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| 2007 Foot Locker Nationals
December 8, 2007 Balboa Park, San Diego CA
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Results | Flash Video | Mike Kennedy's race recap |
SteveU's lead story - Brasovan redeems regional showing with national win.
Girls Extra: Champions and great stories everywhere - Perspectives from numerous other finishers, by SteveU
Complete Video of the race - by the DyeStat crew
Race Sequence Photo Album - See how the race unfolded - by John Nepolitan and John Dye
Post-race video interview by Doug Speck -Ashley Brasovan: "I had plenty left at the end."
Finish Album - top 23 finishers
Girls - Ashley Brasovan 17:20
Winner reels in Jordan Hasay on the second hill and wins going away.
Florida junior Ashley Brasovan (R) caught Jordan Hasay on the second trip up The Hill and won going away in 17:20, 9 seconds faster than Kathy Kroeger last year. Kroeger rallied for second, Hasay held on for third and Northeast champion Neely Spence was fourth. Photo by John Nepolitan
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Brasovan redeems regional sixth with a national win
by SteveU
Ashley Brasovan proved Saturday at Balboa Park that sometimes regional results don’t matter and sometimes top runners really do “just run to qualify.” After finishing just sixth in the South regional two weeks ago, the Wellington FL junior made a devastating move over the final hill to catch and pass leader and 2005 national champ Jordan Hasay CA, and then went on to win the 29th Annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championship in 17:20.
It was the second straight victory for a runner from that region, with defending champ Kathy Kroeger (Franklin TN) also passing Hasay into 2nd and finishing in 17:28, giving the South a 1-2. West Region champ Hasay was 3rd (17:31), Northeast Region champ Neely Spence PA 4th (17:35), and Midwest Region champ Claire Durkin OH 5th (17:44). Conditions turned out better than expected in San Diego, as there was a break in the rain from the last two days and just light winds. Temperatures were in the 50s and the course was just a little muddy.
“I’m still in shock,” said Brasovan when the media first got a mike on her. “I’m so happy. It’s just a great way to end the season after the last two years when I’d peaked too early.”
After her South regional finish at McAlpine, many thought Brasovan had lost the form that had moved her to the top of many pundits’ national rankings. In October, she had crushed the best field of the year at Great American, smashing Kroeger’s course record with a 17:05 and beating Kroeger and four other Foot Locker Finalists, past or yet-to-come. She looked more mortal at her state meet, beating Emilie Amaro by eight seconds.
Then came Foot Locker South, which had been Brasovan’s Achilles heel in the past. After twice being favored to make it, but missing, she did finally qualify. But the 6th-place finish led people to believe that her mental or physical edge was gone. The opposite turned out to be true. After her Finals triumph she said she'd been relieved to qualify, and happy to not be bearing the regional champ mantle. “I felt like the pressure was off of me,” she said.
At the halfway point of the race, Brasovan was in a pack – including Kroeger, Spence, Durkin, and Katie Flood – about 10 seconds behind Hasay. The Mission Prep junior, trying to win for the second time, had made a decision moments into the race to try and run the life out of everyone, passing the half mile and mile in blazing splits of 2:31 and 5:18. Half a mile later, the lead was still solid, but Hasay was beginning to look tired and the chase pack was generating energy.
Jordan’s lead was still 10 seconds at 2 miles (11:05), but Brasovan was beginning to believe she could win. “I realized I had a lot left,” she said. “I was getting closer and closer, so I thought I’d give it a shot.” Ashley never gets to train on hills, but she caught Jordan going up. On the backside, she let her stride and turnover go and torpedoed down. That was, effectively, the end of the race.
Both the South and Northeast girls teams scored 42 points, but the NE won on the tiebreaker. Brasovan’s victory also set up a scenario where, in 2008, the three previous champions could all race each other if they make it back here (Brasovan, Kroeger, Hasay).
Race Recap - by Mike Kennedy
With two defending champions in the field and with no runner able to be dominate for the entire year, the 29th running of the Foot Locker National Cross-Country championships at Morley Field in San Diego was fairly wide open. And for a change of pace, for the first time in history the course could be classified as muddy.
