Spokane, WAâThis Saturday will be a big day for high school runners from the Spokane area, as the regionâs top harriers head south for post-season meets in California and Oregon. Nearly 50 individuals will be competing in the Foot Locker West Regional Cross Country Championships at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) in southern California, racing against their counterparts from eleven other Western States. On the same day boys teams from North Central and Ferris will try to put Spokane in the national spotlight again at Nike Cross Nationals, a meet that North Central won a year ago. Nike Cross Nationals are held at Portland Meadows race track in a meet that features 22 of the nationâs best high school cross country teams, with the winning team crowned the national champion.
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The Spokane contingent at the West Regional meetâone of four Foot Locker competitions held across the countryâis led by Baylee Mires of Mead and Allan Schroeder of Mt. Spokane. The North Central team at Nike Cross Nationals is led by Ben Johnston, winner of the 3A division at the Washington State Cross Country Championships this fall, while the Ferris team is led by Adam Thorne, who finished 3rd in the 4A division at State. In addition to the two boysâ teams at Nike Cross Nationals, freshman Katie Knight of North Central and senior Andrea Nelson of Shadle will be competing as individual runners in the girlsâ race.
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For the seventeenth straight year, over 30 Spokane-area runners had their airline tickets to the Foot Locker meet donated by the Lilac Bloomsday Association. The Bloomsday Association provides airline tickets and ground transportation to runners based on times at regional cross-country meets held in the fall.
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âThis should be a great weekend for Spokaneâs top high school runners,â said Lilac Bloomsday Association President Jerry OâNeal. âWeâre excited to see how the runners we sponsor to the Foot Locker Meet do, and either North Central or Ferris may be crowned as the top cross country team in the nation at the Portland race.â
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For runners competing in the Foot Locker West Regional Meet, the top ten boys and girls will advance to the Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals in San Diego on December 12, joining top qualifiers from the Northeast, South and Midwest.
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More information on the Foot Locker Regionals and Nationals may be obtained by logging on to www.footlockercc.com/west. Information on Nike Team Nationals is available at http://www.runnerspace.com/nxn.
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Runners sponsored to Foot Locker Meet by the Lilac Bloomsday Association:
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Girls:
1. Baylee MiresâMead
2. Kendra WeitzâShadle Park
3. Katie MorrisâShadle Park
4. Alicia DoohanâGonzaga Prep
5. Calli VanderWildeâLewis & Clark
6. Alison KeenanâLewis & Clark
7. Shayle DezellemâShadle Park
8. Danielle MaldonadoâMead
9. Molly ColeâMt. Spokane
10. Victoria KarschneyâFerris
11. Alex MooreâCentral Valley
12. Megan InmanâShadle Park
13. Kiah CondosâCentral Valley
14. Molly MartinâNorth Central
15. Kara WaltherâFerris
16. Sanne HollandâCheney
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Boys:
1. Allan SchroederâMt. Spokane
2. Andrew GardnerâMead
3. Nathan WeitzâShadle Park
4. Kenji BierigâLewis & Clark
5. Hunter JohnsonâMt. Spokane
6. Chris EnnisâLewis & Clark
7. Jon SmithâUniversity
8. Rudy SpencerâCentral Valley
9. Cory FossâMead
10. Christian BuckoâUniversity
11. Byron GrohâGonzaga Prep
12. Collin OverbayâGonzaga Prep
13. Connor JonesâMt. Spokane
14. Taylen HowlandâMead
15. Stephen HafferkampâShadle Park
16. Colton HastingsâColville
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