Lukas going for the double

This weekend is Part 1 of what Lukas Verzbicas hopes to be a legendary double. Saturday's Nike Cross Nationals in Portland will probably be his toughest race, ever.
The path started at State, which was covered in my last blog. He then went to NXN MidWest in Terre Haute, IN and came away with both a convincing win and a course record. His time of 14:53.1 beat Chris Derrick's old mark that was set before the addition of the hay bales. Jack Driggs closed strong to beat Zach Wills of Ohio for second. More importantly, Driggs led York to the team title over Columbus North (IN). York is now 7 for 7 in qualifying for NXN, the only team to go each and every year. Quite the legacy.
The next step for Lukas was FootLocker Midwest in Kenosha WI. I made the trip to watch this race as I wanted to be there for this stacked field. Also on the starting line were Driggs and Wills, along with IN star Futsum Zeinasellassie, OH star Michael Brajdic and Tony Smorgiewicz of South Dakota, the NXN Heartland winner.
Lukas went for it from the gun. I was at the start then made my way to the mile marker area. (Start below, Lukas at the mile after that, he was all alone)

Lukas had gapped the field by the mile mark. Close to the 2 mile mark they announced his split at 9:20. The announcer noted at 2.5 that Futsum had closed some ground. Coming in to the homestretch Lukas looked back, saw Futsum and came in strong. It is worth noting that he certainly didn't appear to be straining to much at the end. It may have been the closest that ANYONE has ever been to him in XC.

What has he done so far in his journey to the double to indicate he can pull it off? Plenty. Let's start with Sectionals. At Lockport he set a course record taking down Chris Derrick's old mark. State, he recorded the #3 time in IL history, only the legendary Craig Virgin and Derrick have run faster. NXN MW in Terre Haute? Course Record, taking down Derrick's once more. FLMW? The # 2 time in meet history. Only Dathan Ritzenhein has run faster. Lukas's 14:44 on that freezing day was quicker than Chris Solinsky, Matt Tegenkamp, Jorge Torres, Todd Williams, Bob Kennedy and a host of other future stars and Olympians. His performances so far indicate he can do it. He seems to have not gone all out in any race other than IL State. He will be challenged for sure, no one will win NXN in easy fashion. Not with this cast. Let's start with defending champ Craig Lutz of Texas who I am sure has no intention of surrendering his title. The CA duo of Ammar Moussa and Elias Gedyon are improved over last year. Zach Wills has a history of performing well in Portland. Lastly, the NJ stars. Jim Rosa, Jeremy Elkaim and Edward Cheserak all will be gunning for the title. Now, I know that Rosa is 2 and 0 against Cheserak, but this runner scares me the most of any of the challengers. I think over time he will become an incredible runner and Futsum will still have much to deal with in him next year. If Lukas gets by this crew his only challenge in San Diego will be to not let down against a fresh Futsum who is only running Footlocker. The best doubles so far have been by Chris Derrick (1st NXN, 2nd FL), Craig Lutz (1st NXN, 4th FL) and Colby Lowe (2nd NXN, 4th FL). It is a tough run. It is a lot of hard racing. I'm going to go out saying I think he can do it. We'll see. He stated here in the interview below that he wouldn't be doing it if  he didn't have the highest of expectations. Good luck to him.

Close calls in Peoria

This past weekend brought us one of the most anticipated XC meets in quite some time. The Illinois State Meet. The 3a Boys race did not disappoint. On the individual side, all eyes were on the match up of Lukas Verzbicas and Jack Driggs. The team race figured to come down to York, Neuqua Valley and New Trier. The main question of the day was, would Lukas get Craig Virgin's long storied course record of 13:50? With Virgin on hand riding in the pace truck, all eyes were on Lukas from the gun. Driggs was the only runner game enough to go with him through the 1/2 mile mark before a 4:28ish mile split started putting a little distance between the two. After crossing 2 miles in roughly 9:10 Lukas had built close to a 100 meter lead. The race was his however he fell just short at 1354. That time will go down as the #3 time ever at Detweiller behind only Virgin and Chris Derrick (13:52).
(below, Verzbicas, Virgin and Derrick, photo credit unknown)

