NBN and GACC champs qualify en masse for XC nationals

by Steve Underwood

The 2014 prep cross-country season is winding down, with the stage now set for two weekends of national championship competition.  This past Saturday featured the biggest weekend of qualifying events for these championships.  In the Foot Locker series, three of the four regional qualifying meets were held, with one more to follow next Saturday and the National Finals in San Diego then taking place December 13.  Meanwhile, this past Saturday featured the final four (out of nine) regional qualifiers for Nike Cross Nationals with the grand finale coming up this Saturday in Portland.

Both sets of regional qualifiers featured some of our top performers from the 2014 New Balance Nationals Indoor and Outdoor, as well as some of the top performers from October’s Great American Cross Country Festival.  In fact, the six boys’ and girls’ individual champions at the three aforementioned Foot Locker regionals included FOUR NBN champs from 2014 as well as the Great American boys’ NB Race of Champions victor – and ALL of those five athletes with NSAF meet ties have a great chance to win in San Diego.  On top of that, both team titlists from those Great American ROCs claimed NXN regional titles Saturday and have at least a shot at the Portland podium next Saturday – as does a certain boys’ ROC individual runner-up.

So let’s look at the highlights of each of these regional qualifiers in detail:
 

Foot Locker Midwest Girls: NBNO 5k champ Rohrer on fire again

When Anna Rohrer smashed the 17-minute barrier to win Foot Locker Midwest in 2012 as a sophomore, barely anyone outside of Indiana had heard of her.  Two years, two national titles and a few major injuries later, fans around the country know that with her 16:57 in Kenosha last Saturday, the Mishawaka, IN senior is primed to race for her 2nd FL Finals crown.

After winning that FL Midwest race two years ago, Rohrer of course triumphed in San Diego and fans wondered how many more XC and track titles she could rack up before she was through.  But after low-keying it in track in 2013, her subsequent junior XC season was almost entirely lost to injury.  This past spring, however, she healed up and progressed to the point where she came to Greensboro in mid-June and rolled to the NBNO 5,000 title in 16:16.97.  Unfortunately, foot pain flared up again and forced another off-season of healing that led into another triumphant comeback this fall.

Three others with significant NBN and/or GACC creds were among the nine other Finals qualifiers behind Rohrer.  Fourth-place finisher Audrey Belf (Seaholm, MI senior) was the NBNI 2-mile runner-up last March in 10:10.90.  She also won the USA Junior 5,000 title this past July and in 2013 was 3rd in the NBNI deuce and 7th in the NBNO 5,000.  Fifth-place Stephanie Jenks (Linn-Mar, IA junior) broke the soph-class national 5,000 mark last winter in taking 2nd at NBNI in 16:37.50, made the World Junior 3k final in July and shone in 2013, as well (3rd mile, 7th 2M at NBNO).  Sixth-place Hannah Long (Eureka, MO senior) was our Great American ROC champ in 2013.  And 8th-place Sarah Kettel, a rising star who competes for a Lansing, MI homeschooled team, can claim a 16th-place 5k finish and 6th-place Emerging Elite 2M finish at NBNO as contributing to her ascension.
 

Foot Locker Midwest Boys: Fisher ready to defend Finals title

The national prep distance running world first really took note of Grant Fisher when he qualified for the World Youth 1,500 final in 2013, where he went on to finish 9th.  That WYC final was also where he last lost to a U.S. high school runner, period (Blake Haney, who was 3rd).  Indeed, after winning his second straight Foot Locker Midwest title in Kenosha with a dominating 15:00 performance, he is close to completing a fourth straight unbeaten season.

Let’s review: Fisher’s junior year was then a whirlwind of victories at every level.  He swept through XC, capped by the 2013 Foot Locker Finals crown.  A relatively modest indoor campaign was highlighted by a scintillating finish in the NBNI mile that carried him to a 4:09.46 victory.  No prep could beat him outdoors, either, as he ran 4:02.02 and 8:51.28 for the mile and 2M.  He was beaten by a collegian in the USA Junior 1,500, then finally had something of a setback in missing qualifying for the World Junior 1,500 final.  That no doubt increased his resolve a little to repeat in San Diego – we’ll see if he can do it in two weeks. 

