The 2022 USATF National Club Cross Country Championships were contested on Saturday, December 10 at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. While this course is normally a scenic tour of a beautiful, manicured course, Mother Nature had plans of her own. Chilly, gale-force winds and driving rain wreaked havoc on the course. As a result of the inclement weather, many parts of the course mirrored a mud bath. Two trees also managed to fall on parts of the course, and because of this, the San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department closed the park for safety reasons. Given the circumstances, race officials altered the course for all but the men's 60+ 10k races. Athletes in the 40s and 50's age groups competed on a polo field adjacent to the course along with open athletes.
Athletes taking on these conditions proved that it was not for the faint of heart. Despite those obstacles, Atlanta Track Club represented well. This event was not only the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships, but also the beginning of the 2023 Grand Prix racing series, and the awards ceremony for the 2022 racing series.
Below are results organized by the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships results and Grand Prix individual and age group standings.
USATF National Club Cross Country Championships Results
60's Age Group
Men 9th place team (8k distance)
Mike Anderson - 38:21, 117th overall, 29th age group
Rick Becker - 33:14, 38th overall, 6th age group, 83.87% age graded
Lester Dragstedt - 32:25, 27th overall, 23rd age group
Casey Hannan - 32:53, 36th overall, 31st age group, 80.64 age graded
Women 7th place team (6k distance)
Robin Tanner - 32:07, 192nd overall, 26th age group
Margaret Taylor - 34:00, 211th overall, 16th age group
Cindy Williams - 31:41, 188th overall, 10th age group
70's Age Group
Men 7th place team (8k distance)
Sam Benedict - 57:37, 233rd overall, 16th age group
Dave Glass - 39:18, 143rd overall, 4th
Allen Joyce - 43:51, 184th overall, 29th age group
Kirk Larson - 41:02, 160th overall, 21st age group
Jerry Learned - 39:38, 149th overall, 17th age group
Women 4th place team (6k distance)
Kathy Allen - 38:24, 232 overall, 13th age group
Nonie Hudnall - 35:39, 223 overall, 9th age group
Andrea McCarter - 51:23, 242 overall, 2nd age group
80's Age Group
Men 3rd place team (8k distance)
Ed Bligh - 48:32, 210 overall, 3rd age group
Adrian Craven - 1:02.33, 237th overall, 12th age group
Andrew Sherwood - 59:30, 235th overall, 11th age group
2022 Grand Prix Series Individual Standings
The Club had several masters claim first place titles in the 2022 Grand Prix individual standings. On the men's side, Jerry Learned claimed the title for his 70-74 age group and Dave glass claimed first in the 75-79 age group. Andrew Sherwood claimed the individual title in the 80-84 age group and Adrian Craven claimed the title in the 85-89 age group.
On the women's side, we had one individual age range winner. Andrea McCarter claimed first in her 75-79 age group. Coming in second to her teammate in the same age group was Catherine Radle.
Men Individual Standings
Steve Bell - 7th place 50-54 age group
Brent Fields - 8th place 50-54 age group
Brad Slavens - 14th place 50-54 age group
Scott Siriano - 5th place 55-59 age group
Mike Strickland - 7th place 55-59 age group
Fred Weir - 12th place 55-59 age group
Casey Hannan - 9th place 60-64 age group
Scott Lucking - 4th place 65-69 age group
Ken Youngers - 7th place 65-69 age group
Neil Feather - 15th place 65-69 age group
Jerry Learned - 1st place 70-74 age group
Allen Joyce - 9th place 70-74 age group
Dave Glass - 1st place 75-79 age group
Sam Benedict - 8th place 75-79 age group
Joe Lenahan - 13th place 75-79 age group
Andrew Sherwood - 1st place 80-84 age group
Adrian Craven - 1st place 85-89 age group
Sid Davis - 2nd place 85-89 age group
Women Individual Standings
Kathy Wiegand - 3rd place 45-49 age group
Kris Huff - 6th place 55-59 age group
Robin Tanner - 11th place 60-64 age group
Cindy Williams - 5th place 65-69 age group
Margaret Taylor - 6th place 65-69 age group
Nonie Hudnall - 6th place 70-74 age group
Kathy Allen - 7th place 70-74 age group
Andrea McCarter - 1st place 75-79 age group
Catherine Radle - 2nd place 75-79 age group
Grand Prix Series Age Group Standings
On the men's side, we had the men's 80's A team place first overall. Following closely behind was the men's 70's A team placing second overall. Lastly, on the men's side and still managing to make the podium was the men's 50's A team with a third place finish. On the women's side, we had the women's 70's teams lead The Club. Team A finished second and the B team finished third overall.
Men's Teams
40's A - 13th
40's B - 24th
40's C - 27th
50's A - 3rd
50's B - 14th
50's C - 15th
60's A - 4th
60's B - 22nd
60's C - 25th
70's A - 2nd
70's B - 8th
80's A - 1st
Women's Teams
40's A - 4th
40's B - 19th
50's A - 5th
60's A - 4th
60's B -16th
70's A - 2nd
70's B - 3rd
Congratulations to all of Atlanta Track Club masters and their 2022 achievements! Next up on the race schedule is the USATF Cross Country Championships in Richmond, Virginia on January 21, 2023, followed by the USATF Masters 5k Championships in Atlanta on February 25, 2023.
This article was written by an Atlanta Track Club master's Athlete