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 Nov. 17.  Highlights are alphabetical, by state, with the most significant meets followed by additional key performances (“Also ...”).  Some NSAF meet credentials of notable athletes are in italics.  Team and individual national ranking references are from the DyeStat.com (DS) and/or Milesplit.com (MS) latest national and regional rankings (before last week's meets).  Multiple rankings shows DS first, then MS. Notation is "both" if DS and MS ranking is same.  Regional ranking references are from DyeStat.com (11/7).

IDAHO

NXN Northwest, Nov. 16, Eagle Island XC course, Boise ID, 5k

• Two first-time team champions were crowned, while two individual standouts from Washington confirmed the excellence they showed at their previous week’s state meet.
• For the boys, Gig XC (unbeaten NW#1/US#1/#4 Gig Harbor WA) ended North Spokane’s (NW#2/US#4/#7 North Central WA) string of six straight regional crowns by scoring 68 pts.  North Spokane, however, increased to seven their string of NXN Finals bids with their runnerup finish with 111 pts.  Trailing were Stark Street Athletics Club (NW#3/US#18/#16 Central Catholic OR) with 136, Hale XC Club (US#20(DS) Nathan Hale WA) with 155, Brave Souls (NW#4/US#15/#25 Kamiakin WA) with 158, and Laramie XC Club (Laramie WY) with 189.  Gig also qualified in 2011 with a runner-up finish.
• Bozeman Cross (NW#1/US#13/#11 Bozeman MT) won its first NXN NW girls’ title with 78 pts, though they did qualify previously in 2010 (2nd in NW).  Taking the 2nd spot, and making it to Portland for the 1st time since their Brie Felnagle-led crew of 2004 (before regional qualifying), was Roar XC (NW#5/US#26(DS) Bellarmine Prep WA) with 133.  Following were Clark County Renegades (US#27(DS) Camas WA) 167, Pantalones Rapidos (defending champs NW#2/US#24/#25 Coeur d’Alene ID) 179, and NW#3/US#36(DS) Summit (OR) with 191.
• Individually, US#2/#1 Camas WA jr Alexa Efraimson stayed unbeaten after a strong challenge from US#4/#5 Bigfork MT jr Makena Morley, running 17:27.1 to Morley’s 17:36.0.  While Efraimson will race in Portland for the 3rd time, Morley has reportedly stated she will run Foot Locker West (she has made FL Finals twice).  So the other four qualifiers will be US#26/#23 Grant OR soph Ella Donaghu 17:59.7, Summit OR soph Hannah Grindlesberger 18:05.6, Mtn View ID sr Sam McKinnon 18:14.5, and Billings MT soph Christina Aragon 18:29.8.
• And the boys’ individual battle saw US#2(MS) North Central jr Tanner Anderson – the surprise 3A state champ last weekend over Joe Hardy (not racing here) – notch another impressive win with a 15:19.4, leading his runner-up team.  With teammate US#22/#16 Kai Wilmot also grabbing 4th in 15:35.0, the individual qualifying went down to 7th place.  The spots between Anderson and Wilmot went to Idahoans, as US#11(DS) Pocatello jr Elijah Armstrong 15:24.1 and Timberline sr Andrew Rafla 15:32.2 went 2-3.  Then South Eugene OR jr Reilly Bloomer 15:49.2, Nathan Hale WA sr Andrew Foerder 15:52.0 and Rock Springs WY sr Ricky Faure 15:52.4 earned their tickets.

