DyeStat News
Northwest Girls Championship
| |
Results
NW#4 Blues OR (St. Mary's) 87 upset NW#1 Portland Harriers (Jesuit)
Leah Francis AK 18:21 wins individual title
A case of The Blues for girls championship field
by Dave Devine
Blues XC Club (St. Mary’s Academy OR) coach Mike Bojorquez believed he had an exceptional squad of runners heading into this season.
“We trained all summer together, and as the summer progressed, you could just tell that it was a special group.”
When former Central Catholic OR boys' assistant coach, Michael Bergmann, came aboard as an assistant after his daughter enrolled as a freshman at St. Mary’s, all the pieces came together.
“The addition of Mike Bergmann really helped,” Bojorquez said. “I told him what my needs were, that I’m pretty good at organizing things, but I needed someone to help us get over the hump. I think he made a big difference for us, by bringing in different stretching exercises and drills he learned at Central [Catholic] and from Alberto Salazar. The girls bought into it. I told them at the beginning of the summer that we were going to do some things differently, and they needed to believe in it, or else it’s not going to work.”
Without a clear frontrunner or a standout star, the St. Mary's girls bought into the new regimen and worked on becoming a tight-knit unit with an interchangeable pack. That progress brought them national attention and a regional ranking as high as #2, but still left them second-best girls team in the city of Portland, behind crosstown rival Jesuit. That pecking order was only further driven home after a sound 35-63 defeat in the Oregon 6A meet on November 3rd.
“We believed we could win state,” Bojorquez said, “so when that didn’t happen, we had to go back in there and tell them, ‘Look, we can still qualify for nationals.’ That was the big thing, to qualify.”
Nielsen and Francis wage a memorable duel
Another athlete hoping to rebound from a disappointing state meet was Idaho 5A runner-up Nicole Nielsen, racing as an individual for Lions XC Club (Borah ID). Nielsen had torn through the regular season undefeated, only to be beaten in the state meet by upstart freshman Kinsey Gomez of Couer d' Alene. On Saturday, when Nielsen surged to the fore of the pack in the girls’ championship race, it was déjà vu for Northwest cross country fans who’d watched her assume a similar position over the same course at Bob Firman. In that race she'd roared to victory only a tick shy of the course record, pulling away from out-of-stater Madeline Morgan of Mountain Brook AL. Nielsen was once again shadowed by a visitor to Idaho in the regional race—Juneau-Douglas AK sophomore Leah Francis.
|
|  | | Leah Francis of Juneau Alaska maintained a small margin through the home stretch over Nicole Nielsen of Borah ID. | Lucy Whipps in 9th place was #1 for team champion Blues XC Club (St. Mary's Portland OR). photos by John Dye |
Francis, winner of the Alaska 4A state title the last two years, battled Nielsen mightily over the final mile of the race, each one matching the other’s surge, and then responding in kind. As they angled onto the finishline straight, Nielsen seemed to find a final gear that put Francis a few yards back. But in a final gasp, Francis retook the lead and placed Nielsen on her back shoulder for the 18:20.9 to 18:21.9 individual win.
“Nielsen was running so strong,” Francis said afterward, "I pretty much figured I was going to get second. But then my adrenaline started going. I decided I really, really wanted to win.”
What a difference a week makes
The Blues XC Club really, really wanted to win too, and Saturday afternoon on Eagle Island’s undulating five-kilometer course, they fulfilled their early-season promise, and rewarded their coaches’ confidence, with an 87-94 stunner over US#10 Jesuit OR (competing as the Portland Harriers). In extremely close scoring, Montana state AA champion and NW#2 Bozeman XC was only eight points further back, at 102, and will have to hold out hope for one of four at-large bids to be distributed across the nation after regional qualifying has commenced.
The Portland Harriers had a big advantage after the top ten had crossed, with a 3-6 finish from season-long top two Adrienne McGuirk (18:28.6) and Noelle VanRysselberghe (18:38.4), and Blues XC not starting their scoring until Lucy Whipps’ 9th place effort (18:58.2).
|
|  |  | Halfway: eventual winner Leah Francis (1315) has narrow lead over Adrienne McGuirk of the Portland Harriers (1315) with eventual runner-up Nicole Nielsen (hidden) close behind.
| Alyssa Andrews of Gig Harbor WA is running fourth.
| Noel VanRysselburghe of the Portland Harriers is 5th.
|
“We tried to stay in two packs, and that kind of worked,” Whipps said afterwards. “We were pretty close together, which helped us get energy from our teammates.”
