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2015 Nike Cross Nationals Girls Preview: An Illinois View - DyeStat ILPublished by
Judy Pendergast and Naperville North look to make a statement Saturday in Portland
By Michael Newman
This should be just another meet for the athletes of Naperville North as they toe the line for Saturday morning’s Girls National race. This is not a new situation for the majority of this team as four of the seven runners that will compete in this race ran on last year’s fourth place team. Naperville North traveled this season winning two out of state meets including the Roy Griak Invitational. They were surprised by a good Minooka team finishing second at the IHSA 3A State Meet. They had to wait to see if they were returning to Portland as they finished third in the Midwest Regional only one point behind second place Northville MI.
The same could be said for Lindsey Payne (Glenbard West) and Jocelyn Long (Barrington HS). Payne had to wait until Naperville North received an at large bid to know if she would be running. The sophomore had a great year finishing second in the 3A State Meet. Her sixth place finish at Terre Haute gave her the chance to run in Portland. Payne ran all but one race during the Illinois regular season under 17 minutes. She could be among the top 25 in this race. Long finished seventh at Terre Haute and had to wait until Carmel IN receive their at-large team bid before she knew that she would be running in this race. The Barrington sophomore had a great season running 16:43 at the IHSA 3A State Meet to finish fifth. Long finished 24th last Saturday at the Foot Locker Regional in Kenosha.
Judy Pendergast demonstrated early this year at the First to the Finish Invitational at Detweiller Park she would be part of the national discussion of who the top Girls High School runner in the nation when she ran 16:18 to win the 3A race. That fast of time that early in the season gave people a chance to notice that things that Pendergast was about to do. At her conference race, she ran 16:05 winning by almost a minute ahead of three all-state runners. At her sectional race, she fell 800 meters into the race. She got up and ran away with the race winning by 30 seconds and running 16:50 in a driving rain storm. Her state meet race was a run of beauty as she became the first Illinois runner ever to run under 16 minutes at Detweiller. She followed that up in her next race eight days later running 17:00 breaking a course record set by two time national champion Anna Rohrer.
Pendergast has been defeated twice this season. Eight grader Grace Ping won by 5 seconds ahead of Pendergast at the Roy Griak Invitational. Last week at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional, Pendergast finished 20 seconds behind Taylor Werner. Though she would not admit it after the race during an interview, she may have been thinking about the effort that she would have to use in her next two races. All eyes will be on her up front on Saturday.
Here is a look of each of the team qualifiers and how I think they might finish on Saturday. A look at the individual race and some of the top runners will also be looked at.
Good luck to all of these athletes as they compete in Portland on Saturday morning.
Girls Teams Qualifiers
1 - Fayetteville-Manlius, Manlius NY 11/26 DS Ranking – 1 1st – NXN New York Regional
Team Overview – The defending champions and winners of eight national championships, it is tough to deny the fact that Fayetteville-Manlius will be the favorite heading into this meet. This is once again a deep and talented team. Consider the fact that eight grader Claire Walters won the individual championship at the New York Class A State Meet, then comes back as the team’s 7th runner last week at the NXN New York Regional. Kaitlyn Neal has been the #1 runner for the team most of the season including last week’s regional race in which she won. In that race, their split on their two to five runners was only 15 seconds. The split on their two to seven in that race was only 47 seconds. Neal will be among the top ten in this race. If their split can stay under 40 seconds on five, they could be taking their ninth title back to New York.
2 - Great Oak, Temecula CA 11/26 DS Ranking – 2 1st – CA D1 State Meet
Team Overview – If there is one challenger to Fayetteville-Manlius, it is this squad. The second place finisher from a year ago would like to go one place higher on Saturday. Just like their New York rival, this team has similar depth. Destiny Collins stepped up last week to place third in the California D1 State Meet. She will need to finish in the top ten in this meet. Evelyn Mandel has been either the team’s first or second runner most of the year. She did not have her best race last week finishing as the team’s fifth runner. She will need to lead a solid pack behind Collins. The team had a tight race last week winning only by two points. Their pack’s split from two to five needs to stay under 25 seconds along with staying within 28 seconds of Collins in order for their dreams to come true.
