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Weini Kelati of Heritage VA won the 2015 Foot Locker Cross Country Championship girls race

Published by
DyeStat.com   Dec 13th 2015, 3:11am
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Kelati holds off Gilbert to win national title

 

By Erik Boal, DyeStatCAL Editor


 

An injury to her right shin earlier in the week nearly derailed Weini Kelati's bid to capture the girls national title at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.

 

Blocking out the pain, Kelati unleashed a powerful kick to not only seal the victory Saturday in 17 minutes, 9.7 seconds on the 5-kilometer Balboa Park course in San Diego, but to complete an emotional and inspirational journey for the 19-year-old talent from Heritage High in Virginia.

 

Kelati, an Eritrean immigrant competing in her second Foot Locker nationals, ascended from 20th place last year to become the first Virginia female to secure the title since Langley's Erin Keogh won back-to-back titles in 1985-86.

 

Kelati and Drew Hunter of Loudoun Valley, whose schools are separated by just 16 miles, became only the second pair from the same state in the meet's 37-year history to win championships in the same year.

 

The last duo from the same state to achieve the title sweep came in 2005 with Oceanside's A.J. Acosta and Mission Prep's Jordan Hasay representing California.

 

Kelati sprinted to the lead in the first 800 and set the tone with a demanding pace as she has all season on her way to capturing the Virginia 4A state championship and Foot Locker South Regional title.

 

But with less than a mile to go, less than two seconds separated the top four athletes, including Nevada Mareno from Leesville Road (N.C.) and Illinois standouts Maryjeanne Gilbert of Peoria Notre Dame and Judy Pendergast of Naperville North.

 

Kelati made her final surge on the last downhill, but Gilbert would not back down. Despite a late charge, Gilbert placed second in 17:10.6 to repeat as an All-American, capping a significant improvement from last season, when she finished 12th in 18:06.

 

Mareno, who was runner-up to Kelati at the South Regional by a 22-second margin, placed third in 17:17.6 and Pendergast finished fourth in 17:20.

 

Pendergast, one of five girls to compete in both Nike Cross Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals, posted the lowest combined total from the two meets following an eighth-place effort Dec. 5 at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore.

 

Taylor Werner, a four-time Missouri state champion, returned after hip and hamstring injuries forced her to miss last year's meet to become a three-time All-American with her fifth-place finish in 17:29.8.

 

The efforts of Gilbert, Pendergast and Werner, combined with Michigan sophomore Madison Troy of Grandville taking seventh in 17:41.2 and Indiana junior Sarah Leinheiser of Carmel placing eighth in 17:41.7, propelled the Midwest to a 26-34 victory over the defending champions from the South.

 

The teams combined to sweep the top nine spots and produce 11 of the 15 All-Americans, with the Northeast -- third place with 70 points -- acounting for the other four honorees.

 

Connecticut senior Hannah DeBalsi of Staples joined Werner as a three-time All-American after finishing 12th in 17:49.8.



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