Lauren Kleppin
Former South Milwaukee and Western State Colorado star Lauren Kleppin competes in the marathon, half-marathon, and numerous road distances. She holds the second highest American finish at the Los Angeles Marathon since 2012, having finished third in 2014. She is also a ten-time NCAA All-American, twice in cross country and eight times in track and field. She was a DII standout, earning all-American honors 10 times. As a professional, Kleppin has victories at the 2013 Carlsbad Marathon and the 2013 Cellcom Green Bay Marathon. Kleppin was the runner-up at the 2014 USA Half-Marathon Championships. She represented the United States with a 14th place finish at the 2014 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen in a personal best time of 1:10:16. She has a PR of 2:28.48.
Tim Hacker
Former Menomonie Falls and Wisconsin standout Tim Hacker, one of the all-time University of Wisconsin track and cross country runners and a member of his alma mater’s Athletics Hall of Fame, won the 1985 NCAA individual cross country championship at Dretzka Park in Milwaukee, just a few miles from his home. He was also a three-time Big Ten and NCAA District IV champion and earned all-America three-times, with two other top eight NCAA finishes. He was a five-time track all-American and was also the US cross country champ in 1997 and the US 5K track winner in 1989. Tim placed fifth in the 1984 Olympic Trials in the 1500. He was 9th in the Foot Locker nationals as a junior in 1979 and fourth as a senior in 1980. His youngest son Olin, the Wisconsin D-1 champ, is running this weekend in Kenosha. Tim holds a PhD and is a scientist at the University of Wisconsin.
Matt Withrow
In the 2003 Foot Locker nationals, Matt Withrow of Tinley Park, Ill., won what veteran Midwest regional director Pete Henkes calls the greatest Foot Locker championship race he’s ever seen. With 300 meters left, Withrow outkicked Galen Rupp and Shadrack Kiptoo at San Diego’s Balboa Park to win in 14:55, two seconds better than Rupp and three ticks up on Kiptoo. Withrow went on to a fine career at Wisconsin, earning all-America honors twice in cross country, including a 9th place NCAA finish in 2005. He also earned a berth on the US senior cross country team for the world championships in 2004.
Ed Torres.
Ed Torres had some great career moments, punctuated in college by a 10th place finish in the NCAA meet as a senior at Colorado and in high school sixth-place finishes in the Foot Locker nationals as both a junior and senior. He was a key contributor to Colorado’s first NCAA championship in 2001. As a pro, he represented the United States three times in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and also would have run for the US at the 2008 World Championships in the marathon in Berlin, but an Achilles injury prevented him from competing. He had PRs of 13:57 for 5K and 28:16 for 10K. Ed's family background is in the jewelry business and he is incorporating that with his love of running. His business, PR Medal Engravers, engraves athletes' names onto the race medals on-site.
Molly Seidel
Hartland native and Notre Dame junior Molly Seidel is having a stellar career for the Fighting Irish, most recently finishing 19th in the NCAA cross country championships recently in Terre Haute to claim all-America honors for the first time and becoming the ninth Notre Dame woman to do so. Her performance was an improvement of over one minute and 152 places from her showing at the race last season. She was also the top individual finisher from the Atlantic Coast Conference. She finished in fifth place at the ACC Championships. In 2011, she was named Gatorade National Female Cross Country Runner of the Year and Gatorade Wisconsin Female Cross Country Runner of the Year. She also helped the USA Junior National Cross Country team win the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country - International Challenge by finishing third. She joined Suzy Favor in 2011 as the only female to win four state individual titles. She won the Foot Locker Midwest and national titles that year, the latter by defeating current Michigan standout and multiple Big Ten champ Erin Finn in a close battle down the stretch. |