National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

The following are some of the top national and regional highlights for the past week of the 2013 prep cross-country season, through meets of Sept. 7.  Highlights are alphabetical, by state, with the most significant meets followed by additional key performances (“Also ...”).  NSAF meet credentials of notable athletes are in italics.  Team and individual ranking references are from DyeStat.com latest national and regional rankings -- except when otherwise noted.

ALABAMA - Ft. Walton Beach invades Mobile

• Mobile Challenge of Champions, Sept. 6-7, Langan Park, Mobile, 5k – Fort Walton Beach, ranked FACA #2 in 3A for both boys and girls, came up and over from Florida to sweep the invitational divisions.  For the girls, soph Emma Rudman lead the winners with a 3rd-place 19:33.30, as they scored 74 points to defeat Ocean Springs MS 104, Parkway LA 172, and Starkville MS 190 in the 18-team field.  Individually, it was Starkville frosh Kate Mattox – the defending 5A state champ – prevailing in 18:51.25 ahead of Parkway sr Alison Ringle 19:05.21, Rudman, and Pass Christian MS soph Regen McGee 19:40.34. Regen is the younger sister of Cory McGee, who had multiple top-3 finishes in NSAF indoor and outdoor meets during a prep career that concluded in 2010.
  In the boys’ race, the Niceville FL senior duo of defending 3A state champ Thomas Howell 15:59.29 and Nicholas Morken 16:03.58 took 1-2, but then Fort Walton Beach claimed the next three spots: Senior Charlie Shackleford 16:15.26, and juniors Demery Benedict 16:18.98 and Trey LaNasa 16:28.88.  FWB scored 35 to Niceville’s 56, followed by John Curtis LA 92 and Brother Martin LA 145 in the 16-team field.

CALIFORNIA - Saugus girls win showdown; Tamagno, WY stars still rolling

• Great Cow Run, Sept. 7, Cerritos Regional Park, 3M – US#55 super soph Austin Tamagno, a 4:09.43 1600 runner as a frosh (#2 9th-grader ever), ran a 14:31 that’s 2nd only to Elias Gedyon’s course record in winning the boys race by 24 seconds over US#16 El Modena sr Sydney Gidabuday’s 14:55.  Fountain Valley sr Hunter Gulino was another tick back.  CA#9 Redondo Union’s boys won a deep, high-quality affair with 84 points to CA#12 Loyola’s 87.  Following were Fountain Valley 128, California 147 and US#7/CA#2 Long Beach Poly 169 in the field of 27. 
  South Torrance jr Kimberly Coscia won the girls race in 17:54, followed by Cypress jr Alyssa Allen 18:06 and Los Alamitos sr Claire Rainey 18:12.  In a team race even closer than the boys’, MLK Riverside nipped Poly, 85-86, followed by Redondo with 112 among the 20 teams.
• Saugus September Showdown, Sept. 7, Saugus Central Park, 3M – A unique quad meet featuring four defending girls’ state champions went to 2012 D2 titlist and traditional powerhouse US#17/CA#6 Saugus, which scored 29 to US#2/CA#1 Great Oak’s 44 (D1 defender).  Great Oak had a ‘B’ team in 3rd, followed closely by D3 defender Brea Olinda and D4 defender JSerra.  Individually, Saugus jr Samantha Ortega prevailed in 17:59, followed by Great Oak soph Destiny Collins 18:12.
  In the boys’ race, Great Oak rode a 1-2 finish by Tony Robinson and Nick Doan, both at 15:27, and scored 26 points – 33 up on Saugus.
• Also ... US#6 San Lorenzo Valley sr Anna Maxwell, a World Youth 1,500 finalist and 6th in the NBNO mile this summer, dominated the Earlybird Invitational (Sept. 7, Toro Park, Salinas, 3M) with a 17:23 – winning by nearly 1:30 ... Palisades Charter jr and 2012 Foot Locker West champ Marissa Williams won the Seaside Invite (Sept. 6, San Buenaventura Beach Park, Ventura, 3M) in 16:40, while Oak Park sr Sahm Bazargan won the boys race in 14:28 ... US#2 Stockton sr and World Youth 1,500 finalist Blake Haney won the DeNike Invite (Arroyo Grande, 4k) in 12:10.

