Karissa Schweizer, Isaiah Harris, Charlene Lipsey, and Ky Robinson Just a Few of the Headliners for Saturday's Event

By Scott Bush
Photo: Isaiah Harris competes at the NYC Grand Prix. John Nepolitan photo.

The first stop of the Under Armour Sunset Tour gets underway Saturday at Occidental College in Los Angeles, as the showcase brings together a collection of some of the finest distance runners in the world. Whether fans are in-person in southern California or watching live on RunnerSpace, viewers are in for a treat with the talented and balanced fields set up for all athletes to challenge seasonal and personal bests.

Watch Live on RunnerSpace (Sat., 6:50pm PT) | Meet Schedule and Event Entries

Here are five of the top races to be contested Saturday:

Men’s 5000m – 9:10pm PT Start 

This race is loaded with international talent. Headlining the race are former Stanford teammates Ky Robinson and Charles Hicks. Robinson, who won both the 5000m and 10,000m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June, is in prime shape, having finished 10th in the 5000m at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting three weeks ago.

Hicks, who now trains with the Bowerman Track Club, finished second in the 10,000m to Robinson at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and sixth in the 5000m. He followed up those performances in Austin with a fourth place finish in the 5000m at the UK Athletics Championships and only last week won the 5000m at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Finland. 

Hicks’ Bowerman Track Club teammate Kieran Tuntivate, who represents Thailand, recently ran a season’s best in the 5000m at the Night of Athletics in Belgium, finishing 10th in the 5000m in 13:15.67. Tuntivate is joined in Los Angeles by On Athletics Club’s Morgan McDonald, who has yet to race this season, but seems in strong shape heading into Saturday’s contest. 

Ahmed Muhumed, who placed eighth in the 5000m at the USATF Outdoor Championships, is having a strong 2023 campaign. His top ten showing in Eugene was impressive, but he also has a 13:16.09 PR effort in the 5000m coming back in May. 

Canada’s Ben Flanagan and Sam Parsons, who represents Germany, are other big names entered in the 5000m. Flanagan edged Muhamed at the Track Festival back in May, running a PR effort of 13:13.97, while Parsons finished third in the 5000m at the German Athletics Championships two weeks ago.

Women’s 5000m – 9:25pm PT Start

Seven women entered in the 5000m have PRs under 15:10, with a number of them running those PR efforts this season, all of which lines up Saturday’s women’s 5000m with a chance to see multiple women challenge sub-15. 

Bowerman Track Club’s Karissa Schweizer is entered in both the 1500m and 5000m, but should she choose to run the 5000m she’ll easily be considered the pre-race favorite. Schweizer, who opened up her 2023 season at the USATF Outdoor Championships with a strong fifth place showing in the 10,000m. 

Whittni Morgan and Abby Nichols are two others who will challenge for victory. Morgan had a strong indoor season, culminating with a runner-up finish in the 3000m at the USATF Indoor Championships. Her season was relatively quiet outdoors until the USATF Outdoor Championships, where she placed sixth in the 5000m final. She’ll look to build on that success in Los Angeles. 

Meanwhile, Nichols seeks to build off her 10th-place finish in the 5000m at the USATF Outdoor Championships. The HOKA Northern Arizona Elite standout ran a new 5000m best of 15:09.60 at the Track Festival back in May. Since the USATF Outdoor Championships, she’s raced two 1500m races in Canada, setting back-to-back PRs in the event with 4:08.13 and 4:07.47 efforts.

Schweizer’s teammate Vanessa Fraser, who challenged for a top three finish in the 10,000m at the USATF Outdoor Championships until she faded back to 12th place, seems poised to challenge a sub-15 clocking. Her PR is 15:05.04.

Emily Lipari is another top runner to keep an eye on. While Lipari finished a disappointing 17th in the 5000m at the USATF Outdoor Championships, she bounced back last weekend to place sixth on the roads at the USATF Women’s 6 km Championships. She nearly set a PR back in May in the 5000m at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix when she won the contest in 15:08.87.

Julie-Anne Staehli of Canada is another top performer who should challenge for the win. Staehli, who owns a PR of 14:57.50 set in 2021, is having a tremendous 2023 season. She placed 40th at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships back in February and more recently set an outdoor seasonal best in the 5000m of 15:22.52 at the Harry Jerome Track Classic.

