Niwot Joins Conversation Of All-Time Great Teams With Repeat NXN Title; Jackson Spencer Had Only One Outcome In Mind And Remains Undefeated

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

John Nepolitan Photo

RESULTS/RACE VIDEOS

PORTLAND – Top-ranked Niwot of Colorado and Herriman UT's Jackson Spencer, champions of the Southwest region, lived up to lofty expectations and performed spectacularly on Saturday at Glendoveer Golf Course and won Nike Cross Nationals titles.

Niwot broke the scoring record in the 20th edition of the meet with 61 points, exceeding the 66 by Newbury Park in 2022, led by Quinn Sullivan and Hunter Robbie placing fifth and sixth overall on a wet and muddy track that improved somewhat overnight.

With mild temperatures and patches of blue sky overhead, Niwot became the third boys team to win back to back titles, joining Purcellville of Virginia (2017-18) and Newbury Park (2019 and 2022). 

Spencer, a senior from Herriman who brought an undefeated record and soaring confidence into the weekend, outlasted Carroll’s four-time qualifier Caden Leonard and and Yohanes Van Meerten from Flagstaff, Ariz.

Spencer ran a time of 15:01.1 and behind him Van Meerten caught Leonard in the final step to place second.

“I think he came in here with two ideas how it would go,” coach Doug Soles said. “That he’s going to win by a lot, or win by a little. Not winning was something he didn’t consider.”

Spencer confirmed that he will accept a spot on the USATF U20 team that will compete at the World Athletics Championships on Jan. 10 in Tallahassee, Fla. He will also seek to win a second national title next week at the Brooks XC Championships in San Diego. Only Lukas Verzbicas has accomplished that feat, and did it in 2010. 

Spencer’s Herriman team also scored fewer than 100 points, with 97 to finish a strong second.

The early pace was not fast. Sean Fries, the Heartland champion from Minnetonka MN, surged into the lead past the 2-kilometer mark, attacked a dowhill and stayed in front until 3.7 kilometers, in the "lollipop" section of the course, where Leonard and Spencer began to assert themselves to the front. 

Leonard, who wiped out on that turn a year ago, remained composed and in it right to the end. 

Spencer moved to the lead in the final kilometer but it was on the final set of short, sharp hills that he got separation from Leonard and entered the final straightaway with the lead and a kick that he was saving for the occasion.

"The whole last K (Leonard) was on me. I was nervous he was trying to sit and kick on me, but coming up those terraces I was just (thinking) you've got to grind it out, you've got to hurt."

Lincroft, the Northeast champion from New Jersey shook off a reputation for underwhelming NXN results and finished on the podium with a third place and 110 points.

Carroll was fifth with 137 points and American Fork UT was fifth with 195. Sioux Falls, which won the Heartland region, upset the formchart with sixth place (210). 

One week after a sensational performance to win the California Division 2 state title, as well as the overall state merge, Carmichael CA fell short of expectations and slid from fourth place at 1k to 14th. 

The core of Niwot's team has grown up over the past three years, starting with fifth place in 2023 when five of the seven on the team were sophomores and freshmen. After last year's victory, when the team scored 70 points, the group of Robbie, Sullivan, Rocco Culpepper, Ryder Keeton and Gabe Marshall added talented freshman Jude Ritzenhein. 

"This is the race that mattered," Robbie said. "It was awesome to do it one more time with these boys."

 In Boulder, one of the country's distance running hotbeds, the Niwot boys will go into history as the best team in Colorado history and one of the best of all-time. 

"It's one of the best feelings in the world," said Sullivan, a junior. "We came here two years ago, we barely got in, got fifth, then we we won and tried to the get (scoring record), this year we got it. It's been a progression and I think that's what makes it so special."