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Jon Davis and Ben Veatch will go for round two at Foot Locker Midwest. Davis prevailed, 14:59 to 15:01, at the NXN Midwest Championship two weeks ago.
Foot Locker Midwest
Kenosha, WI | Saturday, Nov. 28 | Girls Seeded Race 10:40am CT | Boys Seeded Race 11:25am CTStates: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Boys Race Preview
Top returners (2014 regional placement): Ben Veatch (5th), Jon Davis (8th), Brayden Law (12th), Kevin Koski (23rd), Cooper Williams (25th), Morgan Beadlescomb (28th), Isaac Harding (30th), Luke Wagner (31st), Tom Sullivan (34th), Kyle Collins (36th)
The Foot Locker Midwest regional battle is likely to look familiar, as the top two from NXN Midwest in Jon Davis of Oakwood, Ill. and Ben Veatch of Carmel, Ind. reprise their front-running roles. Senior Veatch, the No. 1 returner from NXN and the No. 5 ranked runner in the nation this year, controlled the early pace at LaVerne Gibson before yielding to champion Davis by just one second.
Davis, the No. 4 ranked runner in the nation this year, is on a tear this year with a swift 13:59.3 personal best for three miles. He was eighth at this meet last year and 37th at Foot Locker Nationals; he certainly looks poised not only to make a return trip to San Diego but to contend for the national title.
Finishing seven seconds behind Veatch was Isaac Harding of Rockford, the D1 Michigan state cross country champion. The senior is the No. 7 returner here, as he placed 30th in the Seeded Race in 2014.
Another runner with a state title and nation-leading times on his resume this fall is Andrew Jordan of Watkins Memorial, Oh. The Iowa State-bound senior is undefeated in 2015 with a nice PR of 14:44.7 for 5K; he was 48th at Foot Locker Midwest in 2014 and could be the most improved runner in the nation when all is said and done. He is the only top runner at this meet who has not tested himself at an NXN Region meet.
The appearance of Paul Roberts here will provide some insight about national standings, as the four-time state cross country champion took third last weekend at NXN-Southwest to Casey Clinger and Alek Parsons, both of Utah. Senior Roberts has never tried out for Foot Locker, but a dominant season in Colorado and experience at IAAF World XC Championships assures he should make the squad.
Seth Hirsch of Millard West, Neb. is in a similar position to Roberts after taking third at NXN Heartland behind Jaret Carpenter and Micah Mather, both of whom will not make an appearance here. With one for-sure national qualification under his belt, the junior may be more likely to make a big move and break up the race. Fellow NXN Heartland qualifiers in Finn Gessner (4th) and Sam Clausnitzer (5th) will also go for the double; the threesome were separated by a total of 11 seconds. Another five seconds back at NXN Heartland was Kevin Koski of Chequamegon, Wis., who finished as the first man outside of automatic qualification in eighth place overall. The senior, a two-time Wisconsin state champion, will look for redemption in his home state.
Others with potential to qualify include Ben Naeger of Ste. Genevieve, Mo. and Luke Wagner of St. Ignatius, Oh., who just missed out on qualifying to NXN by placing ninth and 15th, respectively, at NXN Midwest.
PICKS: 1. Jon Davis 2. Ben Veatch 3. Andrew Jordan 4. Paul Roberts 5. Isaac Harding 6. Seth Hirsch 7. Sam Clausnitzer 8. Finn Gessner 9. Kevin Koski 10. Ben Naeger