Weekend Roundup: Through 11/24 XC meets

by Steve Underwood

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. 24.  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 (11/21).

 

ARIZONA

NXN Southwest, Nov. 23, Toka Sticks GC, Mesa AZ, 5k

  • Though results originally showed a 73-73 tie between US#15/#19 Fort Collins CO and US#2/#3 Davis UT, a video review finally yielded an update that showed a 1-pt 73-74 victory for the Lambkins – thanks ultimately to a .01 margin between Ft. Collins #5 Kari Van Zyl 18:59.97 and Davis #5 Hannah Albrechtsen 18:59.98.  Though Ft. Collins was 2nd at state to US#10/#7 Monarch CO (3rd here with 86 pts) and Davis was ranked higher and favored, it was hard to call it a huge upset given that Ft. Collins has been an NXN Finals regular.  The trio was well ahead of Air Academy CO 216, American Fork UT 230, and US#19/#13 Desert Vista AZ 234.
  • The girls individual battle was not nearly as dramatic, as US#3(both) Niwot CO sr Elise Cranny repeated in 17:03.87 – four ticks slower than last year, but in tougher conditions and with a big 33-second margin over US#19/#25 Herriman UT sr Lucy Biles 17:36.70.  In third was US#25/#17Air Academy CO soph Katie Rainsberger 17:45.42 and a super close battle for 4th and 5th saw Desert Vista jr Danielle Jones 17:48.21 and Park City UT jr Alyssa Snyder 17:48.68 edging US#20/#11 Ft. Collins frosh Lauren Gregory 17:49.26 and US#10/#24 Ogden sr Sarah Feeny 17:49.49.  Gregory made NXN Finals with her team, but Feeny will be one of the nation’s best runners to stay home.
  • The boys’ team race saw defending champ US#6/#2 American Fork UT earn another trip to Portland with 111, easily overcoming Davis UT 165.  Mountain Vista CO 209, Ogden UT (also 209), Riverton UT 233, and US#14/#22 Corona del Sol AZ 242 followed.  The Utah powers in the top two spots duplicated their finish from 2012, with Davis getting bids for both genders again.
  • Individually, fans outside of Colorado finally got to see unbeaten US#1(both) Denver East sr Cerake Geberkidane, who went out hard and hung on for a 15:17.0 victory.  He was followed by Sky View UT jr Conner Mantz 15:22.7 in 2nd.  The rest of the top 5 included American Fork jr Zach Jacklin 15:31.7, Bingham UT sr Andrew Brewer 15:31.9 and Ogden UT sr Mike Buckley 15:32.0.  Since Jacklin qualified with his team, Coronado CO sr Bailey Roth earned the final individual qualifier in 6th at 15:32.4.  Roth was the NBNO champion in the 2k steeplechase.

KENTUCKY

Cross Country Coaches Nat’l Youth Champs, Nov. 23, Tom Sawyer State Pk, Louisville, 5k

  • In the 17-18 boys’ race, the Brocaw Blazers got a 1-2 finish from Blue Valley West KS jr Stuart McNutt 15:17.68 and Pike Valley KS jr Caden Callaway 15:38.79, and took the team title over Jenks America.  Brocaw also edged Jenks in the 15-16 boys, though the individual crown went to Villa Madonna KY jr Eric Baugh (Team Kentucky) in 15:46.97.
  • Brocaw also won the girls’ 17-18s, with Griswold IA jr Rebekah Topham prevailing in 17:50.38.  Grove OK sr Michaela Warner 18:43.39 (for Jenks) and Team Kentucky were the runner-ups.  In the 15-16 girls, Jenks dominated Brocaw, with Stilwell OK jr Sydney Lawrence leading them at 18:28.85 over Blue Valley NW KS jr Hannah Holbert 18:39.66.

NEW JERSEY

NJSIAA Meet of Champions, Nov. 23, Holmdel Park, 5k

  • The NE#1/US#5/#1 Christian Brothers Academy boys became the first team to average less than 16 minutes on Holmdel to claim both team and individual boys’ honors in mighty fashion.
  • Unranked CBA sr Mike McClemens really stretched it out, pulling away for a 15:26 triumph, six seconds up on Freehold Twp sr Dylan Tarpley’s 15:32.  With that individual effort, the Brothers weren’t quite as tight, but that drove the average down to 15:52, topping by 12 seconds their own previous team CR.  They scored 51 pts, followed by NE#3 Don Bosco Prep with 104 and NE#4 West Windsor-Plainsboro South with 179.  Bosco was an exceptional runnerup with a 16:12 average, which would have won the MOC many years.  Eighteen runners broke 16 overall, in good conditions.  Tarpley was followed by Hammonton sr Louis Corgliano 15:35 and Toms River South sr Kyle Kroon 15:37.  Notables further back included US#17/#21 Middletown North sr Tom O’Neill, who was fastest in the Group champs.
  • For the girls, US#22(DS) Haddonfield frosh Briana Gess produced a stunning 17:45 victory, #5 all-time on the course.  She won a heavily hyped duel with US#15(DS) Tenafly sr Josette Norris, who finished in 18:12 and was almost caught by West Morris Mendham sr Mackenzie Barry (also 18:12) at the wire.  Also breaking 18:20 were Randolph jr Elizabeth Lansing 18:14 and St. John Vianney sr Courtney Thompson 18:16.  Lansing paced Randolph to a narrow team victory with 106 pts, ahead of Red Bank Catholic 113, Rumson-Fair Haven 140, and West Windsor-Plainsboro South 159.

