to compete in the USATF Club Nationals Cross Country Championships in Bend, Oregon. There the women competed on a "true" cross country course, complete with ever-changing terrain, hay bales, and snow. In their first showing ever at the national level, the team placed 22^nd out of 34 teams in a very competitive race.  

The Women of PRT after a grueling 6K course in Bend, Oregon
photo credit: Caela Timinsky

After a very successful season, the PRT Women look forward to future success in the Spring of 2014!

Fall 2013 PRT Men's Season Wrap-up

The Open Men's PRT squad had a strong season this past fall in the Dirt Dog XC series, narrowly losing out to San Diego Track Club, 31-40, at the 8k championships in November. Heading into that championship race, the guys had themselves in a strong position by winning three races: The Wild Duck 5k, the Aztec Invitational 5k, and the Ursula Rains Balboa Boogie 5k. 

In the individual scoring for the Dirt Dog Series, PRT had four men in the top ten overall: Daniel Farmer (2nd), Alex Phipps (5th), Fernando Blanco (9th), and Eduaro Mariscal (10th). Farmer was hot on the heels of eventual series champion Jonathan Pierce, and took home a victory at the Cuyamaca College 6K, as well as second-place honors at the Aztec Inviational 5k and the Balboa Boogie 5k. Eduardo Mariscal won the Bonita Stampede 8K, with Alex Phipps taking second. 

The PRT Masters Men finished the Dirt Dog Series tied, 88-88, with the Jamul Toads, but since the Toads won the Champs race, they took the series title as well. Individually, PRT's Masters represented four of the top ten overall, with Brian Culley taking second, Robert Verhees in third, Chris Hupfeld in fifth, and Matt Sheremeta in seventh. Culley won the Masters Balboa Boogie 5K race, while Verhees claimed the Balboa 4-miler title and the Bonita Stampede 8K. 

After the Dirt Dog Series concluded in November, a contingent of PRT men, both Open and Masters, decided to head for the hills, extending the season by a month and entering the XC Club Nationals in Bend, Oregon. For the Open men, Derek Bradley, Alex Phipps, Mario Fraioli, Daniel Seidel, and Alec Fillmore (driving all the way from Cali!) competed against forty-nine other clubs on what can only be described as a relentless and somewhat sadistically designed course that featured a steep start, poor footing, and spirit-sapping hills. In other words, cross country at its finest. The PRT Open's Team finished 46th out of 50 teams, but everyone ran tough and hopefully set a precedent for what will be an annual trip to Cross Country Nats. 

While the Masters did not field a full team, Brian Culley and Robert Verhees both ran individually in the Masters race. Culley took 42nd in an impressive sub-6-minute-pace 37:04 on a diabolical course, while Verhees finished in 53rd, about thirty seconds behind Culley. 

With a strong 2013 season behind them and an exciting spring 2014 schedule coming up, the PRT Men's Team is shaping up to have a fantastic year.