Washington dominates NXN

The finish chute at Nike Cross Nationals (NXN)

Once again the perks of living here in Oregon were evident. Woke up, had my morning coffee and then a quick 15 ride to Portland Meadows (PM's main function is a horse racing track). My body forgot we left Chicago as the temps were very Midwest like.
I thought the conditions would favor East Coast/MW teams in the circumstances but it turned out the State of WA put on a clinic. Girls up first and I was way more excited to watch this race over the Boys. In October I went down to the Dellinger Invite in Eugene (see entry below) and watched Alexa Efraimson (JR, Camas WA) get gapped by, then kick down and outkick Emma Bates of Boise St. for the win. I knew then and there that Alexa would beat NXN queen Sarah Baxter (Simi Valley,Ca). Emma Bates recently followed up that performance with a runner up performance at the NCAA XC Champs last month. The race followed true to form with Baxter, Efraimson and mile star Elise Cranny (CO) breaking away early.

Girls lead pack early on

The lead changed hands between Baxter and Efraimson several times with Cranny content to tuck in. Heading towards 2.5 miles it looked like Efraimson had been dropped. The announcers, a great crew of Toni Reavis, Rich Gonzalez and Chris Derrick, noted that she may be falling out of contention. Nope. Just as she put the hammer down with a furious kick at Dellinger she once again put the hammer down and powered past Cranny and Baxter as if they were practically standing still. She put a few seconds on them in no time and powered home in a course record 16:50.1.

Alexa Efraimson powers in for a course record. Kara Goucher holds the tape.

Cranny gapped Baxter 16:53-16:57 for second. Baxters last race ended with her first loss ever as a high schooler in XC. First loss ever! Still a mighty impressive career. Efraimson returns next year in what may truly be an exciting SR season. She closes with a national championship and a victory over an elite NCAA field. Imagine the amount of excitement she'd generate already if not for a certain newly minted 17 year pro named Mary Cain.
Huge surprises in the team battle as Wayzata, MN defeated 7 time defending champ Fayetville-Manlius for the win. Back runners were the key as FM was ahead after the first 3. Never underestimate the importance of the back scorers.
The boys were up next. I figured (as did most) it would be a battle between Gig Harbor (WA), CBA (NJ) and Arcadia (Ca). CBA was the winner in 2011 with Arcadia winning in 2010 and 2012. Gig Harbor however, already a national power, added the much needed final piece to the puzzle when Mahmoud Moussa (younger brother of former Arcadia/current CU star Ammar Moussa) transferred from Arcadia to Gig Harbor after a family move.

The boys individual race was a lot more wide open with no big name stars of past NXN's such as Lukas Verzbicas, Edward Cheserek, Chris Derrick or Futsum Zeinasellaisse. A lot of the pre-meet was attention going to CO state champ Cerake Geberkidane. I was standing where Cerake was doing a lot of pre-meet stride outs and if you asked me then I would have picked him as well just due to how fluid he looked as he warmed up in the cold.

Boy's start

The Boys went out and no one seemed to really take the race by the throat for the first half. Lot's of the faves just tucked together feeling each other out.

Boy's lead pack

In the last third of the race, Kai Wilmot (North Central, WA) broke away and started putting some distance on the chase pack. It was obvious he was making his decisive move and not just an attempt to string out the pack. Surprisingly, it worked. He hammered away and put the field away coming in home for a course record 15:00. Kai was definitely not on most peoples radar as a potential winner, however an 8:57 in the 2 mile as a Soph gave the indications the potential was there. He was also a 4 time NXN qualifier! The woman right next to me at the finish was Kai's mother. It was fun to watch her excitement as she watched her son cross the line with a national championship.

Kai Wilmot powers in to a course record. German Fernandez and Centro JR hold the tape.

Boy's team gave another victory to WA as Gig Harbor edged out CBA for the win. In an odd twist Moussa became the first runner to win 2 national team champs, for different schools! I think the win really took CBA by surprise as they were the most somber looking national runner up squad I have ever seen.

The trophies

Gig Harbor (WA) celebrates a team victory

Pretty impressive running the State of WA yesterday I must say. The Girls was one of the most exciting championship races I have ever seen in person. One must keep in mind though for the Boy's especially, despite the cold, the ground was in the best conditions it ever has been for this race. Lukas over Cheserek in 2010 and Derrick over Colby Lowe were still the shining performances.

On a personal note, I was lucky enough to jump in to some USATF XC Champ races. Got my butt kicked as I transition to Masters racing but look forward to a full XC season next year and running some Indoor Race this February. It's why I moved here. Jumping in races with the like of Alan Webb, German Fernandez, and watching Kara Goucher work her way back to fitness was a LOT of fun.

Kara Goucher en route to winning the USATF NW XC Champs last month.

Hats off to the Eastwood Boys for another great season, even if it didn't end as hoped. The Eastwood Girls, fantastic showing at NXN South with a top 10 finish. One thing you notice at the big dance (NXN) there a a LOT of schools that qualify both the Boy's and Girl's squads. Keep on moving on!
Gerry Escapita closed a great XC career with a 3rd place at State in class 4A. Brian Casillas has one of the best seasons an individual EW runner has had with a lot of early season victories. The same goes for Anna Mora of EW.
On to Indoors!

