SAN DIEGO, Calif. (January 19, 2019) - Northern Arizona men's long distance runner
Corey Gorgas won the junior men's title at the U.S.A. Track & Field (USATF) Cross Country Championships this past weekend in San Diego, Calif. His performance has now made him eligible for Team USATF at the Pan American Cross Country Championships in Victoria, Canada on February 29, 2020. The top six athletes in both the men's and women's junior and senior races Saturday were eligible to run in Canada next month.
Full results from the Junior Men's 8K Championship race can be found
here. The race can be viewed with a
USATF.TV +PLUS subscription.
Gorgas, a true freshman from Saugatuck, Mich., dominated the under-20 field as he finished the race in 25:44.8. The next closest finisher, Evan Bishop of East Grand Rapids, Mich., crossed the finish line at 26:21.6.
The Junior Men's 8K Championship saw Gorgas line up against some of the top young collegiate distance runners in the country as well as unattached athletes and teams. He was set to do battle with two other Michigan natives in Bishop and Alex Comerford, who currently runs for Syracuse and placed fourth in the 8K on Saturday. Bishop only lives about 40 miles to the northeast of Gorgas's hometown. To make the event even more exciting it was also the Gorgas's first race in more than a year.
During the first split of the 8K Gorgas and a heavy group of 11 runners were all within at least four seconds of each other keeping the pace honest. He would find his way into the top spot in the pack by the second split after moving up six places from seventh to first. Gorgas never let off the gas after moving into the front of the group as he steadily increased his lead. When it was all said and done Gorgas was well over half a minute ahead of the competition.
Gorgas will return to Flagstaff to work and train with the NAU program before heading to Canada in February for the Pan American XC Championships. The NAU track & field program will be back in the Skydome for the annual Mountain T's Invite on Jan. 31st and Feb. 1st as it will host its third of four home indoor meets in 2020.
For more information on Northern Arizona men's and women's track & field, follow @NAUTrackFieldXC on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
