NXN Southwest: Tremblay nips Tonn; Schwaderer edges Nelson; Fort Collins, Albuquerque triumph

 

By Margot Kelly (AZRunners.com)

 

 Nike Cross Country South West Regional Champions Fort Collins with Olympian Abdi Abdirahman

Two hundred of the best of the south west stepped to the line at Kiwanis Park in Tempe Arizona for the Nike Cross Country South West Regionals.

 

The race went out quick and by the time the leaders hit the one mile mark, Jessica Tonn (Jr, Xavier College Prep, AZ) was dead even with Rolanda Jumbo (Fr, Chinle, AZ) at 5:26 with Laura Tremblay (Sr, Thompson Valley, CO) three seconds behind.  As the leaders passed the two mile mark Tremblay was within a second of Tonn and Jumbo, who were still running side by side at 11:23.  Tonn came around the corner for the last 500 meters and started pressing the pace.  Tremblay had fallen back a few seconds but shifted into third gear and caught Tonn with 100 meters to go. The crowd went wild with excitement as the pair ran neck and neck until Tonn stretched forward at the finish line and broke the tape but Tremblay's chip crossed the line first giving her the win.   Tremblay's time was 17:40.20 and Tonn's was 17:40.23.  Both girls were less than two seconds off the course record (17:38.37) held by Nadya Bishton of Arizona.

 

Jumbo (pictured far right in black) was the second Arizona runner to finish and the second runner to be edged out at the finish line. Miranda Benzel (pictured right in purple) from Fort Collins (CO) finished in third place with a time of 17:50.59 giving the fourth place spot to Jumbo (17:50.70)

 

Fort Collins (Colorado) took the team title with 61 points. Classical Academy, also from  Colorado, came in second with 105 points.  Both teams will run in Portland at the Nike XC Nationals in two weeks.  Tremblay's team (Thompson Valley) came in fourth at the meet and could possibly get an at-large bid to Nationals.

 

It was a great day for Colorado as Senior Dart Schwaderer (pictured left) of Wheat Ridge ran a very smart race for the individual title.  "I went conservatively," he explained. "I started at the first mile about 30th or 40th and I decided to go on pace and trust myself and at the end it just happened."

 

What a difference a month makes.  Four weeks ago at the Colorado State Championships, the State meet was a little rough for Schwaderer as he came in fourth.  "I went out really hard.  I am more of a pace guy.  I am not so good at flying and dying. I tried it and it didn't work out too well."  Schwaderer learned much from the State Meet and applied it well.  He also liked running on the Nike SW course.  "I like this course more, it's a little tougher than the State (Colorado) course," said Schwaderer.  "The State course it pretty flat and I like to use these hills to my advantage."

 

Schwaderer's coach, Scott Chamberlin, has a lot of confidence in his runner.  "He is very very good at racing....that is one of his strengths.  He always knows where he is and what to do."  He knew what to do today.  Schwaderer surged and took the lead in the final straight away to edge out Jon Nelson from Timpview High School in Utah.

 

Seventh place runner Sherod Hardt (Jr, Queen Creek pictured right) was Arizona's top runner in the boys Championship race.  His time of 15:28.79 was a personal best on the hilly Kiwanis course.  Jose Luis Munoz followed Hardt in 8th place in 15:29.49.   Steve Magnuson (Jr, Ironwood Ridge, pictured left in blue) was running his first race in Arizona in a year and was in the lead at the two mile mark with Jon Nelson and Tim Freriks, (Sr, Mingus, pictured left in red and white).   Freriks finished tenth but Magnuson faded to 23rd.  

 

Albuquerque Academy (New Mexico, pictured below) won the Team title and will advance to the National Championships with Alta High School from Utah.