USATF Cross Country National Championships, San Diego, CA

Sam Chelanga (US Army) leads Dillon Maggard (unattached), eventual winner Shadrack Kipchirchir (Nike), and Leonard Korir (US Army) in the USATF National Cross Country Championships, held at Mission Bay Park in San Diego, CA on January 8, 2022. The last time USATF hosted the event was in January 2020, before the global pandemic. Kipchirchir had also won the event in 2019, and he was an Olympian in the 10,000 meters in Rio in 2016, but an injury prevented him from competing in the US Olympic Trials in 2021. The women’s race was won by Alicia Monson (On Athletics Club) of Boulder, CO. At 23, Monson is already an Olympian; she competed in the Olympic 10,000 meter final in Tokyo. But it was still a big win for her. “This was my first win as a pro, actually, and then also my first national title,” Monson told mixed zone reporter Shannon Rowbury on the USATF.tv broadcast. “So, it’s a pretty big day for me.”