Nike Cross Nationals

Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) (formerly known as Nike Team Nationals) is an invitational cross country meet that serves as the unofficial team national championship of United States high school cross country. It was designed to heighten competition between high school cross country teams nationwide. NXN is a part of the Nike Nationals Series, which includes Nike Indoor Nationals, Nike Outdoor Nationals and Nike Track Nationals for track and field. Nike Track Nationals was recently announced by Nike, which sponsors all of these national events.

History

NTN was started in 2004 along with the other two meets in the Nike Nationals Series in order to promote the national circuit for high school competitive running. The inaugural race in 2004 consisted of 21 boys teams and 20 girls teams and was seen by an estimated 4,000 spectators. Kinetic XC Club of Saratoga High School, which had been ranked in polls as the number one girls team in the country for the past decade, dominated the girls race with a score of 51. Kroy XC Club of York High School won the boys race with 92 points. The race featured a special award called the "Golden Anchor," given to the top four number five runners in each race.

The 2005 race saw the introduction of an eighth man race, which was held before the main event races, and in 2006 combined with the open race.

An Open Race was new to the 2006 event, with 30 top boys and girls from around the country given the chance to compete as a team on the national level; however they did not qualify and therefore Nike did not provide their expenses or clothing. Also new to 2006 was a revision of the course. On December 2, 2006 a Kenyan boys team and a Kenyan girls team were also flown in to partake in the open events; the teams dominated the North American course and showed spectators a whole new view of racing.

On April 25, 2008, Nike announced that it will change their name from NTN to NXN (Nike Cross Nationals). Along with the two teams from each region that make it to NXN, Nike will also take the next five individuals from each region and they will also be able to compete in the same race, just without a team.

This new format has created many conflicts with Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. The FLCC has been one of the most prestigious high school cross country races since the 1970s. With the different regions for FL and NXN (changed to nike cross nationals in 2008 to recognize individual achievement) and both races/qualifying races near the same dates as the other, runners are faced with a tough decision to make.

The Competition

In the past, Nike has selected 20 teams from around the nation to compete in the NTN meet, which typically was held the first weekend in December (Nike Team Nationals is preceded by Nike Pre-Nationals in late November). These selections were based on regional and national rankings updated weekly during the fall cross country season. Teams were selected on "Selection Sundays", typically following the finish of state meets. There were eight regions across the country: Northeast, Southeast, South, Midwest, Heartland, Southwest, Northwest, and California. In addition, four at-large teams were selected, which could be from any region. Starting with the fourth NTN meet, however, the entry procedures changed; New York became its own region due to the girls' teams over the years dominating the meet (see below), raising the number of selected teams to 22. Also, regional meets held in each of the regions (except for California; will use end-of-season performances) now guarantee the top two finishing teams invites, most likely due to complaints about how a team should have gone, but didn't. New York was originally going to use the top 2 teams in the Federation Meet, but it was changed to also have a regional meet. This upset some fans, and cause some teams to skip the Federations meet to prepare for the NTN regional. There will still be four at-large teams chosen by the NTN committee, in addition to the top two teams from each region.

The event is held in the second weekend of December in Portland, Oregon, at the Portland Meadows thoroughbred racing track. The race features a man-made 5 kilometer course that is completed with three loops, following European cross country tradition. The venue has an enclosed 3,000 seat grandstand, allowing spectators to see the whole race, unlike normal cross country meets. The infield of the track, where the course is set up, is also open to spectators who wish to get a more close-up view of the race.

NXN has a reputation for being extremely muddy. The course is located not only in the rainy Pacific Northwest but also in a low area and a drainage basin. It is a common sight to see runners soaked in mud at the end of NXN races.

Since NXN is held on the same weekend as the Foot Locker Cross Country West Regional Championship, in 2005 and 2006, the top two runners at NXN who would have otherwise competed in the west region earned automatic bids to the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championship.

Boys NTN/NXN Team and Individual Champions

Again, Nike Cross Nationals was Nike Team Nationals (NTN) in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. Since 2008 it has been named Nike Cross Nationals (NXN).

On the far left, click the year for complete results provided by Nike. On the far right, click DyeStat for complete coverage provided by DyeStat of that year's NTN/NXN Championship.