It was a run for the ages but the fun didn't stop there. With York trying to win a 27th team title, #2 runner Ron Hedman was disqualified for physical contact with another runner. It has been speculated that it was everything from shoving to a punch in the face. I don't know for certain. Fortunately York's #6 stepped up and the team narrowly beat surprise team Lake Zurich by a 2 point margin to get a record 27th title for Coach Joe Newton.
The 2a race had some great races as well. Woodstock senior Kayla Beattie set a course record of 16:22 in a 49 second win. The boys from Belvidere North set a 2a record low of 28 points. In fact, if you plug BN's times into the 3a race, BN would have beaten York. Can they beat York head to head? We will find out this weekend.
This Sunday in Terre Haute, IN is the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) Midwest Regional. Lukas is apparently going for the FootLocker, NXN double and will be there with the rest of his Sandburg team. Jack Driggs will bring his York team looking to continue the streak of being the only team to qualify for every NXN National meet since the inception. York will be tested not only by Lake Zurich and Belvidere North, but also the top ranked team this year in the Midwest, Columbus North of Indiana. Don't forget New Trier, Naperville Neuqua Valley and early season favorite Oak Park-River Forest.
The team race should be amazing. Lukas will be favored to win the boys race and his expected competion will come from Driggs and the Ohio stars Zach Wills and Michael Brajdic. Wills was 5th at the NXN National Meet last year and Brajdic just broke Bob Kennedy's Ohio State Meet record. The only name absent appears to be Futsum Zeinasellassie who looks to be going only to FootLocker.
The same weekend the Texas State Meet will get underway with defending NXN Champion Craig Lutz of Marcus the overwhelming favorite. It would take an upset in the magnitude of Don Knott's knocking out Mike Tyson for anyone to beat Lutz in Texas this year. This was solidified by a 55 second victory on a slightly revamped Mae Simmons course. Who did he beat by 55 seconds? Only last years 5th place finisher at the State Meet and The Harrier pre-season All American, Donovan Torres of Lubbock Coronado. Lutz's Marcus team soundly beat favorite Southlake Carroll 33-68 for good measure.
Plano's Rachel Johnson should run away with the girls title as well. In 4a both El Paso Austin and Jefferson should contend for the title. Austin has one of, if not the, best 1-2 combo in the state with Isaac Spencer and Ramon Garcia, while Jefferson brings a little more depth. Both have the potential to medal.
A quiet little blurb recently came out of Texas in the news that Chelsey Sveinsson had returned to racing. She appears to still be a ways off form as she placed 6th in the SPC (private school) Meet. She finished in 19:53, about 3 minutes slower than one would expect from her in a 5k. At that rate, I wouldn't look for her until Track season. Hope she returns stronger than ever.

York rolls at Sectionals

I got a chance to take in the Skokie (Niles West) Sectional this past Saturday. It was the first meet of the year that I had been able to make it out to, but it was a great one. I expected a great battle between York and Oak Park-River Forest as York's only defeat this season had been at the hands of OPRF. Instead, it was New Trier (Winnetka, IL) who gave York all they could handle. York prevailed 57-62 with OPRF a little ways back in 3rd with 96. It may have been even closer but as it had been all year, Jack Driggs led York with an individual title. Driggs (pictured below at the sectional meet) won in 14:53.

