Ex-Coug takes first in women's 10K race

Lisa Pratt likes to work her way up.

But that didn't deter her from winning the Deseret Morning News/KJZZ 10K race.

The 24-year-old Provo resident led from the 6 a.m. start at Research Park to the Liberty Park finish. She finished with a time of 35:06, well ahead of Kim Quinn.

With three-time champion Emily Jameson not running, the BYU graduate took no chances, not even taking water along the route.

"It was a slow race. I had trained hard," she said. "There was not much competition. I went out, ran hard, and got the win."

Pratt ran her first Deseret Morning News 10K seven years ago. The following summer she joined the BYU cross country and track teams. She came back last year, improved her timings significantly, only to lose to Jameson.

At BYU, Pratt won an NCAA championship in steeplechase after receiving All-America honors in 2003.

"I did the two-mile steeplechase, now I run 10K. I will be doing marathons next," she said. "I like to work my way up."

The Lone Peak High graduate started running in college and worked her way up, becoming one of the top three distance runners at BYU.

"I worked hard and was blessed," the former Cougar said. "The race is fun. I like the way the course is set up."

Quinn, a senior at Bingham High School, clocked a time of 36:28, which helped her win the juniors' 10K title.

"It's a great feeling to finish overall second. I like to improve this with another road race in a few weeks, and then get ready for the fall," Quinn said. "I will keep running in college."

Quinn was a top finisher at the Footlocker West Regional meet last fall, 2005 All-State, 2005 Region Champion, and was third at Mountain West Classic.

Carre Joyce, whose hometown is Charleston, S.C., took the third spot clocking a time of 36:48. Rounding out the top five were former Utah State runner and Alta High cross country coach Carol Cabanillas with a time of 36:49, and 44-year-old Rock Springs, Wyo., resident Brenda Graham Grey at 36:53.

Charlotte Frank, the oldest contestant, won the 70-79 age group. The 75-year-old Midvale resident came to Salt Lake to volunteer for the Winter Olympics in 2002.

"I liked the place so much, I stayed back," said Frank, who hails from Lyon, France.

The team competition in the women's field had Team Utah (Erin Fuller, Samantha McMillan and Krystal Harper) running away with the title at 15 points. While Team Idaho (Anne Lovelace, Stephanie Johnson, Erica Wendt, and Sarah Olsen) finished in second place, and Team Wyoming (Ashlen Nimmo, Wendy O'Lexey, Jenna Allais, and Annie Zancanella) in third with 25 points.

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E-mail: schakraborty@desnews.com