Girls Rankings
Aisling Cuffe, NY, proved why she was the top ranked runner all season with her incredible win at Foot Locker Nationals finishing with a 5th all time 16:53. Aisling took the race out fast and finished with a 34 second gap between herself and 2nd place. Multiple State Titles, her undefeated season and a few course records along the way should put her on the short list for one of the greatest female harrier runners.
Rachel Johnson, TX, had an amazing finish to an already great season with a win at NXN and a 2nd place finish at Foot Locker Nationals. Rachel ran a really smart race sitting at the back and slowly picking off bodies as she moved to the front. She made her move on the hill the 2nd time around and moved into 2nd place.
Kelsey Lakowske, CO, went through a lot this season as she had a late start to the season after surgery last spring. With her season in question she worked hard to get back into peak form finishing 4th at Foot Locker Nationals. Lakowske was awarded the 3rd place trophy after the race but the finish was so close the officials watched replays and declared Julie Nacouzi the third place finisher. Lakowske's great attitude is to be commended for the way she handled the whole situation.
Christie Rutledge, Katie Sischo and Jillian Fanning finished 2nd, 4th and 6th respectively as they led their Fayetteville-Manlius, NY team to an impressive 5th straight Nike Cross National Title. Christie and Jillian have been in and out of the top 25 rankings but this is a first for Katie.
Julie Nacouzi, CA had a slow start to the cross country season and did not get to run in the California State Meet this year but really peaked at the right time taking an impressive win at Foot Locker West Regionals and finishing 3rd at FL Nationals.
Special note: There are many girls who were in our top 25 rankings and were dropped out for one reason or another did not have the season they were hoping for. Here are just a few of them; Molly Seidel, a junior from Wisconsin, had been in our rankings all season but sustained and injury and even ran Foot Locker Midwest Regionals with the injury. She finished 11th and did not qualify but I am sure we will see her next year. Sara Sargent (PA) became ill during the season as did Alli Billmeyer (CA) who gave up a Nike Cross National spot to make a run at Foot Locker West Regionals but became ill a few days before the regional race. California freshman Sarah Baxter finished her season at the California State Meet with an invitation to Nike Cross Nationals as the #1 runner of the day. Sarah chose to opt out of NXN and did not make a run for Foot Locker Nationals.
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Click on an athlete's name for detailed stats
| Current Rank | Athlete Name | State | Previous Rank |
| 1 | Aisling Cuffe - Won Foot Locker Nationals with the 5th fastest time ever. Finished her final prep cross country season undefeated. |
NY |
1 |
| 2 | Rachel Johnson - Won Nike Nationals and a week later finished 2nd at Foot Locker Nationals. | TX | 9 |
| 3 | Christie Rutledge - Finished 2nd at Nike Cross Nationals by 3 seconds. Helped to lead her team to 5th straight National title. | NY | (13 in 9th release) |
| 4 | Kelsey Lakowske - Kelsey's season was in question after surgery last Spring but she battled her way back to win her State Meet and return to Foot Locker Nationals where she placed 4th in a photo finish. | CO | 24 (4th in 9th release) |
| 5 | Julie Nacouzi - Started her season slow but ended it with a win at Foot Locker West Regionals and a 3rd place finish at Foot Locker Nationals moving up from 25th place in 2009. | CA | NR |
| 6 | Megan Venables - Finished 5th at Foot Locker Nationals after a very impressive season. | NJ | 10 |
| 7 | Allison Woodward - After winning both Foot Locker and Nike Regionals, Allison had a tough race at Nike Nationals but bounced back with an impressive 6th place finish at Foot Locker Nationals. | WI |
2 |
| 8 | Erin Finn - Peaked at the right time with a 7th place finish at Foot Locker Nationals. | MI | NR |
| 9 | Amy Eloise Neale - Only a sophomore, Amy improved with each race finishing 3rd at Nike Cross Nationals. | WA | 20 |
