Nike Cross Nationals Preview

Friday, December 4 2015 - Nike Cross Nationals


12th Annual Nike Cross Nationals

The twelfth edition of the Nike Cross Nationals championships will take place tomorrow afternoon (Central Time) at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon. It is likely to be a wet meet out in Portland on Saturday. (Although maybe not as wet as the Sectional meet we had at Lisle's Community Park on Halloween here in Illinois!) There will be a live webcast of the race available by clicking the link below:

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE NIKE CROSS NATIONALS LIVE WEBCAST

First, here's grab bag of a whole bunch of previews that are worth reading. Take your pick:

 

 

 

Now, while I'm going to go nowhere near as in-depth as Mike Newman of DyeStat IL or MileSplit US did with their previews, here's the gist of it for Illinois teams and individuals to keep an eye on tomorrow, along with a short rundown of the national powers:

Illinois Girls:

Teams: Naperville (North)

Naperville North is led by one of the best individual girls in the entire country -- Judy Pendergast. The record-setting Class 3A state champion (she became the first Illinois girl to break 16 minutes for 3 miles at Detweiller Park. Ever. In fact, no girl on a full 3 mile course has ever broken 16 minutes anywhere in Illinois!) leads the Naperville North ladies back to Glendoveer Golf Course, where they finished fourth last year, just 25 points out of a podium spot. Pendergast could end up winning the individual race to start Naperville North with a nice low score. Naperville North has been ranked as high as US #4 this season. They could be fighting for that last podium spot if one of the three favorites (see below) falters on Saturday.

Individuals: Lindsay Payne (Glenbard West) and Jocelyn Long (Barrington)

Payne was second to Pendergast at State and automatically qualified for NXN at the Midwest Regional. Jocelyn Long initially had not qualified for NXN out of the Midwest Regional, but became the final qualifier after Pendergast (who won NXN Midwest) qualified with her team after they were announced as an at-large selection. Both ladies are strong runners and should have respectable finishes on Saturday. 

 

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Illinois Boys:

Teams: Orland Park (Sandburg), Naperville (Neuqua Valley) and LaGrange (Lyons Township)

This season, Illinois boys teams dominated the Midwest Regional with four of the top five teams. Elmhurst (York) ran a strong race but ultimately finished fifth at NXN-Midwest, or we might have seen four Illinois teams at NXN this season, which would have been the most ever.

Sandburg has been one of the best teams ever in Illinois history. Lyons Township and Neuqua Valley aren't far behind. Sandburg has been ranked US #1 for much of the second half of the season, although in the most recent rankings they've dropped down to US #2 or US #3. Sandburg has a ton of talent and when you have that plus an incredibly close pack (it has been under 20 seconds at times!), great things can and will happen. Sandburg is making their second straight NXN appearance. They finished 15th last year at NXN after losing the state title to Hinsdale Central. They would like to add a national championship to go with their state championship and NXN Midwest championship and make it a clean sweep of their championship season.

Neuqua Valley has had a challenging season, yet they made the most of their race at NXN-Midwest and grabbed the second automatic qualifying spot. After losing their #1 runner for the season, they looked as if they were going to be knocked down. They didn't miss a beat. They came back to crush their conference, regional, and sectional meets. Then they earned third place at state -- actually, they tied for third place. They beat perennial state trophy contenders Elmhurst (York) for third place on the sixth runner tiebreaker.

That is the key there for Neuqua Valley -- their pack, especially after losing their #1. If anything, their pack is even closer together than Sandburg's this season, at times dipping under 15 seconds, which is amazing in cross country. That pack helped them earn another trip to NXN, the fourth in their history. They were 2007 national champions and they returned in 2009 and 2010. They've been here before. They could challenge for a top ten spot.

Lyons Township did not get the national respect they deserved for much of the season, perhaps being overshadowed by the Sandburg machine. They rocketed into the rankings after their second place finish at State followed by a close third place finish at NXN-Midwest to Neuqua Valley -- who finished third at State. At NXN-Midwest, the three Illinois teams were separated by just 30 points. That certainly factored into the decision to take Lyons as an at-large team to make them the third Illinois representative at NXN this season. They are another team with a strong pack. Similar to Neuqua Valley, they could be shooting for a top ten position.

*On a side note, should the three Illinois teams finish in the top ten at NXN on Saturday, that would be the first time in the 12 year history of NXN that Illinois has achieved that. No other state except New York girls has done that. Illinois' best showing was in 2008 when boys teams finished 2nd and 3rd.

