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. 28.  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 national ranking references are from the DyeStat.com (DS) or Milesplit.com (MS) latest national and regional rankings.  Regional ranking references are from DyeStat.com.

CALIFORNIA

Stanford Invite, Sept. 28, Stanford GC, 5k – In a superlative showdown between three of the nation’s top boys, World Youth 1,500 finalist and Stockdale sr Blake Haney upheld his top rankings and won his second huge battle in eight days.  He prevailed the seeded race in 14:58, with US#4/2 (DS/MS) Seattle Prep WA sr Joe Hardy just behind, also in 14:58.  US#2/3 Arcadia sr Estevan de la Rosa faded to 4th in 15:13 as La Costa Canyon sr Steven Fahy – the younger brother of 2011 Stanford champ and national standout Darren – surged into 3rd at 15:04.  Rounding out the top 5 was De La Salle sr Blair Hurlock in 15:19.

• Team-wise, the CA#1 (DS)/US#3 (MS) Arcadia boys – like Haney – had a second straight big win in the seeded race, though this wasn’t nearly as close.  They scored 100 to unranked La Costa Canyon’s 165.  Following were CA#3 De La Salle 189, CA#24 Bellarmine Prep 191 and SO#4 Strake Jesuit TX 209.
• The top girls’ performance of the day came from US#4 (both) San Lorenzo Valley sr Anna Maxwell in the D4 race as she clocked 17:22, 41 seconds up on Burlington Edison sr RaynJoy Norton.  The seeded race champ was US#27 (DS) Davis soph Fiona O’Keeffe in 17:38, trailed by Arcadia sr Veronica Yamane 17:49, La Costa Canyon sr Emma Abrahamson 17:57, St. Francis (Sac.) sr Lauren LaRocco 17:59, and Centennial NV sr Sydney Badger 18:04.  CA#7 Trabuco Hills took the girls’ seeded team title with 97, with CA#10 La Costa Canyon runner-up again with 105, followed by #11 Davis 163, #8 St. Francis 211, Arcadia 233, and #6 Rancho Bernardo 258.

Dana Hills Invite, Sept. 28, 3M – Villa Park sr Garrett Corcoran, 3rd at Woodbridge last week, ruled a good field here, running 14:20.7 to finish ahead of El Modena sr Sydney Gidabuday 14:41.3 and the Fountain Valley duo of David Abraham 14:42.1 and Hunter Gulino 14:44.0.  The meet was run by classes (frosh, soph, etc.), but CA#5 host Dana Hills won combined scoring with 53 pts, with Fountain Valley 104 and Rancho Buena Vista 130 following among 78 schools.

• La Quinta sr Megan Huebner 17:13.5 was the fastest girl, ahead of Vista sr Ashley Cope 17:22.7 and Poway sr Sophie Smith 17:25.8.  CA#4 Capistrano Valley prevailed with 85 points, while Edison 147 and Poway 198 took the next two spots.

Also ... Northwood sr Bethan Knights won a fast showdown with 2012 Foot Locker Finals #8 finisher and Palisades Charter jr Marissa Williams, 16:42-16:56 in the Varsity Red race at the Bell-Jeff Invite (Sept. 28, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, 3M) ... the Saugus girls perennial powerhouse was beaten in a Foothill League meet for the first time since 2005 when Canyon defeated them Sept. 26, 35-37, in a 6-team race.

COLORADO

Brooks/TCA Titan Thunder Invite, Sept. 28, Fountain, 5k – It appears there’s yet another rising superstar among Colorado’s prep girls and her name is Lauren Gregory.  After nearly beating 2012 Foot Locker finalist Jordyn Colter in her last outing, the Fort Collins frosh outran another member of the “Big Three” in the varsity race here, Air Academy soph Katie Rainsberger, 17:45 to 18:19.  Gregory paced her Fort Collins team to a decisive win with 34 pts, with Air Academy 90 edging Classical Academy 95 and Rock Canyon 104 for 2nd.

