NXN Southeast Region
November 29, 2008
Cary, NC
(Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Washington, DC)
Three of the top seven teams in the country vie for the two automatic qualifying bids to Portland in the girls Southeast Region race. And if that isn't enough intrigue, add an upstart Florida squad (Chiles) that has been racing to superb times all season, and is beginning to earn the national respect that it deserves.
Tatnall and Collins Hill are returning NXN National qualifiers and met earlier this year at the McDonald's X-C Festival at Maymont. Through five runners that day, the teams were dead even, with Tatnall prevailing on the strength of a sixth runner tiebreaker.
Tatnall (US #4), Collins Hill (#3) and Mountain Brook (#7) decimated the competition at their respective state meets, so it would seem the qualifiers would come from that trio. But don't count out Chiles or a strong Midlothian team, the Virginia AAA Champ. An at-large bid has to be coming out of this region, doesn't it?
On the boys’ side, we’ll call it the Tiger effect. If things hold true to form, which isn't always the case over the course of 3.1 miles, Jamestown, led by Andrew Colley and Colin Mearns, is the team to beat, and everyone else is running for second. Belen Jesuit would seem like a strong play to be moving on to Portland as well.
Girls teams to watch:
Mountain Brook (AL)
Competing as: Bama XC Club
Credentials: MileSplit US #7, won Alabama 6A Championships by an astounding 102 points
Varsity: Madeline Morgan, Leslie Boozer, Marie Demedicis, Catherine Deithelm, Mary Catherine Farrar, Catherine Adams, Kendall Reid
Chiles (FL)
Competing as: Chiles Wolfpack TC
Credentials: Florida 3A Champion with a swift 18:29 team average
Varsity: Kendall Andrews, Kaia Hampton, Jodie McGuff, Alex Pearson, Stephanie Reynolds, Carly Thomas, Lily Williams
Midlothian (VA)
Competing as: Midlothian TC
Credentials: Virginia AAA State Champion
Varsity: Claire Benjamin, Paige Johnston, Kathleen Lautzenheiser, Leia Lautzenheiser, Meghan Mulroy, Krista Willard, Amy Witt
Collins Hill (GA)
Competing as: Suwanee XC
Credentials: MileSplit US #3, Georgia 5A Champion, NXN National qualifier in 2007
Varsity: Nicky Akande, Briana Crawford, Allyson McGinty, Chloe Whitworth, Sydney Williams, Amanda Winslow, Vicky Winslow
Tatnall (DE)
Competing as: Wilmington XC
Credentials: MileSplit US #4, Delaware State Champion, NXN National qualifier 2006, 2007
Varsity: Juliet Bottorff, Haley Pierce, Kaitlin Buenaga, Kallie Fehr, Molly Parsons, Katie Oldham, Lauren Blackwell
Girls individuals to watch:
Juliet Bottorff (DE)
Amanda Winslow (GA)
Nicky Akande (GA)
Kathleen Lautzenheiser (VA)
Lily Williams (FL)
Madeline Morgan (AL)
Marie Demedicis (AL)
Haley Pierce (DE)
Katue Buenaga (DE)
Vicky Winslow (GA)
Boys teams to watch:
Jamestown (VA)
Competing as: Jamestown XC Project
Credentials: MileSplit US #7, Virginia AA Champion
Varsity: Andrew Colley, John Holt, Colin Mearns, Russell Hornsby, Jacob Morgan, Graham Schlickenmeyer, Joshua Schlickenmeyer
Mountain Brook (AL)
Competing as: Bama XC Club
Credentials: Georgia 6A Champion
Varsity: Layton Dorsett, Wilkerson Given, Mitchell Lloyd, Jack Morgan, Richard murray, William Anthony, Joey Bemowski
Belen Jesuit (FL)
Competing as: Belen Jesuit Magis
Credentials: Florida 2A Champion (15:58 average)
