Aisling Cuffe Outduels Katelyn Tuohy in Battle of New York Cross Country All-Stars

By Adam Kopet

Morgan Pearson and Aisling Cuffe were crowned USATF National Club Cross Country champions Saturday at Lehigh University.

RESULTS | RACE VIDEOS

Pearson broke away from the field near the middle of the race to earn a decisive victory, running 29:54 for 10K. With his Tinman Elite teammate Aaron Templeton finishing second in 30:07, the pair led their team to victory, scoring 22 points.

Dillon Maggard and Jacob Riley finished third and fourth, running 30:17 and 30:18, respectively. Hillary Bor rounded out the top five, running 30:28.

The women's race saw a duel between the top two cross country runners to come out of New York in the past decade. Cuffe and Katelyn Tuohy were side by side with 400 meters remaining in the 6K race. Cuffe, a former All-American at Stanford, pulled away from the high school senior from North Rockland NY to win by four seconds. Cuffe crossed the line in 20:07 and Tuohy finished in 20:11.

Cally Macumber, Natosha Rogers and Dani Shanahan rounded out the top five. Macumber finished third in 20:15. Rogers, who had a sizable gap on the field through the middle of the race, finished fourth in 20:17. Shanahan was fifth in 20:18.

Jenna Hinkle led the HOKA Aggie Running Club to the team title with her sixth-place finish in 20:20. The team scored 73 points.

Mary Cain, who continues to make her return to racing since leaving the Nike Oregon Project, finished 33rd in 21:11.