Ben Johnson of Albuquerque Academy (NM)
One of the most anticipated showdowns of the year comes at the NTN Southwest Regional Saturday in Tempe, Arizona. Three U.S. ranked boys teams, two U.S. ranked girls teams and a heap of other top talent collide, as only two teams qualify to the next round.
Road to Portland: NTN Southwest Regional Preview
Date: November 17, 2007
Location: Tempe, AZ
Boys
Three MileSplit National Team Power Ranked teams enter Saturday's meet in Arizona with a lot to prove. Perennial New Mexico powers, Los Alamos XC Club (Los Alamos H.S.) and Albuquerque Academy TC (Albuquerque Academy) enter the competition as the two favorites, however teams like Wheat Ridge RC (Wheat Ridge H.S., CO), Timpview RC (Timpview H.S., UT) and Battle Mountain X-C Club (Battle Mountain H.S., CO) could very easily win as well.
Los Alamos and Albuquerque Academy enter as the returning NTN Southwest finalists from 2006. At their state meet last weekend Los Alamos upset Academy 34-40 in a very close team race. Academy had been ranked #1 in the country for the majority of the season, while Los Alamos had been creeping up the rankings for the past few weeks. Some thought it was only a matter of time before Loa Alamos upset Academy.
The two teams run very seperate races it seems. Academy's tandem up front of Ben Johnson and Patrick Zacharias give the team perhaps the best 1-2 combination at the regional, while Los Alamos runs with a 1-5 split of nearly twenty seconds. Either team could win Saturday depending on how their back end runners do.
Wheat Ridge and Battle Mountain are the top two teams from Colorado. With their state meet being a few weeks back these squads need to be running as well as they did at their state meets if they hope to compete. Wheat Ridge is nationally ranked as follows a combination of Dart Schwarderer and Scott Fauble. The squad owon the largest class state title in Colorado by a solid margin. Battle Mountain follows a similar strategy, but with a strong pack. Johnn Stevens and John O'Neill lead the way for the team.
The last squad that may surprise many is Timpview. The champions from Utah are primed and ready to compete. Led by junior Jonathan Nelson, the Provo based high school has a 1-5 split of less than a minute. With a front runner and a strong pack behind him, this team is very dangerous.
While the team battle is the focus of the day, a nice side story comes from one heck of an individual battle. Academy's Johnson, Judge Memorial (UT) senior Luke Puskedra and Horizon (AZ) front man Jim Walmsley all have top tier credentials to their names this season. Both Puskedra and Johnson are ranked in the MileSplit Foot Locker National Power Rankings, with Puskedra being the number two ranked runner in the land currently. Walmsley is the under dog, but after winning the Arizona state title by a large margin he is rising up in the rankings. The battle between Puskedra and Johnson may be a nice preview of what's to come at Foot Locker Nationals the week after NTN.
Girls
While the boys race will be a close battle between a few teams, the girls race could very well be the race of the weekend nationally. Numerous state championship squads have a shot to qualify, it is just a matter of who has the best race on the day that matters most. U.S. ranked Eldorado XC (Eldorado H.S., NM) and Dakota Ridge RC (Dakota Ridge H.S., CO) both enter Saturday's competition ranked in the MileSplit National Team Power Rankings. Eldorado ranks #3 while Dakota Ridge ranks #8. Both squads are considered the heavy favorites with strong front runners and incredible pack strength.
Eldorado looks to contend for their second straight NTN berth, led by their fantastic trio of Allison Bedonie, Rachel Velarde and Kristy Hannah. Dakota Ridge comes off of a huge win a few weeks back at their state meet over previously U.S. ranked Fort Collins RC (Fort Collins H.S., CO). Dakota Ridge gained momentum throughout the season, capping their regular season with a 59 point win at state. Alexa Rogers and Katie Vanatta lead the way, as both runners are Foot Locker favorites as well.
Behind the two powerhouse teams are a group of contenders that if running their perfect race definitely have a shot to qualify. Davis RC (Davis H.S., UT) have not compete for a month. However, their impressive state meet performance and strong performance at the Bob Firman Invitational much earlier in the season prove this team is national worthy. Led by Natalie Haws and Candace Eddy, Davis is only a step behind Eldorado and Dakota Ridge.
Greeley West HS Team (Greeley West H.S.) and Fort Collins RC (Fort Collins H.S.) lead the way for the other Colorado contenders. Fort Collins lost a step the last few weeks of the season, but could just as easily gain it back. Greeley West meanwhile won the Colorado 4A state title in dominating fashion, proving if they are on their game they are as tough as anyone.
Mountain View AZ Girls CC Club (Mountain View H.S., AZ) follows the lead of two of the most improved runners in the country this year in Nadya Bishton and Nastia Bishton. The two runners have dominated their competition all season long, with Nadya moving into the MileSplit Foot Locker National Power Rankings two weeks back. With two front runners expect this squad to lead the way for Arizona. Los Alamos XC (Los Alamos H.S., NM) is another team to watch.
With many front running athletes, and strong packs behind them, expect the battle for the two qualifying berths to be intense. NTN is just around the corner. Who will represent the Southwest?
Ben Johnson of Albuquerque Academy (NM)