COLORADO - Rainsberger, Colter, Cranny a CO girls "Big Three"

• St. Vrain Invite, Sept. 7, Lyons HS, Lyons, 5k – State #1 teams (co.milesplit rankings) Monarch girls (US#14/SW#2) and Mountain Vista boys (US#28/SW#2) upheld their rankings here with room to spare in the 4A/5A races.  Monarch scored 47 to top Pine Creek 86, Classical Academy 107 and 22 other girls’ teams, while Mountain Vista’s 51 easily beat Monarch 116, Air Academy 147, Lyons 147 and 22 other boys’ teams.
  There were impressive individual performances, too, as US#7 Air Academy soph Katie Rainsberger 18:09 ran away from the Monarch 1-2 of Kaitlyn Benner 19:01 and Ashley Litoff 19:20, while red-hot Denver East senior Cerake Geberkidane blasted a 15:15 to far outrun Lyons sr and 2012 CO 2A champ Paul Roberts 15:57 and Pine Creek jr Zachary Alhamra 16:01.
• Cherry Creek Invite, Sept. 6, Cherry Creek State Park, Greenwood Village, 5k – US#9 Cherry Creek jr Jordyn Colter’s considerable talent was on display as the 2012 Foot Locker #4 finisher dominated in 17:52, 54 seconds up on Fort Collins’ Lauren Gregory.  She also led her US#37/SW#6 Cherry Creek team to a victory over the US#9/SW#1 Lambkins, 36-40, with Wheat Ridge way back in 3rd with 135 in the 17-team field. 
  Douglas County’s Jake Lucero ran 16:18 to take the boys race over Cherry Creek jr Daniel Book 16:27 and sr Shane Rhodes 16:31.  That 2-3 finish helped SW#15 Cherry Creek get the sweep with 82 pts over Heritage 86, Arapahoe 99 and Fort Collins 108 among 16 schools.
• Centaurus Invite, Sept. 7, Waneka Lake Park, Lafayette, 5k – 4:15 1500 runner and defending 4A state champ Elise Cranny made her seasonal debut as a Niwot senior, winning easily in 17:47.5 over a good field that included Fairview sr Isabelle Kennedy 18:30.4, D’Evelyn soph Lexi Reed 18:35.8, and Legacy jr Emma Gee 18:47.5.  Cranny won the NBNI mile this past March in her breakout race.  She led Niwot to the win with 84 points, with Fairview 89 and Legacy 104 finishing a clear top three on the 21-team field.
  Niwot also took a tighter boys race with 132, followed by Arvada West 145.

ILLINOIS - Sweep for Hinsdale Central

• Hornet Red Devil, Sept. 7, Katherine Legge Memorial Park, Hinsdale, 3M – Host Hinsdale Central swept the individual titles as senior Bill Magnesen prevailed for the boys in 14:50.5, while frosh Alexa Haff 17:29.8 took it for the girls. 
  Magnesen’s win also helped IL 3A#7 Hinsdale Central score 59 and defeat #3 New Trier 74, #6 Wheaton-Warrenville South 83 and #12 Neuqua Valley 88.  The girls team battle saw US#26/MW#6 Palatine score 59 to beat US#8/MW#2 Glenbard West 61, though the latter ran without star Madeline Perez (defending 3A state champ; nagging injuries).  Naperville Central 86 and New Trier 90 followed.
• Also ... Riverside-Brookfield jr Mailin Struck runs CR 16:50 to beat Emma Fisher’s old mark by 13 seconds at Lions Pride (Sept. 7, Lyons Twp)

