Elizabeth Leachman, Rachel Forsyth, Ellie Shea In Regional Qualifying Events That Could Set Them On Collision Course In San Diego; Drew Griffith, Patrick Koon and Cameron Todd Headline Boys Entries

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Saturday's first three Foot Locker regional meets will set the table for three-quarters of the annual championship meet in San Diego. 

The Northeast meet, which has been relocated to Franklin Park in Boston, and the South (McAlpine Park in Charlotte, N.C.) and the Midwest (UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis.) will include many of the country's top high school runners. 

On the girls side of things, Saturday brings about the season debut of Ellie Shea of Emerging Elites Club. Shea doesn't compete for her high school and usually surfaces late in the season, but the U.S. team bronze medalist from last February's World U20 Cross Country Championships is bound to draw some attention. She was second at year's CHAMPS Sports national final. 

In the South, Elizabeth Leachman of Boerne, Texas has been on a tear this season. And in the Midwest, Rachel Forsyth from Ann Arbor, Mich. looks like a national championship contender as well. 

If they get through their respective regionals, Leachman and Forsyth would go head-to-head twice in the coming weeks. Both are qualified for next week's Nike Cross Nationals in Portland. 

And for the boys, Northeast defending champion Drew Griffith of Butler, Pa., is back. And Cameron Todd of Indianapolis, who competes in the Midwest, is the highest placing returner from the national finals last December. Todd was sixth last year and this time around could be looking to join recent Hoosier state champions Cole Hocker (2018) and Kole Mathison (2022). 

The past five national champions on boys side have come from the Midwest region. 

Patrick Koon from Tallahassee, Fla., a 2021 national finalist and one of the top runners this season, headlines the South. 

Here is a closer look at the three regionals on Saturday. (The fourth, Foot Locker West, will take place Dec. 2 a Walnut, Calif.).

Northeast 

Championship races at 11:15 a.m. (boys) and Noon (girls), Eastern time

Two of the top three boys from last year, and five of the 10, are returning to the Marty Lewis boys championship race. Pennsylvanians Griffith and Ryan Pajak (Ringgold, Pa.) are ranked No. 2 and No. 8, respectively, in the most recent DyeStat Individual rankings. They are both headed off to college next year together at Notre Dame. 

Griffith won the PIAA Class AAA title this fall in 15:23; Pajak won the Class AA state final in 15:21. 

Paul Bergeron of Westford, Mass., won the Massachusetts All-State title Nov. 18 by 19 seconds and is undefeated this season. He was third at the Northeast regional last year and 15th in San Diego. 

Colin Whitaker of Lancaster, Pa. and Tamrat Gavenas from Andover, Mass. are also back to try and return to nationals. Gavenas and Whitaker finished 31st and 32nd, respectively, in last year's final. 

Shea enters the meet a bit of a mystery. She usually opens her season at the Mayor's Cup in Boston in October, but did not do that this year. But her track credentials, including a 9:53.36 2-mile at the Brooks PR meet, means she is part of any discussion about the national championship in cross country. 

She finished second to Karrie Baloga last year in San Diego by six seconds, in 16:55.1. 

Zariel Macchia from Shirley, N.Y., a junior, always has a way of finishing near the top, and she was sixth at the national finals last year. Macchia won the Nike XC Town Twilight earlier this year and is looking for her third national finals appearance. She was 12th as a freshman in 2021. 

Ruth White from Orono, Maine is also back after placing 17th last year at nationals. Emma Zawatski from Freehold Township, N.J. was 23rd at nationals. 

Midwest

Championship races at 10:40 a.m. (girls) and 11:25 a.m. (boys), Central time

The Midwest regional so often produces the national champion, from Lukas Verzbicas to Grant Fisher to Dylan Jacobs (10 of the past 15 champions) that the winner here will automatically be considered a national contender. 

Todd, the Indiana champion, is ranked No. 5 and already won the NXR Midwest title in 14:43.8 at LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind. He was 12 seconds faster there than he was in winning his state meet. 

Connell Alford from Chelsea, Mich., who was 14th at nationals last year, is also back from last year's Midwest contingent.

Juan Gonzalez, the Nebraska state champion, and Sam Scott of Minneapolis, have both made the NXN finals after placing in the top five at the NXR Heartland meet.

Top Coloradoans Benjamin Anderson, William Brunner and Matthew Edwards are all entered after competing at NXR Southwest last week. 

Forsyth crushed the course record at NXR Midwest and has been dominant this season in Michigan, where she clocked 16:07 in her district meet. 

Jessica Jazwinski from Shelby, Mich. will get her opportunity to race in an elite field after cruising through the season and winning the Michigan Division 3 final. Her only loss this season was to Forsyth and she was 11th in the national finals last year. 

Indiana has a trio of top candidates for top 10 with state champion Libby Dowty, Addison Knoblauch and Nicki Southerland, who qualified for nationals last year but was unable to compete due to injury. 

South

Championship races at 10 a.m. (girls) and 10:40 a.m. (boys), Eastern time

Leachman could be the star of the day once again. After impressive performances at the Texas state meet (16:25.5) and NXR South (16:07.8) she has become at the very least a national championship co-favorite. She is currently ranked No. 2 in the rankings, behind Forsyth. 

Leachman will be up against a good group. Six national finalists, including four who finished in the top 12 at nationals, are back. 

Allie Zealand of Lynchburg, Va. ran away from the field last week to win the NXR Southeast title. She was third last year in the regional and eighth at nationals.

Abby Faith Cheeseman from Bell Buckle, Tenn., a junior, finished fourth at nationals last year and has race sparingly this fall. She is another potential threat, not only in the regional race but nationals as well. 

Alyssa Sauro, a senior from Williamstown, W.V., was ninth at nationals last year. 

Mary Bonner Dalton from Myers Park, N.C., was 12th in San Diego and is back again after winning the North Carolina 4A title this fall. 

Samantha Humphries and Nicole Humphries of Flower Mound, Texas are both entered. Last year, Nicole placed 21st at nationals. 

Maddie Gardiner from Charlottesville, Va., was 20th at nationals last year. 

Tennessee standout Claire Stegall is another top performer in the girls race. 

Koon, who is ranked No. 4, will get his chance to compete on a wider stage after winning the Florida Class 3A boys title for the third straight year. 

He'll face a group that includes No. 13 Ty Steorts of Hurricane, the West Virginia state champion, Brayden Marshall of Winfield, W.V., who was 23rd at nationals last year, Berkley Nance from Richmond, Va., who is already an NXN qualifier, Joseph Bariola from Hot Springs, Ark., who won NXR South last weekend; South Carolina state champion Jake Liebert; Virginia Class 3A champion Bazil Mathes; and Kentucky Class 2A champion Riku Sugie.