by Scott Bush, Trackshark.com

The end of the high school cross country season is finally here.  While Foot Locker takes place in a week, Nike Cross Nationals kicks off on Saturday.  Fayetteville-Manlius (NY) and Saugus (CA) are the top two girls team favorites, while individuals like Stephanie Morgan (OH) and Madeline Morgan (AL) jump start a new level of competition at NXN, which is the inclusion of a national individual championship.

NXN Girls Preview

The time has come for a national champion to be crowned.  Will it be the two-time defending champions of Fayetteville-Manlius (NY)?  Will it be the deep and talented squad of Saugus (CA), last year's NTN runner-up?  Could it be a surprise team, peaking perfectly and upsetting two of the greatest girls teams ever assembled?  Anything is possible.  That's why they run the race.

All season long Fayetteville-Manlius (F-M) and Saugus have shown time and again why they are the top two ranked teams in the nation.  Both squads have individuals who can win races, and they easily have the best 3-5 combinations in the country.  Last year F-M won their second national title in a row and are eyeing their third, but Saugus has other plans and hopes to earn their first cross country national title after a runner-up finish in '07.

The pre-race edge goes to F-M after their dominating, 25 point performance at NXN New York.  New York is a consistent powerhouse at the NXN meet, so to score 25 points, placing 3-4-5-6-7, is simply unheard of.  A team effort similar to their regional performance will be nearly impossible to beat. 

Saugus on the other hand is coming on strong as well.  The team cruised through Mt. SAC, then easily winning their state meet this past weekend.  Led by Kaylin Mahoney, the team needs to close their 2-3 gap and their 3-5 gaps by just a bit if they want to knock off F-M.  It's a tall order, but if any team can do it Saugus is the squad.

While F-M and Saugus receive much of the fanfare heading into Saturday's race, a few other teams will be racing for top three as well.  Saratoga Springs (NY) is a consistent force on the national level, they have been for years.  While this year's team lacks the star power of teams in years past, this squad is running nearly 20 seconds 1-5, giving them a strong edge over nearly every other team.

Burnt-Hills (NY) is another squad that should contend for top three.  Saratoga and B-H battle and seem to key off each other.  B-H has two front runners that will both vie for top ten in Sam Roecker and Molly Pezzulo, but their key really rests on how well their third runner, Meaghan Gregory, performs.  If Gregory can run with Pezzulo a top three finish is theirs for the taking.

Behind the New York contingent comes a few other squads.  Geneva (IL) is undefeated this season and runs an incredible 1-4.  If their fifth can step up a top three finish, perhaps even top two, is well within reach.  Tatnall (DE) is another team with front runners.  Kaitlin Buenaga, Juliet Bottorff and Haley Pierce lead the team, which split only 36 seconds 1-5 at NXN Southeast. 

Jesuit (OR) and Eden Prairie (MN) are two other teams that have the potential to finish very high up.  Eden Prairie went from unranked to regional champions of the Heartland and seem to have momentum on their side heading into the weekend.  Their pack splits only 17 seconds 1-4, which is big.  Jesuit is an experienced squad looking for improvement on last year's performance.  Their top running trio lead a talented top seven.

Individual Preview

With the addition of individuals this year, the race for the top spot just took another level of interest.  There are many talented, front running individuals in the field.  Stephanie Morgan (Barnesville, OH) seems to be the fan choice to win.  Morgan has shown that she can peak near perfection and is much stronger than last season.  She cruised to victory at the Ohio State Meet and NXN Midwest Regional, so it will be interesting to see how she handles her first bit of pressure she's seen in a long time.

Those athletes running with Morgan are plentiful.  Sophomore Chelsey Sveinsson (Greenhill, TX) won the NXN South Regional and had a fantastic track season last spring.  She was a Foot Locker qualifier as a freshman and seems to only be getting better.  Last year's NTN winner, Madeline Morgan (Mountain Brook, AL) is back and seems poised for a big race, while the Amanda Winslow (Collins Hill, GA) and Danielle Winslow (Queensbury, NY) also have the potential to run away to victory.  Both have tremendous results from the end of the season behind them and both tend to run well when the pressure is greatest.

Three teams have individuals who will battle for individual glory, as well as giving their teams the best shot possible to take home the national title.  Sam Roecker (Burnt Hills, NY), Courtney Chapman (Fayetteville-Manlius, NY) and Kaylin Mahoney (Saugus, CA) are all running great.  Chapman ran with her teammates at NXN New York.  If her coaches let her go she could earn the top spot, although the team seems to like the pack mentality when it comes to national meets. 

Last but not least, Catherine White (The Woodlands, TX) is another contender for the national title.  She came up big at the NXN South Regional with a second place effort behind Sveinsson, only seven seconds behind, so staying with the leaders at nationals could very well mean a top three finish.

The field is set and loaded with talent.  The athletes are settling in to Portland, taking part in all the Nike activities this weekend, but the focus now is on the meet.  The challenge has been laid out, now it's timem to see who rises above and claims national championship gold.