2005 Great American
Cross-Country Festival
Saturday, September 24, SAS Park, Cary, NC

Which boys and girls teams will come into focus for
the 2005 Nike Team Nationals? No meet in the nation is
a better indicator than the Great American XC Festival!

Leading Entries/Mini Preview
By Rich Gonzalez, DyeStatCal

       Portland, OR -- For some teams competing around the country, there is indeed a "Road To Portland" for the Nike Team Nationals. But for those that choose to attend the annual Great American Cross-Country Festival, it's more like a superhighway.
       With more qualified teams (nine) than any other meet in the nation for the inaugural edition of NTN, the Great American Cross-Country Festival remained the most fertile of competition layouts for identifying national-class programs and athletes in 2004. A championship course, a healthy mix of interstate and inter-regional powers, and prime competition conditions produced ideal circumstances for eye-catching performances.

        Based on the GACCF entry lists for the featured Race of Champions in 2005, look for that tradition to continue.
        With the nation's premiere girls' cross-country program and the Southwest Region's top-ranked boys' squad already signed up to serve as headliners for 2005, the seventh edition of the hill-and-dale blockbuster once again boasts several top programs converging at SAS Park in Cary, North Carolina. As the entry deadline looms at the start of the coming week, a monstrous 17 NTN-ranked programs have already committed to participate, with at least two others expected to be added. As was the case last year, the GACCF appears well equipped to provide the NTN Rankings Committee an ideal opportunity to size up the national picture.
         Defending national champion and mega-superpower Saratoga Springs of New York leads the female contingent, with the Hannah Davidson-led Blue Streaks considered my most experts as the top program in the land and as the concensus #1 team in the Nike Team Nationals Northeast Region. Despite graduating talent and enduring two high-profile defections, Saratoga Springs has reloaded quickly. In addition to FootLocker Nationals contender Davidson and national steeplechase champion Lindsey Ferguson, the Blue Streaks return Alysha McElroy and welcome in a pair of transfers (all-state selections from Kentucky and Rhode Island) as well as a junior high school sensation.
          Joining Saratoga Springs among the cast of first-rate representation are two other Northeast Region-ranked teams. Monsignor Donovan HS of New Jersey and Bethlehem of New York, the #6- and #7-ranked teams in the NE, are on board. Saratoga Springs and Bethlehem finished 1-2 at last year's Great American to add major points to their cadre of credentials in earning eventual bids to NTN.
           The Southeast Region also enjoys superb representation here, with four squads ranked in the preseason SE polls leading the way. Florida teams Episcopal (SE #4) and Holy Trinity (SE #6) are joined by North Carolina powerhouse Cardinal Gibbons (SE #5) and Virginia force Brentsville (SE#7). Additionally, two blockbuster programs are expected to add in the coming days. Parkview HS of Utah, the Cinderella squad whose girls placed fifth as a club team at NTN last year after receiving an at-large bid, and Oakton of Virginia, which ranked as the #1 team in the SE for much of 2004, are those squads adding to the depth of this montrous field!
           Among the additional individual stars in the Race of Champions are All-American distance talents Kate Niehaus of South Carolina and Kelly Parrish of Florida, as well as Rhode Island's Erin Lagasse, Florida's Danielle Bradley and Jessica Butler, Virginia's Katie Doswell, Colorado's Keara Sammons and Missouri's Meredith Snow.
           On the boys side, Southwest Region #1 Denver South HS of Colorado draws top billing in the estimated 18-team field. Denver South is led by FootLocker Nationals threat Mohamud Ige and heads up a region where top squads of a year ago find themselves in the throes of rebuilding. From the Midwest Region, #8 La Salle, the Ohio-based juggernaut which has the distinction of competing in the inaugural edition of the Great American back in 1999, is also set top compete.
           From the Southeast Region, #2 Holy Trinity welcomes back a fine lead trio to spearhead a quintet of returnees from last year's Florida 1A state champions, with #3 Brentsville of Virginia, and Georgia teams Marist (SE #9) and Parkview (SE #10) also beig in the talent mix.
           The very fine Northeast Region will be in force here, with highly regarded ascender Saratoga Springs (NE #6), Warwick Valley (NE #7) and Monsignor Farrell (NE #9) all making the trip to North Carolina. In addition to Ige, Floridian Justin Harbor (Flagler Palm Coast HS) and popular North Carolina star Sandy Roberts (Broughton HS  in Raleigh) are slated to clash in the Race of Champions alnog with Connecticut's Tradelle Ward, Tennessee's Rob Sorrell, Florida's Caleb Vogt, North Carolina's Trey Miller, South Carolina's Toma Walker and Missouri's Ben Brammeier.
           More commitments are pending. Additional meet information is at www.nationalscholastic.org

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