Dalton Hengst and Devin Hart at Foot Locker

I don't know who they are but you make very good points.

Here's the boys Footlocker preview.

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2017/12/2017-foot-locker-boys-preview-illinois-danny-kilrea-slight-favorite-trio-notre-dame-recruits-lead-way/

MiniManzano wrote:

He's been crushing competition in Jersey .

That is part of the problem he has only raced against NJ runners maybe people from NJ should take a step over a boarder from time to time and face some real competition

Where is the girl's Footlocker preview?

Come on Letsrun, it's time for you to treat women with respect.

That's a preview, really???

It reads like a Nike advertisement, and many top contenders were ignored.

you can leave the state wrote:

That is part of the problem he has only raced against NJ runners maybe people from NJ should take a step over a boarder from time to time and face some real competition

I agree with this sentiment, but the same could be argued for many across the East Coast. The sad truth is, running doesn’t get much love outside of the indoor season here. There aren’t many “premier “ meets out here aside from Manhattan, Bowdoin, and Shore Coaches, and these two have run at all three collectively. Not to mention West Coast runners don’t seem to care much for how difficult sub 16s are on each course.

The same could be argued about the Illinois kids this year. Kilrea and Jacobs rarely raced outside of their state, however they get much more attention presumably because of their fast times.

Devin Hart is defineately one of the more underrated runners in the field at Footlocker. He has gone largely unpushed in New Jersey and takes every race out from the gun and leading wire to wire. His regionals race was likely just a fluke as November is a brutal stretch for runners in NJ with sectionals, groups, and MOC all back to back with groups and MOC run at the challenging Holmdel Park. Expect him to surprise in a race where he will have people to chase.

As for Hengst, ever since his over the top celebration and big run at Great American he hasn’t lived up to the hype since his disappointing finish at the Manhattan Invite. I wouldn’t count him out though as when he is on top of his game few can match his competetiveness at the end of races.

you can leave the state wrote:

MiniManzano wrote:

He's been crushing competition in Jersey .

That is part of the problem he has only raced against NJ runners maybe people from NJ should take a step over a boarder from time to time and face some real competition

The problem is not NJ, but the Northeast as a whole. Almost every year at Footlocker the Northeast is the weakest region and same goes for the teams at NXN (besides Lincroft). NJ is usually one of the better states in the Northeast so the competition there is as good as anywhere within driving distance. For high school runners taking a flight out to a major meet is almost always impractical.

GPS accuracy wrote:

Devin Hart is defineately one of the more underrated runners in the field at Footlocker.

He isn’t as insane as the Rosas or Cheserek, but he will end up being one of the all time greats of NJ. If anyone remembers the name, he’s very reminiscent of Craig Forys, and the latter went on to place runner up at Footlocker his senior year as well as run 8:42 or so by the end of the same year. Hart is a Junior.