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Daniel Boone Boys and Blacksburg Girls Crowned 2014 HOKA ONE ONE Postal Nationals Champions

Published by
DyeStat.com   Dec 18th 2014, 6:32pm
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When HOKA ONE ONE announced its plans to revive Postal Nationals this August it was quickly added to the pre-season schedule and training plan of many schools across the country.  Over the fall, as the awareness and excitement grew, more and more teams – including some prominent ones – found a way to get into the competition and enter their performances into the HOKA ONE ONE Postal Nationals database. When the dust settled, the 2014 HOKA ONE ONE Postal Nationals champions were Daniel Boone of Gray, Tenn. and Blacksburg of Virginia.  

Daniel Boone (Gray, Tenn.) coach Len Jeffers wasn’t aware that postal nationals was back when he happened to be looking at DyeStat one day to look at rankings. He saw a link to the Hoka site, checked it out, and was intrigued. Days earlier, his team had run in the KYA Foot Locker Time Trial event at Knoxville (Nov. 21) and so he decided to register and enter his times.

Led by Adam Barnard’s 9:01.11, Daniel Boone had a 9:32 average. The team went on to qualify for its first Nike Cross Nationals appearance and finished 14th.

Watch Local News recap of awards presentation HERE

Wayzata (Minnesota), runner-up at this year’s NXN, logged a 9:33 average at its time trial on Sept. 6.

On the girls side, Blacksburg (Virginia) coach James DeMarco figured that his team wouldn’t have an opportunity to enter this season because of the team’s tight postseason schedule. But when he noticed the deadline of Dec. 15, it changed everything.

Fresh from a seventh-place finish at NXN in Portland, DeMarco entered his girls in an indoor meet at Liberty University so that they could gain a state meet qualifying berth before taking their prescribed end-of-season break.

Blacksburg’s girls placed five in the top seven in the 3200 meters on the flat 200-meter track at the Liberty Elite Meet last Saturday (Dec. 13) to jump to No. 1 in the postal national rankings.

“I think this will grow as people catch on to it,” DeMarco said. “As with anything, the first year is the slowest. But I think next year it could double or be even bigger.”

Blacksburg’s team average of 11:18 set the standard this year. Kingwood (Texas) was second with 11:34.

Check out the photo album of Leo's visit awards presentation HERE

Over 100 girls and boys teams registered in the first year of the HOKA ONE ONE Postal Nationals, including those that attended flagship events in New Jersey and California and participated in affiliate events across the country. HOKA ONE ONE provide swag to the flagship and affiliate events, but saved the best for the national champions. Each champion team will get a special trophy and a visit from 2X Olympian and 1500M silver medalist Leonel Manzano.

“HOKA ONE ONE was incredibly proud to bring back the Postal Nationals this year,” said Jim Van Dine, President of HOKA ONE ONE. “The spirit of Postal Nationals lined up well with our focus on youth, we thank everyone who participated, and look forward to making the event even bigger in years to come.”

HOKA ONE ONE’s revival of postal nationals brings back a tradition that has its roots in the 1960s and 1970s when teams across the country would compare their five-man averages in the two-mile by mailing them into Track and Field News, which published the results.

To be a part of the HOKA ONE ONE Postal Nationals in 2015, check back at www.hokapostalnationals.com in mid August.



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