Weekend Roundup: Through 10/12 XC meets
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 Oct. 12. 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. Multiple rankings shows DS first, then MS. No notation if DS and MS ranking is same. Regional ranking references are from DyeStat.com.
CALIFORNIA
Clovis Invitational, Oct. 12, Woodward Park, 5k – US#1 Stockdale sr Blake Haney won his 3rd major invite of the year, adding to his Classic (Woodbridge) and Stanford victories with a 15:02 triumph in the championship division here on the state meet course. He was trailed most closely by two super sophs – Brea Olinda’s Austin Tamagno 15:07 and Arcadia’s Phillip Rocha 15:13 – with Redwood sr Fred Huxham 15:14 and Arcadia US#4 sr Estevan de la Rosa 15:15 in 4th and 5th. Likewise, CA#1/US#4 Arcadia won another major team title, also following the Classic and Stanford, and scoring 80 points. CA#3/US#31(DS) Madera South was a close runner-up with 95, followed by CA#10 Dana Hills 170 and CA#8 Brea Olinda 175.
US#1/#2 Simi Valley sr Sarah Baxter ran 17:00 in the championship, off her 16:40 course record but 17 seconds up on US#29(DS) Davis soph Fiona O’Keeffe – who in turn won a tight battle for 2nd with US#12/#11 Palisades Charter jr Marissa Williams 17:19. CA#1/US#3/#11 Simi Valley rolled to the team title with 60 points, with CA#7/US#26(DS) Davis 131 nipping CA#24 Yucaipa 132 and host CA#5/US#12/#24 Buchanan 133 for 2nd, while CA#4/US#10/#13 Capistrano Valley was just 5th with 185.
Inland Empire Challenge, Oct. 12, Glen Helen Pk, San Bernadino, 3M – Great Oak swept the Sweepstakes divisions, with its CA#2/US#13 girls scoring 39 in the small, but fast 8-team field to beat CA#18 Serrano 62, Vista Murrieta 86 and five others. Destiny Collins led the winners with a 17:02.1 victory, with Rancho Cucamonga frosh Erin Holton 17:09.6, La Quinta sr Megan Huebner 17:11.1, and Serrano sr Melissa Fairchild 17:25.8 taking the next three spots.
The CA#4/US#20(DS) Great Oak boys scored 78 to lead their 15-team field, with Rubidoux 96 edging Vista Murrieta 100 for 2nd. Indio sr David Luna triumphed individually at 14:38.1, with Rubidoux sr Luis Ramos 14:49.3, Xavier College Prep AZ sr Emery Caster 15:04.6, and Rancho Cucamonga’s sr duo of Anthony Ortega 15:08.4 and Mat Holton 15:13.0 filling out the top 5.
Also ... The CA#22 Canyon (Canyon Country) girls handed CA#9 Saugus another loss, this time by a narrow 50-51 margin, in the D1/2 division of the Santa Clarita Valley Invite (Oct. 12, Castaic Lake, 3M). Saugus got individual win with a very impressive 16:42.77 by jr Samanta Ortega, 57 ticks up on Canyon sr Natalie Rodriguez ... US#5 San Lorenzo sr Anna Maxwell continued racking up fast times with a 17:00.02 at the JSerra Crystal Springs Invite (Oct. 12, Belmont, 2.95M), while her team was runner-up to CA#15 Aptos. NW#3/US#17/#20 Central Catholic OR came down to win the boys title behind the 14:57.86 win by Kyle Thompson, with CA#18 Bellarmine Prep edging Carlmont and CA#12 Canyon (Anaheim) for 2nd.
COLORADO
Front Range League Champs, Oct. 11, Fossil Ridge HS, Fort Collins, 5k – With a 17:35.34, US#6(MS)/#27(DS) Fort Collins frosh Lauren Gregory stayed hot, winning by 38 ticks over Legacy jr Emma Gee. Poudre sr Paul Miller took the individual boys title in 15:58.95, followed by Fossil Ridge soph Keaton Schelir 16:10.5. Fort Collins got the sweep, team-wise with the SW#3/US#7/#19 Lambkins scoring 31 to Legacy’s 71, and the boys to a even more dominant win with 27 to Fossil Ridge’s 93.