• In the boys race, Lyons got a 1-2 from Paul Roberts 15:59 and Marcel Such 16:09, but team-wise they were 3rd (101 pts) behind Fort Collins with 79 (getting the sweep) and Classical with 88.

Also ... Niwot sr Elise Cranny competed against collegians and elites in the Rocky Mountain Shootout (Sept. 28, Buffalo Ranch XC course, Boulder, 5.8K), winning with a 20:39, 16 seconds ahead of CU varsity standout Carrie Verdon.

FLORIDA

Flrunners.com Invite, Sept. 27-28, Titusville, 5k – Estero ruled the girls Race of Champs for the 3rd straight year, placing 4 in the top 8 before scoring 68.  They were followed by Winter Park 135, Oak Hall 170, John Ferguson 183, and St. Thomas Aquinas 195 in the 25-team field.  Individually, Nease jr Karen Xiang was the only girl under 18 with her 17:52.2, with 2012 champ Fort Myers sr Emily Edwards 18:04.4 and St. Thomas Aquinas soph Alexa Cruz 18:06.4 in tow.

• A great ROC boys’ individual battle saw Miami Sunset jr Nick Diaz outkick Niceville sr Nicholas Morken, 15:15.6 to 15:16.6, with Fort Myers sr Tyler Bennett 15:22.5, Coral Reef jr Kurt Convey 15:24.3 and Belen Jesuit jr Ryan Rodriguez 15:29.8 in the next three spots.  The boys’ team race was somewhat closer than the girls, with 3-time defending champ Belen Jesuit hitting 114 to defeat Ft. Walton Beach 147, St. Thomas Aquinas 160, Trinity Prep 201, Coral Reef 216 and Miami Sunset 223.

ILLINOIS

Palatine Invite, Sept. 28, Palatine, 3M – The York boys got an impressive 1-3-6 punch from seniors Alex Bashqawi 14:43.1, Nathan Mroz 14:45.5, and Kyle Mattes 14:58.5 and scored 49 points to win decisively in the 30-team field over St. Xavier KY 107, Hersey 112 and New Trier 161.  Taking 2nd behind Bashqawi was McHenry jr Jesse Reiser 14:44.9.

• Daviess County KY sr Whitney O’Bryan came north to win the girls’ race in 17:20.6, with Buffalo Grove soph Kaitlyn Ko 17:25.6, Yorkville soph Skyler Bollinger 17:31.0, and Centerville OH soph Lainey Studebaker 17:47.2 trailing.  Host Palatine got a 12-second 1-5 split and prevailed with 106, followed by an Assumption KY team (still without its top runners) with 118, Centerville 144 and Wheaton-Warrenville South 157.

KANSAS

Rim Rock Farm Classic, Sept. 28, Lawrence, G-4k/B-5k – Teams from three states were in the girls’ Gold team hunt, with Pine Creek CO using a strong top 4 to take a big lead in the 27-team field, then with 103 points hold off Lawrence Free State 118, OP-St. Thomas Aquinas 138 and College Park TX 144.  Iowa City West sr Ashlynn Yokom just missed breaking 15 with her 15:01.0 win, with St. Teresa’s jr Ann Campbell 15:13.6, Manhattan sr Alaina Schroeder 15:17.6, Lawrence FS soph Claire Sanner 15:21.3 and Pine Creek jr Kaliegh Kroeker 15:22.9 trailing. 

• In the boys Gold race, it was favored Marquette MO sr Noah Kauppila striding to victory in 15:26.7, while OP-Blue Valley jr Stuart McNutt 15:38.0, Pine Creek CO jr Zachary Alhamra 15:40.7 and Blue Springs MO jr Stephen Mugeche 15:40.8 waged a tight battle for the runner-up spot.  Team-wise, Manhattan gained 8 points on College Park TX with the 2nd man and that was their winning margin in the 35-team field, 113-121.  Liberty MO was 3rd, well ahead the rest of the pack with 156.

