Foot Locker South Preview Update

Mid Season Rankings

by Darrin DeTorres

We are about half way though the high school cross country season and are beginning to see a clearer picture of what Foot Locker South could look like. Below we rank the top 5 guys and girls based on performance plus we will throw in a few honorable mentions. Next preview is set to come out the week leading up to Foot Locker South.

Girls

1) Sophie Chase (12^th) Lake Braddock – Virginia

She is not only the #1 returning female prep in the South, she is also one of the top-returning runners in the country. She recently won the Nike South Invite by 14 seconds over the very formidable Katie Jensen (P.R. of10:24 in 3200m) of The Woodlands College Park. If all goes well for Sophie this year a top 3 finish at nationals is not out of the question.

Tie 2) Karis Jochen (12^th) A&M Consolidated HS – Texas

Karis is in the #2 returning athlete in the South and finished only 1 place behind Chase at last year’s Foot Locker Nationals. Karis is undefeated on the season running sub 17:30 twice this year, both for wins. Karis is also one to watch for a top placing at the national meet.

Tie 2) Alana Hadley (10^th) Charlotte – North Carolina

It is hard to justify ranking Alana any lower than second based on her performances these past few weeks. Alana recently won the Royals XC Challenge at a place that shares venues with Foot Locker South course, McAlpine Greenway. Alana ran 17:16 for the win beating former Foot Locker National Champion Ashley Brasovan who placed 7^th in a time of 17:54. She also placed 3^rd in the Adidas XC Challenge, running the college race unattached. She beat two former Foot Locker Qualifiers in the process, Megan Moye and Samantha George.

4) Carmen Carlos (12^th) McGill-Toolen – Alabama

Carmen is the one of two girls in the top 5 that hasn’t run at Foot Locker Nationals, but is the only one with a National High School title to her name. After finishing 28^th at last year’s South Regional meet, Carmen came back full steam winning the New Balance Indoor National Championship for 2 miles in a time of 10:25. Carmen has been slightly overlooked this season, but after running a very good 17:26  at the Jesse Owens XC Classic she proved she is a contender.

5) Maggie Drazba (12^th) St. Mary’s – West Virginia

As the #8 returner in the South, Maggie will be looking to earn her first trip to San Diego. Maggie recently won the Great American Invitational in a time of 17:27 at the Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary, NC. Her time was only 11 seconds off that of which Alana Hadley had run 2 weeks earlier on the same course.

Honorable Mention

Wesley Frazier – Charlotte, North Carolina

Hannah Christen – Burke, Virginia

Laura Miller – Greenville, South Carolina

Caroline Alorca – Springfield, Virginia

Bailey Davis – Louisville, Kentucky

Guys

1) Sean McGorty (12^th) Chantilly - Virginia

Sean earns the top spot on the list after winning the Great American XC Festival in a very quick meet record 14:43.  He followed up his Great American performance by running 14:45 at the Glory Days Grill Invitational, beating Thomas Madden by 18 seconds! McGorty is the #5 returning runner in the country.

2) Jacob Thomson  (12^th) Holy Cross – Kentucky

Jacob comes in to this ranking the #2 runner in the South after losing to Sean McGorty by a mere 3/10^ths of a second. Great American was Thomson’s second time getting under 15 this season as he also ran 14:52 for the win at the Trinity/Valkerie Invitational. Thomson is the #6 returning runner in the nation and will be looking to add Foot Locker All American to his many accolades.

3) Joshua Brickell (12^th) – Peachtree Ridge – Georgia

Brickell drops to 3^rd in the rankings after losing to McGorty and Thomson at the Great American Cross Country Invitational. Brickell recently won the Bale N Trail Invitational in Jacksonville, Florida beating a very good Andres Arroyo from Colonial high school in Orlando.  Brickell is the #4 returner and will be looking to improve on last year’s 8^th place national finish.

4) Thomas Madden (12^th) Skyline – Virginia

Madden was the 4^th place finisher at the Great American XC invitational in a time of 14:59. With a PR of 8:56 in the 3200m mixed with the fact that he is a previous Foot Locker Finalist, one can only expect that he will both qualify for the big race and will improve on last year’s 23^rd place finish.

5) Colin Godwin (12^th) Cary Academy – North Carolina

Colin is a new comer to the rankings, but is one to watch.  Godwin won the Adidas Cross Country Challenge in a time of 15:13 against Great American 5^th place finisher Bakri Abushouki. Colin also has the benefit of having been in a program that is used to having Foot Locker Qualifiers, having seen former teammate, Thomas Graham, qualify twice and finish in the top 10 last year.

Honorable Mention

Bakri Abushouki – Cary, North Carolina

Robert Domanic – Carrollton, Texas

Jack Manesiotis – Hilton Head, South Carolina

Ben Huffman – Charlotte, North Carolina

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  Foot Locker South Week 1 Rankings

 
Cross Country season is underway and while most athletes have their sights set on peaking for their conference or state meets, there is an elite few that are looking to peak for Foot Locker Nationals. For those who are new to the sport, Foot Locker Nationals (Formerly Kinney XC Nationals) is the premier event for high school cross country.  

