27th Foot Locker
cross country championships
the national individual championship
for US high school cross country runners.

Dec 10, 2005 Balboa Park, San Diego CA
Northeast - South - Midwest - West - Finals


steveu's Foot Locker -
analysis of the favorites and contenders by DyeStat senior editor Stephen (steveu) Underwood

Oct 27 update
Stellar showings by Marie Lawrence, Jordan Hasay, New Jersey girls, Diego Mercado, Ben Sitler, Michael Eaton, Brock Hagerman

Fellow DyeStataholics and Distance Nuts:

This is the first of several weekly columns discussing what’s going on with the top individual stars in our sport as (most of them) prepare for Foot Locker and a chance at regional and national titles. While everyone will be considered for rankings, which we will update again in about a week, we will also try and give you an idea of what to expect at the actual region and national races, taking into account who may be running NTN or just not doing postseason at all.

I’m finding that it’s quite the task to keep up closely with a whole nation of cross-country runners (how do you do it, Marc Bloom?), so I’ll be relying heavily on a little help from my friends … which includes all sorts of people. I would love anyone to join the list of those contributing information and insight, so please feel free to e-mail me with input at [email protected].

Please keep in mind that my musings don’t really mean anything and that nobody qualifies or doesn’t qualify based on what I say (unlike my NTN committee brethren, haha), so don’t take them too seriously. If I’m wrong about something, I only have to be wrong for a week, then I can note any corrections you have generously given me.

Well, enough humma-humma, let’s talk about the kids.

BOYS GIRLS

Boys: The National Scene

As with the girls, the most significant action took place on the hills and switchbacks of Mt. SAC in California last weekend, where, at the top, Diego Mercado pushed his name at, or very near the top of, my list. With an outstanding 14:24 in the team sweepstakes, the West Covina, CA senior took the measure of A.J. Acosta, who beat Mercado at Stanford and at last year’s FL Nationals. In fact, with a tremendous effort, Diego’s brother Danny almost beat A.J., too, falling short 14:39-14:40.

I really just about have to give these guys a tie on the next rankings chart, I think, and of course I’m reminded of last year, when Diego beat A.J. at FL West, only to see A.J. finish tops among what would be this year’s returnees at San Diego. Could it be that Diego just has A.J.’s number at Mt. SAC, but the El Camino senior will prevail on his home course at Balboa Park? That’s what one observer told me this week and we’ll have to see how it plays out.

A.J. Acosta (left) kept an eye on Diego Mercado at Mt. SAC, but couldn't stay with him in the third mile. photo by John Dye

After those guys, we got a good picture of where the rest of California and much of the West stands. Ben Sitler of St. Francis certainly made a case for himself for the region and national lists by topping Oregon’s Issac Stoutenburgh in the individual sweepstakes, 14:42-14:47. Other fine performances in both races and others during the day will have an impact on the FL West list (see below).

Nothing too earth-shattering happened around the rest of the country, but as expected, I was made aware of some names that had escaped the steveu radar, or maybe I should say the quality of their accomplishments or fitness not been keenly enough noticed.

In Kentucky, 2004 finalist Michael Eaton is ripping up the bluegrass with nearly every race. Unfortunately, he has not really had any regional competition to speak of, but had gone 14:59 and 15:05 in meets that I’d heard of. Then just yesterday, for cryin’ out loud, he throws down what is being called the fastest time in state history, a screamin’ 14:36. Now before some of you start saying, “But this is Kentucky …,” remember that a guy named Bobby Curtis tore up this state just a few years ago and did pretty well nationally. Well, Michael has apparently been doing Curtisian things all season and could well move WAY up from his 33 rd at nationals last year. I’m sure he’s salivating to test himself against Roberts, Bolas, and Harbor at FL South next month.

And I definitely overlooked what Brock Hagerman has been doing in Indiana. I well remembered how he was 9 th as a soph at FL MW, then had him listed high last fall before he slumped to 55 th despite some great races during the season. Well, it turns out he had an iron deficiency and this fall has returned to form. At last weekend’s Indiana semi-state at Franklin Central, he beat my Hoosier State favorite, De’Sean Turner, 15:03-15:07.

These guys aren’t quite on the national list yet, but they’re getting closer. They will duke it out again Saturday in the state finals at Terre Haute, with yours truly in attendance.

One more note, sophomore sensation Sintayehu Taye, last year’s ME freshman revelation and now at Cushing Academy MA student, tried the 8k distance at the Mayor’s Cup in Boston. He clocked 25:39 for 21 st against club and professional runners. No one under age 21 beat him. And … no Ayalew (his fast brother) in the field.

That’s pretty much what I’ve got nationally, but …

Regionally Speaking

… here’s some more stuff I’ve been able to gather.

