CRANNY, MONSON AND ROGERS COME BACK TO SWEEP 5000M PODIUM AT USATF CHAMPIONSHIPS
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2023 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
EUGENE (09-Jul) — It may sound like the name of a law firm, but Cranny, Monson and Rogers are actually America’s three best distance women on the track. And just like they did on Thursday night here in the 10,000m at the Toyota USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, Elise Cranny (Nike Bowerman TC), Alicia Monson (On Athletics Club) and Natosha Rogers (Puma Elite Running), finished one-two-three in the 5000m here tonight on the fourth and final day of these championships. Running 14:52.66, 14:55.10 and 14:55.39, respectively, the trio enjoyed a comfortable gap over the field and earned additional team spots for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest next month.
“I’m very tired,” said a smiling Cranny, the first American woman to win both the 5000m and 10,000m national title in the same year since Molly Huddle in 2016.
For Cranny, 27, who lives and trains here in Eugene, tonight’s win represented her third straight national title at the distance. She timed her effort perfectly tonight, allowing Monson to lead most of the race and notch-up the pace lap-by-lap to shake off the rest of the field. Cranny did not take the lead until 14:04 was showing on the clock, and from there she ran uncontested to the finish. As a bonus, her finish time was well within the World Athletics Championships entry standard of 14:57.00, meaning that she locked-up her spot on Team USATF for that event should she decide to take it.
“Thank you to Alicia for making it a fast, honest race,” Cranny said. She continued: “I was hoping that the race would be at standard pace so I didn’t have to chase it. So, I’m very grateful for her for making the race honest.”
Cranny can now choose to do either the 10,000m, the 5000m, or both in Budapest. She said tonight that she was not sure and would discuss it with her coach, Jerry Schumacher. However, she did say that she was leaning towards the shorter event.
“I’m not sure, yet,” she told reporters. “I will talk to Jerry. The five is definitely where my heart is, and the ten being first (in the schedule) I’m leaning towards going into the five fresh. But, I’ll talk to him. I’ll talk to the boss man.”
Monson approached tonight’s race with workman-like efficiency. She was leading by the 600-meter mark, and squeezed the…
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