Team USATF garners fourth place finish in mixed relay at world cross country championships...
In the first race of the day, Erassa got the squad off to a good start, running a 6:08 for his lap to place the team in third after the first exchange.
Shannon Osika then ran a split of 7:12 as Morocco’s Kaoutar Farkoussi passed her, as the Americans and the Moroccans exchanged places.
Jordan Mann then ran a 6:00 split for his 2k leg, but could not make up any ground, before handing the wristband off to Eleanor Fulton, who ran a 7:41 anchor leg to give Team USATF a fourth place finish, as Ethiopia took the victory in a final time of 25:49.
Ethiopia took home the victory in a final time of 25:49, followed by Morocco in 26:22, and Kenya taking third in 26:29.
Morocco was originally disqualified one hour after the race for handing off the wristband before the start of the exchange zone, temporarily moving the American foursome to third. However, an appeal by the Moroccans gave their team the silver medal, and relegated the USA back to fourth.
Erassa reported about his opening leg, “We started out pretty quick. I tried to stay with them and I came through 4:29 for the first mile, so i tried to keep it there to help the team to try for a top three finish.”
Fulton, the team’s anchor leg, said, “It was brutal. I knew it would brutal. I had a little bit of advice to go out and attack it early and the downhills would take care of themselves. I tried to really push the downs and not relax. The roof is an absolute killer. My legs on top were so dead, but I knew we were in the money, so I knew I had to keep us in fourth.”
The relay team’s fourth place finish is the highest by a USATF squad at the world cross country championships since the senior men’s 12k team finished second in Bydgoszcz, Poland in 2013.
The men’s Under 20 squad took home a sixth place finish over the 8k distance, scoring 154 points, improving upon their ninth place finish in Kampala, Uganda two years ago.
Team USATF was led by team captain and reigning national champion Shuaib Aljabaly, who finished 29th in 26:18.
He was then followed by Robert Cheeseman, who finished 31st in 26:25.
Mieka Beaudoin-Rousseau finished 39th in 26:35, while Charlie Perry was 55th in 27:07 to round out the four scorers.
Gabriel Mudel was 72nd in 27:40, and Khalid Hussein was 86th in 28:15.
In a close battle for the three individual podium spots, Ethiopians Milkesa Mengesha and Tadese Worku went 1-2 in 23:52 and 25:54, while Oscar Chelimo of Uganda took third in 23:55.
Ethiopia (18) Uganda (32) and Kenya (34) took the top three team places.
The senior women’s 10k team finished eighth with a final team score of 190 points, led by Stephanie Bruce’s 39th place finish in 39:09.
Sarah Pagano, who ran in her second straight world cross country championship race, finished 50th in 39:54, followed by Anne-Marie Blaney in 51st in 39:55.
Karissa Schweizer was 56th in 40:04, while Marielle Hall was 58th in 40:12, and American steeplechase record holder Courtney Frerichs was 75th in 40:59.
Kenya’s Hellen Obiri emerged victorious in 36:14 over Dera Dida of Ethiopia, who was two seconds back, while her teammate Letesenbet Gidey was third in 36:24.
Ethiopia (21), Kenya (25), and Uganda (36) were the top three teams.
The senior men’s 10 k team took home an 11th place finish, with a final score of 198 points.
Olympians Shadrack Kipchirchir and Stanley Kebenei led the way for Team USATF, finishing 34th and 35th in times of 33:46 & 33.47.
Steeplechase Olympian Hillary Bor was 60th in 34:29, followed by his brother Emmanuel in 69th place in 34:43.
Olympian Leonard Korir was 73rd in 34:53, while Mason Ferlic finished 76th in 34:59.
Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda finished in the top two positions, running 31:40 and 31:44, and in the process, deprived Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamwowor of his third straight world cross country title, as he finished in 31:55.
The Ugandans won the team title decisively, scoring 20 points to Kenya’s 43 points, while Ethiopia took third with 46 points.
The women’s Under-20 6k team finished 14th with a final team score of 257 points.
Savannah Shaw led the way in 53rd, crossing the line in 23:29. She then was followed by Grace Ping, who ran 23:45 in 60th place, with national champ Nicole Clermont 70th in 24:07.
Heidi Nielson and Kayla Smith finished together in 74th (24:13) and 75th place (24:15), and Riley Rigdon followed in 84th place in 24:49.
In a race that went down to the wire, Beatrice Chebet won the world title, with Ethiopia’s Alemitu Tariku second and her teammate Tsigie Gebreselama third, as all were credited with the same time of 20:50.
Ethiopia put all of its scoring runners in the top ten to win with 17 points, followed by Kenya with 26 points. Japan took the final podium spot with 72 points.
Complete results of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships are available via the IAAF’s micro site.
NOTE: USA Track & Field and the IAAF contributed to this report. paulmerca.blogspot.com publisher Paul Merca served as the USATF press officer in Aarhus.
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