Down in Lockport, Lukas Verzbicas went about his business as well winning that Sectional in 15:09. The time doesn't seem that impressive on paper until you realize that the course record there was previously 15:15 set in the 2007 season by one Chris Derrick. Enough said. Many people are looking to the battle brewing next week downstate in Peoria between Driggs and Verzbicas. Lukas has never lost a cross country race in his high school career and in fact, doesn't appear to have had a strong challenge in a high school race. Even at FL Nationals last year he made it look easy. Go to the FL website and watch the replay sometime. I think that Driggs is going to be up for the task of challenging him. The question of  will Lukas beat Craig Virgin's course record has to be asked along with, will Driggs go with him? It's going to be a great meet on Saturday both individually and with the teams. Look for Neuqua Valley to challenge York and New Trier.
Down in Texas the post season has just started. We saw the Humble Kingwood boys dominate The Woodlands at the district level and the El Paso Eastwood girls team win a 5th consecutive district title. Region 1 should be loaded with some great races. The top individual boy and girl (Craig Lutz and Rachel Johnson) in Texas will both run Saturday at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock. It is very possible that we will see the same school, Southlake Carroll, win both the boys and girls titles. Look for the SLC boys to be challenged by Marcus and Amarillo Tascosa, and the SLC girls to be challenged by Coppell and EP Eastwood. The 4a races should be a great time for El Paso with Isaac Spencer (EP Austin) and Joel Flores (El Paso Jefferson) contending for the individual title with Chuy Alegria of Ft. Worth Boswell. El Paso Jefferson will be a strong favorite for the team title.
On the University level the conference meets have seen some great performances in the way of tempo runs. Stanford won the Pac-10 the same way it has run all year with Chris Derrick, Elliot Heath and Jake Riley coming across the line in a dead heat. Oklahoma State did the same with Girma Mesecho, German Fernandez and Colby Lowe doing the same. Both teams have run like this all year and seem to be on a collision course to meet in Terre Haute, IN in a few weeks. Look for the team spreads to be a little higher as Derrick and Fernandez will undoubtedly be going after Sam Chelanga at the front. Question is for Stanford, will the team follow. To me if both teams run to their full capabilities it is still a toss up.
Jordan Hasay (Oregon) defeated Kathy Kroeger (Stanford) for the girls Pac-10 title. How many times did we see these two go back and forth at past FL Nationals?! Stanford was able to take the team title on both sides.
Speaking of Stanford, the Rosa brothers out of New Jersey have committed to the Cardinals and rumor is that Chelsey Sveinsson (Texas) has as well. It doesn't appear as if we will see Chelsey this cross season unless she runs USATF Juniors. Hope she is healthy soon.
Last but not least, the 2010 edition of the Chicago Marathon was one for the ages. Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya defeated Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia (2:06.24-2:06.42) in a great battle. Truly an amazing race, watch the finish of the race on Flotrack or find it on youtube. There is no doubt that Sammy Wanjiru is a true champion.

The Class of 2011 is ready to roll!

Well, Track and Summer have come and gone. We saw great performances from the likes of Lukas Verzbicas (IL-4:04.38-Jim Ryun Dream Mile), Joe Rosa (NJ-8:44.06-NBN 2 Mile-Jr class record) and Parker Stinson (TX-29:32-10,000 World Jr. Champs) on the boys side. The best girls performances hands down came from Emily Sisson (MO) who skipped her HS season and recorded a 9:51 3200 in a paced time trial and then a HS Record of 15:48.91 in the 5000 at the World Junior Champs. Sisson's times would be great for most HS Boys!

Andrew Wheating and Leonel Manzano impressed with some great miles in a year with no World Championships or Olympics. If Alan Webb is to come back, he will face a very formidable task in beating them for mile supremacy.

Today is Labor Day, marking the unofficial end of summer. This means Cross Country is upon us. Here in Illinois all eyes will once again be on Lukas Verzbicas and his quest to break Craig Virgin's record at Detweiller Park. He will not go unchallenged as York's Jack Driggs recorded one of the nations fastest miles (4:08.24) at the Midwest Distance Gala in June. The Chicago area had two of the top 10 HS milers in the nation and both return.

