Twin Cities Registration Opens Friday

Now that registration for all of the Grandma's events has wrapped up -- Grandma's Marathon filled last week, you'll remember -- it's time to kick-off registration for the 2008 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

Indeed, online-only registration for the 27th running of "The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America" begins at 12:01 a.m. , Friday, April 18 at http://www.mtcmarathon.org/. Registration is beginning three weeks earlier than in the past.

Race organizer remind runners that each year, the marathon fills within 20-30 days, although the field limit for the October 5 race has been increased to 11,000 this year.

Organizers are promoting the Corporate Team Challenge as an option for organizations to register as a group again in 2008. The Challenge offers companies an opportunity to add excitement, team building and good-natured competition to the work place. Any corporation (profit or non-profit) may participate with a team made up of employees of the corporation.

Short-Cut: Results Links for April 11-13

Here's our regular links-to-results post aimed at keeping you abreast of the latest happenings during the weekend. There's lots going on, as you might imagine. We're especially keen to see Team USA Minnesota's Andrew Carlson take to the track on Saturday -- in the 5000 meters at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Arizona -- after all the road success he's had already in 2008.

Friday:
Mesa Classic (U of M throwers): Results
Update: Jerry Netland wins disc with 159-8, Aaron Studt 2nd in hammer with 182-1.
Sun Angel Classic: Results
Update: Lynden Reder hammers 204-08; April Phillips throws 190-10

Saturday:
Sun Angel Classic (U of M men, Carlson): Results
Update: Kabia 3rd in 10.49, Storvick run 1:49.92, Carlson scratches due to illness.

Lee Krough Invitational: CANCELLED
Jim Duncan Invitational Results
Furman Invitational (Matt Gabrielson): Results
Update: Gabrielson ran 3:52.57 for 6th in the 1500m, according to Team USA Mn's Pat Goodwin.

Mad City/USA 100K: Results

Sunday:
NDSU Bison Invitational: Results
Update: Defending D2 outdoor champ Jennifer Hensel wins vault with 12-6.

T&FN: Only Goucher & Marks to Olympics

Track and Field News, the self-proclaimed "Bible of the Sport," just published a set of Olympic Track and Field Trials predictions. If you take the magazine's word as gospel, only two Minnesotans -- Kara Goucher in the 10,000 meters and Shani Marks in the triple jump -- will make the U.S. Olympic team.

The magazine, HERE, projects both Goucher and Marks as the runners-up in their events at the Trails in Eugene, Oregon. On the outside looking in, according to compiler Dave Johnson, are Jenelle Deatherage (5th) and 2004 Olympian Carrie Tollefson (8th) in the 1500, Cack Ferrell (7th) in the 5000, and Katie McGregor (5th) in the 10,000.

T&FN doesn't send any Minnesota men to Beijing. 2007 USA Outdoor champ Jim Dilling is picked for 4th in men's projections, HERE.

Also ... The hometown newspaper for the Olympic Track and Field Trials, the Eugene Register-Guard, just launched a special web-page covering the build-up to the Trails. You can find it HERE, and well as in the "Links" section on our sidebar.

What do you think? ... Is T&FN on target or off-base? Who from MN will represent the USA at the Games? Let us know with in the comments section.

(Full disclosure: Although I am a correspondent for T&FN, I have nothing to do with the predictions.)

Gagnon, Melander Earn TCM Scholarships

Minneapolis Washburn star Pieter Gagnon and Eastview standout McKenzie Melander earned $5000 college scholarships as the 2008 winners of the Twin Cities Marathon High School Scholarship Program. Gagnon and Melander were selected for the awards from more than 100 applicants, all top track and cross-country runners at their high schools in the greater Twin Cities Metro area.

Gagnon is a four-time team captain, a 5 Eyewitness News Athlete of the Week, a Star Tribune Athlete of the Week, a three-time Most Valuable Player for Washburn High School, and has numerous state and regional running titles including a third place finish at the MSHSL State Cross Country Championships last fall. Currently ranked second in his class academically, Gagnon plans to study engineering at the University of Minnesota and to continue to pursue his love of running.

Melander was the runner-up in both the 1600 and 3200 meter runs at the MSHSL State Track and Field Championships last spring. She was an All-State Cross Country athlete as a sophomore and finished 3rd in the Minnesota State Cross Country Meet her junior year. Melander is a two-time All-State Track athlete and has earned 8 All-Conference awards. Melander volunteers in her community and plans to attend University of Iowa, where she will run cross country and track.