3 - Saratoga Springs HS, Saratoga Springs NY 11/26 DS Ranking – 3 2nd – NXN New York Regional
Team Overview – Saratoga Springs has the tradition of great finishes in this meet. This year could be another time we see this squad in the top three. It is a young team with all seven of their runners underclassmen (4 freshman, 2 sophomores, and 1 junior). They do not race like underclassmen as evidenced by their win at the New York Feds, second behind Manlius at state and the regional last Saturday. Freshman Kelsey Chmiel has emerged as the team’s top runner who could be in the top ten on Saturday. Peyton Enborg and Paris Fenoff lead the pack behind Chmiel. One of the keys for success for this team is keeping the pack within 35 seconds of Chmiel. They will finish in the top three if they can also keep their five runner split under 85 seconds.
4 - Pennsbury HS, Fairless Hills PA 11/26 DS Ranking – 7 1st – NXN Northeast Regional
Team Overview – Pennsbury has been dominant at the end of the year winning the Pennsylvania 3A State championship along with winning the NXN Northeast Regional last Saturday. Their only setback was a second place finish at the Manhattan Invitational in October behind Fayetteville-Manlius. 3A State champion Olivia Sargent has been the team’s #1 runner all year. She could be in the top 20 in this race on Saturday. Hannah Molloy and Mary Webb usually run together almost 30 seconds behind Sargent in most races. They will need the same kind of effort for this team to challenge for a top three finish. Their top five split the past couple of weeks has been over 90 seconds. That needs to come down ten seconds in order to be in the top three.
5 - Naperville North HS, Naperville IL 11/26 DS Ranking – 12 3rd – NXN Midwest Regional
Team Overview – Naperville North gained national prominence winning the Roy Griak Invitational at the end of September defeating national powers Edina MN and Lake Braddock VA. They did not run their best race of the season in placing second behind Minooka at the Illinois 3A State Meet. They were in third only eight points behind Midwest Regional winner Centerville three weeks ago. This team does have the talent to finish in the top three. They finished fourth a year ago. Judy Pendergast has been the top runner for North all year and will be the individual favorite in this race. One of the keys for this team on Saturday will be #2 runner Sarah Schmitt. The sophomore typically runs 65 or closer to Pendergast in most meets. She was 77 seconds at the regional meet. She will need to be 64 seconds or closer in this meet and could be in the top 30. Also watch for the pack with Schmitt leading it. The split on those four runners needs to stay under 45 seconds for this team to finish in the top three.
6 - Davis SR HS, Davis CA 11/26 DS Ranking – 10 2nd – CA D1 State Meet
Team Overview – This team could contend for a top three finish. It will all depend on the health of their top runner Fiona O’Keeffe who was out with tendinitis. She had been out for more than a month but ran last Saturday. She was the team’s first runner finishing 16th. She finished fourth in this race a year ago. If she is 100%, she could be up towards the front in this race. Junior Sofia Castiglioni stepped up as the #1 runner in O’Keeffe’s absence and could be in the top 35 in this race. With O’Keeffe in the lineup last week, they were only two points behind Great Oak with only a 38 second five runner split. This team could contend for a top three finish if they can duplicate last week’s effort.
7 - American Fork HS, American Fork UT 11/26 DS Ranking – 4 1st – NXN Southwest Regional
Team Overview – American Fork has been dominant most of the season with their only setback a second place finish to Great Oak at the Bob Firman Invitational at the end of September. They used a 33 second split on their top four led by Sara Musselman. The team ran an out of the normal 66 second split on their top five in that race. They usually average 45 seconds. A key for the team finishing close to the top three is to have Sophie Baird within 10 seconds of Musselman. If the 5 runner pack is under 40 seconds in this race with Musselman in the top 40, you could see them with a fifth or better finish.
