Hansons-Brooks athletes sweep top six in AT&T Austin Half Marathon; Brian Sell named Honorary Texan by Governor Rick Perry; Sheehan just shy of top twenty at USA Cross Country Championships
by: Hanson Brooks Press Release
 
Rochester Hills, MI, February 20, 2008—Six Hansons-Brooks (powered by Saturn) athletes spent an eventful week in Austin Texas, capped by a sweep of the top six places in the AT&T Austin Half Marathon. Brian Sell claimed top honors again, and was also named an Honorary Texan by Governor Rick Perry in recognition of his qualifying for the Olympic Team last November.  Race director John Conley of Conley Sports, Inc, presented a framed certificate and belt buckle recognizing Sell as an Honorary Texan at the athletes welcome reception on race weekend.

The newly minted Texan covered the hilly half marathon course in 1:04:11 for his second victory of the Olympic year, in as many attempts.  His strongest challenge came from teammate Mike Morgan, who led early in the race before Sell dropped him near halfway.  Morgan faded to third on a series of late hills, behind a late-charging Todd Snyder.  Snyder ran 1:04:58—almost a minute better than his personal best from the ING Miami Half Marathon last month.  Morgan stopped the clock at a respectable 1:05:10, with Luke Humphrey (1:05:22), Mike Reneau (1:05:25) and Patrick Moulton (1:07:17) completing the six-deep sweep for Hansons-Brooks. 

During their training stint in Austin, they also had the privilege of touring the Dell Children’s Medical Center, where they visited with children, played a few games of bingo, and distributed marathon finisher’s medals on behalf of the Medals for Mettle program. The organization collects donated medals from marathoners and distributes them to people who have demonstrated similar “mettle”, or courage while dealing with disease, disability, or other challenges. You can find more information about the program at www.mettles4medal.com.

USA Cross Country Championships—February 16

At the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego, Hansons-Brooks athletes Ryan Sheehan, Paul Jellema, and C. Fred Joslyn placed 22^nd, 28^th, and 52^nd, respectively. Dathan Ritzenheim of Eugene Oregon covered the 12k course in 35 minutes, 3 seconds—a twenty-six second advantage over runner-up Jorge Torres (Boulder).