On the starting line at Hilliard
OH last Saturday 9/7, Nef Araia and Wesley Smith might have glanced
at each other. They went 1-2 in the inaugural Midwest Meet
of Champions last year, with Araia breaking away only in last 400
meters, and the two seniors were favored to do it again.
Araia, of Lawrence North IN, was worried about the
9:03 2-Mile that Smith, of Hudson OH, turned in at the adidas Outdoor
Championships in June at Raleigh NC. That was 15 seconds faster
than Araia ran last spring, when he was coming off a bout with mononucleosis.
But since then, Araia had "the best summer I ever had."
In the MMOC, Araia's summer base paid off, as the
rematch wasn't as close as last year's race. After some "games"
in the third mile, with each runner trading surges and matching
each another, Araia gapped Smith with the winning surge. With
800 meters left, Araia led by 50 meters, and he cruised home from
there, 14:48 to 15:03. Both were much faster than last year
on the same course (Araia by 24 seconds, and Smith by 15 seconds),
and both are gunning for the Foot Locker championships.
The first MMOC last year was held 4 days after 9/11;
this year's meet was held 4 days before the first anniversary of
9/11. Nef is of Eritrean descent but is a thoroughly
American teenager, having lived here all his life. His
words after last year's race are worth repeating:
"I just wanted to run hard, run proud.
I wanted to show them (the terrorists) that we can still lead normal
lives in America." |
Zoe Nelson runs the same way she greets
the world, with a cherubic grin on her face. As a freshman
last year, the Flathead Kalispell MT runner posted a string of sensational
times and won the Montana state championship. Then she came
down from the mountains and proved it was no fluke by placing 7th
in the Foot Locker West regional at Mt. SAC to qualify for the national
finals, where she finished 20th. She is the third highest
ranking national finalist returning this year.
Last week Nelson started her sophomore campaign
with a bang that served notice she is ready to challenge for national
honors again. She won the Flathead Invitational by 89 seconds
on a new 3-mile course which her coach Paul Jorgensen calls "moderately
difficult." Her time of 16:43 is the fastest in the country
so far this season by 78 seconds; record setting Foot Locker national
champion Amber Trotter was the only girl to run a faster 3-mile
last year.
Zoe easily surpassed her goal for the day, to break
17 minutes. “It felt great,” she told the Daily
Inter Lake newspaper in Kalispell. “I’m really happy
with my performance today.”
Nelson thought the hills helped her. “Hills
are where I have an advantage. I train on them a lot and that’s
where I usually get ahead.” That's a good sign for the
Foot Locker West regional at hilly Mt. SAC, and for the national
finals, which are moving this year from the flat golf courses of
Disney World in Florida to the slopes of Balboa Park in San Diego.
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- Danville IL sr Ricky Alvarez -
14:52 3m, winning at Charleston.
- Jesuit Tampa FL so Andy Biladeau
- 15:03 5k winning Red Mule Inv.
- St. Xavier Louisville KY sr Bobby Curtis
- 15:16 5k winning big Tiger Run. Bobby is racing lightly to be
point for Great American and Foot Locker.
- Mt. Tabor NC sr Matt Debole -
15:03 5k winning UNC-Wilmington meet
- San Lorenzo Valley CA jr Alex Dunn -
15:44 3m, winner of the Earlybird Inv at North Monterey County
CA
- Reynoldsburg OH jr John Ealy -
15:25 5k, winner of two early invitationals at Westerville and
Tiffin.
- Vanguard Ocala FL sr Steve Hassen -
15:46 5k, winner of the Caples Inv in Florida.
- Winona MN jr Garret Heath -
15:27 5k, winner at Faribo MN.
- Klamath Falls OR sr Lauren Jespersen
- 15:26 5k, breaking meet record at Premier West Inv,
Yreka CA
- Strongsville OH sr Chris Kollar -
15:42 5k, winner of the big Spiked Shoe Inv at Penn State University.
- Mitchell FL fr Jeff Masterson -
15:09 5k winning Land O' Lakes Inv, 2nd good outing of HS debut.
- West Knoxville TN sr Dusty Miller -
14:41 3m at Cherokee Boulevard, breaking Andy Baksa's course record.
- Liberty Christian CA sr Tim Nelson -
15:37 5k, tying the old course finishing 2nd to Jespersen at Yreka.
DyeStatCal
Athlete of the Week.
- Edwardsville IL sr Stephen Pifer
- 14:56 3m, winning at Granite City.
- Oak Glen WV sr Justin Simpson -
15:48 5k, winner of the Autumn Classic.
- Hudson OH sr Wesley Smith -
15:03 5k, 2nd fastest of season. With 5 of top 7 graduated
from last year's state championship team, Smith can focus more
on individual goals this year. He wants to make amends for 4...
showing at Foot Locker Midwest last year.
- Stevens Point WI sr Chris Solinsky -
15:34 5k winning Neenah Inv. Leading national Foot Locker
returnee (3rd last year) gets season off to successful start.
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- Mason Cincinnati OH fr Angela Bizzari
- 18:19 5k winning Lakota Classic after strong summer
JO action
- Kelloggsville MI jr Nicole Bush -
18:31 5k winning Benzie
Inv, Michigan's big early season mixer.
- Granite Bay CA jr Caitlyn Chock -
18:19 3m, winner of her school's own invitational.
- Walton GA sr Kristin Heffelfinger -
18:52 5k winning North Gwinnett Inv
- Tri-Valley NY jr Heather Iatauro -
18:15 3m, winner at Washingtonville NY
- Beaumont Cleveland Heights OH jr Maggie
Infeld - 18:03 5k, second at Midwest Meet of Champions.
- Smoky Hill Aurora CO sr Megan Kaltenbach
- 18:46 5k at Boulder to get senior campaign started
with a win. She hasn't lost a race since Foot Locker national
finals last year.
- Emily Kruger, Lampeter-Strasburg
PA - 18:38 5k winning Gettysburg Inv.
- Minster OH jr Sunni Olding -
18:06 5k, winner at Columbus Grove and division winner at Tiffin
Carnival
- Turpin Cincinnati OH jr Carolyn Rauen
- 17:55 5k, impressive winner of Midwest Meet of Champions.
- Lakewood OH sr Michelle Sikes -
18:18 5k, best time of day at Tiffin Carnival; also won Cardinal
Classic.
- St. Ignatius San Francisco CA so Ciara
Viehweg - 18:03 3m, DyeStatCal
Athlete of the Week for winning big Earlybird Inv at North
Monterey County. .
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