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Girls
You can't help but be excited about Saturday morning if you're a fan of cross country, especially if you enjoy the girls' side of the competition. North Carolina is home to a few of the nation's elite female runners, and they will be going head to head in the seeded race this week. Wesley Frazier went to Nationals last year and made herself into a household name in the running community with her performances at New Balance Nationals in June. She will have stiff competition from inside the state this year: Alana Hadley, the age-group world record holder for 14-year-olds at the half-marathon distance, will be stepping down for only her second cross country 5K after running 17:30 in a college race earlier in the year. Sammy George (18th at this meet last year) may be running as well as anyone in the Southeast right now: coming off her 17:27 on a muddy course at the state meet, she ran 10:42 for 3200 Friday night. Darby Middlebrook (13th last year) is right in the mix with her 17:35 from McAlpine earlier this fall, and don't count out Eliza Dekker, as she has the potential to run under 17:40 in a fast race on a fast course. Last year, the final qualifying spot for Nationals ran 17:41; I have a feeling it will be faster Saturday, with good temperatures (although pretty high humidity) forecast for the race.
Let's not forget about the competition from other states, either. Sophie Chase (VA) and Grace Tinkey (GA) both advanced to nationals from this meet last year, so they join Frazier in having the advantage of experience. Carmen Carlos (AL) has been tearing it up this year, but she lost to Lily Williams (FL) at the Jesse Owens Classic earlier this year, with Rachel Roberts (AL) third in that race. Bridget Blake (FL) was the FHSAA 4A champion (Williams was 2nd in 3A). One off-the radar candidate is Maggie Drozba (WV), a 5-time state champion that runs almost entirely on tough courses and could burn it up on the McAlpine launching-pad. Karis Jochen (TX, 17th at this race last year) was second at Nike Cross Nationals South Regional last weekend, while Margareta Montoya (AR) is a bit of a mystery; she won the Arkansas state meet in only 19:12 on what appears to be a tough course, but put up a huge time on a relatively quick course in October, and those are her only results in the database this year. Watch out for Cali Roper (TX), the 4A state champ who has clocked 10:57 for two miles cross country (not on a track) this fall, and ran 17:21 last year.
Foot Locker South Participants in the Top 50 in the MileSplit Database
| 17:41.30 | Wesley Frazier | NC Unattached (NC) | 2013 | 09/30/2011 | Great American Cross Country Festival 6th Last Year | |||||||||||||
| 17:43.00 | Vanessa Valentine | FL Melbourne HS | 2012 | 09/30/2011 | Great American Cross Country Festival | |||||||||||||
| 17:43.60 | Sandie Raines | TX Kingwood High School | 2013 | 10/01/2011 | McNeil Invitational | |||||||||||||
| 17:46.00 | Eliza Dekker | NC Durham Academyh | 2015 | 10/08/2011 | 4 Runners Only Cross Country Carnival |
Also Watch
Maggie Drazba (WV), 5-time state champ who runs on tough courses all season
Audrey Batzel (VA), has struggle a bit in recent races
Crystal Nelson (VA), 2nd in VHSL 2A state meet
Nicole Park (VA), VHSL 3A State Champion
Rachel Roberts (AL), AHSAA 5A State Champion
Cali Roper (TX), Texas 3A State Champion
Boys
On the boys' side, Thomas Graham is looking to make a return trip to San Diego, with the intention of improving on his 20th-place finish from last fall. As the last qualifying time was 15:10 last year, he would appear to be the only NC male with a clear chance to secure a national berth. Craig Engels did turn heads with his astonishing 9:03 3200m last weekend, but a drop from the 15:30's to under 15:10 (or potentially even faster if the field is strong) may be a lot to ask. Likewise for Mark Blackmon, who won the 13-14 boys' race at Foot Locker South in 2007 as an 8th-grader, although his 5K PR of 15:18 does put him a little closer to potential top-10 status. Both of those guys have more than enough speed to hang with the brutal early pace for which the seeded boys' race is famous. James McAlister is also an interesting runner here, as he doesn't get to race the 5K as often as the high-school runners; however, if you combine his 9:20 for 3200 with an 8K time in the 25's, you can see he has great potential.
Nationally, Ahmed Bile (VA) is the top returner, having finished fourth and advanced to nationals last year. Elliot Clemente (FL), who was fifth last year, is signed up here but also entered with his team in Nike Cross Nationals Southeast; I assume he will run with his schoolmates at WakeMed, where they have a legitimate shot at the national meet. Several Texas guys have put up huge times this year, but those performances might be a bit deceptive due to course variances. Let's go by the Texas 5A state meet: Craig Nowak won, with Daniel Vertiz second, while teammates Kevin Hoyos and Robert Domanic were third and fourth, respectively; all four of those guys are in the race Saturday. Josh Brickell (GA), Jacob Burcham (WV), Jacob Thomson (KY), Brock Baker (TN), and Roland Hakes (SC) are contenders looking to represent their states well.
Foot Locker South Participants in the Top 50 in the MileSplit Database
Also Watch
Ahmed Bile (VA), 4th at Foot Locker South last year in PR 15:02