Ripley closes in on sub-17:00
WESTMINSTER, April 10 -- CMAC member Doug Ripley continued to lower his 5,000-meter track time on Wednesday at the second of three Twilight Series meets at Western Maryland College.
With virtually no competition, Ripley paced himself to a 17:15.8 finish, good for the first place gold medal. Matt Mandel of Loyola College was a distant second in 18:43.9.
Ripley is shooting to return to the sub-17:00 marks he hit during his pre-marathon days. Leg turnover, he's found, is hard to regain once you concentrate on the longer distances.
Also running for CMAC was Kevin Spradlin who, despite being sick, bettered last week's 1500 time by about four seconds. Spradlin was 10th of 10 in 5:04.5.