Favorites Advance Out of NXN-SW

Wade Meddles (Sierra Lutheran, Nevada) dominated the boys championship race at NXN-SW. Photo by Alan Versaw.

If startling upsets are your thing, you left the Nike Cross Nationals - Southwest meet a disillusioned soul. Things pretty much played out according to expectations.

Which is not to say there wasn't any drama. It's just that all the drama involved the favored teams and favored individuals.

To the surprise of few, Wade Meddles of Nevada ran away with the boys championship. Meddles built a substantial lead in the first mile and was never challenged. All of the day's battles for places were staged several seconds behind Meddles.

In fact, the best battle of the day may have been for second, third, and fourth places, where each of the three contestants finished within a half second of one another. The triumph within the group went to Billy Orman of Team Tuba with a vicious kick that took down both Sherod Hardt of Queen Creek and Kyle Pittman of Los Alamos.

Behind these folks, however, a team struggle of epic proportions was shaping up.

American Fork (Utah) and Albuquerque Academy (New Mexico) came in as heavy favorites against the entire field. Both enjoyed spectular finishes to their state seasons. Both were primed for the contest.

Austin West of Caveman XC (American Fork) drew first blood, finishing sixth in 15:35. Pat Zacharias of ABQ XC (Albuquerque Academy) was quick to respond, finishing eighth in 15:49.

The two state champions continued to swap places through their fifth runners. The Cavemen went 4-8-11-23-28 with individuals removed. ABQ XC went 6-9-14-15-30. And, at that point, the race was a draw--74 points for both teams with all five scoring runners for both teams finishing under 16:30.

The decision ultimately went to American Fork. Their sixth man, Ashenafe Richardson, brought a swift resolution to the knotted score by laying down the tie-breaker in 16:31.

On a 5K  course made challenging by five significant hill climbs, the first five runners for the Cavemen of American Fork finished with a 16:03 team average time and ABQ XC finished with an average of 16:06. By way of comparison, the third place team, Mountain View of Utah, posted an average time for their scoring five of 16:31. The American Fork - Albuquerque Academy rivalry will resume in Portland on December 5.

"300 meters and a cloud of dust," early stages of the girls championship race. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Like the boys race, the girls race also had a wire-to-wire leader in Eleanor Fulton of Highlands Ranch. Only Fulton never broke away from the field to the extent that Meddles did. Through the first mile, Julia Foster (Albuquerque Academy) and Jessica Tonn (Xavier College Prep) kept in close contact. Foster stayed in contact until about 2.7 miles, while Kaitlin Hanenburg (The Classical Academy) was closing rapidly in the final stages of the race. Fulton's finish time was 17:45, with Hanenburg close behind at 17:51.

While Jessica Tonn came in as the pre-race favorite, Eleanor Fulton's status as the returning third-place finisher from NXN 2008 didn't exactly give her underdog status. Each of thegirls' top four, Fulton, Hanenburg, Foster, and Tonn, enjoyed spectacular seasons this fall.

Although early stages of the girls' race failed to reveal a clear team leader, both of the favored teams, Titans XC (The Classical Academy, Colorado) and Fort Collins (Colorado) were sitting back waiting for the hills to take their toll on the competitors who had taken things out a little too aggressively. The strategy worked well for both teams, and just a little better for Fort Collins.

Although the finishes of Kaitlin Hanenburg, Emily LaValley, and Shelby Stableford had Titans XC in the lead through the first three runners, Rachel Viger, Erin Hooker, and Kirsten Follett managed to keep it close enough for Fort Collins. And, a second consecutive sterling performance at NXN-SW for Fort Collins junior Marci Witczak made the difference. Although slowed some by injuries throughout the season, Witczak's 19:09 was huge for Fort Collins and tipped the balances in their favor. The final tally had Fort Collins with 72 points and Titans XC with 83. Both teams averaged roughly 25 seconds per scoring runner faster than third-place Mountain View.

By virtue of repeating their finishes from last year, Fort Collins claimed their third consecutive trip to Portland and The Classical Academy their second. Mountain View (Utah) finished third, followed by Park City (also of Utah).

Open race team titles went to the girls of Vista Nation (Mountain Vista, Colorado) and the boys team from Mingus (Arizona). Individually, the titles went to Marlinda Pecos in 19:34 and Wilson Cutbirth in 16:10.

The Kiwanis Park course was dramatically altered from the last two years. Although the course incorporated, of necessity, more concrete than in previous years, the five hill climbs had a significant dampening effect on times.