Northeast: I’ve gotten some tips that may inspire me to rework my NE list a bit. Although he didn’t run particularly well at Manhattan (what was my big NE measuring stick), Matt Shaffer (Bethlehem Central NY) ran gangbusters at the Queensbury NY Invite, beating a field that included Brian Rhodes-Devey and Ben White. Shaffer, Rhodes-Devey, and Saratoga’s Steve Murdock will meet this weekend at the Suburban Council meet on Toga’s course … Will be keeping a closer eye on and considering another New Yorker, Noel Bateman, as well as New Jersey’s Andrew Hanko. Bateman won the Spiked Shoe race in PA and sped a 14:57 at McQuaid against little comp before Owen Kimple went 14:52 in a later race there. Hanko, running unattached this fall mostly against college comp, clocked 26:20 for 8k at Paul Short in PA.

Midwest: It appears I overlooked some of the results for Ben Brammeier of Parkway South, MO. Ben was sixth in the Great American ROC, ahead of the likes of Justin Harbor FL and other regionally ranked runners., and is the top returnee from last year’s state meet there. Class 4 sectionals are this week as he makes his bid for the 2005 title … Dan Roberts of Crested Butte Academy CO, ranked second on my MW list and the No. 2 returnee, was a no show at Mt. SAC last weekend. Just a week earlier, he had a fine run at Chile Pepper in AR; we’re checking into what’s up … T.C. Lumbar, Edina MN, has been racking up the wins, including his section 6-AA meet Wednesday (15:44). He could join or displace fellow Minnesotans Mike Torchia or Elliot Heath on the next list … Along with the Indiana state meet, we’ll be watching Denver South’s Mohamud Ige and the CO state meet this weekend, along with Watertown WI’s soph Andrew Perkins and the WI state meet, and the Kansas and Iowa state meets. There’s also regionals/districts/sectionals in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan.

South: Things will be heating up this weekend in most of the South states with competition leading up to state meets Nov. 5 and 12. One exception is Oklahoma, where junior Kevin Schwab (Mustang) will shoot for his second straight 5A state title this Saturday after winning his West state regional by 45 seconds (15:20) Oct. 22 … Ari Perez (Corpus Christi King) needs to be added to the long list of Texas title contenders after his 15:14 to win District 28-5A … Steven Bell (Land O Lakes) may need to be added to the list of contenders from Florida after a PR 15:18 at the Sunshine Athletic Conference meet in mid-October.

West: Until more races are run to confirm or deny the results, Mt. SAC will stand as the benchmark for most of the California contenders. Along with those mentioned above in the national section, those making a case for moving up the list from various races there included Michael Coe (14:50, won D3 Sweepstakes), Nathan Sellers (15:00), Jake Matthews (15:03), Scott Harris (15:03), and Manny Mejia (15:03). Those who may fall slightly from where they were are Michael Cybulski (14:53), Patrick Milloy (15:06), and Mikel Thomas (DNR). Dan Geib (NV) and Tolan Thornton (AZ) were also reported scheduled to run, but missing … At the Utah state meet, Mountain View’s Adam McDonald was easily the fastest runner in the five classifications with a 15:35.

 

Girls: The National Scene

Well, obviously the big meet for both sides of the gender coin last weekend was that California megalon of meets, Mt. SAC, and its 91 races (and how do they do that?). The not-so-big surprise was that Reno NV jr Marie Lawrence (left) continued to confirm that this could be her best of her three seasons by clocking the No. 2 time ever on the famous course, 16:29. From where I sit (a helluva long ways from the switchbacks and Poop Out Hill, I must admit), she seems tough as nails and cool as a cucumber. I mean, anyone who’s chillin' enough to chew bubble gum, let alone blow bubbles, as her race begins is a stud-ette in my book.

But the performance that most affected the order of things was Jordan Hasay’s. In her biggest test yet, the freshman from San Luis Obispo, CA showed the ability to control her early pace better and win decisively against some pretty good runners on a tough course. She clocked a freshman course record 16:48 in an earlier sweepstakes race, beating fellow state notables like Shannon Murakami (17:08), Kevyn Murphy (17:09), Christy Adamyk (17:27), and Brittany Morreale (17:41), as well as Arizona’s Kari Hardt (17:01). I’d say she’s going to move up close to or into the national top five in my next ranking.

Kauren Tarver (17:02), Annie St. Geme (17:08), and Lauren Saylor (17;05) all ran pretty well in other races, and I guess I need to take Katy Andrews (17:03), Murakami and Murphy a bit more seriously, too. The Cali. State meet is going to be incredible (isn’t it always?), but there’s still a lot of meets to go.

Among out-of-state runners at Mt. SAC, how about Hardt? Boy, I didn’t see that coming. More on her next week.

Probably the other biggest clash among my top ten contenders was in the South Dakota state meet, where Yankton’s Betsy Bies and the Eckerts from Sioux Falls Roosevelt finally (and I mean finally!) met up. I’ve been waiting for this all fall. Unfortunately, Alison and Krista have struggled to get to full health this season, but few elites can claim more improvement than Betsy. She may eclipse her former teammate, Ramsey Kavan, as the greatest of all time in that state before the year is over. She didn’t beat the Eckerts last year, but last Saturday she did so by 30 seconds over 4k.

