Joe Klecker and Alicia Monson of the On Running Team in Boulder and Denver’s Natosha Rogers punch their tickets to this summer’s world championships.
After 24 and a half laps of the track, Karissa Schweizer sprinted past Alicia Monson to win the U.S. title in the 10,000 meters at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.
Schweizer’s time, 30:49.56, was less than two seconds off her personal best, and by finishing in the top three, she earned a spot on the U.S. squad competing at the World Athletics Championships in July. That meet will also be held in Eugene, the first time the meet will be in the United States.
Monson, who led the last 10 laps of the race until Schweizer went by her, was second in 30:51.09, a personal best by nearly 20 seconds.
Well behind the top two, a pack of six women vied for third place and the final of three Worlds spots. Natosha Rogers and Emily Infeld were back and forth in the final 100 meters, and Rogers pulled ahead just before the line. She clocked 31:29.80, and Infeld was less than a quarter of a second behind, in 31:30.04.
Weini Kelati was fifth, Sarah Lancaster was sixth, and Steph Bruce, in her final year of racing, was seventh.
The race went out in a relatively easy first half. Emily Durgin led the field through a 5,000-meter split of 15:50. The pace picked up considerably in the second half, especially when Monson went to the front.
Read the full article at RunnersWorld.com.