Saugus (CA)
Competing as: Saugus XC
Credentials: MileSplit US #1. California State Champion.
Varsity: Kaylin Mahoney, Brianna Jauregui, Amber Murakami, Stephanie Bulder, Karis Frankian, Anne Randall, Keri Molt
Signature moment(s): CIF California Division II State Champions in record setting total team time 90:06
Word on the street: Coming off arguably the greatest team performance in US history the Saugus girls eye a much anticipated rematch with defending National Champion Manlius NY and Tatnall DE.
Fayetteville-Manlius (NY)
Competing as: Manlius XC Club
Credentials: Two-time defending National Champion. MileSplit US #2. NY NXN Regional Champion
Varsity: Courtney Chapman, Hannah Luber, Molly Malone, Meaghan Anklin, Mackenzie Carter, Kathryn Buchan, Alexandra Chapman
Signature moment: Take you pick: Eastern States, the incredible pack running at NY Regional. Every time this team toes the line something special happens
Word on the street: To be the champion, you must beat the champion and even though they currently trail Saugus in the rankings, the two-time defending champion is still the team to beat.
Tatnall (DE)
Competing as: Wilmington XC
Credentials: MileSplit US #3; Delaware State Champion; 3-time NXN National qualifier (2008, 2007, 2006); NXN Southeast Regional Champion.
Varsity: Juliet Bottorff, Haley Pierce, Kaitlin Buenaga, Kallie Fehr, Molly Parsons, Katie Oldham, Lauren Blackwell
Signature moment(s): Scored early season upset win over Collins Hill by virtue of a sixth-runner tiebreaker. Swept the top five places to win the Delware State CC Championships with a perfect score.
Word on the street: Senior Juliet Bottorff and Freshman Haley Pierce have been the top two runners for Tatnall all season, but they were displaced at the South Regional by Katie Buenaga. That gives Tatnall a solid top three that can run with anyone. There are probably only a couple of teams capable of upsetting favorites Saugus and Fayette-Manlius, and this is certainly one of them. To do so, Tatnall might still have to improve on the 36-second spread it raced to in winning its regional.
Geneva (IL)
Competing as: Geneva RC
Credentials: MileSplit US #4. Illinois 3A State Champion. Nike Midwest Regional Champion.
Varsity: Megan Brady, Tess Ehrhardt, Meghan Heuer, Sarah Heuer, Kelly Shogren, Liza Tauscher, Kelly Whitley
Signature moment: Won the Illinois State meet by a whopping 115 points.
Word on the street: For some reason, Geneva has not gotten the same attention as F-M, Saugus and recently Tatnall, despite being ranked among the top 5 nationally for a majority of the season. Lack of respect alone could provide the necessary incentive.
Burnt Hills (NY)
Competing as: Burnt Hills TC
Credentials: MileSplit US #5. At-large bid.
Varsity: Kiersten Anderson, Alyssa Drapeau, Riley Wilk, Sam Roecker, Meagan Roecker, Molly Pezzulo, Meaghan Gregory
Signature moment: Despite the absence of F-M, Burnt Hills put it all together to win the NY Federation meet.
Word on the street: Sam Roecker will give Burnt Hills a strong presence at the front.
If they can run as a team the way they did at the Fed meet, there are very few teams in the country that can beat them.
Saratoga Springs (NY)
Competing as: Kinetic RC
Credentials: MileSplit US #6. Nike NY Regional runner-up.
Varsity: Brianne Bellon, Amanda Borroughs, Madison Carr, Megan Conway, Cassie Goutos, Keelin Hollowood, Sydney King
Signature moment: Solid NXN regional performance when it needed it most to earn the automatic bid.
Word on the street: Good things can happen for Saratoga if its veteran runners can return to form and crack its top five with performances they’ve produced in the past, and its youngsters can handle the pressure and limelight of the national stage. Won the NTN Championship in 2004.
Jesuit (OR)
Competing as: Crusader Harriers
Credentials: MileSplit US # 7. Oregon 6A Champion. Nike Northwest Region Champion.
Varsity: Adrienne Demaree, Sabrah DeVoir, Claire Hagler, AnnaMarie Maag, Shannon Mahoney, Payton Schutte, Noelle VanRysselberghe
Signature moment: Annamarie Maag becomes first individual champion since 1993. Took five of the top 13 places to win adidas CC Classic.
Word on the street: Already won the Nike Pre-National meet at Portland Meadows. Of course, the competition will be a wee bit more accelerated this time around. But don't count the Crusaders completely out, they have risen to the occasion all year. A top 5 finish is a reality.
