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USA Cross Country Championships on Saturday in Spokane, WA Feature Dathan Ritzenhein and Shalane Flanagan
From USA Track & FieldFebruary 10, 2010
Indianapolis, IN
American record holders Dathan Ritzenhein and Shalane Flanagan of Portland, OR lead the fields at the 2010 USA Cross Country Championships scheduled for Saturday, February 13 at Plantes Ferry Recreation Park in Spokane, WA.
Dathan Ritzenhein, a two-time Olympian, will look to take his third U.S. cross country title while Shalane Flanagan, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist at 10,000m, will race for her fourth national cross country title.
In addition to the chase for national honors in Spokane, open and junior men and women will qualify to represent Team USA at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships to be held on Sunday, March 28 in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
In the women's race, Shalane Flanagan will face defending champion Emily Brown of Minneapolis, MN; two-time USA Women's 10K champion Molly Huddle of Providence, RI; and six-time USA Cross Country team member Katie McGregor of Saint Louis Park, MN. 2006 USA 8K Cross Country champion Blake Russell of Monterey, CA, will return to competition for the first time since the birth of her first child last year. Additional top contenders are 2008 Olympic Marathon team member Magdalena Lewy Boulet of Oakland, CA; Renee Metivier Baillie of Boulder, CO; veteran Kathy Newberry of Williamsburg, VA; and Sara Hall of Mammoth Lakes, CA.
While Dathan Ritzenhein seems to be the clear-cut favorite for the men's title, a large contingent of rising stars as well as familiar faces will race to make the Team USA cross country squad. In the hunt to punch their ticket to Poland will be Scott Bauhs of Chico, CA, a three time NCAA Division II cross country champion; Patrick Smyth of Minneapolis, MN, the runner-up at this year's USA Half Marathon Championships; Billy Nelson of Springfield, OR, the runner-up in the 2008 Olympic Trials steeplechase; and veterans Max King of Bend, OR, and Matt Gabrielson--both will be seeking to make their fourth Team USA cross country squad.
The championships will consist of six cross country championship races for men's and women's categories with national titles on the line for junior, masters and open divisions. The nation's premier cross country event, the USA Championships will feature $40,000 in prize money.
Masters Championships
National championships will also be decided for masters men and women at 8K with titles on the line in five-year age groups beginning at age 40 and up.
The fields will feature masters aces Tracy Lokken of Marquette, MI; Ray Pugsley of Potomac Falls, VA; Colleen De Reuck of Boulder, CO; Laura Haefeli of Boulder, CO; and Kathryn Martin of Northport, NY.
Junior Women
High school senior Emily Sisson of Chesterfield, MO, enters the USA Cross Country Championships as a slight favorite to capture the national title, based on her third place finish in the 2009 Foot Locker national cross country championships, and a recent clocking of 9:25.70 in the 3000m indoors, beating several collegians.
Others to watch include four freshmen who placed in the top 100 in last fall's NCAA Division I cross country championships--Juliet Bottorff of Newark, DE from Duke (59th); Shelby Greany of Suffern, NY from Providence (89th); Kayla Hale of Indialantic, FL from Duke (90th); and Emily Jones of Harvard, MA from Georgetown (99th). 2009 California state champion and Foot Locker finalist Molly Grabill of Poway, CA; University of Washington freshman and 2008 Foot Locker finalist Lindsay Flanagan of Seattle, WA; and Kyle Blakeslee of Cannon Falls, MN of NCAA Division II school Augustana College also merit consideration as top contenders.
Junior Men
On the men's side, Trevor Dunbar of Kodiak, AK of the University of Portland, who finished 76th at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships, and was a high school All-American, enters the national championships as the leading contender. Dunbar has run 8:04.96 for 3000m indoors this year in Seattle.
Others to watch include the North Carolina State duo of Bobby Andrews of Wading River, NY, and Andrew Colley of Williamsburg, VA; Georgetown's Benjamin Furcht of Haverford, PA, and Bobby Peavey of Virginia Beach, VA; Ohio State's Julian Meyer of Peninsula, OH; Shane Moskowitz of Bremerton, WA, the reigning Washington state cross country champion from Central Kitsap HS who finished ninth at the 2009 Foot Locker nationals, and the current national leader indoors in both the mile and 3000m; and Spokane native Andrew Kimpel of Washington State University, the 2009 state 3A champion at 3200m.
For more information on the 2010 USA Cross Country Championships see www.usatf.org.