on-site coverage by John & Donna Dye, Rich Gonzalez, Steve Underwood, Don Rich and many more.

NTN index page

NTN's own web site

York Elmhurst IL boys hear the news -- they have beaten Fayetteville-Manlius NY and reclaimed
the #1 national ranking they had at the start of the season. - photo by Donna Dye

the Saratoga NY girls came in with the label of best team ever, and lived up to it. Starting with four in the top six at the 1000 meter mark, they cruised in from there and sealed their 11th US#1 rank in 13 years. - photo by Donna Dye

Sean McNamara wins boys race to lead York IL to title

Nicole Blood in 3rd was the first runner for mighty Saratoga NY

Ramsey Kavan of Yankton SD continued unbeaten for the year.

the camelbacks - artificial hills, 4' high - four hills in 150 feet

photo by John Nepolitan

Julian Aguirre reports - Northwest region teams were on a mission for respect, and they earned it. Mead WA boys, Jesuit Portland OR boys, Eisenhower Yakima WA boys, and Bellarmine Tacoma WA girls all place in the top 10. �This was so awesome,� said Bellarmine's ace Brie Felnagle. "I beat Nicole Blood." Jesuit OR runner John Maletis: "It was the best weekend of our lives!

Tyson's Army WA (Mead) celebrates surprise 3rd place finish.

Awards Dinner photo album - Nike executive Josh Rowe, the person most responsible for creation of NTN, gets an award from A.J. Holzherr (right) of the National Scholastic Sports Foundation, the meet managers. At left is Kristen Wall of Nike. -- photo by Doug Speck

DONNA ON THE SIDE - RACE DAY

NTN fun away from the course - team skits, gong show, goodie bags, awards - 3rd edition of DONNA ON THE SIDE from Nike Team Nationals

NTN - the morning line
a coronation and a horse race
by John Dye
PORTLAND OR 12/2/04 -- Like several state meets, the first Nike Team Nationals is being run at a horse track, so what does the morning line look like?
GIRLS - Saratoga NY, entered as Kinetic Running Club ***, is the odds-on favorite. This could be a coronation as the greatest team ever. They are certainly the royal family of high school girls cross country in the US. Ranked US#1 by The Harrier in 10 of the last 12 years, this is the first time they can prove it on the course instead of the polls. After their performance at the Foot Locker Northeast regional last Saturday -- a record four girls qualified for the Foot Locker finals in San Diego Dec. 11 -- few doubt they will win here.
BOYS - Pick 'em. Too close to call. This is the race that justifies the meet. Five powerful teams from five far flung regions of the country converge on Portland to settle debates that have been raging for weeks on the message boards. But instead of endless wrangling and woofing on TrackTalk, the boys will settle the issue face to face at Portland Meadows. The new FinishLynx scoring system (standings will flash on a 23-foot screen and coaches' hand held computers every 1,000 meters) will be tested to the limit as teams jockey for position. The race will probably come down to the fifth man, and NTN will give awards to the fastest fifth runner in each race. Here are the favorites, in alphabetical order, with apologies to the inevitable dark horse who may crash the party.

• Fayetteville-Manlius NY - New York state champion, #1 in the Northeast region.
• Ferris Spokane WA - Washington state champion, #1 in the Northwest.
• Royal Simi Valley CA - California state champion, #1 in California.
• The Woodlands TX - Texas state champion, #1 in the South.
• York Elmhurst IL - Illinois state champion, #1 in the Midwest.

*** NOTE: Although all teams' runners are from one school, this is an out of season meet under USATF sanction, and the teams are running as USATF clubs.

the buzz

• steveu's preview - this meet proves it's a team sport , says Stephen Underwood.
• Rich's Preview - Stotan (Manlius NY) boys are favored, but not by much, says Rich Gonzalez. In girls, the only question seems to be who is second.
• Saratoga NY girls the best ever - says Rich Gonzalez
• Qualifying for Foot Locker at NTN - the meet within the meet
• a pilgrimage to Illinois - Noblesville IN coach Dave Luce tells about his visit to the Illinois State Meet to see US#2 York win it's 24th title in 45 years under coach Joe Newton
• Saratoga's mighty girls - There is electricity, and then . . there's kinetic energy.
• US#1 Fayetteville-Manlius: Five First Men - They personify team. They run for each other. They race as one. You could even say that FM is a team of five first men.

Entries

Teams are running as USATF clubs. City or school name is in parenthesis if it isn't obvious from the club name.

Schedule

9:30 Boys Race
10:30 Girls Race
11:15 USATF Club Championship Races begin

Nike Team Nationals index page

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