Posted: October 22, 2004

Athletics: U.S. faces Canada and Mexico at North American Team Championship

Team USA will defend its title Sunday, October 24 at the 2004 North American Team 5 km Championship. Held in conjunction with the Arturo Barrios Invitational in Chula Vista, Calif., the race pits the U.S. against Canada and Mexico in team-scoring competition, vying for $25,000 in prize money and the title of fastest team in North America. Teams of three men and three women will compete over the 5 km course, with the lowest-scoring team, based on athlete place, winning.

Two-time U.S. indoor 3,000m champion and 2004 Olympian at 5,000 meters, Jonathon Riley (Palo Alto, Calif.), leads the U.S. men's team. He will be joined by 2003 U.S. 8 km runner-up Chad Johnson (Chetek, Wis.) and 2004 USA 5 km sixth-place finisher Josh Eberly (Arvada, Colo.).

Representing Team USA for the women will be 2001 U.S. 5 km road champion and 2001 U.S. indoor mile champion Collette Liss (Indianapolis, Ind.); 2004 USA 10 km fourth-place finisher and former NCAA All-American Amy Mortimer (Boston, Mass.); and 1993 U.S. 10 km and 1994 12 km road champion Jody Hawkins (Blooming Grove, Texas). The 38-year-old Hawkins has returned to running after a stint in the U.S. Army and subsequently battling osteoporosis.

The 2004 edition of the North American Team Championship is expected to be close. Canada sends 5,000m Olympian Émilie Mondor (Mascouche, Quebec), who in 2003 crushed the women's course record at the event with her time of 15:23, finishing 20 seconds up on the rest of the field.

Mexico boasts two Olympians in 28-year-old Angelica Sànchez of Tlaxacala, who competed for Mexico in the marathon at the 2004 Olympic Games, and 23-year-old Alejandro Suàrez, who out-kicked the men's field to capture the individual title at last year's race.

In the 2003 North American Team Championship, the United States prevailed over Canada, with Mexico third. Two-time Olympian Elva Dryer was the top American, placing second in the women's race.

For more information, visit EliteRacing.com