Upload a Photo Upload a Video Add a News article Write a Blog Add a Comment
Blog Feed News Feed Video Feed All Feeds

Folders

Featured (1691)
All (1826)
 

 

NXN Year By Year - DyeStat's Iconic Photos

Published by
DyeStat.com   Nov 28th 2018, 2:40am
Comments

NXN - Iconic Photos Through The Years

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Since it's inception in 2004, Nike's annual high school cross country championships has served to answer the question of which of the nation's power running programs is the best of the best. 

The first year at Portland Meadows, the meet was something of a novelty as followers learned to accept aliases for school names and myriad color schemes in place of instantly recognizable uniforms. Nike dotted the i's and crossed the t's and accomodated as many state high school associations as possible in order to pull off the meet and also beefed up the experience with high tech in-race live scoring and other innovations. 

Here is a look at the greatest images from each year, an assortment of photos from talented photographers such as Kirby Lee, Ross Dettman, John Nepolitan, Phil Johnson, Robert Rosenberg, and yes, DyeStat founder John Dye. 

 

2004

Saratoga Springs

There was a lot to take in that first year, including the opportunity to see the most famous boys cross country programs in America -- York, Christian Brothers, The Woodlands and Mead -- go head to head in a never-seen-before environment. 

But the rock stars of 2004 were the girls from Saratoga Springs, N.Y. -- a group of girls led by Nicole Blood that was called the greatest high school team of all-time. 

McNamara

Sean McNamara led York (or Kroy) of Illinois to the first Nike Team Nationals title. Legendary coach Joe Newton was not able to make the trip, which spurred his runners to nail down this inaugural opportunity for him. 

Ramsey Kavan

Ramsey Kavan from Yankton, S.D. was the first girls winner at Nike Team Nationals.

 

2005

mud

Throughout the meet's run at Portland Meadows (2004-13), mud was the most talked about feature of the course. Some years, like 2005, the venue was a quagmire. Other times, in 2008, it was sunny and mostly dry. But yeah, most of the time, it was muddy. And most runners grew to embrace the conditioins no matter how difficult.

Klotz

Portland's own Kenny Klotz of Central Catholic gave locals a rooting interest in 2005 and he churned through the mud to win the NTN boys race. Two years prior, Klotz was part of a Central Catholic team that included Galen Rupp.

 

2006

FM girls

In 2006, something big started even though very few people at the time could have predicted it. The girls from Fayetteville-Manlius NY became the third different New York team in three years to win the national title. But the Hornets (nickhamed Stotans) were just getting started.

Higginson

Ashley Higginson from Colts Neck NJ lunges over the finish line to win the girls race.

starting line

The view off the starting line of the boys race.

more mud

Another mud-filled race at NTN.

 

2007

Derrick

cd

Chris Derrick was a very big deal in 2007. He ran 13:52 on the Detweiler Park course at the Illinois state meet and then he led Neuqua Valley IL to the NXN championship by winning the boys race. A week later he placed second at Foot Locker for one of the best national doubles up to that point. Derrick's success continued in college at Stanford and as a Nike pro.

fm07

Fayetteville-Manlius NY became the first team in NXN history to repeat as national champion. 

 

2008

Spokane

The proud running community of Spokane, Wash., celebrated a national championship with North Central pulling out a victory thanks to big advantages at No. 3 and No. 4. 

Sveinsson

On a relatively nice weather day, Chelsey Sveinsson ran 17:26.9 and was part of a Texas individuals sweep (along with The Woodlands' Reed Connor).

Fm08

New uniform color for Fayetteville-Manlius but the same result. Win No. 3 in a row.

 

2009

boysrace

Texan Craig Lutz won a tight finish in the boys race, as Californian Elias Gedyon and New Jersey's Joe Rosa finished within a second of him. 

fm09

All those girls in the champagne colored uniforms are from Fayetteville-Manlius. They got out fast and went to the head of the pack on the way to title No. 4 in a row.

 

2010

margeymud

The mud returned, and Kelsey Margey was absolutely covered in it by the time she reached the finish line in 20th place. To her credit, she didn't give up. Perhaps no photo captures the Portland Meadows era better than this one (by John Nepolitan).

guys10

Defending champion Craig Lutz had a lot going for him in 2010 but he wasn't able to hold off Lukas Verzbicas or a young Edward Cheserek. Verzbicas and Cheserek won a combined four Foot Locker titles between 2009-12.

Fm10

The girls from Fayetteville-Manlius, with coach Bill Aris, providing final instructions, prepare for title No. 5 in a row. The girls scored a mind-blowing 27 points, a meet record that may stand for a very long time.