Junior Jordan Hasay of Mission College Prep (San Luis Obispo), who won this race as a freshman in 2005 and has won three straight West Regionals, wasted little time moving to the front and by 800 meters, passed in 2:31, had opened up a five-meter lead over Midwest Region winner Claire Durkin of Kilbourne (Worthington, Oh.), Emily Sisson of Millard North (Omaha, Nb.), Corey McGee of Pass Christian (Ms.) and Kauren Tarver of Serrano (Phelan, Ca.).
Hasay then lengthened her lead to 15 meters as the runners began their first trip on the hill loop. At different times, over the next quarter of a mile, Durkin, Northeast Region winner Neely Spence (Shippensburg, Pa.), defending champion and South Regional winner Kathy Kroeger Independence (Thompson’s Station, Tn.), Aurora Scott (Oaktree Academy, Portsmouth, Va.), and Lauren Smith (Brazoswood, Clute, Tx.) were in the chase pack behind Hasay.
Passing the mile mark in 5:18, Hasay maintained a solid lead before Durkin began to separate herself from the chase back and close the margin. For the moment it appeared that it had become a two-person race with Durkin and Hasay separating from the field. But just as suddenly, Spence, Kroeger, Katie Flood of Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines, Ia.) and Sisson were able to regain contact with Durkin. As the runners came down off the hill for the first time, Hasay maintained the lead but things were again changing. Crossing the road at a 1½ miles and coming up a gradual incline, Hasay was still leading at 8:08 but Kroeger, Durkin, Spence, Flood and junior Ashley Brasovan of Wellington (West Palm Beach, Fl.) were just behind in a close pack.
Beginning the second and final loop of the 5,000 meter course, Hasay was able to maintain her lead but by two miles, passed in 11:02, Kroeger, Spence and Brasovan had formed a lead pack. After the second time through the lower loop Hasay reopened a 20-meter lead but Brasovan, Spence, Kroeger were still within striking distance.
Heading up the hill for the second time, Brasovan made her move, passing Hasay, and establishing a solid lead at the top of the hill and then increasing her lead to 40 meters as she flew off the steep downhill. Hasay, who has always struggled with downhills, slipped into third behind Kroeger as the runners reached the bottom of the hill, passing three miles in 16:45. Brasovan then just powered up the final small hill before the finish and went on to win in 17:20.
Hasay held on to third behind Kroeger in the final 100 meters, as the two finished in 17:28 to 17:31. Spence was fourth in 17:35 and Durkin was fifth at 17:44. Emily Lipari of Roslyn (Roslyn Heights, N.Y.) just nipped Scott for sixth as both were timed in 17:46.
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Results
Scoring Teams and Points:
1. Northeast 42 (4 6 9 11 12 18 24)
2. South 42 (1 2 7 15 17 19 25)
3. West 63 (3 10 14 16 20 22 28)
4. Midwest 70 (5 8 13 21 23 26 27)
1 Ashley Brasovan (11) South Wellington H.S. West Palm Beach FL 17:20
2 Kathy Kroeger (11) South Independence H.S. Franklin TN 17:28
3 Jordan Hasay (11) West Mission College Prep. Arroyo Grande CA 17:31
4 Neely Spence (12) Northeast Home-schooled Shippensburg PA 17:35
5 Claire Durkin (12) Midwest Worthington Kilbourne H.S. Columbus OH 17:44
6 Emily Lipari (10) Northeast Roslyn H.S. Greenvale NY 17:46
7 Aurora Scott (12) South Oaktree Academy Portsmouth VA 17:46
8 Katie Flood (10) Midwest Dowling Catholic H.S. Des Moines IA 17:47
9 Carly Seymour (12) Northeast Central Cambria H.S. Ebensburg PA 17:48
10 Kauren Tarver (12) West Serrano H.S. Wrightwood CA 17:53
11 Emily Jones (11) Northeast Bromfield H.S. Harvard MA 17:54
12 Kacey Gibson (12) Northeast Neshannock H.S. New Castle PA 17:55
13 Emily Infeld (12) Midwest Beaumont H.S. University Heights OH 17:55
14 Anastacia Bishton (12) West Mountain Ridge H.S. Glendale AZ 17:56