Year	Team Champion	Runner Up	Individual Champion	Coverage
2004	Kroy XC Club (York High School) Elmhurst, Illinois 92 points	Stotan XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius High School) Fayetteville-Manlius, New York 127 points	Sean McNamara (Illinois) 15:43.9	DyeStat
2005	Saratoga XC Club (Saratoga Springs High School), Saratoga, New York 111 points	Elmhurst XC Club (York High School) 134 points	Kenny Klots (Oregon) 16:25.8	DyeStat
2006	Bridgetown XC Club (Coatesville High School), Coatesville, Pennsylvania 126 points	Simi West XC Club (Royal High School (California) 148 points	James Murdock (New York) 16:26.9	DyeStat
2007	Naperville XC Club (Neuqua Valley High School), Naperville, Illinois 125 points	Los Alamos XC Club (Los Alamos High School), Los Alamos, New Mexico 127 points	Chris Derrick (Illinois) 15:39.8	DyeStat
2008	North Spokane XC Club (North Central High School), Spokane, Washington 134 points	Elmhurst XC Club (York High School), Illinois 151 points	Reed Connor (Texas) 15:13.6	DyeStat
2009	Boerne XC Club (Boerne Independent School District), Boerne, Texas 195 points	South Spokane XC Club (Joel E. Ferris High School), Spokane, Washington 201 points	Craig Lutz (Texas) 15:09.2	DyeStat
2010	Arcadia XC Club (Arcadia High School) , Arcadia, California 92 points	Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius High School), New York 135 points	Lukas Verzbicas (Illinois) 15:59.2	DyeStat
2011				DyeStat

Girls NTN/NXN Team and Individual Champions

Again, results are linked by year—DyeStat Coverage at the far right.

Year	Team Champion	Runner-Up	Individual Champion	Coverage
2004	Kinetic RC (Saratoga High School), Saratoga, New York 51 points	Sisu XC (Smoky Hill High School), Aurora, Colorado 125 points	Ramsay Kavan (South Dakota) 18:05.37	DyeStat
2005	Hilton XC Club (Hilton High School), Hilton, New York 85 points	Saratoga Streaks (Saratoga High School), New York 112 points	(Betsy Bies (South Dakota) 19:23.47	DyeStat
2006	Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius High School), Manlius, New York 128 points	Hilton XC Club (Hilton High School), New York 178 points	Ashley Higginson (New Jersey) 19:18.4	DyeStat
2007	Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius High School), Manlius, New York 83 points	Newhall XC Club (Saugus High School (California)) 171 points	Madeline Morgan (Alabama) 18:54.5	DyeStat
2008	Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius High School), Manlius, New York 66 points	Santa Clarita XC (Saugus High School), California 135 points	Chelsey Sveinsson (Texas) 17:26.9	DyeStat
2009	Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius High School), Manlius, New York 74 points	Kinetic RC (Saratoga High School), New York 146 points	Katie Flood (Iowa) 17:47.20	DyeStat
2010	Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius High School), Manlius, New York 27 points	Kinetic XC Club (Saratoga High School), New York 104 points	Rachel Johnson (Texas) 18:18.6	DyeStat
2011				DyeStat

Summaries

2004

The first-ever Nike Team Nationals were held on December 4, 2004 at Portland Meadows. The inaugural NTN Championships were hailed as the definitive championship of team cross country, as no prep cross country meet prior to this date had brought together the best teams in the nation, and therefore teams such as the York High School (Illinois) boys and Saratoga High School (New York) girls had dominated the polls for the vast majority of the preceding fifteen years. York and Saratoga were tagged as the favorites.

The meet lived up to its hype. The favorites delivered as expected. Sean McNamara of York won the boys individual title in 15:44, and Ramsay Kavan of South Dakota took the girls individual title with an 18:05 clocking.

York High School (Elmhurst, Illinois), having won twenty-four IHSA state championships and laid claim to numerous national titles in the preceding decades, cemented their place as one of the greatest high school programs in history with their national title, beating runner-up Fayetteville-Manlius (New York) 92-127. York's 92 points is still tied for the lowest boys score in Nike Cross Nationals history.

On the girls side, Saratoga High School (New York) completely demolished the field. Saratoga had four individuals qualify for the FootLocker Nationals out of one regional, an unprecedented feat in cross-country history. Saratoga easily outdistanced runner-up Smoky Hills High School (Aurora, Colorado) 51-125. The 2004 Saratoga team has been billed as the "Greatest Team Ever", and their 51 points would stand until the 2010 Championships.

2005

The second edition of the Nike Team Nationals championships, held on December 3, 2005, again at Portland Meadows, was an extremely muddy affair: The all-time slowest girls individual championship time was set, and the second-slowest boys individual championship time was set this year.