4:04.38 **Lukas Verzbicas (Sandburg, Orland Park, Il’)

4:05.50i Alex Hatz (Fayetteville-Manlius, Manlius, NY)

4:05.86+ *Elias Gedyon (Loyola, Los Angeles, Ca)

4:06.18 Jake Hurysz (Eastern Alamance, Mebane, NC)

4:07.28i Kirubel Erassa (Grayson, Loganville, Ga)

4:07.70 *James Rosa (West Windsor-Plainsboro North, Plainsboro, NJ)

4:07.98+ Ben Johnston (North Central, Spokane, Wa)

4:08.07 Pat Schellberg (Delbarton School, Morristown, NJ)

4:08.24 *Jack Driggs (York, Elmhurst, Il)

4:08.46 Isaac Presson (Asheville, NC)

York is looking like a heavy team favorite this year despite losing Andrew Smith, the State Champ in the 3200, but that is what York does every year under legendary Coach Joe Newton. Yorks recent time trial indicate Driggs is fit and the front runner with a solid 2-5 backing him up. They have a nice spread from 2-5 (6 seconds).

Driggs 8:47 Hedman 9:13 Hedman 9:15 Mimlitz 9:16 Gornick 9:19

We won't see Lukas (pictured below at FLMW, a meet that left me muddy as can be, as a spectator!) until end of month at earliest, at least on an XC course as he preps for the World Jr. Triathlon Champs later this month in Hungary. I'm sure he won't miss a beat as his running splits in these races are usually nothing short of spectacular.

Will he repeat as National XC runner of the year? This will be his last season as he took summer school courses to graduate early in 2011. He will be hard pressed by many in the class of 2011 including the Rosa twins, Craig Lutz (TX), Ammar Moussa (CA) and Elias Gedyon (CA). Others that can't be discounted are Zach Wills (OH- remember he edged Lukas at NON in 2009), Jeremy Elkaim (NJ- 8:46 3200 in a win over the Roas's), Futsum Zeinasellassie (IN-7th at FL Nationals in 08) as well as Driggs.

To me the overwhelming girls favorite has to be Chelsey Sveinsson of Texas. The "experts" disagree as most have picked her second behind Aisling Cuffe of NY based mostly off of her 10:02 for the full 2 mile at NBN, That would be a sub 10 in the 3200 which Chelsey has yet to run. I, however, think Chelsey would have had she not had an injury shortened track season. If she comes back fully healthy this year, she will be THE one to beat. It is worth noting that Freshman Natalie Rathjen (Highland Park, TX) just won the opener at Marcus 1 in 10:45, the same time Chelsey ran last year. Girls races are never as clear cut as the boys it seems.

Texas is already rolling. Craig Lutz dominated the Marcus 1 meet as expected. Southlake Carroll served notive that they may be the team to beat in Region 1 as they dominated the field winning with an impressive 39 points. Amarillo Tascosa showed they may be the sleeper team in Region 1 (5a) with an impressive 3rd.

In El Paso, Issac Spencer (Austin) ran away with the season opener in what should be a banner year for him. The surprise of the meet was the Eastwood Troopers (yes, I'm biased!) who were edged by a single point by Austin. The Troopers who had and have had a strong JV every year regrouped and served notice they are a team to be dealt with. The rapid off-season improvement by runners such as Luis Salazar will be key as team leader Juan Blanco can't do it alone. The Trooper Girls, who were expected to be solid, ran away with the girls title over very good Clint and Horizon teams. If Melanie Stires has the type of season she is capable of the Trooper Girls will look to improve on last years 5th place finish at the Region 1 meet. Coach Mike McLain has done a great job in developing the JV squads to step right up when the time has come. I look forward to seeing my Alma Mater proving the naysayers wrong.

For those who ran XC in El Paso, you should check out Coronado ex's Vince Bejarano's alumni website. It is open to all and can be a great place for some people to reconnect after many years. Look for it in the links section on your left.

Titles on the line for Illinois and Texas.

