* Elizabeth Leachman (left) won this past week's NPOTW; Zariel Macchia (right) is one of the nominees for this week's National Performer of the Week.
Photo Credit: MileSplit
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With her impressive finish last weekend at NXR South, Texas star Elizabeth Leachman is this past week's National Performer of the Week.
Racking up her 10th win of her sophomore cross country campaign, the Boerne Champion standout scored a new personal best of 16:07.60 to win the NXR South regional.
Leachman's time still sits at No. 2 in the nation, just a tenth of a second shy of the U.S. No. 1 mark. She collected 32-percent of the votes and was named this past week's National Performer of the Week.
Now it's time to vote for this week's NPOTW. The poll will end Friday and the winner will be announced next Monday.
This Week's Nominees:
Zariel Macchia, William Floyd (NY): Macchia pressed the gas this weekend at Foot Locker Northeast in Boston. With Ellie Shea tailing her for the majority of the race, Macchia eventually dropped her opponent and won by eight seconds, finishing in 17:13-flat.
Sadie Engelhardt, Ventura (CA): The junior standout completed an impressive cross country season this Saturday. Grabbing her second CIF state title in a row, Engelhardt scored an easy win in Division 2, clocking a time of 16:40.70 for 5K, the third-fastest all-time in state history. The upperclassman led Ventura to a California state title with 85 points.
Paige Sheppard, Union Catholic (NJ): Finishing an incredible freshman season with four wins and a runner-up finish at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, Sheppard showed her dominance once again as she took the title at NXR Northeast. She was the only underclassmen to place in the top 10 and was one of two freshmen finishing within the top 15. Sheppard cut the tape at 18:12.20, breaking the 2016 freshman meet record.
Addison Knoblauch, Homestead HS (IN): Following a fifth-place finish at NXR Midwest two weekends ago, the senior pulled another fast time at Foot Locker Midwest on Saturday with a runner-up finish in 17:24-flat. The Notre Dame signee sailed past state finishers Dowty and Southerland and Michigan standout Jazwinski to claim silver.
Rylee Blade, Santiago Corona (CA): Claiming her first CIF state title this past weekend, the junior finished her season with six wins. Blade ran the second-fastest time of the day behind Engelhardt at 16:48.50 for 5K. Blade headed the Sharks to a one-point win over Buchanan in Division I, the first in the school's history. The Sharks will move forward to NXN this upcoming weekend.
NPOTW:
- Week 1: Tula Fawbush, Oldham County (KY)
- Week 2: Elizabeth Leachman, Boerne Champion (TX)
- Week 3: Rylee Blade, Santiago Corono (CA)
- Week 4: Mia Hoffman, Bedmidji (MN)
- Week 5: Addison Moore, Woodford County (KY)
- Week 6: Sophia Rodriguez, Mercer Island HS (WA)
- Week 7: Ruth White, Orono HS (ME)
- Week 8: Sadie Engelhardt, Ventura (CA)
- Week 9: Lillie Bogdan, Frontier (NY)
- Week 10: Jessica Jazwinski, Hart (MI)
- Week 11: Libby Dowty, Indian Creek HS (IN)
- Week 12: Evelyn Prodoehl, Lakota West (OH)
- Week 13: Emily Bush, Saratoga Springs (NY)
- Week 14: Elizabeth Leachman, Boerne Champion (TX)
Related Links:
- National Performer of the Week Series
- National Girls Cross Country Rankings
- National Boys Cross Country Rankings