Alan Webb, weakened by stomach upset, finishes 16th in USA 8K Championship

New York, NY (March 15, 2008)--Jorge Torres of Boulder, CO, became the USA 8K champion today at the Central Park Challenge, running 22:42 to edge Andrew Carlson of Bloomington, MN. Shalane Flanagan of Pittsboro, NC, won the Women's Invitational, an inaugural race over the same 4.97-mile distance, in 25:40, running away from Katie McGregor of St. Louis Park, MN (25:56). Both events were hosted by New York Road Runners.

Torres, 27, also the 2005 USA 8K champion and the 2006 10,000-meter champion, was somewhat under the radar coming into this race, despite having finished a strong second at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego on February 16. The pre-race chatter here was all about American mile record-holder Alan Webb, 25, of Reston, VA, who was making a rare appearance on the roads and competing for the first time since September. Webb, having suffered digestive distress over the previous two days, finished 16th in 23:32.

"I thought if I backed off a bit I would be okay, but I totally fell apart," said Webb, who is expected to make the U.S. Olympic team at 1500 meters.

"I've had great training with my group," said Torres, who is coached by former marathon world record-holder Steve Jones. He will compete in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 30. Carlson, 25, who won the USA 15K Championships in Jacksonville, FL, on March 8, received the same official time as Torres; he was gaining in the final meters but came up just a couple of meters short.

Shalane Flanagan, who won the USA Cross Country Championships by 70 seconds, took an early lead here. "I like to race pretty aggressively," she said. "I was in a zone and tried to just stay really focused." Flanagan trained in the mountains of Mexico for the past two months to gain a strength base for this Olympic year. She plans to make her 10,000-meter debut at the Stanford Cardinal Invitational in May, and she is a favorite to win the Olympic Trials 5000 meters, a distance at which she holds the American record (14:44.80).

Flanagan won $11,500 for her efforts ($10,000 for the victory plus $1,500 for being the lead runner at 5K). Torres won $10,000; the $1,500 5K incentive went to Christian Hesch, 29, of Morro Bay, CA, who finished sixth. The event had a total prize purse of $70,000. There were 41 finishers in the men's race and 30 in the women's; complete results are at www.nyrr.org

Central Park Challenge 8K: USA Men's Championship New York, NY, Saturday, March 15, 2008

MEN
1) Jorge Torres (CO), 22:42, $10,000
2) Andrew Carlson (MN), 22:42, $7000
3) Jason Hartmann (OR), 22:48, $5000
4) James Carney (CO), 22:53, $3500
5) Fasil Bizuneh (AZ), 23:03, $2500
6) Christian Hesch (CA), 23:04, $3000*
7) Tim Nelson (WI), 23:05, $1250
8) Josh Moen (IA), 23:14, $900
9) Ryan Kirkpatrick (CO), 23:21, $800
10) Macharia Yuot (PA), 23:21, $700
11) Paul Jellema (MI), 23:21, $600
12) Jonathan Pierce (NC), 23:22, $500
13) Ryan Sheehan (MI), 23:24, $400
14) Mike Hanlon (AZ), 23:27, $200
15) Brad Lowery (MN), 23:31, $150
*includes $1500 5K prime

WOMEN
1) Shalane Flanagan (NC), 25:40, $11,500*
2) Katie McGregor (MN), 25:56, $7000
3) Molly Huddle (RI), 26:07, $5000
4) Amy Rudolph (RI), 26:25, $3500
5) Carmen Douma-Hussar (CAN), 26:28, $2500
6) Erin Donohue (NC), 26:28, $1500
7) Firehiwot Tesfaye (ETH), 26:32, $1250
8) Liliya Shobukhova (RUS), 26:34, $900
9) Aziza Aliyu (ETH), 26:44, $800
10) Julia Lucas (CA), 26:46, $700
11) Melissa Cook (TX), 26:47, $600
12) Lyudmila Biktasheva (RUS), 26:48, $500
13) Cack Ferrell (OR), 26:49, $400
14) Carrie Tollefson (MN), 26:54, $200
15) Carrie Messner-Vickers (CO), 27:14, $150
*includes $1500 5K prime

Complete results and race photos at: NYRR.org