Nike Cross Nationals 2010

A list of all team and individual qualifiers for the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals to be held Saturday, December 4th at Portland Meadows in Portland, Oregon. Includes links to team pages and athlete profile pages on MileSplit. At-large team berths were announced on Monday by meet management. Davis (UT), Loyola (CA), The Woodlands (TX), and Neuqua Valley (IL) were selected as the at-large teams for boys. North Shore (NY), Great Oak (CA), La Costa Canyon (CA), and Wheaton Warrenville South (IL) were selected as the at-large teams for girls.

Erin Hooker maintained a top-20 position throughout the girls' race. Photo by Alan Versaw.

The worst of the slop occurs just before the whoop-de-dos. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Pre-meet interview with one of the top duos coming into the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals with the Hidden Valley (VA) seniors Annie LeHardy and Haley Cutright.

Pre-meet interview with 4 members of the Southeast Region boys team champions from Midlothian (VA).

Pre-meet interview with the top 3 runners of the Indiana boys state champions from Columbus North, who figure to be in contention for an NXN title and high finish.

Pre-meet interview with two of the runners from the Northeast Regional team champions from Christian Brothers Academy in New Jersey.

Interview with 3 of the top runners for the Midwest Region team champions from Palatine High School in Illinois. A returning team qualifier from 2009.

Pre-meet interview with the top 2 runners for the Northwest regional champion Jesuit girls of Oregon.

Armando Del Valle (FL) won the NXN Southeast regional title, while sophomore Jacob Bircham is the first qualifier from the state of West Virginia in meet history.

NXN Southeast Region champion American Fork boys from Utah have been ranked as one of the top ranked teams in the nation for the entire cross country season.

NXN Southwest runner-up Fort Collins boys following in the footstep of the Fort Collins qualifying for NXN and hoping for a top 10 finish.

Interview with 2 members of NXN South region team champions from Marcus HS (TX) including retuning NXN individual champ Craig Lutz.

Pre-meet interview with 2 runners from the NXN Heartland champion Wayzata boys of Minnesota.

Athletes previewing the course on Friday at Portland Meadows for the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals.

North Shore (NY) girls were one of the four at-large teams after finishing 3rd in the New York Regional.

NXN Northeast Region champion Jim Rosa of New Jersey is one of the top ranked individuals entering the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals.

Pre-meet interviews with two of the NXN Northeast qualifiers in Wade Endress (PA) and Steve Sollowin (MA)

Lewis and Clark boys are one of two NXN qualifying teams from the state of Washington.

Top runners for the Tatnall (DE) program with Pierce leading the NXN Southeast girls team champs and Tate is an individual qualifier.

Pre-meet interview with two individual girls qualifiers from New Jersey in Julianna Miller and Samantha Jones.

Interview with three of the top four girls finishers from the NXN Northeast Regional including champion Molly McNamara (NJ) and runner-up Lindsey Crevoiserat (CT).

The York (IL) boys have qualified for NXN in all years of existence and come into 2010 meet as strong contender following Midwest Region win.

Rio Rico (AZ) senior Alejandro Valencia is one of the five NXN Southwest individual qualifiers.

Dowling Catholic (IA) girls return to NXN after 2nd place finish in the Heartland Regional.

Pre-meet interview with NXN Heartland Region boys runners-up from Edina HS of Minnesota.

Dana Hills (CA) boys were the 2nd auto qualifier from the California State Meet and 6th at the 2009 NXN.

Southlake Carroll (TX) boys have qualified for the 4th NXN berth in school history without a single senior in their top 7.

Pre-meet interview with one of the 4 girls at-large teams in the Wheaton Warrenville South girls from Illinois.

Neuqua Valley (IL) boys earned one of the four at-large berths after a 3rd place finish in the Midwest Regional.

Led by 2009 individual runner-up Elias Gedyon, the Loyola (CA) boys were selected as one of the four at-large teams for the 2010 NXN.

