Folders |
NXN Northwest 2014 Preview - DyeStatPublished by
Snow and ice a new obstacle at NXN NW
By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor Athletes at NXN Northwest face the prospect of running on hard packed snow on Saturday as they try to qualify for Nike's national championship event at Eagle Island State Park west of Boise, Idaho. There are up to eight inches of snow on the ground in the Boise area and the temperatures are below freezing, meaning it could be an unpredictable day at one of the country's best regional NXN meets. During course run-throughs Friday, there were 5-7 inches of snow on the running surface. However, four-wheelers and plows were removing at least some of that ice from the course. Athletes were not allowed to run on the course itself but moved alongside it to get a glimpse of what's coming on Saturday. "I think it's going to take some real heroes for teams to get out of the region," North Central standout Tanner Anderson said. "It takes a few minutes to get your snow legs under you. Maybe we have a small advantage being from Spokane where we run in conditions like this at least a couple months out of the year." Experience on snow and ice is variable across a region that includes Alaska, Wyoming, Montana -- even Hawaii. But teams from western Washington (Seattle-area) and Oregon (Portland/Eugene) are certainly less accustomed to those conditions. Although NXN Northwest doesn't appear to have a national-championship contending team this year, the 2008 (North Central) and 2013 (Gig Harbor) boys champions came from the Northwest. There are a handful of teams of both genders that go into Saturday's meet with reasonable chances to automatically qualify. There is also loaded girls race individually. US#1 Allie Ostrander of Kenai, Alaska will be tested for the first time all season when she faces Montanans Makena Morley (the course record holder), and freshmen Annie Hill and Bryn Morley, Washington 4A champion Lindsey Bradley of Richland, Oregon 6A champion Ella Donaghu of Grant and Idaho 5A champion Emily Hamlin of Boise. The top-ranked girls teams in the region are Summit of Bend OR (US#19) and Coeur d'Alene ID (US#24). Camas WA and Issaquah from Washington, South Eugene and Sunset from Oregon, and Bozeman of Montana all should be factors. The front of the boys race should be occupied by Anderson, who destroyed his own Washington state meet record last Saturday, and returning Foot Locker finalists Levi Thomet of Kodiak AK and Elijah Armstrong of Pocatello ID, and state champions Chris Henry (Wyoming), Aidan Reed (Montana) and Aaron Roe (Washington 4A). However, Kodiak was believed to be experiencing travel delays and was stuck in Seattle and awaiting a flight to Boise. Summit is the top-ranked team in the region (US#4) based on its collective performance at the Oregon 5A meet, but without No. 1 Matthew Maton in the lineup the scrap for those two NXN berths is going to be fierce. North Central, led by Anderson, has a history of success at this meet and has become a fixture at the national meet. NC has never finished out of the top two since the regional format started and may rate a slight favorite here, having improved significantly from early season losses at the Tracy Walters and Bob Firman invitationals. NC is currently ranked US#8 and won its record-tying ninth straight Washington Class 3A title last week in Pasco. Summit still has a shot at advancing, along with Kamiakin WA (US#19), Central Catholic OR (US#38) and Mountain View of Idaho. The sharp uphill/downhill section of the Eagle Island course will no doubt be a primary focus on Saturday. "The hill will bring out the best or the worst (in the runners)," predicted Anderson. "It's super iced over. On the downhill, I could see some falling and slipping. Even if they do get the snow off it's going to be muddy. It could be rough." NXN Northwest meet director Ryan Canning indicated Thursday that meet officials would take "all precautions" with the hill.
Saturday More news
1 comment(s)
|
