Ponies' Christensen to Coach World Cross Team

Stillwater High School boys cross country and track coach Scott Christensen has been chosen to lead the USA Senior Men's Team for the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland next March.

Christensen (pictured) learned of the appointment at the USA Track and Field Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii recently.

"As expected I was elated," he told DtB. "I have traveled about 50 some times for USATF over the years: schools, summits, national championships, camps, the national conventions. I have been very fortunate for a high school coach to have been able to do as much as I have. However, this is a trip that I have really been looking forward to.”

Christensen coached the Junior Men's team at the 2003 World Cross Country Championships held near Lausanne, Switzerland.

"Protocol says that one must be a Junior Coach before a Senior Coach," Christensen explained, "so I have been hoping! In 2003 when we went to Switzerland, the war in Iraq was only about 3 weeks old so security was a nightmare. Fortunately, it was Switzerland. I am hoping for a less hectic trip this time.”

At Edinburgh, four separate USA teams will compete. Christensen's senior men's team of nine runners will race over 12K; a senior women's squad of six runners will compete over 8K. Junior men's and women's squads of six runners each will compete over 8K and 6K distances, respectively.

Last year, the USA's senior men's team that included Minnesotans Matt Gabrielson and Marty Rosendahl finished 11th at the meet, held in sticky Mombasa, Kenya..

"The IAAF has eliminated the short course [as of last year] and will only have the 4 total races," Christensen said. "Each year there are around 40-50 countries that send runners to the World CC Championships. 50% of the time the meet is in Europe, the rest of the time it is spread throughout the world.”

In 2009 the event will be held in Amman, Jordan.

Athletes will select themselves for World Cross at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego on February 16.