This past week’s USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships showed us who is #1. Weeks and weeks of Team USA Projections and analyzing the ups and downs of the professional circuit led us to (stupidly) believe we knew exactly who would be heading to Beijing. But as with any sporting event, there are upsets and there are cinderella stories. Here are some of the biggest surprises from the Championships.

Sanya Richards-Ross

One of the most overlooked upsets of the weekend may have been 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Sanya Richards-Ross failing to make the finals of the 400m. Some have thought Richards-Ross wasn’t quite on her game this season, having lost to collegians Courtney Okolo and Kendall Baisden at the Michael Johnson Classic in Waco, Texas on April 18. She fired back, however, with a 49.45 win at the Jamaica Invite on May 9, the earliest sub-50 second performance of her career since 2006. All signs pointed toward Richards-Ross advancing to Beijing, even with Allyson Felix moving up to the distance and world-leader Francena McCorory in the field.

Alas, the American record-holder, Meet record-holder and Hayward Field record-holder Richards-Ross finished fifth in her semi-final, running 50.95, .27 behind Jessica Beard. It got more dicey when McCorory finished fourth in the final, with newcomer Felix winning in 50.19. If Felix chooses to run the 200m in Beijing and opt out of the 400m, McCorory will get the last 400m spot. Will Richards-Ross earn a spot on the relay pool? She’s been a part of FIVE world championship 4x4s. Time will tell.

Duane Solomon

First Boris Berian, the fifth-ranked 800m runner in the world for 2015, failed to qualify for the finals. However the biggest upset in the men’s 800m race was what erupted in the final. What Duane Solomon did in the finals of the 800m shocked audiences at Hayward and at home. Solomon, the 2x defending U.S. Champion, took the race out in 49.7, world-record pace that he informed the media of days before. For only Solomon’s third 800m race of 2015, he hit a wall over the final 120m, eventually collapsing to his knees and walking in the final straightaway. It was a risk and he addressed it after the performance, but this was obviously a huge mistake which cost him a spot on Team USA. Solomon was sixth in Moscow in 2013 and fourth in the London Olympics, and now the U.S. will be represented by a new generation of half miler studs, Big Ten alumni Erik Sowinski and Cas Loxsom. With Nick Symmonds leading the charge in Beijing, can he lead these young pups through the rounds?

Women’s 1500m Squad

On paper I think everybody could have picked Jenny Simpson and Shannon Rowbury to go 1-2 in the 1500m final. Who would take third and fourth, though? Because Simpson has the auto-qualifier from winning the 2014 Diamond League, four U.S. ladies get to go to Beijing - IF they have the IAAF “A” standard. Kerri Gallagher finished third in 4:15.81 and Lauren Johnson fourth in 4:16.08. These two ladies boast PBs of 4:08.70 and 4:07.33, respectively, and took down the likes of Treniere Moser, Heather Kampf, Sarah Brown, and Gabe Grunewald. And did I mention 4:03 high schooler Alexa Efraimson did not make the final? The “A” standard is 4:06.50 and they have until August 10th to get it. Cory McGee was in the same boat in 2013 and managed to lower her PB by 3 seconds (4:09 to 4:06) at a meet in Heusden nearly one month before the World Championships, so it can be done. But big props to Gallagher and Johnson for kicking when it counts!

Bernard Lagat

Bernard Lagat not making a team is… just unheard of. A little loss-for-words kind of moment. Lagat has been a forefront of World Championship and Olympic Teams since his bronze medal in the 1500m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Granted that was for Kenya, Lagat has been winning U.S. titles since 2006, and while he’s now 40-years-old, he has showed no signs of slowing down, or was this is first glimpse of retirement? Lagat faded over the final 400m, unable to close under 60-seconds, a usual circumstance in championship 5K races. While 25-year-old Ryan Hill closed in 54.59, Lagat fell to 10th place, closing in 62.70. Lagat cited an illness from traveling to and from Europe over the past couple of weeks that forced him to back off of training, and that is a perfectly logical reasoning for not having that final push in the race. Over the next coming weeks maybe it will become more clear of just how sharp Lagat is and if the end of one of the most decorated runners in history is approaching.

Jasmin Stowers

Someone was bound to get left home. In the deepest field at the U.S. Championships, it was the former world-leader Jasmin Stowers who failed to qualify for her first world team. While veteran Dawn Harper-Nelson reminded everyone that you don’t necessarily need to run blazing fast before the U.S. Championships, the heavy favorites Sharika Nelvis (Who ran a world-leading 12.34 in the prelims) and Stowers finished third and fifth. While Nelvis earned her ticket to Beijing, she didn’t exactly seem thrilled with her place. And world-ranked No. 7 Queen Harrison was extremely emotional with her fourth-place finish, just missing out on Team USA by .01. Stowers currently owns the No. 2, 4, and 5 fastest times in the world right now and will likely channel her frustrations through conquering the Diamond League this summer.