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Invitational Junior 10k
Sponsored by Salt Lake Running Company

Thursday July 24, 2008 - Salt Lake City, Utah

DyeStat on-site with Dave Devine



Top Foot Locker returners highlight Junior 10k fields


Leading Foot Locker returners and CO stars Bobby Nicolls (left, Vic Sailer photo) and Evan Appel (center, Vic Sailer photo) front a boys USA All-Star team which also features Nevada talent Bryan Tibadiuza (right, John Dye photo) in the 2008 Deseret News Junior Invitational 10k.
 

Preview
by Dave Devine, DyeStat senior editor

Salt Lake City, Utah -- While the annual Deseret News Junior 10k road race in Salt Lake City is primarily a fun, mid-summer rust buster and fitness check for preps in the region, it nonetheless manages to yearly provide an early look at some of the high school distance stars who will jockey for position in the fall campaign. Last year, New Mexico ace Ben Johnson (already a Foot Locker finalist as a junior) was the top high schooler in the race with his 13th place, 31:42 finish. He went on to lead his Albuquerque Academy team to a 3rd place finish at the 2007 Nike Team Nationals, forsaking a possible return trip to Foot Locker in the process. Trailing Johnson that day was fellow USA All-Star and future Foot Locker finalist Kevin Williams (18th overall, 2nd prep in 32:24), who would go on to dominate Colorado cross country circles, place 26th at FL Nationals and run an 8:51.30 2 mile at Nike Outdoor Nationals this spring. On the girls’ side, top high school finisher Candace Eddy’s 37:06 10th place effort propelled her into an autumn in which her Davis UT cross country team qualified for their first NTN and placed ninth in the national team final.

So there are hints of future success in the summer altitude of Salt Lake City.

The 2008 version should be no different, with perhaps the most potent 1-2 punch the boys Junior field has ever seen. Similar to years past, race organizers have recruited teams to represent the state of Utah against squads gathered from nearby Rocky Mountain and Southwestern states (deemed USA All-Stars), and given them preferential placement in a race featuring an elevation drop of 700 feet—from 4900 feet at the start to 4200 feet at the finish—and a 6 am start time to avoid temperatures forecast to reach the upper 90’s by afternoon. Once again, the strongest contingent would seem to be the defending champion boys’ USA All-Stars.

Boys

Traveling from Colorado for the race are the top two returners from the 2007 Foot Locker Nationals, Bobby Nicolls and Evan Appel. Nicolls (Regis Jesuit HS class of 2009) was 18th at the 2007 FL Nationals (top junior), the recipient of multiple track laurels, and most recently a 9:03 winner of the Midwest Distance Gala 3200. Appel (Dakota Ridge HS class of 2009) was 21st at Foot Locker (second junior), Colorado 5A state 1600 and 3200 champion, with a personal best of 9:17 for 3200 at altitude. They’ll be joined on the USA All-Star team by Nevada star Bryan Tibadiuza (Galena HS class of 2009, state cross country champion and 4th at NTN Southwest XC) and Hayden Hohnholt (Saratoga High School WY class of 2009), the sole returning member of the 2007 USA All-Star team and a Wyoming cross country, 1600 and 3200 state champion last year.

Opposing the USA All-Star boys will be a deep crew of Utah All-Stars, fronted by a trio of recent grads. Travis Fuller (Mountain View High class of 2008) was the 4A state champion in 800, 1600 and 3200, Great Southwest 1500 champ, and brings personal bests of 1:56, 4:19 and 9:25, all at altitude. Trevor Sharp (Riverton High class of 2008) was 5A state champion in 800 and 1600, with PRs of 1:55, 4:18 and 9:32 (again, at altitude). George Barlow (Weber High class of 2008) dropped a personal best of 9:13 at the Arcadia CA Invite while winning the Friday night 3200, and was 5A state runner-up at 3200. The lone rising senior on the Utah squad, Karl Wilcock (Hurricane High class of 2009), may have been the surprise of the 2007 Deseret race, running unattached and unheralded to finish 19th in 32:28, right behind Kevin Williams. Wilcock was a 3A state runner-up in three track events, trailing only Utah all-timer Luke Puskedra in both the 1600 and 3200. He could be one to watch, not only in this summer 10k, but in the harrier season ahead.

Girls

Defending girls’ champion Candace Eddy is slated to run if she’s recovered from a lingering injury, but even without her, the Davis High girls (right, in Donna Dye photo of celebration at NTN Southwest Regional) could be a stiff challenge for the Utah and USA All-Star teams. Led by Natalie Haws, the 2007 5A state cross country champion and Utah 5A 3200 champion (new state record 10:43), the Davis girls figure to be formidable over the 10k distance as they take the long view in rolling their NTN experience into a repeat Portland trip in 2008.

Non-Davis runners repping Utah on the All-Star unit will be Chloe Calton (Ogden HS class of 2009 - State 3A 800 & 1600 meter champion, personal best of 5:01 for 1600 at altitude), Taylor Thornley (Logan HS class of 2009 - State 3A 3200 meter champion, personal best of 11:06 for 3200 at altitude), Shalaya Kipp (Skyline HS class of 2009 - 2006 5A state cross country champion, personal best of 10:57 for 3200 at altitude) and Kirstin Sly (Spanish Fork HS class of 2008 - personal best of 11:12 for 3200 at altitude).

The USA Girls All-Star team is less geographically diverse than the boys’ squad, drawing two of their three members from the talented Rock Springs WY distance program. Nicole Petersen (Rock Springs WY class of 2010) was a three-time runner-up last year, second in 4A state cross country, outdoor 1600 and 3200, while Jenna Allais (Rock Springs WY class of 2008) was fourth at the Wyoming 4A state cross country meet. Joining them on the USA All-Star team is Idahoan Kaylee Campbell (Preston ID class of 2009), a 3A state 3200 champion, and runner-up in both the 1600 and the 3A state cross country meet.


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