High Schoolers Will Lead Charge For U.S. Women At World U20s

For most of the U.S. athletes, it'll be the first time competing internationally, but they certainly boast impressive resumes.

Both USATF U20 champion Irene Riggs and fifth-place finisher Karrie Baloga won national cross country titles as seniors this fall and start as two of the U.S.'s top competitors, with Riggs taking home the Team Nationals gold and Baloga winning the Champs Sports title.

Riggs had one of the most impressive cross country seasons in high school history where she went undefeated and clocked a US No. 2 all-time 16:02.10 at the Team Southeast Regional, and she'll enter World U20s as the favorite to lead Team USA after winning the USATF cross country title in 19:45.00 for 6k.

Elite high schoolers Ellie Shea, Zariel Macchia and Allie Zealand also had strong fall cross country showings of their own, too, with Shea earning runner-up to Baloga at Champs Sports and Macchia and Zealand both finishing among the top 10 at Champs Sports and Garmin RunningLane. 

Shea joined Riggs as the two athletes to dip under 20 minutes in the USATF 6k championship race, clocking 19:48.00 for second.

Meanwhile, Klingbeil and Ton-That enter Saturday's championships following stellar freshmen cross country seasons that saw both athletes compete at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in November. Each earned All-Region honors during cross country for their performances at the Southeast and Northeast regional meets en route to nationals.

Though it will be the first time for most of the U.S. squad toeing the line outside the country, not all of Team USA enters the championships lacking experience on the world stage.

Six months ago, Baloga donned the red, white and blue for the first time in international competition at the World U20 Outdoor Championships, placing 11th in the 3,000m steeplechase.

Three of the top five finishers from that steeplechase final will also toe the line in Australia on Saturday, including U20 champion Faith Cherotich of Kenya.

18-year-old Cherotich enters largely as the girl to beat, who already has a U20 outdoor gold, a Kenyan U20 mile record and Diamond League experience to her name.

On the team front, it's Ethiopa that's favored to win it's fourth-straight women's U20 title, with the Kenyan and Ugandan squads likely in the mix as well.