Nikki Bohnsack
Rockford MI
at Midwest Meet of Champions
photos by
DyeStat
|
Chris Solinsky
Stevens Point WI
at Great American Festival
|
by John Dye
BALTIMORE MD 11/2/01 -- DyeStat announces Stevens Point WI junior
Chris Solinsky and Rockford MI sophomore Nikki Bohnsack
as winners of the Nike Athlete of the Week
award for the eighth week of the 2001 cross country season.
Solinsky ran one of the year's strangest races last month
when the lead cart took a wrong turn and he  ended
up running 4.5 miles instead of 3.1, finishing 177th. Chris had
no such trouble last Saturday as he smashed the Wisconsin state
meet record with a 15:07 5k repeat win on the very tough Ridges
course in Wisconsin Rapids. This also broke the state record for
any course held by Tim Hacker (15:15).
Solinsky had tied the existing Wisconsin state meet record (15:32)
as a sophomore last year, but was disappointed by his near miss
at Foot Locker Midwest -- 11th in 15:23, just 3 seconds away from
the top 8 qualifiers for the national finals. He resolved to do
better, and started by winning the Wisconsin Division 1 3200 in
9:08.44 last May. He also finished second in the 1600 in 4:15.56.
This fall, Solinsky opened with a strong third at the Great American
Festival, followed by a PR 15:11 5k the next week in the Fondy Invitational.
His seasonal goal has been to break 15 minutes, and he will take
dead aim on that goal at the Foot Locker Midwest regional at Kenosha
WI November 24. "I have been running a lot of distance this
week to get out of my peak, and starting next week I will do speed
for 2 weeks," Solinsky said.
Only one runner broke 15 minutes at the Midwest region last year,
and his name was Dathan Ritzenhein, who went on to win his second
straight Foot Locker national championship. Chris is hoping to follow
in his footsteps.
Bohnsack is the ingenue who moved up to star billing. As
a freshman last year, Nikki ran in the shadow of Kalin Toedebusch
and Linsey Blaisdell, the last of the veterans who made Rockford
a perennial national power. This year, Nikki inherited the leadership
role, and Rockford has hardly missed a beat, standing 3rd in the
country in the latest rankings by The Harrier magazine.
Nikki has only lost one race this fall, and has four sub-18 minute
clockings. She is primed for her two seasonal goals: winning the
Michigan state championship and making Foot Locker national finals.
She was 13th in the Midwest Foot Locker last year with a time of
18:18.
The Nike Athlete of the Week award is presented each Friday to
the boy and girl who had the most outstanding achievement of the
previous week. Winners receive a long-sleeved Nike dry-fit running
shirt and Chris Lear's award winning book, Running with the Buffaloes,
which can be purchased online at ShopDyeStat.
Honorable Mention Week ending November 2
Girls
- Smoky Hill CO jr Megan Kaltenbach won
her third straight Colorado 5A championship by 27seconds in 19:04
5k
- Phillips Andover MA sr Melissa Donais -
course record for
the second straight week with 16:08 2.75m in a dual meet at Deerfield
MA.
- Killingly CT jr Meghan Owen - 14:49 is
fastest of the day at the Connecticut state
meet.
- Iowa City West IA sr Jeni Frudden - record
10:46 led team to a powerful 28 point score in the Iowa state
meet, moving them up to US#4
- Deerfield IL sr Erika Odlaug - 14:01 2.5m
to win Schaumburg IL AA sectional by 65 seconds.
- Lafayette IN sr Jessica Gall - 14:08
4k to win Indiana state meet.
- Leavenworth KS sr Amy Hastings - 11:29
2m winner of Kansas 6A state meet; an observor said it was "the
most dominating performance in Kansas in 10 years."
- Manchester Central NH sr
Liz Gesel - 18:21 5k leads her team to the New Hampshire
state championship.
- Passaic Valley NJ jr Jesse Mizzone - 18:11
5k is fastest of the 16 New Jersey sectionals; she won by 2:15.
- Carolina Day NC sr Laura Stanley - won
the North Carolina independent schools championship in 17:45 5k
at McAlpine Park.
- Saratoga
NY 8th grader Nicole Blood - 17:15 5k led
her team to victory in powerful Suburban Council.
- Notre Dame Elmira NY sr Molly Huddle -
set a meet record of 18:16 5k in the IAC Championships.
- St. Hubert's PA soph Amy Kelly - 18:26.1
5k makes her the sixth girl ever to break 19 minutes at Belmont
Plateau in Philadelphia.
Boys
- Fort Dodge sr. Dan Taylor - 15:25 5k,
fastest boy of the day in the Iowa state meet.
- Lawrence North IN jr Nef Araia - 15:35
5k to win Indiana state meet.
- Baldwin KS sr Matt Noonan - wins third
straight Kansas 4A title.
- Sayville NY jr Brian Dalpiaz - 15:46 in
the New York Section 11 division championship; the 10th fastest
5k ever at Sunken Meadows NY.
- Farragut TN sr Andy Baksa - led his US#5
team to the Region 2 championship with a meet record 14:44 3m.
- U-32 VT sr Mint Henk - 15:52 for 3.15m
was 50 seconds faster than anyone else at Vermont state meet.
- Dover NH sr Tony Truax -
16:06 5k is fastest of the day in the New Hampshire state meet.
- Cherokee NJ sr Marc Pelerin - 15:25 5k
is fastest time in the New Jersey sectionals.
To nominate athletes, use the AOW Nomination
Form.
Return to Nike Athlete of the Week home
page
|
