Meet Summary | National Qualifiers | Foot Locker Midwest Notebook |
Goethals and Zivec decide races in waning moments with strong finishing kicks
There will be no surfing the web for results. No watching via the Internet. The only thing high speed about the Footlocker National CC Championships for Megan Goethals this year might be her hellacious finishing kick.
This time, she will be there in person.
She earned it.
Goethals (Left, bib #120) and Jakub Zivec came from behind, swallowing up their competition down the stretch, to capture their respective races at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional, advancing to San Diego for the finals on December 13th.
"I feel amazing," Goethals said. "I am so excited to be going to San Diego. I think the race went really well. Everything just went as perfectly as it could. I was just looking to be in the top 10 to go to Nationals. I was just going to try to stay in the chase pack most of the time because I didn’t want to go out too fast. I was just planning on staying in the chase pack and then trying to move up throughout. I was going for 5th or 6th. That was my goal."
For the longest time, Goethals remained patient, sticking to the plan. But after sloshing around for three miles in the snow and the mud, she sensed an opportunity, and seized it.
Both the boys and the girls races were decided in the final 200 meters.
A much improved Goethals, who finished 46th a year ago, moved up steadily over the second half of the race, finally catching and passing leader Emily Sisson within sight of the finish line.
"I wasn’t really planning on doing that, but when I came around the corner and saw that they were pretty close, I just started sprinting as hard as I could and tried my hardest to catch them," Goethals said. "Then when I did, I was kind of like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I just kept going as hard as I could to the line."
Sisson and Allie McLaughlin had seized control at two miles before the race got a facelift in the closing moments. McLaughlin, a Colorado state champion, slipped to fourth after being overtaken by Ohio standout Chelsea Oswald.
(McLaughlin leads Sisson midway through the FL Midwest seeded girls race)
Goethals, who set a state meet record in Michigan earlier this month, finished in 17:31.
"I never thought I could do this," said Goethals. "I thought maybe I could qualify at the beginning of the season. But I never would have thought I could have won this. Last year I watched the national race on the computer and I was like, 'Oh I want to go there some day.' So it’s cool I get to go there and meet all of the girls that I have been watching."
Sisson, who qualified for her third straight Foot Locker CC Final, finished one second back. This time she will be joined in San Diego by her Parkway Central teammate Diane Robison, who finished 10th to claim the final qualifying spot. Sisson's former Marion teammate, Kelli Budd, narrowly missed a trip out west, placing 11th.
The boys’ race was a two-man show from the mile mark on, when Zivec and Joseph Manilafasha, Denver North, broke away from the pack. Manilafasha, eventually opened up a 30-meter lead before Zivec reeled him in over the final quarter mile.
"I’m not a great finisher,” said Manilafasha, the Colorado 4A champion. "So I was worried about getting out-kicked. Coming to the end, the footing was just really terrible for me. I actually I’m still trying to understand how he made up that 30 meters."
Another three-time qualifier, Evan Appel, one of four FLCC Finalists to come out of the state of Colorado for the second consecutive year, paced the chase pack to finish third in 15:19.
"It’s great to make it year, after year, after year," said Appel. "It’s been a great experience. Definitely a great way to cap off the season and see where your training has taken you.
"I expected [Joseph] to take it out fast. At the state meet, I think he ran 4:30 for the opening mile. I thought it would be foolish to put all your effort out there in this race. It just didn’t make sense for me to go catch him. I was pretty content with my position. I ran the race I needed to qualify, and hopefully at nationals I can run for the title."
Not surprisingly, with four qualifiers and six runners in the top 15, despite the absence of star Bobby Nicolls, Colorado won the team competition.
"Colorado’s always been a competitive state and this year has been no different," Appel said. "It’s a really competitive state and we take a lot of pride in our running. It’s good that we can actually compete as a team now. During the season we’re always at each other’s throats."
The competition in the state of Indiana has been equally engaging. This meet was no different.
Freshman Futsum Zeinasellassie, clocked 15:20 to lead an Indiana convoy to the line in places four through six. Fellow Hoosier Dylan Sorensen was fifth and Drew Shields (15:24), who defeated Zeinasellassie by five seconds to win the Indiana state meet, placed sixth.
Zivec, an exchange student from the Czech Republic, has been making the most of his one semester in the states, adding a Foot Locker title to the Nike Heartland Region he won two weeks ago.
"The experienece - it's sweet," said Zivec, who will head home after this semester, hoping to return for his collegiate career. "I love it here. The atmosphere of running and races is awesome."
Foot Locker Midwest Regional Preview
Nike Heartland Regional Champion Jakub Zivec overcame a late deficit to win the Foot Locker Midwest Region with a time of 15:09
Boys:
Footlocker Midwest Regional Championships - 11/29/2008
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI
Seeded Boys 5000 Meter Run
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Name Year Team Finals Points
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1 Zivec, Jakub 12 Minnesota 15:09 1
2 Manilafasha, Joseph 12 Colorado 15:13 2
3 Appel, Evan 12 Colorado 15:19 3
4 Zeinasellassie, Bahl 11 Indiana 15:20 4
5 Sorensen, Dylan 12 Indiana 15:20 5
6 Shields, Drew 12 Indiana 15:24 6
7 Berberick, Andrew 12 Colorado 15:26 7
8 Demoor, Joseph 12 Colorado 15:27 8
9 Pawola, Danny 12 Illinois 15:28 9
10 Sulkin, Steve 12 Illinois 15:28 10
Michigan State Champion Megan Goethals outkicked Emily Sisson to win the Foot Locker Midwest Region. Sisson, a junior, qualified for her third straight FL National Championship.
