FitnessBank Cross Champs – News

Olympians, national champions, World Championship runners all ready to race Thursday in Austin

By Scott Bush

The FitnessBank Cross Champs take place Thursday evening in Austin, Texas, and while many of the top pro teams in the United States will be squaring off with a hefty prize purse on the line, the star power up front promises to be just as exciting. 

Watch The Cross Champs Live (Thu., 4:20pm CT) | Live Results | Event Coverage

Here are ten of the top names to watch at The Cross Champs: 

Alicia Monson (On Athletics Club): Monson is having one of the best seasons of an American distance runner in the past decade. The OAC athlete not only earned 13th overall at the World Athletics Championships this summer in Eugene, she also became the third fastest 5000m runner in American history with her 14:31.11 performance at the Zurich Diamond League Meet, fourth fastest American over 3000m with her 8:26.81 effort, and seventh fastest 10,000m runner with her PR of 30:51.09. Top top it all off, she won the USATF Cross Country Championships at the beginning of the year by 17 seconds over a strong field. She’s the favorite entering Thursday’s contest.

Joe Klecker (On Athletics Club): What a season it’s been for Klecker. The former University of Colorado star won the USATF 10,000m Championships to start his summer, which led to a ninth place finish at the World Athletics Championships in the event. He ran 13:04 for 5000m twice this season, while running 13:15 in September at the Brussels Diamond League meet. While it remains to be seen what sort of shape Klecker will enter Thursday’s contest in, he has plenty of cross country success to his name, including a NCAA Cross Country Championships runner-up effort in 2019.

Emily Infeld (Nike): For all of the disruptions in Infeld’s training over the past few seasons, the Olympian has had a fantastic 2022 campaign. Infeld placed third at the USATF Cross Country Championships to kick off her season, following that up with third place efforts at the USATF 10 km Road Championships and USATF 5 km Road Championships, along with a third place finish in the USATF Outdoor Championships in the 5000m. She then competed at the World Athletics Championships by making the 5000m final. She’s poised for another terrific race in Austin.

Hillary Bor (American Distance Program): Similar to other top pros in Austin, Bor is having himself a career year. Bor not only won the 3000m steeplechase title at the USATF Outdoor…