Lukas Verzbicas of Illinois won the 2010 NXN boys individual title and now sets himself up to be potentially the first NXN/Foot Locker Nationals double champion.

Saturday will be bittersweet for these three young women. Marci Witczak, Maddie Alm, and Mariel Fulton will toe the line with their high school teammates for one final race. Photos by Alan Versaw.

A virtual meet preview of the championship boys' race for the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals based on current season best 5K performances in the MileSplit database. No individual qualifiers are included in this virtual meet preview and only runners on the 22 team qualifiers. Any corrections or missing times, please email to Brandon Miles at bmiles@milesplit.us.

A virtual meet preview of the championship girls' race for the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals based on current season best 5K performances in the MileSplit database. No individual qualifiers are included in this virtual meet preview and only runners on the 22 team qualifiers. Any corrections or missing times, please email to bmiles@milesplit.us.

Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius, NY) made history by winning their 5th straight NXN girls title with a mere 27 points!

Photo by Ron Crocker   While the girls' race focus stays on the original purpose of the Nike Cross Nationals in crowning the national team championship and if the Fayetteville-Manlius girls can extend their streak to five titles, it is the individual stars which takes the spotlight for the boys' race at the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals. Defending Foot Locker Nationals champion Lukas Verzbicas of Sandburg High School in Illinois will be attempting to put stamp himself as one of the all-time greats in the history of United States high school cross country by trying to win both national titles at the Nike Cross Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals in consecutive weekends. His biggest test arguably will not be in doubling back on likely tired legs in San Diego next Saturday at Foot Locker Nationals, but his first stop in the double at Portland Meadows in his first ever Nike Cross Nationals race.

    The 7th annual Nike Cross Nationals will be held on Saturday, December 4th, at Portland Meadows on the north side of the city of Portland, Oregon. The meet has served as the unofficial yet virtually legitimate national high school cross country team championships since NXN's inception in 2004. A total of 22 of the nation's best cross country teams representing nine regions across the country will be racing alongside each other on the three loop course inside the horsetrack within the infield area of Portland Meadows.  The 5K course layout has traditionally been muddy and slick footing as a result of the area's regular rainfall. The Nike experience is an unforgettable few days for the athletes and coaches starting with the all-expense paid trip to Oregon as well as plenty of free gear and other perks showered upon them as they arrive on the Nike Campus.

MileStat.com's Brandon Miles and Ryan Kelly are in Portland, Oregon covering the Nike Cross Nationals this weekend for MileSplit US, which also features a small group of Virginian participants with the Midlothian boys and individual qualifiers Annie LeHardy and  Haley Cutright of Hidden Valley. MileStat.com interviewed the Midlothian boys and the Hidden Valley duo on Thursday at the Nike Campus.   Midlothian Boys Pre-Meet Interview Annie LeHardy & Haley Cutright Pre-Meet Interview

Participate and vote in our polls on who will win the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals individual and team titles this weekend at Portland Meadows in Oregon. The Fayetteville-Manlius girls are heavy favorites, while American Fork boys appear to be a very slight favorite in most pre-meet predictions and rankings. Meanwhile, Foot Locker Midwest and NXN Midwest champions Lukas Verzbicas (IL) and Allie Woodward (WI) are the top ranked individuals heading into Saturday's national championship race.   NXN Boys Team Poll NXN Girls Team Poll NXN Boys Individual Poll NXN Girls Individual Poll