8 - Carmel HS, Carmel IN 11/26 DS Ranking – 15 4th – NXN Midwest Regional
Team Overview – There were many tears of disappointment in the Carmel team area after they heard that they finished fourth at the Midwest Regional 14 points behind regional winner Centerville. Those tears turned to tears of joy last Saturday night when they earned an at-large bid to Portland. They did not run their best race of the year running more than a two minute split behind Sarah Leinheiser’s third place finish. That split has been 20 to 25 seconds closer in most of their races. Leinheiser should be in the top ten in this race. If Stacy Morozov can finish within 35 seconds of Leinheiser along with an overall split of under 95 seconds, Carmel could once again be in the mix for a top five finish. They finished third a year ago.
9 - Lake Braddock HS, Burke VA 11/26 DS Ranking – 14 1st – NXN Southeast Regional
Team Overview – The winners of the Virginia 6A State Meet only scored 62 points to win the Southeast Regional last weekend. Kate Murphy has been the top runner for this team. She should be in the top ten in this race on Saturday. An area that could hurt Lake Braddock is the gap between Murphy and the rest of the pack. Sara Daniels and Emily Schiesl have been leading the pack behind Murphy. For this team to finish in the top five, they will need to be at least 50 seconds within their top runner. The pack usually runs within 15 to 20 seconds of each other.
10 - North Rockland HS, Thiells NY 11/26 DS Ranking – 22 3rd – NXN New York Regional
Team Overview – A team deserving of the at-large bid that they received last Saturday. North Rockland has finished third behind national powers Fayetteville-Manlius and Saratoga Springs at the New York Class A State Meet and then the New York Regional. They finished second behind Saratoga Springs at the New York Feds Championships. Eight grader Katelyn Tuohy has been the top runner for this team most of the season. Junior Alex Harris was 43 seconds behind Tuohy last week. She usually is on an average 22-25 seconds back. A pack led by another eighth grader Haleigh Morales was within 10 seconds of each other last Saturday. Usually that pack is farther apart. Tuohy has the potential to finish in the top 40 on Saturday. This team could solidly be in the top ten if they can keep their five runner split under 90 seconds.
11 - Centerville HS, Centerville OH 11/26 DS Ranking – 6 1st – NXN Midwest Regional
Team Overview – Centerville surprised area powers Naperville North and Carmel to win the regional three weeks ago. The Ohio D1 champs ran their best race of the year at Terre Haute with only a 19 second split. In that race. D1 individual champion Lainey Studebaker stayed close to her teammates finishing 35th in that race. The team had only a 19 second split on their top five. If Studebaker goes after a top 20 finish, watch for the pack behind her led by Kelli Walsh. The state meet split for the pack was only eight seconds. The split on that pack at the McQuaid Invitational was only 16 seconds. This team has the potential to place in the top seven. They will need the pack to be 30 seconds behind Studebaker with her in the top 20. If the overall split is 42 seconds or under, that finish could become a reality.
12 - Sunset HS, Portland OR 11/26 DS Ranking – 20 2nd – NXN Northwest Regional
Team Overview – Sunset will not have to travel too far to get to the race on Saturday. The Portland school earned this trip with a second place finish at the Northwest Regional. Freshman Ember Stratton leads the Oregon 6A champions. The split on their top five has gone up the past two meets. It was over two minutes off of Stratton’s sixth place finish. Audrey Huelskamp, who has been the second runner on the team their past two meets, will lead the pack behind Stratton. If she can stay within 35 seconds of the freshman while keeping the five runner split at 88 seconds or under, Sunset could finish in the top ten.
13 - Willmar HS, Willmar MN 11/26 DS Ranking – 9 1st – NXN Heartland Regional
Team Overview – Willmar bounced back from their third place finish at the Minnesota 2A State Meet to win the Heartland Regional. They basically ran the same team race at regionals as they did at state. The only thing that was different was their pack was closer to the front. The split at regionals was 57 seconds on five compared to 60 seconds at state. This team could be a factor in 2016. Four juniors and 3 freshmen comprise their top seven led by junior Jessa Hanson. Sisters Sophie and Heidi Schmitz lead a pack that has the potential of running a 25-28 second two to five split. If the overall team split can stay under 50 seconds, this team has the potential to be in the top ten.
