DyeStat News
Northwest Region
Eagle Island State Park, Boise ID
November 10, 2007
WA - OR - ID - MT - HI - AK
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click on event for results, photos and stories
| | Event | Winners | Boys Championship
| NW#1 US#9 North Central WA 87, NW#2 Stark Street OR (Central Catholic) 95, NW#9 Maple Valley WA (Tahoma) 122, Sehome 168.
| Girls Championship
| NW#4 Blues OR (St. Mary's) 87, NW#1 US#10 Portland Harriers OR 94, NW#2 Bozeman MT 102.
| Boys Varsity
| Large School: Ashland TC 65; Matt Miner, Ashland 16:10
Small School: Lakeside Road Runners 29; Tim Welch, Lakeside 16:22
| Girls Varsity
| Large School: Maple Valley RC 71; Amanda Ward, Donnelly's 18:44
Small School: Soda Springs RC 27; Cydney Jacobsen, Bear Lake 19:11
| Boys JV
| Portland Harriers 28; Dalton Petursson 16:54
| Girls JV
| Lake Samm 18; Amelia Crane, Bear Lake 19:57
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Redemption in the air at Eagle Island
by Dave Devine, DyeStat Northwest region editor
Along with a smattering of raindrops from the overcast skies, redemption was in the air at Eagle Island State Park in Boise, Idaho, site of the first-ever NTN Northwest Regional. The boys of North Central XC Club, ranked NW#1 and US#3 when they were beaten by three points over this same terrain on September 22nd at the Bob Firman Invitational, returned to the scene of that loss and seized a bid to the Nike Team Nationals on December 1st with an 87-95 victory over Stark Street AC (Central Catholic OR).
The Blues XC Club, comprised of seven girls from St. Mary’s Academy OR who watched their NW#3-ranking drop to fourth last week after a sound defeat by NW#1/US#10 Jesuit OR in the Oregon 6A state meet—and an impressive run by Crater OR in the 5A race—rebounded a week later to upset that same Jesuit team (now running as the Portland Harriers), 87-94, with a deft display of team running. All four teams earned automatic invitations to the Nike Team Nationals.
Andrew Kimpel's 2nd place finish led North Central
| Lucy Whipps' 9th place finish
led The Blues (St. Mary's OR)
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Jonathan Lafler of Maple Valley RC (Tahoma WA), seeking some redemption of his own after a frustrating fourth place showing at the Washington 4A state meet last weekend, took the individual title (15:48.1) with a powerful move in the final mile of the race to draw away from early leader Trevor Dunbar of Kodiak Harriers (Kodiak AK). Dunbar would slip to third, the victim of a stretch drive by North Central XC’s top gun, Andrew Kimpel, but Lafler’s gutsy single-digit starter led his team to an impressive third place in the team competition, ahead of higher-ranked teams Crater RC (5th place), Mead XC (6th), and Portland Harriers (Jesuit OR - 11th). The surprise of the meet on the boys' side may have been Washington small-school power Sehome RC, second in a tie-breaker to Burlington-Edison a week ago at the state 2A meet, then fourth in the national qualifier seven days later.
Girls
In the girl’s individual race, Nicole Nielsen of Lions XC Club (Borah ID), runner-up in the Idaho 5A state meet and winner on this course of the Bob Firman Invitational, waged a back and forth battle with Alaska 4A state champion Leah Francis (Juneau-Douglas RC ). The two girls, who’d never met during the regular season, were shoulder-to-shoulder coming down the homestretch, neither giving an inch, until Francis carved some daylight in the closing meters for an 18:20.9 to 18:21.9 victory. Nielsen was competing as an individual, and Francis lacked the strong backup squad for her finish to make a serious impact on the team standings, but behind their spirited duel, a tooth-and-nail clash for the coveted pair of national bids was unfolding.
The Portland Harriers fired the first salvo with a 3-6 finish from Adrienne McGuirk (18:28.6) and Noelle VanRysselberghe (18:38.4), but it was the tight 49-second compression of the Blues XC Club that carried the day. As the scores were released to an expectant throng moments before the awards ceremony, a mob of Blues XC runners, family members and supporters began leaping in celebration and disbelief. Their coaches, Mike Bojorquez and Michael Bergmann, had been counting the tight race as it streamed in and suspected the girls had pulled off the upset. Final scoresheets in hand, they exalted with their team in a one-week reversal of fortunes many thought unlikely heading into the weekend.