Lukas "Superman" Verzbicas

I didn't intend to go right back in to a blog about Lukas all over again, but what he has accomplished since I last blogged has been THE story of Prep distance running.
I covered his performances going in to the two national XC meets pretty thoroughly. Remember, I noted the runner who scared me most as a challenger was Edward Cheserek. The first of the two meets was the NXN in Portland. The course was extremely wet and muddy and about as sloppy of conditions one could expect going into race day. The main guys (Lukas, Cheserek, Lutz, Moussa, Rosa, Gedyon) went to the front early. Lukas made a decisive move about 3k or so in and that was the race. Simple enough. The chase pack was down to Cheserek and Lutz and honestly, there was no doubt. Cheserek did gain a bit of ground at the end, but to be fair Lukas was letting up as the win was in the bag and he had one more big one to go.
On to San Diego for the FootLocker Finals where he was the defending champion. Lukas and MW runner up Futsum Zeinasellassie broke away fairly early on. Lukas took the workload on and as the race wore on simply ran the race out of Futsum. He eased up once again at the end and practically walked across the finish line. It was a truly epic career for Lukas in XC. He did (as I predicted) win the never before done double of NXN and FootLocker. He was a 2 time (2009, 2010) FootLocker National Champ and he NEVER lost a race in his Prep XC career.
In the couple months that followed he announced his signing with the University of Oregon and stated he would run Indoor Track where he would debut against the pro's at the New Balance meet in the mile. Meet #1 wound up with Lukas running a 4:03.88 for the full mile (4:02.5 for 1600) and finished ahead of Olympian Leo Manzano. This mark was good for #3 all time. A couple weeks later he lined up against Bernard Lagat at the Armory in NY as both were chasing records for the 2 mile. Lagat was chasing the US record and Lukas was clear he was chasing Gerry Lindgren's storied 2 mile record of 8:40.0. Lagat crushed the record with an 8:10.07 and Lukas managed to come home in 8:43.24 splitting 3200 at just under 8:40.
Over the next couple weeks it was announced that he was registered in the mile, 2 mile and 5k at the NBIN at the Armory. Could he actually pull off the triple? Many speculated he would run the 5k on Thursday and then pick one on Saturday. Several days prior he announced he was indeed going for the triple. His good friend (and IL XC runner) Kevin McDowell had just been diagnosed with cancer. McDowell finished 3rd to Lukas's 4th at the World Jr. Triathlon Championships. Lukas ran with him in mind.
Thursday nights 5k was a given, the only question was by how much would he break his own national HS record by. His 14:18 from 2009 stood as the mark to beat. Lukas made it his race from early on and started lapping runners after about the 6th lap. He crossed in a new NR of 14:06.78 (2 mile split was sub 9) and may have challenged the 14 minute barrier if he didn't spend the bulk of his race running in lanes 2 and 3 passing lapped runners. Even 2nd place finisher Eddie Owens (who just posted a 1:07 1/2 marathon) was lapped.
On to Saturday. The first race of the day, the 2 mile and the rematch with Edward Cheserek. Once again, Lukas went to the front. He ran lap after lap at a steady clip with Cheserek glued to his heels. Lapped runnners once again became an issue about the 3/4 mark. With 2 laps to go, Lukas started to let his stride out, like Futsum at FL, Lukas had run Cheserek's legs dead. With  a lap to go the only question was would he break the record. Lukas broke the tape in 8:40.70 to Cheserek's 8:42.66, good for #2 and 3 all time. There is no doubt that Lukas would have broken the long standing Lindgren mark if he wasn't weaving around lapped runners.
After that race one would figure he was done. Nope, not this kid. In a race that featured 5 of the fastest 6 HS milers in the US, Lukas lined up a mere 70 minutes later. He tucked in the middle of the pack, and then about halfway in started to move up. With about a quarter or so to go he took control. I knew at that point, nobody would take this from him, Chad Noelle (the Millrose mile champ) tried to challenge and failed followed by Elias Gedyon with the same results. Lukas blasted the last 200 and came home with the win in what may have been the greatest all around prep distance running performance ever. He finished the weekend with a NR in the 5k, the #2 all time performance in the deuce and then outkicked the supposed kickers for the win in the mile. Absolutely an epic performance to cap an epic career. Before he goes off to UO he has said he will run the Dream Mile at the Adidas Grand Prix again as well as go one last time for the World Jr. Champs in the triathlon. Hopefully we can see him gun for German Fernandez's outdoor NR in the 2 mile. The same challengers will more than likely present themselves in the early summer, and I'm sure the results will be the same. In the immediate future he will be running the Shamrock Shuffle 8k here in Chicago. It will be interesting to see him against this field of elite runners.

What a tremendous pleasure it has been to watch this kid run here the past few years.

I got the chance to go back to the Eastwood Invitational after many, many years. 25 years ago I won this meet in the 3200 and the meet is still going strong and better than ever. I got a chance to see many of my old competitors and my old coach, Doug Littlejohn. It was great to see the EW runners in action for the first time.

(l-r, Dave Medlin, EP's all time HS record holder in the 3200 at 9:01, Coach Doug Littlejohn, the only coach ever in El Paso history to coach an El Paso school to the Regional Track Title, in 1981, and myself.)

It was a great pleasure to watch the EW distance runners in action. At the time of this blog, Coach McLain has churned out a 1600 meter factory. Senior Juan Blanco leads the way with a blazing 4:19.6 (breaking his own school record), Junior Elias Leija Garza is at 4:32 and super freshman Brian Casillas at 4:37. Throw in a slab of guys in the 4:50 area (Luis Salazar, Alex Blanco, Caleb Buntyn, Steven Rios and Steven Wallace) and the potential for a great 4 x 1600 squad in the post season exists. Getting one of the last group of guys down under 4:40 and the potential is there for a sub 18. Post season EW kids??   With EW's great ability in the sprint relays, the making is definitely there for a blazing distance medley. Would be interesting to see. The talent and coaching is definitely there.

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.