XC 2009: Western US
WA, OR, CA, ID, UT, NV, AZ, NM, CO, WY, MT, ND, SD, KS, NB, OK, TX, IA, MO, IL, IA, WI, MN
(Follow the links for more in-depth coverage)
By: Aron Taylor & Jasen Parks, Western US National Editors
Concordia/ Puma XC Classic (OR) US#1 Henry Jackson boys and US#5 Jesuit girls WIN easily. Scoring 38 team points US#1 Henry Jackson placed five in the top 15 for team scoring. In some what of a surprise Crater OR receives a tremendous from three effort to topple a dominant US#15 Central Catholic 61-79, it was much closer than the score reflects as Crater finishes second for the second consecutive year. The individual title went to Sheldon standout Matthew Melancon in 15:41. US#11 Annamarie Maag dominates in 17:51.6 to lead US#5 Jesuit to a sweep of the top three places and four in the top ten. Maag improved upon her 17:57 time from last season. Winning with 21 points Jesuit was unmatched on every level as they improved upon their point total from last season. More details coming VERY soon! Meet Preview | Meet Page
Rio Rancho Invitational (NM): US#10 Albuquerque Academy continues theif undefeated season and rise int he rankings with a team championship victory scoring 31 points. Averaging 15:42.1 over the 3-mile course, the Academy placed 6 in the top 15. Los Alamos Kyle Pittman dominated with a 14:58.75 to claim the individual championship over Alb. Acad. Patrick Zacharias who was second in 15:02.92. Meet Page
Santa Clarita Valley Invitational (CA): US#4 Arcadia continues a season of dominance as they claim the team championship with 36 points. Running a 15:47 team average over a tough course the team placed 5 in the top 11. Individual championship went to Ammar Moussa whom covered the course for Arcadia in 15:05. Serrano scores 56 points to claim the girls team championship. Meet Page
Foothill League Meet (CA) US#2 Saugus scores a perfect 15 team points with a 94:28 total team time to dominate league action. With a 17 second 1-5 spread, Individual Results: 1. Stephanie Bulder 18:44; 2. Karis Frankian 18:45; 3. Nicole Penick 18:57; 4. Danielle Hernando 19:01; 5. Merissa Kado 19:01. The team was without top runner Kaylin Mahoney. In the boys action Seth Totten of Golden valley wins in 15:46 Meet Page
Puma College Park Invitational (TX) Division I Boys: Justin Brinkley leads the Humble Kingwood team over Nike South runner-up Conroe Woodlands 46-60. Averaging 16:16 over 5000 meters Humble Kingwood was too much for Conroe. Brinkley won with 15:36. Division II Boys: Tyrone Walker powers Katy to the team title with a 16:16.4 victory. Katy wins the team title with 27 points, placing all five scorers in the top 12. Division I Girls: US#14 College Park prevails in a closely contested battle of the Lone Star state elite girls teams. Winning with 45 points and placing five in the top 16 one of the top teams in the nation confirms their national ranking. US#9 Sarah Williams takes the individual championship in 11:04. Division II Girls: Katy scores a perefect 15 team points to win the team championship behind the leadership of Kayla Fischer. Meet Page
Orange County Championships (CA): Boys Sweepstakes: Dana Hills topples the depleted US#13 Trabuco Hills to claim the county championships. Trubaco Hills was without key scorers did place 3 in the top 10. Running an impressive 77:19 total team time Dana Hills was dominant. The individual championship would go to Matt McElroy who cruised the 3-mile course in 14:51 to defeat US#13 Trabuco Hills leader Jantzen Oshier whom finished in second with 14:57. Team Results: 1. Dana Hills 65; 2. El Toro 107; 3. Trabuco Hills 116; 4. Marina 144; 5. Laguna Beach 197. Individual Results: 1. Matt McElroy, Edison, 14:51; 2. Jantzen Oshier, Trubaco Hills, 14:57; 3. Jose Mahera, Anaheim, 14:57; 4. Blake Ahrold, Dana Hills, 15:08; 5. Jordan Senko, El Toro, 15:12. Girls Sweepstakes: