Reigning U.S. 20 km men's champion Kevin Eastler and
two-time U.S. women's 20 km champion Teresa Vaill were
the respective winners Saturday at the 2007 USA Pan
American Race Walk Cup Trials in Palmetto Bay, Florida. The championships, which serve as the selection event for
the 2007 Pan American Race Walk Championships, April
21-22 in Balne&rio Cambori&, Brazil, were
hosted by the City of Palmetto Bay and the Miami-Dade
Parks and Recreation Department.
Eastler and his 2004 Olympic teammate Tim Seaman,
entered their last lap in unison and stayed that way until the
final straight when Eastler pulled away to claim the first
place prize money of $900.Eastler's winning time was 1
hour 24 minutes 12 seconds, with Seaman finishing close
behind as the runner-up in 1:24:21. Both performances
bettered the Olympic "B" qualifying standard. John Nunn
held on for third place finishing in 1:27:55 and Matt Boyles
placed fourth with a new personal best of 1:28:50. Boyles
previous best mark was 1:30:30.In the women's race,
Teresa Vaill opened a 40-second gap at the 2.5 km mark
over fellow Americans Sam Cohen, Jolene Moore and Maria
Michta. However guest athletes Yeliz Ay (Turkey) and Miriam
Ramon (Cuenca, Ecuador) were right in Vaill's shadow as
all three passed in 11:39.
Vaill went on to win the race in 1:35:44. Turkey's Yeliz Ay,
who has been training at altitude in Colorado, was second
in 1:36:22, with Ramon finishing third in 1:36:29. No other
women would better the Olympic "B" standard as Sam
Cohen grabbed the second USA spot on the Pan American
Cup team in 1:42:48. Jolene Moore was fifth overall in
1:43:51 and Loretta Schuellin earned a spot on her first-ever
USA international team by finishing sixth in 1:44:17. The first
four finishers under 1 hour and 48 minutes qualified for the
Team USA roster.
The Junior Men's 10 km race was dominated by the Vergara
twins from Edinburg, Texas, as Ricardo Vergara crossed
the finish line first in 48 minutes 2 seconds, with his brother
Roberto finishing eight seconds back. Abraham Villarreal
was third in 54:52, with Evan Crowdus fourth in 57:22 and
Patrick Shaffer fifth in 1:01:36.
The Junior Women's 20 km race was won by Lauren
Forgues of Boothbay, Maine in 50 minutes 35 seconds. The
runner-up was Le'erin Voss in 53:18 and Christina Peters
finishing in third place in 53:51. Rounding out the top-five
finishers were Jenna Monahan (4th-55:25) and Pamela Alva
of Lima, Peru (5th-56:06).
For more information on the 2007 USA Pan American Race
Walk Cup Trials, visit www.usatf.org.