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Midwest Region
Nov. 28, 2009 at UW-Parkside, Kenosha WI
CO-IL-IN-IA-KS-MI-MN-MO-NE-ND-OH-SD-WI & overseas military



Verzbicas and Zeinasellassie gear up for first meeting

Footlocker Midwest Boys Preview - Girls Preview
by Tony Jones - Dyestat/ESPN RISE

They say New York is a city of 8 million stories; that it never rains in Southern California, and the South is the home of hospitality.  What about the Midwest?  Well, this weekend Kenosha, Wisconsin will be the scene of a whole lot of drama. 

For starters, there will be no US#5 Zach Wills (Jr., Mason, OH).  He would have been at least a co-favorite had he chosen to compete.  Instead he will concentrate his efforts in the upcoming Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon.

US#3 Lukas Verzbicas (So., Orland Park Sandburg, IL) and US#10 Futsum Zeinasellassie (So., Indianapolis North Central) will play the protagonists against an entire field of antagonists.  These harrier stars have never competed against one another.  It will be very interesting to see whether or not they play a game of cat and mouse, or if Verzbicas will push the pace since the hard charging Wills will be absent.  The probability of a slow pace will be slim.  Stay tuned.

Lukas and Futsum

For Verzbicas (right, Bob Geiger photo), the wildly popular Lithuanian import makes his cross country racing debut outside of the Prairie state.  Keep in mind he is no novice to the distance-loving public.  He won the 2008 Midwest Distance Gala two-mile run against a superb field and placed third in the Nike Outdoor National deuce.  A very talented multi-sport athlete, Verzbicas won the ITU World Junior Duathlon Championship in September.  But it's the flirting with all-time records of the harrier variety that’s got everyone abuzz.  The name Craig Virgin gets intertwined with Verzbicas.  All fall the talk was whether or not Virgin's legendary mark of 13:50 (3-miles) at Detweiller Park would be erased.  Verzbicas gave it a good shot, running 14:07 totally solo on a sore Achilles tendon.  Earlier this week Verzbicas said he is ready to go.  Could he now be ready and willing take a shot at the formidible 14:35 Kenosha mark that Dathan Ritzenhein set back in 2000?  It’s possible, if the rain from mid-week has dried up enough and will allow the sun to soak up areas of the course that might be affected by standing water.

Zeinasellassie- originally hailing from Eritrea- boasts a nice 3200m best of 9:11.97 from last spring as a freshman.  Zeinasellassie is actually the top returnee from 2008 after placing 7th in the finals.  He is a steady and productive runner that has gone out and won races- not running hell-bent opening paces.  At the state championship, he won by only ten seconds but was in total control the entire time.  However, he did suffer from a mental cramp against Wills at the Culver Military (Indiana) Invitational when he let him set a rabbit-like pace to only realize he did not mark the right competitor until mid-race.  That was his only defeat on the season.  All bets are on the fact that he will go with Verzbicas and his fast pacesetting.

Illinois factor

The individual crop outside of Verzbicas is somewhat lacking in star power- not nearly as strong as in recent years.  A recent poor showing at the Mideast Championships by a group of solid seniors only illustrates what is about to come this week if some of the best do not show up.  It appears the focus of the top harriers will be team oriented.  Elmhurst York’s supreme duo Andrew Smith and Jack Driggs will opt out for Nike Cross Nationals.  They are every bit as good as last year’s team tandem in Steve Sulkin and Jordan Hebert.

An injury-marred athlete that was long in the shadows of former stud teammates Chris Derrick and Danny Pawola is Naperville (Neuqua Valley) senior Aaron Beattie.  Beattie finally came into his own last season after posting a personal best of 9:19.9 in the 3200m run.  He has already earned a ticket to Portland for the upcoming NXN championship with his team. It has been speculated statewide that Beattie may have held back in big races to assure his team optimal results.  Not in this one.  His supreme talents will be on display for all to see.  Other faces in the crowd are Chris Spudic (Sr., Mt. Prospect [Prospect]), C.J. Elward (Sr., Peoria Notre Dame), and Paul Zeman (Sr., Belvidere North). Illinois could potentially have three runners among the top 20-30, which would be a victory in itself.

Hoosier Hysteria

Indiana is more than corn and basketball- that fact should play out mightily on Saturday.  Last year, Hoosier runners earned two spots to San Diego, and the year before that produced their first ever FL champion (Mike Fout).  This year could be a winning one for the Hoosier state in the mythical team scoring championship.

The field will be flooded with 11 of the state’s top 15 runners who appear to have maintained their fitness level after the state championship.  David Osborn (Sr., Chesterton) (left, Bob Geiger photo) has enjoyed a super senior campaign by placing 4th in the state championship, 3rd in the MW NXN Regional, and 1st in the Mid-East Champs. He now has an excellent chance of placing among the top 10 Saturday.  Keep in mind that he lost to Zeinasellassie by 1 second in an early season invitational.

