Morse and Ortiz Earn Berths on the Teva US Mountain Running Team


ANCHORAGE, Alaska - (June 9, 2002) - Vermont's Eric Morse led from the start
at Sunday's 5.5-mile Wolverine Mountain Run to earn a spot on the Teva US
Mountain Running Team with a winning time of 47:19. Although Morse turned in
a time more than one minute ahead of runner-up Dave Dunham, the day belonged
to Eagle, Colorado's Anita Ortiz, who blasted the course in 53:16 to win the
women's championship by more than five minutes and secure a spot on her first
Teva US Mountain Running Team.

Ortiz proved her uphill strength as she passed many of the top male
competitors on her way to a 12th place overall finish. Second among the women
was Olympic Skier and Anchorage resident Nina Kemppel, a multi-year winner of
the famed Mount Marathon in Seward, Alaska. Rounding out the top women was
third place finisher Suzy West, Putney, Vermont, a three-time member of the
U.S. mountain team.

The Wolverine race course gained approximately 3600 vertical feet with the
first mile slightly downhill and the remainder of the route uphill mirroring
the type of course team members will encounter at the WMRA World Mountain
Trophy Race this September in Innsbruck, Austria.

The remaining two selection races will be Gorham, New Hampshire's 7.6-mile
Mount Washington Hill Climb on June 15 and the 7.5-mile Vail Hill Climb in
Vail, Colorado on July 7.

The first U.S. male and first U.S. female finisher at each of the USATF
mountain running selection races earns an automatic berth on the Teva US
Mountain Running Team with other top finishers considered for a spot on the
10-member senior squad (six men and four women). The six-member junior squad
has been selected and will be announced in mid-June.
   

Wolverine Mountain Run Top Finishers
Anchorage, AK, Sunday, June 9, 2002

1) Anita Ortiz, 38, Eagle, CO 53:16
2) Nina Kemppel, 31, Anchorage, AK  58:20
3) Suzy West, 39, Putney, VT 1:02:26

1) Eric Morse, 37, Berlin, VT 47:19
2) Dave Dunham, 35, Bradford, MA 48:43
3) Scott Elliott, 38, Boulder, CO 49:41

For additional information on the Teva US Mountain Running Team contact: 

Nancy Hobbs at trlrunner@aol.com
or
Dave Dunham at dave.dunham@verizon.net

www.alaskamountainrunners.org - Wolverine Mountain Run
www.gsrs.com - Mount Washington Hill Climb
www.vailrec.com - Vail Hill Climb
www.tlv.at/worldtrophy2002 - World Mountain Running Trophy 2002

MUT Home
Last updated: 09/14/05
Web Author: Lorraine Gersitz