Severna Park Cross Country Club Looks To Extend Its Success At NXR Southeast 

By Doug Binder and Erik Boal, DyeStat Editors

The return of the Nike Cross Regional Series, which began on Nov. 13, will serve thousands of high school cross country runners at each of nine regional meets that span the country. The NXR Southeast, which takes place at WakeMed Complex in Cary, N.C. and comes on the third of four compelling weekends, with live webcast coverage of every regional. 

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The Severna Park Cross Country Club has a long and rich history at Nike Cross Southeast and the group form Maryland can add another successful chapter to that legacy on Saturday at WakeMed Park in Cary, N.C. 

Building upon a Maryland Class 4A title on Nov. 13, and a second-place finish by just five points at the Great American XC Festival on Oct. 2, Severna Park seems poised to wrap up a successfull season. 

This is a program that has competed at every NXR Southeast since 2012, including a regional championship in 2014 when the group split 16 seconds on five scorers and advanced to nationals for a second straight year. 

During the three-year run of championships by The Jungle TC (Loudoun Valley) in 2017, 2018 and 2019, Severna Park placed seventh (2017), fourth (2018) and third (2019). 

The tem is led by seniors James Glebocki, who was fourth at the Maryland state meet, and Tyler Canady, who was third at Great American. 

Rinker XC (Belen Jesuit FL) is another group that has been regionally ranked in the top five all season and rolled to the Florida Class 3A state title. Sophomore Joshua Ruiz placed second to lead the team to its fifth consecutive state title. 

Warrior Project (Weddington NC), also a top-five team in the region, has developed one of the most tightly compacted top-five packs in the country. The group comprised of Isaac Clark, Chauncey Chen, Caden Townsend, Ben Timberlake and Sam Bland split 19 seconds on the way to a runner-up finish at the North Carolina 4A state final. 

Crozet Crew (Western Albemarle VA) emerged as the most complete team in Virginia and won the Class 4 championship on Nov. 13 with 77 points. Junior Owen Shifflett led the way with a seventh-place finish. 

Hebron (Conner KY) made a push into the regional top five after a convincing win and 24-second spread on its scoring five after winning the Kentucky Class 3A championship on Oct. 30. The team put all five into the top 11 finishers in that race, led by seniors Ryan Hanak and Joseph Impellitteri. 

Hawk, representing Viera (Melbourne) FL, won a sixth-runner tiebreaker against Creekside to win the Florida 4A championship. Michael Toppi gaves Hawk a low stick capable of running with anyone in Saturday's championship race. 

The Jungle TC is also back, with a new cooaching staff, after winning three straight regional titles. Graham Mussmon leads the group from Purcellville, Va. (Loudoun Valley) and his individual victory at the Virginia 4A final helped the team take third. 

Georgia Class 7A runner-up James May (Marietta) is one of the top unattached entrants, along with Alabama 6A runner-up Evan Hill (Scottsboro). 

Girls Championship Offers Preview Of Coming Seasons

The girls championship race offers a glimpse into the future, with young lineups from Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia all scheduled to square off for team supremacy against a veteran group from Florida.

Cardinal Gibbons, competing as Raleigh Catholic, took third in a deep North Carolina 4A state final behind two of the top teams in the region in Cuthbertson and Weddington.

With freshmen Hannah Rae Shaffer finishing second overall and three ninth-graders placing in the top 30, including Ina Lazarczyk and Addy Mitchell, there is plenty of optimism surrounding the potential of Raleigh Catholic, which is among the favorites in its return to WakeMed Soccer Complex following a seventh-place finish Oct. 2 in the Race of Champions at the Great American Cross Country Festival.

The team that finished right in front of Raleigh Catholic at Great American was Assumption High, the 3A state champion from Kentucky, participating as Derby Athletic Club.

Sophomores Julia Schmitt, Reagan Gilmore and Mattie Whitworth, along with freshman Leah Penick lead Derby Athletic Club, which prevailed against Raleigh Catholic in the Race of Champions by a six-point margin.

FishHawk, representing Florida 4A runner-up Newsome, is also expected to compete, led by seniors Megan Wells and Kendall Hughes.

Blacksburg, the runner-up in Virginia Class 4, is entered as Blacksburg Track Club, as sophomore Reese Bradbury is looking to build on her success following an eighth-place finish at the state final.

Western Albermarle, which finished sixth in the Virginia Class 4 state championship meet, is scheduled to compete as Crozet Crew. Freshman Sadie Adams took third for the group at the state final and is a contender for the individual crown, along with fellow ninth-grader Shaffer, with none of the top 40 finishers from the 2019 regional scheduled to compete Saturday.

West Springfield, the third-place squad in Virginia Class 6, also has strong team aspirations, with sophomore Aidan MacGrath leading West Springfield XC Club following a ninth-place finish at the state championship.

Albermarle, the fourth-place finisher in Virginia Class 5, is entered as Panorama Farms Project, with state runner-up Jenna Coleman, a junior, at the top of the lineup.

Irene Williams, a senior at Thomas Jefferson S&T, is another Virginia standout scheduled to compete, representing TJ. She placed seventh in the Class 6 state final.

Kory Johnston of Frank Cox, competing unattached, placed fourth in the Virginia Class 5 championship race.

A rematch of the Maryland Private Schools Championships is expected to materialize, with winner Evelyn Rogers of Elizabeth Seton primed for another showdown with runner-up Zoe Benitez of Key High.

Katherine Leddy of Arundel High, the fourth-place finisher in the Maryland 4A state final, is also scheduled to compete.

Olivia Bufalini of Laney High in North Carolina, who secured sixth place in the 4A state final, is entered, along with the runner-up in the 3A championship race, Hannah Preisser of Carrboro.

Brooke Hooper from Pine Crest High in Florida, who finished fourth at the 2A state, is also scheduled to compete.