In the boys race, following on the heels of the "Greatest Team Ever" Saratoga girls the previous year, the Saratoga boys claimed a national championship of their own, taking the victory by 23 points over defending champion York, 111-134. Kenny Klots (Oregon) ran to a muddy 16:25 win.

On the girls side, New York continued its national dominance: Hilton High School claimed the national crown from Saratoga, who finished 2nd, 27 points behind: 85-112. South Dakota continued its hold on the girls individual championship, with Betsy Bies winning in a mud-filled 19:23 victory.

In spite of the extreme mud, there was almost universal opinion among the runners and fans alike that "This was REAL cross country!"

2006

The third annual Nike Team Nationals championship, held again at Portland Meadows on December 2, 2006, saw the first team not from New York or Illinois to win either a boys' or girls' championship.

Coatesville High School (Pennsylvania) won the boys team title a 22 point spread, 126-148 over Royal High School (California). Individually, James Murdock (New York) won the individual title in the slowest boys' time ever with a 16:27 finish. 2004 National Champion and 2005 National Runner-Up York finished 10th after being one of the favorites to win a second national championship.

On the girls side, Ashley Higginson from New Jersey won in 19:18, five seconds faster than the previous year's champion. In the team race, however, New York continued its stranglehold on the girls Nike Team National title. After Saratoga and Hilton won the previous two years, Fayetteville-Manlius became the third different girls team from New York to win the national title.

Fayetteville-Manlius had been out of the running until they won the New York state championships, and then followed that up with the New York Federations championships. They capped their season with a fifty point national title victory over the defending champions, Hilton, 128-178.

2007

Illinois and New York continued their Nike Team Nationals dominance in the fourth edition of the event at Portland Meadows on December 1, 2007.

For 2007, Nike began running Regional championships in nine regions: Heartland, Midwest, Northwest, Northeast, New York, South, Southwest, Southeast. California had its own 'regionals' by selection.

In the boys race, favored Neuqua Valley High School (Naperville, Illinois) won in the closest margin in the team scoring over Los Alamos High School (Los Alamos, New Mexico), 125-127. Neuqua Valley's championship scoring started with the national champion, Chris Derrick, who had won the Illinois state meet and the NTN Midwest Regional Championship, and added a then-record-setting NTN time to his resume with a 15:39 victory.

On the opposite side in the girls race, the word "close" was nowhere to be found in the team scoring, as defending national champion Fayetteville-Manlius (New York) romped to an 88 point win over runner-up Saugus High School (California), 83-171, which is still the largest in Nike Cross Nationals history. With the victory, Fayetteville-Manlius became the first school to win consecutive national titles as well as the first school to win multiple national titles for one gender. Individually, Madeline Morgan of Alabama won the girls championship in 18:54.

2008

Speed was the word in the fifth running of the Nike Team Nationals on December 6, 2008. However, the event wasn't Nike Team Nationals anymore: Nike had changed the middle word to Nike Cross Nationals instead. Therefore, Nike Team Nationals, or NTN, instead became Nike Cross Nationals, or NXN.

Illinois and New York continued adding to their impressive performances at NXN.

In the boys team race, North Central High School (Spokane, Washington) won the national title 134-151 over York (Illinois). With their runner-up finish, York became the only boys team in NXN history to either win the championship or finish runner-up more than two times. Additionally, York became the only team, either boys or girls, to qualify for NXN in each of the first five years of its existence. Adding to the impressive Illinois resume on the boys side, state champion Naperville North (Naperville, Illinois) finished third.

In the girls team race, New York continued its monopoly on the girls team title, with Fayetteville-Manlius continuing to build their dynasty, becoming the first team to win three consecutive national titles, beating runner-up Saugus (California) for the second year in a row, this time by a 69 point spread.

In the individual championships, Texas swept the titles with Reed Connor winning on the boys side in 15:14, and Chelsey Sveinsson taking the girls victory in 17:27—both times were NXN records.

2009

The sixth running of the Nike Cross Nationals at Portland Meadows took place on December 5, 2009.

In the boys race, the third different national champion in three season came from a third different state. Boerne High School (Texas) won the national title with 195 points, the highest score for a national champion in history, either boys or girls. Ferris High School (Spokane, Washington) finished six points behind Boerne. Craig Lutz completed the Texas sweep with an NXN record 15:09 clocking.

