Want to see some of the country's best runners showcased in a single race? Saturday, February 7th will feature just that, as Boulder plays host to the 2015 USA Cross Country Championships. Among the dozens of national and international class runners who will take to the mud and grass on Flatirons Golf Course, Colorado will have no shortage of familiar faces among the many vying for a place on the China-bound Team USA for the March 28th World Cross Country Championships, for which the USA Championships acts as a qualifier.

Some of the favorites to watch in the open women's race will be recent Dartmouth grad and NCAA Champion Abbey D'Agostino, Kellyn Taylor from Northern Arizona Elite, Hansons-Brooks Neely Spence, Asics' Sara Hall, BAA's Jennifer Rhines, adidas' Brie Felnagle, 2013 NCAA Cross Country runner-up Emma Bates, 2009 NCAA Cross Country Champion Angela Bizarri, not to mention a legion of Coloradoans.

Among those Colorado hopefuls will be Durango native Laura Thweatt out of Boulder, who is sponsored by Saucony and a member of the Boulder Track Club. Easily one of the nation's best and certainly a contender of the individual crown, Thweatt will look to add a USA Cross Country title to her impressive resume. Most recently, she ran to a repeat victory at the USA Club Cross Country Championships last December in Lehigh, PA. She was also the 2013 victor, and she spent 2014 running PR's in every distance from the 1500, 3k, 5k, 10k and 12k, all the way up to a debut half marathon in 71:02. A 2011 graduate of CU, Thweatt will be racing in front of a home crowd.

"Cross country is my all-time favorite discipline to race," said Thweatt. "The fact that USA's is right here in Boulder just builds the excitement. I look forward to getting out there and enjoying every painful second of it."

Another familiar Colorado face who has lit up the road and cross country scenes is Golden's Brianne Nelson. Racing for Boulder Running Company/adidas, Nelson's 5th place finish at the Club Championships earned her a spot on Team USA for the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country race in Scotland on January 10th, where she led Team USA to finish fourth overall. Heading back to the roads after her time in Scotland, she then ran to a PR at the US Half Marathon Championships in 70:16 to finish second just one week after Bupa.

Also running as part of BRC/adidas, Colorado Springs' Alisha Williams and Rochelle Kanuho had both accompanied Nelson on the US team in Scotland as Williams had placed 4th at the Club Championships and Kanuho took 7th, and the two will also have their eyes on a World Championship team berth. At last year's US Championships, Williams and Kanuho were 5th and 6th respectively.

"I'm really looking forward to racing in Boulder. It's really close to where I grew up, so I'll have quite the cheering section," said Williams.

Another Colorado Springs local, Mattie Suver, now running for Asics, is fresh off of a half marathon personal best of 71:51, which earned her 7th at the U.S. Half Marathon champs.

"My goal is to put myself into a position to place in the top six," Suver said of the race. "It's a really deep field this year, and I'm looking forward to lining up with so many talented women, including a lot of fellow Coloraodans. I love racing cross country, and this year is especially exciting with the U.S. Championships right here in Colorado."

The 2012 USA Club Champion, Suver earned a spot on the 2013 USA Cross Country Team that competed in Poland. She was 3rd at last year's US Cross Country Championships, and she will look to replicate that performance on Saturday.

Recently graduated from Adams State and now running for BRC/adidas will be Alicia Nelson, who will be a wild card and very likely to contend to make the US Team. Nelson is a 9:48 steeplechaser with 17 NCAA D2 All-American titles to her name, 9 of which are individual titles in cross country, the steeplechase, the 3k and the 5k. She is no stranger to the post-college running scene however, as she competed in three U.S. Outdoor Championships on the track in the steeple during her time at Adams.

In addition to Williams, Kanuho, and both Nelson's, other BRC/adidas runners will be Brittni Hutton, and Boulder local and CU alum Rachel Gioscia-Ryan.

Hudson elite will field several strong runners, one being Addie Bracy, who is coming off of a strong marathon PR last December at Cal International, where she earned the A-Standard in 2:35. She will be joined by teammates Maggie Callahan and Amanda Lee.

In addition to Thweatt, Boulder Track Club will see marathoner Wendy Thomas from Windsor, as well as Lauren Fog and Sarah Hutchings, who both competed at Cal International in December.

