Hunter, Kelati set sights on nationals

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

There is growing expectation that the two winners at Foot Locker South on Saturday will go to San Diego as favorites in the national race as well. 

Two Virginians, Drew Hunter from Loudoun Valley, and Weini Kelati, a transplant from Eritrea, dominated the regional race at McAlpine Park to earn return trips to the Foot Locker national finals. 

Hunter is not only at the top of the Class of 2016. After breaking the South regional course record with 14:26 -- even more significant because a more distance was added this year -- the question becomes not can he win Foot Locker, but how low can he go? 

Hunter may not only be defined by whether he wins, but how his performance stacks up with recent stars Grant Fisher, Edward Cheserek and Lukas Verzbicas. 

On Saturday, Hunter said he wanted to test his speed.

"Coming in I really wanted to run fast," he said. "I knew that I'd have to push by myself."

Hunter broke Sean McGorty's course record by two seconds. 

Hunter's gaze is now focused on natoinals, where he was fourth last year. 

"We're doing some harder repititions, some hills, because Balboa is a hilly course," Hunter said. "We just want to keep the ball rolling. That's something my parents talk about. You don't have to have a crazy hard workout every week. Just stay consistent."

Kelati, who moved to the U.S. after competing for Eritrea at World Juniors in 2014, has had a sensational fall season in her second and final season of eligibility at Heritage VA. 

Kelati ran 16:43 for a big win on Saturday. Consider that a year ago -- again, the course was a bit shorter -- she ran 17:04 for fifth. In other races this fall, Kelati has been up to a minute faster than she was in 2014.

"Hopefully I want to get top three," Kelati said of her national aspirations. 

Hunter won the boys race by 33 seconds. Fellow Virginians Gannon Willcutts (second), Jonathan Lomogda (third), Waleed Suliman (sixth) and Micah Pratt (ninth) will join him in San Diego. 

NXN South winner Reed Brown of Southlake Carroll TX placed fourth to double book the national events. Luke Meade from Tennessee was fifth, Cole Dowdy from Kentucky was seventh, Joshua Jacques from Florida was eighth and Steven Cross from Florida was 10th to grab the final spot. 

For the girls, North Carolina champion Nevada Mareno earned her first Foot Locker berth by placing second, 22 seconds behind Kelati. Libby Davidson from E.C. Glass VA, who was sixth at Foot Locker nationals last year, was third. Georgia champion Lindsay Billings was fourth. Julia Heymach, the Texas state champion, was fifth. Fellow Texan Abby Gray, already booked for NXN, placed sixth. Emma Grace Hurley from Georgia placed seventh for the second straight year. Savannah Carnahan from Georgia was eighth, South Carolina independent schools champion Logan Morris was ninth, and Anna Vess from North Carolina was 10th.