Burcham Finishes 16th - Earns All-American Honors    Photo courtesy of Cabell Midland UPDATES: Jacob Burcham, a sophomore at Cabell Midland High School, earns All-America Status at the 7th annual Nike Cross Nationals at Portland Meadows / Portland, OR on December 4th, 2010.   Burcham earned third team All-America Status with his sixteenth place finish in a time of 16:44.9.Only the top 21 runners are given the honor of All-American - 1st-7th (1st team), 8th-14th (2nd team), and 15th-21st (3rd team). There were sixteen seniors, three juniors, and 2 sophmores in this elite group. With the sixteen seniors graduating, Jacob will be retuning in the number three spot. Jacob Burcham's Splits at NXN: Split 1 - 28th - 2:23.98 Split 2 - 16th - 5:47.25 Split 3 - 28th - 9:47.73 Split 4 - 24th - 13:21.15 Split 5 - 16th - 16:44.9   Jacob Burcham and coach Chris Parsons of Cabell Midland are in Portland, Oregon for the Nike Cross Nationals. Jacob is ready to go. Here is his pre-race video.   Jacob Burcham 2010 Pre-Race Interview     Watch live as Jacob Burcham take on some of the best cross country runners in the Nation at the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) Pre-meet coverage - 10:05am (Portland time) 1:05pm (Eastern time) Girls Championship race - 10:25am (Portland time) 1:25pm (Eastern time) Boys Championship race - 11:35am (Portland time) 2:35pm (Eastern ti...me)   Watch Nike Nationals Live   2010 NXN Live Results

2010-12-04 at Portland Meadows 5k in Portland (via MileSplit United States)

Hailey Pierce and the rest of the Tatnall girls are out to prove that they belong at NXN and that the Southeast Region isn't has week as everyone claims it to be!  Hailey herself may place in the top 5 while the girls team also could place there as well!  Watch LIVE

Photo by Susan Dickinson

Spencer Wenck made the most of the opportunities presented by the muddy conditions at NXN. Photo by Alan Versaw.

The state of Virginia was represented by one team and two individuals at the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals held Saturday, December 4th at Portland Meadows in Portland, Oregon. Course conditions were arguably worse than ever in meet history as times absolutely went out the window as runners raced only for highest individual and team placement possible with one another. It was a mixed bag of results for the Virginia delegation in Oregon this weekend.   Photo by Ryan Kelly   The Midlothian boys had a disappointing showing in the mud at Portland Meadows for the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals. This year's Virginia 3A state cross country champions and NXN Southeast Regional team champions placed 21st out of 22 teams with 462 points. Competing as the Chesterfield XC Club, Darren Barlow led the Midlo boys as the team's top finisher in Oregon with a 103rd place finish (17:43) and sophomore Sean Willard was one of the team's individual bright spots in 108th place (17:50). Nonetheless, the Midlothian had a very successful season in becoming the fourth boys' team from Virginia to qualify for the Nike Cross Nationals (Midlothian - 2006, Thomas Jefferson S&T - 2007, Jamestown - 2008) and winning their fourth state cross country team title in school history.   Photo by Ryan Kelly   Hidden Valley's two individual qualifiers in Annie LeHardy and Haley Cutright had much better showing than the Midlo team in Portland. Both Hidden Valley seniors competed last year at NXN when their team qualified as an at-large berth and used their experience from a year ago to their advantage to improve upon their 2009 NXN finishes. LeHardy went from 52nd place in the 2009 race to 26th place (19:28) in 2010 as the Group AA state cross country champion was the highest finisher among the Southeast Region individual qualifiers. Her teammate Haley Cutright was only 12 places behind in 38th place (19:51) to improve drastically from her 90th place finish in the 2009 Nike Cross Nationals. LeHardy and Cutright look to build upon their fall success into the track season, which Cutright has never ran track before while LeHardy has never ran indoor track. The possibility is more likely for both happening for the first time in the 2011 track season, which could help form a potential state record chasing 4x800 with teammates Carolyn Bethel and Ashleigh Torres.   Full Coverage of Nike Cross Nationals at MileSplit US Meet Page

Fort Collins's two big freshman contributors, Michelle Kramer and Audrey Oweimrin, negotiate the whoop-de-dos at NXN.

A gallery of my favorite photos from NXN 2010.

 Courtesy of Nike and Runnerspace

Coach Cucuzella was kind enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about his prized harrier Matt Jablonski!

A few more images from NXN 2010 from the photography of Jeff and Karen McCoy.