Nike Cross Nationals: The Portland Straightaway
December 06, 2011
The road to the Nike Cross High School Nationals has been a grueling journey of proverbial ups and downs as well as literal hills and muddy recesses. Over 8,500 elite cross-country runners and teams have competed in regional races to qualify for a coveted spot in the finals in Portland, Oregon on December 3rd. There, they’ll be racing for the title of the best high school harrier and team in the country.
This past weekend, all eyes were on Wappingers Falls, NY for two of the last regional races (New York and Northeast). For the girls team competition, in particular, Manlius XC (Manlius, NY) were the ones to watch as they’ve dominated NXN, winning the last 5 consecutive national championships. This year they didn’t disappoint their reputation beating out the competition with a mere 43 points. Hot on their heels was Kinetic RC (Saratoga Springs, NY), of course, who’s taken the runner-up spot in the finals for the last two years. Can they stamp out Manlius’ 6 in a row legacy? Expect an exhilarating showdown this Saturday.
What to Expect in Portland
With sunny skies and highs in the mid 40s, Saturday looks to be a beautiful running day at the Portland Thoroughbred Racing Track. For the boys, expect a wild card race that could be anyone’s game. No boys team or individual has ever secured consecutive titles, but defending champions Arcadia XC (Arcadia, CA) are vying to be the first to accomplish to this historical feat. For the girls, the New York showdown continues with Manlius XC and Kinetic likely to duel it out once again, but Portland’s notoriously muddy track could prove to be a sticky obstacle.
Get Close to the Action
Nike Running has complete coverage of the culminating final event at Facebook.com/NikeRunning —including streaming live video and audio commentary from elite athletes Dathan Ritzenhein, Lauren Fleshman and Chris Solinsky. Click on the Nike Cross Nationals Live tab where you can pledge support for your favorite team and follow your favorite runners’ progress throughout the race using our real-time tracker. The action starts at 9:30 am PST. Don’t miss this exciting event!
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Auto-Qualifiers
For the full results, visit NikeCrossNationals.com.
This past weekend, all eyes were on Wappingers Falls, NY for two of the last regional races (New York and Northeast). For the girls team competition, in particular, Manlius XC (Manlius, NY) were the ones to watch as they’ve dominated NXN, winning the last 5 consecutive national championships. This year they didn’t disappoint their reputation beating out the competition with a mere 43 points. Hot on their heels was Kinetic RC (Saratoga Springs, NY), of course, who’s taken the runner-up spot in the finals for the last two years. Can they stamp out Manlius’ 6 in a row legacy? Expect an exhilarating showdown this Saturday.
What to Expect in Portland
With sunny skies and highs in the mid 40s, Saturday looks to be a beautiful running day at the Portland Thoroughbred Racing Track. For the boys, expect a wild card race that could be anyone’s game. No boys team or individual has ever secured consecutive titles, but defending champions Arcadia XC (Arcadia, CA) are vying to be the first to accomplish to this historical feat. For the girls, the New York showdown continues with Manlius XC and Kinetic likely to duel it out once again, but Portland’s notoriously muddy track could prove to be a sticky obstacle.
Get Close to the Action
Nike Running has complete coverage of the culminating final event at Facebook.com/NikeRunning —including streaming live video and audio commentary from elite athletes Dathan Ritzenhein, Lauren Fleshman and Chris Solinsky. Click on the Nike Cross Nationals Live tab where you can pledge support for your favorite team and follow your favorite runners’ progress throughout the race using our real-time tracker. The action starts at 9:30 am PST. Don’t miss this exciting event!
--
Auto-Qualifiers
For the full results, visit NikeCrossNationals.com.
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