Queensbury (NY)
Competing as: Adirondack Runners
Credentials: MileSplit US #8. At-large bid.
Varsity: Danielle Winslow, Brittany Winslow, Morgan Mueller, Carly Wynn, Juliann Lajoie, Katie Messina, Jolie Navatka
Signature moment: Placed third in the Eastern States race at the Manhattan College Invitational, beating Burnt Hills, Lincoln-Sudbury and Saratoga Springs.
Word on the street: Winslow is running her best at the right time of the year. This will be a chance for Queensbury to step out of the shadows of the other NY superpowers. Fourth best team in New York could finish high among the top 10.
Collins Hill (GA)
Competing as: Suwanee XC
Credentials: MileSplit US #9, Georgia 5A Champion, Nike Southeast Regional runner-up.
Varsity: Nicky Akande, Briana Crawford, Allyson McGinty, Chloe Whitworth, Sydney Williams, Amanda Winslow, Vicky Winslow
Signature moment(s): Won state meet by 66 points. Dropped a heartbreaking tiebreaker to Tatnall at Maymont.
Word on the street: Ran well at the regional, unfortunately Tatnall simply ran better. Expect a good showing at nationals from this returning NTN finalist from a year ago.
Fort Collins (CO)
Competing as: Fort Collins
Credentials: MileSplit US #10. Colorado 5A state champions, NXN SW regional champions, 7th place at NTN 2007
Varsity: Miranda Benzel, Rachel Viger, Kirsten Follett, Tati Ogan, Marci Witczak, Denise Chilson, Abby Miller
Signature moment: Dominant team in Colorado 5A ranks all season long, but had their best meet of the season in winning the NXN SW championship. They appear to be hitting on all cylinders going into NXN.
Word on the street: When Rachel Viger has a great meet, Ft. Collins has a great meet. A healthy Rachel Viger running strong seems to lift the fortunes of this team. Marci Witczak and Rachel Viger had huge races at NXN SW and could be key to their hopes once again at nationals.
The Woodlands (TX)
Competing as: The Woodlands TC
Credentials: MileSplit US #11; Texas State Champion; First time NXN National qualifier; NXN South Regional Champion.
Varsity: Sarah Andrews, Samantha Thompson, Colleen Murray, Margo Lyons, Shawn Dalglish, Shelby Hays, Jordan Wiseman
Signature moment(s): Placing 2nd at the prestigious Woodbridge Invitational in California. The Highlanders cruised to the girls state title, scoring 61 points. It is the second team title in school history and first since 1989.
Word on the street: Junior Sarah Andrews has been dominating competition all year. She will be one the favorites to win the Individual title. This team is loaded with young talent. The key to this team doing well is between 3-5, If they run well the team should place top 10.
Dana Hills (CA)
Competing as: Dana Hills XC
Credentials: MileSplit US #12
Varsity: Alaina Alvarez, Heather Balbier, Kristin Parry, Laura Beresford, Paxton Cota, Breelan Matranga, Kathryn Gullickson
Signature moment(s): CIF California Division I State Champions in #3 all-time performance 91:10 total team time and division record
Word on the street: By the skin of their chinny chin chin the woman from Dana Hills won the CIF Division I State Championship over a dominant Torrey Pines CA, with five runners under 18:30 over the Woodward Park 5000 meter course it is clear that one misstep by Manlius, Tatnall, or Saugus and Dana Hills is a legitimate contender for the team title.
Newtown South (MA)
Competing as: Newton Centre Athletics
Credentials: MileSplit US #13. Massachusetts Division 1 Champion. Nike Northeast Regional runner-up.
Varsity: Kelsey Karys, Bridget Dahlberg, Madeleine Reed, Olga Golovkina, Kathy O'Keefe, Mel Fineman, Elizabeth May
Signature moment(s): Scored a one-point win over Lincoln-Sudbury after Lincoln-Sud established itself as a team to be reckoned with a fifth-place finish in a stacked field at Manhattan College Invitational Eastern States race. It was one of three straight victories over its Massachusetts rival before finishing behind them at the Northeast Regional
Word on the street: The sizable 71-second gap between the fourth and fifth runners cost Newton South a chance at a regional title. A spread that large will be even more penal in a race of this magnitude.
The Classical Academy (CO)
Competing as: Colorado Springs
Credentials: MileSplit US #14. Six consecutive years as Colorado 3A state champions. Second place at NXN SW (9th place in 2007). First trip to NXN, but this charter school has only had six graduating classes in its history.
