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  • Team USA Monterey Bay athletes named

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    July 17, 2003


    Media Contact: Mark Winitz
    Tel: (650) 948-0618
    Fax: (650) 949-2172
    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.

    Team USA Monterey Bay's primary partner is California State University,
    Monterey Bay. Thanks to our major sponsors: Big Sur International
    Marathon, MY BMW/MY Cars, Pebble Beach Company, Granite Construction,
    Monterey Bay Half Marathon, Empire Runners, Reebok Aggies, Clear Channel,
    Kinko's, and Duggan Smith & Hutkin, LLP. Additionally, Reebok
    International has committed apparel support to Team USA Monterey Bay, as
    needed.


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