USA Track & Field selected Fernando Cabada, a senior at Virginia
Intermont College, to Team USA for the 2005 International Chiba Ekiden
Relay to be held in Chiba, Japan November 23. In addition to Team USA,
the marathon relay will feature teams from Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco,
France and Great Britain.
Cabada was selected to Team USA based upon his two top five US
championship performances this fall, which include his 4th place US 5k
finish and his 5th place US 10k finish last weekend.
\"We feel that both the men\'s and women\'s teams will improve on last
year\'s finishes,\" said Fred Finke, USATF Long Distance Running Division
Chair. \"We have several athletes who are just out of college and are
eager to compete in such a prestigious international event.\" In the
2004 edition the U.S. men finished seventh.
The Chiba Ekiden Relay marks the third national team that Cabada has
been selected for in 2005, equaled by only one other American runner.
Cabada joins an impressive seven man team that will compete on relay
legs over the marathon distance composed of three 5ks, two 10ks and
7.2k finish leg. USA Team members are:
Ian Dobson, 23, Palo Alto, Calif. Dobson qualified for the Team USA
World Championships roster with his runner-up finish in the 5,000m at
the 2005 USA Outdoor Championships in Carson, Calif., where he
established a new personal time of 13:15.33. He went on to finish 10th
in opening round at the World Outdoor Championships (13:27.16). Former
Stanford teammate Ryan Hall also joins him on the Chiba squad.
Ryan Hall, 23, Palo Alto, Calif. Hall capped off his collegiate career
with an NCAA Championship and school record at 5,000 meters, just
out-kicking his Stanford team-mate Ian Dobson, 13:22.32 to 13:22.54.
Just two weeks later, the pair would again find themselves running
personal bests as they finished second and third (Dobson 13:15.33, Hall
13:16.03) at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, also earning
their places on the U.S. team for Helsinki, where Hall finished 16th in
opening round (13:59.86).
Brian Sell, 27, Rochester Hills, Mich. This past May Sell won his first
USA title at the USA 25 km Championships in Grand Rapids, Mich.,
(1:15:27), the seventh fastest 25 km time ever for a U.S. man. He also
has numerous top-ten finishes in USA Championships and international
races, including a ninth-place finish at this summer\'s IAAF World
Championships Marathon.
Josh Moen, 23, Rochester Hills, Mich. A team-mate of Brian Sell at the
Hansons-Brooks Distance Project and graduate of Wartburg College, Moen
is a five-time NCAA Division II national champion and ten-time
All-American. Moen recently finished fourth at the USA Men\'s 10 km
Championships, running a personal best of 29:13.
Matt Gonzales, 24, Santa Fe, N.M. A two-time cross country All-American
and an All-American in the 10,000 meters on the track, Gonzales placed
sixth in the 5,000m finals at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials running
13:41.25. He recently placed second at the USA Men\'s 10 km
Championships ahead of Moen and Sell, running 28:39.
Fernando Cabada, 23, Bristol, Va. The 2005 NAIA 5,000 and 10,000 meter
champion, Cabada has earned numerous All-American honors at Virginia
Intermont College. He was a member of the championship U.S. team that
won the inaugural NACAC Cross Country Championships in March. Cabada
was fifth at the recent USA Men\'s 10 km Championships in 29:16.
Ryan Kirkpatrick, 27, Colorado Springs, Colo. The 2002 USA Men\'s 10 km
Champion and graduate of West Point, Kirkpatrick was ninth in the
10,000 meters at the 2005 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in
28:43.44. His recent sixth-place finish at the USA Men\'s 10 km
Championships earned him a spot as the alternate for the Chiba squad.