Harnessing that energy, the Blues had three in well before the Portland Harriers' third, and with closely-matched fourth scorers, it came down to the fifth runner. That’s where the Blues’ tight 49-second spread carried the day. Jen Olson slammed the door shut on the Northwest Championship title with her 38th-place showing (34th scoring), seven up on the Harrier’s fifth runner, Claire Hagler.
Having lost the state meet in a scenario where two powerful teams stood out from the pack, Bojorquez liked his team’s chances in a more competitive field.
“We knew that this week, with other faster teams out there, it would kind of mix things up, and that’s what we needed, a bit more interference. Everything just kind of fell into place.”
Three Portland squads earn trips to...Portland
Both Blues XC and the Portland Harriers qualified for the Nationals on December 1st, as did the school where Bergmann used to assist, Central Catholic OR, running as Stark Street AC in the boys’ championship race. All three schools in the Portland area feature athletes who know each other from elementary school and local youth running circles. It means the competitive edge is softened by friendship and respect that was on display as the teams congratulated each other on their national meet bids. Even though they won’t have far to travel to join the fray at Portland Meadows, Coach Bojorquez knows how far his girls have already come.
“Now, we believe that on any given day we can beat anybody. It’s a quality group, and they believe in each other; they love each other… like I said, it’s a special group.”
|
Results
Nike Team Nationals Northwest Regional - 11/10/2007
Eagle Island State Park, Boise, ID
Last Completed Event
Team Scores
=================================================================================
Rank Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 *9
=================================================================================
1 Blues XC Club 87 6 11 12 24 34 67 68
Total Time: 1:36:34.40
Average: 19:18.88
2 Portland Harriers 94 2 5 21 26 40 41 52
Total Time: 1:36:13.30
Average: 19:14.66
3 Bozeman XC Club 102 3 17 19 28 35 37 43
Total Time: 1:36:36.60
Average: 19:19.32
4 Gig Girls XC Club 126 4 10 13 48 51 56 62
Total Time: 1:37:10.20
Average: 19:26.04
5 Boise Striders 153 9 22 23 33 66 72 80
Total Time: 1:38:34.00
Average: 19:42.80
6 Crater RC 154 20 29 30 36 39 50 75
Total Time: 1:38:34.60
Average: 19:42.92
7 Preston RC 179 8 27 44 46 54 60 86
Total Time: 1:39:09.40
Average: 19:49.88
8 Bishop Kelly RC 186 7 15 38 47 79 81
Total Time: 1:39:27.40
Average: 19:53.48
9 Lake Samm XC Club 189 16 18 32 59 64 76 78
Total Time: 1:39:18.40
Average: 19:51.68
10 Seattle Prep Tc-Girls 237 14 25 63 65 70 77 83
Total Time: 1:40:38.00
Average: 20:07.60
11 Juneau-Douglas TC 238 1 45 58 61 73 84
Total Time: 1:40:17.30
Average: 20:03.46
12 West Anchorage RC 278 31 49 55 69 74
Total Time: 1:42:06.70
Average: 20:25.34
13 Billings West CC Club 305 42 53 57 71 82 85
Total Time: 1:43:17.40
Event 4 Girls 5k Run CC Championship
=======================================================================
Name Year School Finals Points
=======================================================================
1 Leah Francis Juneau-Douglas TC 18:20.9 1
2 Nicole Nielsen Lions XC Club 18:21.9
3 Adrienne McGuirk Portland Harriers 18:28.6 2
4 Heidi Turner Bozeman XC Club 18:31.0 3
5 Alyssa Andrews Gig Girls XC Club 18:31.0 4
6 Noelle VanRysselberghe Portland Harriers 18:38.4 5
7 Megan Bartlett Sandpoint CC 18:46.8
8 Keely West Unat-MT-Great Falls 18:50.2
9 Lucy Whipps Blues XC Club 18:58.2 6
10 Jordan Engelhardt Bishop Kelly RC 18:58.8 7