Also ... League meets dominated the Colorado scene last week ... US#2/#3 Denver East sr Cerake Geberkidane ran 15:05 at the Denver Public Schools Champs (Oct. 8, Bear Valley Park, 5k) to win by 2:09 ... Conner Weaver paced the SW#5/US#27 Mountain Vista boys to the Continental League title (Oct. 9, Redstone Park, Highlands Ranch) as they beat Rock Canyon by 76 ... US#7 Cherry Creek jr Jordyn Colter was a narrow winner in her Centennial League meet over Grandview’s Erin Norton, with both at 18:33.
FLORIDA
Florida State Invite, Oct. 12, Tallahassee, 5k – Chiles handed Belen Jesuit its first loss in the Elite race, 165-175, with Ft. Walton Beach 200, St. Thomas Aquinas 205 and McCallie School TN 208 next in the 26-team field. US#29(DS) Leon jr Sukhi Khosla led six runners under 15:10 with his winning 14:59.45, with Vestavia Hills AL sr Mac Macoy 15:03.34 and Ft. Myers sr Tyler Bennett 15:06.68 in the next two positions.
In the girls’ Elite race, SE#5 Estero stayed unbeaten with 121 points, trailed by Holy Trinity 128 and Winter Park 140 among 25 schools. Gulf Coast sr Caroline Barlow triumphed individually in 17:53.99, followed by Ft. Myers sr Emily Edwards 18:00.48, Cardinal Mooney sr Grace Casagrande 18:07.61 and Holy Trinity jr Julie Wollrath 18:11.69.
MISSOURI
Suburban West Conference, Oct. 12, Northwest HS, Cedar Hill, 5k – Great American ROC champ and US#13(DS) Eureka sr Hannah Long continued her comeback from high blood iron issues with a scorching 17:17.5, winning by 1:23 over Lafayette’s Sarah Nicholson and leading Eureka to the title. US#12/#22 Marquette sr Noah Kauppila also won easily, his 15:29.3 netting a 39-second margin over Lafayette’s Dylan Quisenberry. Lafayette did win the boys team title, however.
Also ... US#4 Ste. Genevieve soph Taylor Werner kept rolling with a 17:14 victory (1:42 margin over teammatge Mia Jerman) in the Potosi Invite/MAAA Conference meet (Oct. 12, 5k).
NEW YORK
Manhattan Invitational, Oct. 12, Van Cortlandt Park, The Bronx, 2.5M – In good, fast conditions, the NE#1/US#2/#1 Christian Brothers Academy NJ rewrote their 2012 team course record by a fraction in winning a close boys’ Eastern States race with NY#1/US#5/#18 Fayetteville-Manlius NY, while the NE#1/US#2 Unionville PA girls – by an even narrower margin – topped the 7-time NXN champion NY#1/US#9/#7 F-M girls for the 2nd time this fall in the girls’ Easterns.
CBA averaged 12:44.34 (12:44.6 previous) and the margin built up by their 3rd and 4th runners held off F-M, with its powerful 1-2 of jr Bryce Millar (2nd, 12:21.1) and sr Andrew Berge (5th, 12:27.1), by a 90-114 margin. They were followed in the 27-team field by NY#2/US#22/#19 Liverpool 159, NE#2/US#9 West Chester Henderson 168, SE#3/US#24/#15 Tatnall DE 215, La Salle RI 220, and Ridgefield CT 225. Unranked WCH sr Tony Russell edged Millar for the individual crown with a 12:20.0 (#13 all-time at VCP), with US#10/#17 Rush-Henrietta NY sr Mickey Burke (12:23.8) and Pingry NJ sr Liam Mullet 12:26.0 ahead of Berge, and then US#14 (DS) Middletown North NJ sr Tom O’Neill the final runner under 12:30 with his 12:27.8.
