With Nike's new national meet, will Foot Locker and the regional meets to qualify for Foot Locker Nats cease to exist? I haven't seen anything, but since Nike was a major Foot Locker sponsor I assume there will not be two national races. Any one know for sure?
Nike's new National Team Championship is for TEAMs. Footlocker is for Individuals. The Nike championship race will be the weekend following Thanksgiving, which is the weekend before Footlocker finals. There is very, very rarely a top individual on one of the top teams in the country. Even if there was, the individual could run in all 3 races, Footlocker regionals, Nike Team Champs and Footlocker Finals, on consecutive weekends. The only people in direct conflict would be those in the west region where they will run the Footlocker regionals on the same weekend as the Nike Team chempionship weekend. This would only affect the runners on the 4-8 teams selected from the regions feeding the Footlocker West region. Again, it is extremely rare that an individual would be affected.
The top two teams in the Harrier this year were Saratoga and Smoky Hill -- whose top runners are Nicole Blood and Katelyn Kaltenbach. So it's not that rare.
The Woodlands: Brian Sullivan.
Central Catholic: Galen Rupp.
Mead: Stuart Eagon.
Damn, that is rare.
Stuart Eagon does not go to Mead, he goes to school In Portland. Evan Garber goes to Mead though.
Actually, Eagon goes to Beaverton High School.
Boys:
- Christian Wagner, N. Columbus (IN) - 14:35 5K; team ranked #5 in nation
- Brian Sullivan, The Woodlands (TX) - 14:46 5K; team ranked #1 in nation
- Galen Rupp, Central Catholic (OR) - 14:55 5K; team ranked #6 in nation
- Charles Cummings, Eisenhower (WA) - 15:00 3.1 mi; team ranked #5 in West region
- Sean McNamara, York (IL) - 14:33 3 mi; team ranked #2 in nation
- Fitsum Tesfa, Don Lugo (CA) - 14:40 3 mi; team ranked #9 in - nation
- Mark Fruin, York (IL) - 14:43 3 mi - team ranked #2 in nation
- Matt Dettman, York (IL) - 14:46 3 mi - team ranked #2 in nation
Girls:
- Nicole Blood, Saratoga Sprgs (NY) - 16:53 5K; team ranked #1 in nation
- Katelyn Kaltenbach, Smoky Hill (CO) - 17:25 5K; team ranked #2 in nation
- Lindsey Ferguson, Saratoga Sprgs(NY) - 17:28 3.05 mi; team ranked #1 in nation
- Zoe Nelson, Flathead (MT) - 17:29 5K; team ranked #4 in West region
- Caitlin Lane, Argyle (NY) - 17:31 5K; team ranked #9 in nation
- Collier Lawrence, Reno (NV) - 17:34 3.1 mi; team ranked #5 in West region
- Liza Pasciuto, Murrieta Valley (CA) - 16:38 3 mi; team ranked #17 in nation
- Morgan Schulz, Smoky Hills (CO) - 17:39 5K; team ranked #2 in nation
- Marie Lawrence, Reno (NV) - 17:40 3.1 mi; team ranked #5 in West region
All we need is for adidas and asics to sponsor national meets. Shouldn't be too hard to quintuple after one's state meet.
Chalk up one more time when capitalism and greed take precedence over the best interests of the sport. Imagine what Footlocker 2001 would have been like if Sage and Ritzenhein had chosen to run the team event.
dyestat will probably promote the hell out of the NIKE event but probably barely mention Footlockers. Why would they? John Dye knows which side his bread is buttered.
DyeStat = bad for sport.
John Dye = wannabe kingmaker.
butterbean = jerk
Did it ever occur to you that the top teams are chosen, in large part, because of their famous lead runners? For instance, Smoky Hill. They didn't compete outside of Colorado, and yet they were ranked #2 in the nation?!
Maybe, just maybe, this new format may prevent that kind of thing from happening.
butterbean=freaking retard.
... wrote:
Did it ever occur to you that the top teams are chosen, in large part, because of their famous lead runners? For instance, Smoky Hill. They didn't compete outside of Colorado, and yet they were ranked #2 in the nation?!
Maybe, just maybe, this new format may prevent that kind of thing from happening.
Well, just in case you're blind (to the above posts) it probably had more to do with the fact that Smoky had 2 girls in the footlocker finals, placing 1st and 11th!! I'd say that's pretty deserving.
butterbean= dumbass for not realizing that nike co-sponsors footlockers.
Keep in mind that in most cases cited above, there would be not date conflict.
With Kaltenbach, for example, the Foot Locker Midwest Regional would take place before the date for the Nike Team Nationals and the FootLocker National Finals would take place the week after the Nike Team Nationals.
Hence, Kaltenbach could run nationals in both meets. Same goes for most others on the lists posted above.
Just pointing out some people that might have the opportunity to run both or the problem of choosing.
gibb wrote:
... wrote:Did it ever occur to you that the top teams are chosen, in large part, because of their famous lead runners? For instance, Smoky Hill. They didn't compete outside of Colorado, and yet they were ranked #2 in the nation?!
Maybe, just maybe, this new format may prevent that kind of thing from happening.
Well, just in case you're blind (to the above posts) it probably had more to do with the fact that Smoky had 2 girls in the footlocker finals, placing 1st and 11th!! I'd say that's pretty deserving.
It looks like YOU are the one that this blind to both the above posts and the concept behind Footlocker. To quote an earlier post;
"Nike's new National Team Championship is for TEAMs. Footlocker is for Individuals."
I was speaking to the fact that the top teams chosen by Bloom are freqently based on the "fame" of the top individuals. Last, I heard,XC teams are made up of at least FIVE scoring members and it is unfair to rate a whole team based on the individual success of some of it's members running on their own. For example, did you agree with the pre-season and early season choice in 2003XC season of New Mexico's Los Alamos girls as the US #1 team? They also NEVER competed as a team outside of their state. It was stated on dyestat that this choice was based on the fact that two of its members had placed well in the Footlocker West regional the previous season.
The only FAIR way to choose the top national team is to have a national competition such as Great American and this new Nike meet. Otherwise, why couldn't we pick a NCAA college basketball or football champion based on the talent or success of one or two of it's members?
At least try to set your often-demonstrated bias aside to look at this....
this is the most ludicrous post I've ever seen. There is no single person that has done more for the promotion of HS track and xc than John Dye. Bar none.
It will only be a problem for good runners on good teams from the West. The West FL regional will be held the same day as the Nike Team Nats. This is due to the fact the CA state meet is a week later than most everyone else.
If you are a top runner in the West on a top ranked team, which would you choose?
Move the CA state meet back one week and problem solved.