Varsity: Joseph Dorfman, Elliot Clemente, Larry Duran, Branden Martinez, Lazaro Fields, Joseph Lindsay, Julian Rey
Albemarle County (VA)
Competing as: Albemarle 5 Guys
Credentials: Virginia AAA runner-up to Oakton
Varsity: Luke Noble, Anthony Kostelac, Nathan Rouse, Garrett Bradley, Evan Karweik, Zach Vrhovac, Ben Deal
Melbourne (FL)
Competing as: Melbourne Distance Project
Credentials: Florida 4A runner-up
Varsity: Brian Atkinson, James Post, Erik Fagan, Dillon McGee, Marc Gold, Jacob Stewart, Callum Wilson
Collins Hill (GA)
Competing as: Suwanee XC
Credentials: Georgia 5A runner-up
Varsity: Danny Cook, Carlos Galindo, Nganda Gatei, Andy Gonzalez, Austin Hunt, Alex Kellams, Joe Sokohl
Hoover (AL)
Competing as: Birmingham XC
Credentials: Georgia 6A runner-up
Varsity: Philip Harvey, David Hudman, Patrick McGregor, Nick Perkins, Bryan Propst, Graham Pugh, Taylor Stinson
Boys individuals to watch:
Andrew Colley (VA)
Colin Mearns (VA)
Layton Dorsett (AL)
Andrew Palmer (MD)
Ben Veilleux (VA)
Brian Atkinson (FL)
Patrick McGregor (AL)
NXN Northeast Region
November 29, 2008
Wappingers Falls, NY
(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont)
State rivals will likely decide which teams are headed west to Portland at the Northeast Regional. For the girls, it is a battle between Massachusetts' strongholds Newton South, the state Division 1 Champion, and the team it beat, Lincoln-Sudbury. The last three meetings have been extremely close, with Newton prevailing each time, once by as little as a point.
The two other teams likely to challenge the Mass rivals are Connecticut and New England Champion Glastonbury and two-time Pennsylvania State Champion Emmaus. A fifth-place finish at last years race did not sit well with Emmaus, which has had this weekend circled on its calendar all season long.
At the NJ Meet of Champions last week, West Windsor Plainsboro-North handed Don Bosco Prep its first in-state loss since the end of the 2006 season. Needless to say, Eastern States Champion, Don Bosco Prep, will be out to make amends.
Pennsylvania rivals North Penn and North Allegheny have the best chance of preventing a Jersey sweep. North Penn has the momentum after scoring a minor upset win at the Pennsylvania State Championships. Also, the Knights have as much big-meet experience as anyone around, and they have a habit of putting it all on the line when it counts the most.
After all, North Penn did run to the fastest team average at Manhattan even though it was not in the Eastern States race.
The fourth team in the mix also has revenge on its mind as it attempts to qualify. North Allegheny, ranked No.1 in Pennsylvania for the majority of the season, until it finished third at the state meet behind North Penn, has the talent and motivation to be a major player.
The final team with a shot at moving on is Connecticut Open and New England Champion Danbury.
Still, the edge has to go to WWP-N as it has something the other three teams don't - a pair of frontrunners in twins Jim and Joe Rosa. Many people may forget that Jim actually beat Joe in the 3200 last spring. And while Joe was destroying course records early in the season, like he did at Belmont Plateau during the Briarwood Invitational, when West Windsor slipped past North Penn by a point, Jim was on the mend from an early season injury.
Jim is healthy now, making West Windsor the team to beat.