Individuals: Jon Davis, (Fithian Oakwood), Jack Aho (Grayslake Central) and Charlie Kern, Jr. (Elmhurst York)

Three Illinois boys have earned the right to compete at NXN against the nation's best as individuals. All three of them are national-caliber runners. One is a senior, one is a junior, and one is a sophomore. Each of them are from different classes. Two of them are state champions--one of them a state class record holder, the other is a state runner-up, and perhaps a future state champion.

Jon Davis from Fithian Oakwood is the senior of this individual group. He is without question one of the best boys runners in the country this year. Davis is a three-time defending state champion in Class 1A. He is also the only Class 1A runner ever to break 14 minutes at Detweiller Park, running an amazing 13:59.3 last month. Davis also won NXN-Midwest and Footlocker Midwest last month. Davis would like to add a national championship, at either NXN or Footlocker, to his resume. It's a possibility on Saturday.

Jack Aho is the junior of the individual group, and the Class 2A state champion, having led his Grayslake Central team to a 67 point win in that class. He is another national caliber runner, but he will have a chance to prove himself on the national stage Saturday morning in Portland, with the chance to return next year. Aho could finish in the top 25.

Charlie Kern, Jr. of Elmhurst York is the sophomore group and the Class 3A state runner-up, finishing just two seconds behind the champ. Last year, Kern established himself as one of the best freshman runners in the history of the state of Illinois -- he ran 14:36 last year. This year, he improved to 14:22 Now, he gets a chance to move up to the national level and firmly establish himself as a runner to watch in the next two seasons -- with the intention of bringing his team back to Portland with him for the first time since 2012 when York finished 6th. Kern has the potential to finish in the top 20.

 

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NATIONAL TEAMS TO WATCH

Girls--

Fayetteville-Manlius (New York): Ranked US #1 -- again -- they are going for their second consecutive national title. Should they win, this would be their ninth national title in ten seasons, having previously won seven in a row from 2006-12 before losing by 12 points in 2013. They remain the only team in NXN history to win consecutive national titles, boys or girls. They know what they're doing. They're the favorites.

Great Oak (California): Probably the best team in the field outside of Fayetteville-Manlius. They have set all sorts of records in California this season. Is that enough for them to stop Fayetteville-Manlius from beginning a second streak of multiple national titles in a row? Should Fayetteville-Manlius falter, Great Oak could win the title.

Saratoga Springs (New York): They were the Fayetteville-Manlius team of the 1990s and early 2000s. They were the inaugural national champions in 2004. Since the FM dynasty began, they haven't won. They have finished second multiple times to FM. They're ranked US #3, but should FM stumble and Saratoga put together an outstanding race, they have a long shot to win the title.

Carmel (Indiana): This Indianapolis-area team is the powerhouse of Indiana state cross country. They've qualified for NXN for six years in a row now. They haven't finished lower than 7th in that streak. They may be "down" this year but they have proven themselves in the past.

American Fork (Utah): They are one of the best girls cross country programs in the nation. They haven't seen that success extend to NXN. A great race this year could vault them into podium position.

Davis (California): They finished just two points behind Great Oak at State. It's very possible that they could turn the tables on Great Oak and finish ahead of them at NXN -- with an outside shot at the championship if they put together their best race and FM stumbles.

Boys -

Great Oak (California): They are likely the favorites to win if Sandburg doesn't claim the national title for Illinois. Similar to their girls team, they've been destroying California state records all season, including the all-time best team time set last weekend at their state meet, when they barely won the state title in one of the closest state races California has ever seen. Will that race last weekend have taken a lot out of them for NXN?

Liverpool (New York): Led by one of the best boys runners in the country, this team finished fourth last year. They are aiming higher than that this year and would like to cop a podium spot and a trophy to take back to New York. The potential is there for them to do that.

Fayetteville-Manlius (New York): Although generally ranked well outside of the podium spot, they were missing their #1 runner last weekend at NXN-NY and still automatically qualified. Their #1 should be back tomorrow. Oh, and they're the defending national champions. Don't count out the defending national champions.

American Fork (Utah): A perennial NXN team, this boys program is one of the best in the nation. They have been on the podium before, in 2012. They are Portland regulars. They will be fighting for a top five -- if not a podium spot. They could return to the podium.

Dana Hills (California): The bridesmaid to Great Oak at the California state championships, they will be ready to lock horns with them in a rematch. If Great Oak or Sandburg falters in the race on Saturday and if they are on top of their game, Dana Hills could turn the tables on Great Oak and return to California with the national title.