Men’s 800m

Who made the team last year: Donovan Brazier, Bryce Hoppel, Jonah Koech, Brandon Miller

Contenders: The U.S men came into the 800m last year with the reigning World Champion, and left with all four runners failing to advance out of the heats. It was the low point in a spectacular championship for the host country, and they will look to bounce back this year with no shortage of contenders.

Will Sumner looked dominant at the beginning of June but after his most recent race admitted to feeling “a little bit flat” this deep into his first collegiate season.

Bryce Hoppel and Clayton Murphy have been the most consistent names on the men’s 800m circuit over the past few years and should be favored to make the team.

Other names further down the list with a chance include Brooks Beasts teammates Isaiah Harris and Devin Dixon, and Isaiah Jewett and Brandon Miller, both of whom are looking to make their second U.S team.

Storyline to watch: Donovan Brazier 2.0? The 2019 World Champion is out for the year with an injury that has kept him off the track since last summer in Eugene, and the U.S. is looking for a star to fill his void. They should look no further than Will Sumner.

Sumner’s freshman season in the SEC went very similarly to Brazier’s back in 2016. Both were high school phenoms humbled at their first indoor championships, Brazier with an injury and Sumner with his slowest time of the season. But both bounced back to run personal bests in the semi-final at the championships outdoors, before blowing away more experienced competition in the final. Sumner’s 1:44.26 is the fastest time by an American collegian since Brazier’s collegiate record of 1:43.55 set in his championship race.

Women’s 800m

Who made the team last year: Athing Mu, Ajee' Wilson, Raevyn Rogers

Contenders: This might be the hardest team to make in the U.S, some big names and fast times are certainly going to be left off, but thanks to Athing Mu, we’ve got four spots to dole out. Twelve-time national champion at the distance Ajee' Wilson has done nothing but prove that she deserves to qualify for her eighth straight U.S. team with the fastest American time this year.

Sage Hurta-Klecker became a regular on the Diamond League circuit last year running sub-2:00 eight times in 2022 alone. Raevyn Rogers will have a chance to defend her spot on last year's team against hungry competitors like Atlanta Track Club teammates Allie Wilson and Olivia Baker and top collegians Roisin Willis, Michaela Rose, and Juliette Whittaker.

Storyline to root for: Roisin Willis has been setting records and winning big races for years now. The high school indoor 800m record holder took home gold in the event at the World U20 Outdoor Championships last year and just finished her freshman season at Stanford where she won the NCAA Indoor title at her signature distance. Since her fourth-place finish at NCAA Outdoors last month she has opened up on social media and in interviews about mental health struggles that plagued her throughout the season. It is the kind of transparency and awareness that allows us to understand how much pressure is on many of these athletes and know that her sharing of her struggle is a sign of strength rather than weakness.

Men’s 1500m

Who made the team last year: Cooper Teare, Josh Thompson, Johnny Gregorek

Contenders: After last year’s tactical mess of a 1500m final at this meet, I wouldn’t expect the same this year. In 2022, a pedestrian early pace meant that several men who didn't have the qualifying standard or ranking finished highly but did not make Team USA, with runner-up Jonathan Davis staying home and 6th-place finisher Johnny Gregorek getting the third spot. Fresh off an American record, Yared Nuguse seems like a lock to make the team, but he has had a spotty championship record in the past, finishing 11th at this race last year. Nuguse should finally get the chance to prove himself on the world stage after injuries plagued him in the leadup to the Tokyo Olympics and last year’s World Championships. The thread of redemption is common throughout a field containing four national champions in the event and no repeat winner since 2016.

Cooper Teare took the title last year but wasn’t his best at Worlds as he toed the line with a stress fracture, Cole Hocker finished first at the U.S. Olympic Trials two years ago but was injured last year and got bounced in the heats. 2019 U.S. Champion Craig Engels and 2016 Olympic Champion Matthew Centrowitz are attempting comebacks of their own but enter the race with season's bests pretty far down the entry list.

They will have their hands full with youngster Hobbs Kessler (who beat Teare and ran 3:32.61 at the LA Grand Prix, a big PB) and fan favorite Eric Holt (coming off of a win in front of a hometown NYC crowd two weeks ago), and a handful of sub-3:35 men including the experienced Johnny Gregorek and U.S Indoor champion Sam Prakel who led this race with just 50m to go last year but faded to 8th.