Four others from the FL Midwest Boys’ top 10 have NBNO experience, led by 6th-place finisher Thomas Pollard (Gilbert, IA senior), who was 5th in the 2M at 8:59.63.  Olin Hacker (Madison West, WI senior), who squeaked in 10th, was 8th in the mile in Greensboro at 4:09.83.  And two who have improved significantly since NBNO are Zack Snider (Brebeuf Jesuit Prep, IN senior) and Jesse Hersha (Concord, MI senior).  Snider was 9th Saturday after taking 20th in June’s 5,000, while Hersha – 22nd in the Emerging Elite mile – was the stunning runner-up Saturday behind Fisher in 15:09.
 

Foot Locker South Boys: GACC champ Hunter keeps rolling

That Andrew Hunter was going to be a Foot Locker Finals title contender – and maybe win it all – was made abundantly clear at WakeMed in October.  It wasn’t just that he won the NB Race of Champs, rolling nearly solo to a near-record 14:46.1 victory, it was the way he did it and the way he looked.  The young, raw-looking Loudoun Valley, VA sophomore who had burst on the scene the previous spring had transformed into a more powerful-looking young man who appeared capable of dominating any prep field in the country.  He dominated that GACC race and has dominated since, including Saturday’s FL South race in 14:36 – winning by 18 seconds.

And that “previous spring” is worth reviewing.  Hunter first made jaws drop in April’s Penn Relays, when he not only took down the 3k field, but did so with a soph-class national record 8:16.31.  After cruising through most of the rest of the spring, fans wondered if he could confirm that talent at NBNO.  While he didn’t win there, he left no doubt he belonged on the top tier national class short list, finishing a close 2nd in the deuce at 8:53.81.  In fact, Hunter could become the first Great American boys’ champ to win Foot Locker Finals since Chris Solinsky in 2002.

Two others from the FL South boys’ top 10 have NSAF meet experience.  Fifth-place finisher Peter Seufer (E.C. Glass, VA senior) was 9th in the GACC ROC at 15:31.9, while Ben Barrett (Norman North, OK senior) – who was 4th Saturday – had a DNF in last June’s NBNO 5k.


Foot Locker South Girls: Frazier keeps getting better and better

It’s never easy following a mega-star sibling, no matter what efforts there might be to reduce the pressure.  And Wesley Frazier, Ravenscroft NC Class of 2013, certain qualified as a mega-star – especially after capping her prep career off with her NBNO triple the spring of her senior year.  Ryen, younger sister by two years, was certainly good … but even after her stunning NBNO mile victory last spring in 4:46.39, the talent and performance wasn’t quite Wesley-esque. 

Well, several months later, Ryen has established her own greatness in eye-popping fashion – and with her Foot Locker South title in 16:27 Saturday, she’s done something sis never accomplished.  At Great American in October, it was clear Ryen was still improving, with her 17:22 runner-up finish in the ROC.  But a month later in an open meet on the same WakeMed course, she crushed a 16:44, then followed with what could be called FL South track “tuneup” efforts of 10:12.26 for 3,200 (outdoors) and 4:44.20 for a mile (indoors).  This Frazier is establishing her own unique megastar status, no doubt.

In winning FL South, Frazier had to turn the tables on the girl who beat her at Great American, Libby Davidson.  However, the E.C. Glass, VA soph didn’t seem too disappointed; she still achieved her goal of qualifying for San Diego and did so with a PR 16:53 in 4th.  Fans will recall that Davidson had impressive Emerging Elite performances at both NBNO and NBNI this year before she really burst on the national scene this fall.  Also having competed in NBNO EE and freshman events successfully the past two years was Spartanburg, SC junior Logan Morris, who came in 9th Saturday in 17:18.


