By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Todd Grasley for DyeStat

The AAU National Cross Country Championships are scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 5 at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla.

Here are five storylines to follow at the annual competition, which is expected to feature more than 2,000 athletes competing in both genders in six age-group divisions.

Florida flair 

The AAU championship meet will certainly have a strong Florida presence as several of the Sunshine State’s top athletes make their way to the capital.

Leading the way in the boys 15-18 division is Nease High junior Rheinhardt Harrison, who is coming off a 4A state title which he won over teammate Bradley Ball by 16 seconds three weeks ago.

Harrison is not only one of the fastest 5-kilometer athletes in the field, but also the elite middle-distance runner as well. In August, he barely missed breaking the elusive four-minute barrier in the mile with his 4:01.34 at the Music City Distance Carnival.

In addition to Harrison, other Florida athletes including Francisco Ramirez of Pace and Miguel Pantojas from Oviedo will also be among the leading contenders, as well as Alabama 5A state champion Woodrow Dean of Tallassee.

On the girls side, Winter Springs junior Caroline Wells, who was recently named Florida Dairy Farmers Girls XC Runner of the Year, and IMG Academy sophomore Carly McNatt provide the state’s best chances at making the podium.

Wells garnered a season for the record books with seven victories in as many meets, all with times under 17:30, and a new state meet and course record of 17:16.50. If there is anyone who has demonstrated the ability to run fast at Apalachee Regional Park, it’s Wells.

Along with Wells, if there is anyone capable of challenging the best out-of-state competitors Saturday, it’s McNatt. Wells and McNatt have yet to square off in 2020 and boast two of the top times in the state this year.

Due to FHSAA rules, McNatt and her IMG Academy teammates did not compete in the state series, but that did not stop them from facing top-notch competition in October at the Desert Twilight Festival in Arizona, where the Ascenders secured a team victory over Desert Vista.

McNatt also finished 26th on Nov. 15 at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions, presented by The Garrett Companies, and would love nothing more than to prove herself once more against the nation’s elite after earning Foot Locker All-America honors last year and help IMG Academy, also featuring Mia Andreae, Eve-Siff Scherr, Emilia Puskas and Marcela Guzman, challenge for a team podium finish.

Niceville senior and University of Central Florida signee Lillian Holtery is also entered, representing Emerald Coast Track Club. Holtery finished third in the 4A state finals with a season-best 18.29.90.

Double dose of Dudek, plus DaDamio could equal Michigan magic

One of the most intriguing developments in any cross country competition this fall is the presence of reigning Foot Locker national champion and Stanford freshman Zofia Dudek on the entry list in the girls 15-18 division.

Dudek, 18, hasn’t run a cross country race since capturing the Foot Locker title Dec. 14, and her last competition was on an indoor track in early March before the Coronavirus pandemic resulted in her final outdoor season at Ann Arbor Pioneer High being canceled.

But when Anna Dudek, a senior at Pioneer, signed up for the meet, Zofia decided to join her, requiring clearance from Stanford’s compliance department, which as of Thursday, was granted.

With Zofia Dudek being allowed to race, it will reunite her with friend and fellow Michigan Division 1 state champion Audrey DaDamio of Ernest W. Seaholm, also a Stanford commit.

DaDamio, a senior, placed 18th at last year’s Foot Locker final, one of nine Midwest athletes along with Dudek to place in the top 20.

DaDamio placed third Nov. 21 at the RunningLane National Championships in Huntsville, Ala., after winning the Michigan Meet of Champions and Division 1 individual crown in her two previous races.

The presence of DaDamio and Dudek adds to an already impressive out-of-state presence in the girls 15-18 division, which also includes Washington signee Julia David-Smith of Issaquah High, along with California standouts Riley Chamberlain of Del Oro, Cate Joaquin of St. Francis High in Sacramento, Natalie Wieland of Ponderosa and Oregon signee of Harper McClain of St. Helena, all competing for the Loomis Elite Distance Running team in the first wave.

Rauber ready to roll one last time

Although her final high school cross country race won’t take place in December at Nike Cross Nationals in the familiar setting of Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore., three-time All-American Brooke Rauber of Tully Senior in New York will get one last opportunity to compete against several elite athletes in the second wave Saturday.

Along with sophomore brother Ian Rauber – racing in the boys 15-18 division – the North Carolina State-bound Brooke will make a quick trip down to Florida for the national championship event, as one of the leading contenders to challenge for the title in the girls 15-18 competition.

Brooke Rauber took second this past Saturday at the Northeast High School Club Cross Country Championships, covering the 5-kilometer course in 17:00.3 at Twin Ponds on the Farm in Montgomery, N.Y.

Rauber has never placed lower than seventh in any national cross country competition, in addition to running 16:32.7 in a 5,000-meter track race Sept. 19 as part of the Garden State Track Club Fall Showcase.

Clash among Colorado elite to secure state bragging rights

Many of the top prep competitors in Colorado will be seeing familiar faces in Florida, but it could be as club opponents after being high school teammates during the CHSAA fall season.

Colorado Coyotes, Colorado Penguins, Kokopelli Racing Team, Peak Performance, REAL Training, Trail Distance and The Stout Road are all represented by athletes in either the 13-14 or 15-18 divisions, or in many cases, both groupings.

Leading the way for the girls will be two-time 5A state champion Riley Stewart of Cherry Creek and 4A winner Bethany Michalak of Air Academy, both representing Kokopelli Racing Team.

Ava Escorcia and Emily Lamontagne of Arapahoe are scheduled to race for the Colorado Penguins, Cameron McConnell and McKenna Mazeski of Cherokee Trail are competing for Trail Distance, with Mia Prok of 4A team champion Niwot expected to represent REAL Training.

Cherry Creek athletes Addison Laughlin, Addison Price and Abigail MacLean, who teamed with Stewart to lead the Colorado Bruins to the girls championship Nov. 15 at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions, presented by The Garrett Companies, at the LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute, Ind., are all competing Saturday for the Colorado Penguins.

Tessa Walter, an eighth-grader from Colorado Springs, is scheduled to represent Kokopelli Racing in the 4-kilometer race in the girls 13-14 division, where a potential showdown with fellow eighth-grader Sadie Engelhardt, an athlete from California competing for Valley United Track Club.

Virtual champions excited to return to big competition

After capturing the girls team championship in the Nike Cross Virtual competition, athletes from Desert Vista High in Arizona will compete in the second wave Saturday representing Ahwatukee.

Lauren Ping, Katie Sigerud, Grace Ping and Brooklyn Hanania are entered for the two-time defending Arizona Division 1 state champions.

It will mark the third different national championship competition for Grace Ping, an Oklahoma State signee, during her prep career, including appearances at both Nike Cross Nationals and the Foot Locker finals.

Lauren Ping, a sophomore, has been a two-time NXN All-American, with she and Sigerud forming one of the top underclassmen tandems in the country.

Lauren Ping has run sub-17 in 5-kilometer races multiple times in her career, including 16:57.2 to finish second at the Desert Twilight Festival. Sigerud is coming off a personal-best 17:04.1 to place fifth overall in the NXV championship week, one spot behind Ping.