St. Mary's runner Paige Rice gets new perspective at Nike Team Nationals
Published: Saturday, December 03, 2011, 6:20 PM    
Updated: Saturday, December 03, 2011, 8:08 PM 
By Rachel Stark, The Oregonian 

It was a scene sophomore Paige Rice had witnessed since elementary school: Hundreds of the nation's top high school runners stampeding through Portland Meadows' muddy grounds in a race for the national title.
This time, instead of traveling from her Portland home to watch from the sidelines, Rice ran in the thick of the herd Saturday at the 8th annual Nike Cross  Nationals. 
Rice was the OSAA Class 6A cross country state champion from St. Mary's Academy and Portland's sole representative in the national meet of nearly 400 harriers. The meet brings together the top teams and individuals from eight regional meets around the country, held after each state's championships.