Foot Locker Northeast Girls: Schwartz tops Debalsi

Hannah Debalsi (Staples, CT junior) was viewed by many as the girl to beat nationally this fall in XC.  After all, she was the Foot Locker Finals runner-up last fall, then put together a track season that included an NBNO 2M title in 10:09.08 and the fastest 2M by a non-senior with 9:55.05.  She still may be that girl to beat, but after an unbeaten but relatively low-key season in Connecticut, she took a backseat to Pennsylvanian Brianna Schwartz Saturday at Van Cortlandt, taking 2nd at FL Northeast with a 17:50.5. 

On the one hand, Debalsi already has the experience of placing better in the FL Finals than in the region; she was 3rd in the Northeast last fall before her 2nd in San Diego.  But on the other hand, Schwartz (Shaler Area senior) is a legit national title contender herself, having placed 6th in the Finals last year (4th in the NE) and with 4:42 mile and 10:10 3,200 talent.

Several of the other qualifiers to San Diego have NSAF meet experience.  Third-place finisher Emma McMillan (Barrington, RI junior) was 5th in the 2013 GACC ROC in 18:07, while 4th-place Madeleine Davison (North Allegheny, PA junior) took 3rd in this past NBNO mile with 4:47.07.  Fifth-place Erin Dietz (Bedford, MA senior), 6th-place Anna Flynn (Ursuline, NY junior) and 10th-place Eve Glasergreen (North Hunterdon, NJ senior) all competed in NBN 5,000s – Dietz was 4th and Glasergreen 15th outdoors (16:47.34 and 17:33.74) and Flynn 9th indoors (17:43.38).


Foot Locker Northeast Boys: NBNO 5k champ Ostberg reigns supreme

Alex Ostberg (Darien, CT senior) made a transition from being very good to great last spring during three key races:  He was 3rd in the Penn 3k with an 8:20.14, then was 2nd in a very fast Loucks Games 3,200 with a 8:52.64.  Then in the NBNO 5,000, Ostberg rolled an eye-popping 14:16.61 that propelled him into his senior year as one of a select group that might be able to stop Grant Fisher’s bid to repeat as Foot Locker champ.

Ostberg has done nothing this fall to refute that notion.  Besides setting a few impressive course records in CT and Vermont, he became the second ever to break 12:00 in the Manhattan Invite with his 11:57 win.  He stayed unbeaten with a sub-15 at state, a New Englands triumph and, last Saturday, the FL Northeast crown in 15:17 – eight seconds off Donn Cabral’s meet/course record.  Yes, Ostberg – along with Andrew Hunter from the South – is in that very small group that could end Fisher’s reign.

Of five others in the FL Northeast top 10 that have NBN experience, the most impressive is that of 6th-place Benito Muniz (Carmel, NY senior) and 9th-place Jack Jibb (Monroe-Woodbury, NY senior).  Muniz was 7th in the NBNO mile with a 4:09.74, while Jibb took 4th in the 2k steeplechase at 5:57.24.


NXN Northeast Boys: GACC champs LaSalle over CBA

When the La Salle Academy, RI boys won the Great American New Balance Race of Champions in October, they did so with a relatively unimpressive 132-point total – without key top-3 man Jack Salisbury, who was fighting an injury.  With him back Saturday at Bowdoin, the school’s rock solid top five was impossible to beat.  DJ Principe, Matthew Bouthillette, Salisbury, Jake Grundy and Daniel Paiva all finished within less than 20 seconds, in 7-8-11-17-20, to score 63 and win by nearly 40 points over Christian Brothers Academy, NJ

La Salle certainly has to be considered a podium candidate in Portland, but CBA – which led by runner-up Blaise Ferro scored 102 pts – cannot be forgotten, either.  They were runner-up last year behind Gig Harbor, WA and were the 2011 champs.  CBA, incidentally, won the 2012 Great American ROC, setting the all-time lowest team average.  The school has also racked up several NBN relay titles, including last winter’s 4x1 mile at NBNI.

