The consensus of individual favorites for the last six Nike Cross Nationals was clear:

 

 

 

 

 

Three of those four athletes went on to win their national titles convincingly, including a record-breaking run by Hedengren of 16 minutes, 32.7 seconds last fall where she took five seconds off Tuohy’s course record.

 

For the first time in nearly a decade, high school cross country’s most sought-out national title comes without a clear-cut favorite.

 

Natasza Dudek, Blair Bartlett and Averi Lowen all proved to be the class of their respective regional fields after completing remarkable efforts during the Nike Cross Regional series to secure their spots in Saturday’s girls championship race at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland.

 

Dudek, No. 1 in the latest DyeStat Individual Rankings, broke what some considered an untouchable course record at Nike Cross Regional Midwest en route to qualifying for her first Nike Cross Nationals, running 16:18.47 to break Rachel Forysth’s LaVern Gibson Championship Course time of 16:31.

 

Bartlett, in her first year of cross country, finished within 15 seconds of Tuohy’s course record at Bowdoin Park to capture the Nike Cross Regional Northeast title in 17:00.6 for the second-fastest recorded time to qualify for her first nationals.

 

Lowen defended her Nike Cross Regional Southeast in 16:37.3 to punch her ticket back to Nike Cross Nationals, where she finished 78th as a sophomore in 2024. Her undefeated season includes a victory at the Great American Festival in North Carolina.

 

All signs point to those three being the favorites, but with course conditions expected to be difficult with the expected rain.

 

If anyone knows how to overcome tough racing conditions at Glendoveer, it’s the 2023 champion: Addy Ritzenhein.

 

Ritzenhein, who finished third at Nike Cross Regional Southwest, will be racing in her fourth consecutive Nike Cross Nationals and will have the most experience of anybody in the field, including a dramatic late rally to win the race in 2023.

 

Another name worth mentioning is California’s Summer Wilson. The senior from Irvine, Calif., broke the Woodward Park all-time course best in 16:20 to capture the California Division 1 title on Nov. 29, elevating her name into the individual title conversation.

 

Among other names in contention for the individual title are Nike Cross Regional Southwest champion Lily Alder, Nike Cross Regional Heartland champion Maddie Gullickson and Nike Cross Regional South champion Macy Wingard.

 

Gullickson’s run at individual title could create a spark for Wayzata MN on the team side to chase after the program’s first Nike Cross Nationals title in over a decade.

 

Following a dominating team win at Nike Cross Regional Heartland, Wayzata MN sky-rocketed to No. 1 in the DyeStat National Team Rankings and haven’t looked back ever since. Gullickson’s individual regional title fueled her teammates Jazleen Malherek-Osoro, Miley Clark, Alissa Ledman, Lila Golomb, Addison Neitz and Chloe Kissell to put together their team’s most complete effort of the entire fall.

 

Wayzata’s first and only national title came in 2013 when that team ended Manlius NY’s consecutive title streak at seven.

 

The defending team champions, Denver CO, are not back to defend their title. However, both the runner-up and third place teams are.

 

Lone Peak UT is set to return five of their seven runners from last year’s second-place team: Maya Bybee, Brielle Nilsson, Zoey Nilsson, Paityn Rohantinsky and Anna Bybee.

 

Lone Peak won the NXR Southwest this year after finishing behind Colorado teams the past two years.

 

 

At Nike Cross Regional Southwest, Lone Peak scored an overwhelming 68 points, handling South Denver CO by 56 points for the team title. The top five scorers from the regional had a 19 second spread, which include both Nilsson sisters, Tatum Brewer, Maya Bybee and Hailey Atwater. Brewer and Atwater will be making their nationals debut.

 

Clovis CA features four returning members from their third-place nationals’ team in Gaby Gutierrez, Brooklyn Buckley, Molly Sundgren and Kynzlee Buckley. In addition, Layla Merancio, Aniston Welk and Noelle Frantz add even more depth to a team coming off another California Division 1 state title.

 

Union County NJ is another podium threat after running their complete line-up for the first time this season at Nike Cross Regional Northeast. Paige Sheppard, Cayleigh Kaiser and Harper Telesca are one of the best trios in the country and the addition of Sophia Thompson back from injury makes Union County a strong team.

 

No team from the Northeast region has ever finished higher than fourth, and the two that did (Colts Neck NJ in 2006 and Hanover NH in 2007) were before most of this year's runners were born.