Air Academy's McLaughlin loses big lead at Foot Locker championships

By Angie Mudd, Special to the Rocky

Published December 13, 2008 at 5:05 p.m.

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Local finishers

BOYS

6. Evan Appel, 15:36.

10. Joseph DeMoor, 15:44.

17. Andrew Berberick, 15:54.

35. Joseph Manilafasha, 16:19.

GIRLS

5. Allie McLaughlin, 17:34.

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Colorado runners usually have an easier time when they race at sea level, however, when the course is more difficult than anything they have had to face back home, most runners would welcome the high altitude.

The 40 girls and 40 boys - including five athletes from Colorado - who participated in Saturday’s Footlocker Cross Country National Championships got a taste of a tough course when they ran 3.1 miles along the hills and rough terrain at Balboa Park in San Diego.

And the Colorado runners fared well, with three runners earning All-American status by finishing in the top 15. In the girls’ race, Air Academy senior Allie McLaughlin, the Class 5A state champion and the Rocky Mountain News All-Colorado Runner of the Year, settled for fifth place after leading nearly the entire race. In the boys’ division, Dakota Ridge senior and Class 5A champion Evan Appel finished sixth, while Buena Vista senior and Class 3A champion Joseph DeMoor finished 10th.

While Mullen senior Andrew Berberick finished an impressive season with a 17th-place finish in the national championship after placing sixth in his own division at the Colorado state meet, Rocky Mountain News All-Colorado Runner of the Year Joseph Manilafasha from Denver North didn’t compete for one of the top spots as expected, finishing in 35th.

“I gave it everything I had,” McLaughlin said. “I went out really fast like I wanted to, and just got caught in the end. But I am still really happy, and I went for it.”

McLaughlin took charge of the race immediately and led for nearly three miles, and set up a comfortable cushion of about 14 seconds heading into the final 500 meters. Defending champion Ashley Brasovan of Florida caught McLaughlin, before California senior Jordan Hasay - the 2005 champion who competed in the 2008 Olympics Trials in Oregon - became the sixth runner to win a second national title after she kicked down both Brasovan and McLaughlin to win in 17:21.

McLaughlin fell to fifth to finish in 17:34.

“I don’t have that kick, and I know that, and I’m going to work on that,” McLaughlin said. “I built that lead the best I could, and did my best, so I am definitely happy with that. And it made me feel really good when people were coming up to me and telling me what a gutsy race it was. That was pretty cool.”

In the boys’ race, Maryland’s Soloman Haile led the entire race and finished in 15:15. As for Appel, he said he had to fight through stomach cramps he started experiencing after the first mile. He remained in the top ten, before battling back near the end of the race to claim the sixth spot overall and top spot for Colorado runners.

“I was in it to win it, and finishing in the top three was a goal of mine, so there is a part of me where I guess I’m a little down about not winning it,” said Appel, who ran 15:36. “But I had those terrible stomach cramps and gave in to the pain. But there’s a point where you have to push through the pain. I fell back to ninth, but I fought my way back to sixth.”

DeMoor, who was Colorado’s fourth-place finisher in the Footlocker Midwest Regional on Nov. 29th, reached his goal of finishing in the top ten overall, with a time of 15:44.

“When I look back over this past year, I’ve come a long way,” he said. “I never thought I would be in the top 10 in the nation, so this has just been an incredible year for me.”

And it’s been an incredible postseason for Berberick, a middle-distance specialist who earned last year’s Class 4A state title in the 800. Berberick, who was sixth in the Class 4A state cross country meet in October, earned a seventh-place finish in the Footlocker Midwest Regional Nov. 29th. And after Saturday’s 17th-place finish, he proved he has more to offer a race than just wheels in the final stretch, and is still overwhelmed to be classified as one of the top distance runners in the nation.

“When I was lining up, I was pretty pumped for this race, so I’m pretty happy with it,” said Berberick, who ran 15:54. “And this was a great experience for me. Competition-wise, it was more than I expected. There are a lot of great runners that were out here. And it was so different with only 40 people in a race, where everyone is capable of getting in the top ten.

“But it’s all about who is feeling best and who is the best prepared on any given day.”

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