MASSACHUSETTS

Baystate Invite, Sept. 28, Wrentham – As the top talent was somewhat split between the D1 and D2 varsity races here, both merit mention.  The D1 girls race saw Lowell get a 1-2 from soph twins Kaley and Alexandra Richards, with 19:02 and 19:25, and run the top team average of the day in scoring 65 to Peabody’s 109 in the 24-team field.  The D2 girls race saw Manchester Essex jr Olivia Lantz run the fastest time of the day in 18:39, followed by Bedford jr Erin Deitz 19:14.  Marblehead and Bedford each scored 128 in the 27-team field, with Marblehead taking the tiebreaker.

• Similarly, the D1 boys champion – Cambridge Rindge and Latin – had the best collective showing of the day while winning with 65 points to Peabody’s 83 and Lowell’s 85 among 32 teams.  Lowell sr Johnny Abraham edged Peabody sr Drew Fossa individually, 15:53-15:55.  In D2, a good 3-way battle saw Newburyport jr Nick Carleo prevail with 15:35, followed by Burlington sr Paul Hogan 15:39 and Swampscott sr Matthew Mahoney 15:45.  Tewksbury nipped Newburyport, 97-102, for the team title in another 32-team field.

MINNESOTA

Roy Griak Invite, Sept. 28, Les Bolstad GC, St. Paul, 5k – Team sweeps at the Roy Griak Invite are pretty rare, but the powerhouses at Wayzata pulled it off, completely dominating the girls’ Gold race and winning the boys’ Gold division with room to spare, too.  The US#8(MS)/ HL#1(DS) Wayzata girls scored just 58 points, with SW#4 Cherry Creek CO a very distant 2nd at 163.  Then came US#5/MW#1 Naperville North IL 184, Pleasant Valley IA 278 and Dowling Catholic IA 283 in the huge 50-team field.  The HL#1 Wayzata boys netted 116 pts, with Edina 159, Bismarck ND 231, Rock Bridge MO 238 and Waukee WI 255 taking the next four spots.

• Richfield sr Obsa Ali, the Maroon race winner last year, confirmed his status as the guy to beat in the region with a 15:30.8 victory in the boys’ Gold race.  Madison West WI jr Olin Hacker nipped Brookings SD sr Addison DeHaven for 2nd, 15:33.4 to 15:33.8, and Boone IA sr Chandler Austin 15:40.6 and Wayzata’s #1 Connor Olson 15:41.7 took the next two spots.  In the girls’ Gold race, Cherry Creek CO sr Jordyn Colter stayed unbeaten with a 17:47.2 as girls from five different states took the first five spots: Wayzata’s #1 Anna French 2nd in 17:59.9, Pleasant Valley IA soph McKenzie Yanek 3rd 18:02.0, Warwick Valley NY soph Megan Reilly 18:11.1, and Bismarck ND sr Brittany Brownotter 5th 18:28.2

NEW JERSEY

Six Flags Wild Safari Invite, Sept. 28, Jackson, 5k - The talent was somewhat spread out over the five varsity races, but the deepest girls race was the ‘A’ affair, where North Penn PA scored 55, Shaker NY 81 and Mountain Brook AL 120.  They went 1-3-5 in the merge.  Pearl River NY dominated the ‘D’ race with 36 pts and was 2nd in the merge, while Tappan Zee took the ‘C’ race as was 4th overall.  Individually, the best of the day (with race in parentheses) were Pearl River sr Kelly Hayes 18:12 (D), Indian Hills soph Julia Guerra 18:26 (B), Tappan Zee sr Erin Jaskot 18:26 (C), Fox Lane soph Vicky Martinez 18:32 (B), Mt. St. Mary jr Kerry Dyke 18:35 (D) and Shaker soph Marianna Lansing 18:37 (A).