INDIANA

NXN Midwest, Nov. 17, Lavern Gibson Championship Course, Terre Haute IN, 5k

• In windy conditions on a rain-soaked course – rivaling some of the more challenging NXN Finals – the favored clubs of Indiana state champion Carmel runners produced a sweep of the team titles.  And they pulled it off just before the conditions got much worse.
• The unbeaten Carmel Distance Project (MW#1/US#3/#4 Carmel IN) was heavily favored in the girls’ race and dominated with 66 pts.  They will make their 4th straight appearance in Portland, coming off 3rd in 2012 and 5th and 7th the previous two years.  North Naperville XC (MW#5/US#14/#12 Naperville North IL) was 2nd with 125 as they and Carmel duplicated their 2012 finish here.  They were followed by Palatine XC Club (Palatine IL) 148, Columbus Thorn (US#29(DS) Columbus North IN) 156, and NXC Running Club (MW#2/US#20/#14 Northville MI) 167.  Northville, along with the 19th-place Waterford Mott on the boys side, were the first full teams from Michigan ever to compete at NXN MW.
• The sweep was completed as the MW#1/US#9/#20 Carmel Distance Alliance took the boys’ race with 103 pts, ahead of AMDG TC (MW#2/US#13/#15 Cincinnati St. Xavier), the Ohio D1 state champs, with 120 pts.  These squads are both 2nd-time qualifiers after their 2-3 finish last year (St. X got an at-large bid).  They were far ahead of The Dale’s 199 pts in 3rd (MW#5/US#22/#10 IL AAA champ Hinsdale Central).  MW#3/US#21(DS) Columbus Thorn was 4th with 207, Celtic Running Club (Dublin Jerome OH) 5th with 246 and defending champ Kroy (MW#4/US#13(MS) York IL) 6th with 251 (tiebreaker over Davidson XC, also 251).  York had been the only program to appear in all nine previous NXN Finals.
• Individually, unbeaten US#5/#4 Ste. Genevieve MO soph Taylor Werner improved from 3rd in 2012 to take the crown in 18:36.2 and lead three Missouri individual qualifiers.  Festus MO sr Jamie Kempfer, 2nd to Werner in their 3A state meet, closed well to take 2nd in 18:42.1 – the closest anyone has been to Werner all year.  Following were Avon IN jr Mary Abramson 18:48.5, Carmel’s #1 sr Kelcy Welch 18:48.6, Cor Jesu Academy MO sr Jill Whitman 18:58.2 and St. Anthony IL soph Anna Sophia Keller 18:59.3 – the final individual qualifier. 
• In the boys’ race, favorites US#6/#5 Patrick Perrier and US#9/#22 Noah Kauppila struggled and Cincy St. X sr Evan Stifel produced a stunning 8-second win in 16:03.7.  Stifel was 5th in the Ohio D1 state meet and is often #2 on his own team behind Michael Hall (20th here).  Since Stifel was part of the runner-up team, the next five comprised the individual qualifiers:  McHenry IL jr Jesse Reiser 16:11.1, Concordia Lutheran IN sr Zach Panning 16:16.3, Rock Bridge MO sr Evan Schulte 16:16.7, Downers Grove North IL sr Zack Smith 16:17.0, and York sr Nathan Mroz 16:21.0.  Perrier, the IL 3A state champ from O’Fallon, dropped out at 2M due to injury, and Kauppila, the record-setting MO 4A state champ, was 14th.

MASSACHUSETTS

MIAA All State Championships, 11/16, Gardner Municipal GC, 2.9M

• The biggest surprise of the meet was the DNF of US#17/#22 Bishop Feehan sr Abbie McNulty in the girls’ D1 race.  The defending champ and heavy favorite reportedly went out hard and with a big lead, then collapsed due to apparent exhaustion just before 2 miles.  That left Lowell soph Kaley Richards in the lead and she went on to a stunning CR victory in 16:53.79.  She was followed by Lincoln-Sudbury jr Sydney Clary 17:11.28.  Without McNulty, Bishop Feehan went from a likely victory in the team standings to 3rd with 126 pts. Instead, Needham won with 83 (meet-best 17:56 avg) over Lincoln-Sudbury’s 109. 
• The D2 girls’ race saw a pair of sub-17s, as Manchester Essex jr Olivia Lantz edged Danvers jr Catalina Dominick, 16:55.62 to 16:58.76.  Sutton sr Jessie Cardin was 3rd at 17:09.55. 
• Hamilton-Wenham routed the field, team-wise, with 56 points (18:10 avg) and a 59-pt margin over runner-up Manchester Essex.
• For the boys, D2 had the best team and individual marks.  Newburyport jr Nick Carleo raced to a 14:14.07 victory, followed by Burlington sr Paul Hogan 14:20.73 and Pembroke sr Christian Stafford 14:31.30.  Hogan’s US#17(MS) Pembroke team steamrolled the field with 49 pts (15:07 avg), though, with Hopedale well back at 104.  In D1, it was Newton North sr Gabe Montague forging a 10-second win over King Phillip sr Owen Gonser, 14:26.89 to 14:36.54.  Mansfield captured team honors with 105 pts (15:15 avg), with Lowell 2nd with 134.