Varsity: Kaitlin Hanenburg, Shelby Stableford, Emily LaValley, Kassie Mazzocco, Kelsey Brown, Elaina Turley, Emily Husted
Signature moment: Scored 1-3-5-7-(17)-(21) to win the Colorado 3A state meet (run 6/score 4 format). Had best score of all teams/classifications in merged scoring.
Word on the street: Top three have been solid all season. The key would appear to be in where the #4 and #5 runners finish at NXN. Advanced easily, but ran a little below expectations at NXN SW.
Lincoln-Sudbury (MA)
Competing as: Mercury TC
Credentials: MileSplit US # 15. Massachusetts Division 1 runner-up. Nike Northeast Region Champion.
Varsity: Claire Arthur, Holly Clarke, Jennifer Gossels, Ellie Hylton, Andrea Keklak, Rachael Potter, Corey Stock
Signature moment(s): After three straight losses to Mass rival Newton South, including a heartbreaking one-point defeat, bounced back to defeat South for the NXN Northeast title.
Word on the street: If nothing else they were tested by top competition this season, having had to battle nationally ranked Newton South on seemingly a weekly basis. The weekly wars between the two rivals produced some of the top team times ever seen at Franklin Park.
Cedar Park Vista Ridge (TX)
Competing as: Vista Ridge RC
Credentials: First time NXN National qualifier
Varsity: Amanda Russell, Ashley Isham, Zoe Galbraith, Kelsey Camareno, Kerry Stacey, Samantha Bullin, Emily Phillips
Signature moment(s): Placing 4th at NXN South. They barely missed qualifying for state because of the Region of Death (Region II-5A) was very competitive. They were only 4 pts away from 2nd at NXN South.
Word on the street: They have the best 1-2 punch in Texas with Amanda Russell and Ashley Isham. Both also qualified for Footlocker Nationals next week. If they can put it all together in the same race they are a top-10 team at NXN.
Cinco Ranch (TX)
Competing as: Cinco Ranch RC
Credentials: Texas 5A State Runner-Up; First time NXN National qualifier; NXN South Regional Runner-up
Varsity: Alyse Goldsmith, Itzel Cotina, Jessica Pagano, Jessica Garwick, Meredith Ramsey, Mallory Ramsey, Kristen Stone
Signature moment(s): Cinco Ranch was not expected to contend for a medal at the state meet and they placed a strong 2nd over powerhouses like Southlake Carroll and Kingwood. They came back at NXN South and showed that the state meet was not a fluke and earned runner-up honors.
Word on the street: Cinco Ranch really came on late in the season with a surprising 2nd place finish at state and than again at NXN South. They have a solid 1-3. Their 4-5 really have to step up and have an amazing performance in order for them to have a chance at a top 10 finish.
Eastlake (WA)
Competing as: Wolfpack XC Club
Credentials: Washington 4A Champion. Nike Northwest Regional runner-up.
Varsity: Megan Batty, Erin Blodnick, Ashley Horton, Tasha Lingenbrink, Haley O'Connor, Chelsea Orr, Katelyn Steen
Signature moment: Upset Gig Harbor to win the Washington 4A title by a point.
Validated that win by defeating Gig Harbor by 18 at the regional.
Word on the street: For a team that was ranked 5th in the Northwest heading into its state meet, a top 10 finish might be a reach, but this team has been full of surprises during its postseason run.
Eden Prairie (MN)
Competing as: Eden Prairie
Credentials: Minnesota Class AA Champion. Nike Heartland Regional Champion.
Varsity: Alex Birkle, Hanna Hoch, Dana Jeter, Laura Lawton, Cassy Opitz, Megan Platner, Allie Rudin
Signature moment: Won the regional by 51 points, defeating a trio of state champs.
Word on the street: Should be a great experience for a team that will return 5 of its top 6 next season, including freshman Cassy Opitz, who led the way for EP, placing third at the regional.
Kingwood Park (TX)
Competing as: K-Park XC
Credentials: Texas 4A State Champion; First time NXN National qualifier
Varsity: Zahri Jackson, Amanda Miriam, Bree Schrader, Grace Fletcher, Kaitlyn Boucher, Payton Harvey, Jennifer Nwuli
Signature moment(s): Winning back to back state titles. The amazing thing is that they won their first title last year with all Freshman because it was the schools first year in existence. This team is young and talented.
Word on the street: The team is led by super frosh Zahri Jackson. Their 1-5 split has been between 10-20 seconds all year. They are the definition of a pack running team.
Magnificat (OH)
Competing as: Blue Streaks XC Club
Credentials: Under Consideration for National Rankings (MileSplit), Number one ranked team in Ohio from preaseason to final poll. Ohio State Division Champion (big school division). Nike Midwest Regional runner-up.