In the girls side, consistency was the name of the game. For the third time in NXN history, New York teams went 1-2 as Saratoga High School reclaimed runner-up status to Fayetteville-Manlius from fourth-place Saugus (California). The Fayetteville-Manlius dynasty continued with a 74 point team score to top Saratoga's 146 for their fourth consecutive national title as Katie Flood (Iowa) took the girls individual crown in a time of 17:47.

2010

The seventh annual Nike Cross Nationals took place, as usual, at Portland Meadows on December 4, 2010.

In the boys individual race, Illinois state champion, NXN-Midwest Regional Champion, and FootLocker Midwest Regional Champion Lukas Verzbicas came to Portland Meadows looking for an Nike Cross Nationals Championship as the first part of a NXN/Footlocker sweep. Verzbicas delivered with a 15:59 victory in the mud.

In the team championship, California finally claimed a team national championship for the first time ever, with the Arcadia boys winning with 92 points to surprise runner-up Fayetteville-Manlius (New York)'s 135 points. Arcadia tied the inaugural 2004 national champions, York, for the lowest scoring team in NXN history.

Individually for the girls, the state of Texas won their fourth individual championship in three years, with Rachel Johnson taking the girls championship in a muddy 18:19 victory.

After Johnson, however, it was entirely the Fayetteville-Manlius dynasty. After Boerne (Texas) set the NXN record for the highest scoring champion, either boys or girls (with 195 points) the previous year, Fayetteville-Manlius set the NXN record for the lowest score, either boys or girls en route to their fifth consecutive national championship with a miniscule 27 points. Manlius girls scored 1-2-4 with only a Tatnall (Delaware) girl preventing a 1-2-3 Fayetteville-Manlius sweep.

Saratoga High School finished runner-up with 104 points for the fourth New York 1-2 finish in NXN history. Fayetteville-Manlius had scored a perfect 15 at the New York state championships, then scored 28 at NXN-New York Regional. They scored one point less at the national finals than they did at regionals.

Courtney Chapman, the only senior in the Fayetteville-Manlius lineup, is the only runner ever to win five team national titles. Chapman was a part of Fayetteville-Manlius' first national title in 2006 as an 8th grader. 8th graders are allowed to participate if state association rules permit them to do so.

As if that's not enough, Fayetteville-Manlius's 27 points were enough to beat the entire rest of the nation combined. If you were to remove all the individual runners and score the entire rest of the field as one, Fayetteville-Manlius defeats the nation 27-30.

Fayetteville: 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 12 = 27 points
Rest of Nation: 3 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 9 = 30 points

2011

The eighth running of the Nike Cross Nationals will be held on December 3, 2011. The meet will be once again held at Portland Meadows.

The twenty-two teams will be determined by eight regional championship meets with the top two teams automatically qualifying to Portland, plus the top five individuals NOT on a qualifying team. California's top two will be by selection as their state meet concludes the week before NXN. Four at-large teams will win bids to NXN.

York (Elmhurst, Illinois) boys were able to qualify for NXN for an eighth consecutive year, extending their record streak and remaining the only team, boys or girls, to qualify for NXN every year in its existence.

Carroll girls (Southlake, Texas) were able to qualify for NXN for the 7th time. They have made it more often than any other girls team, qualifying every year except 2008.

Additionally, another main storyline is to see if the Fayetteville-Manlius (New York) girls dynasty will win a sixth consecutive national title and continue the state of New York's stranglehold on the girl's national championship.

Qualifiers through 11/13/11:

Qualifying TEAMS are IN BOLD. Teams that are ITALICIZED are at-large possibilties.

Boys:

Northwest: North Central (Washington), Gig Harbor (Washington), Seattle Prep (Washington), Eisenhower (Washington)

Individuals: Anthony Armstrong (Washington), Izaic Yorks (Washington), Dallin Farnsworth (Idaho), Korey Krotzer (Washington), Joe Hardy (Washington)

Heartland: Stillwater (Minnesota), Arrowhead (Wisconsin), Bismarck (North Dakota), Burnsville (Minnesota)

Individuals: Tony Smoragiewicz (North Dakota), Jake Leingang (North Dakota), Chandler Diffee (Wisconsin), Brandon Clark (Minnesota), Josh Thorson (Minnesota)

Midwest: Columbus North (Indiana), York (Illinois), Palatine (Illinois), Naperville (Neuqua Valley, Illinois)

Individuals: Futsum Zeinasellassie (Indiana), Michael Clevenger (Illinois), Malachy Schrobilgen (Illinois), Zach Herriott (Missouri), Sam Wharton (Ohio)

