CanAm 2002 Kicks Off with New Balance Boston I High Performance Meet

(Waltham, Mass) -- The 2002 edition of the CanAm High Performance
Distance Circuit kicks off Saturday, June 29 at Waltham (Mass) High
School with the New Balance Boston I High Performance Meet. The CanAm
Circuit was founded in 1998 to provide low cost high performance
competition opportunities to elite and emerging elite distance runners in
North America during the summer months following the national
championships. The 2002 edition consists of the two New Balance Boston
High Performance Meets (Waltham, Mass, June 29 & July 2), the New Balance
Maine Distance Festival (Brunswick, Maine, July 6), and the two Les
Internationaux de Demi-Dond de Montreal meets (Montreal, Quebec, July 9 &
July 12).

Highlighting the New Balance Boston I High Performance Meet will be a
special invitation-only women's 10,000m. Highlighting the field are
Ethiopia's Merima HASHIM (30:59.92 PB '00; 6th '99 World Champs 10,0000;
34th '02 World XC 4k Champs) and Teyeba ERKESSO (10th '02 World XC 8k
Champs) and Japan's Miwako YAMANAKA (31:41.33 PB '02; 4th '02 World XC 8k
Champs) and Kazue OGOSHI (31:46.92 PB '02; 36th '02 World XC 8k Champs).
Joining this distinguished quartet are Ethiopia's Atalelech KETEMA (30th
'02 World XC 8k Champs) and Japan's Kumi TANABE (32:06.70 PB '02), Megumi
TANAKA (32:00.75 PB '01; 15:19.75 PB '01), and Yoko MANABE (32:30.74 PB
'02).

The men's 800 features NCAA champion Lekote OTUKILE, Canadian Nate
BRENNAN (5th NCAA; last year ran sub-4:00 for the mile as a high
schooler), former World Indoor championships medalist Erik NEDEAU,
UConn's Big East Champ Elliot BLOUNT (USATF semi-finalist), USATF
qualifier Lubert LEWIS, and NCAA qualifier Toby HENKELS.

In the men's 1500, two-time Olympian Jason PYRAH heads up a field that
features UConn Big East champ Dan WILSON, and Canadian champion Ryan
McKENZIE.

On the women's side, NCAA indoor champ Marian BURNETT highlights the 800
field while former Villanova standount Kristen NICOLINI heads up the 1500
field.

Competition gets underway at 6:00pm, while the elite races scheduled to
start just after 7:00pm. For directions, complete list of entries,
results, and other CanAm information, visit the CanAm website at:
http://miscott.home.att.net/canam





Mike Scott
Vice Chair/Secretary, USATF Cross Country Council
Clubs Coordinator, Team USA Distance Running
Coordinator, CanAm High Performance Distance Circuit
miscott@...
http://miscott.home.att.net/