• For the boys, the best team battle was in the ‘C’ race, where Tappan Zee outran Highland Regional, 46-54, with those teams finishing 1-4 in the merge.  ‘B’ champ Indian Hills and ‘A’ champ Caesar Rodney DE were 2-3 overall.  Individually, it was Highland Regional sr Steve Maine 15:38.9 (C), Trinity Christian sr Josiah Hanko 15:44.2 (A), Carmel jr Benito Muniz 15:58.5 (B), McKee/Staten Island sr Mohammed Aziz 16:04.0 (B), Tappan Zee jr Luke Gavigan 16:05.4 (C) and Indian Hills sr Bobby Corcoran 16:06.4 (B).

NEW YORK

Bowdoin Park Classic, Sept. 28, Wappinger Falls, 5k – With a 1-2 finish from sr Mike McClemens and soph Blaise Ferro, in 16:02.29 and 16:06.51, US#1 Christian Brothers NJ dominated the 23-team D1 race field on the NXN NY/NE and New York Fed meet course with 30 points.  Their 16:16.22 avg. was just two ticks off their CR mark from last year on Pembroke MA 104 and Chaminade NY 109 were 2nd and 3rd. 

• For the girls, the fastest individual and team came in the D2 race, as Suffern got a 2-3 finish (scoring 1-2) from jr Kate Zindell 18:53.16 and frosh Rachel Ludwikowski 19:13.35 and beat the 18-team field with 33 points.  Hamilton North-Nottingham NJ soph Grace Dwyer won with 18:47.36. 

McQuaid Invite, Sept. 28, Genesee Valley Park, Rochester, 3M – The big news here was the defeat suffered by the US#1 Fayetteville-Manlius girls, who will no doubt be better at championship time, but who also may finally truly be vulnerable to having their 7-year NXN title streak come to an end.  Led by Courtney Smith’s individual victory in 16:46.2, Unionville PA took the Varsity AAA race with 45 points to F-M’s 79, with Elmira a distant 3rd with 154 in the 18-team field.  Following Smith individually were Elmira soph Abbey Wheeler 17:01.0, Penfield sr Katie Lembo 17:03.1, Clarence sr Marissa Saenger 17:04.5, Corning frosh Jessica Lawson 17:07.4, F-M jr Annika Avery 17:13.8 and the Unionville 2-3 punch of jr Olivia Young 17:17.0 and sr Emily Fisher 17:18.8.

• The F-M boys won a great battle over Liverpool in the boys AAA race, 62-66, with Webster Thomas well back in 3rd at 132 among 18 teams.  Rush-Henrietta sr Mickey Burke rolled an impressive 14:25.0, with sub-15s also from F-M jr Bryce Millar 14:45.1, Irondequoit sr Josh Dyrland 14:48.2, F-M sr Andrew Berge 14:55.2 and Hilton sr Tyler Ranke 14:56.0.
• Elk County Catholic PA sr Kennedy Weisner also crushed it in the Varsity ‘A’ race with a 16:54.6, winning by nearly a minute and 2nd best of the day.  East Aurora ran away with the team title, scoring 68 (18:36.2 avg, 4th overall in meet).  Another fast mark on the boys’ side was from Lake Shore sr TJ Hornberger in the AA race as he ran 14:53.2.

OREGON

Nike Pre-Nationals, Sept. 28, Portland Meadows, 5k – US#5 (DS) Camas WA jr Alexa Efraimson avenged her season-opening defeat to #7 Grant soph Ella Donaghu with a dominating Jim Danner Champs win in poor conditions (NXN-like rain, mud and wind) in 17:59.67.  Donaghu was 2nd with 18:40.86, ahead of Mountain View ID sr Sam McKinnon 18:55.09.  CA#5 Arroyo Grande came up from California and nipped NW#5 Summit, 116-117, with Rocky Mountain ID 145 winning a huge battle for 3rd with Camas (also) 145, Sunset 149 and Mountain View ID 152.