Among individual qualifiers, 4th-place Kevin James of Cardinal O’Hara, PA led his team’s 4th-place GACC ROC effort in 2013 in 7th.  Fifth-place Craig Corti (Wallkill Valley, NJ senior) had a big PR 14:54.87 5,000 at NBNO last June for 12th.


NXN Northeast Girls: LaSalle gets an at-large

The La Salle girls’ runner-up finish at Great American behind Blacksburg, VA – improving five spots from 2013 – was a key milestone during a season which hit another high point Saturday as their 3rd-place finish earned them an at-large berth to Portland.  They didn’t have their best day at Bowdoin – taking 3rd with 160 pts behind Unionville, PA’s 84 and Coe-Brown NH’s 144 – but their season’s work overall earned them the spot.  Eliza Rego (4th at GACC) and Sheridan Wilbur led the way in 11th and 12th (scoring 9-10). 

Unionville and Coe-Brown have had notable NBN performances, too.  The former put together a 11:59.67 DMR at NBNI for 6th last winter, while Coe-Brown’s star Hannah Parker (who led them in 7th Saturday) was 3rd in the NBNO 800 last June in 2:06.85. 


NXN Southeast Girls:  GACC champs Blacksburg aiming for the podium

The Blacksburg, VA girls were a single point out of first at the 2013 Great American ROC, then made it to Portland without a realistic chance to place high and got 21st.  With just one key runner lost to graduation, however, they knew 2014 could be a much better year – and it has been.  Blacksburg ran away with the GACC ROC title this time with 56 points and Saturday continued their bid for the NXN Finals podium with the title at WakeMed with 86 points.  The balanced crew includes Bonnie Angermeier and Jenn Fleming at the top, with Annie Kay Combs, Samantha Marin, Emily Beatty, Olivia Hodge and Mikayla Richardson following.  These girls also captured the NBNI 4x1 mile last March.

The GACC-NXN SE Girls connection hardly stops at Blacksburg, though.  How about Green Hope, NC?  They were a very solid 3rd at WakeMed in October and eight weeks later came through with the runner-up finish behind Blacksburg with 106 pts.  Elly Henes has been a big leader for them all season; at GACC she was 3rd in 17:35.8, then Saturday just a tick away from winning with 17:17.0.

Individually, an even bigger jump came from Morgan Ilse (Marist, GA senior).  She was 9th at Great American in 18:06.0; at NXN SE, she rose to a stellar 3rd with 17:21.7.  Then among two freshmen who qualified individually to Portland, along with Ilse, was Rafella Gibbons (Winter Park, FL) – who duplicated her 6th-place finish from GACC and ran 10 seconds faster at 17:39.4.


NXN Southeast Boys:  Barnard’s sizzler leads Boone

In October at GACC, Adam Barnard was runner-up behind Andrew Hunter in the Boys’ ROC – 26 seconds behind in 15:12.1.  What a difference two months makes.  Saturday, he scorched the course at WakeMed to the tune of 14:44.0, topping Hunter’s GACC time and moving to #3 all-time on the course.  Barnard is hardly a known quantity nationally, but that kind of time at WakeMed immediately makes him a contender for the NXN individual crown.

But it gets even better: Barnard’s team, Daniel Boone HS in Tennessee, squeaked into the runner-up spot Saturday with 158 points – just one ahead of Lake Braddock, VA at 159 and two ahead of defending champ Brentwood, TN at 160.  The team battle was kind of crazy, with champion Severna Park, MD not being nearly as strong up front, but having a #5 man scoring 38th – finishing a 16-second spread – that was way ahead of anyone else’s #5.  Daniel Boone’s 2-3-4 – James Garst, Josh Routh and Ben Varghese – were fairly close together in scoring 15-24-37, then Mitch Bronstetter scored 81 to just get the qualifying spot. 

Individually, the 5th and final qualifier to Portland (6th in 15:05.1) was Reilly Friedman, the Galloway School, GA senior who was 3rd at GACC in 15:15.8.

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