Gray wins Mountain Running Championships in Oregon

Results

The 2021 USATF Mountain Running Championships were held on Sunday (15-Aug) in Mt. Hood, Oregon.  The race started at 3,600 feet above sea level at the Mt Hood Ski Bowl Resort and then climbed to 5000 feet, the high point, and then descended back to the start area.  Fifteen (15) athletes from Colorado were among the 102 competitors in the USATF championships.

The race served as the qualifying event for the 2022 World Mountain and Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand February 10-13, 2022.  The top three finishers earned automatic Team USA spots for the world championships.  Three Coloradans - Joseph Gray (Colorado Springs), Joseph Demoor (Carbondale), and Bailey Kowalczyk (Nederland) - finished in the top three thus earning spots on the 2022 world championship team.

In the men's race, Joseph Gray, 37, of Colorado Springs won in a time of 39:36 with Max King of Oregon following Gray across the line in 39:51. Third place was Joseph Demoor, 31, of Carbondale, CO with a time of 40:09.  Three other Coloradans finished in the top ten - Andy Wacker (Boulder, 5th); Eli Hemming (Louisville, 6th), and Tyler McCandless (Fort Collins, 10th).  Chris Rauch, 48, of Nederland finished 26th overall and won the masters 45-49 national title.  His time was 44:35

In the women's race Bailey Kowalczyk, 25, of Nederland finished third in a time of 46:22.  Allie McLaughlin, 30, of Colorado Springs, and Janelle Lincks, 27, of Thornton joined Kowalczyk in the top ten finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.
 

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