Rhines surges at end to take third place

ST. LOUIS — Jen Rhines was one of the dark horses who finished in the money yesterday at the women’s U.S. Olympic marathon trials.

Rhines came into the race with the 30th fastest qualifying time but nabbed the third and final spot on the team. It was her third attempt at the 26.2-mile distance after two disappointing performances at Chicago and New York City.

“I had two bad marathons,” said Rhines, who improved her 2:41:16 at Chicago in October 2002 to a 2:29:57 yesterday. “I wasn’t quite ready to run the first two.”

Rhines said she came to St. Louis in December to check out the course.

“She ran the way she wanted to,” said Terrance Mahon, Rhines’ husband and an elite marathoner. “Her plan was to move up in the last lap. They were going out too fast at the beginning. We told her to relax.”

Although the 1996 Villanova graduate lives in Ardmore, Pa., she frequently travels to the District to train and race. She is coached by two-time Olympian Matt Centrowitz out of American University.

In 1998, she ran 32:45 at the Pike’s Peek 10K in Rockville and earned a $20,000 bonus.

Centrowitz also had another top-10 finisher in Heather Hanscom. The 26-year-old Northern Virginian was ranked 17th coming into the race but placed a surprising sixth in 2:31:53. That was more than six minutes faster than her debut 2:37:59 at the Marine Corps Marathon last October.

“I didn’t really know what was going to happen, so I just went out and raced the best I could,” said Hanscom, who earned $14,000, her largest payday after winning $500 at the GW Parkway Classic last year. “When I was in 10th place, I said I could be ninth. When I was in ninth place, I said I could be eighth. I kept saying, ’Here comes the dark horse.’”

Christina Wells of Woodbridge was slightly disappointed that she missed the top 20, placing 25th in 2:42:01, 1 minutes slower than her marathon best.

“It’s over, praise God. I’ve been waiting for this for two years,” said Wells, 29, who moved from Kentucky in November. “I didn’t run as well as I wanted to. I ran a bit too fast early, then I paid the price later.”

Meghan McLaughlin of Vienna, one of the youngest entrants at 25, described her race as “the most painful fun I’ve ever had.” She ran 2:54:45, far off her debut 2:46:52 last November.

“Of course I’d like to have run a PR but considering all that’s been going on in the last three months, I’m not upset at all,” McLaughlin added. She has been battling an Achilles’ injury and tight calves, and it did not help that she was forced to stop three times.

Both McLaughlin and Wells were impressed with the level of spectator support. Said Wells: “You went by tons of people who would look you up in the program and yell ’Go, Christina!’”