“We value the running spirit these two individuals exemplify,” Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. executive director Virginia Brophy Achman said. “It was a difficult decision because of the tremendous quality of those who applied. But McKenzie and Pieter’s leadership and athletic determination and ability make them the perfect recipients of this year’s scholarships. We congratulate them on all of their accomplishments."

The recipients were selected based on academic achievements, community service, running accomplishments (in either cross-country or track) as well as a personal essay.

USATF-Minnesota Interviews Katie McGregor

The USATF - Minnesota web-site has just posted a interview with Team USA Minnesota's Katie McGregor (pictured), HERE, as part of its "Road to Beijing" series. Running Minnesota's Chad Austin conducted the interview.

My favorite McGregor answer, in response to a question about the odds of making the team, is:

"I wouldn’t dedicate my life to training if I didn’t believe in myself. I believe I will make the team."

In addition, the USATF-Minnesota web-site recently posted some of Thom Weddles' photos from the Carlsbad 5K, HERE.

Also ... Both Andrew Carlson, HERE, and Emily Brown, HERE, have interesting new journal entries posted on the New York Road Runners site.

Carlson segues from his middle school basketball career to Dan Browne's 2002 Twin Cities Marathon victory to Carlson's own duel with Browne at the Gate River Run last month. Brown talks about her recent cross country success and explains why she once said she never wanted to run cross country again.

Photo by Sean Hartnett.

Minnesota Clash Set for Drake Women's 1500

The three top women's milers in Minnesota -- Olympian Carrie Tollefson, the rejuvenated Jenelle Deatherage, and post-collegiate phenom Emily Brown -- are scheduled to compete against one-another over 1500 meters at the Drake Relays on April 26.

The Des Moines Register, in THIS story, highlights Tollefson's entry in the event, but also places Brown (incorrectly) and 2007 Drake champion Deatherage in the 1500m field as well.

THE CORRECTION ... Team USA Minnesota coach Dennis Barker informs us the Des Moines Register has the story wrong. While Team USA Minnesota's Tollefson and Deatherage will race the 1500 at Drake, Team USA Minnesota's Emily Brown will compete in the steeplechase there.

The Olympic Torch: in San Francisco, in History

Image details: Protestors Rally As Olympic Torch Arrives In San Francisco served by picapp.com


Since it was lit on March 24, the Olympic torch has attacted protests by pro-Tibetan activists and others opposed to the policies of 2008 Olympic hosts China. As the Olympic torch relay makes its only stop on U.S. soil in San Francisco today, we wanted to note Jay Weiner's brief history of the Olympic torch ceremony, HERE, from yesterday's edition of MinnPost.

In the piece, he notes THIS recent story on the torch ceremony from the BBC.

Radocaj, Cheever Earn Big Ten Accolades

University of Minnesota women's tracksters Ruby Radocaj and Jamie Cheever were accorded Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors after leading Minnesota to the team title at the Oregon Pepsi Team Invitational on Saturday, the program announced.

Radocaj shares the Big Ten Field Event Athlete of the Week with Indiana heptathlete Abbie Stechschulte, while Cheever is the co-Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week with Iowa distance runner Diane Nukuri.

For Radocaj, the award is the first of her career. Radocaj, a senior from Williamsport, Pennsylvania broke a 13-year old Minnesota record in the javelin with a throw of 187-6, a mark that ranks as the top throw in the nation this season and betters the Olympic Trials “A” standard. The Gopher All-American broke the long-standing record of 183-2 by Heather Berlin in 1995.

Cheever, a junior from Minneapolis, won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:11.33. Cheever’s winning time cut nearly 10 seconds off her previous best and is the second-fastest steeplechase in Gopher history behind Emily Brown's 9:56.62. Cheever was honored as the conference Athlete of the Week once during the indoor season.

Grandma's Marathon Reaches Capacity

It took longer than it used to, but for the 14th consecutive year, Grandma's Marathon has filled to capacity. The 9,700 runner event scheduled for June 21 announced yesterday that it is now closed to registration.

This year marked the first year that race organizers used an on-line registration system for the 32nd annual event and its ancillary races. The marathon, which opened registration in January, had filled in a matter of weeks in the recent past, but has taken until April to reach capacity the last two years.

