PORTLAND, OR -- Fighting to represent an international team on home soil, the United States’ best cross country runners lined up on the muddy Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon on Saturday for the USATF Cross Country Championships which served as the team selection for the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee on January 10.
Held moments after the Nike Cross Country Nationals hosted high school stars, the first selection races of the day were the men’s and women’s 2K where the top two runners would make up Team USATF for the mixed relay team.
Former University of North Carolina standout Ethan Strand charged to the front early in the men’s race, bringing Wes Porter, a former rival at the University of Virginia, with him. Strand and Porter were stride for stride over the final 400 meters with Strand edging out Porter 5:25.8 to 5:26.5.
While Gracie Morris quickly pulled away from the field in the women’s race, a fierce battled was waged for the second spot. Olympian Emily Mackay, World Championship finalist Sage Hurta-Klecker and Annika Reiss were all in contention at the halfway point. Eventually, Mackay faltered, opening the door for Hurta-Klecker. Morris powered up the final hill to win in 6:19.4 with Hurta-Klecker finishing second in 6:22.9 just barely holding off Reiss.
In the 10K races, runners were vying for the top six spots to be a part of Team USATF. In the men’s race, fresh off a runner-up finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championship, Wake Forest’s Rocky Hansen shot to the front and started to push the pace. By the 3-K mark, a pack of six had separated from the field. And while they would ultimately all be on the team, the order of finish played out in dramatic fashion.
At the halfway point, Hansen attempted to gap the field with Parker Wolfe, Wesley Kiptoo and Ahmed Muhumed giving chase. Pre-race favorites Graham Blanks and Nico Young had fallen behind but still securely in fifth and sixth place.
Wolfe, Kiptoo and Muhumed were reeling Hansen in at 8K when Kiptoo lost his footing and fell. That made it a two-man race between Wolfe and Hansen with Wolfe now right on Hansen’s shoulder. With 800 meters to go, Wolfe made his move, passing Hansen and opening up an insurmountable lead. Wolfe claimed his first U.S. title, winning in 29:16.4, eight seconds ahead of Hansen. Kiptoo, a new American citizen, held on for third. Muhumed, Young and Blanks will make up the U.S. team. Liam Murphy, who finished seventh, will be the first alternate.
"I was just trying to stay in contact with him," said Wolfe, who finished third in 5000m at the 2024 Olympic trials, but failed to achieve the standard. "He was ready for this, he's been racing all season, so I was just trying to plug away. And when we got to 800 left, I just felt like I had a little more in the tank going up those hills. After missing out on Paris I've been looking to make a team since, so this is a fun experience and I'm ready to represent USA."
In the women’s race it was 2024 Team USA member Emma Grace Hurley and 2023 NCAA Champion Parker Valby taking the early lead, but the veterans came on quickly. Just after the 4-K mark, Weini Kelati, the reigning U.S. cross country champion, moved to the front with 2024 team member Katie Izzo and 2017 NCAA Cross Country Champion Ednah Kurgat in close pursuit. Hurley, Valby, Karissa Schweizer, Grace Hartman and Emily Venters were all in contention for the coveted top-six spots.
At the 6K mark, Kelati and Izzo put a gap on Kurgat and shortly after that it was Kelati with a commanding lead, Izzo alone in second, and Kurgat alone in third. A four-woman battle raged on for the final three spots behind them.
Kelati, an Olympian and American record holder in the half marathon, never looked back, winning convincingly in 33:45.5. Izzo was 15 second back in 34:00.9 with Kurgat taking third in 34:09. Schwiezer, an Olympian and NCAA Champion took the fourth spot with Venters in fifth. Hartman, at this year’s NCAA Cross Country Championship for NC State, finished sixth here as well. Elise Stearn moved into seventh and will be the alternate.
"I'm over the moon because I thought last year was going to be my last cross country race,” said Kelati, who finished 14th at the 2024 world championships in Belgrade last year. “But when I heard it was going to be in the U.S. I was like why not lead Team USA, go there and show them that we can do it?"
Races were also held for the U-20 age group, with Aidan Torres of the University of Texas taking the men's 8-K in 25:10.8 and Duke’s Victoria Garcia winning the women's 6-K in 21:07.0.
Team Roster
U20 Men’s 8 KM
Aiden Torres Tyler Daillak Daniel Skandera Salvador Wirth Dylan Maloney Jackson Spencer
U20 Women’s 6 KM
Daniela Scheffler Caroline Barton Abigail Sewell Norah Hushagen Avery Marasco-Johnson Blair Bartlett
Mixed Relay
Ethan Strand Wes Porter Garcie Morris Sage Hurta-Klecker
Men’s 10 KM
Parker Wolfe Rocky Hansen Wesley Kiptoo Ahmed Muhumed Nico Young Graham Blanks
Women’s 10 KM
Weini Kelati Katie Izzo Ednah Kurgat Karissa Schweizer Emily Venters Grace Hartman