Girls teams to watch:
Lincoln-Sudbury (MA)
Competing as: Mercury TC
Credentials: Massachusetts Division 1 runner-up
Varsity: Claire Arthur, Holly Clarke, Jennifer Gossels, Ellie Hylton, Andrea Keklak, Rachael Potter, Corey Stock
Newtown South (MA)
Competing as: Newton Centre Athletics
Credentials: Massachusetts Division 1 Champion
Varsity: Kelsey Karys, Bridget Dahlberg, Madeleine Reed, Olga Golovkina, Kathy O'Keefe, Mel Fineman, Elizabeth May
Emmaus (PA)
Competing as: Suamme XC
Credentials: Pennsylvania State AAA Champion 2008, 2007
Varsity: Lindsey Graybill, Melissa Meade, Meaghan Zang, Kelsey Coates, Amanda Faust, Brianna Faust, Christina Faust
Glastonbury (CT)
Competing as: Tomahawk XC Club
Credentials: Connecticut State Open and New England Champion
Varsity: Kristen Malloy, Lindsay Crevoiserat, Cara Dorris, Reid Watson, Emily MacEwen, Charlotte Freeland, Kim Halpin
LaSalle Academy (RI)
Competing as: LaSalle Academy
Credentials: Rhode Island State Champion
Varsity: Victoria Beardwood, Caroline Capuano, Jean Christensen, Molly Keating, Siobahn Kelly, Emily Papazian, Danielle Renzi
Girls individuals to watch:
Briana Jackucewicz (NJ)
Ellie Hylton (MA)
Andrea Keklak (MA)
Lindsey Graybill (PA)
Kelsey Karys (MA)
Bridget Dahlberg (MA)
Kristen Malloy (CT)
Heidi Caldwell (NH)
Sarah Pagano (NJ)
Jean Christensen (RI)
Boys teams to watch:
West Windsor Plainsboro-North (NJ)
Competing as: Knight XC Club
Credentials: MileSplit US #9, NJ Meet of Champions winner
Varsity: Tyler Corkedale, Stephen Ellwood, Anthony Lee, Jim Rosa, Joe Rosa, Ryan Sleeper, Jon Squeri
Don Bosco Prep (NJ)
Competing as: Bergen XC Club
Credentials: MileSplit US #12, runner-up to West Windsor Plainsboro-North at the NJ Meet of Champions. Won the Eastern States race at the Manhattan Invite.
Varsity: Michael Belgiovine, Michael Carapezza, Robert Molke, Brendan Offer, Howie Rosas, Leighton Spencer, Rafael Vargas
North Penn (PA)
Competing as: North Wales RC
Credentials: MileSplit US #14, Pennsylvania State AAA Champions 2008, 2007.
Varsity: Sam Bernitt, Dom Camasso, Alex Dello Buono, Brian Kuntzmann, Brad Miles, Brian Quintrell, Tim Stauring
Danbury (CT)
Competing as: Danbury XC Club
Credentials: MileSplit US #10. Connecticut State Open and New England Champion. Second place, Eastern States race at the Manhattan Invite.
Varsity: Tucker Schaefer, Joey Bubniak, Danny Bubniak, Kevin Russell, Levi Wallace, Chris Pristouris
North Allegheny (PA)
Competing as: Wexford Flats RC
Credentials: Ranked No. 1 in Pennsylvania for most of the year before finishing third at the PA AAA state championshps behind North Penn and LaSalle.
Varsity: Will Appman, Eric Balaban, Chase Broussard, Jay Cadwallader, Ryan Gil, Patrick Morgan, Matt Robertson
Christian Broters Academy (NJ)
Competing as: Brothers TC
Credentials: Finished third, behind nationally ranked teams West Windsor and Don Bosco, at the NJ MOC.
Varsity: Mike Mazzaccarro, Dennis Smith, Dan Bailey, Dan Mykityshyn, Mark Lee, Brendan Swan
Boys individuals to watch:
Robert Molke (NJ)
Gus McKenzie (PA)
Tucker Schaefer (CT)
Sean Pohorence (NJ)
Mike Mazzaccarro (NJ)
Francis Hernandez (NH)
Joe Rosa (NJ)
Jim Rosa (NJ)
Brad Miles (PA)
NXN Southeast Region
November 29, 2008
Cary, NC
(Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Washington, DC)