Two more Nike Team National regionals were run this past weekend. Texas teams swept the qualifying spots in the South Regional, while two New Mexico teams swept the boys race in the Southwest Regional. The girls Southwest Regional race was the kicker, as two top ten ranked team lost to un-ranked squads.
MileSplit National Team Power Rankings: Weekend Wrap-Up
Boys
1. Neuqua Valley (IL) - Idle.
2. North Central (WA) - Idle.
3. Danbury (CT) - Idle.
4. Los Alamos (NM) - Led by Allen Pittman and Kyle Pittman, Los Alamos tied with U.S. #5 Albuquerque Academy with 93 points a piece. However, the team finished second based off of the sixth-man tie-breaker rule. Their second place finish qualified the squad for Nike Team Nationals once again. Los Alamos split a strong 58 seconds 1-5.
5. Albuquerque Academy (NM) - After a disappointing loss last weekend in their state championships, Academy looked for a little revenge against their rival U.S. #4 Los Alamos. Academy got that revenge "kind of," tying Los Alamos for the win at the NTN Southwest Regional, as both squads qualified for nationals yet again. Academy won the meet on a strong sixth runner, while Ben Johnson led the way with a second place finish.
6. Wheat Ridge (CO) - Wheat Ridge competed in the NTN Southwest Regional Saturday. Their sixth place finish wasn't exactly what the squad hoped for, but their strong season finished with a solid effort against many of the top teams in the nation. Dart Schwaderer finished ninth in the team scoring to lead the way.
7. North Penn (PA) - Idle.
8. Brookline (MA) - Placing four runners in the top ten helped Brookline dominate the competition at the MIAA State Cross Country Championships. Senior Robert Gibson and junior David Wilson placed first and second to help their team finish with a score of 25 points, 76 points ahead of Whitman-Hanson.
9. The Woodlands (TX) - A close call at their state meet woke the squad up, enough so to pull out a strong 70-96 win over Southlake Carroll to win the NTN South Regional. Layne Nixon led the way in fourth place in the team scoring, while Drew Butler also finished in the top ten.
10. Central Catholic (OR) - Idle.
Girls
1. Fayetteville-Manlius (NY) - With four runners in the top seven Fayetteville-Manlius once again crushed the competition, this time winning the New York Federations 26-80 over U.S. #6 Saratoga Springs. The strong squad used a 59 second split to beat the field, proving again that they are one of the stronger squads in history.
2. Saugus (CA) - If anyone in the country can seemingly challenge U.S. #1 Fayetteville-Manlius right now it is Saugus. The team easily won the Southern Section Final in a team record time of 88:22. Their time averages out to 17:02 per runner on the 2.91 mile Mt. SAC course. Saugus placed five in the top 15 team scoring spots with a 38 second split, beating runner-up Esperanza 37-123.
3. Eldorado (NM) - Despite a strong start, Eldorado finished fifth overall at the NTN Southwest Regional. Saturday's competition was supposed to be Eldorado's coming out party, showing the country just how strong they were. However, the race never quite materialized for them, finishing with 147 points, over 40 points out of second place (the last place to automatically qualify for NTN). Rachel Velarde once again led the way finishing tenth place in the team scoring.
4. Mountain Brook (AL) - Idle.
5. Dowling Catholic (IA) - Idle.
6. Saratoga Springs (NY) - Despite losing to U.S. #1 Fayetteville-Manlius by a large margin for the second week in a row, Saratoga showed they are the second best team in the New York currently. The team finished with 80 points, 54 points behind F-M, but 44 points ahead of third place East Aurora. Hannah Davidson led the way finishing third place overall.
7. Burnt-Hills (NY) - Idle.
8. Dakota Ridge (CO) - Missing #1/2 front runner Kaitie Vanatta, Dakota Ridge finished third at the NTN Southwest Regional Saturday with 125 points. Finishing 23 points behind runner-up Davis (UT), Dakota Ridge can only hope for an at-large bid now. Vanatta sat out of the race with an injury.
9. Jesuit (OR) - Idle.
10. Westfield (IN) - Idle.