INDIANA - Carmel boys roll

• Terre Haute Savings Bank Invite, Sept. 7, Terre Haute (state meet course), 5k – This race was more loaded on the boys’ side than the girls’, with MW#1 Carmel dominating with 36 points.  They were followed by Valparaiso 86 and Brebeuf Jesuit Prep 96 in the 23-team field.  Brebeuf jr Zach Snider got another major win as his 15:50.8 outlegged Homestead soph Brayden Law 16:04.1, Carmel soph Ben Veatch 16:05.0, and Greenwood sr David Dalton 16:06.0. 
  Terre Haute North won the girls’ race with 65 points, ahead of Center Grove’s 94.  Seymour sr Zoey Johnson was first across the line at 19:07.5.
• Also ... Junior Malyka Abramson rolled a 17:54.6 to lead Avon (39 pts) to the win at the Harrison Raider Classic (Sept. 6, West Lafayette Harrison HS, 5k).  Runner-up finishes were netted by West Lafayette (49 pts.) and LaPorte sr Elena Lancioni 18:15.5.  Bloomington South won the boys race behind the 1-2 finish of jr Anthony Williams 15:17.3 and sr Kyle Burks 15:20.1 ... The MW#5 Columbus North boys got a 2-3 finish from seniors Kaden Eaton 15:39.8 and Andy Carr 15:49.7 (behind North Central sr James Huffman 15:34.8) and rolled to the title at the Artesian Classic (Sept. 7, Martinsville HS, 5k).  Senior MacKenzie Caldwell 18:24.3 and frosh Rachel Brougher 18:50.8 went 1-2 as the CN girls won even more easily.

IOWA - Naperville North girls invade for victory

• Spartan Invitational, Sept. 7, Pleasant Valley, G-4k/B-5k – US#12 Naperville North IL girls crossed the border (and dropped from their typical 3M distance) to top a good field, taking 4 of the top 7 and scoring 31 to beat HL#12 Edina MN 74, HL#3 Pleasant Valley IA 85 and 10 other schools.  Host school soph McKenzie Yanek, 9:50.87 3k last spring and 2nd here last year, moved up with a fast 14:03 to win by 48 seconds. 
  The HL#5 Edina boys got a 1-2 finish from senior Matt Lumbar 16:04 and junior Logan Ramley 16:11 and held on over Johnston IA, 49-54, with 12 other teams trailing.

MINNESOTA - Stillwater boys solid w/o star

• Faribault Invite, Sept. 6, Alexander Park, Boys-5k/Girls-4k – HL#2 Stillwater, running with only five runners (and without 4:09/8:58 soph Eli Krahn), still won handily with 93 points over Lakeville North 147, Totino-Grace 147(also) and 17 others.  US#24 Brookings SD sr standout Addison DeHaven enhanced his regional resume with a 15:46.0 win.
  Lakeville North won the girls race on the tiebreaker over Burnsville, with both scoring 76.  White Bear Lake sr Bethany Kozak won by almost 30 seconds in 14:24.1.

NORTH CAROLINA - Green Hope girls show depth

• Adidas Seahawk Invite, Sept. 7, UNC-Wilmington, 5k – Apex scored 79 points to capture the boys’ race as SE#3 Broughton ran without 3 of its top 7 and took 2nd with 103.  Southern Alamance sr Collin Loy ran away to a 15:44 triumph, with Apex sr Mihret Coulter moving up to 2nd in 15:55.
  SE#15 Green Hope’s girls won with 72 points, using their depth to overcome the front-end power of SE#10 Providence (105).  Providence jr Grace Sullivan clocked 18:27 to defeat Ardrey Kell sr Sydney Foreman by nine seconds. Foreman was 15th in the Great American ROC last fall.