OREGON

Nike Border Clash 15, Nov. 23, Nike Campus, Beaverton, 4.4K

  • Washington swept the team battles over Oregon for the 5th straight year, though it was closer than in the recent past.  With a 2-3-4-5-6 finish the Evergreen State took the boys’ affair, 20-37, while 1-4-5-6-7 scoring produced a 23-36 victory on the girls’ side.  The WA boys’ streak actually extends back to 2005.
  • Unbeaten Oregon 5A champ and US#3/#12 Summit OR jr Matthew Maton prevailed over the champion’s best with a 13:28, winning by 12 seconds over US#22/#14 Mt. Spokane WA jr John Dressel.  Maton was just 17th in the 2012 race.  US#4/#2 Tanner Anderson, the Washington 3A and NXN Northwest victor, was just 5th in 13:53, trailing US#5/#3 Seattle Prep WA sr Joe Hardy (3rd, 13:47) and his own North Central WA teammate Kai Wilmot (4th, 13:49).  After Garfield WA sr Cameron Stanish in 6th (13:53), the next two Oregon finishers were Siuslaw OR sr and 4A champ Mitchell Butler in 7th and Reynolds sr Ahmed Ibrahim in 8th.
  • US#2/#1 Camas WA sr Alexa Efraimson, the 4A state and NXN NW champ, also stayed unbeaten with an easy 15:43 victory.  She was runner-up here last year behind graduated Amy-Eloise Neale.  The next two spots went to a pair of sophomore Oregon state champs, as Grant’s US#29/#23 Ella Donaghu (6A) clocked 16:00 to Summit’s Hannah Gindlesperger (5A) 16:05.  In securing the win, the following wave of Washington runners were led by 3A state champ and Lakeside jr Andrea Masterson 16:15 and 1B state champ and Oroville sr Sierra Speiker 16:17.

TENNESSEE

Knoxville Youth Athletics Post-Season Time Trial, Nov. 22, Hardin Valley Academy, 3200m

  • Another of the handful of track tuneup races for the XC post-season saw US#6(both) Hardin Valley sr Aaron Templeton rip an 8:54.29 – reportedly the fastest 3200 ever on Tennessee soil.  He’s the unbeaten AAA champ this fall after taking 7th at Foot Locker Finals last year and was 3rd in the NBNI 2-mile last March.  Greeneville sr Wesley Pectol was 2nd at 9:12.87 and the girls winner was Hardin Valley sr Emma Mashburn at 11:01.80.

TEXAS

NXN South, Nov. 23, Bear Branch Park, The Woodlands, 5k

  • Many new teams and faces were mixed in with the familiar in this typically Texas-dominated region.
  • Bentonville AR jr Jacob Shiohira, two weeks after a tough state meet loss, became the first NXN South winner from outside the Lone Star State with a 15:28.69 triumph.  Norman North OK jr Ben Barrett also made history as the first individual boys from Oklahoma to qualify in 4th at 15:37.17.  Between them were Texas 5A champ and Strake Jesuit sr Frank Lara 15:31.67 and Flower Mound sr Wesley Ward 15:36.60 – who bounced back from a poor outing at state.  The final individual qualifier was Ward’s teammate, sr Zach Hamstra in 7th at 15:39.63.  A surprise non-qualifier was Keller sr Austen Dalquist – dominant most of the season in Texas – in 10th.
  • The boys’ team battle saw favored two-time defending champ SO#1/US#34(DS) Southlake Carroll win again with 90 pts, paced by 5-6 finishers Connor Hendrickson and Jacob Pickle.  SLC will make its 7th trip to Portland.  But in 2nd was Lewisville Hebron, making it for the first time with 130 pts.  The Woodlands 138 and SO#2 College Park 146 took the next two spots. Unless The Woodlands gets an at-large bid, it will miss NXN Finals for only the 2nd time.
  • In the girls’ team race, SO#3 New Braunfels will go to Portland for the first time ever after its triumph with 76 pts.  The Woodlands advanced for the 4th time with their runner up finish at 101 pts, but defending champ and SO#1 Southlake Carroll was relegated to 3rd with 107.  The SLC girls, like The Woodlands boys, could miss NXN Finals for just the 2nd time ever if they don't get an at-large.  A close 4th was Lewisville Flower Mound with 109 and SO#4 College Park TX rounded out the top 5 with 124.
  • Soph Paige Hofstad paced the champions from New Braunfels with her 17:38.11 victory.  The 5A state champ improved from 12th in 2012.  The next five finishers, all from Texas, comprised the individual qualifiers:  Flower Mound jr Safiya Belbina 17:48.63, Crawford sr AnnMarie Dunlap 17:52.99, Highland Park sr Nathalie Rathjen 17:54.25, Rouse soph Madie Boreman 17:54.75, and Smithson Valley jr Devin Clark 18:02.08.  Notable in the next two spots were New Braunfels’ #2 with sr Morgan Szekely 18:04.77 and The Woodlands’ leader, senior Madi McLellan in 18:07.24.  McLellan did not finish in the 5A state race, but now will run in her 4th NXN Final.

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