15 Chelsey Sveinsson (9) South Greenhill School Dallas TX 17:58
16 Laurynne Chetelat (12) West Davis Senior H.S. Davis CA 18:00
17 Lauren Smith (11) South Brazoswood H.S. Lake Jackson TX 18:01
18 Chelsea Ley (10) Northeast Kingsway Regioinal H.S. Clarksboro NJ 18:04
19 Kayla Hale (11) South Holy Trinity Episcopal AcademyIndialantic FL 18:05
20 Jessica Tonn (10) West Xavier College Prep. Paradise Valley AZ 18:07
21 Alexandra Banfich (12) Midwest The Culver Academies Plymouth IN 18:07
22 Sarah Sumpter (12) West Healdsburg H.S. Cloverdale CA 18:12
23 Emily Sisson (10) Midwest Millard North H.S. Omaha NE 18:12
24 Shelby Greany (11) Northeast Suffern H.S. Suffern NY 18:25
25 Emilie Amaro (12) South Cypress Bay H.S. Fort Lauderdale FL 18:31
26 Katie Haines (12) Midwest Rockford H.S. Rockford MI 18:35
27 Cory McGee (10) South Pass Christian H.S. Pass Christian MS 18:36
28 Kathleen McCafferty (12) Northeast Oak Knoll School Morristown NJ 18:36
29 Brittany Koziara (11) South Boone H.S. Orlando FL 18:36
30 Mary Kate Champagne (12) Northeast Seton Catholic Central H.S. Plattsburgh NY 18:40
31 Chelsea Oswald (11) Midwest Walsh Jesuit H.S. Medina OH 18:44
32 Meggan Freeland (11) Midwest Western H.S. Albion MI 18:47
33 Taylor Wallace (11) West Henley H.S. Klamath Falls OR 18:56
34 Lindsay Anderson (12) Midwest Leeds H.S. Leeds ND 18:58
35 Stephanie Morgan (11) Midwest Barnesville H.S. Barnesville OH 19:02
36 Kathleen Lautzenheiser (10South Midlothian H.S. Midlothian VA 19:02
37 Nicole Nielsen (11) West Borah H.S. Boise ID 19:06
38 Meghan Marvin (10) West Clovis H.S. Clovis CA 20:26
dnf Keely Maguire (12) Northeast Triton Regional H.S. Georgetown MA
dnf Nadya Bishton (12) West Mountain Ridge H.S. Glendale AZ
Foot Locker Finals index |
| 2007 Foot Locker Nationals
December 8, 2007 Balboa Park, San Diego CA
|
Results | Flash Video | Mike Kennedy's race recap |
SteveU's lead story - Brasovan redeems regional showing with national win.
Despite losses, Kathy Kroeger and Jordan Hasay better this year - Perspectives from numerous other finishers, by SteveU
Complete Video of the race - by the DyeStat crew
Race Sequence Photo Album - See how the race unfolded - by John Nepolitan and John Dye
Post-race video interview by Doug Speck -Ashley Brasovan: "I had plenty left at the end."
Girls - Ashley Brasovan 17:20
Winner reels in Jordan Hasay on the second hill and wins going away.
Florida junior Ashley Brasovan (R) caught Jordan Hasay on the second trip up The Hill and won going away in 17:20, 9 seconds faster than Kathy Kroeger last year. Kroeger rallied for second, Hasay held on for third and Northeast champion Neely Spence was fourth. Photo by John Nepolitan
|
Brasovan redeems regional sixth with a national win
by SteveU
Ashley Brasovan proved Saturday at Balboa Park that sometimes regional results don’t matter and sometimes top runners really do “just run to qualify.” After finishing just sixth in the South regional two weeks ago, the Wellington FL junior made a devastating move over the final hill to catch and pass leader and 2005 national champ Jordan Hasay CA, and then went on to win the 29th Annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championship in 17:20.
It was the second straight victory for a runner from that region, with defending champ Kathy Kroeger (Franklin TN) also passing Hasay into 2nd and finishing in 17:28, giving the South a 1-2. West Region champ Hasay was 3rd (17:31), Northeast Region champ Neely Spence PA 4th (17:35), and Midwest Region champ Claire Durkin OH 5th (17:44). Conditions turned out better than expected in San Diego, as there was a break in the rain from the last two days and just light winds. Temperatures were in the 50s and the course was just a little muddy.
“I’m still in shock,” said Brasovan when the media first got a mike on her. “I’m so happy. It’s just a great way to end the season after the last two years when I’d peaked too early.”