NEW YORK - Early start for defending champs

• East Syracuse-Minoa Invite, Sept. 7, Pine Grove Jr High, 5k – The US#1 Fayetteville-Manlius girls, 7-time NXN champs, got their season off to an early, and victorious start with jr Annika Avery (18:18.0) leading teammates soph Jenna Farrell (19:03.2) and sr Alana Pearl (19:07.3) to a 1-2-3 finish.  Their score of 25 was 80 better than Skaneateles in the modest 12-team field.
  The NY#6 Fay-Man boys were even more dominant, taking the first six spots, paced by jr Bryce Millar (15:56.9) and sr Andrew Berge (15:57.6).

OHIO - IN, KY powers do battle at Mason

• Mason Invite, Sept. 7, Pine Hills Lake Park, Mason, 5k – An early-season showdown here between neighboring powers saw US#5/MW#1 Carmel IN dominate the Section I girls race with 50 points as US#6/SE#1 Assumption KY struggled (123 pts) without standouts Bailey Davis and Katherine Receveur.  Host Mason was 3rd in the 28-team field with 141.  US#10 St. Ursula jr Annie Heffernan stayed unbeaten with an 18:09.32 individual victory, 20 seconds up on Ursuline Academy sr Christine Frederick.  Heffernan was 2nd in the NBNO 2M at 10:13.58 this past spring and 8th in the mile.
  For the boys, the MW#4 hosts prevailed with 59 points – led by junior champ Nick Grismer’s 16:06.84 – followed by Trinity KY 109 and Centerville 136.  MW#1 Carmel boys didn't run here, but instead at the state meet preview in Terre Haute.
• Tiffin XC Carnival, Sept. 7, Hedges Boyer Park, Tiffin, 5k – US#7 Chardon sr Nicholas Elswick kept winning with his 15:12.90 in the Div. 1-A race, 20 seconds up on St. Xavier sr Michael Hall.  Elswick was the runner-up in this past June's NBNO 5,000 and Hall was 13th in the NBNO mile.  St. X prevailed team-wise, though, scoring 50 points to dominate over Dublin Jerome 105, MW#6 Hilliard Davidson 188 and 38 other teams. 
  The Div. 1-A girls race saw Clay sr Erin Gyurke (18:31.72) and Centerville (67 pts) prevail, but the best race was in Div. 2-A, where St. Vincent-St. Mary had the best avg. time of the day and scored 72 to beat Bay (100) and Lexington (151).  2-A was also tops individually as US#46 Coldwater jr Sarah Kanney ran a meet-best 18:05.40 ahead of River Valley sr Hannah Campbell 18:17.23.

PENNSYLVANIA - PTXC CRs for Weisner, Deluca

• PTXC 5 – Presented by New Balance, Sept. 7, Kutztown U., Kutztown, 5k – US#58 Elk County sr Kennedy Weisner steamed to a CR 17:48.98 in the girls’ Gold race, with Saucon Valley sr Elizabeth Chikotas 2nd with 18:03.40.  Weisner was 3rd in the 2012 NBNO mile, and also placed in the NB indoor and outdoor miles earlier this year.  US#4/NE#1 Pennsbury ruled the team battle with 84 points, with NE#9 Central Bucks West nipping Chambersburg for 2nd on a tiebreaker as both tallied 158, followed by 23 other schools.
  A CR was also achieved by Dallas sr Dominic Deluca, as he ran 15:43.0 to take the boys’ Gold race over Lower Dauphin sr Jeff Groh 15:48.9.  Team-wise, it was NE#10 Lower Dauphin 77, ahead of Severna Park 92 in the 24-team field.
• Red, White and Blue Classic, Sept. 7, Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, 5k – The NE#7 North Allegheny boys crushed a 60-team field with 30 points (2nd Mt. Lebanon 155 pts), taking 4th-8th places with a 20-second spread.  At the front, it was Fox Chapel Area sr Colin Martin in 15:18, with sr teammate (and twin) Ethan Martin 3rd in 15:35 and Kiski Area sr Brent Kennedy in-between at 15:25.  All three ran NB indoor or outdoor meets this year.
  The girls’ race was closer, with NE#7 Mt. Lebanon outscoring runner-up Morgantown, 92-119, followed by North Allegheny 192.  Soph Kelsey Potts paced the victory in 1st with 17:47, just ahead of Vincentian Academy frosh Marianne Abdalah 17:49

