2004 Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor and fellow Olympian Anthony Famiglietti lead the fields for the men's and women's USA 8 km Championships, hosted by the New York Road Runners Club this Saturday, March 26. The race will be held in an around Icahn Track and Field Stadium, located on Randall's Island.

Also the hometown favorite born in Port Jefferson, N.Y., Famiglietti will lead a men's contingent that consists of seven fellow Olympians. Other challenges for the men's title will come from the likes of, Jorge Torres, Team USA's top finisher (13th) in the 4 km at the recent IAAF World Cross Country Championships, and Ryan Shay, who earlier this month won his fifth national title at the USA Men's 15 km Championships.

Kastor, who will be making her season debut, will be returning to New York for her first race since running the ING New York City Marathon only nine weeks after her bronze-medal effort at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The most intense challenge for Kastor will come from fellow Olympic marathoner and 2005 USA 15 km champion Jen Rhines. The duo will be joined at the front of the women's race by Olympians Carrie Tollefson and Amy Rudolph.

The USA 8 km Championships is the third stop for the men and the second for women on the 2005 USA Running Circuit (USARC) and will feature $40,000 in prize money with $5,000 for the first place man and woman.

USA 8K Championships Top Seeds

MEN

Bib#/Athlete/Residence
2 Anthony Famiglietti, New York, NY
3 Bolota Asmerom, Oakland, CA
5 Jonathon Riley, Palo Alto, CA
6 Adam Goucher, Boulder, CO
7 Jorge Torres, Boulder, CO
8 Abdi Abdirahman, Tucson, AZ
9 James Carney, Marina, CA
10 Ryan Shay, East Jordan, MI
11 Mike Donnelly, Portland, OR
12 Matt Downin, Norwood, NJ
14 Paul Kezes, Eugene, OR
15 Matt Gabrielson, St. Paul, MN
17 Pete Julian, Boulder, CO
18 Luke Watson, Stillwater, MN
21 Dan Wilson, Blowing Rock, NC

WOMEN

1 Deena Kastor, Mammoth Lakes, CA
2 Jen Rhines, Ardmore, PA
3 Carrie Tollefson, St. Paul, MN
4 Amy Rudolph, Providence, RI
5 Katie McGregor, St. Louis Park, MN
6 Sylvia Mosqueda, Los Angeles, CA
7 Collette Liss, Indianapolis, IN
8 Amy Begley, Albuquerque, NM
9 Briana Shook, Toledo, OH
10 Laura O'Neill, New Haven, CT
11 Amy Mortimer, West Roxbury, MA
12 Nicole Aish, Gunnison, CO
14 Melissa Cook, Flower Mound, TX
15 Jenny Crain, Milwaukee, WI
16 Milena Glusac, Fallbrook, CA
17 Lucinda Hull, Raleigh, NC
18 Ann McGranahan, Newport, VA
19 Sara Wells, Edina, MN
20 Christin Wurth-Thomas, Springdale, AR