After her South regional finish at McAlpine, many thought Brasovan had lost the form that had moved her to the top of many pundits’ national rankings. In October, she had crushed the best field of the year at Great American, smashing Kroeger’s course record with a 17:05 and beating Kroeger and four other Foot Locker Finalists, past or yet-to-come. She looked more mortal at her state meet, beating Emilie Amaro by eight seconds.
Then came Foot Locker South, which had been Brasovan’s Achilles heel in the past. After twice being favored to make it, but missing, she did finally qualify. But the 6th-place finish led people to believe that her mental or physical edge was gone. The opposite turned out to be true. After her Finals triumph she said she'd been relieved to qualify, and happy to not be bearing the regional champ mantle. “I felt like the pressure was off of me,” she said.
At the halfway point of the race, Brasovan was in a pack – including Kroeger, Spence, Durkin, and Katie Flood – about 10 seconds behind Hasay. The Mission Prep junior, trying to win for the second time, had made a decision moments into the race to try and run the life out of everyone, passing the half mile and mile in blazing splits of 2:31 and 5:18. Half a mile later, the lead was still solid, but Hasay was beginning to look tired and the chase pack was generating energy.
Jordan’s lead was still 10 seconds at 2 miles (11:05), but Brasovan was beginning to believe she could win. “I realized I had a lot left,” she said. “I was getting closer and closer, so I thought I’d give it a shot.” Ashley never gets to train on hills, but she caught Jordan going up. On the backside, she let her stride and turnover go and torpedoed down. That was, effectively, the end of the race.
Both the South and Northeast girls teams scored 42 points, but the NE won on the tiebreaker. Brasovan’s victory also set up a scenario where, in 2008, the three previous champions could all race each other if they make it back here (Brasovan, Kroeger, Hasay).
Race Recap - by Mike Kennedy
With two defending champions in the field and with no runner able to be dominate for the entire year, the 29th running of the Foot Locker National Cross-Country championships at Morley Field in San Diego was fairly wide open. And for a change of pace, for the first time in history the course could be classified as muddy.
Junior Jordan Hasay of Mission College Prep (San Luis Obispo), who won this race as a freshman in 2005 and has won three straight West Regionals, wasted little time moving to the front and by 800 meters, passed in 2:31, had opened up a five-meter lead over Midwest Region winner Claire Durkin of Kilbourne (Worthington, Oh.), Emily Sisson of Millard North (Omaha, Nb.), Corey McGee of Pass Christian (Ms.) and Kauren Tarver of Serrano (Phelan, Ca.).
Hasay then lengthened her lead to 15 meters as the runners began their first trip on the hill loop. At different times, over the next quarter of a mile, Durkin, Northeast Region winner Neely Spence (Shippensburg, Pa.), defending champion and South Regional winner Kathy Kroeger Independence (Thompson’s Station, Tn.), Aurora Scott (Oaktree Academy, Portsmouth, Va.), and Lauren Smith (Brazoswood, Clute, Tx.) were in the chase pack behind Hasay.
Passing the mile mark in 5:18, Hasay maintained a solid lead before Durkin began to separate herself from the chase back and close the margin. For the moment it appeared that it had become a two-person race with Durkin and Hasay separating from the field. But just as suddenly, Spence, Kroeger, Katie Flood of Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines, Ia.) and Sisson were able to regain contact with Durkin. As the runners came down off the hill for the first time, Hasay maintained the lead but things were again changing. Crossing the road at a 1½ miles and coming up a gradual incline, Hasay was still leading at 8:08 but Kroeger, Durkin, Spence, Flood and junior Ashley Brasovan of Wellington (West Palm Beach, Fl.) were just behind in a close pack.
Beginning the second and final loop of the 5,000 meter course, Hasay was able to maintain her lead but by two miles, passed in 11:02, Kroeger, Spence and Brasovan had formed a lead pack. After the second time through the lower loop Hasay reopened a 20-meter lead but Brasovan, Spence, Kroeger were still within striking distance.
Heading up the hill for the second time, Brasovan made her move, passing Hasay, and establishing a solid lead at the top of the hill and then increasing her lead to 40 meters as she flew off the steep downhill. Hasay, who has always struggled with downhills, slipped into third behind Kroeger as the runners reached the bottom of the hill, passing three miles in 16:45. Brasovan then just powered up the final small hill before the finish and went on to win in 17:20.