RHODE ISLAND - RI girls powers divided

• RITCA Injury Fund Races, Sept. 7, Burrillville MS, Burrillville, 5k – The top Rhode Island boys and girls programs were spread across eight different named races, but the best boys’ performance clearly came in the Bill Gray race, where unranked traditional power Bishop Hendricken rode a 1-2 from Colin Tierney and Michael Potter (both 15:35) and dominated with 17 points (16:14 avg.).  Both Tierney and Potter were on last fall's 10th-place team in the GACC ROC and Tierney was also 17th in June at the NBNO 5,000.  NE#5 La Salle appeared to run as a pack and easily won the Laurie Boemker race with a 16:36 avg.
  The girls’ results were less clear-cut.  NE#4 La Salle got a dominating win from Eliza Rego in the Sullivan race, a fastest of the day 18:27, but barely beat Smithfield, 36-38, and averaged 20:20.  In the Hindley race, NE#5 Barrington got a 19:29 runner-up from Emma McMillan, then its’ 2nd-6th runners all ran 20:08-20:09 for a 20:00 average.  Barrington was 4th in the GACC ROC last fall.  Coventry also averaged 20:00 in taking the Caswell race.  Finally, Classical sr Maddy Berkson – known for wide-ranging talent that includes a 2:06.67 800 for 3rd at NBNI last March – had the #2 time of the day in taking the Roy race in 18:33.  She’s in her first full season of XC.

TEXAS - Carroll sweeps own meet

• Southlake Carroll Invite, Sept. 7, Bob Jones Park, Southlake, 5k – The US#26/SO#1 Carroll boys, rebuilding with just two varsity runners returning, had a 2-3-5 finish from Jacob Pickle, Connor Hendrickson, and Elijah Canal behind winner Keller sr Austen Dalquist’s 15:25.9.  Pickle was 3rd in the NBNO Emerging Elite 2M last spring.  They scored 50 to SO#13 Keller’s 93, followed by Lewisville Hebron 111 and 26 other teams in the 4A-5A race.
  The girls 4A-5A race saw Carroll make it a sweep, but it was tough: 62 points for the US#27/SO#1 team to SO#6 Hebron’s 67 – with SO#5 New Braunfels way back with 148.  Justin NW sr Kellee McCann 18:05.2 defeated the Hebron duo of jr Megan Montgomery 18:11.3 and Alondra Hoyos 18:31.1.
• Also ... US#20 Leander Rouse soph Madie Boreman edged US#54 Smithson Valley jr Devin Clark, 18:13.13 to 18:18.29 in the Liberty Hill Invite (Sept. 7, 5k).

UTAH - Morton edges Mantz again

• Murray Invite, Sept. 6, Murray Park, 5k – US#10 Alta sr Kramer Morton scored his second narrow win over US#11 Sky View jr Conner Mantz in three weekends, 15:18.1 to 15:20.1.  Mountain View sr Sam Sorensen was 3rd in 15:29.2 and Ogden sr Mike Buckley 4th in 15:30.1.  A super-tight 3-way battle for the team title went to SW#4 Ogden (105) over #5 Davis (107) and unranked Orem (110), with 40 more behind.
  US#17 Ogden sr Sarah Feeny stayed unbeaten on the girls’ side with a 17:41.6, followed by #51 Cedar sr Aimee Bryson 17:56.9.  Four others were 18:05 or better.  US#22/SW#4 Davis triumphed with 65 points, followed by #11 Park City 90 and #5 American Fork 150 (AF boys didn’t run).
• Pre-Region 4 Meet, Sept. 4, Westlake, Saratoga Springs, 3M – In what has become one of the country’s better regions, US#3/SW#1 American Fork boys scored 29 to beat SW#7 Lone Peak (65), SW#10 Westlake 82, SW#3 Riverton 105 and the rest of a small field.  AF was led by Grass Relays champ sr Connor McMillan 14:47.2 and jr Zac Jacklin 14:53.6, taking 1-2.  Lone Peak sr Clayson Shumway was 3rd in 15:06.9.
  Herriman jr Lucy Biles triumphed in the girls race at 17:25.8, followed by Riverton sr McKayla Morgan 18:16.6 and Lehi jr Maddy Kauffman 18:28.7.  Biles was 15th in the NBNO 2M last spring.  Team-wise, it was Lone Peak 56, Herriman 60, Westlake 87 and SW#5 American Fork 92.

