Burke has raced well all year, can he cement a FL Finals berth on Saturday?
With a certain runner from Newark, N.J., now competing in (and winning) national collegiate championships, Saturday's Foot Locker Northeast race can be summed up in two words - wide open.
Add in the fact that only one member of the latest Saucony Elite 50 boys' rankings is entered along with just two of last year's region top 10, and there almost certainly will be more suspense this weekend than when Edward Cheserek dominated the past two runnings.
Many of the top racers from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, D.C., and the host state will be competing on the historic layout at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. At stake will be 10 spots on the starting line of the Foot Locker National Finals on December 14 at San Diego's Balboa Park.
The returnees from last year's top 10 are Kyle Kroon of Toms Rivers, N.J., and Christian Alvarado of Fairfield, Conn. Kroon, who was fourth in this month's New Jersey Meet of Champions, was fifth on a cold, windy day in 2012 to grab a ticket to California, while Alvarado was eighth before heading west. Alvarado also won the Foot Locker sophomore race in the Big Apple in 2011 and was the No. 4 finisher in this year's New England XC Championships. At Jesuit Champs, he tied a 40 year old Course Record.
Meanwhile, Mickey Burke (SR, Rush Henrietta) carries the lone U.S. ranking into New York City. The Henrietta, N.Y., standout is listed 24th nationally after finishing a close third overall in the Empire State's Class A title race. In September, he broke a 30 year old Course Record at McQuaid.
Four others are part of the most recent Elite 50 Watch List, including Alvarado, Josef Holt-Andrews of Bethel, Maine, Paul Hogan of Burlington, Mass., and Alexander Ostberg of Darien, Conn. Holt-Andrews was 22nd and Hogan was 24th a year ago, while Ostberg is the lone junior in this group.
Also back from a year ago are Josiah Hanko (Montville, N.J., 14th), Stephen Maine (Laurel Springs, N.J., 21st) and Daniel Curts (Ellsworth, Maine, 25th) as only eight of the top 35 from 2012 did not graduate.
Other top competitors include Colin Abert of Easton, Pa. He was 41st last year and finished second in this year's Class AAA state race in Pennsylvania.
He will be joined by a number of other top Keystone State runners that also were in the top 10 in the same race in Hershey. Also entered are Ross Wilson of Wycombe, Chris Kazanjian of Media, Colin Martin of Pittsburgh and Andrew Marston of Devon.
Several days of dry weather should help the course firm up a little after the heavy rains forecast before Thanksgiving.
Foot Locker regionals are also scheduled for Saturday for the South and Midwest, while the West regional will be contested December 7.
As always, it will be a tight year at Foot Locker. However, it seems that the backend of the field will be watered down by those competing at NXN-NE. Top ten rated athletes below.
| Christian Alvarado | Fairfield Prep CT | 193 | |
| Mickey Burke | Rush-Henrietta NY | 193 | |
| Corgliano, Louis | Hammonton NJ | 192 | |
| Kroon, Kyle | Toms River South NJ | 192 | |
| Josef Holt | Telstar-ME | 190 | |
| Alex Ostberg | Darien - CT | 190 | |
| Steve Maine | Highland Regional - NJ | 190 | |
| Colin Abert | Easton Area - Pa | 190 | |
| Corti, Craig | Wallkill Valley NJ | 189 | |
| Hanko, Josiah | Trinity Christian NJ | 189 | |
| Paul Hogan | Burlington MA | 188 | |
| Gabe Montague | Newton North - MA | 188 | |
| Dan Curts | Ellsworth ME | 187 | |
| Ryan Udvadia | Shoreham-Wading River | 187 | |
| Ross Wilson | Council Rock North - PA | 187 | |
| Scott Meehan | Pope John XXIII | 187 |
|
NAME |
YR | CITY | 2012 FLCCNE FINISH | |
| Kyle Kroon | 12 | Toms River | NJ | 15:46.0 |
| Chris Alvarado | 12 | Fairfield | CT | 15:49.1 |
| Josiah Hanko | 12 | Montville | NJ | 16:03.0 |
| Stephen Maine | 12 | Laurel Springs | NJ | 16:12.5 |
| Josef Andrews | 12 | Bethel | ME | 16:14.3 |
| Paul Hogan | 12 | Burlington | MA | 16:20.0 |
| Daniel Curts | 12 | Ellsworth | ME | 16:20.8 |
| Sam Webb | 11 | Yardley | PA | 16:31.9 |
| Benjamin Szuhaj | 11 | Philadelphia | PA | 16:36.5 |
| Louis Corgliano | 12 | Hammonton | NJ | 16:40.0 |
| Colin Abert | 11 | Easton | PA | 16:40.2 |
| Owen Gonser | 12 | Wrentham | MA | 16:42.2 |
| Daniel Moverman | 12 | North Easton | MA | 16:46.3 |