In some of the closest scoring of the day, only eight points behind the two Portland schools was NW#2 Bozeman XC Club (3rd-102), fronted by the fourth place finish of Montana AA state champ Heidi Turner (18:31.0). Gig Girls XC Club (WA 4A champs Gig Harbor) got up for fourth with 126 points.
Boys
Unlike the Blues XC Club, North Central XC entered the meet as pre-race favorites, but still needed to unload a monkey from their backs. The week after his team suffered their only loss of the season, to Crater OR at the Bob Firman Invitational, Coach John Knight told his runners they were no longer allowed to visit websites like DyeStat.com. It was time, he told them, to refocus and turn back to what had earned them their elite ranking in the first place. Knight’s charges responded to that challenge in spades, winning out the rest of the season, taking the Washington 3A title last weekend, and regaining their NW#1 ranking after Crater appeared vulnerable with a two-point win at the Oregon 5A state meet. All of which left them exactly where they’d been September 21st, the day before Bob Firman-- ranked number one and heading to a drizzly Eagle Island State Park to face Crater and a host of Northwest powers.
This time, however, they made sure the outcome was different.
Crater, running as Crater XC now, ran well but not spectacularly on Saturday, while North Central XC overcame the near-disaster of top-five runner Jeff Howard going down in the first 300 meters of the race to turn back a Stark Street AC team which earned their second trip to NTN in three years. Stark Street, winners of the Oregon 6A title a week ago as Central Catholic OR, came in highly-regarded after a state meet in which they placed their top five in the top 13 of the field. In Boise, they managed five in front of North Central XC’s fifth, behind the lead effort of state runner-up Taylor Morgan (6th- 15:56.1), but couldn’t overcome the close compression of NC’s top three.
As the team scores came to light, the North Central XC squad was perhaps more subdued than the surprise winners of the girls’ race, but there was that same sense of redemption permeating the congratulatory embraces and handshakes. The sense of a job well done, a burden lifted and a season-long goal accomplished.
Now, there is one date remaining on a calendar they drafted a year ago: December 1.
While the Blues XC Club, Portland Harriers and Stark Street AC all have the benefit of competing in their home city on that Saturday, North Central XC Club will be the sole automatic qualifier traveling from out of state. As they lofted the first-place trophy and headed for their cars, they gave the distinct impression it’s a trip they won’t mind making.
 | left, Leah Francis AK edges local favorite Nicole Nielsen ID , winner of the Bob Firman Invitational on this same course in September.
Jonathan Lafler WA wins boys race
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The end of the championship races is the start of a national championship quest for the first two teams under the Finish line. They win a trip to NTN Finals in Portland Dec. 1. |  |
Prior Years - With 17 teams in the first 3 years, the Northwest region has been one of the most prolific feeders to the championship races at Portland Meadows. The city of Spokane alone has contributed four top 5 finishes by Mead and Ferris boys, who have been in the finals all 3 years.
This is the first Northwest regional championship meet for Nike Team Nationals. In previous years, regional representatives were selected by a committee. This year the decisions will be settled on the course. The top two teams here (both boys and girls) will qualify for the 4th national championship race at Portland Meadows race track, Portland OR, on December 1.
Northwest News Log
- Preview - Rankings are out; face to face is in. Nearly all the top teams in the Northwest will be on the starting line at Eagle Island.
- Seeds - teams and individuals and final schedule
- Early preview - Early entries predict rematch of top boys teams and first meeting of top girls teams.
- About Eagle Island - Dave Devine, DyeStat assistant news editor and Northwest regional editor, describes running the NW regional course.
- Early Entries - as of October 30
Schedule
FRIDAY
12 noon to 6 pm - Course Available for Walk through
7:30 - 9:30 pm - Ice Cream Social with Nike athlete and T-Shirt swap - Doubletree Riverside - free to all athletes and coaches.
8 pm - Coaches Technical Meeting, Doubletree Riverside
SATURDAY
SATURDAY
10:15 a.m. Grade School & Middle School boys & girls 3K
10:45 a.m. Open & Citizen men & women 5K
12:00 p.m. Junior Varsity Girls 5K
12:35 p.m. Junior Varsity Boys 5K
1:05 p.m. Girls Varsity 5K
1:35 p.m. Boys Varsity 5K
2:00 p.m. Team Introductions and National Anthem
2:15 p.m. Girls Championship Race 5K
2:45 p.m. Team Introductions
2:50 p.m. Boys Championship Race 5K
6: 30 p.m. Awards Dinner - Center on the Grove - limited seating for 500 - $15 for registered athletes, $21 for coaches and families. Adam and Kara Goucher are guest speakers. Click for Awards Dinner Registration
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