14 - Northville HS, Northville MI 11/26 DS Ranking – 11 2nd – NXN Midwest Regional
Team Overview – It was a soap opera for Northville’s team a day after they finished second at the Midwest Regional qualifying for them for a trip to Portland. The Michigan High School Athletics Association (MHSAA) ruled that the team could not run the national meet after they allowed them to run in Terre Haute. After a week of going back and forth negotiating and receiving major pressure from social media, the MHSAA relented allowing the Michigan school to run. Northville was one of the biggest surprises to qualify for NXN especially after they finished fourth the week before at the Michigan D1 State Meet. The difference in the state meet and the regional meet was their five runner split. It went down from 62 seconds to 38 seconds in one week. They will need a similar performance to get them into the top ten. Lexa Barrott has been their #1 runner all year. She could be in the top 40 in this race. If the split can stay under 40 seconds, good things could happen for this team.
15 - Edina HS, Edina MN 11/26 DS Ranking – 5 2nd – NXN Heartland Regional
Team Overview – The Minnesota 2A state champions were surprised by Willmar losing by two points in the Heartland Regional. This is another team to watch in the next year with 5 juniors led up front by a freshman and a sophomore. Maria Rickman has been the team’s #1 runner in three of the last four races. Emily Kompelien has run close to Rickman most of the year even though she was 14 seconds behind in the regional race. A key for Edina getting into the top ten is the two within a couple of seconds of each other on Saturday. The split on five has been growing the past four meets going from 31 seconds at their conference race to 48 seconds at regionals. If the split can fall under 40 seconds this week with either Rickman and Kompelien in the top 50, this school could be in the top ten discussion.
16 - Davis HS, Kaysville UT 11/26 DS Ranking – 16 3rd – NXN Southwest Regional
Team Overview – Davis thought that they were automatic qualifiers after their Southwest Regional race. But an error in which Xavier Prep was entered as individuals was discovered. The organizers rescored the meet pushing Xavier ahead of Davis. Their strength of work over the year still gave this Utah school an at-large bid along with some anxious moments in between that. Utah 5A state champion Courtney Wayment has been the team’s rock all season as their #1 runner. Her third place finish in the regional race demonstrates she could be in the top 15 on Saturday. #2 runner Aubrey Argyle will be a key for Davis in this race. She was 59 seconds behind Wayment in the regional race. If she stays within 40 seconds of her teammate will put her team in a good position. The three to five pack needs to stay within 12 seconds of each other with a team spread under 92 seconds for this team to finish among the top half of the standings.
17 - La Salle Academy, Providence RI 11/26 DS Ranking – 13 2nd – NXN Northeast Regional
Team Overview – La Salle Academy is coming into this race on a strong note winning their state championship, the New England Championships, and finishing second in their Northeast Regional race. They had the same point total as Coe-Brown NH (125 points) but go to Portland on the sixth runner tiebreaker. La Salle will need to rely on a strong pack up front led by Eliza Rego to put themselves in position to place high in the standings. Grace Connolly was within 14 seconds of Rego last week. It would be great if she was within ten seconds on Saturday. Their split on five last week was a season’s best of 53 seconds. If their third and fourth runners (Karina Tavares and Emily Kane) can stay within 25 seconds of Rego with that 5 runner split, this team could place 15th or higher on Saturday.
18 - Bozeman HS, Bozeman MT 11/26 DS Ranking – 18 1st – NXN Northwest Sectional
Team Overview – It was a surprise to some that Bozeman won the Northwest Regional. This team did finish fourth behind such national powers as Great Oak, American Fork, and Davis UT at the Bob Firman Invitational at the end of September. They have been tough down the stretch winning the Montana 2A State Meet and then the NXN Regional. Juniors Kenenni Wiegand and Piper Meuwissen have run close together in the last two meets and will have to stay close together in this race. Their split on five has been over 100 seconds most of the season. It came down to 63 seconds at their state meet and then 81 seconds at NXN Northwest. A split of under 75 seconds in this race could put this team within the top 15.