Race fields filled quickly for both the 18th annual Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon and the 15th annual William A. Irvin 5K.

Scott Keenan's Comments ... Shortly after we posted the news item above, we heard from Grandma's Marathon executive director Scott Keenan. We'd asked him for his take on the slowed filling of Grandma's Marathon and the unique challenges of his event. Here's what he had to say ...

"To be honest with you, it really doesn’t matter to us in any way if the marathon fills up in two days or two months. In fact, the marathon filling at a little slower pace has allowed runners who were not chosen in the half-marathon lottery to have an option to sign up for the full marathon.

"It is challenging to host a major marathon in a smaller market as we have limited lodging, very few direct flights and a smaller population from which to recruit sponsors and volunteers. But, we wouldn’t exchange our situation with anyone. I learned many years ago to focus on our strengths and just make Grandma’s Marathon the best event we possible can. We believe our tag line speaks for what we are — a world-class event with small town charm."

Freshman Studt Clinches Gopher Victory

It came down to the discus in the University of Minnesota women's track and field team's neck-and-neck battle with Oregon at Saturday's Pepsi Team Invitational in Eugene, Oregon.

All of the running events and the rest of the field events at Oregon's storied Hayward Field were in the books, but the team score was still in doubt. The Gophers would need big finish in the disc to win the meet.

Entering the final round of throws in the discus, Gopher star Liz Podominick, who had already earned second-place points for the team in the shot put, held a comfortable lead at 161-8. But the Gophers needed more than Podominick's points to seal the win.

Enter freshman Hannah Studt, a Gopher thrower so anonymous she's just a name on the team's on-line roster -- no photo, no stats, no hometown. Studt stepped into the ring, though, and launched her final throw 155-10 to take second place in the event and seal a 193 to 192 victory for the #23-ranked Gophers over the #18-ranked Ducks.

The Gopher women had five event-winners at the meet: Podominick in the discus, Ruby Radocaj threw a school-record 187-6 in the javelin, Anna Arciszewska won the triple jump in a career-best 40-8 3/4, Heather Dorniden won the 800 meters with an outdoor season debut of 2:06.07, and Jamie Cheever splashed to a win in the steeplechase with a PR 10:11.33.

“We feel good about where we are right now as a team,” Golden Gopher head coach Matt Bingle said in a Gopher media release. “This was really our first solid test of the outdoor season and despite less than ideal weather conditions, we had some very good performances."

The Gopher men, who had "a bit of a lack-luster day" according to head coach Phil Lundin, finished third in the men's portion of the meet. Oregon won with 230 points, Penn State tallied 150, the Gophers had 140.5.

Ibrahim Kabia was the squad's only winner with a wind-aided 10.39 victory in the 100 meters.

Full results from the meet are HERE.

Short-Cut: Results Links for April 4-6

Are you ready?

Because, if there's been a lull in the sport recently due to the break between the collegiate track seasons and the recent holiday (notwithstanding all of the great action at World Cross), that quiet all comes to an end now.

It seems like anyone and everyone is back in action this weekend! That being the case, we've resurrected, the Short-Cut -- DtB's round-up of links to the weekend's important results.

We're especially eager to see: How Team USA Minnesota's Mandi Zemba fares against the always-stiff competition at the Carlsbad 5K .... How the Gopher squads compete against Washington, Penn State and the host Ducks at the team-scored Oregon Pepsi Invitational ... How steeplechase debuts by Ladia Albertson-Junkans (at Pepsi) and Brad Lowery (at Hamline) turn out ... And, how fast Minnesotans like Garrett and Elliott Heath, Luke and Jake Watson, Adam Steele, and Alex Gits run at the Stanford Invitational.

Strap yourselves in, I don't think the action will slow down until after the Olympic Games in August!

Friday:
Stanford Invitational: Startlists * Results
Update: Luke Watson 8:46 ... Elliott Heath 14:09 ... Garrett Heath 1:49

Saturday:
Oregon Pepsi Invitational: Startlists * Results
Update: Gopher women win, Radocaj throws school record 187-6.
Update: Gopher men third, Kabia runs 10.39w, Mead clocks 13:57.

Stanford Invitational: Startlists * Results
Update: Jake Watson clocks 3:43.39.

