Brown Takes it to the Next Level

Emily Brown and Katie McGregor follow Renee Metivier to the finish line of the Open Women's 8k at the 2008 USA Cross Country Championships.

Emily Brown had a breakthrough performance in her first appearance at the USA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, finishing third in a stellar field. Shalane Flanagan cruised to an easy victory over the 8k course. Her time of 25:26 was 1:10 faster than the pack of Renee Metivier, Brown and Katie McGregor. Brown, a recent University of Minnesota graduate, seems to be thriving in the post-collegiate environment of Team USA Minnesota. Her fitness level was evident earlier this year when she won the 3,000 meters at the Jack Johnson Minnesota Classic in 9:10.6 – a 17 second PR. That time established a new U of M fieldhouse record, bettering Sabrina Dornhoefer's 9:15.95 mark from 1990.

Brown and McGregor both secured a spots on the U.S. team for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 30. This is the sixth straight year that McGregor has earned a position on the team. Other Minnesotans in the field included Cack Ferrell in 15th, Mandi Zemba in 19th and Kristen Nicolini Lehmkuhle in 22nd.

Alex Gits, the former Edina star and current Stanford freshman, finished second in the Junior Women's 6k to also earn a seat on the plane to Edinburgh. Jordan Hasay, the 16 year old phenom defended her title from 2007, running 20:32 to Gits' 20:45. Minnetonka's Emily Schwitzer, who is a freshman at Duke, also made the US junior team, finishing fifth in 21:34.

There were fewer bright spots for Minnesotans in the men's races on Saturday. Elliot Heath was attempting to defend his Junior Men's 8k title from 2007, but finished in 27th place. The Stanford freshman ran with the leaders in the first half of the race, but dropped back over the final 2k loop.

Andrew Carlson was the top Minnesota finisher in the Open Men's 12k event, finishing in 15th place. Sean Graham followed in 17th, Chris Lundstrom in 63rd, Christopher Raabe in 64th and Levi Severson in 76th.

Full results are available at usatf.org.

Video courtesy of RunnerSpace.com