Minneapolis/St. Paul - March 13, 2011 - All three Team USA Minnesota women competing at the USA 15k Championships on March 12 finished in the top six, with Megan Hogan crossing the line in third place with a time of 49:57, Meghan Armstrong finishing fifth in 51:18, and Katie McGregor placing sixth in 51:21.  Thanks to their strong finish, they also won the women's team competition known as the TenBroeck Team Cup.

Hogan made her professional road racing debut at Saturday's 15k championships, held in conjunction with the annual Gate River Run in Jacksonville.  Armstrong ran a personal best at the race (previous best was 52:30) and McGregor, who was the 2010 defending champion, was making her sixth appearance at Gate River.

Also competing at the championships was Josh Moen, who finished 11th in a personal best time of 44:16 (previous was 44:34), and Matt Gabrielson who was 20th in 44:56.  Featuring a deep American field of men and women, there were 21 men who ran under 45 minutes in the 15k and 273 runners finished the distance in under an hour.

"My goal was to stick with the lead pack and see how things went from there," said Hogan, who finished her collegiate eligibility at George Washington University in December.  "At three miles, Jen (Rhines who won the race) picked it up and Nan (Kennard who was second) went with her.  I just kept them in my sights.  At the top of the bridge (between 8 and 9 miles), I caught up to Nan but then she had a really good down hill kick and got away from me.  I almost caught her again on the flat going into the finish line but she held me off.

"I thought the weather was perfect for the race and the course was very interesting.  It was really a fun environment.  My goal was top 10 and I had hoped for top five so I was really pleased with the results.  I have been training a lot on the treadmill over the winter and just joined Team USA Minnesota so I was really curious to see where I was at with my fitness.  I am excited that our women won the team competition.  It's fun to train and compete with them and to do so well together.  I needed a good confidence builder so this race was a great way to kick off my season."

Next up for Hogan, Armstrong and McGregor will be the outdoor track season with all three planning to compete in the 10,000 meters at the Cardinal Invitational on May 1.  Moen and Gabrielson plan to continue racing on the roads.

About Team USA Minnesota

Team USA Minnesota is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul.  Formed in 2001, the purpose of the training center is to improve the competitiveness of post-collegiate American distance running and to develop Olympians.  The athletes are coached by Dennis Barker, head cross country and track coach at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.  Team USA Minnesota's major sponsor is Life Time Fitness (www.lifetimefitness.com) and its silver sponsor is Twin Cities In Motion (www.mtcmarathon.org).  It is also supported by the New York Road Runners and the USA Distance Project.  For more information, visit the team's web site at www.teamusaminnesota.org.

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Contact:

Pat Goodwin

952-924-1081

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