This weekend start the Post-Season for high school cross country. This Saturday will be the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland and the 12th will see the long standing Footlocker Nationals. Illinois and Texas will be well represented at both events and should challenge for several titles.
Starting with Nike Cross, the Rosa twins (Joe and Jim) who have been destroying course records all year but will be challenged by the Texas trio of Craig Lutz, Ryan Dohner and Parker Stinson. Illinois and Texas both have 3 teams in the finals. Illinois looks to be stronger overall in the team race led by York, Naperville Neuqua Valley and Loyola. Texas brings Boerne Champion, The Woodlands and Cedar Park. The girls race may be Sarah Andrews to lose at this point as favorite Chelsey Sveinsson has opted to go only to Footlocker. Favetetville-Manlius (New York) will run away with the title on the girls side.
Footlocker, still the most prestigious event on the individual side, looks to be shaping up nicely. I got a chance to go to the Midwest Championships in Kenosha Wisconsin last weekend . Now, before anybody mentions how much slower the times were in the Midwest as compared to the other regions, it was an absolute mud fest. Mud everywhere, large puddles of standing water everywhere, just awful, awful, conditions.
As expected , Megan Goethels (Mo) won the title defeating 4 time Footlocker qualifier Emily Sisson (MO) (pictured below). Megan is returning to FL where she was 3rd place last year and should challenge Chelsey Sveinsoon for the win.


On the boys side the match up between favorite Lukas Verzbicas and Futsum Zeinasellassie never materialized. Futsum was not in the pack as they took off. It was known that Lukas had been nursing a nagging achilles injury. It was never an issue however, as he jumped to a quick lead (pictured below right before mile marker 1) and was never challenged.



He checked his lead towards the end and literally strolled across the line. He looked like he was out for a daily jog and hopefully will be all healed and ready to make his bid to become the first 3 time Footlocker winner (and the first to win as a Sophomore) next weekend. Lukas looked pretty comfortable being interviewed below and should get used to it.



The biggest challenge to Lukas should come from Texas as Craig Lutz looked great at the South regional. If Lukas is hampered by his Achilles look for Lutz, Brian Shrader AZ or Shane Moskowitz (WA) to sneak by.
On the girls side I'll stick with Chelsey. After her injury she rebounded and ran away from a quality field in the South to win.
I'm going to pick Lukas over Lutz and Chelsey over Goethels for Footlocker. At NXN, the Rosa's over Lutz and Sarah Andrews.

