After placing 18th in the men's 10-kilometer race at the U.S. Olympic Trials earlier this month, Salt Lake City's Teren Jameson figured he had a handle on his competition.

"That means there's only 17 guys in the United States who still can beat me," he said.

None of those 17 guys were anywhere near Saturday's Deseret Morning News/KJZZ TV men's 10K race, as Jameson led from start to finish. The 27-year-old former University of Utah cross country standout finished in a time of 27 minutes, 48 seconds — nearly a full minute ahead of his closest competitor.

"I wanted to get out and push the pace — I went out hard," said Jameson, a two-time all-American at the U. who was just as interested in the results of the women's 10K and inaugural team competitions (see accompanying stories).

For Jameson and his wife, Emily, Saturday was another first-and-first finish. The husband-wife duo also won April's Salt Lake City Classic 5K men's and women's races.

Saturday's 10K was lacking the annual offering of barnstorming Kenyan runners who have dominated the event in past years, with Jameson relegated to fourth-place finishes in both 2002 and 2003.

But Jameson wasn't a lame-duck champion given the Kenyans' absences in 2004. His 27:48 time — nudged along by unseasonably stiff tail winds for most of the downhill course — would have placed him second last year and earned him top honors in the years before that.

He welcomed the $500 first-place prize, as the U. grad student added that "financially it helps a lot and allows me to train more."

Jameson knew that the fast, downhill course all but eliminated any chance of getting caught on challenging incline sections. "This course is not like you're going to get caught on it," he said.

Former Utah State runner Mike Nielsen ended up being Saturday's fastest runner not named Jameson, placing second at 28:41, with Ogden's Trent Hooper third nine seconds behind.

Long-time 10K competitor Dennis Simonaitis of Draper — who at 42 is at least 14 years older than the 20-somethings comprising the rest of the men's 10K top 10 finishers — was fourth at 28:56, with B.J. Christenson of West Valley City fifth at 29:02.

Nielsen said it was readily apparent — "about three seconds into the race" — that Saturday's 10K was Jameson's and that everyone else was vying for second-place honors.

"You never put anything out of reach," Nielsen said, "but Teren put it out of our reach today."

Next up for Jameson is his first marathon in October — Minnesota's Twin Cities Marathon. He hopes to be the top U.S. finisher under two hours and 16 minutes, which would qualify him for the U.S. marathon team in time for next year's world championships in Helsinki, Finland.

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Race results

MEN'S 10K

1. Teren Jameson, 27:48

2. Mike Nielson, 28:41

3. Trent Hooper , 28:50

4. Dennis Simonaitis, 28:56

5. B.J. Christenson, 29:02

6. Clark Bryner, 29:04

7. Joseph Wilson, 29:22

8. Demetrio Cabanillas Jr., 29.25

9. Dave Danley, 29:40

10. Mike Spence, 30:19

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E-mail: taylor@desnews.com