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Published Monday
May 3, 2004

Nielsen-Crotts late to enter, first to finish in Lincoln Marathon

BY JOHN MARTIN FEY

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

LINCOLN - Christy Nielsen-Crotts woke up last Thursday morning in her Council Bluffs home and decided to run the Lincoln Marathon.

That decision was bad news for women already entered.

Coming off a 56th-place finish at the U.S. Olympic marathon trials a month ago, Nielsen-Crotts wanted to "go out and have some fun" Sunday in a less-competitive race.

The former Creighton University standout's fun run resulted in a first-place finish and the end of the Lincoln Marathon win streak held by Omahan Roxi Erickson.

"For the past 20 months, I've been training so hard," Nielsen-Crotts said. "I was kind of sick of training hard. I said, 'I'm not going to worry about pace, I'm just going to run.' "

Nielsen-Crotts, 28, finished the 26.2 miles in 2 hours, 54 minutes, 57 seconds. She easily beat runner-up Becky Burdick of St. Paul, Minn., who came in at 3:05:31.

Erickson, who owned seven straight Lincoln titles, dropped out after 16 miles. The 41-year-old Omaha North High teacher was trying for her 11th overall championship.

The men's marathon winner was a first-time Lincoln competitor. Jacob Kaemmer of Windsor Heights, Iowa, finished in 2:30:25. Kaemmer came in 2:10 ahead of runner-up Derek Fey, a former Dana College All-American.

The men's half-marathon winner was ex-Nebraska Wesleyan standout Mike Morgan, who ran the 13.1 miles in 1:07:06. Runner-up James McGown was clocked in 1:08:54.

In the women's half-marathon, Omahan Theresa Gosnell won handily in 1:22:28, more than four minutes faster than runner-up Heidi Bryant of Kansas City, Mo.

More than 3,200 entered the marathon and half-marathon, which was run under crisp and breezy conditions. The wind picked up later Sunday morning, and the marathon winners both said it made touring the course more difficult.

Nielsen-Crotts' entry created a buzz, but after the easy win, she said Erickson's win streak had nothing to do with her late entry.

"That wasn't a factor at all," said Nielsen-Crotts, whose first marathon was Lincoln in 1997. "People don't ever know the races I do, because I always do them at national championships. It's nice to come and do well at a home-town race."

Kaemmer, the men's winner, ran under an assumed name - but he had a good reason.

Jacob Kaemmer's father, Jerry, was hoping to run Lincoln again as a Missouri Army National Guard member. But Jerry Kaemmer is currently deployed in northern Iraq.

"I (entered) under his name," Jacob Kaemmer said. "He always runs this one, but he's overseas running. That's why I picked Lincoln."

Kaemmer was never threatened while picking up his first marathon win in eight tries. The 27-year-old high school track coach said beating his previous-best marathon time of 2:32:43 wasn't easy.

"From 21 (miles) on in," he said, "it was a huge struggle. You just put one foot in front of the other and hope it's enough."

Kaemmer hoped to speak with his dad before the day was over. And he can't wait to see him back stateside.

"He's coming back for the Army 10-miler in October," Jacob said. "That's what he's doing for his leave, so I'll run that with him.

"Hopefully, I'll run the (Lincoln) marathon with him when he gets back, too."

Results:

• Men's marathon leaders: 1, Jacob Kaemmer, Windsor Heights, Iowa, 2:30:25. 2, Derek Fey, Omaha, 2:32:35. 3, Shannon Stenger, Papillion, 2:34:17. 4, Timothy Vandervlugt, Bend, Ore., 2:35:02. 5, Mike Vance, Omaha, 2:35:19. 6, William Bohlke, St. Croix, Va., 2:36:10. 7, Chris Larson, Honolulu, 2:38:08. 8, James Bresette, Clinton, Ark., 2:38:29. 9, Whitney Miller, Carmel, Ind., 2:38:35. 10, Jorge Zuniga, Walton, Neb., 2:40:35. 11, Sean Nixon, Bend, Ore., 2:41:38. 12, Ryan Salem, Lincoln, 2:42:0. 13, Alcides Colon, Coamo, PR, 2:42:03. 14, Phil Kauder, Cascade, Iowa, 2:43:04. 15, Michael Streff, Custer, S.D., 2:43:51. 16, Robert Schnell, Tucson, Ariz., 2:44:30. 17, Danielmichael Hay, Springfield, Mo., 2:45:24. 18, Trent Sinnett, Kokomo, Ind., 2:46:0. 19, Tyrell Heaton, Maple Grove, Minn., 2:47:50. 20, Jesse Arnstein, Jackson, N.J., 2:47:55. 21, Michael Johnson, Omaha, 2:49:09. 22, Curt Carey, Spencer, Ind., 2:49:21. 23, Todd Nott, Plattsmouth, Neb., 2:49:40. 24, Terry Stewart, Brooklyn Park, Minn., 2:50:08. 25, Jeffrey Lingwall, Scottsbluff, Neb., 2:50:17.
• Women's marathon leaders: 1, Christy Nielsen-Crotts, Council Bluffs, 2:54:57. 2, Becky Burdick, St. Paul, Minn., 3:05:31. 3, Nancy Frey, Boca Raton, Fla., 3:10:10. 4, Amanda Baron-Fritts, Lincoln, 3:12:23. 5, Jamiek Stensland, Waverly, Iowa, 3:14:36. 6, Suzie Scheer, Leawood, Kan., 3:17:35. 7, Beckysue Lowrance, Branson, Mo., 3:18:38. 8, Annette Krueger, Sidney, Neb., 3:19:34. 9, Andrea Lanka, Omaha, 3:20:32. 10, Erin Raspar, Denver, 3:20:41. 11, Maureen Larsen, Omaha, 3:21:38. 12, Holly Scott, Dover, Del., 3:23:13. 13, Brenda Peschel, Axtell, Kan., 3:23:31. 14, Amy Sas, North New Hope, Minn., 3:23:36. 15, Carrie Gloudemans, Lincoln, 3:23:52. 16, Kjersten Welch, Sioux City, Iowa, 3:25:02. 17, Allie Lawler, Stamford, Conn., 3:25:51. 18, Katherine Forehand, 3:26:48. 19, Martha Swatt-Robison, Sheridan, Wyo., 3:26:49. 20, Bernadett Semson-Huston, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 3:27:30. 21, Marylou Barrett, Omaha, 3:30:40. 22, Michelle Schmidt, Lincoln, 3:30:42. 23, Janet Park, Lincoln, 3:31:26. 24, Julia Martinusen, Des Moines, 3:33:38. 25, Stephanie Groathouse, Urbandale, Iowa, 3:34:18.
• Men's half-marathon leaders: 1, Mike Morgan, Lincoln, 1:07:06. 2, James McGown, Shelton, Neb., 1:08:54. 3, Julius Rotich, W. Des Moines, Iowa, 1:09:31. 4, Bryce Dickmeyer, Fremont, Neb., 1:11:36. 5, Dan Boyle, Manhattan, Kan., 1:12:50. 6, Ivan Ivanov, Lincoln, 1:12:55. 7, Rikki Hacker, Overland Park, Kan., 1:14:21. 8, Dave Johnson, Hastings, Neb., 1:15:32. 9, Nathan Pennington, Fort Carson, Colo., 1:15:38. 10, Jay Golonka, Lee's Summit, Mo., 1:15:49.
• Women's half-marathon leaders: 1, Theresa Gosnell, Omaha, 1:22:28. 2, Heidi Bryant, Kansas City, Mo., 1:26:47. 3, Deena Sughroue, Kearney, Neb., 1:27:17. 4, Mary Amen, Lincoln, 1:28:17. 5, Michelle Swenson, Omaha, 1:28:40. 6, Andrea Mcgehee, Raymore, Mo., 1:28:50. 7, Jennifer Sherwood, Crete, Neb., 1:29:43. 8, Kami Alessandro, Omaha, 1:30:03. 9, Stephanie Randall, Omaha, 1:30:35. 10, Gina Schultz, Lincoln, 1:30:37.

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