VIRGINIA - Fast Burke Lk. runs for Alcorta, Colson

• Monroe Parker Invite, Sept. 7, Burke Lake, 2.98M – This famed northern Virginia course saw some outstanding early-season times by West Springfield sr Caroline Alcorta and Edison sr Louis Colson.  Alcorta’s 16:58 prevailed by 30 seconds over Lake Braddock sr Hannah Christian 17:28, with Robert E Lee sr Bailey Kolonich a distant 3rd in 17:55.  She matched the her #8 performance from late last fall.  On the track over 2M, Alcorta was 5th at NBNO and 4th at NBNI earlier this year.  Team-wise, SE#2 Lake Braddock scored 159 to take a tight affair over James Madison 163 and Chantilly 171.
  Colson’s 14:43 was faster than Foot Locker runner-up Sean McGorty ran in this meet last year (McGorty later ran 14:19) and is #9 all-time.  He was followed by George Marshall sr MacKenzie Haight 15:05 and the Chantilly duo of jr Ryan McGorty (Sean’s brother) 15:11 and Dakota Lange (transfer from Payson UT) 15:15. Chantilly won the boys’ race with 88 points to 121 for Patriot and 144 for SE#10 Robinson.  Colson anchored the 3rd place 4x800 team at NBNI this past March, and he, Haight and McGorty have all competed in NBN meets.
• Great Meadow, Sept. 7, Great Meadows Non-State Course, The Plains, 5k – SE#4 Oakton got a 1-4 finish from 2012 Foot Locker finalist jr Allie Klimkiewicz 18:17 (over Urbana MD jr Emily Mulhern 18:21) and sr Hailey Dougherty 19:15, and went on to win the ‘A’ race easily with 55 points – more than 100 ahead of Colonial Forge.  Klimkiewicz was 8th in the NBNI 2M this past March, while Mulhern placed between 4th and 10th in three EE races at NBN meets this year.
  The Oakton boys also prevailed, scoring 135 points to Our Lady of Good Counsel MD 173.  Lee-Davis sr Paul Adam 15:52 nipped Good Counsel sr Collin Crilly 15:53 for the individual title.

WASHINGTON - Upset for Bozeman girls; Dressel tops NC duo

• Tracy Walters Invite, Sept. 7, Audubon Park, Spokane, 3M – The girls’ team battle had 3 of the region’s top 9, as NW#9   Bozema   n MT had the depth to win with 132 points (score 8) – topping NW#3 Jesuit OR 159 and NW#1 Coeur D’Alene ID 185.  Individually, Kamiakin sr Megan Beauchene won with 18:26, followed by Coeur D’Alene soph Emily Callahan 18:34 and Bozeman sr Andie Creel 18:36. 
  The boys battle saw Mt. Spokane jr John Dressel get a big early win with a 15:00 to beat the North Central duo of sr Kai Wilmot 15:17 and jr Tanner Anderson 15:33.  Dressel was 6th in the NBNO 2M this past June with 9:02.89 as a soph, after taking 14th in Foot Locker Finals last fall, and Anderson was 6th in the NBNO 5,000.  The NW#2 hosts prevailed over NW#6 Kamiakin, 143-190, with Bozeman 3rd at 226.