National berth #6 for York...IL/TX State finals

Before we get to far into the heart of the blog, the Cross Country championship season so far in 2009, I would like to make a special mention/congratulations to the first American to win the New York City Marathon in 27 years, Meb Keflezighi. Meb dropped a quality field one by one en route to a 2:09.15 win over Robert Cheruiyot. An American had not won New York since Alberto Salazar won in 1982 and this was a major accomplishment in what has been a banner year for American long distance running.
High School action was in full swing the past couple weeks. In Illinois, Loyola served notice to the US that it was for real when it beat York at the Niles West sectional. Loyola's Nico Composto defeated the York duo of Andrew Smith and Jack Driggs for the individual win. Down in Lockport, Neuqua Valley and Lukas Verzbicas cruised to easy wins. Loyola jumped to the top of the National rankings and headed down to Peoria as the favorite and the title of US#1. Not so fast,while the individual race was a foregone conclusion, the team race was a fierce battle. When the announcement came out, Neuqua Valley (99) had toppled the favorites as they defeated Loyola (111) and York (118) for the State title. Verzbicas easily defeated the field with a 21 second win over York's Smith and Driggs. Verzbicas ran on record pace through 2 miles before a sore Achilles slowed him in the final mile. Many were disappointed he didn't break the long standing course record, but his time of 14:07 still ranks him in the all-time top 10 on the course and he has a couple more years to go after it.
Down in Texas, things got rolling quickly. In Region 1, Craig Lutz (Lewisville Marcus) ran away with the title at Mae Simmons Park in a time of 14:37. Lutz now joins Colby Lowe and Bobby Aguirre as the only runners under 14:40 on the course. El Paso dominated the 4A ranks as Jefferson, Austin and Horizon swept the State berths in the Boys division while taking 7 of the top 10 individual spots. In 3a, Clint took the girls title, while 5a didn't fare as well. The Eastwood girls were 5th in a highly competitive team race and with the bulk of the girls back next year they should make another serious run at the State meet.
Region 2 served as a preview to what was to come as The Woodlands boys defeated Cedar Park and Klein Oak for the team title with Parker Stinson (CP) taking individual honors. The girls titles went to The Woodlands College Park and Sarah Andrews (The Woodlands High).
This past weekend the Texas State meet certainly didn't disappoint. Lutz ran away from the field, and a very good field at that, for a 14:45 to 15:08 win over Mark Pinales (Round Rock Stony Point). Parker Stinson won the bronze with a time of 15:11. The Woodlands boys picked up right where they left off when Dan Green retired and handed the program to son Juris, they won. The Woodlands outdistanced Region II foes Klein Oak and Cedar Park for the win. The interesting story was 4a winner Boerne Champion who easily won 4a (30-120 over El Paso Jefferson) and would have beaten The Woodlands based on an integrated race. This showdown looms big as Nike South approaches.
Sarah Andrews (The Woodlands) won the girls title over Rachel Johnson of Plano while Humble Kingwood won the team title over The Woodlands College Park and Southlake Carroll. In the 3a race, the Clint girls missed a medal by the narrowest of margins as 1 point separated the 2,3 and 4 teams. So close.
The post-season has started in the Midwest and what a race at Nike Midwest! York, who after finishing 3rd at the IL state meet stepped up big to win the Nike Midwest title over Neuqua Valley. Loyola, as recently as 2 weeks ago was ranked #1 in the US, was left out. Loyola's chances of an at-large bid however, should be very favorable when considering their 3 wins over York this season. York will be running in their 6th consecutive National meet , the only program to have qualified for every Nike Cross Nationals final. They won in 04 and were runner-ups in 05 and 08. Neuqua Valley won the title in 07 as Illinois has been extremely competitive at this meet.
Lukas Verzbicas and Futsum Zeinasellassie (IN-Footlocker top 10 as a Frosh last year) sat out this race to concentrate on Footlocker Midwest leaving Zach Wills of Ohio to claim an easy win. On the girls side , Magnificat OH edged Illinois State Champs Palatine for the win while individual honors went to Ohio's Hannah Neczypor.
Many great races still lie ahead as we head to Footlocker Regionals and Nike Cross Nationals. I hope to see many of the top stars tangle one on one. Chesley Sveinsson has been resting and training and should be raring to go at the post-season meets.
El Paso is starting to see a resurgence as a cross country power (mostly in 4a vs 5a) as El Paso Jefferson is now the #6 ranked team in the South rankings. Isaac Spencer (Austin) won the 1-4a regional meet and was 7th at the State meet. Jefferson is coached by former El Paso prep star Alfredo Trejo who was top 20 at Footlocker (then Kinney) in 1980.
On the NCAA side of things, Stanford is still the favorite as they cruised to conference and regional wins both times led by individual winner Chris Derrick. Oklahoma State should contend still as German Fernandez seems to round into shape after an early season injury. They ran regional as a team tempo run with all the team coming across together. Colby Lowe is still the key I think as he needs to step up from last years performance. If he does they will be right there in contention with Stanford.
Washington remain the favorite on the women's side with Jenny Barringer (CO) being an overwhelming favorite to win the individual title. Look for prized frosh Jordan Hasay (Oregon) and Allie McLaughlin (Colorado) to have breakthrough races in Terre Haute.
I hope to attend some of the bigger meets coming up here in the next couple weeks and will be sure to blog on them and hopefully share some pics.

Fall is here...XC Time!