The big question mark is Josh Thompson. He was the only American to make the World final last year and has raced sparingly and inconsistently this outdoor season. He finished dead last at the LA Grand Prix in 3:51.58, but he did run a PB of 3:52.49 in the mile indoors. If its tactical, expect him to be a factor, but he may not be ready for a 3:33-type race.

Storyline to watch: Cooper Teare deserves more credit in the 1500m as the reigning champion. He's occasionally overlooked in this event because of his 5000m talent and prowess. People forget that he's 2–0 against Hocker and 1–1 against Nuguse (losing by .01s in his sole loss at Hayward Field while in college) in the last two years. This could be a moment for Teare to really stamp himself on people's minds as a 1500m guy. What else does he have to do?!

Women’s 1500m

Who made the team last year: Sinclaire Johnson, Cory McGee, Elle St.Pierre

Contenders: By the end of May, only one American, Josette Andrews, had run under 4:03 this year. This is an event where it has taken a 3:55 or faster to medal at the last three major championships and it looked like the United States would be left completely out of the conversation once again. A flurry of impressive performances has since turned this into my favorite race of the meet and changed my mind.

Cory McGee (4:18.11 mile PB) and Nikki Hiltz (4:18.38 mile PB) put together some of the fastest mile times in American history at the Oslo Dream Mile last month. Emily Mackay and Helen Schlachtenhaufen ran dueling 4:01s at a small meet in New Jersey. And defending champion Sinclaire Johnson is rounding into form with some excellent performances in Eugene.

Johnson tied the American lead in the 1500 just two weeks ago, and before that won the pro 1500m at Nike Outdoor Nationals less than an hour after winning the 800m in 2:01.14.

With Elle St. Pierre taking the season off after giving birth earlier this year, her spot from last year's team is open to contenders like NAIA college standout Addison Wiley, and two sub-4:00 women who have raced very scarcely outdoors this year in Heather MacLean and Elise Cranny.

Storyline to watch: Is Athing Mu serious about the 1500m? Mu and her coach have discussed her plans to run the 1500m at USAs this year but considering she hasn't run the distance in the qualifying window, she could only get in with a special waiver at the “discretion of the Sports Committee Chair.” Mu has dominated the 800m since turning pro with an undefeated record and two gold medals to show for it, but she hasn't raced a further distance since January of last year and her current 1500/mile PBs of 4:16/4:37 are far from competitive in this field.

Men’s 3000m Steeplechase

Who made the team last year: Hillary Bor, Evan Jager, Benard Keter

Contenders: In his second track race of the year back in May, Hillary Bor ran the fastest 3000m steeplechase time by an American in four years... However, he also broke his foot mid-race and has been out of competition since.

Additionally, U.S. record holder Evan Jager, has not run the event all year and is absent from this weekend’s field. With the top two spots from last year open in a race without a true favorite, good luck correctly picking the three-man team.

A group of fast collegians including the top two finishers at NCAAs, BYU’s Kenneth Rooks and Montana State’s Duncan Hamilton will be in the mix. The U.S. Army runners always have a presence in this race and this year is no different with Benard Keter and Anthony Rotich.

Mason Ferlic will be looking to make another team after representing the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics. And don't sleep on Under Armour Dark Sky’s Alec Basten and Isaac Updike or Tinman Elite’s Brian Barraza and Joey Berriatua - they may try to employ team tactics to push each other into the top three.

Storyline to watch: The steeplechase hasn’t really been a star-studded event for the American men since the end of Jager’s peak and that is evident this year. The only American to run under the 8:15 world standard in the qualifying window so far has been Bor, although Andy Bayer's lifetime best is 8:12.47 from 2019. Regardless, that means whoever finishes second and third in the race will either have to run the standard this weekend (or before the window closes at the end of the month) or be high enough in the world rankings system – something no one wants to count on.

