Once again, the road to Nike Cross Nationals for Colorado teams runs through Tempe, Arizona. Photo by Alan Versaw.
The road still goes through Tempe, but some of the mileposts along the road have changed.
One change is that Wyoming will no longer be part of the Southwest region. Wyoming now belongs to the more geographically appropriate Northwest region. This leaves Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico in the Southwest region.
The at large bid process has undergone modification. More details will follow, but it appears that this year teams can only score at-large points by defeating the regional champion. The window for scoring at-large points will also be reduced.
Registration for the NXN SW race will be $25 per individual or $125 per team (unless late fees apply). The regional meet will be held Saturday, November 21, at Kiwanis Park in Tempe. This year, the race schedule will be reduced to a citizen's race, a men's and women's open race, and a men's and women's championship race. It's likely this schedule will mean that the races finish earlier in the day than they have the last two years.
Watch this site all summer and fall for more information about NXN SW and NXN.
While Colorado teams have been fairly dominant at NXN SW on the girls side in the two years of the meet's existence, Colorado boys teams have not fared as well. To some extent, this reflects the fact that the Colorado boys have continued to go to Foot Locker Midwest in large numbers, while the Colorado girls have shifted, rather dramatically, to attending NXN SW. Whether this situation will change or remain constant this fall remains to be seen.
All the best on a great cross country season, and I hope to see Colorado very well represented in Tempe on November 21!