Posted: December 2, 2004

Athletics: Missy Buttry, Hansons-Brooks and Nike Farm Team Ready to Defend National Titles at USATF National Club Cross Country Championships in Portland

America's top post-collegiate club teams will converge upon Portland Meadows race track in Portland, Ore. on Saturday, December 4 for the seventh annual USA Track & Field National Club Cross Country Championships.

The USATF National Club Cross Country Championships features the top clubs from across the United States vying for top honors and bragging rights as the nation's top cross country team. More than 40 clubs and 700 competitors are expected to compete in this event, which features a 10 kilometer men's race and a 6 kilometer women's race.

On the men's side, the road to the national championships and bragging rights as America's top harrier squad goes directly through the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project.

The Rochester, Mich. based team earned a "three-peat" in last year's title meet in Greensboro, N. C., placing all five scoring runners among the top twelve finishers overall and totaling 30 points in the team scoring. Wisconsin Runner Racing Team followed in second place with 49 points, while the Nike Farm Team claimed third with 74 points.

Alan Webb (30:13.1) was the individual winner of last year's 10K race, edging Daniel Lincoln (Nike) by three-tenths of a second (30:13.4). Both later earned spots on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team.

The Nike Farm Team's women's squad enters this year's national club championships looking to duplicate what the Hansons harriers accomplished last year - a "three-peat".

The Nike Farm Team from Palo Alto, Calif., defended their 2002 title with 40 points, while the Boston Athletic Association and newcomer adidas Raleigh TC both scored 84 points, with the New England club earning the silver medal based on a 5th woman tie-breaker.

Missy Buttry, who recently won her third NCAA Division III cross country crown, used a final burst at the end to win the 2003 women's title in 19:59.9 over Kate O'Neill (20.01.4) who in 2004 became an Olympian.

Buttry and O'Neill ran side-by-side at the halfway point, leaving the remainder of the field behind. They continued their battle until the final 100 meters when Buttry broke away for the win. The Wartburg College senior will defend her national title in Portland.

In addition, many of the country's top masters (athletes 40 years and older) squads will also do battle on the Portland Meadows turf for age division national championship titles.

The USATF National Club Cross Country Championships are part of a day-long celebration of cross country running at Portland Meadows, starting at 9:30am with the Nike Team Nationals, an invitational race sanctioned by USA Track & Field, featuring twenty of America's top boys' and girls' teams in a head-to-head battle for national supremacy. For more information on the Nike Team Nationals, please visit their website at: www.niketeamnationals.com

USATF National Club Cross Country Champions (1998-2003)

MEN
Individual 
1998 Andre Williams
1999 Ray Appenheimer
2000 Matt Downin
2001 Jared Cordes
2002 Jared Cordes
2003 Alan Webb

Team 
1998 Reebok Enclave - 40 
1999 Nike Farm Team - 28 
2000 Wisconsin Runner RT - 60 
2001 Hansons Running Shops - 40 
2002 Hansons Running Shops - 35 
2003 Hansons-Brooks - 30

WOMEN
Individual Champions
1998 Blake Phillips 
1999 Collette Liss
2000 Kim Fitchen
2001 Priscilla Hein
2002 Shayne Culpepper
2003 Missy Buttry

Team 
1998 Boston Athletic Association -35
1999 Nike Farm Team - 21 
2000 Boston Athletic Association - 90 
2001 Indiana Invaders - 38 
2002 Nike Farm Team - 28 
2003 Nike Farm Team - 40

For more information on the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships including individual and team entries, please visit www.usatf.org.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.