Upsets Galore At NXN! Charlie Vause and Niwot Win Titles

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Rain, mud, and upsets highlighted the Nike Cross Nationals boys championship race at the Glendover Golf Course 5K in Portland, Oregon.

In his first NXN appearance, Charlie Vause pulled away from the leaders in a late charge to secure his first individual national title across all three seasons.

On the team side Niwot was projected third coming in and after the dust, well.. mud, had settled they had upset the likes of top-ranked Christian Brothers Academy and Herriman.

Vause Makes A Splash With Late Charge

At Nike Cross Nationals Southwest Regionals Charlie Vause of Rio Rancho High School (N.M.) finished third overall. Two weeks later he took the finish line at NXN and stood in a mud-ridden uniform as a National Champion.

A breakaway of six athletes was still packed together at the 4K mark with Vause at the tail end of it.

However, Vause was on a mission over the final 1000m and quickly jumped those five spots to secure the lead and closed out the Nike Cross Nationals individual championship with a time of 15:28.1.

The senior split 2:59.0 over the final 1000m of the course: 1K - 2:57.7 / 2K - 6:03.1 / 3K - 9:14.5 / 4K - 12:29.1 / 5K - 15:28.1.

The individual title didn't seem to have a clear favorite heading in but Vause came from off the radar for many. 

Second in this race was senior TJ Hansen of Freeland (M.I.) with a time of 15:30.60, who made the strongest attempt to catch Vause down the stretch. Hansen was 10th in 2023 at NXN.

Caden Leonard of Carroll (TX) finished third and is the top returner from this field looking ahead to next year.

The entire top six finished within six seconds of each other.

Top 10 Individual Finishers

Niwot Braves The Storm, Wins First NXN Title

Just two weeks removed from their head-to-head loss with Herriman at Southwest Regional the Niwot (Colo.) boys now stand atop the podium holding a Nike Cross Nationals championship trophy.

In rain, mud, and sweat the Niwot boys put their focus and determination in the spotlight to defeat a deeply talented field including higher-ranked Christian Brothers Academy (NJ) and Herriman (UT).

Niwot kept their pack tight with a 31-second split, averaging 16:04, and totaling 70 points.

Junior Hunter Robbie led the charge in 21st with a time of 15:52.7, senior Keegan Geldean was 27th at 15:57.8, sophomore Quinn Sullivan 30th at 16:00.9, junior Gabriel Marshall 35th at 16:04.7, and closing their top five was senior Gavin Engtrakul in 67th at 16:24.30. 

Their displacers included juniors Rocco Culpepper in 81st at 16:31.4 and Ryder Keeton in 101st at 16:39.90. Niwot returns five of their top seven, including three of their top five scorers heading into 2025. 

American Fork (UT) had a great showing as well, finishing second 26 points back after being projected fourth heading into the meet. They split 54 seconds between their top five averaging 16:05 and were led by senior Kaden Evans running eighth overall with a time of 15:35.8. 

One of the favorites, Herriman ended up third overall with 106 points, Carroll finished fourth as a team with 135 points, and another pre-meet favorite US No. 1 ranked CBA scored 147 points for fifth. 

Colorado swept the team championships for boys and girls with the Mountain Vista girls claiming their NXN title just an hour and a half prior. This is the first time the team titles were swept by one state since New York's Fayetteville-Manlius did it in 2014 sweeping the titles as a school.

Top Six Scoring Teams