The TEN will take place on March 5th and will host one of the best distance nights in the World. Check here for entries, schedule, results, and viewing info.
Too hard to predict the top 5. Predicting the winner is straightforward but after that it is difficult. It depends on form, who stays healthy, who peaks at the right time. There is a lot of parity. Chloe Huyler just ran 9:17 for the 3k recently. Not sure who else is really in form at the moment and they have to sustain that for a month +
If Hedregen is entered,where's the showdown? I wouldn't be surprised if she and the likes of Big Tex Lutkenhaus dont participate in the hyped up hs "showdown" meets as they prep for USATF sr championships. They are literally too good for hs competition.
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The only showdown will be between Jane and Sadie (if Sadiebis healthy). Everyone else will be struggling to be right behind
Jane is unbeatable in the 1600 or the 3200.
I think Blade beats Engelhardt in a 3200.
Sadie would give Jane a better race in the 1600.
Some odd takes.
Engelhardt beat Jane head to head last year, so not sure unbeatable is accurate. Both have improved since last year. Maybe Jane wins, but unbeatable is a stretch.
Blade's PR is 8 seconds slower than Englehardt's PR from 3 years ago. Maybe she can beat her, but Engelhardt beat her in XC every time they raced (other than Woodbridge) and is certainly better than she was when she was a 9th grader and ran 9:50.
I wish Hedengren and Engelhardt were entered in the mile instead, because as someone said, that actually would be an evenly-matched showdown (if Engelhardt is fully recovered by then), and for major bragging rights.
The likely scenario is that in the 2 mile, Hedengren doesn't even drag the others to fast times, because she's just too far ahead (like at Arcadia). Then again, surprises can happen -- someone like Rylee Blade is quite unpredictable, as we saw when she hung onto Hedengren until the very end in the NIN 5k.
But contra another poster, I doubt Hedengren will run USAs -- they're just too late this year, and I doubt she'll want to peak for them when freshman XC season will be right around the corner, with all the high expectations for her there. I agree that Lutkenhaus definitely might though.
I wish Hedengren and Engelhardt were entered in the mile instead, because as someone said, that actually would be an evenly-matched showdown (if Engelhardt is fully recovered by then), and for major bragging rights.
The likely scenario is that in the 2 mile, Hedengren doesn't even drag the others to fast times, because she's just too far ahead (like at Arcadia). Then again, surprises can happen -- someone like Rylee Blade is quite unpredictable, as we saw when she hung onto Hedengren until the very end in the NIN 5k.
But contra another poster, I doubt Hedengren will run USAs -- they're just too late this year, and I doubt she'll want to peak for them when freshman XC season will be right around the corner, with all the high expectations for her there. I agree that Lutkenhaus definitely might though.
Are you aware of any HS athlete with the qualifying time, that sat out the USAs? It would be a tremendous experience for her and she might even make the team. She would will be fine for XC, and absence injuries, she will run well.
Are you aware of any HS athlete with the qualifying time, that sat out the USAs? It would be a tremendous experience for her and she might even make the team. She would will be fine for XC, and absence injuries, she will run well.
Just off the top of my head, Juliette Whittaker and Roisin Willis, also going into their freshman years, didn't run USAs in 2022 despite having the 800m times. They did have U20 Worlds that they chose to do instead, an option Hedengren won't have. But unlike them, Hedengren will have the XC season ahead and, again, the much closer timeframe.
With that said, I'm obviously just guessing, and if it makes sense for her, I would love to see her run USAs (and Worlds!) this year.
Are you aware of any HS athlete with the qualifying time, that sat out the USAs? It would be a tremendous experience for her and she might even make the team. She would will be fine for XC, and absence injuries, she will run well.
And there's also the case of Parker Valby not running USAs in 2023. Obviously not a HS example, but an example of someone choosing not to peak in the summer months in anticipation of a coming college XC season at the highest level.