Veteran Aisha Praught-Leer and young Brooks Beasts pro Kayley DeLay, who placed 12th in the 3000m steeplechase final at the USATF Outdoor Championships, are two others who should challenge for top five.

Men’s 1500m – 8:25pm PT Start

Six 1500m finalists from the USATF Outdoor Championships are entered in a highly competitive men’s 1500m on Saturday. Leading the charge is Brooks Beasts standout Henry Wynne, who placed fifth at the USATF outdoor Championships and missed out on a top three finish by a mere half second. Wynne’s 2023 campaign has been impressive, including a runner-up finish in the 1500m at the USATF Indoor Championships. His consistency has been key to his success this season.

Wynne is joined in Los Angeles by Drew Hunter, Johnny Gregorek, Matthew Centrowitz, Josh Thompson, and Eric Holt. All five men made the 1500m final in Eugene, with Hunter placing eighth, Gregorek ninth, Centrowitz 10th, Thompson 11th, and Holt 12th. 

Craig Engels, who just missed the final of the 1500m at the USATF Outdoor Championships, Festus Lagat, and Rob Heppenstall add to the depth of the field, which should make for an extremely fast outcome as the entire field eyes new seasonal bests.

Women’s 800m – 7:35pm PT Start

The women’s 800m field at the Under Armour Sunset Tour is simply incredible. With nine athletes all owning PRs between 1:57.38-2:01.65, the race is poised to have the entire field challenging sub-2.

Leading the way is veteran Charlene Lipsey. Lipsey placed fifth in the 800m final at the USATF Outdoor Championships less than two weeks ago, nearly kicking her way onto Team USA. Lipsey has run sub-2:02 five times this season, including a seasonal best of 1:59.26 when she placed second at the Music City Track Carnival. 

Sammy Watson, who placed seventh in the 800m final at the USATF Outdoor Championships, is another top entry. Still only 23, Watson brings another veteran presence to the field, as she looks to break the two-minute barrier for the first time this season. 

After placing ninth in the 1500m final, Laurie Barton of the Brooks Beasts looks to challenge for the win in the two-lap race. Barton placed fifth in the 800m at the USATF Indoor Championships and owns a seasonal best in the 800m of 2:01.79.

Italy’s Sintayehu Vissa, who trains with the On Athletics Club and was the 2022 NCAA Outdoor champion in the 1500m, tests herself over the 800m distance for the first time this season. Vissa ran 4:01.98 at the Golden Gala back in June and seems poised to challenge her 800m PR of 2:01.06.

Recently graduated high school star Sophia Gorriaran won the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships 800m title less than two weeks ago and will challenge the pros for the win. She’s joined by former University of Florida standout Imogen Barrett, 800m veteran Sabrina Southerland, Uganda’s Susan Aneno, and former NCAA Indoor champion Aaliyah Miller.

Men’s 800m – 7:30pm PT Start

The highest placing finish at the USATF Outdoor Championships entered at the Under Armour Sunset Tour on Saturday is Brooks Beasts star Isaiah Harris. Harris had an impressive showing in Eugene less than two weeks ago, placing second in the 800m final in 1:46.68 and earning a spot on Team USA for the World Athletics Championships next month in Budapest. He’ll be chasing the World Championship standard in Los Angeles and the race will be set-up give him a great chance to get it.

Harris is joined by fellow USATF Outdoor Championships 800m finalist CJ Jones. Jones, who runs for Under Armour, ran a near PR of 1:46.61 to qualify for the 800m final in Eugene, and will look to challenge his PR of 1:46.22 in Los Angeles. 

Devin Dixon, also of the Brooks Beasts, and Australia’s Charlie Hunter are also entered. Both athletes have been two of the more consistent 800m runners in the world this season. While Dixon narrowly missed making the final in Eugene, and Hunter is still looking to break 1:46 this season, both are fully capable of earning the win in Los Angeles.

Other top contenders include Ghana’s Alex Amankwah, who won the Music City Track Carnival in June in 1:45.12, NCAA 800m finalist Crayton Carrozza, Nigeria’s Edose Ibadin, who recently placed second in the 800m at the Harry Jerome Track Classic 800m in 1:45.66, Puerto Rico’s John Rivera, who placed third behind Ibadin at the Harry Jerome Track Classic in 1:45.93, and reigning Jamaican 800m champion Rajay Hamilton.

With seven men entered with PRs under 1:46, the race is set-up perfectly for a number of PR efforts from the field.