BAUHS TO MAKE PROFESSIONAL DEBUT THURSDAY
By David Monti
(c) 2008 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission

Fresh off of his NCAA Division II cross country title, Chico State's Scott Bauhs will make his profssional road running debut on Thursday at the Synaptics Elite Athlete 5-K in San Jose, Calif., part of the Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot festival of races.

"The Turkey Trot comes at the peak of my fitness, and I should be in the hunt," said the 22 year-old Bauhs in a prepared statement.  "I feel like I was capable of running that fast (13:24, USA road record) on the track last year, and I'm in that type of shape right now."

Bauhs will have to shake off the fatigue of running a frigid and hilly 10 km in the snow at the NCAA D-II Championships in Slippery Rock, Pa., last Saturday.  Unpressed, Bauhs won easily and may not be too tired for Thursday's race in San Jose, not far from Danville where he grew up.

"Cross country nationals has been my focus, but the Turkey Trot can possibly be frosting on top of my cross country season," said Bauhs who will compete in front of his parents who plan to run the mass participation turkey trot which will be held prior to the Elite 5-K. 

Elite athlete coordinator Mark Winitz has assembled a strong field, and getting his first pro victory will be challenging for Bauhs.  Kenyans Julius Kiptoo (13:06.12 PB) and Josphat Boit (13:17.12 PB), are the fastest on paper, but another former NCAA D-II star, Nicodemus Naimadu, could also contend for the victory.  He has a 5000m personal best of 13:34.98.  Other top Americans include 2000 Olympian Gabe Jennings, McMillanElite's Brett Gotcher and Ian Burrell, the Asics Aggies' Phillip Reid, and milers David Torrence and Phil Sakala.  Last year's champion Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco is not expected to compete.

Kenyan Rose Kosgei will be back to defend her women's title (she ran a course record 15:53 last year).  She'll face a strong Ethiopian challenge from Meskerem Legesse and Aziza Aliyu, while Americans Teresa McWalters and Jenelle Deatherage also hope to get on the podium.  McWalters ran for nearby Stanford University and has a 5000m personal best of 15:49.54.

In its short three-year history, the Synaptics Elite 5-K has hosted ten Olympians, and a $24,700 prize money purse will be on offer.  Also, any American man or woman setting a new USA record (13:24-men, 14:54-women) will win a $5,000 bonus.  Last year's events --elite 5-K and 5-K and 10-K turkey trots-- recorded 3288 finishers.