19 - Blacksburg HS, Blacksburg VA 11/26 DS Ranking – NR 2nd – NXN Southeast Regional
Team Overview – A team that could fly under the radar of some of the other schools in this meet. The Virginia 3A state champions were not pushed during the end of the year scoring only 23 points to win state. They were a solid second last week at their regional. Freshman Sophia Link has been the top runner most of the season with Samantha Marin on the average 20 seconds behind her teammate. Last week, Marin was the team’s #1 runner eight seconds ahead of Link. If both can stay within 10 seconds of each other in this race, it would be a good start for this team. The team is averaging a 45 to 50 second split on their top five most of the season. Link or Marin could be among the top 75 in this race. If the split stays near their average, they could challenge for a top 15 spot.
20 - Xavier College Prep, Phoenix AZ 11/26 DS Ranking – 23 2nd – NXN Southwest Sectional
Team Overview – Xavier Prep made everyone else wait at the NXN Southwest Regional for who would be going to Portland after it was discovered that their team runners were entered as individuals and not scored in the team standings. It was corrected putting this squad on the line in Portland. They finished second in the Arizona D1 State Meet and were not thought of a threat to qualify. Yet here they are. Sarah Carter has been the team’s #1 runner all season. She finished 12th overall in the regional race and could be in the top 60 on Saturday. The key for this team was that they ran their lowest team split on five in the regional race since their Woodbridge race in September. The split normally between Carter and the pack has averaged near 25 seconds most of the season. If they can match that along with having a team split under 55 seconds, good things could happen for this team.
21 - Kingwood HS, Kingwood TX 11/26 DS Ranking – 30 2nd – NXN South Regional
Team Overview – One of the bigger surprises in the NXN Regionals was the second place finish of Kingwood in the South Regional. It was significantly a surprise after they finished fourth in the Texas 6A State Meet the week before. At Regionals, they were 5 points ahead of 6A champion Marcus. They were 49 points behind them in the state race. Abby Guidry has been the #1 runner for the team all season. She has a good chance to finish in the top 50 on Saturday. If Erin Gallagher is healthy, she could be with teammate Olivia Thompson leading the pack behind Guidry. Their split on the pack needs to be under 30 seconds in this race for this team to have their sights on a finish in the upper teens. A split on five of 70 seconds or under could help that.
22 - Southlake Carroll HS, Southlake TX 11/26 DS Ranking – 27 1st – NXN South Regional
Team Overview – It was thought that Southlake Carroll would make it to Portland after their second place finish at the Texas 6A State Meet. They did better than that at a rain soaked South Regional winning that meet ahead of state rival and 6A champ Marcus. There has been a changing of the guard up front for this team as four different runners have stepped up as the #1 runner in their last four races. Alison Esparza and Antigone Archer have been the team’s top runners during most of the season leading up to their state series. It does signify that this team is equally talented with one runner stepping up when another goes down. The good thing about the team is that their five runner split has under 35 seconds most of the season. The key in this race for this squad is moving that pack closer towards the front.
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Team Race Summary – It is hard to see anyone getting in between Fayetteville-Manlius and their quest for their ninth national championship. Great Oak has the depth to challenge F-M but will need to keep it simple and just beat their eastern rival’s runner on runner. There are five teams that are close enough to challenge for the top three spots led by Saratoga Springs, Pennsbury, Naperville North, and American Fork.
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Individual Qualifiers
Heartland - 1. Stephanie Jenks, Linn-Mar/unattached IA; 2. Cailie Logue, Girard KS; 3. Grace Ping, Cotter MN; 4. Bethany Hasz, Alexandria MN; 5. Emma Benner, Forest Lake MN.