Girls:
Footlocker Midwest Regional Championships - 11/29/2008
University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI
Seeded Girls 5000 Meter Run
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Name Year Team Finals Points
=====================================================================
1 Goethals, Megan 11 Michigan 17:31 1
2 Sisson, Emily 11 Missouri 17:32 2
3 Oswald, Chelsea 12 Ohio 17:36 3
4 Mclaughlin, Allie 12 Colorado 17:39 4
5 Addison, Becca 12 Michigan 17:44 5
6 Decker, Ashlie 11 Iowa 17:49 6
7 Zangmeister, Jessica 12 Ohio 17:55 7
8 Flanagan, Lindsay 12 Illinois 17:57 8
9 Tomecek, Jordan 11 Michigan 18:03 9
10 Robison, Diane 11 Missouri 18:04 10
Foot Locker Midwest Notebook: Some tidbits from the 30th Foot Locker Midwest Regional…
Buddy Runs
By virtue of her runner-up finish, Parkway Central junior Emily Sisson advanced to the Foot Locker CC Nationals for the third straight season.
Only this time, she will be joined by teammate Diane Robison (pictured right), who finished 10th to claim the final qualifying spot.
“I'm so excited,” said Sisson, who recorded her third top five finishes at the Midwest Regional in as many tries. “I've been telling her all about it, what we do there.”
Although quite an accomplishment, teammates’ qualifying for Foot Locker Nationals is not as rare of an occurrence as you might think. In fact, it is the seventh consecutive year and 16th time in the last 20 seasons that at least one set of teammates will be making the trip to San Diego together.
Last year there were three sets of teammates – sisters Nadya and Anastacia Bishton, of Mountain Ridge, AZ, Michael Hammond and Jason Witt of Midlothian, VA, and CJ Brown and Colby Lowe of Southlake Carroll, TX.
In 2004, Saratoga Springs sent four members of its squad, represented by Caitlin Lane, Lindsey Ferguson, Hannah Davidson, and Nicole Blood. Lane, Ferguson and Blood returned as a trio in 2005.
West Covina brothers Danny and Diego Mercado were the last pair of teammates to achieve All-American status when they finished eighth and 11th, respectively in 2005.
According to Sisson, it is somewhat of an advantage having a training partner of elite ability.
“She’s definitely helped push me,” said Sisson of Robison. “It always helps having someone there to push you in practice and races.”
Before moving to Missouri this season, Sisson ran for Omaha Marian (NE), where she had Kelli Budd as a teammate and training companion. Budd, who missed out on the finals by a spot after finishing 11th, could take some consolation from the fact that she had already qualified for and is running at the Nike Cross Nationals, having placed fourth at the Nike Heartland Regional several weeks ago.
Double Dipping
By finishing among the top 10 at the Midwest Regional, five athletes qualified for their second postseason national championship race. Earlier this month, Ashlie Decker, Lindsay Flanagan (pictured below), Jakub Zivec, Drew Shields and Steve Sulkin also qualified as individuals for the Nike Cross Nationals, and will be participating in both, starting this weekend in Portland, OR.
Zivec, Decker and Sulkin won Nike Regional individual titles.
The choice to do both was a no-brainer for Zivec, who, due to his status as an exchange student, was relegated to junior varsity races only until the Minnesota state season ended. While Sulkin, of York, obviously, will be running with his team in Portland as they compete for another national title.
For the others, it’s a personal decision.
“I’m really excited that I made it to both,” said Lake Park’s Lindsay Flanagan, who finished fifth and eighth, respectively, at the Nike and Footlocker Regionals. “It’s going to be a good experience. My coaches didn’t really know [if it was a good idea.] They were like, ‘Are you sure you want to do both? That is a lot of racing.’ I wanted to. It’s my senior year, so why not?”
Shields echoed that sentiment.
“It’s an experience that you can’t pass up,” said Shields. “My coach really wanted me just to focus on Foot Locker and I think that still is the main focus for me, but you cant pass up (NXN). It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I am always going to be kind of angry with myself if I didn’t do both if I qualified for both. I just went for it. I just like to compete, so I’ll do it as long as I can.”
Family Fun
There was a bit of confusion when the boy’s qualifiers were originally announced. The initial copy of the results that were released listed junior Bahlebi Zeinasellassie as the fifth-place finisher. It seemed a bit strange that Bahlebi, a fine runner in his own right, finished ahead of his brother, the freshman sensation out of North Central (IN), who finished as a the runner-up to Drew Shields at the Indiana State Championships.
Eventually, order was restored, and a revised copy of the results was distributed, with Futsum appearing correctly as the fifth-place finisher in 15:20. Bahlebi placed 103rd in 16:34.
Apparently, the brothers had inadvertently swapped timing chips.
According to one member of the North Central traveling party, the mix-up may have been attributed to their younger brother having a little fun with his older siblings.
Coming Friday:
Ashlie Decker Feature: Out of the shadows and on to San Diego
The more unheralded of the two Dowling Catholic star runners for much of the past two seasons, Iowa State Champion and Nike Heartland winner Ashlie Decker is following in the footsteps of teammate Katie Flood as a Foot Locker CC Finals qualifier.