| 10 | Katie Sischo - Finished 4th at Nike Cross Nationals and was the 2nd runner for the Fayetteville-Manlius team behind Christie Rutledge. | NY | NR |
| 11 | Haley Pierce - Finished 5th at Nike Cross Nationals after a very strong season. | DE | 24 |
| 12 |
Jillian Fanning - 3rd runner for the Fayetteville team to make the top 25 finishing 6th at Nike Cross Nationals. |
NY | (13th in 6th release) |
| 13 | Shannon Osika - Finished 8th at Foot Locker Nationals improving on her 30th place from 2009. | MI | 19 |
| 14 | Molly Grabill - Had a strong season and improved by 3 places to finish in 9th at Foot Locker Nationals. | CA | 12 |
| 15 | Joanna Thompson - The Tennessee State Champion finished 10th at Foot Locker Nationals. | TN | NR |
| 16 | Gabrielle Anzalone - Finished a strong 11th place at Foot Locker Nationals. | MI | 7 |
| 17 | Kayla Beattie - Finished in 12th place at both the Nike Cross Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals. | WA | 14 |
| 18 | Shaylyn Tuite - Placed 7th at Nike Cross Nationals. | NY | NR |
| 19 | Katie Knight - Finished 8th at Nike Cross Nationals and 13th at Foot Locker Nationals. | IL | 13 |
| 20 | Caroline Hardin - The Montana State Champ finished 9th at Nike Cross Nationals. | MT | NR |
| 21 | Eleanor Fulton - Had a very strong season finishing 13th at Foot Locker Nationals. | CO | (20th in 7th Release) |
| 22 |
Brittany Winslow - Finished 10th at Nike Cross Nationals |
NY | NR |
| 23 | Waverly Neer - Finished 14th at Foot Locker Nationals | IN | NR |
| 24 | Grace Tinkey - Finished 15th at Foot Locker Nationals taking the final "All American" spot. | GA | (25th in 9th release) |
|
25 |
Abbey Leonardi - The New England runner rounds out our top 25 with her 16th place finish at Foot Locker Nationals. |
ME |
6 |
Boys Rankings
Lukas Verzbicas, IL, has clearly established himself as the best high school XC harrier of 2010 with an impressive Nike XC Nationals win in the mud and a dominating win in the sun at the Foot Locker Nationals. Lukas became the first harrier to win both the NXN and Foot Locker titles in the same year and just the 3rd harrier ever to win 2 Foot Locker titles. These stats should establish a foundation for considering him as one of the best high school harriers of all-time.
Futsum Zeinasellassie, IN, remains in the 2nd spot after a runner-up showing at the Foot Locker Nationals. When Lukas broke from the pack Futsum was the only one to go with him, and he stuck right to his shoulder until just after the 2-mile mark, where he finally was gapped. Just a junior, Futsum is already looking forward to returning next year.
New Jersey's Edward Cheserek showed tremendous poise for a sophomore and first year harrier, challenging Lukas and Craig Lutz for most of the race at NXN before Lukas broke away for the win. Cheserek will be one to watch over the next several years.
Speaking of runners to watch, South Dakota's Tony Smoragiewicz climbed all the way to #6 after an impressive string of races. Tony battled through the mud to a 9th place finish at NXN and then basked in the sunshine as he rolled to an impressive 3rd place finish at Foot Locker. After the race the junior was already looking forward to doing it all over again next year.
Craig Lutz, TX, won NXN last year but found it tougher this go-around as he was 3rd in an epic front-running battle with Verzbicas and Cheserek. Ammar Moussa, CA, won his state title with the fastest time of the day and finished 4th at NXN to lead Arcadia to the team title. A first for a CA team.
Also in the top-10 were Andrew Gardner, WA, and Chris Walden, IN. Gardner was 4th at Foot Locker to redeem a disappointing showing at the WA state meet. Walden struggled to 25th place at NXN and then bounced back just a week later to finish 5th at Foot Locker.
Billy Orman, AZ, won the NXN Southwest regional and passed up a spot at NXN to chase Foot Locker dreams and redeem his 34th place finish in 2009. Orman dominated the FL West regional to punch his ticket and then raced close to the front from the gun to place 6th in the Foot Locker Nationals.