The Unionville PA girls started with a strong 3-6 finish from US#23/#16 sr Courtney Smith (14:26.0) and jr Olivia Young (14:40), then saw their 5th girl get a decisive 3-point advantage after a tie with F-M through four runners, 89-92. SE#3/US#8(MS) Assumption KY, the Great American champ last week, was 3rd with 146, followed by US#25(MS) Pennsbury PA 159, Oakton VA 175, La Salle RI 229 and Palos Verde CA 238 in the 20-team field. US#20 (MS) Elk County Catholic PA sr Kennedy Weisner was the decisive individual champ with 14:09.7 (#8 all-time at VCP), with US#30 Champlain Valley VT sr Autumn Eastman (14:23.1), Unionville’s Smith, La Salle RI soph Eliza Rego (14:27.4 after 3rd at GACC) and F-M’s #1 jr Annika Avery (14:28.4) trailing.
In the “letter” races, the Pearl River NY girls won the “F” race with 33 points and a 15:43.76 avg. that would have been 7th in the Easterns – the best of several good winning team performances. “A” winner Katie Lembo (Penfield NY sr) at 14:28.0 and “E” winner Briana Gess (Haddonfield NJ frosh) at 14:28.9 were the fastest individuals. For the boys, “A” team champ Bishop Hendricken RI won “E” with 74 and a 13:11.50 avg. that would have been 7th in Easterns. Shoreham-Wading River sr Ryan Udvadia and US#20 (MS) Pearl River sr Brian Cook were 1-2 in the “A” race at 12:28.0 and 12:34.6 for the fastest individual “letter race” efforts.
OREGON
George Fox Classic, Oct. 12, Willamette Mission State Park, Portland, 5k – US#17/#21 Kenai AK jr Allie Ostrander was one of two Alaska state champs who traveled down to this meet and came up victorious on a very flat, fast course in 16:47.8, defeating US#14 Grant soph Ella Donaghu 16:54.1. Summit soph Hannah Gindlesperger was 3rd in 17:37.9, with a pack of 5 between 17:53-17:59.
The boys Elite race saw US#13/#11 Summit jr Matthew Maton (10/8 NSAF EE of the Week) defeating the other AK champion, US#17 (DS) Kodiak jr Levi Thomet, 14:32.7 to 14:43.9. They were followed by South Eugene jr Reilly Bloomer 15:11.3 and Siuslaw sr Mack Marbas 15:13.9. The team battles were an easy sweep for Summit (the girls NW#3), with South Eugene and Snohomish WA 2nd and 3rd in each race. The scoring went 62-105-120 for the girls among 17 schools, and 78-144-153 for the boys with 20 schools. The meet, formerly the adidas Classic, is a traditional favorite for top Alaskan individuals and teams, coming a week after the state meet there.
WASHINGTON
Richland Invite, Oct. 12, Carmichael MS, 3M – US#3/#2 Joe Hardy, whose only loss came to #1 Blake Haney at Stanford, won a great battle of four of the state’s best in the D1 race with 14:47.66. US#16/#14 Mt. Spokane jr John Dressel 14:49.59 and the North Central duo of US#11/#8 sr Taylor (Kai) Wilmot 14:51.65 and jr Tanner Anderson 14:54.27 were not far behind. NW#2/US#14/#7 North Central with 69 pts prevailed in the team battle over Nathan Hale 96, Mt. Spokane 150, Henry Jackson 160 and 22 others.
Richland jr Lindsey Bradley won the girls D1 race with 17:48.09, ahead of Oroville sr Sierra Speiker 18:05.68 and West Valley-Spokane jr McCall Skay 18:10.46. Henry Jackson won the team fray with 128 to 148 each for Central Valley and Lewis & Clark.
