Posted: September 1, 2004

Athletics: U.S. Junior Race Walkers top Canada

Led by Zachary Pollinger (Mahwah, N.J.) and Maria Michta (Nesconset N.Y.), the USA Junior Racewalk Team defeated Canada 19-27 in a match competition held in conjunction with the Edmonton International Race Walk in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on Sunday.

The USA Junior National Team squad is comprised of the top six finishers from the USA Junior National Track & Field Championships held June 26 in College Station, Tex. Athletes may not turn 20 years old in the calendar year. Men raced 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) and women 5 kilometers (3.1 miles). The top three finishers for each nation score the points of their place, with low score winning. The men's and women's races are scored separately and then totaled to give the overall team winner. Canada won the 2003 match.

In the men's competition, Pollinger raced eventual winner Pierre-Luc Menard shoulder to shoulder for almost the entire race. The two traded the lead and only in the final 500 meters did the Canadian pull away. Both recorded personal best times for the distance, Menard winning in 45:36 and Pollinger taking silver in 45:44. Pollinger, a recent high school graduate from Mahwah, N.J., will take a year off before attending Harvard in 2005; he will also be the nation's top returning junior walker next year.

Pollinger was supported by U.S. teammates who moved up to third and fourth by the finish to secure the team win. Jared Swehosky (Stayton, Ore.) was third and also recorded a personal best time of 47:59, while Troy Clark (Lisbon, Maine) was just off his best ever time in 48:34. Rounding out the U.S. team were Roberto Vergara (Newburg, Tex.) in fifth (52:10, personal best), twin brother Ricard Vergara (53:59) in seventh, and Dan Campbell (Caribou, Maine) in eighth (56:09).

For the women, Michta was the walker-up behind Canada's Rachel Lavallee's personal best winning time of 24:57. Michta, entering her freshman year at C.W.Post next week, clocked 25:37 in her final race of a long, competitive year that stretched back to indoor track season.

Katy Hayes (Oconomoc, Wisc.), who along with Michta represented the U.S. at the World Junior Championships in July, was third in 26:01, while Dana Vered's surging fifth place finish gave the USA the necessary points to post a 10-11 win for the women.

Vered (Paramus, N.J.) recorded a lifetime best of 26:49 in her first competition representing the USA. Backing the three scorers and walking strong races for the team were Christina Peters (Yellow Springs, Ohio), seventh in 27:15, and Rosalind Adams (New York, N.Y.), eighth in 27:19.

The annual dual match, started in 1989 and alternating between U.S. and Canadian sites, is recognized as an important ongoing development program for both countries. It provides an opportunity for Juniors to race in a high level competition while affording many junior walkers their first chance to represent the USA in international competition. Four of the eleven U.S. athletes in the 2004 meet wore the USA uniform for the first time (Roberto and Ricardo Vergara, Vered, and Adams), and seven of the young athletes on both teams recorded personal best performances in this year's race.

Overall Team Score
USA 19 points (9 + 10) 
CAN 27 points (11 + 16) 

10 km Junior Men
1 Pierre-Luc Ménard CAN 45:36
2 Zachary Pollinger USA (Mahwah, N.J.), 45:44 
3 Jared Swehosky USA (Stayton, Ore.), 47:59 
4 Troy Clark USA (Lisbon Maine), 48:34 
5 Roberto Vergara USA (Newburg, Tex.) 52:10 
6 David Houle CAN 53:54 
7 Ricardo Vergara USA (Newburg, Tex. ), 53:59 
8 Daniel Campbell USA (Caribou, Maine), 56:09 
9 Sidney Kitchen CAN 57:04 
DQ Alexandre Gagné CAN

Men's Team Score
USA 9 points (2-3-4)
CAN 16 points (1-6-9)

5 km Junior Women 
1 Rachel Lavallée CAN 24:57
2 Maria Michita USA (Nesconset, N.Y.) 25:37 
3 Catherine Hayes USA (Oconomowoc, Wisc.), 26:01 
4 Chelsea Rodriguez CAN 26:12
5 Dana Vared USA (Paramus, N.J.), 26:49 
6 Marilyn Desmarais CAN 26:54
7 Christina Peters USA 27:15 (Yellow Springs, Ohio)
8 Rosalind Adams USA (New York, N.Y.), 27:19 
9 Rachel Vanderzwet CAN 28:01
10 Katie Samoil CAN 29:52

Women's Team Score:
USA 10 points (2-3-5)
CAN 11 points (1-4-6)

Wariner forgoes NCAA eligibility

2004 Olympic 400m and 4x400m relay gold medalist Jeremy Wariner has decided to forgo his remaining collegiate eligibility at Baylor University to pursue a career in professional track and field.

Wariner has selected world 200m and 400m world record holder and Baylor graduate Michael Johnson as his agent. Johnson will represent Wariner through his company, Ultimate Performance. Wariner will continue to be coached by Baylor's Clyde Hart.

Baylor University will host a return celebration in honor of Wariner and senior Darold Williamson Thursday at the Ferrell Center on the Baylor campus in Waco, Texas. The event will begin with a press conference at 6:30 p.m., followed by a program for fans at 7:30 p.m.

Wariner captured the gold medal in the 400 meters with a time of 44.00 seconds, leading the United States to a 1-2-3 sweep in the event. Wariner, running third, and Williamson, running anchor, then led the 4x400 relay to a gold medal, winning by nearly five seconds.

The event is free and open to the public. The press conference will be held in the VIP room, while the program for the fans will be on the Ferrell Center floor.

Gatlin to appear on Wheaties box

Three-time Olympic medalist Justin Gatlin will join fellow USA Olympic stars Michael Phelps (swimming) and Carly Patterson (gymnastics) as athletes selected to appear on their own Wheaties boxes.

At the recently completed 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Gatlin won the gold medal in the men's 100 meters, a silver medal as a member of Team USA's 4x100m relay team and the bronze medal in the 200 meters. The special-edition cereal boxes should appear on store shelves by mid-September.