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Monson, Kipchirchir win 2022 USATF Cross Country Championships

The men's and women's fields featured several Olympians and former XC champs

January 9, 2022
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The U.S. cross country championships took place Saturday in San Diego, CA., and both the men’s and women’s races had deep fields, making for an exciting race. With multiple Olympians and national champions on the start line, it was Alicia Monson and Shadrack Kipchirchir who were victorious over the 10-kilometre course.

Genevieve Lalonde and John Gay are your 2021 Canadian cross country champions

The women’s race

The women’s field was stacked, featuring Monson, who competed in the Tokyo Olympics and ran 14:42 over 5,000m in September, bringing her to number four on the U.S. all-time list, and Weini Kelati, who ran 31:18 at the Boston Women’s 10K in October to break Molly Huddle’s previous American women-only record and most recently smashed the course record at the Manchester Road Race.

Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel was on the start list as well, coming off a stellar fourth-place performance and American course record at the New York Marathon in November. Seidel’s agent made it clear ahead of the race that she had only been training for a few weeks and was not in race-ready shape, but fans were excited nonetheless. Other notable athletes who lined up on Saturday were 2016 Olympian Emily Infeld and NAZ Elite runner, Stephanie Bruce, who recently announced this would be her last year of competition due to a congenital heart valve defect.

Ultimately, it was Monson who broke the tape, followed by Kelati in 34:18 and Infeld in 34:36. Bruce ran an impressive race to cross the line in fifth in 34:51 and Seidel finished eighth in 35:58. Check out the top 10 below, and for the full results, click here.

1 Alicia Monson On Athletics Club [23] – 403 34:01
2 Weini Kelati Under Armour [25] – 427 34:18
3 Emily Infeld Portland OR [31] – 434 34:36
4 Emily Durgin adidas [27] – 393 34:50
5 Stephanie Bruce 34:51
6 Natosha Rogers 35:24
7 Jaci Smith U.S. Air Force [25] – 415 35:48
8 Molly Seidel PUMA [27] – 405 35:58
9 Carrie Verdon T.E.A.M Boulder [27] – 409 36:01
10 Maria Mettler U.S. Air Force [22] – 413 36:21

The men’s race

World Cross Country Championships postponed (again)

On the men’s side, there were fewer Olympians but several former winners and high-performers toeing the line. Reigning champion Anthony Rotich was absent, but Kipchichir, who won the race in 2019, and 2017/2018 champion Leonard Korir, were both vying to claim another victory. 2021 Olympic steeple finalist Benard Keter, 2021 US steeple champ Hillary Bor and two-time NCAA XC champ Sam Chelanga, also joined them on the start line, making for an exciting race.

It was an extremely tight race, and in the end, only one second separated first from third. Kipchirchir crossed the line first in 30:33, followed by Dillon Maggard Logan, a Hoka athlete who trains out of Utah, and Chelanga in second and third, both with a time of 30:34. Korir ended up fourth in 30:37. Check out the top 10 results below, and click here for full results.

1 Shadrack Kipchirchir Colorado Springs CO [32] – 452 30:33
2 Dillon Maggard Logan UT [26] – 510 30:34
3 Sam Chelanga U.S. Army [36] – 477 30:34
4 Leonard Korir U.S. Army [35] – 479 30:37
5 Benard Keter NIKE / U.S. Army [29] – 454 30:49
6 Benjamin Eidenschink Longmont CO [25] – 500 31:07
7 Benjamin Blankenship NIKE [33] – 451 31:37
8 Caleb Webb Flagstaff AZ [24] – 520 31:44
9 Futsum Zienasellassie McKirdy Trained [29] – 450 32:03
10 Theodorakis Medrano T.E.A.M Boulder [24] – 466 32:06

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