Pre-NXN Girls Championship: Race of the Ages

Converging on History: A Race for the Ages

(Portland Meadows: December 1, 2008) In 2004 Nike organized the first ever cross country National Championships. It would take three more years before a true Regional Championship system was implemented. What happened in the wake of the Nike Youth movement phenomena has been unprecedented. Prep teams are getting faster, stronger, and improving by leaps each year. The 2008 National Cross Country Championships are shaping up to be the greatest collection of cross country teams in the history of the sport, but should we be surprised?

The Nike Cross Girls National Championship race is looking more and more as the most highly anticipated showdown in the history of the sport; the capstone on a program that is reshaping and defining the sport of U.S. distance running. As spectators, running enthusiast, and athletes the 2008 Nike Cross Nationals promises to be the nothing less than historic. Three teams, Tatnall DE, Manlius NY, and Saugus CA have positioned themselves as the top three programs in U.S. history with three amazing performances at three different NXN Region Championship courses.

The Standard of Excellence

For more than 20 years the Irvine CA University High School girls squad of the early 80's was considered the standard of excellence for prep girls cross country programs. Teams came and teams went, national champions crowned but no team seemed on paper to have established themselves as the "Greatest of All-Time". We had multiple years of dominance in the 90's by Mountain View, UT and Saratoga Springs, NY but none produced efforts that would be considered a dominant as those of the 1983 Irvine CA University High School girls who set an impressive 92:25 total team time on the Footlocker South course. That would all change at the turn of the century.

The Jeff Arbogast led Bingham girls squad entered the 1999 Great American XC Festival with a determination seen few times in the past century by a prep team. On the eve of the inaugural meet Bingham would have established a race for the ages with a 91:05 total team time. Averaging 18:13 per runner over the 5000 meter course the Miners from Utah established themselves, as noted by Doug Speck, as the Greatest performance in prep girls cross country history.

Most recently in 2004 Saratoga was mentioned as the "best ever" when they ran 90:15 (18:03 avg.) shattering Bingham's mark at SAS Park in the Great American Cross Country Festival. It was fitting that team would go onto win the inaugural Nike Team Nationals event.

A Historic Showdown

In 2007 Nike Team Nationals evolved from the unpopular regional ranking system to a legitimate Region Championship system. Fueling the fire for both teams and coaches the sport had evolved in a direction that would change the sport forever. At last years event we witnessed two of the top programs in the history of the sport converge on the epic Portland Meadows course. Saugus CA battling Fayetteville-Manlius NY in a race for the ages with Manlius defeating the undefeated upstart California team. At the conclusion of the 2007 race we knew 2008 would be even better, possibly historic.

The 2008 Nike Cross Nationals girls championship race as not failed to meet our expectations with arguably the top three programs in U.S. history converging on the grandest stage of them all. A brief summary of the historic ramifications of the National Championship is necessary to grasp the true magnitude of the event. On November 29, 2008 U.S. distance running witnessed arguably the top three team performances in history. Three teams from three regions running once in a lifetime performances on the same weekend it became clear that not only had November 29th etched itself into the record book annuals of high school distance running but it also set the stage for the greatest showdown in U.S. distance running history. Welcome to the 2008 Nike Cross Nationals, an epic event with a historically epic race.

Saugus CA: The Greatest Team Time in U.S. History

At the 2008 CIF California State Championships spectators were treated to possibly the greatest team race in U.S. history. Saugus CA raced away with the Division II Championship in a mind-boggling total team time of 90:06 (18:01.5 avg.) over the historic Woodward Park 5000 meter course. Their total team time shattered their 2007 record by 43 seconds, it was clear that Saugus had their sights set on a rematch with a fully loaded Harrier Nat#1  and defending National Champion Fayetteville-Manlius NY team. On that day, we hailed Saugus as the "Greatest of All-Time". Boy were we surprised at what would happen next as the true drama of the NXN Championship would unfold. Saugus XC is currently ranked #1 in the nation by Milesplit National Rankings. Read the Saugus Story

California State (NXN California Regional) Meet Results

Fayetteville-Manlius NY: The Defending National Champions

Across the country at the NXN New York Region Championships Fayetteville-Manlius made a statement of their own. Racing away with the team title in impressive fashion over the 5000 meter Bowdoin Park in Wappinger Falls with a 12-second spread and display of team strength that left many watching speechless. Not known as a fast course the performance by the Manlius women left most wondering, how good is Manlius...really?

Finishing all five varsity runners in the top seven it was clear Manlius was better than the 2007 National Championship squad. What was also evident was that a much anticipated rematch at the NXN National Championships would feature possible the two greatest prep girls cross country teams in U.S. history. We are confident that Manlius has not produced their best performance. In unparallelled fashion it is difficult to determine which performance was superior, the speed of Saugus of the strength of Manlius. Manlius XC is currently ranked #1 in the nation by Harrier National Rankings.

NXN New York Region Championship Results

Tatnall DE: #2 All-Time Team Performance in U.S. History

While most of the country watched in disbelief at the performances of the top two teams in the nation and a potential national rematch, a team from Delaware stood tall and left a mark on history.

On October 17, 2008 at the Bellvue Invitational the Tatnall Hornets recorded the #1 all-time team performance in U.S. history over a 5000 meter course. Running a team average of 18:01.75 and an impressive compbined team time of 90:09 Tatnall began their push for a Team National Championship. Winning the meet with a low 19 points Tatnall has dominated all races this season

At the Delaware State Championships on November 8, Tatnall hung 15 points on the Division II field racing away with a 5th straight title and a 42 second 1-5 spread. Tatnall also set the state record for the lowest total team time over the Clay Creek State Park Course.

At the NXN Southeast Region Championship the U.S. #6 Tatnall DE squad ran away with the team title and their first NXN National Championship berth. Running so fast early in the season many were looking forward to the region meet, after completing the 5000m SAS Soccer Complex in Cary, NC it was clear; the women of Tatnall officially put their hat in the mix for a National Championship.

How ironic on the same season as Saugus historic race in California, on the opposite side of the country the girls of Wilmington, Delaware would run the second fastest performance in U.S. history...by a hair. Averaging 18:01.75 at Bellevue and then backing that performance up with an 18:06 avg at the SE Region meet the Hornets have elevated the NXN Girls Championship race to historical proportions. Led by Kaitlen Buenaga's third place showing in 17:47 the Partick Castagno coached Hornet women filed in with all five scorers in the top 16. For a moment the team from Tatnall were the #1 All-time team (following the Bellevue Invitational), frankly they should be considered in the same breath as Saugus and Manlius and the National Rankings show it with Tatnall recently ranked #3 Nationally in the Milesplit National Rankings.

The Tatnall performance left most wondering, is Tatnall the best ever? What has evolved is a showdown that will dominate the December 1, 2008 weekend as the eyes of the running world will be focused on the greatest showdown in U.S. girls cross country history and simply the greatest national championship race ever. Tatnall has their chance against the two National #1 teams to show the nation they are the best team of all-time.

NXN Southeast Region Championship Results

WELCOME TO THE 2008 NXN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS