Gonzalez Closes Well Again To Beat Sean Fries, Ben Crane To Finish Line; Garces Beats Three-Time Qualifier Jessie Jazwinski By 10 Seconds

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS by Lily Dozier

Juan Gonzalez and Victoria Garces backed up their respective Nike Cross Regional titles and locked up their spots to Foot Locker Cross Country Championships after claiming wins at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Saturday.

Gonzalez, winner of Nike Cross Regional Heartland, claimed the boys championship race in 14 minutes, 58.8 seconds, and Garces, winner of Nike Cross Regional Midwest, secured the girls championship title in 17:14.6.

Top 10 finishers from each championship qualify for the national meet at Balboa Park in San Diego on Dec. 14.

Gonzalez of Fremont, Neb., outlasted Sean Fries of Minnetonka, Minn., by less than two seconds in 15:00 in a conservative boys race where all the athletes battled temperatures in the 20s.

Nike Cross Regional Midwest champion Ben Crane of Wilmette, Ill., settled for third in 15:03.3, besting fellow Illinois competitor Philip Cupial of Woodridge in 15:03.4.

Salvador Wirth of Annandale, Minn., and Benjamin Anderson of Highlands Ranch, Colo., redeemed tough finishes at their respective Nike Cross Regional races, with Wirth finishing fifth in 15:04.3 and Anderson finishing sixth in 15:05.

Nike Cross Nationals qualifiers Noah Bontrager (15:05.8, seventh) of Shipshewana, Ind., Robert Mechura (15:05.9, eighth) and Sam Quagliaroli (15:06.2, ninth) of Fishers, Ind., locked up their spots to San Diego, along with Liam Bauschke of Mishawaka, Ind., rounding out the top 10 in 15:06.8.

Just outside the top 10 was Wisconsin state champion and early leader in the race, Manny Putz of Onalaska, Wis., who finished 11th for the second time in this meet. He was also 11th in 2022. 

Garces of Midland, Mich., slowly moved up throughout the girls race and overtook the final mile to win by 11 seconds over Foot Locker Cross Country All-American Jessie Jazwinski of Shelby, Mich., in 17:25.1. Jazwinski will make her third trip to San Diego for nationals.

Norah Hushagen of Forest Lake, Minn., Minnesota's Class AAA champion, locked up a third-place finish in 17:27 to head to her first Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.

Emily Cohen of Englewood, Colo., and Libby Dowty of Morgantown, Ind., finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to both earn a second consecutive trip to nationals, with Cohen running 17:33.3 and Dowty running 17:34.8.

Ruby Ihmels of Bismarck, N.D., who represented the West region at last year’s national meet, will now represent the Midwest after finishing sixth in 17:39.2.

Mallory Weller (17:40.4, sevnth) of Fort Wayne, Ind., Rosie Mucharsky (17:41.2, eighth) of Denver, Kate Foltz (17:42.7, ninth) of Tuscola, Ill., and Brooke Chapman (17:48.4, 10th) of Westerville, Ohio, completed the top 10 individuals that’ll represent the Midwest in San Diego.