TEAM SAFE ROCKS GREG LEVIEN/DAN BURGER 50K
 Top 3 Pro Men Ricky Blas, Scott Wolf, and Dan Christman
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 Top 3 Pro Women Mechele Busby, Kim Perkins, and Nastassia Hamor
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Team Safe showed both strength and numbers at the Greg Levien 50k Sunday, April 25, 2004, in San Mateo, Calif. SAFE skaters Scott Wolf broke away to win the Pro Men's field 1:31:20, and Kim Perkins won the Pro Women's field in 1:34:14. The race kicked off the five part Dan Burger 50k Series.
Make no mistake: the Dan Burger 50ks may look like a small regional series, but anyone who's skated the hilly, five-lap course knows it's a serious test of strength, endurance, and smarts. The race attracts more skaters in the Pro category than on any other level, and competition can be rabid.
On Sunday, the game was to wear out the sprinters. After a fairly laid-back start, the attacks began in earnest on the second hill. With temps in the 80s, the heat forced several skaters into early retirement.
In the fourth lap, Wolf accomplished a decisive breakaway, finishing solo more than a minute and a half in front of the pack with the help of teammate Dan Christman. With 4 miles to go, as Grant Foster finished a long pull, Christman led Wolf to front of the pack, where Wolf took off as Christman slowed the pack. Foster gave chase, but Christman, Alan Marcossen and Ricky Blas reeled him in. Christman outsprinted him the final 200 meters to take 2nd, with Foster 3rd and Blas 4th.
In the women's race, the story was all about 13-year-old Nastassia Hamor. In her second-ever outdoor marathon, she hung with the men's chase pack until the 4th lap, to finish 2nd woman, 13th overall. Mechele Busby took 3rd with a strong finish, and Perkins, who swept last year's Series, set a new personal record time for the course.
Another great success focuses on Veteran skater Tom McCue. After undergoing knee surgery just a few weeks before the race, he suffered an accidental kick to the same knee during the first lap, yet valiantly finished the grueling race.
The team skated on BONT's new Invasion Generation 2 wheels -- visit www.bont.com.
ABOUT TEAM SAFE Team Safe is a professional inline skating team sponsored by SAFE Financial Corporation and Bont Skates. Team SAFE�s 2004 roster includes Arica Armitage, Dan Christman, Critter Crittenden, Dennis Cummings, Dana Eads, Nastassia Hamor, Haley Galbraith, Paul Lomangino, Tom McCue, Kim Perkins, Aimee Sanderson, Paul Sargenti, Sara Sayasane, Donna Shelton, Brian Talley, Christine Vanhunnik, and Scott Wolf.
RESULTS � GREG LEVIEN 50K /DAN BURGER #1 1. Scott Wolf � TEAM SAFE 2. Dan Christman � TEAM SAFE 3. Grant Foster 4. Ricky Blas 5. Alan Marcosson � Pyro Apparel 6. Louis Beaudoin � LA Speed 7. Steve Blair 8. Kim Perkins � TEAM SAFE 9. Andrei Kroupkin 10. Dana Eads � TEAM SAFE 11. Brian MacKay 12. Chris Adams � Salt Creek Mortgage 13. Nastassia Hamor � TEAM SAFE 14. Kimon Papahadjopoulus 15. Jeff Ballinger 17. Mechele Busby � TEAM SAFE 24. Dennis Cummings � TEAM SAFE 29. Tom McCue � TEAM SAFE
TEAM SAFE RESULTS � CITRUS HEIGHTS, Nor-Cal Speed League, 4/18/2004 Note: These TEAM SAFE members compete indoors with Milpitas Speed Team.
1st, Junior Ladies: Sara Sayasane 3rd, Senior Ladies: Arica Armitage 1st, Freshman Girls: Nastassia Hamor 1st, Sophomore Men: Brian Talley 1st, Master Ladies: Mechele Busby 1st, Classic Men: Dan Christman 3rd, Veteran Men: Glenn Crittenden 1st, Grand Veteran Men: Dennis Cummings
OPENS 2nd, Sophomore and Above Ladies: Sara Sayasane 1st, Freshman and Below Girls: Nastassia Hamor 2nd, Classic and Above Ladies: Mechele Busby 2nd, Classic and Above Men: Dan Christman 6th, Classic and Above Men: Glenn Crittenden
For more information about Team SAFE, contact Dan Christman at [email protected].
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