Arcadia

Coach Jim O'Brien led Arcadia to the first of two boys team titles, dispelling the myth once and for all that California teams couldn't succeed on Portland Meadows' muddy track.

 

2011

cba

Coach Tom Heath and Christian Brothers Academy dominated New Jersey cross country for four decades but the biggest validation of all came with an NXN championship in 2011. The Colts edged a supremely talented Southlake Carroll TX team by four points, led by the spirited George Kelly.

Baxter

Sophomore Sarah Baxter won her first NXN title in 2011.

futsum

Futsum Zienasellassie of Indiana took care of business at NXN before his much anticipated showdown with Edward Cheserek a week later in San Diego.

fm11

Six in a row.

 

2012

agirls

Check out the lead pack of girls here. In the left half of the photo is Mary Cain and Alexa Efraimson, who both turned pro before graduating high school. Sarah Baxter (8) won the race for the second year in a row. Elise Cranny, right, was on her way to stardom in Colorado (and later Stanford).

moussa

Ammar Moussa, right, helped power Arcadia CA to its second championship in three years. 

 

FM12

 Seven.

 

2013

trio

On an icy cold morning, Alexa Efraimson, Sarah Baxter and Elise Cranny ran in one of the most highly anticipated high school cross country races of all-time. All three of them were considered co-favorites in race that lived up to the hype as the greatest girls race ever. Efraimson, from across the Columbia River in Camas WA, surged past the other two with a late kick to win it. Cranny was second and Baxter, the two-time champion, was third. All three were more than half a minute ahead of fourth place.

kai

Kai Wilmot of North Central struck a blow for his home state of Washington, which swept the individual titles and also won the boys team championship. 

gig

Gig Harbor of Washington lived up to its No. 1 ranking and won the boys team championship.

wayzata

In the biggest upset of the day, Wayzata MN dethroned the seven-time defending champions from Fayetteville-Manlius as the Stotans suffered a rare off day at NXN.

 

2014

aris

Coach Bill Aris put a hand on both championship trophies as his Fayettville-Manlius program became the first in NXN history to sweep the boys and girls titles as the meet moved to its new venue at Glendoveer Golf Course.

ostrander

Two months after her state meet, popular Alaskan Allie Ostrander captured hearts and massive respect by defeating a strong field in the girls championship race.

tanner

Tanner Anderson (middle in green) followed in the footsteps of teammate Kai Wilmot and won an individual title for North Central WA for the second straight year.

 

2015

brody

In one of the best photos to capture the spirt of the NXN competition, Wyoming's Brody Smith helped pick Colorado star Paul Roberts out of the mud at the fnish line of the boys race.

grandma

If you think champion Casey Clinger was at all embarrassed by this hug from his grandmother, think again. A copy of this photo hung on the refrigerator at his house.

greatoak

Great Oak's dominance in California was rewarded with the boys team championship as the team wore rose in the Rose City.

fm15

The girls of Fayetteville-Manlius won their ninth title in 10 years.

Katie R

Katie Rainsberger capped her high school cross country career by dominating the girls championship at Glendoveer Golf Course.

 

2016

Oakley

Brie Oakley made it two in a row for Colorado as she won the girls race by a whopping 28 seconds in 17:10.1.

Aris

Legendary coach Bill Aris found a mascot as his girls won for the 10th time in 11 years.

Clinger

Casey Clinger of American Fork became NXN's first two-time winner ...

Bozeman

But the Bozeman boys from Montana pulled off a stunning upset of Clinger's top-ranked American Fork UT.

 

2017

FM relief

This was an F-M girls championship like no other before. Sophie Ryan returned from a Friday night hospital stay to run for her team, and enter into NXN lore, and Bill Aris' team managed to pull out a nail-biter over Naperville North IL. 

KatelynTuohy

Katelyn Tuohy's 2017 dominance was capped by her overwhelming victory and course record at Glendoveer Golf Course. 

Troutner

Aidan Troutner's kick proved too much for Brodey Hasty in a mad dash to the finish of the boys championsihp race. Troutner extended Utah's winning streak to three over Hasty, who grew up in Utah before moving to Tennessee.

LV

Loudoun Valley's Sam Affolder, middle, rejoices as his team is announced the champion at NXN with a record-low team score of 96 points.



HashtagsNone
 

More news

History for DyeStat.com
YearVideosNewsPhotosBlogs
2024 1089 347 13738  
2023 5382 1361 77508  
2022 4892 1212 58684  
Show 25 more
HashtagsNone
 
 
+PLUS highlights
+PLUS coverage
Live Events
Get +PLUS!