A former five-time All-Big Ten selection at Wisconsin, Henry Dennis nevertheless considered his victory yesterday in the 25th annual Columbus 10K one of the highlights of his running career.

"There were probably five of the top eight road racers in Ohio here today,'' Dennis said, "and the fellow I beat is as close to world class as you'll find on the circuit.''

The 27-year-old teacher and distance coach at Cincinnati Colerain High School sprinted past favorite Jim Jurcevich in the final 100 meters to top a field of 660.

His winning time was a brisk 30 minutes, 20 seconds -- two seconds faster than Jurcevich. Former champion Scott Wenger of West Liberty, Ohio, took third (31:41).

At the 5 1/2 -mile mark, Jurcevich held a seemingly comfortable lead. But Dennis made up a 50-meter deficit with a decisive downhill surge on Front Street, then outkicked a stunned Jurcevich.

"There's no way he knew I was coming,'' Dennis said. "He never looked back to see if anyone was near. . . . It was sort of a sneak attack, but whenever someone's close to me, I know I've got a chance.''

Dennis specializes in shorter distances; Jurcevich is a half- marathoner.

"As soon as I caught him, I knew it was over,'' Dennis said. "I have track experience and am a miler by trade. The element of surprise was to my advantage.''

Jurcevich, who made the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 10K and has a personal best of 28:39, acknowledged being ambushed by Dennis.

"I didn't know he was coming, but he would have put me away regardless,'' he said. "He's got a little more leg speed than me and I'm still recovering from running three hard half- marathons in the last four weeks.''

Last summer, Jurcevich moved to Columbus with his wife, who is attending law school at Ohio State.

Jurcevich, 26, was the third American finisher in the World Half-Marathon Championships in Brussels, Belgium, last month, clocking 1:03.51.

Dennis placed fourth in the South Bend (Ind.) 10K Saturday morning in a career-best 30:06.

"That's kind of crazy, racing two days in a row, but I'm in the best shape of my life right now, and I had heard good things about this race,'' he said. "I came here thinking maybe I could get second behind Jim.''

Road-racing veteran Lisa Veneziano of Dublin was the top women's finisher in 38:09. Runner-up Lisa Beatty of Hamilton, Ohio, was nearly three minutes back.

"Usually there are several quick women here, so I didn't expect to win,'' said Veneziano, 37. "But when I got to the mile mark, I noticed there weren't any women around me.

"I've run this race many times in the past and this is the first time I've won, so I'm really happy.''