Varsity: Madeline Chambers, Katherine Stultz, Clare Fischer, Abby Fischer, Abigail Marquard, Mary Whitmore, Erin Riley
Signature Moments: The team was undefeated this season and can boast the following championship wins: All-Ohio Catholic Team Champions, Midwest Meet of Champions Meet Varsity Team Champions (in the Freshmen-Sophomore division too!), District Champs, Regional Champs & State Champs. Additionally, the Varsity team won the Early Bird Invite, Tiffin CC Carnival & Medina CC Carnival.
Word on the Street: Will return all seven, plus their two alternates for next season, as they are made up of 5 juniors, 1 sophomore & 1 freshman with the alternates being a junior and a freshman. Madeline Chambers, and identical twins Clare and Abby Fischer were All-State runners this season.
Sioux Falls Roosevelt (SD)
Competing as: Sioux Falls
Credentials: South Dakota Class AA Champion. Nike Heartland Regional runner-up.
Varsity: Laura Bauer, Bailey Breems, Megan Brown, Erin Hargens, Alex Hess, Seanna Kautz, Ali Oswald
Signature moment: Placed 11th at 2006 NTN.
Word on the street: A team with a bright future. Five of 7 varsity runners will return, including a pair of freshmen.
Barnesville (OH) senior Stephanie Morgan is one of the favorites to win the individual title at the Nike Cross Nationals. Morgan will be challenged by regional winners Chelsey Sveinsson (TX), Amanda Winslow (GA) and Danielle Winslow (NY). Also in the hunt will be Sarah Andrews (TX), Courtney Chapman (NY) and Kaylin Mahoney (CA).
MileSplit's Don Rich, Aron Taylor, Alex Aldaco, Pat Montferrat contributed to this article
Saugus (CA)
Competing as: Saugus XC
Credentials: MileSplit US #1. California State Champion.
Varsity: Kaylin Mahoney, Brianna Jauregui, Amber Murakami, Stephanie Bulder, Karis Frankian, Anne Randall, Keri Molt
Signature moment(s): CIF California Division II State Champions in record setting total team time 90:06
Word on the street: Coming off arguably the greatest team performance in US history the Saugus girls eye a much anticipated rematch with defending National Champion Manlius NY and Tatnall DE.
Fayetteville-Manlius (NY)
Competing as: Manlius XC Club
Credentials: Two-time defending National Champion. MileSplit US #2. NY NXN Regional Champion
Varsity: Courtney Chapman, Hannah Luber, Molly Malone, Meaghan Anklin, Mackenzie Carter, Kathryn Buchan, Alexandra Chapman
Signature moment: Take you pick: Eastern States, the incredible pack running at NY Regional. Every time this team toes the line something special happens
Word on the street: To be the champion, you must beat the champion and even though they currently trail Saugus in the rankings, the two-time defending champion is still the team to beat.
Tatnall (DE)
Competing as: Wilmington XC
Credentials: MileSplit US #3; Delaware State Champion; 3-time NXN National qualifier (2008, 2007, 2006); NXN Southeast Regional Champion.
Varsity: Juliet Bottorff, Haley Pierce, Kaitlin Buenaga, Kallie Fehr, Molly Parsons, Katie Oldham, Lauren Blackwell
Signature moment(s): Scored early season upset win over Collins Hill by virtue of a sixth-runner tiebreaker. Swept the top five places to win the Delware State CC Championships with a perfect score.
Word on the street: Senior Juliet Bottorff and Freshman Haley Pierce have been the top two runners for Tatnall all season, but they were displaced at the South Regional by Katie Buenaga. That gives Tatnall a solid top three that can run with anyone. There are probably only a couple of teams capable of upsetting favorites Saugus and Fayette-Manlius, and this is certainly one of them. To do so, Tatnall might still have to improve on the 36-second spread it raced to in winning its regional.
Geneva (IL)
Competing as: Geneva RC
Credentials: MileSplit US #4. Illinois 3A State Champion. Nike Midwest Regional Champion.
Varsity: Megan Brady, Tess Ehrhardt, Meghan Heuer, Sarah Heuer, Kelly Shogren, Liza Tauscher, Kelly Whitley
Signature moment: Won the Illinois State meet by a whopping 115 points.
Word on the street: For some reason, Geneva has not gotten the same attention as F-M, Saugus and recently Tatnall, despite being ranked among the top 5 nationally for a majority of the season. Lack of respect alone could provide the necessary incentive.
