Nick and Anthony Compete at NXN-Midwest Regional

Nike Cross Nationals - Midwest Regional
LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course
Terre Haute, Indiana
Sunday, November 16, 2014

Nick Dea and Anthony Alessi Compete in 2014 NXN Midwest Regional Boys Championship Race

Every year after the conclusion of the state championships in various states across the country, many of the top teams and individuals descend on one of eight Nike Cross Regional races, scattered throughout the nation and spread throughout the span of four weekends in November. At stake are one of two automatic qualifying spots for teams, and five individual qualifying prizes are also on the line in each Regional race.

There are two states -- New York and California -- with their own regionals. New York, along with Illinois and California, is one of the top cross country states in the entire nation. California uses its own state meet to determine who will qualify to Nike Cross Nationals.

Illinois, along with Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio make up the Midwest Regional. In a field of 361 of the best runners from across the entire Midwest region, Anthony finished 286th with a time of 17:05, and Nick finished with a time of 17:29 for 326th place on LaVern's 5K course on a cold, but ideal day for running. In fact, not long after the conclusion of the race, it began snowing in Terre Haute!

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Congratulations to Nick and Anthony! We are very proud of you!

Illinois as a whole did extremely well at NXN-Midwest. Four of the top six boys team hailed from Illinois. Class 3A Boys State Runner-Up -- Sandburg -- having gotten buried in a terrible start the previous week at Detweiller, used an incredible 8 second -- yes, that's eight seconds -- 1-5 split and 15 second 1-7 split to cruise to 111 points and the win at NXN-Midwest. Sandburg automatically qualified to this year's edition of the Nike Cross Nationals Finals. Carmel (Indiana) finished second. Neuqua Valley, who missed out on a state trophy by one point to Lyons Township last week, finished 5th with 259 points. State Champion Hinsdale Central was struck by some serious misfortune at NXN-Midwest but still managed to finish a strong sixth place despite one of their runners not finishing the race.

Who was that fourth Illinois team to finish in the top six? None other than the legendary Long Green Line from Elmhurst -- the Dukes from York. After they barely escaped their sectional meet by tying for fifth place with Chicago's St. Ignatius, they finished sixth at State last week. They shocked the field at NXN-Midwest for a third place finish with 250 points (they won the sixth runner tiebreaker) and a chance to be considered for an at-large bid to NXN once all the regionals are complete.

Individually, 3A state champion Jesse Reiser of McHenry, 3A state third place Matt Pereira of Lake Zurich, and 3A state fourth place Ryan Clevenger of Downers Grove North will also be making the trip to Portland. Reiser won the boys race in a very quick 15:01, Pereria finished fourth in 15:06, and Clevenger fifth in 15:09.

On the girls side, Illinois teams also did very well and Class 1A will also be represented at NXN in December. That would be the two-time Class 1A State Champion, Anna Sophia Keller, who earned a sixth place finish at NXN-Midwest last year but did not make the trip to Portland. This year, she finished third overall and will be making the trip to Portland.

Teamwise, three of the top five teams were from Illinois. Class 3A State Champion Naperville North qualified to Nike Cross Nationals for the third season in a row with a second place finish behind champion Carmel (Indiana), scoring 113 points. Class 3A State Runner-Up Palatine will be considered for an at-large bid for Nike Cross Nationals after finishing just six points behind Naperville North after finishing 18 points behind them the previous week.

Congratulations to all Illinois teams and individuals on outstanding performances this weekend! Good luck to those at NXN!