What to Watch: Track Meets 3/28

What to Watch
Johanna Gretschel
IAAF World XC Championship (Guiyang, China)


Conner Mantz (Sky View, UT) won the USATF Junior Men's Cross Country Championship in February.

  • Junior Men's 8k: Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda enters as the prohibitive favorite to become the first non-Kenyan or non-Ethiopian to win the Junior Men's XC crown for the first time since 1991. The 18-year-old won the 10,000m at the African Junior Championships earlier this month to add to his 2014 IAAF World Junior Championship title last summer in the 10,000m with a time of 28:32.86. The top returnee is Yihunilign Adane of Ethiopia, who finished 13th in the 2013 event and enters this year's race as the Ethopian junior cross country national champion.

    The Team USA contingent will be led by Sky View (UT) senior Conner Mantz, who won the national cross country title in February in 25:12. The effort was his first since an injury derailed his cross country season, though he still ended the fall with an All-American, 10th-place finish at Foot Locker Nationals. Finishing runner-up to Mantz at USATF Juniors was Oklahoma State freshman Cerake Geberkidane, who was named All-Big 12 at the conference cross country championship in the fall. Both Mantz and Geberkidane each have international cross country experience under their belts this year, as Mantz earned runner-up honors (19:13 over 4 miles) at the inaugural APA Pan American XC Cup in Barranquilla, Colombia last month, while Geberkidane ran to runner-up honors (20:07 over 6k) at the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country event in January.

    In track news, USATF third-placer (25:39) John Dressel (Mount Spokane, WA) opened his outdoor season with a 4:16.01 1,600m at the West Valley Invitational last weekend. The University of Colorado commit also traveled to Colombia with Mantz, where he placed fourth at the APA Cup. Dressel has placed sixth, second and 14th at the past three Foot Locker Nationals.

    Team USA Junior Men: John Dressel, Cerake Geberkidane, Eric Hamer, Conner Mantz, Paul Miller, Paul Roberts


  • Katie Rainsberger (Air Academy, CO) placed third as the top prep at the USATF Junior Women's Cross Country Championship in February.

  • Junior Women's 6k: Rosefline Chepngetich (Kenya) placed seventh at the 2013 edition of this event and has since added the 2013 World Youth steeplechase title, 2014 World Youth Olympic Games steeplechase title and 2014 IAAF World Junior Championship steeplechase silver medal to her resume. Ethiopian National Junior Women's 6k Champion Letesenbet Gidey will also be dangerous, as will Asian steeplechase record holder Ruth Jebet (Bahrain).

    University of Colorado freshmen Kaitlyn Benner (Monarch, CO '14) and Val Constien (Battle Mountain, CO '14) went 1-2, 21:48 to 21:54 for 6k, at the USATF Junior Women's Championship. Benner is coming off a successful indoor track campaign that saw her win the MPSF Championship in the 5k (16:08.22). Constien recorded a 4:51.06 Mile and 10:18.88 3k this winter.

    Behind the two collegians are two Colorado high school standouts in junior Katie Rainsberger (Air Academy) and sophomore Lauren Gregory (Fort Collins). The duo worked together to pick people off over the final 1k at USATF to finish in third, 22:11, and fourth, 22:13, to qualify for China. Rainsberger followed up her third place USATF finish by leading Team USA at the APA Pan-American Cross Country Cup with a fifth-place, 16:44 run over the six mile course. On the outdoor track, Rainsberger doubled up at the 75th Chandler Rotary Invitational, taking runner-up honors in both the Mile (US #3 4:52.34) and 800m (US #3 2:12.5).

    Gregory has also dabbled in the middle-distance events as a tune-up for World Cross, recording US #9 2:13.45 800m as well as 4:57.98 for 1,600m and 10:59.02 for 3,200m on the outdoor track circuit.

    Team USA Junior Women: Kaitlyn Benner, Valerie Constien, Lauren Gregory, Katie Rainsberger, Kelsey Schrader, Shaelyn Sorensen

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