2018 Club Cross Country Runners-Up Lead 2019 Fields

By Adam Kopet

Hillary Bor and Anne-Marie Blaney both finished second at the 2018 USATF National Club Cross Country Championships and are the top returners for Saturday's event in Bethlehem, Pa.

ENTRIES

The men's race features Bor and two other American Distance Project runners, Lawi Lalang, who is in his first year of U.S. eligibility, and Michael Jordan.

Last year's team winners, Tinman Elite, have brought a strong squad that includes Morgan Pearson, Connor Winter, Jeff Thies and Brian Barraza. They may be challenged by the HOKA New Jersey-New York Track Club, whose team includes Travis Mahoney, Kyle Merber, Jeremy Hernandez and Isaac Updike.

Other athletes to watch in the men's race include Jacob Riley, Tyler McCandless and Dillon Maggard. Riley and McCandless are dropping down in distance after racing fall marathons. Riley was the top American finisher at the Chicago Marathon. Maggard, has shown success over the 10K cross country distance before, as he finished sixth at the 2017 NCAA Division 1 Cross Country Championships. 

The women's race features the top-two teams from last year's race. Blaney leads the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project and will race alongside teammates in Olivia Pratt and Natosha Rogers. Molly Grabill leads the Nomad Track Club which won in 2018.

This year's race features several notable individuals. Top of the list is high school Nike Cross Nationals champion Katelyn Tuohy, a senior at North Rockland NY. She has reportedly recovered from her NXN win last week and is ready to race the 6K distance for the first time.

Maintaining a New York theme, Aisling Cuffe, a former New York high school phenom who has seen many of her state and course records broken by Tuohy, is racing. Also in the field is Ce'Aira Brown, who competed in the 800 meters at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships this year.

After running a personal best for the indoor 5,000 meters last week in Boston, Dani Shanahan could also be a factor in the race. She ran 15:26.91.