Wilson, Simpson, Huddle and Coburn Enter as Favorites

By Scott Bush

At the USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2014, the distance races were as close ever, with multiple races decided by less than a second. A year later the finishes are expected to be just as close. 

Distances

800m

If one distance race turns into a fight to the finish for a top three Team USA roster spot, it’s going to be the 800m. Four of the top ten fastest women of the year are entered, as well as a handful of other athletes all capable of running the rounds well and charging home to a top three finish.

Ajee’ Wilson leads the way. The defending national champion has quickly become one of the top 2-3 best two-lap runners in the world. She currently owns the second fastest time in the world with her runner-up finish to Eunice Sum at the Pre Classic, where she crossed the line in 1:57.83. Her win at the adidas Grand Prix of 1:58.83 gives her plenty of confidence as the weekend approaches.

Right on Wilson’s heels, Brenda Martinez looks to pull off the upset. The middle-distance star ranks fourth fastest in the world with her 1:59.06 third-place finish at the Pre Classic. She comes off a disappointing fifth place finish in 2014, but has both the speed and strength this year to finish top three.

In similar fashion, World Indoor gold medalist Chanelle Price and Molly Ludlow seek to build upon their world top-ten rankings. Price finished third earlier this month at the adidas Grand Prix with ah best of 1:59.47, as Ludlow seeks to improve upon her third place finish in 2014 and enters with a 1:59.81 best.

The always entertaining Maggie Vessey hopes to move up one spot from her fourth place finish last year and is running strong in 2015, entering with a 2:00.07 seasonal best. Add in veterans Claudia Sanders, Charlene Lipsey and Phoebe Wright and you have one fantastic field.

1,500m

The depth in the 1,500m among American women is mighty impressive these days. Defending champion, Diamond League champion and world-leading Jenny Simpson leads the field, as the Boulder-based star enters as the easy pre-race favorite. She’s picked up big wins in Rome and at the Pre Classic, while owning a world’s best of 3:59.31 as she looks to defend this weekend.

Simpson should find plenty of competition from Shannon Rowbury. Rowbury finished fourth at the Pre Classic, running a very strong 4:02.28. While Rowbury hasn’t seemed as sharp as Simpson just yet this season, she is coming off a fine 2:00.53/4:07.52 double two weeks ago at the Portland Track Festival, an 800/1,500m double separated by a mere 12 minutes. She’s ready to race.

Sarah Brown hopes to make the U.S. squad and comes in with high hopes to improve upon her fourth place finish in 2014. She finished sixth, as the third American, at the Pre Classic late last month and owns a seasonal best of 4:03.20. She narrowly edged prep phenom Alexa Efraimson, who ran a personal best at Pre of 4:03.39, finishing only one spot behind Brown.

Veterans Katie Mackey and Treniere Moser finished eighth and ninth at Pre in seasonal best times of 4:03.81 and 4:04.26. Moser comes off a season where she won gold at the IAAF World Relays, while Mackey hopes to build on her third place finish in 2014 and her 2:01.20 800m effort at the Portland Track Festival earlier in the month.

Team USA Minnesota teammates Heather Kampf and Gabriele Grunewald are ones to watch. Kampf was sixth in 2014, while Grunewald was fifth, but Kampf is riding a wave of momentum into Eugene having run between 4:04.50-4:06.29 in three consecutive races overseas.

5,000m

The 5,000m is always an interesting race at the USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Often times, athletes who make the 10,000m team do not double back since they achieved their goal of making Team USA. This year, athletes competing in the 5k may not know exactly who is competing, but need to deal with the extremely warm temperatures expected in Eugene this weekend.

At the 2014 edition, Molly Huddle outkicked Shannon Rowbury over the final 200 meters to edge to a narrow 15:01.56-15:01.71 victory. The two meet again this weekend, Rowbury doubling back from the 1,500m and Huddle doubling back from the 10k. Huddle owns a seasonal best of 14:57.23 and ranked sixth in the world last year with an American 5,000m record of 14:42.64, while Rowbury also ranked top ten on time with a 14:48.68 clocking.

