Mueller, Ihmels Win Championships

Liz Mueller of Waterford (Conn.) High and Corey Ihmels of Williston (N.D.) High turned the Kinney Cross-Country Championships into the one thing everyone agreed they would not be: One-runner shows.

Mueller, a junior and two-time participant, ran away with the girls’ title, covering the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) course in 17 minutes 21 seconds, 22.3 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Amanda White of Dulaney High in Cockeysville, Md.

Ihmels, a senior and the top-returning finisher from last year’s boys’ race, did much the same thing. His first-place time of 15:03.6 was 15.1 seconds better than the effort second-place Jeffrey Wilson of Newbury Park High.

And what of the local entrants, Fallbrook junior Milena Glusac and Helix junior Daniel Das Neves?

Das Neves was pleased with his seventh-place effort (15:33.1), but Glusac suffered from glycogen deprivation, cramped up badly and finished 30th out of 32 runners (19:53.6).

Glusac, winner of last week’s Western Regional in 17:11 in Fresno, was the pre-race favorite and she maintained pace with Mueller and White--and even led by a couple strides--over the first mile, but then slowly fell back during the second.

“She was probably a little fatigued anyway because of the lack of glycogen,” said Dr. Francis Nettl, the race physician who attended to Glusac.

With one mile remaining, Glusac lost her gaping stride and the customary bounce in her step.

“I was fine,” Glusac said almost an hour after finishing. “The (first) mile was slow, and I felt great. But all of a sudden, it just hit me. I couldn’t even move.”

Without glycogen, the body’s muscles are robbed of energy and they “don’t want to do anything,” Nettl said.

“I didn’t know what was happening to me and I couldn’t control it,” Glusac said. “That was the scary part.”

Nettl and Glusac figured the low level of glycogen was the effect of a dietary change during the week.

The athletes are put up at the Hotel del Coronado two days before the race, and Glusac said she forgot to pack Gatorade, usually a big part of her diet.

“I was going to buy some, but I figured I would just drink water for a couple days,” she said.

“I just wanted to have a good race,” Glusac continued, insisting she was not looking forward to a national championship. “Nothing’s ever for sure.”

During the second mile of the boys’ race, Das Neves remained confident that he would be in position to win at the end. He didn’t realize how much of a lead Ihmels had built.

“I just thought I’d stay where I was and keep something for the end,” Das Neves said of his strategy. “I thought I could kick at the end and make a big difference, but after the second mile, I couldn’t even see (Ihmels).”

Ihmels surprised even himself when he started opening a gap.

“Coming in, realistically I was a top-five finisher,” Ihmels said. “I was expecting someone from the West or Northeast to be up there, but they pretty much just let me go.”

Ihmels led a pack of 12 through the first mile, but then began to quicken the pace. No one else adjusted.

In the girls’ race, Mueller and White seemed to feed off each other after Glusac began to drop back during the second mile.

In fact, White opened a lead during the second mile.

“I wasn’t nervous,” Mueller said. “I just decided to stay relaxed and try to catch her.”

As as the two approached the Upas Street hill for the second time, Mueller decided to make her move.

“I heard her coach yell to her to ‘take her on the hill,’ ” Mueller said. “So I tried to build a little bit of a lead.”