FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2003
Media Contact: Mark Winitz
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
TEAM USA MONTEREY BAY ATHLETES ANNOUNCED
SEASIDE, Calif. - Team USA Monterey Bay announced today the selection of
its first group of U.S. long distance runners who will live and train at
its training center located at California State University, Monterey Bay
(CSUMB). The athletes are Ryan Bak, Fasil Bizuneh, James Carney, and
Anthony Famiglietti. The four men were selected by Bob Sevene, Team USA
Monterey Bay's Head Coach and Director of Athlete Development, from
almost 70 applicants. The athletes were chosen on the basis of a
completed application/resume, previous accomplishments, and competitive
ability or potential to compete at world-class and Olympic-caliber levels.
The training center, which officially opened yesterday with the arrival
of Coach Sevene, plans to announce the addition of four female athletes
later this year. Additional elite and emerging-elite athletes will be
added in the future as the training center's resources and reputation
grow. The four selected athletes will be full-time residents at CSUMB and
will arrive at the center over the next several weeks.
"I'm very excited about having an opportunity to work with these
promising athletes," said Coach Sevene. "It's a very diverse group, which
was planned on purpose. Not one of the four has the same personality,
which should mesh to make a very good team personality. They all come
from excellent collegiate coaching environments."
Ryan Bak, 21, of Suffield, CT is a 2003 graduate of Trinity College
(Hartford, CT) where he won three individual NCAA Division III national
titles and was a 10-time collegiate All-American. Bak was the Division
III indoor 5,000-meter champion and outdoor 1,500-meter runner-up this
year. In 2002, he earned individual collegiate titles in both cross
country and at 1,500 meters outdoors. He earned accolades as this year's
Division III National Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year and was
the Division III National Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 2002.
Bak's personal bests on the track are 1:51.55 for 800 meters, 4:01.45 for
the mile, and 14:00 for 5,000 meters.
Fasil Bizuneh, 23, of Tempe, AZ is a 2003 graduate of Arizona State
University where he earned NCAA Division I All-American status twice in
cross country and once on the track at 10,000 meters. He set ASU school
records for 10,000m (28:46.88) and 5,000m indoors (14:03.06). He was the
2002 Pac-10 Conference runner-up in cross country. Additionally, Bizuneh,
as a member of the U.S. World Junior Cross Country Team in 1999, was the
first American finisher at the IAAF World Junior Cross Country
Championships. Bizuneh's personal track bests are 1:55 for 800 meters,
13:51 at 5,000 meters, and 28:46.88 for 10,000 meters.
James Carney, 25, of State College, PA completed three years of athletic
eligibility at Millersville University (PA) and one year at Penn State
University where he earned his B.A. in 2001. He was a four-time Division
II All-American (cross country and track 5K/10K) while at Millersville.
In 2001, he was the IC4A indoor champion at 5,000 meters, and he earned
All-Big Ten second team honors in cross country in 2000. As a
post-collegian, Carney has competed at the USA Outdoor Track and Field
Championships twice at 10,000 meters, finishing 11th last year and 13th
in 2003. Carney owns personal records of 14:00.38 at 5,000 meters and
28:48.88 at 10,000 meters on the track, and 46:35 for 15 kilometers on
the road.
Anthony Famiglietti (pronounced Fam-uh-let-tee), 24, of Knoxville, TN has
achieved notable accomplishments as a steeplechaser since graduating from
the University of Tennessee in 2000. In 2001 he made a breakthrough,
placing second over the barriers at the USA Outdoor Championships,
earning him a spot on the U.S. team that competed at the IAAF World
Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Edmonton, Canada. His steeple
victory in the 2001 World University Games was the first international
title by an American in the event since 1991. Last year, Famiglietti won
his first U.S. national title, running a personal record of 8:19.07 at
the USA Outdoor Championships. Hampered by an injury earlier this year,
he placed fifth at the USA Outdoor Championships last month at Stanford
University. Famiglietti will represent the U.S. at the Pan American Games
in the Dominican Republic in early August before settling in Monterey. He
is also an accomplished distance runner outside of the steeple with
personal bests on the track of 1:51 at 800m, 3:40 at 1,500m, 7:48 at
3,000m, and 13:33 at 5,000m. On the roads, he has recorded an outstanding
22:30 over the 8K (5 miles) distance.
Sevene says that the mix of shorter distance backgrounds (Bak and
Famiglietti) combined with the longer distance experience of Carney and
Bizuneh will help the athletes push each other in a variety of training
situations. The developmental focus for Team USA Monterey Bay athletes is
events 3,000 meters through the marathon.
"These athletes are all young and the 2008 Olympic Games await on the
horizon," Sevene commented. "Plus, Famiglietti should be a very serious
threat for the 2004 Olympic team."
Team USA Monterey Bay has applied to be an official training center of
the Team USA Distance Running Program. The national program, created by
Running USA and USA Track & Field, is dedicated to developing and
promoting U.S. distance runners. There are currently four Team USA
Training Centers with over 35 athletes operating in California (San
Diego/Mammoth Lakes), Michigan, Minnesota and New York. Since 2001, Team
USA Distance Running athletes -- led by Olympians Deena Drossin and Meb
Keflezighi -- have set one world road record, seven national records and
numerous personal records and won World Championship medals and 31
national titles.
__________________________
Team USA Monterey Bay, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit
organization committed to developing, supporting, and promoting U.S.
distance running stars capable of winning medals in Olympic and World
Championship competition. The organization is also committed to creating
role models for the general community who promote physical fitness and a
positive and productive lifestyle for people of all ages. Team USA
Monterey Bay is a Pacific Association/USATF member club. Visit them on
the web at csumb.edu/teamusa.
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