Minneapolis/St. Paul - Feb. 9, 2010 - Six Team USA Minnesota distance runners will be among the competitors at the 2010 USA Cross Country Championships in Spokane, Wash., on Feb. 13.  The event is also the World Cross Country Team Trials to select six men and six women to compete at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships that will be held in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on March 28.

The championship races in Spokane will be run on a 2 km loop in Plantes Ferry Recreation Park, with the open women's 8 km set to go off at 1:15 p.m. and the open men's 12 km at 2:00 p.m. (Pacific time).

Competing in the women's 8k will be Emily Brown, Katie McGregor and Meghan Armstrong.  Brown is the 2009 USA Cross Country Champion in the 8k and previously finished third in the 2008 USA Cross Championships.  McGregor is a six-time qualifier (2003-2008) for world cross having placed as high as second in 2003.  This will be Armstrong's second appearance at the cross championships after placing 12th in the 8k at the 2009 event; in January, she placed 11th at the USA Half Marathon Championships and won the ING Miami Half Marathon.

The Team USA Minnesota men competing at the 2010 Championships include Matt Gabrielson, Antonio Vega and Patrick Smyth.  Gabrielson is a three-time qualifier (2005-2007) for World Cross Country.  At the 2009 USA Cross Country Championships, Vega placed 15th and was a member of the U.S. team at the 2009 NACAC Cross Country Championships.  Smyth will be making his first appearance at the USA Cross Country  Championships.  Most recently, at the USA Half Marathon Championships on Jan. 17, Vega was first, Smyth second and Gabrielson was ninth.

Tyson Invitational - Feb. 12

Heather Dorniden will compete in the 800 meters at the Tyson Invitational on Friday evening, Feb. 12.  The meet will be held at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.

Dorniden is preparing for the USA Indoor Championships that will be held in Albuquerque Feb. 27-28.  She achieved her qualifier for the championships in the 800 meters when she posted 2:05.49 to win the event at the Jack Johnson Invite at the University of Minnesota on Jan. 23.

Mercedes Half Marathon - Feb. 14

After opening his 2010 season on the track on Jan. 30, Jason Lehmkuhle will return to the roads and compete in the Mercedes Half Marathon in Birmingham, Ala., on Feb. 14.  The race starts at 7 a.m. (Central) along with the companion Mercedes Marathon.

Lehmkuhle's last road race was the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 1, which was also the site of the USA Men's Marathon Championship.  He finished sixth in the championship and 10th overall in the race.  Lehmkuhle is preparing to run the Boston Marathon on April 19.

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 along with a grant from Running USA.  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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