Fall is here and that means one thing. Cross Country season is upon us. It was a great summer of Track and Field. All of the Gala League meets were televised as well as others, great World Championships in Berlin. Good times, literally. Two Americans, Dathan Ritzenhein (12:56.27 New AR) and Matt Tegenkamp (12:58.56) , broke 13 minutes in the 5000 in the span of one week. 3 Americans (Evan Jager, German Fernandez and Chris Derrick) all no more than 2 years removed from the American High School system ran sub 13:30, all before they are old enough to drink a beer in a bar.
The United States women have seen a huge resurgence in the middle distances with fantastic 800/1500 meter performances from the likes of Anna Willard, Shannon Rowbury, Jenny Barringer, Christin Wurth-Thomas and Maggie Vessey. Hopefully the trend will continue for years to come as it was quite inspiring to see these ladies hold their own against the world's best.
Now we head in to the time of the year reserved for running on uneven surfaces and terrains. Cross Country. I can't touch much on the College ranks yet as most of the top teams and individuals have yet to race. Texas and Illinois are once again looking very strong in the High School ranks with some of the top individuals and teams.
The Lone Star state brings Chelsey Sveinsson (top female in the US), Sarah Andrews, Parker Stinson, Craig Lutz and Connor Adams. The Woodlands girls and boys teams look very strong and the Cedar Park boys look to challenge for State and National honors.
Illinois fields the top male in the nation (probably for a few years to come!) in Sophomore Lukas Verzbicas as well as some of the top boys teams in the nation in York and Naperville Neuqua Valley. York lost 2 stars in Steve Sulkin (9:01) and Jordan Herbert (9:04) and Neuqua lost Foot Locker All-American Danny Pawola but as most perennial powerhouses they have rebuilt and both should have strong showings at the IL state meet and Nike Cross nationals.
Moving on to some things you couldn't already find out on Dyestat, it looks like there are some good things going on at my alma mater Eastwood (El Paso, TX). The girls team is undefeated 2 meets in and is looking solid from 1-7 with several capable front runners. As long as they start getting the 1-5 time gap down they can make some noise after the District meet. On the boys side Junior Juan Blanco won the Clint/Horizon Invitational with a solid win over 200 plus runners. I think he has the ability to become the best XC runner from the school in many, many years if not THE best. He certainly impressed me with his 4:30 in the 1600 as a Sophomore. Hopefully these kids will stay healthy and go into the Region 1 meet with the knowledge that they can absolutely compete with the best in the Region and State. Coach Mike McLain has certainly been there, earning individual and team Region Championships as a runner for Hanks High School back in the glory days (the 80's) of El Paso High School Cross Country. If anyone can help them realize this goal it is him.
I will certainly touch on the progress and performances of the team this year as I cheer for them from afar.
In an unrelated "How did I miss this from last year?" the defending Arkansas big schools Girls Cross Country champion (who ran away with last years title as a Frosh) is Valerie Reina. Yep, Reubens daughter. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

More XC Action- Close Races in IL

One of the most anticipated XC State meets for XC fans each year is the Illinois State Meet. IL has a very deep and talented history in the sport. This years Meet was no different.4 (!) teams (#3 Naperville North, #5 Elmhurst York, #11 Geneva and #14 Neuqua Valley, the defending State and National Champs) ranked in the top 20 Nationally went head to head ,yes, 4 teams ranked in the top 20 Nation-wide. After 3 miles the Kyle Gibson led Naperville North team edged the Steve Sulkin led York team by the slimmest of margins 84-85. Geneva and Neuqua Valley followed in 3rd and 4th. It must be something to be ranked # 14 in the nation (and defending Nike Team Nationals Champ)and not crack the top 3 in your State Final, but that is the price you pay for competing in a state that has a very stong distance history. I actually feel that even though York lost the meet they can still take the National title. In a race diluted with more elite front-runners the duo of Steve Sulkin and Jordan Hebert both have top 10 potential. We'll see.
The individual race was just as close with Jeff Thode surprising all the pre-meet favorites. Here is the top 10.
1-Jeff Thode-Hoffman Estates (Conant)-14:18
2-Steve Sulkin-Elmhurst (York)-14:19
3-Jordan Hebert-Elmhurst (York)-14:21
4-Kyle Gibson-Naperville (North)-14:23
5-Danny Pawola-Naperville (Neuqua Valley)-14:32
6-Nico Composto-Wilmette (Loyola Acad.)-14:32
7-Zach Dahleen-Orland Park (Sandburg)-14:33
8-Andrew Larsen-Aurora (Marmion Acad.)-14:34
9-David McWilliams-Naperville (North)-14:35
10-Gerardo Perez-Lake Zurich-14:38

Very impressive races in Peoria IL as usual.

