Minneapolis/St. Paul - Jan. 7, 2010 - Three Team USA Minnesota runners - Meghan Armstrong , Matt Gabrielson and Antonio Vega - will compete in the 3000 meters at the Northwest Open on Jan. 9. The meet will be held at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse in Minneapolis, with running events beginning at 1:30 p.m. The three are using the event as a tune-up for the USA Half Marathon Championships which will be held in Houston on Jan. 17.

Armstrong's most recent competition was the International Chiba Ekiden in Japan on Nov. 23 where she ran a 5k leg for the U.S. team that placed fifth in the Ekiden relay. Prior to that, in October she won the Strands 5k in Oregon and placed 11th at the USA Women's 10k Championship in Boston. Her personal best in the 3000 meters is 9:17.

Gabrielson ran in the Manchester Road Race on Nov. 26 and last August was a member of the U.S. team in the marathon at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships. His best in the 3000m is 7:54. Vega's latest competition was his eighth place finish at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on Oct. 4. He has run 8:09 in the 3000.

"Track and Field News" Rankings for 2009

The annual "Track and Field News" rankings have listed four Team USA Minnesota distance runners in the top 10 of their events in the United States for 2009. The athletes and their rankings are:

. Katie McGregor - #3 in the women's 10,000 meters

. Jason Lehmkuhle - #7 in the men's marathon

. Patrick Smyth - #8 in the men's 10,000 meters

. Kristen Nicolini Lehmkuhle - #9 in the women's marathon

McGregor was third at the 2009 USA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000, a member of the U.S. team at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships and placed fifth at the USA Women's 10k Road Championship. Smyth was seventh in the 10,000 at USA Outdoor, fifth at the USA Men's 10k Road Championship and ran a personal best in the distance last spring of 28:25.85.

In the marathon, Lehmkuhle was the sixth American at the USA Men's Marathon Championship and 10th overall at the ING New York City Marathon. Nicolini Lehmkuhle made her debut in the marathon at the USA Women's Marathon Championship, hosted by the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, placing third in a time of 2:35:06.

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 post-college 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 web site at www.teamusaminnesota.org.

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Contact:

Pat Goodwin

952-924-1081