Your 2021 Eastbay Cross Country Championships Hub

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA -- We are winding down to the final high school cross country meet of the season, and it's going to be a doozy.

As the Eastbay Cross Country Championships arrive on Saturday in San Diego, California, a new individual national champion will emerge, but the question remains: Will a former qualifier take the crown, or will the debut of a top individual earn that coveted title? 

There are too many storylines to count. 

In the girls race, a host of young athletes could ultimately make a push for the tape. You have to look first at Flower Mound senior Natalie Cook, who won a national title on Dec. 4 at the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships. She did so with a winning time of 16:03.93, which was the second-fastest performance ever recorded for 5K.

With that one race, perhaps, she became the leading force in the country as a girls distance runner. But with that win also now comes expectations, and the supposed pressures that follow any champion.

No girl in the field will have run faster, or have earned a higher speed rating (165), this season. 

But count Lakeland Regional's (NJ) Angelina Perez among the crowd of contenders who could swing matters here. She enters with the second-fastest speed rating (163) and with massive wins at the NJSIAA Group Championships and the Meet of Champions. Few runners will be as tough as Perez on the hills, or as aggressive. 

Then there's the West champion, Lake Oswego's Kate Peters, who will make her introduction to Eastbay, though she is no stranger to national meets, either -- she was top 10 at Team Nationals as a freshman in 2019. 

Cherry Creek's Riley Stewart is certainly capable, too, considering she's attacked a litany of course at elevation and is coming off a third-place outing at RXC2, while Winter Springs' Caroline Wells and Desert Vista's Lauren Ping and Ventura's Sadie Engelhardt all have reputations as front-runners. Lest we forget about returning All-Americans from 2019: Cornwall's Karrie Baloga and Mount De Sale's Juliette Whittaker. Both runners are among the top contenders, too. 

But the girls race could turn in a variety of ways. The mystery will be part of the beauty. 

On the other side of the coin, the boys race will have no shortage of storylines, from a talented contingent of Connecticut athletes -- four in all -- all looking to become All-Americans, to the chief contender: Conard senior Gavin Sherry. The Stanford signee looks to be one of the race's top hopes, and he's the fastest returner back from 2019 -- in fact, he's one of only two runners returning; his fellow colleague from Connecticut, Aidan Puffer, is the other. 

Two runners are coming off absolutely epic performances at RXC2: Zane Bergen was fourth in 14:09.91, going under the former record for 5K, while Riley Hough was fifth in 14:10.56. 

There are a trio fo New Yorkers who could reign supreme, including the likes of Marco Langon, Gitch Hayes and Myles Hogan, while five boys from Michigan will also look to convert on big moments in the sun, too. 

And then you have the West champion Tyrone Gorze, who hasn't lost all season, or the likes of Kenan Pala, the hometown kid who's representing the city of San Diego. 

Front to back, both championships are chalk full of incredible storylines. 

Could we see a sub-17 from the girls race, as several young women own personal best times under that mark. A total of three girls achieved that feat in 2019, led by race champion Zofia Dudek. 

Or what about sub-15 on the guys side? No boy has broken 15 minutes since Drew Hunter in 2015. Can Saturday's champion eclipse that mark? 

We have all those notes and more. Check the coverage below for in-depth information on the race. 

Race Information: 

Midwest: 12

Northeast: 3

South: 2

West: 2

Girls Titles By Region Since 2000: 

Midwest: 6

Northeast: 4

South: 3

West: 7

2018: Cole Hocker, Indianapolis Cathedral (IN), 15:13.70 -- Midwest

2017: Dylan Jacobs, Sandburg (IL), 15:19.70 -- Midwest

2016: Reed Brown, Southlake Carroll (TX), 15:01.80 -- South

2015: Drew Hunter, Loudoun Valley (VA) -- South

2014: Grant Fisher, Grand Blanc (MI), 15:03.00 -- Midwest

2013: Grant Fisher, Grand Blanc (MI), 15:06.50 -- Midwest

2012: Edward Cheserek, St. Benedict's Prep (NJ), 14:59.00 -- Northeast

2011: Edward Cheserek, St. Benedict's Prep (NJ), 14:51.5 -- Northeast

2010: Lucas Verzbicas, Sandburg (IL), 14:59.00 -- Midwest

2009: Lucas Verzbicas, Sandburg (IL), 15:07.8 -- Midwest

2008: Soloman Haile, Sherwood (MD), 15:15.00 -- Northeast

2007: Michael Fout, LaPorte (IN), 14:50.00 -- Midwest

2006: Chad Hall, Big Bear (CA), 15:20.00 -- West

2005: AJ Acosta, El Camino (CA), 15:02.00 -- West

2004: Kenneth Cormier, Douglas (AZ), 15:22.00

2003: Matthew Withrow, VJ Andrew (IL), 14:55.00 -- Midwest

2002: Chris Solinsky, Stevens Point (WI), 14:40.50 -- Midwest

2001: Timothy Moore, Novi (MI), 14:50.40 -- Midwest

2000: Dathan Ritzenhein, Rockford (MI), 14:35.00 -- Midwest

2018: Sydney Masciarelli, Marianapolis Prep (MA), 17:00.3 -- Northeast

2017: Claudia Lane, Malibu (CA), 17:03.40 -- West

2016: Claudia Lane, Malibu (CA), 17:04.81 -- West

2015: Weini Kelati, Heritage (VA) -- 17:09.70 -- South

2014: Anna Rohrer, Mishawaka (IN), 17:13.00 -- Midwest

2013: Tessa Barrett, Abington Heights (PA), 17:15.40 -- Northeast

2012: Anna Rohrer, Mishawaka (IN), 17:24.80 -- Midwest

2011: Molly Seidel, University Lake (WI), 17:21.40 -- Midwest

2010: Aisling Cuffe, Cornwall (NY), 16:53.00 -- Northeast

2009: Megan Goethals, Rochester (MI), 17:06.9 -- Midwest

2008: Jordan Hasay, Mission College (CA), 17:22.00 -- West

2007: Ashley Brasovan, South Wellington (FL), 17:20.00 -- South

2006: Kathy Kroeger, Independence (TN), 17:29.00 -- South

2005: Jordan Hasay, Mission College (CA), 17:05.00 -- West

2004: Aislinn Ryan, Warwick Valley (NY), 17:31.00 -- Northeast

2003: Katelyn Kaltenbach, Smoky Hill (CO), 17:24.00 -- Midwest

2002: Zoe Nelson, Flathead (MT) -- West

2001: Amber Trotter, Ukiah (CA), 16:24.10 -- West

2000: Sara Hall, Montgomery (CA), 16:55.00 -- West