Much of LetsRun thinks OAC, BTC, UAC, VNTC, ETC all stunk it up at USAs. Instead of all of that being true, maybe people are off the mark on what should realistically be expected from a club at Nats. It’s extremely difficult at this level to get an entire club across a range of distances to be firing on all cylinders over the same 4 days…and again in 6 weeks. And the U.S. has enough depth that On should never have been expected to qualify Monson/Klecker/Nuguse/Andrews/Hurta-Klecker in every event they contested—it was possible, but it would have meant a truly phenomenal showing for the club.
Grading the key On players’ USAs:
Yared Nuguse - A
Ran a controlled and businesslike 3:35.37 from the front in the heats to avoid any possible mishaps, and then proved he has the best kick in a 3:34.90 race in the final. He executed intelligent race plans and ran 12.65 for his last 100 while nobody else was under 13.
Alicia Monson - A-
A-, maybe B+, but the fact is she came in and took care of business. National titles are great but I’m sure the #1 priority was qualifying in both events, and she confidently executed race strategies that ensured she did that. She looked a little tired in the late stages of the 5k, but she still front-ran a 14:55 three days after closing a 10k with a 4:35.96 1600–and, importantly, there’s nothing she could do about Cranny looking surprisingly unbeatable.
Joe Klecker - B
Klecker is on the U.S. team for Budapest, which is more than a lot of good runners can say. Kincaid beat him by 1.5 seconds in the 10k, but Klecker split 2:57.35 for his last 3 laps, which ain’t too shabby, and beat two of the main contenders coming into the race in Chelimo and Fisher. In the 5k I think he may have blown it by shadowing Kincaid, but let’s give credit to McGorty for running shockingly well and splitting 2:23.00 for his last K. Klecker ultimately pipped Teare for 4th, it’s not a major disaster.
Josette Andrews - C+
Yeah of course she’ll be disappointed not to have made the team, so in that sense it was a failure, but 4th place in that field really isn’t that bad. She was 7 seconds ahead of Henes in 5th, 12 seconds ahead of Morgan in 6th, 13 seconds ahead of Kelati in 8th, 22 seconds ahead of Infeld in 9th, and keep in mind one of the biggest players couldn’t even make it to the starting line. U.S. teams are tough to make, and it took Natosha Rogers running the best race of her life to keep Andrews off this one.
Sage Hurta-Klecker - C-
She made the final and finished 4th, but it was worse than it sounds. Her form looked forced and unnatural compared with the athletes beside her, and she had to dig deep to make it out of her semi. I seriously question her tactics in the final, leading through 200 and splitting significantly faster from 100m-200m than anyone else in the field, despite 1500m stamina being her relative strength. She wound up with a 4+ second positive split, and 2:01.19 is just not good for a woman who ran 1:57.85 last year. She should look for a reset, to switch up her training and/or shift focus to the 1500.