• In the boys’ Jim Danner race, US#13 (DS) Summit jr Matthew Maton pulled away for a 15:57.99 victory over #16 Pocatello ID jr Elijah Armstrong 16:04.25, with Timberline ID sr Andrew Rafla 16:07.29 for 3rd.  US#2 Gig Harbor WA (MS) rolled to another major victory with 50 points, with their top five running as a group and finishing within a second in 13th-17th (8th-12th in scoring).  CA#9 Warren CA was 2nd with 103, Mountain View ID 3rd with 174 and Summit just ahead of a pack of four others with 197.

PENNSYLVANIA

Puma Carlisle Invite, Sept. 28, 5k – Cumberland Valley soph Mady Clahane ran a scorching 17:28 to win the Challenge race by 30 seconds over University WV sr Amelia Paladino 17:58, with Downington West PA frosh Aislinn Devlin following by a second in 17:59.  Downington West notched the team title with 116 points, with Padua Academy DE 2nd with 138 and State College Area 163 edging Chambersburg 168 and Cardinal O’Hara (also) 168 for 3rd in the 24-team field.

• Carlisle jr Zach Brehm won a deep boys Challenge battle with 15:28 as seven ran 15:40 or better.  Dallastown sr Patrick Reilly was 2nd in 15:34 and Good Counsel MD sr Collin Crilly nipped Tatnall DE jr Stephen Garrett as both ran 15:36.  On the team front, West Chester Henderson made a statement with 88 points, with Tatnall 144 and James W. Robinson 152 next in the 31-team field.

RHODE ISLAND

Ocean State Invite, Sept. 27-28, Warwick, 5k – Bishop Feehan MA sr Abbie McNulty continued the dynamic start to her senior year by outdueling a tough Championship division field in 17:48.54, including Westhill Claire Howlett 18:01.21, New Fairfield CT Gabriel Richichi 18:10.62 and Griswold CT Alyssa Brehler 18:16.04.  Red Bank Catholic NJ had the best depth, winning over the 15-team field with 64 pts, with Bishop Feehan 2nd with 88 and Archbishop Wood a distant 3rd with 149.

• The boys’ Championship team title went to Mansfield MA with 73 and St. John’s Shrewsbury getting 2nd on a tiebreaker with Lexington MA as both scored 115 in the 12-team field.  Mansfield jr Dan Romano won that race in 16:08.04, but the fastest time of the day went to Capital Prep CT sr Dhahran Velaquez with 15:55.65 in the D1 varsity race.

VIRGINIA

Maymont Festival, Sept. 27-28, Richmond, 5k – West Springfield sr Caroline Alcorta continued her dominant unbeaten streak with a 17:55.94 triumph in the 17-team Invitational race, more than 37 seconds ahead of Trinity Episcopal sr Molly Breidenbaugh 18:33.62.  In 3-4-5 were Cardinal Gibbons NC sr Mary Grace Doggett 18:38.38 and the Lake Braddock duo of seniors Hannah Christen 18:43.06 and Katy Kunc 18:45.44.  Lake Braddock captured the team title with 75 points, followed by West Springfield 104, Jefferson Forest 109 and Cardinal Gibbons 128.  Also impressing on the girls’ side was Maggie Walker HS in the Coastal Division, as they won with a team average that would have been 4th in the Invitational division.

• Salesianum DE sr Pat Hally won the boys’ Invitational division with 15:44.25, ahead of Severna Park MD sr Ryan Forsyth 15:50.41.  Forsyth’s teammate Rhys Burgett was 4th in 15:57 and the last sub-16 of the race, while Atlee sr Nathanial Hall split the Maryland runners in 3rd with 15:56.32.  Behind that 2-4 finish, Severna Park rolled to a 60-point total, well ahead of Patriot HS 164, Centerville IN 167 and Chantilly 189, among the 29 teams.