Augustana Invitational: Results
Update: Mokaya runs 3:49.25.

Hamline Invitational: Results
Update: Lowery debuts with 9:01 steeplechase.

Sunday:
More Marathon: Results
Update: Keeler Ramacier 3rd with 3:04:50

Carlsbad 5000: Results
Update: Mandi Zemba runs 16:49 for 11th.

Christensen Describes World Cross Experience

Stillwater High School boys track and cross country coach Scott Christensen served as team leader of the USA's Senior Men's team at last weekend's IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland. DtB caught up with Christensen (pictured) upon his return to ask him about the experience.

DtB: For folks who've never attended a World Cross Country Championships, can you describe the atmosphere of the event?

Christensen: First of all 20,000 spectators! Drums and other percussion groups from several African nations playing constantly, a bagpipe player on the crest of Haggis Knoll, a English speaking announcer that gave a play by play like a North American hockey game, a Giant Screen monitor on the leaders keeping track of everything, a criterium style course so you can frequently see the athletes come by. The crowd itself was more in a frenzy then any meet I have ever attended including state and NCAA meets.

DtB: As the team leader, what was important for you to do (or not to do) to help your squad perform well at World Cross?

Christensen: I set up a to-do list right after the San Diego trials. A once a week e-mail to all of the athletes. These included our travel plans, weather situations, gear info, basically the nuts and bolts of the trip. I know most of their personal coaches and agents so I talked to all of them as frequently as I could about nagging injuries, what we should do in Scotland, and the like. I went into Google and brought up past interviews and race results on the 9 of them. I wanted to know their wives name, where they went to high school, if they are an Eagle Scout...things we could make small-talk about.

Once there, I met with the Senior Team each morning to set-up the daily workout times and determine what help they needed, I assisted in their pre-race (Friday) blood draw at drug testing. They elected a Captain through me. We went out to dinner together the night before the race at an Italian restaurant in Edinburgh and talked about the dynamics of our team, we spent time together Saturday at the course itself preparing. I brought spikes of all lengths from Run N Fun and we set up their shoes after we got back from the course.

On Sunday the 10 of us met at 1 pm in the Village for the 2:45 race and we bussed down together to the start. We pushed through security together and I led them to the US changing tent. They ran their warm-up and I led them to the Call room at 2:20. I then had access to the course and kept track of each of their places as they came by, hollered at them, and I guess was their coach for about 37-38 minutes! I then met them after the race for some slaps on the back.

DtB: How did you feel about the senior men's team's performance?

Christensen: We lost Dathan Ritzenhein due to a nagging IT band about 10 days before and replaced him with Stanford alum Jonathon Pierce. He was really pumped to get the call and raced well. There were three really exceptional performances: Jorge and Edwardo Torres and Scott Baughs. Max King ran pretty well. The others were a little disappointed. Josh Rohatinsky was a real gem to work with and was real open with me. He felt he may have started a little fast and had some breathing problems late. All in all we were the top non-African team and that is pretty good. We beat many good teams from throughout the world. Naturally, we wanted a medal, but without Dathan and Ryan Hall, who was 5th at the Trials but is preparing for the London Marathon, this is about where we should have been.

DtB: Are there things you can take from the World Cross experience that can help your Stillwater teams?

Christensen: I take things everyday of my life and try to apply them to my Stillwater team. These days provided me with an abundance of material. These 9 Senior Men are all champions at what they do...State, NCAA, USATF, you name it. Yet, they got along so well together all week. There was no arrogance or aloofness, even with each other, just good guys with a load of talent that prepare very well. Sport transcends generations, I want my boys at Stillwater to treat racing and preparation as professionally as these men do. The world is full of wannabees, these guys have done it.

Star-Tribune Previews HS Track Season

Back on the opening day of track and field practice for Minnesota high schoolers, DtB's Chris Marshall, HERE, offered his "Four Questions" that only the season itself could answer.

Last week, DtB took a look, HERE, at two-time defending MSHSL Class AA and True Team champions Mounds View's chances for three-peating in 2008.

Today, the Star-Tribune got into the action, HERE. Jim Paulsen offers his "Five Storylines," "Teams to Watch," and "By the Numbers" for the 2008 season.

Let the action begin!