NEW JERSEY

NJSIAA Group Championships, Nov. 16, Holmdel Park, 5k

• NE#1/US#5/#1 Christian Brothers Academy and US#23(DS) Tom O’Neill had dominating performances for the boys that established their favorite roles for the Meet of Champions next week, but the tighter girls’ results foreshadowed some intriguing girls’ MOC matchups.
• CBA continued their domination of the Non-Public ‘A’ race with 24 pts and an exemplary 16:05 avg, well ahead of a strong runner-up showing by Don Bosco: 63 pts and 16:30 avg.  West Windsor-Plainsboro South, which swept Group IV boys and girls, also hit 16:30 avg while scoring 80 in the largest class (Westfield 2nd 114 pts).  Middletown North, paced by O’Neill, was even better in Group III with 16:28 avg and 100 pts (Morristown 145).  A merge, however, puts Bosco ahead of WW-PS and Middletown.
• Speaking of O’Neill, he ran 15:26 to win that Grp III race by 10 seconds, with Hammonton sr Louis Corgliano 15:36, Highland Regional sr Steve Maine 15:41 and Toms River South sr Kyle Kroon 15:42 taking the next three spots.  Two other sub-15:40 winners were Freehold Twp sr Dylan Tapley 15:39 in Group IV and Trinity Christian sr Josiah Hanko also 15:39 in Non-Public ‘B.’  US#21(DS) senior Mike McClemens led CBA with his winning 15:56, with his next four teammates within 18 seconds.
• Individually for the girls, impressive wins were turned in by US#18(DS) Tenafly sr Josette Norris in Grp III with 18:12 and US#27(DS) Haddonfield Memorial frosh Briana Gess in Grp II with 18:16.  West Morris Mendham sr Mackenzie Barry clocked a fast 18:21 behind Norris, while Randolph jr Elizabeth Lansing (18:29 to win Grp IV) and Holmdel jr Marin Warner (18:30 for 2nd in Grp II) also ran 18:30 or faster.
• That West Windsor-Plainsboro South seven that took Grp IV scored 87 pts and had the best merged score, though runner-up Randolph (107 pts) – with Norris – had the best avg at 19:35.  Mount Olive, in taking Grp III with 134 pts, had the best marks of any other class winner.

NEW YORK

State Federation Championships, Nov. 16, Bowdoin Park, Wappinger Falls, 5k

• The NY#2/US#8/#12 Liverpool boys earned the rare distinction of winning a Feds title after not qualifying for the previous week’s state meet.  They scored 75 with an outstanding 16:27 team avg, outrunning NY#5/US#27(DS) Chaminade 160, US#37(DS) St. Anthony’s 166, NY#4/US#19(DS) Saratoga 222 and 23 others.  They had a 42.6-second spread and prevailed with just one senior.  Only one team per section qualified for the previous week’s state meet and Liverpool was in the same section as NY#1 Class A champion Fayetteville-Manlius (which customarily bypasses Feds).
• Individually, Pearl River sr Brian Cook forged a solid 11-second victory in 15:45.2, with Chaminade sr Thomas Slattery 15:56.3, Irondequoit sr Josh Dyrland (also) 15:56.3 and Collegiate jr Marco Pompilj 15:57.6 also going sub-16.
• The girls team race was much closer as NY#5 John Jay Cross River upset NY#2/US#25/#18 Saratoga, 153-154, winning their first Feds title.  Queensbury was 3rd with 188, followed by NY#4 Pearl River 216, Miller Place 229 and Elmira 230.  Scoring the individual win was Corning frosh Jessica Lawson in 18:16.2, followed by Rush-Henrietta jr Alex Cooper 18:22.7, US#9(MS) Warwick Valley soph Megan Reilly 18:27.4 and Penfield sr Katie Lembo 18:27.8.

