Peter Derby reports from Lexington, Kentucky, where the USATF Cross Country Nationals were held on December 12th, 2009:

Lexington, KY— The perpetually rolling hills and uneven footing runners faced at Masterson Station Park along with weather in the 30s was unfavorable to season PRs, yet several people on the team came home with exactly that. CPTC made an impact at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championship in the Women’s 6K and Men’s 10K. With over 29 women’s and 42 men’s teams, CPTC was running against a deeply competitive field. Led by Aileen Conlon’s 11th place finish (21:10), the women’s squad muscled to 9th place overall, while Christopher Spooner finished 32nd (31:01) to power the men to 18th in the team competition.

In the Master’s women’s race, Sue Pearsall finished 42nd overall with a 25:59, and 15th in the 40-44. In The Master’s men’s race, Armando Oliveira ran a season PR and set a new master’s club record, finishing 44th overall (34:50), and 34th in the men’s 40-44 competition.

In the open women’s race, Kate Irvin followed Conlon—both had season-best performances—in 38th (21:50). Emily Dusen, the third scorer, placed 62nd (22:18), while Natalie Gingerich (101th, 22:55) and Melissa Salerno (114th, 23:07) rounded out the scoring. Kristina Maletz (131st, 23:21) and Kristel Adler (157th, 24:17) were strong sixth and seventh finishers for Central Park. For the third year in a row, the women were top ten in the nation.

In the men’s open race, the top four men had season best performances, and Spooner set a new club record for the men’s cross country 10k. I trailed Spooner in 88th (32:06). Carl Dambkowski ran third position in 108th (32:22), Jonevan Hornsby placed 148th with a season best (33:07), and Peter Mullen followed up in 164th (33:21). John Roberts was the sixth man in 202nd (34:03), supporting the men’s move up from 21st overall in 2008 to 18th in 2009.

Full results, photos, and more coverage can be found at http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USATFClubXCChampionships/.