Langenfeld wins 28th Masters High Jump Title

DtB sent a congratulatory note to Tom Langenfeld on Monday after he won yet another USA Masters high jump title. By our count, the victory in the M70 high jump was Langenfeld's 17th national title.

"Well, if you count indoor championships," Langenfeld gently corrected us, "I guess it’s actually my 28th masters high jump title —16 outdoor, 12 indoor. But that’s spread over almost 34 years."

Langenfeld (pictured), who cleared 4-7 for title #28 at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston on Sunday, won his first outdoor crown in 1975; his first indoor victory came in 1976.

"I’ve lost almost a foot and a half of altitude since then," he noted, "but I still get pumped for these things. And every once in a while I nail a jump that feels a little like old times. Can’t say I did that in Boston this year, though I felt pretty good about the jump that won it."

Langenfeld is noticing some wear and tear on his 72-year-old body.

"My training has been relatively limited since last summer because of a lower back/hip problem," he said, "which also seems to have cut my vertical jump by three to four inches. It may be that some of the moving parts are starting to wear out."

"I’ve only rarely let an injury keep from the national meets," he continued. "They’re just too much fun—and the addiction to competition is too strong. So I went – and managed to beat a couple of guys who were either coming down with or coming back from injuries themselves."

Langenfeld, the USATF-Minnesota Masters Track and Field Chairman, reported that other Minnesotans fared well at the event, which will move to Landover, Maryland next year after finding its home in Boston for eleven of the last twelve years:

"Ralph Maxwell, the 88-year-old retired judge who has divided his time between Richville, Minn., and Alamo, Texas, in recent years. He set two American age-group records while competing in the M85 indoor pentathlon on Friday—a record 3,626 points for that event, and a record 15.10 in the 60m hurdles. Also high jumped 1.07m/3’6”, long jumped 2.80m/9’2¼”, threw the 3kg shot 7.29m/23’11” and ran the 1,000 m in 7:06.43.

"He came back the next day to take seconds in the open 60m, shot put and long jump.

"It was a pretty good meet for Minnesota high jumpers generally. Valeriy Snezhko of Plymouth finished third and Rick Allen of Richfield sixth in the M50 high jump, both clearing 1.60m. Valeriy had fewer misses. Other Minnesotans:

"Multi-eventer Mike Moser skipped the pentathlon this year in favor of the M55 pole vault and came away with the third-place medal. He also ran legs on ad hoc 4x800 and 4x400 teams in M50-59 relay competition.

"Thom Weddle of Minneapolis – fourth in the 3000m (11:52.28) and fourth in the mile (5:56.95). At 69 he’s at the top of his age group and by far the oldest entrant in both events.

"Barb Spannous of Excelsior was forced to drop out of the W60 3000m with a foot injury with just two laps to go."

Photo by Thom Weddle, Langenfeld at the 2004 USA Masters Outdoor Championship.

A DtB World Cross Slide-Show ...

Although he's a cheesehead from Eau Claire (by way of Brookfield and Beloit), Sean Hartnett goes above and beyond the call to gather stories and photos of Minnesotans for Down the Backstretch. He just posted THIS great slide-show of the Minnesota women who competed at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships last weekend.

Sean is also putting some event-wide slide-shows together for Track and Field News as well, which will appear HERE later today.

Photo by Sean Hartnett, Alex Gits in action.

Brown Interviewed on Steeplechics.com

There's a new interview with Team USA Minnesota's Emily Brown on-line. Ann Gaffigan of the web-site Steeplechics.com talked briefly with the former Big Ten steeplechase champion after her fine run at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh.

You can read the interview HERE.

Keeler Ramacier to Run More Marathon

Kelly Keeler Ramacier would rather keep it a low-key thing, but the More Magazine Marathon is making a big deal out of her. Keeler Ramacier is the headliner for the marathon for women over 40 to take place Sunday in New York's Central Park.

"I have not told many people here that I am running," Keeler Ramacier told DtB recently. "I wanted to stay extremely low-key about it. I have a tendency to put WAY too much pressure on myself and I didn't want anyone to know in case I crashed and burned."

The race organizers are excited to get the word out about Keeler Ramacier, 46, however. Their release notes she did not begin running until she was 32 years old, and was a smoker until just months before her first 26.2-mile race in Columbus, Ohio in 1994.

