Newcomer Gianna Rahmer Does It Again At NXR Southwest; Niwot and Air Academy Will Take on Portland
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NXR Southwest was packed with talented individuals and teams hailing from major states such as Colorado, Utah and Arizona.
Surfacing out of the shadows, eighth-grader Gianna Rahmer sparked national attention last weekend when she broke a state record at the New Mexico State meet. Never having dipped under 17:30 before, the middle schooler hit a massive personal best of 16:58.01 to claim her first state title and meet record.
As her performance sent shock waves across the state, Rahmer noted her upcoming feat of NXR Southwest, which was yesterday.
Beating the likes of upperclassmen and elite runners such as Isabel Allori, Addison Ritzenhein, Bethany Michalak, and Ella Hagen, the Eldorado runner took off and pushed till the finish, toeing the line at 17:00.58, mere milliseconds ahead of Liberty Common senior Allori.
Although she showcased an incredible performance on Saturday, it is still unclear--as Rahmer is an eighth grader--if she will be allowed to travel to Oregon in December for NXN.
Check out the individual results below.
| PLACE | VIDEO | ATHLETE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gianna Rahmer | 8 | Eldorado High School | 17:00.58 | ||
| 2 |  Isabel Allori | 12 | Liberty Common High School | 17:01.69 | ||
| 3 |  Addison Ritzenhein | 10 | Niwot High School | 17:03.86 | 1 | |
| 4 |  Bethany Michalak | 12 | Air Academy High School | 17:05.59 | 2 | |
| 5 |  Ella Hagen | 11 | Summit High School | 17:16.02 | 3 | |
| 6 |  Lily Alder | 10 | Timpview | 17:26.45 | 4 | |
| 7 |  Avalon Mecham | 12 | American Fork | 17:29.23 | 5 | |
| 9 |  Claire Guiberson | 10 | Mountain Vista High School | 17:35.55 | 6 | |
| 10 | Peyton Adams | 11 | Mountain Vista High School | 17:41.65 | 7 |
As for teams looking to win in Portland, the current top two in the nation, both Colorado natives--Niwot and Air Academy--seemed neck-and-neck.
However, as the race played out, while Air Academy had senior Bethany Michalak leading the way for the team, it wasn't enough as Niwot sophomore Addison Ritzenhein pulled in front. Olivia Alessandrini of Niwot took 11th as the second runner, beating the Kadet's Tessa Walter by seven slots.
The Niwot girls won by nearly 15 points over Air Academy, with an average split of 17:44, only five seconds ahead of Air Academy.
As the top two finishing teams, both automatically qualified for Nike Cross Nationals.
With this healthy Colorado feud fueling faster performances on both sides, which team will push past the other at the infamous Glendoveer course on December 2?
Here are the leading team scores.
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niwot High School | 58 | 1+8+13+17+19 (20) | 0:58 1-5 Split | 17:44 Avg |
| 2 | Air Academy High School | 72 | 2+12+16+18+24 (29+38) | 1:05 1-5 Split | 17:49 Avg |
| 3 | Mountain Vista High School | 107 | 6+7+15+37+42 (63+80) | 1:01 1-5 Split | 18:04 Avg |
The Scoop:
Page 3: San Clemente and Santiago Corona with fastest CIF-SS averages, Several individual title repeats