The 2016 USATF-NE Cross Country Grand Prix wrapped up on Sunday at the New England Championships. Liv Westphal continued her hot streak and Kara Haas finished her perfect tear through the schedule.
Haas placed 30th overall in the stacked field and easily beat out the other masters competition with her 22:45.
“The Championship race was pretty much a slugfest with New England’s speediest harriers. It’s always fun to duke it out at Franklin Park and we here in New England are so fortunate to have such a rich history of XC at Franklin Park!”
The win meant Kara was a perfect 5 for 5 in with wins throughout the series. Her 75 points were far and way the class of the field.
“Cross Country has always been my first love (I started in college and really didn’t know that people ran road races or track) and I really wanted to get a full season in this year. I’ve been battling a loss of leg coordination issue, that thanks to the sage advice of the Donais/Jenkins team – I’ve almost 100% cleared up. I loved every race of the season – running against the “young ‘uns” has definitely allowed me to relive my college days. It’s always good to pretend you’re 20, right? I should think otherwise, but I really didn’t think about the Masters division. I just wanted to go out there and race as hard as I could, with the hopes my leg would hold up. Everything really came around the end of the season, and I was just so happy to feel healthy again. XC is just such a pure sport – it hurts in such a unique way, the camaraderie is unrivaled, and, well…it’s just a blast!”
The top four women all went under 21:00:
1 #547 Liv Westphal 22 02-Unattached 20:17
2 #691 Rachel Sorna 24 The Heartbreakers 20:53 1
3 #689 Rosa Moriello 24 The Heartbreakers 20:56 2
4 #548 Danielle Winslow 23 02-Unattached 20:58
For more on this:
Results
Standings
Photos (Scott Mason Photo)
All photos used here courtesy of Scott Mason Photo. Check out his galleries (linked to above).