Women’s 3000m Steeplechase

Who made the team last year: Emma Coburn, Courtney Wayment, Courtney Frerichs

Contenders: Last year there were three women that were head and shoulders above the competition in the steeplechase, Emma Coburn, Courtney Wayment, and Courtney Frerichs combined for the top seventeen times by Americans in the event. While all three are back and ready to defend their spots, a few names have joined them. In her first professional season, Madie Boreman has dropped her personal best by eleven seconds, not to be outdone, HOKA NAZ Elite’s Krissy Gear improved her best time by fifteen seconds, and NCAA Champion Notre Dame’s Olivia Markezich impressed with her kick last month in Austin. The most vulnerable of last year’s big three may be Frerichs, another Bowerman athlete who has not run her signature race all year

Underdog to watch: One familiar name to keep an eye on is Colleen Quigley who has run her fastest time since 2019. “Steeple Squigs” represented one of Emma Coburn’s biggest “rivals” for most of her career - it's hard to call it a rivalry when Coburn has won all EIGHTEEN head-to-head matchups. They began racing each other back in 2013 where Coburn took the NCAA title over Quigley and both have been staples on U.S teams ever since. Quigley is looking to rejoin team USA after making four World/Olympic finals from 2015 to 2019 (Coburn has made eight teams and won three medals dating back to 2011 missing only one World Championship due to injury in 2013).

Men’s 5000m

Who made the team last year: Grant Fisher, Woody Kincaid, Abdihamid Nur

Contenders: There are five heavy favorites for three spots on this team. U.S. record holder Grant Fisher is looking for another crack at an elusive world medal. Joe Klecker and Woody Kincaid, both of whom are having career seasons, will look to take their rivalry to the biggest stage. Abdihamid Nur and Paul Chelimo have both run a few seconds under the 13:07 world standard and come in with experience on the world stage.

Other athletes with an outside shot at making the team include Cooper Teare - who may just be using the 5000m as insurance in case he misses out on the 1500m (he did this last year), the Very Nice Track Club’s Morgan Beadlescomb, 2:08 marathoner Conner Mantz, and veteran Emmanuel Bor.

Storyline to root for: Joe Klecker just can’t seem to beat Woody Kincaid. The two have developed a bit of a rivalry over the past few months over 5000m/10000m. Klecker has failed to beat Kincaid in a race that he has finished thanks to Woody’s strong kick that has put him just ahead of Klecker countless times. Dating back to the Olympic Trials in 2021, Kincaid has topped Klecker by less than two seconds in four separate races – a very small margin for the longest distances run on the track. As both become regulars on U.S. teams, they will have plenty more opportunities to go head-to-head, could this be the day Klecker crosses the finish line first?

Women’s 5000m

Who made the team last year: Elise Cranny, Karissa Schweizer, Emily Infeld

Contenders: There’s a new team at the top of U.S women’s distance running, and the On Athletics Club is ready for its close-up. Alicia Monson and Josette Andrews have the two fastest 5000m times by Americans this year by a wide margin. The Boulder-based athletes seem like heavy favorites to make the team so the competition for that last spot will be fierce. The next group of women who have all run under 15:00 this year - Emily Infeld, Weini Kelati, and Elly Henes all have an argument for the spot. Not to be counted out, a fresh Katelyn Tuohy and PUMA Elite teammates Natasha Rogers and Taylor Werner would like a word as well.

Storyline to watch: How will Bowerman perform? The annual question for Jerry Schumacher’s athletes, epitomized by the seasons of Elise Cranny and Karissa Schweizer. Cranny struggled in her only 5000m this outdoor season, and Schweizer’s only appearance on the track in 2023 was to pace the first few kilometers of that race. At this point, the approach should not be doubted considering Schweizer won the 10000m last year at the Prefontaine Classic - serving as the national championship - and the two finished first and second in the 5000m at USAs. But it's still fair to question what level Schweizer is at given the last time we saw her in a race she intended to finish (almost twelve months ago) she DNF’d the 5000m final last year at Worlds with a season-ending calf injury.

Men’s 10,000m

Who made the team last year: Joe Klecker, Grant Fisher, Sean McGorty

Contenders: Many of the names are the same as the 5000m. Grant Fisher, Joe Klecker, Woody Kincaid, and Paul Chelimo are at the top of the list. Conner Mantz is not far behind. Kincaid will be looking for redemption after he had to drop out of last year’s national championship due to cramping. A few contenders will be putting all of their eggs into the 10,000m basket including Fisher’s Bowerman teammate Sean McGorty, who has yet to race this year, and 38-year-old Sam Chelanga who comes in with the fifth fastest time by an American at the distance this year.

Storyline to root for: Grant Fisher has been America’s best shot at a World medal in the 10,000m since Galen Rupp’s silver medal finish at the 2012 Olympics. Fisher has come agonizingly close to taking home some hardware. The American record holder - which he took from Rupp - is a clear favorite to make his third straight 10,000m team and should hope that his natural progression from fifth in Tokyo, to fourth in Eugene, results in a podium finish in Budapest.