11 Kaylee Campbell Preston RC 18:59.5 8
12 Anne Lovelace Boise Striders 19:03.6 9
13 Anna Kalbrener Gig Girls XC Club 19:04.7 10
14 Alexandra Jones Blues XC Club 19:06.2 11
15 Alexa Kearns Blues XC Club 19:08.9 12
16 Kate Stuart Gig Girls XC Club 19:09.5 13
17 Carey Parker Seattle Prep Tc- 19:09.7 14
18 Codi Gifford Bishop Kelly RC 19:10.8 15
19 Chelsea Orr Lake Samm XC Club 19:18.7 16
20 Sierra Kamplain Bozeman XC Club 19:18.7 17
21 Sasha Teninty South Eugene RC 19:20.6
22 Katelyn Steen Lake Samm XC Club 19:22.0 18
23 Tate Cranston Bozeman XC Club 19:23.0 19
24 Kayleigh Tyerman Crater RC 19:28.4 20
25 Payton Schutte Portland Harriers 19:31.5 21
26 Kate Jamboretz Boise Striders 19:32.7 22
27 Sarah Olson Boise Striders 19:34.0 23
28 Taylor Ffitch Blues XC Club 19:34.1 24
29 Laura Sauvage Seattle Prep Tc- 19:34.3 25
30 Shanon Mahoney Portland Harriers 19:35.1 26
31 Lacey Johnson Preston RC 19:36.2 27
32 Katie Keith Bozeman XC Club 19:36.4 28
33 Silver Seibert Crater RC 19:40.0 29
34 Riley Swanson Crater RC 19:41.8 30
35 Shoshana Keegan West Anchorage RC 19:43.0 31
36 Erin Blodnick Lake Samm XC Club 19:44.4 32
37 Jacque Sahlberg Boise Striders 19:46.9 33
38 Jen Olson Blues XC Club 19:47.0 34
39 Elizabeth Spartas Bozeman XC Club 19:47.5 35
40 Laurie Stoutenburgh Crater RC 19:48.5 36
41 Amanda Palmer Unat-ID-Weiser-P 19:53.0
42 Katie Gill Bozeman XC Club 19:53.4 37
43 Lara Tuthill Bishop Kelly RC 19:55.3 38
44 Arianne Lafierre Crater RC 19:55.9 39
45 Claire Hagler Portland Harriers 19:59.7 40
46 Maria Salazar Portland Harriers 20:02.0 41
47 Lauren Graebner South Eugene RC 20:03.9
48 Allyson Smyth Billings West CC 20:04.6 42
49 Mariah Schmidt Bozeman XC Club 20:04.7 43
50 Allie Ford Preston RC 20:07.5 44
51 Annika Ord Juneau-Douglas TC 20:08.1 45
52 Haylee Harrison Preston RC 20:10.0 46
53 Payton Gifford Bishop Kelly RC 20:10.1 47
54 Rachel Seibert Gig Girls XC Club 20:10.2 48
55 Danielle Gerik West Anchorage RC 20:12.9 49
56 Anya Martinez Crater RC 20:13.9 50
57 Amber Williams Gig Girls XC Club 20:14.8 51
58 Elizabeth Murphy Portland Harriers 20:15.6 52
59 Sara Milch Billings West CC 20:15.8 53
60 Liz Child Preston RC 20:16.2 54
61 Annie Liotta West Anchorage RC 20:16.6 55
62 Hannah Dewalt Gig Girls XC Club 20:17.2 56
63 Megan Beam Billings West CC 20:19.9 57
64 Leigh Miller Juneau-Douglas TC 20:20.4 58
65 Sara Fester Lake Samm XC Club 20:21.4 59
66 Heidi Free Preston RC 20:24.2 60
67 Katie Krehlik Juneau-Douglas TC 20:24.6 61
68 Rachel Greco Gig Girls XC Club 20:26.5 62
69 Krista Beyer Seattle Prep Tc- 20:29.2 63
70 Megan Batty Lake Samm XC Club 20:31.9 64
71 Kate Crawford Seattle Prep Tc- 20:32.7 65
72 Katie Lovelace Boise Striders 20:36.8 66
73 Erin Bergmann Blues XC Club 20:38.8 67
74 Tara Higgins Blues XC Club 20:44.8 68
75 Anna Dalton West Anchorage RC 20:50.9 69
76 Martha Russell Seattle Prep Tc- 20:52.1 70
77 Leah Davis Billings West CC 20:55.2 71
78 Fiona Wilhelm Boise Striders 20:55.8 72
79 Isabel Bush Juneau-Douglas TC 21:03.3 73
80 Ariel Roelle West Anchorage RC 21:03.3 74
81 Emily Olsen Crater RC 21:03.4 75
82 Madison Starnes Lake Samm XC Club 21:07.6 76
83 Jamie Balder Seattle Prep Tc- 21:08.3 77
84 Janie Dwyer Lake Samm XC Club 21:11.1 78
85 Bronte Gifford Bishop Kelly RC 21:12.4 79
86 Rebecca Fusselman Boise Striders 21:22.9 80
87 Kat Stidham Bishop Kelly RC 21:25.4 81
88 Izzy Archilla Billings West CC 21:41.9 82
89 Erin Boniface Seattle Prep Tc- 21:45.3 83
90 Alice Ottoson-McKeen Juneau-Douglas TC 22:07.5 84
91 Stephanie Souza Bishop Kelly RC 22:32.9
92 Theresa Gregori Billings West CC 23:34.4 85
93 Alisha Wakley Preston RC 24:13.0 86
Average: 20:39.48
NTN Northwest region news index |