NORTH CAROLINA

Dash for Doobie 2M, Nov. 16, Ronald Reagan HS, Winston-Salem, 3200m

• The traditional on-the-track tuneup for XC runners moving into the post-season is always fast – and this year was no exception.  In the boys race, there were two sub-9s, 10 sub-9:20s and 17 went under 9:30.  Mt. Tabor sr Ian Midler outkicked US#28(DS) Providence Day School sr Ben Huffman – the Great American ROC champ – 8:58.37 to 8:58.84.  A strong trio in the next three spots were Broughton sr William Roberson 9:06.65, Lexington SC sr Zach Langston 9:07.27 and East Chapel Hill sr Ryan Brady 9:07.28.
• The girls results weren’t quite as formidable, but there were still five under 10:50 and 12 under 11:00.  Broughton sr Megan Sullivan prevailed with 10:44.41, followed by Durham Academy sr Eliza Dekker 19:46.68, Green Hope NC soph Elly Henes 10:47.51, Ragsdale frosh Sara Platek 10:48.36 and Cardinal Gibbons sr Mary Grace Doggett 10:49.58.

OHIO

Mid-East Championships, Nov. 16, Indian Riffle Park, Kettering, 5k

• The 27th running of this event pits a dozen runners each (all seniors) from Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan in individual and team competition.  For the boys, Ohio tallied 39 pts to best Illinois 45, Indiana 53 and Michigan 77.  Ohioans took three of the top six places, with Twinsburg OH’s Garrett Crichlow winning in 15:45.  He was followed by Warsaw IN’s Ellis Coon 15:51 and Newark OH’s Toby Hardwick 15:52.
• For the girls, Indiana was victorious on a tiebreaker with Michigan, as each squad scored 45 but the Hoosier State had the better 6th runner.  Ohio with 57 and Illinois with 63 followed.  Michigan got a 1-2 finish from Chippewa Hills’ Megan O’Neil 18:15 and Breckenridge’s Kirsten Olling 18:31.  Taking bronze was London OH’s sr Sarra Taylor in 18:35.

VIRGINIA

VHSL State Championships, Nov. 15-16, Great Meadow, The Plains, 5k

• An incredibly close boys’ 6A team race, and a lot of other dominating performances, was on the menu as the first championships were held in the new 6-class format (up from three). 
• In that 6A boys’ race, four points separated the top four teams as Chantilly 85 edged Lake Braddock 87, James W. Robinson 89 and Battlefield (also) 89.  Chantilly built a lead with 3-5 start for their first two runners, then Battlefield closed within a point through four, and then the other two schools tightened it with the best fifth runners.
• Midlothian had the top average of the weekend, however, as they dominated 4A with 32 pts (16:05 avg, a few ticks better than the 6A teams).  Millbrook was a distant 2nd with 76.  Also, Deep Run nipped Stone Bridge 90-94 in 5A, while Lafayette 54 held off Western Albemarle 72 and Brentsville District 73 in 3A.
• For the girls, SE#2 6A champ Oakton was clearly the class of the meet, scoring 55 and topping Washington-Lee 100, SE#3 Lake Braddock 112 and Ocean Lakes 115.  They had the only sub-19 average with 18:34.  SE#1/US#9(MS) Blacksburg dominated 3A with 35 pts, winding up with the 2nd best merge and 3rd best avg (19:03).
• Individually, US#10/#11 West Springfield sr Caroline Alcorta stayed unbeaten with another overwhelming win, taking the 6A girls’ race in 17:13.  The meet’s next three best times (and two other sub-18s) also came in this race as Alcorta was followed by the Lake Braddock senior duo of Hannah Christen 17:52 and Katy Kunc 17:59, and Oakton jr Allie Klimkiewicz 18:01.  The fastest champ in any other class was 5A winner and Mills Godwin sr Katherine Benfer in 18:23.
• US#23(MS) Thomas Edison sr Louis Colson was almost as dominant for the boys overall, as his 5A win with 15:06 was 30 ticks up on runnerup Albemarle sr Ryan Thomas and 18 seconds faster than any other class champion.  6A champ and Oakton sr John Stoney ran 15:24 for the only other sub-15:30 of the meet, winning by 11 seconds over Lake Braddock jr Alex Corbett 15:35.