Great American Championships 9/22
September 22, 2001

By David Yon
One of the premier cross country meets in the country is scheduled for Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina and will bring together some outstanding high school talent. Check out details at http://www.dyestat.com/us/1xc/GreatAmerican. Over 4800 runners are participating, including 31 boys and 28 girls state champions or runners. GWTC and Tallahassee are very fortunate to have two outstanding runners participating - Kara Newell and Ryan Deak. Both are recognized in the top twenty runners on the Great American and Dye Stat web page. Keep your fingers crossed and say a big cheer for them as they run. At the college level it will be high school mile record holder Alan Webb's first race for the University of Michigan.

Here is a summary from the Dye Stat page of the boys race that Tallahasseeans should find interesting:

Summary: This field is wide open and loaded with no less than 15 potential All-Americans. Meet favorite is Lukezic, based off his blazing track season, followed closely by Bader, but Gotcher, Dambkowski, Hagenbuch and Steir will all challenge. The sleeper may easily be Kyle Perry who may be running his first cross-country season. Mitric is an unknown at this point but could surprise. Will Deak step up the front? He is the most seasoned 10th grader in the Nation.