While Huddle and Rowbury are the early favorites, fellow Olympian Shalane Flanagan and Bowerman Track Club teammate Emily Infeld double back from the 10k, both coming off strong performances at the Portland Track Festival two weeks ago (Infeld edged Flanagan 15:07.19-15:11.15).

Two other notable athletes in the field are Nicole Tully and Marielle Hall. Tully ran a big-time PR of 15:05.58 at the Payton Jordan Invitational earlier in the year and continues to run strong, while Hall finished sub-15:10 in the same race going 15:09.90 and looks to at least equal her third place finish from 2014.

Former NCAA champion Abbey D’Agostino continues to progress in her season and while her seasonal best is well of the rest of the pack, she’ll surely contend for top five, while Katie Mackey could double with the 1,500m and use her speed as an advantage in what may become a tactical race due to the elements. Fan favorite Kara Goucher also made the cut and hopes to continue to progress after struggling with injury last year.

10,000m

Olympians Molly Huddle, Shalane Flanagan, Amy Cragg and Desi Linden lead the charge in the first distance finals of the USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Thursday evening event sees Huddle as the strong favorite, as she comes off a sub-15 5,000m performance in a tune-up meet in New England and continues to show her strength over the longer distances.

A modest early pace may be expected due to rising temperatures, which means the race should be left open a bit more, which could benefit Flanagan and Linden. Flanagan ran 15:11 in a tune-up race, while Linden ran strong back-to-back performances at the Adrian Martinez Classic and Portland Track Festival this month.

The fourth Olympian, Amy Cragg, seeks another World Championship berth, although she’s yet to show great track form this season. You can never discount someone with so much experience to their name though.

Two younger athletes, recently graduated Emily Sisson and Emily Infeld have equally as good of shots to qualify for Worlds. Sisson won the NCAA 5k title earlier this month and narrowly edged Infeld over 10,000m at the Payton Jordan Invitational earlier in the year, winning 31:38.03-31:38.71.

2014 runner-up Jordan Hasay struggled with injury this season and didn’t look all too sharp at the Portland Track Festival two weeks ago, but you can never discount a consistent top-level performer. She joins Mattie Suver, who owns a seasonal best of 31:54.43, as darkhorses in the field.

3,000m Steeplechase

The steeplechase happens to be one of the more intriguing events this weekend. While Emma Coburn looks to win yet another national title and show she’s a contender for gold in Beijing later this summer, the race for second and third should provide plenty of fireworks.

Coburn is coming off a big PR effort at the Pre Classic, where she ran 4:05.10 over 1,500m, showing she’s improved her speed, something she’ll most likely use over the late stages of the finals on Saturday.

While Coburn has yet to run a steeple this season, five top 20 ranked athletes in the world are entered and will fight for one of the other two Team USA roster spots. Stephanie Garcia enters as the second favorite to make the squad. She finished third in 2014 but she’s riding a wave of momentum having run a big 1,500m best of 4:05.39 earlier this season and has already cracked the 9:30 barrier in 2015.

She’ll face strong competition from Ashley Higginson, who placed second at the USATF Outdoor Championships in 2014. Higginson ran to a 9:31.32 finish earlier in the month and should use her experience to handle the rounds and put herself in position to contend for top three.

Three collegiate stars should contend, as well. Reigning NCAA champion Colleen Quigley ran 9:29.32 to win in Eugene earlier in the month, a time that ranks her only behind Jenny Simpson and Emma Coburn on the collegiate all-time list. She narrowly edged out NCAA runner-up Courtney Frerichs and third-place Leah O’Connor, but that narrow win could very well give Quigley an extra boost of confidence as she takes on the pros.

Throw in veteran Nicole Bush and Olympians Shalaya Kipp and Bridget Franek and you have nine women battling for three spots in Eugene. This is going to be good!