Runners lead All-Army to silver

By Tim Hipps
FMWRC PAO

U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program runners Spc. Robert Cheseret won the men’s 12K and Maj. Emily Potter finished second in the women’s 8K at the 2011 Armed Forces Cross Country Championships on Feb. 5 in San Diego.

Both the men’s and women’s All-Army teams finished runner-up to All-Air Force squads in the Armed Forces Championships, which were run in conjunction with the USA National Cross Country Championships at Mission Bay Park.

Cheseret, 27, the reigning U.S. National champion for 5K on the roads (14:00) and the first U.S. Army finisher in the 2010 Army Ten-Miler (48:20), won the Armed Forces men’s 8-kilometer cross-country race in 36 minutes, 37 seconds.

“I ran as hard as I could,” said Cheseret, who finished 11th overall against the national field. “I was hoping to do a little bit better, but I wasn’t able to run any faster that day. I was hoping to be with the top guys, like top five, but I still ran a good time.

Cheseret will compete Saturday for Team USA at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association Cross Country Championships in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Air Force 2nd Lt. Sean Houseworth of Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., finished second in the armed forces men’s chase in 37:38, followed by Navy Lt. William Christian of the U.S. Naval Academy in 38:01.

WCAP 1st Lt. John Mickowski, a 1,500-meter specialist on the track, finished fifth in 38:18. Lt. Col. Keith Matiskella of Grafenwoehr, Germany, was ninth in 39:30. WCAP marathoner 1st Lt. Kenneth Foster finished 12th in 39:58. Former WCAP runner Capt. Phillip Sakala of Fort Sill, Okla., was 19th in 44:06.

The All-Air Force men prevailed with 43 points, followed by All-Army (46), All-Navy (49) and All-Marine Corps (NTS). The All-Army team ran without WCAP and Olympic marathoner Maj. Dan Browne, who missed the race because of injury.

Air Force 1st Lt. Caroline White won the women’s 8-kilometer Armed Forces race in 29 minutes, 32 seconds. Potter, who is training for the U.S. Olympic marathon trials, finished second in 30:10, followed by Navy Lt. Gina Slaby of Tucson, Ariz., in 30:12.

The All-Air Force women prevailed with 21 points, followed by All-Army (22), All-Marine Corps (45) and All-Navy (52).

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