2017 IAAF World XC Championships

Five Facts To Know About The Team USA Women At World Cross

Five Facts To Know About The Team USA Women At World Cross

This Sunday, the senior women's team of Sarah Pagano, Elaina Balouris, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Natosha Rogers, Stephanie Bruce and Emily Pritt will compete for Team USA at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda.

Mar 23, 2017 by Taylor Dutch
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The U.S. senior women's team of Sarah Pagano, Elaina Balouris, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Natosha Rogers, Stephanie Bruce, and Emily Pritt is heading to Kampala, Uganda, to compete at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships on Sunday. Here are five facts to know about Team USA heading into this weekend's race.

Emily Pritt made the team while working a full-time job

Emily Pritt finished ninth at the USA Cross Country Championships and prepared for the meet by balancing training and a full-time job as a media relations assistant for the Portland Timbers soccer team. Scott Olberding conducted a great interview with Pritt that helped track fans get to know the unsponsored member of Team USA. 

Through college at NC State, also where she started dating world championship finalist Ryan Hill, Pritt suffered from an intense injury cycle but managed to make a comeback. The 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships will mark her first international team appearance for Team USA since competing on the world junior team in 2009. 

BAA teammates Sarah Pagano, Elaina Balouris have been rolling in cross country

Most recently, Sarah Pagano and Elaina Balouris ran together at the USA Cross Country Championships and took home fifth- and sixth-place finishes in Bend, Oregon. The training partners also competed at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country Meet in January, where they both finished in the top 13. Pagano and Balouris are also part of the same Boston Athletic Association team that put together a Justin Bieber parody music video. 



Mom of two Stephanie Bruce continues to inspire 

Last year, we watched Stephanie Bruce make an unbelievable comeback after giving birth to two babies in two years. At the 2016 Stanford Invitational, Bruce had to run a 10-second personal best and an Olympic standard six months after giving birth to her second child in order to qualify to compete at the Olympic Trials. She defied the odds when she ran 32:14.42 to dip just under the mark. Along the way, Bruce inspired many by posting photos of her postpartum body and blogging about her experiences of trying to get back to fitness. 

Carrying the momentum from a stellar runner-up finish at the California International Marathon, Bruce's seventh-place result at U.S. cross qualified her to compete for her first international team since 2010. 

Watch Bruce's last workout before flying to Kampala:



Aliphine Tuliamuk is a road racing monster

Aliphine Tuliamuk's win at the USA Cross Country Championships is just one in a series of victories on difficult terrain. In 2016, Tuliamuk finished top four in eight competitive road racing showdowns, notably with a national title at the USATF 25K Championships. 

This year, Tuliamuk has secured a fifth-place finish at the World's Best 10K race in San Juan, Puerto Rico; a sixth-place finish at the Gate River Run 15K in Jacksonville, Florida; and a half marathon season's best of 69:58 in Houston. 

Natosha Rogers left the sport at one point -- and made a comeback

In 2012, Natosha Rogers was on top of the world. While running for Texas A&M, she won the NCAA championship in the 10K and finished second to Amy Cragg at the Olympic Trials. But illness and injury derailed Rogers' progress the following season and ultimately led her to make a tough decision. She chose to leave the sport and focus on finding a balance in her life. Rogers was studying abroad in Argentina during the summer of 2013 when she started running again and ultimately made the decision to give running one more shot. In March of 2014, Rogers joined Mark Coogan's training group in Boston. 

Since returning to the sport, Rogers has notched a personal best of 15:28 in the 5K and finished 13th in the 10K at the Olympic Trials last year. The IAAF World Cross Country Championships will mark Rogers' first time competing on an international team.