Tyler Byrne (Sr., North Harrison) appears to be streaking at the right time after placing 5th at the state meet.  He followed up that solid effort with a runner-up finish at the NXN MW running a personal best 15:14, defeating Osborn late down the stretch and cutting into Wills’ one time mighty lead.  If Byrne plays his cards right, he could end up with a second national title race on his hands.

Chris Walden (Jr., Carmel) the state-runner up will be taking a shot at national championship prominence.  He had a so-so race at NXN regionals but will be in the mix for a spot to nationals.

Look for these standouts to perform well: Scott Vicenzi (Sr., Brownsburg), Alejandro Arroyo (Sr., Culver Military), Tom Ohlman (Sr., Carmel), and James Martin (Jr., Ft. Wayne Carroll).  Martin competed in the 2008 NXN championship and was state-runner up to Zeinasellassie in the 3200m with a 9:14 clocking to his resume.

Another Rocky Mountain High?

Colorado has dominated from a “team” aspect over the past few years.  That trend may be finally coming to an end after last year’s exodus of super talents Joseph Manilafasha, Bobby Nicolls, and Kevin Williams.

While there is not the massive talent pool capable of gobbling two, three, or even four national qualifying spots, there is Walter Schafer (Sr, Cherry Creek) and Scott Fauble (Sr., Wheat Ridge) leading the charge.  Schafer was ranked in the Dyestat Elite top 25 several weeks ago.  Fauble from Class 4A put up the best overall mark at the state championship and has beaten Schafer in their only head to head competition earlier in the season. 

Other top choices are Class 3A champion Ryan Poland (Sr., Denver Christian), David Perry (Sr., Niwot), Danny Nicolls (Sr., Regis), and John Coats (Sr., Fairview).

The best of the rest
(In no particular order)

Kansas: Roy Wedge (Sr., Lawrence) will be the Jayhawk state’s best representative.  Wedge may be riding a wave of personal momentum after winning the state championship by 25 seconds back on October 31.  He revenged a gut wrenching defeat from last year’s state meet when he was out-kicked late in the race on the rugged University of Kansas Rim Rock course.  Wedge will also be out for state pride after losing to Missouri 3A state champion Maksim Korolov at the Rim Rock Invitational.

Missouri: It is debatable who is the best runner from the Show-Me-State. Maksim Korolov (Sr., Harrisonville) and Caleb Ford (Jr., College Heights Christian) are runners at opposite ends of the spectrum.  Korolov (right, Brandon Daniels photo) is in Class 3A and Ford hails from 1A.  They have not met this season.  For Ford, he garnered national attention by winning the University of Arkansas Chili Pepper Invite in a blazing 15:01.  Meanwhile, Korolov produced the overall fastest state championship times.  Now, they will meet up in Kenosha to square off with one another.   If they run to their capabilities a trip to warm San Diego could be in store.

Michigan:  Michael Atchoo (Sr., Troy) is the Wolverine State’s main man.  Atchoo is the #3 returnee placing 17th last year.  He also has 4:07.71 1600m credentials to speak of.  His senior year has gone rather smoothly after going undefeated statewide, only losing at NXN MW.  Atchoo made a fatal mistake in that affair trying to match Wills’ early torturous pace to only fade to an agonizing 25th place.  He no doubt should play a little more conservative the second time around against an elite field, but he does have the mind of a miler.  Also, watch for D3 stud David Madrigal (Sr., Durand).

Ohio: Conner Paez (Sr., Solon) was runner- up to Wills at the D1 state championship (Largest classification).  Kyle Polman (So., Independence) was Division 3 champion (smallest classification) with good stats.  

Wisconsin: The Badger state will usher in a fleet of its best talent with champions in all three divisions despite the apparent absence of overall champion Marcus Paulson (Sr., Hamilton).  Paulson competed in the NXN Heartland Regional meet several weeks ago and placed second.  So, he appears headed for Portland.  Meanwhile, Gabe Heck (Sr., Madison East) was just a few ticks behind Paulson at the state championship and chose not to compete in Sioux Falls, SD.  He will contest with state mate Jake Erschen (Sr., Marquette University).  Erschen placed third at Heartland and will join Paulson in Portland after a warm-up on Parkside’s massive course.  Look for Division 2 champion John Luterbach (Sr., Waukesha Catholic Memorial) to challenge for state honors along with D2 runner-up Peter Drews (Sr., Shorewood).  Garrett Kerska (Sr., Sauk Prairie) should not be forgotten.
 
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