80 individuals (40 boys and 40 girls) from across the country battle for a spot to compete in this prestigious event. The event qualification process consists of athletes running in 1 of 4 regional meets (Northeast , South, Midwest, and West) and placing within the top 10 of their gender’s seeded race. The qualifying athletes, 10 boys and 10 girls from each region, are then flown out to San Diego, California to compete for the title of Foot Locker Cross Country Champion.

The race has a rich history in bringing future world class competitors to compete, names like Jenny Simpson, Alan Webb, Galen Rupp, and Suzy Favor-Hamilton have all toed the line in hopes of a national championship title. Just to make this elite race, an athlete opens the doors to thousands of dollars worth of scholarship money and the ability to run at the top colleges in the country. It is the dream of many athletes to add the Foot Locker Qualifier title to their resume, and this season 80 of these athletes will see that dream come true.

DistancePreps.com will be covering the South region this fall with updates and news on prospective qualifiers.  All rankings are subjective views of the pollster and there will be an extreme weight given to former qualifiers. If you have the inside scoop on an athlete that we may have over looked please send that information to Darrin DeTorres at [email protected].  Good luck to all athletes competing this season!

Boys Top 5

The top 5 favorites to make it were all previous qualifiers for last years national meet. I did include a few harriers to watch for as they also could very well be in the top 5. Included in these are Andres Arroyo from Colonial HS in Orlando, Florida, who took a spill at last years South meet but came back to completely dominate all distance events during the Florida track season. I also included Nicholas Tuck; he is not only one of the favorites based on time, but he also is a teammate of Sophie Chase. The coaching staff at Lake Braddock in Virginia might be preparing to take 3 athletes to San Diego this season!


1. Joshua Brickell (12th) – Peachtree Ridge -Georgia
Foot Locker South 2011 – 14:41 (4th)
Foot Locker Nationals 2011 – 15:24 (8th)
Golden South Classic 2012  1600m – 4:12 (2nd)
Georgia 5A State Championships  3200 – 9:10 (1st)

2. Sean McGorty (12th) – Chantily - Virginia
Foot Locker South 2011 – 14:54 (6th)
Foot Locker Nationals 2011 – 15:28 (10th)
Nike Elite Miles at the Trials – 4:11.95 (8th)
NB Nationals 2 mile – 9:05 (7th)

3. Jacob Thomson  (12th) Holy Cross – Kentucky
Foot Locker South 2011 – 14:55 (7th)
Foot Locker Nationals 2011 – 15:41 (19th)
Arcadia Invitational 2012 3200 – 8:58 (15th)

4. Robert Domanic (12th) Lewisville Hebron – Texas
Foot Locker South 2011 – 15:02 (10th)
Foot Locker Nationals 2011 – 15:42 (20th)
North Texas 1600 2012 – 4:15  (2nd)

5. Thomas Madden (12th) Skyline – Virginia
Foot Locker South 2011 – 14:56 (8th)
Foot Locker Nationals 2011 – 15:45 (23rd)
Southern Track Classic 2 mile 2012 – 8:59 (1st)

Others to watch:
Andres Arroyo - Florida
Jack Manesiotis – South Carolina
Nick Tuck  – Virginia
Brock Baker – Tennessee
Trevor Sleight – North Carolina

Girls Top 5

This one is going to be a hard one because of injuries. During the spring Grace Tinkey and Olivia Ortiz who both qualified for Foot Locker in 2011, both had their share of set backs and in the case of Grace, will be fighting to get healthy come Foot Locker South. Due to the injuries I am leaving them out of the top 5, but will put them back as soon as I hear they are running again. Unlike the boys, the girls top 5 will consist of both returning qualifiers and girls new on the scene.

1. Sophie Chase (12th) Lake Braddock – Virginia
Foot Locker South 2011 – 17:06 (2nd)
Foot Locker Nationals 2011 – 17:45 (11th)
New Balance Outdoor Nationals 2 mile 2012 – 10:19 (4th)
Patriot District T&F Championships 800m 2012 – 2:10 (1st)

2. Karis Jochen (12th) A&M Consolidated HS – Texas
Foot Locker South 2011 – 17:31 (9th)
Foot Locker Nationals 2011 – 17:45 (12th)
UIL T&F Championship 2012 3200m – 10:31 (3rd)

3. Alana Hadley (10th) Charlotte- North Carolina
Foot Locker South 2011 – 17:27 (8th)
Foot Locker Nationals 2011 – 18:22 (34th)
Greek Festival 5k 8/18/2012 – 16:55 (1st)

4. Bridget Blake (12th) Dr. Phillips – Florida
Foot Locker South 2011 – 17:15 (7th)
Foot Locker Nationals 2011 – 18:37 (38th)
Pepsi Florida Relays 1600m – 4:56 (4th)

5. Hannah Christen (11th) Lake Braddok - Virginia
Foot Locker South 2011 – 18:08 (33rd)
New Balance Indoor Nationals 2 mile 2012 – 10:36 (6th)
New Balance Outdoor Nationals 2 mile 2012 – 10:26 (7th)
Monroe Parker Invitational 3 miler 2012 – 17:40 (1st)
Others to Watch:
Carmen Carlos –Alabama
Darby Middlebrook – North Carolina
Julie Wollrath – Florida
Margaret Drazba – West Virginia
Maggie Montoya - Arkansas