The weather is looking a little cold and snowy in Kenosha, WI but considering it is the end of November, we would expect nothing less for this race! Here are the names to look out for in the race coming up this weekend!
Emily Cohen of Cherry Creek High School will be one to watch at the Brooks Midwest Regional Championship in Kenosha, WI! She has a strong history at this meet, but she also is riding a lot of momentum going into this meet.
Last year, Cohen finished 4th overall in the regional meet, qualifying for the National XC Championship at Balboa Park. Her time of 17:33 earned her that ticket to the championship meet in San Diego, where she ultimately finished 14th overall. Cohen is also riding a lot of momentum after finishing 4th overall at the Colorado Class 5A State Championship and finishing 6th at the Nike Southwest Regional, running a time of 16:58!
Other names to look out for include Claire Guiberson of Mountain Vista High School, Payton Meineke of Riverdale Ridge High School, and Chamorra Cooper of Air Academy High School.
Guiberson has yet to race at this championship meet, but she is also riding a lot of momentum going into this race. She finished 5th overall in the Colorado Class 5A State Championship and 14th at the southwest regional meet in Arizona. She may not have qualified for the Nike XC Championship, but with her racing experience, Guiberson definitely will be one to look out for to finish well in the championship field and to qualify for the Brooks XC National Championship.
Next is Payton Meineke, who has experience on this course. She has raced here her sophomore year, where she finished 6th overall with a time of 17:35! That season Meineke completed the tough double of doing both regional and national meets for Nike and with Foot Locker, and she still finished 16th overall at the National XC Championship. Meineke had a strong showing at the Nike Southwest Regional Championship, after she finished runner-up at the Class 5A state meet, so expect Meineke to place herself in the front of the pack with Cohen, Guiberson, and Cooper.
Finally, Cooper will also look to try and qualify for the National XC Championship. Cooper had a slower start to her season, so she may be better prepared for some of these later meets in the cross country season. Cooper already ran a fantastic state race, placing 3rd overall in Class 5A with one of her signature kicks! Cooper has shown her capability of racing well on tougher courses, which both the Midwest Regional and the National courses are more challenging, so she will be ready to try and qualify for the national meet in the middle of December.