Burnt Hills (NY)
Competing as: Burnt Hills TC
Credentials: MileSplit US #5. At-large bid.
Varsity: Kiersten Anderson, Alyssa Drapeau, Riley Wilk, Sam Roecker, Meagan Roecker, Molly Pezzulo, Meaghan Gregory
Signature moment: Despite the absence of F-M, Burnt Hills put it all together to win the NY Federation meet.
Word on the street: Sam Roecker will give Burnt Hills a strong presence at the front.
If they can run as a team the way they did at the Fed meet, there are very few teams in the country that can beat them.
Saratoga Springs (NY)
Competing as: Kinetic RC
Credentials: MileSplit US #6. Nike NY Regional runner-up.
Varsity: Brianne Bellon, Amanda Borroughs, Madison Carr, Megan Conway, Cassie Goutos, Keelin Hollowood, Sydney King
Signature moment: Solid NXN regional performance when it needed it most to earn the automatic bid.
Word on the street: Good things can happen for Saratoga if its veteran runners can return to form and crack its top five with performances they’ve produced in the past, and its youngsters can handle the pressure and limelight of the national stage. Won the NTN Championship in 2004.
Jesuit (OR)
Competing as: Crusader Harriers
Credentials: MileSplit US # 7. Oregon 6A Champion. Nike Northwest Region Champion.
Varsity: Adrienne Demaree, Sabrah DeVoir, Claire Hagler, AnnaMarie Maag, Shannon Mahoney, Payton Schutte, Noelle VanRysselberghe
Signature moment: Annamarie Maag becomes first individual champion since 1993. Took five of the top 13 places to win adidas CC Classic.
Word on the street: Already won the Nike Pre-National meet at Portland Meadows. Of course, the competition will be a wee bit more accelerated this time around. But don't count the Crusaders completely out, they have risen to the occasion all year. A top 5 finish is a reality.
Queensbury (NY)
Competing as: Adirondack Runners
Credentials: MileSplit US #8. At-large bid.
Varsity: Danielle Winslow, Brittany Winslow, Morgan Mueller, Carly Wynn, Juliann Lajoie, Katie Messina, Jolie Navatka
Signature moment: Placed third in the Eastern States race at the Manhattan College Invitational, beating Burnt Hills, Lincoln-Sudbury and Saratoga Springs.
Word on the street: Winslow is running her best at the right time of the year. This will be a chance for Queensbury to step out of the shadows of the other NY superpowers. Fourth best team in New York could finish high among the top 10.
Collins Hill (GA)
Competing as: Suwanee XC
Credentials: MileSplit US #9, Georgia 5A Champion, Nike Southeast Regional runner-up.
Varsity: Nicky Akande, Briana Crawford, Allyson McGinty, Chloe Whitworth, Sydney Williams, Amanda Winslow, Vicky Winslow
Signature moment(s): Won state meet by 66 points. Dropped a heartbreaking tiebreaker to Tatnall at Maymont.
Word on the street: Ran well at the regional, unfortunately Tatnall simply ran better. Expect a good showing at nationals from this returning NTN finalist from a year ago.
Fort Collins (CO)
Competing as: Fort Collins
Credentials: MileSplit US #10. Colorado 5A state champions, NXN SW regional champions, 7th place at NTN 2007
Varsity: Miranda Benzel, Rachel Viger, Kirsten Follett, Tati Ogan, Marci Witczak, Denise Chilson, Abby Miller
Signature moment: Dominant team in Colorado 5A ranks all season long, but had their best meet of the season in winning the NXN SW championship. They appear to be hitting on all cylinders going into NXN.
Word on the street: When Rachel Viger has a great meet, Ft. Collins has a great meet. A healthy Rachel Viger running strong seems to lift the fortunes of this team. Marci Witczak and Rachel Viger had huge races at NXN SW and could be key to their hopes once again at nationals.
The Woodlands (TX)
Competing as: The Woodlands TC
Credentials: MileSplit US #11; Texas State Champion; First time NXN National qualifier; NXN South Regional Champion.
Varsity: Sarah Andrews, Samantha Thompson, Colleen Murray, Margo Lyons, Shawn Dalglish, Shelby Hays, Jordan Wiseman
Signature moment(s): Placing 2nd at the prestigious Woodbridge Invitational in California. The Highlanders cruised to the girls state title, scoring 61 points. It is the second team title in school history and first since 1989.
Word on the street: Junior Sarah Andrews has been dominating competition all year. She will be one the favorites to win the Individual title. This team is loaded with young talent. The key to this team doing well is between 3-5, If they run well the team should place top 10.