All I wonder about Betsy is how she will handle it when she battles the big girls. Yes, she’s been to FL regionals and NTN before, but not as a leader.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what will happen in Colorado this weekend. Keara Sammons, Katie Follett, Dani Parry, and others are making this a really exciting year there and now it’s state meet weekend. Smoky Hill’s Sammons, as I noted before, has been Miss Consistency, is always in the money, and has the national big meet experience. But meanwhile, Follett ( Ft. Collins) and Parry ( Rocky Mountain) have taken turns winning the biggest meets.

They will all meet in the 5A race. There’s also defending champion Molly Palmer, who has been under the radar (well, my radar anyway) after some strong early-season showings. The fastest of all could be Katie Vanatta, however, a freshman at Ralston Valley who has run some blazing times in smaller races and competes in a lower classification.

A tough thing for these South Dakota and Colorado girls, though, is staying fit until late November with these early state meets.

Lest you people think I have a western bias, let’s turn to good ol’ Jersey (home of some of the finest Dyestatters God ever created!). Last year, FL NE girls was an all- New York show, with the Saratoga girls playing the starring role. You think maybe Jersey would like to change that this year? I had New York in five of the first six places on my initial list, but …

I think I’ve severely underrated former FL finalist Brittany Sedberry. Second as a sophomore and 10th as a junior at FL NE, she has had injury problems earlier this year and looking at this year’s talent, I couldn’t quite put her in my top ten. Then last weekend, the Ocean City senior blitzed a 17:38 in her first race back at the Cape May County meet, beating her own course record from two years ago! Well, I just told you what else she did two years ago – runner-up to Nicole Blood in the NE … and five ticks ahead of one Aislinn Ryan, I might add. As all of you in Jersey already know, this girl needs to be taken very, very seriously.

But that’s not all. Fellow Jersey standouts Danielle Tauro and Amanda Marino went 17:34 and 17:35, just missing Jen Clausen’s course mark at the Ocean County meet in Lakewood. You add in what Briana Jackucewicz and Ashley Higginson have done at Colts Neck this year and you have, as senior journalist Ed Grant has informed us this week, the potential for the most exciting all-group meet in Jersey history!

In recent years, it’s taken between 18:20 and 18:30 to make the FL NE top 8 at Vanny. Anyone want to bet it will be faster this year? Of course, it will depend somewhat on if Saratoga decides to do the FL/NTN triple again this year.

That’s what’s going on from my perspective nationally, but …

Regionally Speaking

… here’s some more musings on what’s going on:

Northeast: In PA, by ranking Kacey Gibson 10 th in the NE, I was effectively saying that she was the top runner in the state. I was then encouraged to take a closer look at standout Liz Costello and home-schooled phenom Neely Spence, as well as told that at least one of the 5k courses Gibson ran a sub-18 on was really a 3.0. But shortly thereafter we heard from a coach that said not only were her three best races at legit 5ks, but that an 18:04 she ran on a very difficult course at Cooper’s Lake was perhaps the most impressive. PA districts have begun and we shall eagerly await further developments … The latest from independent New York stars Nicole Blood and Caitlin Lane came from the Mayor’s Cup in Boston, where they ran against professional and top club runners. Blood hit 18:14 (18 th in women’s race) and Lane 18:27 (23 rd). Maybe more telling of their fitness level was the 17:04 Lane ran for 11 th (overall; Blood 17:26 for 14 th) at the Saratoga National Bank Classic at the state park Oct. 15. We’ll see.

Midwest: With all the attention I gave SD, let’s not forget that other Dakota. Lindsay Anderson of Leeds/Maddock, ND, so impressive with her third at the Roy Griak meet in Minnesota, had the fastest time of the day by nearly 30 seconds at her state meet. While her 15:02 4k wasn’t smoking, I’m guessing by the boys winning time (16:44), that it wasn’t a particularly fast course/day … Districts are going on in MN and I would have loved to see another Elizabeth YetzerBria Wetsch race at state, but comparative times will have to do since they’re in different classes. Hadn’t seen any Wetsch results for a while, but I’ve been informed that she’s training well, raced just a few small, easy meets, and is raring to go … With all of the talent in each of the four regions, it’s impossible for every state to have someone in the top ten; this week we’ll see if someone can break out at state meets in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa to make that list … Meanwhile, the countdown to state continues in Ohio and Michigan with regional meets.

South: Many of the big state meets in this region aren’t until Nov. 12, so things aren’t quite as hot down here … yet. In FL, Ashley Brasovan smoked another fast one, a 17:42, at the Palm Beach County meet, and Jackie Areson did a 10:33 for 3200 at Holy Trinity’s meet … Rachel Buser will be going to beat her state record from last year at the WV championships this weekend.

West: After Utah’s state meet, Cassie Ricks has an argument to be moved up in the rankings. Her 18:34 in 5A beat Candace Eddy (18:56), while Samantha Gaffney won 3A with an 18:59 … From NM, I’ve been advised to add Irena Ossola and Tess Amer to my list, and keep an eye how they do as the season winds down, along with Vanessa Ortiz … We’ll see what comes out of Idaho this weekend with their state meet … Not much else happening besides Mt. SAC and the aftermath, but as we said earlier, plenty of adjustments to make with the order among Californians.

 

 

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