A little further down the way, Regional action was getting underway in another perennial XC hotbed, Texas. Region II saw The Woodlands (US # 8, South #1) win yet another team and individual crown. Reed Connor won the race in 14:30 to lead his team to yet another Regional title. You can refer to the entry below for more info on them.The Woodlands Girls team also pulled the same feat off with individual winner Sarah Andrews leading The Woodlands to the Team Title. My eyes were focused on Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock for the Region 1 meet. Super Soph. Craig Lutz (Lewisville Marcus) beat veteran CJ Brown (Southlake Carroll) 14:59-15:13. Lutz joins Colby Lowe (Southlake Carroll) and Bobby Aguirre (El Paso Riverside) as Region 1 Champs as sophomores. Will he win State as a Soph as they did? I'm sure Reed Connor will try to keep him from that.

Talking a little Cross Country...........

As we head towards the State Meets in XC we see some more of the norm. York (IL) and The Woodlands (TX) are both aiming for yet another State Title.
The Woodlands (once known as Conroe McCullough) has been crushing teams dreams in TX for 28 years or so. They have quite a large enrollment (3800+) and a great Jr. High Program but the coaching of Dan Green speaks volumes. People enter the program there (as well as York with Joe Newton) expecting to contend for the State Title.
Since 1980 The Woodlands/McCullough has won 14 State Titles, 6 2nd place finishes and 2 3rd place finishes. That is 22 trips to the podium in 27 years. In 1984 they scored a record low 28 points in a race that my team (El Paso Eastwood) actually thought we had a chance at winning. We wound up 3rd but hey, there is no doubt we lost (badly!) to the best XC team in the country that year. The list of stars from the school over the years is endless. Kyle Wright, Jeff Moss, Stacy Sutter, Eric Henry, Shaun Barnes, Scott Cramer, Danny Green, Chris Emme, Brian Sullivan, Alex Neff and this year Reed Connor and Drew Butler should challenge Craig Lutz for the Texas Title.
Each year the week prior to the XC District meet,The Woodlands has it Red and Green Time Trial, under the lights at night. They run the 3200. If this years results are accurate then look out. Connor ran 8:54 and Butler 9:01. Wow! This school, by the way, has more sub 9:20 3200 runners than any other school in State History by a long shot. Henry and Sullivan both went 8:52.
I mentioned Craig Lutz earlier as the Lewisville Marcus Sophomore has established himself as the favorite for the TX 5-A Title. After a very impressive Frosh season, he has gone undefeated turning back many of the state's best in the process. Don't count out CJ Brown (Southlake Carroll) quite yet but he has not had the season many expected.
In IL, York is looking tough as usual, as well as Naperville North, Geneva and defending National Champs, Neuqua Valley. Look for Kyle Gibson (NN), Danny Pawola (NV) and the York Duo of Steve Sulkin and Jordan Herbert to contend in Peoria for the State Title. Another early season fave, Freshman Record Setter Lukas Verzbicas (yes Freshman!) is out for the season with a pinched sciatic nerve.
The future is looking bright right now on the National level with Lutz (Soph) and Verzbicas (Frosh) and Futsum Zeinasellassie (Frosh, In) all with potential to finish high at the National Level this year. Another challenger may be Jakub Zivec. Jakub has been running amazing times in the JV races in MN. In these cases he is running faster than the varsity times and coming close to course records. He has track PRs of 3:57.07 for the 1500 meters and an 8:19.35 for 3000m so he is for real. Jakub is a Czech exchange student who attends his MN high school without being part of a recognized international exchange program. Because of this he is not allowed to compete at the varsity level.
The future is also looking bright on the NCAA level with the prized Frosh Chris Derrick (Stanford), German Fernandez and Colby Lowe (Oklahoma State), Luke Puskedra (Oregon) all looking like potential All-Americans this year. We shall see. Terre Haute, IN is the place to be Nov 24Th.