Keeler Ramacier, as many Minnesotans already know, improved rapidly and went on to compete in two U.S. Olympic Trials marathons, including a 17th-place finish in 2000 at age 38. Keeler Ramacier, who is the former director of event and program development for the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, has a marathon personal best time of 2:42:25 seconds, which she ran in 1997 at Grandma’s.

"My goal is around 3 hours," Keeler Ramacier said. "I would love to break 3:00 but, honestly, this winter's training was tough and my knee did not hold up that well. Things are better now that the temps are up. I think 7 min. pace is very doable if I don't have any knee troubles. The course is hilly and it could be tough logistically."

Keeler Ramacier won't get to face three-time More Marathon champion Susan Loken, who has also won three straight USA Masters titles at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. Loken, as part of her preparations for the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston on April 20, will participate with Beth Hawkins in the relay event at More.

DtB's World Cross Photo Gallery ...

Senior Women's action.

(Photo by Mike Scott courtesy of Team USA Mn.)

Team USA Minnesota's Katie McGregor.


Edina grad and Stanford frosh Alex Gits.


Hopkins grad and Duke frosh Emily Schwitzer.

Photos by Sean Hartnett, except where indicated otherwise.

Minnesota Women Lead USA Teams at World Cross Country Championships

Minnesota athletes led the USA Junior and Open Women's teams to strong finishes at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland, today.

In the Junior division, Stanford freshman Alex Gits of Edina finished in 13th place to lead the USA squad to sixth place in the team standings. Gits was followed by Duke freshman Emily Schwitzer of Minnetonka in 28th place.

Gits and Schwitzer took different routes to their high finishes.

"I knew I was going to get nice and muddy. I didn't want that front pack to gain so much distance, so I just took a few quick steps and got right back up there," Gits said.

"I made sure that I went out slower, as I tend to get intimidated," Schwitzer explained. "I tried to gain confidence by picking people off. I learned to run in the pack and keep my arms out, look up, and take the turns wide."

Former Gopher Emily Brown (pictured) continued her fantastic season with a 18th place finish to lead the Women's Open team to fourth place. Her Team USA Minnesota training partner Katie McGregor was close behind in 22nd. Molly Huddle and Kathy Newberry finished in 23rd and 24th to put the squad within 3 points of the medal stand.

"It felt really good that it was such a team effort out there," Brown told USATF. "I think we had different race strategies today, but we ended up together, and that made us stronger as a team."

Brown's success at the extended distance has given her renewed confidence in her racing range.

"I am trying to decide what my track distance will be this spring. I may end up running the 5k, but it gives me confidence knowing that I can move up to 10k."

"Overall, I thought we did a great job," McGregor said of her team's effort. "I sort of got lost for a bit there, but when the other girls started moving up, it helped. It's great when all of your teammates come together."

The Senior Men's squad – coached by Stillwater's Scott Christensen – finished in seventh place.

USATF has posted a recap of all the action.

There's a decent photo gallery here, with a good shot of McGregor.

Photo by Sean Hartnett.

Gits Named Junior Women's Team Captain

Alex Gits, a Stanford University freshman from Edina, was named captain of the United States' junior women's cross country team ahead of this weekend's IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland, USA Track and Field announced.

Gits, the 2006 MSHSL Class AA cross country champion and 2007 3200 meter champion, earned the right to represent the United States in Edinburgh by virtue of her runner-up finish at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego in February. Gits is joined on the junior squad by fellow Minnesota Emily Schwitzer of Duke University.

Team USA Minnesota's Katie McGregor and Emily Brown will compete on the senior women's team. Stillwater High School coach Scott Christensen is the team leader of the USA senior men's team at the event.

World Cross competition takes place Sunday. You will find results from the events posted HERE.

Update:

Gits was quoted by USATF after she and the USA sqauds inspected the World Cross course on Saturday ...

"It's going to be really cool to see athletes from other nations running Sunday. Overall, the terrain is going to be good, and it's supposed to be windy Sunday, but I think that having a lot of spectators on the course is going to help block the wind.

"Because of the narrowness of the hill and the bumpy terrain, the hill won't be a place to do a lot of passing, but it can be a point where you can make up ground.

From talking to other team members, I've heard that this race will be like the NCAA Championships; every runner will have to be in their own moment. In this race, you don't know who is going to be on or not. It's going to be a bit of a free-for-all."