Stars Shine at Foot Locker Northeast Regional
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The Foot Locker Northeast Regional at Franklin Park provided a thrilling showcase of top-tier high school cross-country talent, with athletes battling for the coveted top ten spots to earn their place at Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego. Both the boys' and girls' races delivered standout performances, highlighted by a mix of returning qualifiers and first-time breakthrough athletes.
Boys Race Recap
Jack Graffeo of Westford Academy capped an undefeated season with a dominant win, crossing the line in 14:59.80. Graffeo, who made his season debut on October 13th and won five races since then, controlled the pace from start to finish. His victory marks a major improvement from last year's 8th-place finish at this meet, where he went on to place 30th at Nationals.
Andover's Tamrat Gavenas finished second in 15:15.10, marking his best performance yet at this regional. After placing 4th last year, Gavenas showed his consistency and strength despite losing his first race of the season. He went on to finish 3rd at Foot Locker Nationals, the top returner from last year's meet, solidifying his place as one of the nation's elite.
Soheib Dissa of Newtown High School claimed third in 15:23.70, making his second trip to Nationals. Dissa, who barely clinched the final qualifying spot last year, left no doubt this time with a strong and decisive race.
| PLACE | VIDEO | ATHLETE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jack Graffeo | 12 | Westford Academy | 14:59.80 | ||
| 2 |  Tamrat Gavenas | 12 | Andover High School | 15:15.10 | ||
| 3 |  Soheib Dissa | 12 | Newtown High School | 15:23.70 | ||
| 4 |  Matthew Giardina | 12 | Bishop Guertin High School | 15:26.10 | ||
| 5 |  Matt Gosling | 11 | Council Rock North | 15:28.80 | ||
| 6 |  Van Furman | 12 | Tri-Valley | 15:29.20 | ||
| 7 |  Nathan Lee | 11 | Brunswick School | 15:30.30 | ||
| 8 |  Vinay Raman | 12 | Hershey | 15:30.80 | ||
| 9 |  Rowan Carr | 10 | Penncrest | 15:31.50 | ||
| 10 |  Silas Gartner | 11 | Falmouth High School | 15:35.10 |
Bishop Guertin's Matthew Giardina finished fourth in 15:26.10, earning his first-ever qualification for Nationals. He was followed by Council Rock North's Matt Gosling (15:28.80) in fifth and Tri-Valley's Van Furman (15:29.20) in sixth. Furman's qualification was especially notable, as he improved dramatically from a 65th-place finish at this meet last year.
Brunswick School's Nathan Lee (seventh, 15:30.30) clinched his spot with a 13-place improvement from last year, while Hershey's Vinay Raman (eighth, 15:30.80) punched his ticket after narrowly missing out last year with a 15th-place finish. Sophomore Rowan Carr of Penncrest (ninth, 15:31.50) also impressed, qualifying for Nationals a year after placing 18th as a freshman. Falmouth's Silas Gartner rounded out the top ten in 15:35.10 with a determined performance.
Girls Race Recap
Virginia Kraus of Saucon Valley delivered a peak performance at the perfect moment, running a personal-best 17:34.40 to win the Foot Locker Northeast Regional title. Kraus, who placed 5th here last year but did not compete at Nationals, executed a near-perfect race to claim her first regional victory.
Last year's champion, Zariel Macchia of William Floyd, finished second in 17:39.80. Macchia, who also won the NXR New York Regional earlier this season, has been dominant with eight wins in ten races, making this only her second loss of the season. She heads to Nationals as a proven competitor.
Brooke Strauss of Glastonbury claimed third in 17:41.50, qualifying for Nationals after just missing out last year with a 13th-place finish. Liv Sherry of Conard made a massive leap, finishing fourth in 17:49.30 after placing 17th a year ago.
| PLACE | VIDEO | ATHLETE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Virginia Kraus | 11 | Saucon Valley | 17:34.40 | ||
| 2 |  Zariel Macchia | 12 | William Floyd | 17:39.80 | ||
| 3 |  Brooke Strauss | 12 | Glastonbury High School | 17:41.50 | ||
| 5 |  Chase Gilbert | 11 | Old Lyme High School | 17:56.90 | ||
| 6 |  Allison Lee | 12 | Stuart Country Day School | 17:58.30 | ||
| 7 |  Liliah Gordon | 12 | Northern Burlington Reg. HS | 18:00.70 | ||
| 8 |  Dylan McElhinney | 12 | Hunter College Campus Schools | 18:01.90 | ||
| 9 |  Lillian DiCola | 12 | Hatboro Horsham | 18:04.80 | ||
| 10 |  Tess Sherry | 12 | Conard High | 18:18.00 |
Chase Gilbert of Old Lyme earned her first Nationals berth, running 17:56.90 for fifth. Stuart Country Day's Allison Lee also secured her first Nationals qualification, finishing sixth in 17:58.30. Liliah Gordon of Northern Burlington repeated her 7th-place finish from last year, clocking 18:00.70. Gordon qualified for Nationals for the second year in a row, having finished 33rd in San Diego last year.
Hunter College Campus Schools' Dylan McElhinney made an impressive season debut, setting a personal best of 18:01.90 to place eighth and earn her spot in San Diego. Hatboro Horsham's Lillian DiCola finished ninth in 18:04.80, qualifying for Nationals for the first time despite this being her first loss of the season. Conard's Tess Sherry rounded out the qualifiers in tenth, improving on last year's 12th-place effort to secure the final ticket to Nationals with a time of 18:18.00.