Final Weekend XC Roundup: Through 12/14 meets

by Steve Underwood

The following are the top national highlights for the final week of the 2013 prep cross-country season, through meets of Dec. 14.  Highlights are alphabetical, by state:


CALIFORNIA

Foot Locker Finals, Dec. 14, Balboa Park, San Diego, 5k

  • Grand Blanc MI jr Grant Fisher overtook Mt. Spokane WA jr John Dressel in a thrilling boys’ homestretch duel, while Abington Heights PA sr Tessa Barrett took control of the girls’ race much earlier and held off several challenges in the 35th edition of this event.
  • Fisher used the sprint speed he showed while making the World Youth 1,500 final last summer (and winning the NBNO unseeded mile) as he kicked to the 15:06.5 victory, completing an undefeated season for the FL Midwest champ.  He and Dressel (15:09.2) both pulled away from 3rd-place finisher and Summit OR jr Matthew Maton – who had edged Dressel for the FL West crown – on the downside of the big hill during the last mile.  Maton’s 15:19.0 just held off the 15:20.0 of Rush-Henrietta NY sr Mickey Burke, the FL Northeast champ.
  • Burke, in turn, just withstood the next four finishers – all from the West as that region dominated the team race with 26 pts.  Seattle Prep WA sr Joseph Hardy in 15:21.6 (he cruised in 10th in the region), Pocatello ID jr Elijah Armstrong 15:22.0, Sky View UT jr Conner Mantz 15:22.9 and Tracy CA sr Blair Hurlock 15:23.8 comprised that quartet.  Struggling to 9th behind them was the final regional champ (South) and the top returnee from 2012, Hardin Valley TN sr Aaron Templeton.  Also notable was the fact that the first three were juniors, as well as 5 of the top 7, and 8 of the top 13.
  • Barrett’s 17:15.4 win for the girls wasn’t as dramatic, but certainly impressive in how she took over the race midway and withstood charges from Staples CT soph Hannah Debalsi (17:25.3) and West Springfield VA sr Caroline Alcorta (17:31.0) – the FL South champ – in 2nd and 3rd.  Barrett was the first-ever girls’ winner from Pennsylvania and, having also won FL Northeast, finished the season unbeaten as well.
  • With Phillips Andover Academy MA sr Anoush Shehadeh 4th in 17:34.6 and Shaler Area PA soph Brianna Schwartz 6th in 17:42.1, the Northeast had a 1-2-4-6 start and claimed the team title.  Three from the West were also in the top eight: While regional champ and Bigfork MT jr Makena Morley was 8th in 17:42.4, San Lorenzo Valley CA sr Anna Maxwell – just 7th in the West after losing an early lead – took an impressive 5th with 17:38.5 and Herriman UT jr Lucy Biles took 7th in 17:42.3.  Linn-Mar IA soph Stephanie Jenks led Midwest runners in 9th (17:42.4), ahead of Ste. Genevieve MO soph Taylor Werner (10th 17:43.3) and MW champ and Carmel IN sr Kelcy Welch (17th in 18:02.3) – both of whom doubled back from NXN Finals.

TEXAS

USATF Junior Olympics, Dec. 14, National Shooting Complex, San Antonio, 5k

  • Californians dominated the two older divisions with 1-2 finishes in each race, and with Arcadia HS standouts winning both boys’ races.
  • Running for O’Brien’s Army, Arcadia sr Estevan de la Rosa took the Young Men’s (17-18) division in 15:31.68, while his soph teammate Phillip Rocha triumphed in the Intermediate Boys’ (15-16) with 15:47.36.  Arcadia runners actually took 1-2 in the older race, with sr Jarrick Wenslow finishing in 16:04.43.  This came a week after Arcadia was 9th at NXN, led by de la Rosa’s 5th-place finish.
  • In the younger race, Dana Hills CA soph Jake Ogden trailed Rocha with 16:02.73, just ahead of Barr Reeve IN soph Jarit Perkins 16:04.74.  Team-wise, O’Brien’s Army topped Richmond (Va.) T&F, 36-42 in YM and it was another California club, Equalizers, beating South Orange County in IB, 52-59.
  • For the Young Women’s 17-18, Oakmont CA Class of 2013 grad Karlie Garcia – now at Ole Miss – won by more than a minute in 17:36.09, leading her Buffalo Chips RC to the easy victory.  Arcadia sr Veronica Yamane, running unattached, was 2nd in 18:38.04 as only two broke 19:00.  Garcia’s club teammate, Los Altos CA soph Lauren Jacobs, won the 15-16s in 18:20.76 ahead of Tesoro soph Amanda Gehrich 18:32.56.  Buffalo Chips also won there, with the Equalizers and Richmond T&F fairly close behind.
  • In the 13-14 Youth divisions, it was Buffalo Chips again winning on the female side, but individually Vincentian Academy PA frosh Marianne Abdalah prevailing over 4k with 14:15.69.  Riverside CA frosh Erik Gonzalez triumphed in 12:59.54 over the same distance to pace the So Cal Roadrunners to the boys’ victory.

 

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