By Chris Chavez
July 7, 2023
The first finals of the 2023 USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested on Thursday night, capped by Elise Cranny and Woody Kincaid capturing the 10,000m titles on the track. It marked Cranny’s first U.S. 10,000m title and Kincaid’s second in three years. Over on the field side, Tori Franklin captured her first outdoor U.S. title in the women’s triple jump, University of Nebraska’s Maddie Harris claimed gold after only finishing 4th at NCAAs, and Sam Mattis showed everyone why he’s the only American with the World standard in the men’s discus.
Here’s what you need to know about the women’s race:
– Cranny crushed her final 200 meters to kick down U.S. record holder Alicia Monson and win in 32:12.30. Monson finished second in 32:17.51. Cranny and Monson have the World Championship qualifying standard of 30:40 so their spots are secured for Budapest next month.
– Natosha Rogers of Puma Running Elite finished third – for the second year in a row – in 32:22.77. She does not have the World Championship qualifying standard. Weini Kelati, the fourth-place finisher in 32:30.40, also does not have the World standard. Fifth-place finisher Karissa Schweizer ran 32:32.10 and has the standard.
– For 2023, World Athletics changed the 10,000m qualifying process, which complicates whether Rogers will head to Budapest. She is currently ranked No. 23 in the world and World Athletics’ targeted field size is 27. However, the top eight women in the World Cross Country Rankings who aren’t already qualified via time or world ranking are also given qualifying spots for Budapest in the 10,0000m. Kyle Merber looked at that expanded list of women and we’re at 28 women.
Watch Kyle try and explain the whole process here (7:18):
– Kyle was told by USATF that USA can enter Rogers on their team for the World Championships and once World Athletics finalizes the entries, if enough women scratch then Rogers can end up on the team. Rogers can also try to run another 10,000m race on the track between now and when the final declarations are due on July 30 but that sounds like a lot for her to try and drop her personal best from 30:48.69 after her effort at USAs. She dismissed the idea in her post-race interview.
– “It’s really frustrating,” Rogers said after the race. “It goes back a decade for me when I was second at the Olympic Trials and didn’t have the time. This year, with things not being clear cut and things not being fair in my eyes – like taking cross country times; it’s just not the same as track. We should be bringing the best players to the World Championships. It is very frustrating.”
– There is still a possible path for Rogers to qualify, although we won’t know for certain until entries for Worlds are finalized at the end of the month. CITIUS was told by one agent that at least one athlete is not planning to run. There is another representing a country whose federation has a history of not taking full teams. Then there are a couple of athletes who have not competed this spring, or are qualified in multiple events.
Like Natosha, we must sit and wait until August 1st to know if she or Karissa Schweizer will be on the 10,000m team for the USA.
Johnny Zhang/@jznapz
Here’s what you need to know from the men’s race:
– American record holder Grant Fisher tried to sneak-attack the field from over 800 meters out, but Woody Kincaid’s kick is the best in the United States at the moment. After defending champion Joe Klecker led the charge to close the gap to Fisher, Kincaid unleashed a 54.76s final lap to win the men’s 10,000m in 28:28.01. Klecker held on to finish second in 28:24.50 and book his third straight ticket to a global championship. Bowerman Track Club ended up 3-4 with Sean McGorty nipping Fisher for third place in 28:24.96.
– Kincaid and Klecker have made the U.S. team in the 10,000m each year since 2021. They both have the World Championship qualifying standard of 27:10 and their spots in Budapest are assured.
– McGorty does not have the World Championship qualifying standard at the moment. He is ranked No. 26 in the world for the 10,000m. Like Rogers, he has to wait for potential scratches to move up his world rankings to move into World Athletics’ targeted field quota. Similarly, McGorty could chase the standard in a race. He is also slated to run the 5000m and is planning to make a decision after.
– As noted by Kyle in our post-race show, Fisher is one of the athletes who is sitting ahead of McGorty in the World Rankings. USATF could choose to not enter Fisher on the team – a decision likely being weighed by coach Jerry Schumacher right now and highly dependent on his performance in the 5000m – so that it would improve McGorty’s ranking. He would still need at least one more scratch from any athlete ahead of him on the list.
Once again, will every athlete opt to go? Is everyone healthy? Does McGorty take fate into his own hands? Welcome to track and field in 2023!
Johnny Zhang/@jznapz
Report from the infield:
– For the past 3 years, the women’s triple jump has had a clear top 3 in Tori Franklin, Keturah Orji, and NCAA star Jasmine Moore, and the question at USAs is often what order will they finish. This time, it was Franklin’s time to shine, and although she has 3 indoor U.S. titles to her name, she’d never won an outdoor title before clinching gold in her second jump of the competition, a 14.44m season’s best. In the end, the podium trio were the only 3 women over 14 meters in the competition.
– Kara Winger’s retirement (and transition to the broadcast booth!) has left a hole at the top of the women’s javelin that many assumed 2x U.S. champ Maggie Malone would fill, but yesterday it was Nebraska’s Maddie Harris who hurled her implement the farthest, clearing 60 meters for the first time in her career with a 5th-round 60.73m throw. Malone finished 2nd and, since she’s ranked 25th in the world and no American women have the standard, there may be some questions about how many and which throwers head to Budapest.
– One man definitely headed to Worlds is Sam Mattis, the University of Pennsylvania grad who claimed his third U.S. title with a throw of 65.93m. NCAA champ Turner Washington was second in 65.60m and should have the ranking to join Mattis on Team USA.
Six more podiums will be decided tonight with finals of the men’s triple jump and women’s high jump, the men’s and women’s 100m, and the conclusion of the multi events. Follow along with CITIUS for updates along the way and join us after the action as Chris and friends break it all down for you on CHAMPS CHAT live on Youtube every night. Enjoy!
Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