Jimmy Clark, FL, led a strong Florida contingent with his 7th place finish at Foot Locker to add to a state title and the Foot Locker South title.
Click on an athlete's name for detailed stats
| Current Rank | Athlete Name | State | Previous Rank |
| 1 | Lukas Verzbicas - Clearly the best of 2010, winning the NXN Championship on 12/4 and then coming back to win the Foot Locker Championship on 12/11. Capped his high school career as only the third two-time boys Foot Locker champion to go into the books as perhaps one of the best ever. |
IL | 1 |
| 2 | Futsum Zeinasellassie - 2nd at the Foot Locker Championships and impressively challenging Lukas longer than he was challenged last year. Top returner next year. | IN | 2 |
| 3 | Edward Cheserek - 2nd at the NXN Championship with an impressive showing for a sophomore. Keep an eye on Cheserek in the future. | NJ | 7 |
| 4 | Craig Lutz - 3rd at NXN in an epic battle with Verzbicas and Cheserek to cap a great high school career. | TX | 5 |
| 5 | Ammar Moussa - Finished 4th at NXN to lead Arcadia to the team victory with a gutsy race up front. | CA | 3 |
| 6 | Tony Smoragiewicz - Ran a very smart race to end up 3rd at the Foot Locker Champs and will be the 2nd returner next year. Also finished 9th at NXN. | SD | 11 |
| 7 |
Andrew Gardner -
Top-soph in the country with his 4th place showing at Foot Locker. Gardner will be one to watch for the future. |
WA | NR |
| 8 | Chris Walden - Struggled at NXN but impressed at Foot Locker with a 5th place showing to improve upon his 11th from last year. |
IN | NR |
| 9 | Billy Orman - Much improved from his 2009 finish, Orman was in the hunt the entire Foot Locker race and finished 6th. |
AZ | 9 |
| 10 | Jimmy Clark - Led Florida with a 7th place finish at Foot Locker with two in the top-10. | FL | 10 |
| 11 | Spencer Wenck - Finished 5th at NXN as the top Southwest finisher. | CO | NR |
| 12 | Eddie Owens - Got up for 8th at Foot Locker after just an 8th place showing at the Northeast qualifier to cap a great post-season. | NY | NR |
| 13 | Lane Werley - Finished 6th at the NXN Championships as the top Californian out of a talented group. | CA | NR |
| 14 | Ryan Pickering - Finished an impressive 9th at Foot Locker as Florida got two in the top-10. | FL | NR |
| 15 | Chad Noelle - In just the 2nd XC race of the season for Chad he ran a great race to finish 10th overall at the Foot Locker Championships. | NY | 15 |
| 16 |
William Kincaid - 11th place finisher at Foot Locker to add to a Colorado state title. |
CO | 12 |
| 17 |
James Martin - Solid 11th at NXN and 12th at Foot Locker after finishing just 6th at the NXN regional and 7th at the FL regional. |
IN | NR |
| 18 |
Jack Driggs - Struggled to an 18th place finish at NXN but finished a solid 13th at Foot Locker to add to a York state title earlier in the year.
|
IL | 17 |
| 19 | Ryan Urie - Finished an impressive 7th place at NXN to go with a state runner-up performance in California. | CA | NR |
| 20 | Brian Gohlke - Finished 8th at NXN after a pair of runner-up finishes to Lutz at the Texas state meet and the NXN South regional. | TX | NR |
| 21 | Ahmed Bile - Very impressive XC season capped with a 14th place showing at Foot Locker to go with a Virginia state title. | VA | 25 |
| 22 | Blake Williams - Improved on his 20th place showing last year by grabbing the last All-American spot with a 15th place finish. | NC | 16 |
| 23 | Kenji Bierig - Finished 10th at NXN after winning the NXN Northwest regional. | WA | 8 |
| 24 | John McGowan - 16th at Foot Locker to go with his private school state title. | DC | NR |
| 25 | Matt Carpowich - Finished 17th at the Foot Locker meet after finished just 9th in his state meet and 4th at the West regional. | CA | NR |
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Girls Rankings