NIKE PORTLAND XC AT PORTLAND MEADOWS

HOSTED BY ALOHA HIGH SCHOOL

- Major Invitational Cross Country Meet to Take Place on

Saturday, September 24, 2016  -

BEAVERTON, Oregon (September 16, 2016) – Aloha High School will be hosting the 37th annual Nike Portland XC Cross Country Meet at Portland Meadows in North Portland.  For the past several years, the meet was known as Nike Pre-Nationals and it remains one of the premier cross country meets on the west coast with teams coming from across the USA and internationally.  Over 115 teams with over 3,500 athletes will participate at the meet.  There will be 17 different races including four divisions of boys and girls varsity races.  The top varsity race for the boys and girls is the Jim Danner Championship where 25 of the top teams and individual athletes in the region, West Coast, and USA will compete.  The course is fast, challenging, and easily viewable for its entire length.

The Nike Portland XC Meet will begin at 8:00 AM on Saturday, September 24 with an open Citizen’s race followed by the Alan Webb 3000 Meter Championships for middle school girls and boys.  Alan Webb, American Record holder in the Mile at 3:46.91, will be at the races to meet the athletes and hand out awards for the middle school races.  High School races will begin at 9:15 AM with the Division 3 Varsity Girls race.  Gates will open at 7:00 AM and there is an entrance fee of $5.00.

“The Nike Portland Cross Country meet continues to attract top programs and individuals to race in Portland” said Aloha Head Cross Country Coach Ken Martinez.  “If you are a sports fan, you will want to be a Portland Meadows to see some great racing of human athletes rather than the equine athletes one normally watches at Portland Meadows.”  Each year the races at Nike Portland Cross Country produce great drama as athletes test each other during the races and conclude with many exciting finishes.  Martinez continued saying “We expect to see a competitive team competition in the Jim Danner Championship races which are shaping up to be stacked with top programs and amazing athletes from the West.”  The results of the Nike Portland Cross Country races will have an impact on the national rankings for the teams and the individuals competing at the meet.

While the entries in the varsity races have not yet been finalized, the Jim Danner Championship races for both boys and girls are expected to be very close in the team races and for individual honors.  The Jim Danner Championship Boys race is deep with experienced teams and exciting individual performers.  Timpanogos (Orem, UT) is highest ranked team in the nation racing at the Nike Portland Cross Country meet.  Timpanogos is ranked No. 11 in the Nation by MileSplit USA thus earning the pre-meet favorite title.  However, there are several other teams who can take the title and re-order the national rankings.   The Summit (Bend, OR) team is consistently a top program and the California teams of East Roosevelt (Eastvale), McFarland (McFarland), Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach), and Tesoro (Rancho Santa Margarita) will challenge for the team title.

The pre-meet favorite for individual honors is a four-way toss-up between Joe Benson, a senior who leads the Timpanogos squad and who finished 16th at the Nike Cross Nationals last season, Ahmed Muhamed, a senior at West Salem (Salem, OR) who ran a blazing 8:42 3,000 meter 2016 season opener at the Wilsonville Night Meet, Tibebu Proctor, a senior from Northwest School (Seattle, WA) who finished second at the Jim Danner Championship last season and is looking to improve one place this season, and James Mwaura, a junior from Lincoln (Tacoma, WA) who ran 9:10 for second place in the 3200 meter 3A State Meet Championship in track last spring.  Benson is currently ranked as the No. 11, Muhumed is ranked No. 20, Proctor is ranked No. 21, and Mwuara, is ranked No. 39 individual runners in the Nation by DyeStat. While the individual honors may be focused on these four athletes, they will be challenged by other DyeStat nationally ranked runners in the Danner Championship.  Included in the pack of challengers are Alex Slenning of Wilson (Portland, OR) ranked as the No. 64 runner in the nation, Matthew Watkins of Henry Jackson (Mill Creek, WA) as the No. 98 runner in the nation, and Zane Fodge of McMinnville ranked as the No. 100 runner in the nation.  Fodge is also a former winner of the Boys Middle School race and is looking to be the first athlete to win a middle school and high school title at the Nike Portland XC.

The team race in Girl’s Jim Danner Championship will be a wide open affair.  There promises to be great fireworks for the team championship with three equally matched teams going for the Championship.  As ranked by DyeStat, the No. 22 team, Summit (Bend, OR) and the No. 33 team, Camas (WA) will be battling each other as pre-meet favorites.  However, No. 41 ranked Sunset (Beaverton, OR) will be eager to show that the graduation of three key team members have not slowed the Lady Apollos.  Not to be outdone, DyeStat bubble teams Sheldon (Eugene, OR) and Bishop Amat (La Puente, CA) will be looking to enter the top 50 teams in the nation with a win for the team title.

Like the Boy’s race, the Girl’s race for individual honors should be up for grabs between several runners.  It is likely that there will be a large pack of ladies vying for the win over the final section of the course.  Ember Stratton of Sunset is currently ranked No. 17 in the nation by DyeStat and is the defending Jim Danner Champion.  Challenging Ember will be Jordan Oakes, a senior from Holy Names (Seattle, WA) who is ranked No. 24 in the nation and is the defending Washington 3A cross country champion and ran 9:39 for the 3,000 meters at the US Junior Track Championships last spring.  Expected to be in the front pack is Erin Mullins of Cascade (WA) who finished fifth in last year’s Nike BorderClash.  Olivia Brooks of Summit (Bend, OR) is ranked No. 38 in the nation and placed third in the Jim Danner Championship last season.  Brooks is also a two-time 5A State cross country champion.  The lead pack will also include other nationally and regionally ranked athletes.  This crowded lead pack will include No. 66 Hannah Tobiason of Summit, Emma Jenkins of Camas (WA), Melia Chittenden of Mira Costa (CA), Ally Palomino of Bishop Amat (CA), and DeDe Salcedo of McFarland (CA).  Salcedo won the Middle School girls 3000 meter race in 2014 and if she can win the Jim Danner race, would be the first athlete to pull that career double at the Nike Portland Cross Country meet.

For more information about the Nike Portland XC Cross Country meet, please visit www.NikePortlandXC.runnerspace.com.

ABOUT THE NIKE PORTLAND XC MEET

The Nike Portland XC Meet was first run in 2007 at Portland Meadows and was known as the Nike Pre-Nationals Meet.  Before 2007, the meet was known as the Jim Danner Memorial Invitational and was first run in 1980 at venues across the greater Portland area.  The Pre-National Meet was held on the same course as the Nike Cross National Meet held every December for the top high school cross country programs and individual runners in the nation.  With the relocation of the Nike Cross National meet to Glendoveer Golf Course, the Pre-National meet was renamed the Nike Portland XC Meet.  While the name is new, the high quality fields, fast and competitive races, and the high energy and fun atmosphere remain the same.  The Nike Portland XC Meet continues to provide a venue for teams and individuals to raise their regional and national images.

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