Hasay held on to third behind Kroeger in the final 100 meters, as the two finished in 17:28 to 17:31. Spence was fourth in 17:35 and Durkin was fifth at 17:44. Emily Lipari of Roslyn (Roslyn Heights, N.Y.) just nipped Scott for sixth as both were timed in 17:46.
|
Results
Scoring Teams and Points:
1. Northeast 42 (4 6 9 11 12 18 24)
2. South 42 (1 2 7 15 17 19 25)
3. West 63 (3 10 14 16 20 22 28)
4. Midwest 70 (5 8 13 21 23 26 27)
1 Ashley Brasovan (11) South Wellington H.S. West Palm Beach FL 17:20
2 Kathy Kroeger (11) South Independence H.S. Franklin TN 17:28
3 Jordan Hasay (11) West Mission College Prep. Arroyo Grande CA 17:31
4 Neely Spence (12) Northeast Home-schooled Shippensburg PA 17:35
5 Claire Durkin (12) Midwest Worthington Kilbourne H.S. Columbus OH 17:44
6 Emily Lipari (10) Northeast Roslyn H.S. Greenvale NY 17:46
7 Aurora Scott (12) South Oaktree Academy Portsmouth VA 17:46
8 Katie Flood (10) Midwest Dowling Catholic H.S. Des Moines IA 17:47
9 Carly Seymour (12) Northeast Central Cambria H.S. Ebensburg PA 17:48
10 Kauren Tarver (12) West Serrano H.S. Wrightwood CA 17:53
11 Emily Jones (11) Northeast Bromfield H.S. Harvard MA 17:54
12 Kacey Gibson (12) Northeast Neshannock H.S. New Castle PA 17:55
13 Emily Infeld (12) Midwest Beaumont H.S. University Heights OH 17:55
14 Anastacia Bishton (12) West Mountain Ridge H.S. Glendale AZ 17:56
15 Chelsey Sveinsson (9) South Greenhill School Dallas TX 17:58
16 Laurynne Chetelat (12) West Davis Senior H.S. Davis CA 18:00
17 Lauren Smith (11) South Brazoswood H.S. Lake Jackson TX 18:01
18 Chelsea Ley (10) Northeast Kingsway Regioinal H.S. Clarksboro NJ 18:04
19 Kayla Hale (11) South Holy Trinity Episcopal AcademyIndialantic FL 18:05
20 Jessica Tonn (10) West Xavier College Prep. Paradise Valley AZ 18:07
21 Alexandra Banfich (12) Midwest The Culver Academies Plymouth IN 18:07
22 Sarah Sumpter (12) West Healdsburg H.S. Cloverdale CA 18:12
23 Emily Sisson (10) Midwest Millard North H.S. Omaha NE 18:12
24 Shelby Greany (11) Northeast Suffern H.S. Suffern NY 18:25
25 Emilie Amaro (12) South Cypress Bay H.S. Fort Lauderdale FL 18:31
26 Katie Haines (12) Midwest Rockford H.S. Rockford MI 18:35
27 Cory McGee (10) South Pass Christian H.S. Pass Christian MS 18:36
28 Kathleen McCafferty (12) Northeast Oak Knoll School Morristown NJ 18:36
29 Brittany Koziara (11) South Boone H.S. Orlando FL 18:36
30 Mary Kate Champagne (12) Northeast Seton Catholic Central H.S. Plattsburgh NY 18:40
31 Chelsea Oswald (11) Midwest Walsh Jesuit H.S. Medina OH 18:44
32 Meggan Freeland (11) Midwest Western H.S. Albion MI 18:47
33 Taylor Wallace (11) West Henley H.S. Klamath Falls OR 18:56
34 Lindsay Anderson (12) Midwest Leeds H.S. Leeds ND 18:58
35 Stephanie Morgan (11) Midwest Barnesville H.S. Barnesville OH 19:02
36 Kathleen Lautzenheiser (10South Midlothian H.S. Midlothian VA 19:02
37 Nicole Nielsen (11) West Borah H.S. Boise ID 19:06
38 Meghan Marvin (10) West Clovis H.S. Clovis CA 20:26
dnf Keely Maguire (12) Northeast Triton Regional H.S. Georgetown MA
dnf Nadya Bishton (12) West Mountain Ridge H.S. Glendale AZ
Foot Locker Finals index |
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