NXN on Saturday brought some expected outcomes and also surprises. Here is a recap of rainy race day at NXN.
Girls Race
The expected outcome came in the girl's race at Glendoveer Golf Course. Many expected Jane Hedengren of Timpview of Utah to come away with the individual victory and she delivered. Despite a wet and slippery course, Hedengren set a course record time of 16:32.7. The old course record was set by Katelyn Tuoy. Hedengren won by over forty seconds over the next competitor. The rest of the field had athletes with impressive resumes like 2023 NXN champion Addy Ritzenhein of Niwot, 2023 Footlocker champion Elizabeth Leachman of Boerne Champion and high school mile record holder Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura. Victoria Garces of Midland Dow (MI) finished second in a time of 17:13.4 and Leachman finished third in a time of 17:13.7. The top 21 athletes received All-American recognition and west coast athletes Sophia Rodriguez (8) of Mercer Island, Sadie Engelhardt (11) of Ventura, Victoria Rodriquez (12) of Mercer Island, Elektra Higgins (13) of Peninsula, Holly Barker (14) of Trabuco Hills, Emily Wisniewski (16) of Crescent Valley and Chloe Huyler (20) of Lakeridge all finished in the top 21.
Another expected outcome in the girl's race was Mountain Vista of Colorado winning the team competition with 75 points. Lone Peak of Utah finished second after finishing fourth at NXR SW and were added as an at-large team. Buchanan of California finished third thanks to their top four runners finishing less than four seconds apart. Other west coast team finishes included Trabuco Hills at seventh, JSerra at 16th and Lincoln (OR) at 20th.
To view the girls race gallery, click HERE
To view the girl's pre and post race photos, click HERE
Boys Race
The boy's race provided surprising results. With a thousand meters to go in the race, six boys had a legitimate shot of being crowned the boy's NXN champion. Charlie Vause of Rio Rancho (NM) surprised the crowd with his 15:28.1 victory. TJ Hanson of Freeland (MI) finished second in a time of 15:30.6 and Caden Leonard of Southlake Carroll (TX) took third in 15:31.0 despite falling with 1000 meters to go in the race. Vause didn't make NXN in 2023, finished second at the New Mexico State Meet and finished third at NXR SW. Vause did win at the prestigious Desert Twilight in September. Several west coast athletes made it in the top 21 to receive All-American honors including Evan Noonan (5) of Dana Hills (5), Tayvon Kitchen (11) of Crater and Eyan Turk (18) of Woodcrest Christian.
Many pegged Herriman of Utah as the team favorite to win NXN, but Niwot of Colorado, who returned all seven runners from last year's third place NXN team, won NXN with 70 points. American Fork of Utah finished second with 96 points and Herriman took third with 106 points. The southwest region swept the boy's podium and the southwest girls finished first and second. Also both individual winners came from NXR SW! Jesuit of California led the west coast teams with an 11th place finish, followed by Menlo Schools placing at 15, Jesuit of Oregon finishing at 16 and Glendora at 17th place.
To view the boys race gallery, click HERE
To view the boy's pre and post race photos, click HERE
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