Both Alia Gray, who finished 8th last year, and Kristen Arendt, formerly of Adams State and now running for Newton, are also likely to be seen near the front of the pack.

Alexa Rodgers, sister to Natosha Rodgers, is a Villanova grad who now coaches at Dakota Ridge High School. She placed a surprise 10th last year, will make another appearance this year, and will be one to watch.

The men's side will also see too many to count vying for a coveted berth in the top 6.

Olympian, former CU Buff, and NCAA cross country champion Dathan Ritzenhein of Nike will make an appearance on his old stomping grounds. With three USA Cross Country titles and multiple U.S. national teams already to his name, he will likely be looking to add another.

But likely to give Ritzenhein a run for his money will be last year's US Champion, Chris Derrick, who won the 2014 Championships by nearly 30 seconds.

Hanson-Brooks runner Jacob Riley was runner-up champion at this year's Club Championship, which was USATF's largest men's Club Cross Country Championship field to date, and will also be in the mix. Riley's Hanson's teammate Bobby Curtis will also be among the frontrunners.

Arguably one of the most versatile runners in the field and strong in everything from the track to the roads to his specialty, mountains and trails, Joe Gray, running for Scott and from Colorado Springs, will be in contention for a top-6 spot. Although Gray was the 2013 Club Cross Country champion, he skipped this year's Clubs to wrap up his mountain running campaign in Asia, but recently showed himself to be in stellar cross country shape with a victory at last Saturday's Winter Classic XC 4 Miler in Boulder.

                                                      Photo by Dave Lehn

"I plan to get out there, run with the best, and let the cards fall where they may," Gray said. "I wouldn't make the trip if I didn't feel that I was a threat to make the U.S. team."

Barely off of Gray's performance last weekend was Boulder Track Club's Sean Quigley, sponsored by Saucony, who is also certain to be seen mixing it up with the front-runners this Saturday. Quigley was 5th at last year's US Championships and 2nd to Gray at the 2013 Club Championships. Quigley recently earned the A-standard for the marathon trials with his 2:13 at November's Fukuoka Marathon.

"This is a great opportunity to test yourself against the country's best, as well as some world class athletes," explained Quigley. "To have the race in Boulder is an added bonus, you feel a sense of calm and familiarity. If everything goes right I'll put myself in the top 6 to represent the USA at the World Championships."

Augustus Maiyo and Hilary Bor, WCAP runners and athletes for the American Distance Project, will both be ones to watch. Others who have an equally good shot at comprising this year's U.S. Team will be Team USA Minnesota's Jon Grey and Erik Finan, Nike's Patrick Smyth, Ben True of Saucony, Mammoth Track Club and Western State Alum Gabe Proctor, Garrett Heath and Ryan Vail of Brooks, adidas' Scott MacPherson, and Adams State's Tabor Stevens.

BRC/adidas' Scotty Dahlberg, assistant cross country and track coach at CSU, has put together a fantastic last year, and could possibly turn some heads on Saturday. Other BRC/adidas runners will be CU graduate and Boulder local Andy Wacker as well as Brandon Johnson.

Joining Quigley among those competing beneath the Boulder Track Club banner will be Curtis Begley, coming off of a Olympic Trials marathon qualifier of 2:17, CU alum and previous Team USA member Clint Wells, Austin Richmond, Jonathan Aziz, Christopher Guerrero, Kyle O'Brien and Andrew Sturner.

Matt Hensley, CU alum Martin Medina, and Kurt Roeser are all from Boulder and will comprise the Boulder Harriers.

Another interesting face in the mix will be mountain and ultra runner extraordinaire Sage Canaday, from Boulder and running for Hoka, who won the 2014 Pikes Peak Ascent and will look to test out his speed with the intention of earning a Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon later this year.

Dan Castle, Matt Williams, and Ben Payne, all of Colorado Springs and running for Air Force have historically been strong contenders in cross country. Williams recently earned his Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon last summer in the half in Duluth, MN.

For anyone wanting to catch what is sure to be some stellar racing action right here in Colorado, there will certainly be no shortage of it in Boulder this Saturday. The women's Master's race will start things off at 8:15 a.m., followed by the Master's men at 9, the High School girl's championship race begins at 10 a.m. and is followed by the boys' race at 10:25. The Junior women's race will start at 10:55 with the Junior Men at 11:30. The women's open race begins at 12:15 followed by the men at 1:00.