Southwest (November 19): American Fork (Utah), Davis (Utah), Fort Collins (Colorado), Vista Nation (Colorado)

Individuals: Luis Martinez (New Mexico), Danny Carney (Colorado), Gus Waneka (Colorado), Thomas Jackson (New Mexico), Jordan Cross (Utah)

South (November 19): Southlake Carroll (Texas), The Woodlands (Texas), Bentonville (Arkansas), Cedar Park (Texas)

Individuals: Daniel Veritz (Texas), Kevyn Hoyos (Texas), Craig Nowak (Texas), Cale Wallace (Texas), Ryan Teel (Texas)

Southeast (November 26):

Individuals:

Northeast (November 26):

Individuals:

New York (November 26):

Individuals:

California (selection):

Individuals:

AT-LARGE SELECTIONS (after all regionals completed):

Girls:

Northwest: Summit (Oregon), Glacier Peak (Washington), Bozeman (Montana), Camas (Washington)

Individuals: Katie Knight (Washington), Alexa Efraimson (Washington), Erin Clark (Oregon), Sara Tsai (Oregon), Paige Rice (Oregon)

Heartland: Monticello (Minnesota) , Neenah (Wisconsin), Dowling Catholic (Iowa), Hartland (Wisconsin)

Individuals: Maria Hauger (Minnesota), Stephanie Jenks (Iowa), Jenna Truedson (Minnesota), Danielle Anderson (Minnesota), Alli Cash (Kansas)

Midwest: Carmel (Indiana), New Trier (Illinois) Prospect (Illinois), Mason (Ohio)

Individuals: Amanda Fox (Illinois), Samantha Nightingale (Missouri), Avery Evenson (Michigan), Kaylee Flanagan (Illinois), Claudia Sanders (Ohio)

Southwest (November 19): Fort Collins (Colorado), Xavier Prep (Arizona), Monarch (Colorado), Classical Academy (Colorado)

Individuals: Summer Harper (Utah), Rolonda Jumbo (Arizona), Elise Cranny (Colorado), Sarah Feeny (Utah), Jamie Stokes (Utah)

South (November 19): Southlake Carroll (Texas), Kingwood (Texas), College Park (Texas), The Woodlands (Texas)

Individuals: Madi McLellan (Texas), Karis Jochen (Texas), Alexandra Davis (Oklahoma), Safiya Belbina (Texas), Magdelana Escobar (Texas)

Southeast (November 26):

Individuals:

Northeast (November 26):

Individuals:

New York (November 26):

Individuals:

California (selection):

Individuals:

AT-LARGE SELECTIONS (after all regionals completed):

Trivia

• Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius High School) is the only team, either boys or girls to win back to back Nike Team Nationals. Not only have they won back-to-back national championships, they have now won five championships in a row.
• Saratoga High School is the only school to win Nike Team Nationals both on the girls side (2004), and on the boys side (2005).
• Since the first NTN in 2004, all seven girls national champions have been team from the state of New York. Saratoga won the inaugural one, Hilton the second, and Fayetteville-Manlius the last five.
• Nike Cross Nationals is an unofficial national race, and because of this schools are not allowed to use their actual school name. In most cases schools will use their city name plus "XC Club."
• Course records held by Craig Lutz(TX) in 15:09.2 and Chelsey Sveinsson(TX) in 17:26.9.
• Kroy XC Club (York Community High School) boys of Elmhurst, IL is the only team, either boys or girls, to have qualified for NTN/NXN all eight years the event has been held. The team won the inaugural NTN meet in 2004, and were runner-up in 2005 and 2008.
• Illinois has the most podium finishes (i.e. top 3 teams) for boys, with six podium finishes. New York leads the way with twelve podium finishes for the girls.
• Illinois also has the most individual winners for either gender, with three boys winning the individual championship. Texas, however, has had four individual championships, with two for each gender.
• The highest point total to win NXN is 195 points by Boerne (Texas) boys in the 2009 edition of NXN
• Conversely, the lowest score ever to win NXN is 27 points, set last year (2010) by five-time defending champion Fayetteville-Manlius (New York) girls.

External links

• 2006 Updated Course Map
• NTN's site on Dyestat.com
• Official NTN site
• Ekiden Japan's national high school championships

Sources

• Nike Cross Nationals homepage
• Dyestat Coverage of the 2006 NTN Championships
• KTVO-TV Report about the 2006 NTN Championships