Former US Nationally ranked Dana Hills is on the mend and regrouping. They placed second in team scoring to a surprise Orange Lutheran whom placed all scorers in the top 20. Orange Lutheran's total team time was 89:55 to Dana Hills 90:32. The individual championship went to Danica Wyson whom traversed the course in 17:07. Team Results: 1. Orange Lutheran 61; 2. Dana Hills 84; 3. Trabuco Hills 89; 4. Esperanza 91; 5. Foothill 94. Individual Results: 1. Danica Wyson, Aliso Niguel, 17:07; 2. Sierra Vega, Foothill, 17:10; 3. MaKenna Smith, Trabuco Hills, 17:13; 4. Alaina Alvarez, Dana Hills, 17:15; 5. Melanie Powers, Corona Del Mar, 17:24. Meet Page
Greater Spokane League (WA): US#3 Shadle Park coach Bob Isitt let loose the 
reigns on his freshman Kendra Weitz to compete head to head against North Central's freshman sensation Katie Knight. Traversing the course in 18:04, Weitz overcame the 2009 Richland Invitational champion in a spectator friendly dual. Additionally, for the first time in her career (spanning back to middle school) two-time defending state champion Andrea Nelson had a teammate finish ahead of her. With the Shadle pack focusing on teamwork, the amazing frosh duo battled like titans over the three lap six hill course showing the duo a glimpse of their future in the Greater Spokane League and the State of Washington. As an onsite spectator, Washington Editor David Taylor stated, "it seemed as if Nelson passed the torch to Weitz, and Spokane found in Knight and Weitz yet another reason to be optimistic about the future, they both have 
tremendous potential to make an immediate impact at State". As a team, the Highlanders are looking forward to Districts next week at Plantes Ferry. In boys action, North Central loses to Ferris by 3 points while Ben Johnson defeats Adam Thorne. It was Ferris who claimed the GSL Championship 30-33 over the defending NXN National Champions. A meet which was held after the national team rankings were released, these two teams OVERCAME season hiccups and inconsistencies to make a statement. Over the same course that last years defending national champion North Central ran 15:54, FERRIS blasted a 15:52 average while North Central blasted a 15:57 average! This is a whopping improvement from their early season averages of 16:10(fer) and 16:20(NC). Expect both Ferris and North Central in the next release of the Fab-15. Meet Page | Milesplit Onsite Coverage | Post Race Summary with Pictures | Race Video
Ken Denson/ Sandra Day O'Connor Invitational (AZ): Rio Rico runners Aeoleone Bristow (19:45.94) and Jose Luis Munoz (15:59.79) took individual honors while Brophy Prep boys and Pinnacle girls took team honors. AZtrackXC.com Meet Summary | Meet Page | Milesplit Onsite Coverage
Southwestern League Meet (CA) US#15 Great Oak, fresh off a win @ the Clovis Inv rest the varsity in league action and yet still wins with 41 team points. Resting the top five the teams still places 5 competitors under 19 minutes for 3-miles. On the boys side Vista Murrieta standout Drew Dalton wins in a duel 15:20.5 over teammate Bryce Rausa 15:20.7 as the team places three in the top 4 places and yet still manages to lose to Great Oak 32-38. Great Oak places five scorers int he top 10 within 26 seconds. Meet Page
UHSAA Region X Championships (UT): NXN Southwest bubble team and Utah #1 Park City storm through the region championships in epic fashion. Scoring a perfect 15 team points, the team finished 6 abreast all with the same 21:57 time. Running literally as a pack the team is gearing up for a post season run and continue an undefeated season. The Park City boys also claimed the team championship by scoring 16 points with an equally impressive top 4 all finishing with the exact same 18:48 time. Hard to pick out any individual champions considering everyone is recorded with the exact same time. Meet Page