Midwest - 2. Anna West, Lafayette MO; 4. Madison Troy, Grandville MI ; 5. Alex Buck, Pendleton Heights IN; 6. Lindsey Payne, Glenbard West IL; 7. Jocelyn Long, Barrington IL.
Northwest - 2. Christina Aragon, Billings Senior MT; 3. Ella Donaghu, Grant OR; 4. Tiahna Vladic, Billings Senior MT; 5. Kristen Garcia, unattached WA; 7. Olivia Brooks, Summit OR.
Southwest - 1. Katie Rainsberger, Air Academy CO; 2. Lauren Gregory, Fort Collins CO; 3. Amanda Mayoral, Cleveland NM; 4. Brie Oakley, Grandview CO; 6. Lexi Reed, D'Evelyn CO.
South - 1. Ashton Endsley, Abilene TX; 2. Abby Gray, Alamo Heights TX; 4. Madie Boreman, Rouse TX; 5. Anna Elkin, Hebron TX; 6. Cheyenne Walden, Charles Page OK.
Southeast - 2. Elly Henes, Green Hope NC; 3. Rafaella Gibbons, Winter Park FL; 4. Taylor Cuneo, Central Magnet TN; 5. Rachel McArthur, Patriot VA; 6. Serena Tripodi, Lovett School GA.
Northeast - 1. Aislinn Devlin, Downington West PA; 3. Anna Juul, Unionville PA; 6. Sierra Castaneda, West Morris Central NJ; 7. Abigail Long, Bishop Feehan MA; 8. Elisabeth Danis, Coe-Brown NH.
New York - 3. Abbey Wheeler, Elmira; 4. Diana Vizza, North Shore; 5. Mary Henelly, Suffern; 7. Lauren Chapey, Mamaroneck; 8. Alexadra DeCicco, Sachem East.
California - 1. Cate Ratliff, Santa Cruz; 2. Morgin Coonfield, McKinleyville; 3. Gillian Meeks, Gunn; 4. Megan McCandless, Granada; 5. Brooke Starn, Monte Vista.
Individual Race Preview
The dynamics are quite interesting in this race. Judy Pendergast (Naperville North IL) has made her presence known in the Midwest this season especially the past couple of weeks. She became the first girl to ever run under 16 minutes at the Illinois State Meet on the fabled Detweiller Park course running 15:54. She followed that up the week later running 17:00 at Lavern Gibson National Course in Terre Haute breaking Anna Rohrer’s record by eight seconds. The Harvard signee likes to take the pace out fast as evidenced by the 5:08 first mile that she ran in the state meet.
Katie Rainsberger (Air Academy CO) has gone undefeated this season and will be Pendergast’s chief competition. The senior ran 16:23 at the beginning of October at the Desert Twilight Festival. She won the Southwest Regional by 20 seconds ahead of Lauren Gregory (Ft. Collins CO). She will get her feet wet on the Portland course. She signed with the nearby University of Oregon for her next four years of education.
Also keep an eye on Kaitlyn Neal (Fayetteville-Manlius NY). She won the NXN New York Regional with the third fastest time ever at that regional even a few seconds ahead of Mary Cain’s time. Someone also to keep an eye on in this race is Fiona O’Keeffe (Davis CA). She finished fourth in this race a year ago. She missed more than a month with tendinitis running her first race last week at the California State Meet. If she is healthy, she should be in the front.
Stephanie Jenks (Aurora IA) ran 17:01 to win the Heartland Regional. She just made it out of the Foot Locker Midwest Regional finishing tenth. I expect her to be towards the front in this race. Christina Aragon (Billings MT) finished second in the Northwest Regional. She has been running strong all season and will be in the front pack.
This race is very individual runner heavy with at least 10 team runners projected to be in the top 25. Destiny Collins (Great Oak CA), Kate Murphy (Lake Braddock VA), Ella Donaghu (Grant OR), Aislinn Devlin (Downingtown West PA), Grace Ping (Cotter MN), Claire Waters (Fayetteville-Manlius NY), and Kelsey Chmiel (Saratoga Springs NY) are some of the other runners that you can expect towards the front.
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