Running Shots
Craig Virgin
Kim Mortenson (Thousand Oaks High, CA) leads Julia Stamps (Santa Rosa High, CA). Kim blazed a 9:48.59- 3200m, erasing the old girls' national high school record by 15 seconds in 1996. Caitlin Chock (Granite Bay High, CA). Chock sped to a new high school 5,000m record of 16:10.60. She eclipsed the 25-year-old mark of 16:13.7, set in 1979 by Mary Shea of Raleigh, North Carolina. Then at the World Juniors - Caitlin stormed a 15:52.88 in 2004.
March 9, 1980, Craig Virgin becomes the first American man to win the World Cross Country Championships after a dramatic final 200 metres when he moved from third to first, beating Germany's Hans-Jurgen Orthmann by just a second.
Virgin prefaced his world cross win by winning the "75" NCAA's, he was 12th in "74". Defending champion Nick Rose (Western Kentucky) was second. He is 15 seconds behind Virgin- look closely.
Alberto Salazar
Rudy Chapa
Tim Keough
Alan Scharsu at Golden West
Alberto Salazar (Wayland High, Mass) ran 8:53.8 for two miles and 14:04.8 for 5,000m before heading west to Oregon.

Indiana's Hammond High had 3 runners under 9:00 for 2 miles in the spring of "75". No high school before or since has had 3 runners who went sub-9:00 in a season. Chapa (Pictured) ran 8:51.0, Tim Keough went 8:52.8 while Carey Pinkowski ran 8:56.2.

Tim Keough (Hammond, IN) went 8:52.8 behind Chapa's 8:51.0 for Hammond in "75". Alan Scharsu (Fitch High, Ohio) Class of "78" ran 8:45.8 for two miles as a junior and did 8:44.03 as a senior.
Merrick Reynolds
Dathan Ritzenhein
Thom Hunt Indoor HSR Mile
Hunt Maree
Dave Merrick (L-Lincoln-Way, IL) ran 8:43.2 indoors for 2 miles on an oversized track(71). Eric Reynolds(R-Camarillo, CA) did 8:44.0 for two miles(83) Dathan Ritzenhein (Rockford High, MI) took 3rd place at the World Junior Cross country race in 2001. The winner was Kenenisa Bekele. Thom Hunt -Patrick Henry High, CA. Here he is up against Filbert Bayi and other world class milers at San Diego. Hunt cruised past 1500 meters in 3:46.6 en route to his 4:02.7 indoor mile in "76".

Penn Relays "79"

Thom Hunt (Arizona) ran the meet's fastest 4 laps, 3:56.1, but Sydney Maree repassed him to win the distance medley.

Kimball Clifford finish

Rich Kimball - DeLaSalle High School - Concord, CA - Class of "74"

Rich Kimball won the World Junior Cross Country race, the first American to do so. (Above)Up until the final half mile, it was a tight race among (Left-right) John Treacy (Ireland), Venanzio Ortis (Italy) and Kimball (World Cross Photos by Mark Shearman). Participating in two Invitationals -San Jose Inv./Castro Valley Inv. (May 4) Kimball produced the renowned outdoor distance double (mile/two mile). Ran 4:02.7 in the afternoon @ San Jose then -Castro Valley that evening raced 8:51.0!! At the California State meet he doubled 8:46.6 / 4:06.6 (in that order), winning both. First the two mile - Kimball was pushed by sophomore Eric Hulst (Laguna Beach) who ran a class and age-16 record of 8:50.6. Kimball pulled clear with a 63.1 last lap. One hour and fifteen minutes later, Kimball completes the distance double (Photo at Right) by holding off Andy Clifford (Sunny Hills) with a 56.5 final lap to win the mile.

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