Foot Locker Watered Down This Year

I am by no means a Nike fan but I prefer having a national championship like college with teams rather than the 40 elites. It is cool but cross country is more about teams. Also Nike on the guys side is looking much more competitive up front, in the past it has seemed like each national champion was 1 and then the other national champion was 2. This year with Hasty, Mwaura, and Horter Nike is just much more competitive up front and it looks equal if not better 30 deep. I have always been a fan of footlocker but they do not have the best model and as much as I like the history of footlocker and could care less about free gear, Nike is just better in my opinion.

If Claudia Lane goes to FL, it is because she is afraid of Touhy. If she is about racing the best, she will go NXN, because that is where the best will be.

runn wrote:

It's simple- every great team has a great runner- they will go to NXN. The individuals who want to race against the best will follow them.

It's simpler than that. The individual national champion is the winner of Foot Locker and the team national champion is the winner of NXN. In order to race for the national title you'll have to go to Foot Locker, even if that means you can't run for your team at NXR/N (Maton). People don't go to NXN to "race against the best". They go for the shiny goodies and the team title.

pa does in fact play wrote:

In PA/the Northeast a very odd thing occurred that was quite interesting to me. The team that won our biggest classification's state title had their number 1 runner (who is very fast) go to Footlocker NE and qualify. The rest of the team (2-8) went to NXN NE and got third, and then didn't get a wild card. If that #1 runner ran, there is a very, VERY good chance the team makes it. What happened?

I assume you are referring to Fox Chapel as the team who got 3rd in NX NE. 6 of their 7 from PIAA state championship team did run; their 7th from states is not in NX NE results. You may be confusing Savannah Shaw from Upper St. Clair HS as being on the Fox Chapel team. Savannah finished 6th in FL NE to qualify for nationals. The other PA FL NE qualifiers are teams who are in smaller school classifications (and aren't as competitive).

real mans wrote:

runn wrote:

It's simple- every great team has a great runner- they will go to NXN. The individuals who want to race against the best will follow them.

It's simpler than that. The individual national champion is the winner of Foot Locker and the team national champion is the winner of NXN. In order to race for the national title you'll have to go to Foot Locker, even if that means you can't run for your team at NXR/N (Maton). People don't go to NXN to "race against the best". They go for the shiny goodies and the team title.

You must work for footlocker.

The winner of footlocker is the just that, "the winner of footlocker", just so happens that this year and it looks to be a trend, that this year the best male (Mwara) and female (Touhy) will both be at NXN. So the real national champions will be in Portland.

fake news wrote:

real mans wrote:

It's simpler than that. The individual national champion is the winner of Foot Locker and the team national champion is the winner of NXN. In order to race for the national title you'll have to go to Foot Locker, even if that means you can't run for your team at NXR/N (Maton). People don't go to NXN to "race against the best". They go for the shiny goodies and the team title.

You must work for footlocker.

The winner of footlocker is the just that, "the winner of footlocker", just so happens that this year and it looks to be a trend, that this year the best male (Mwara) and female (Touhy) will both be at NXN. So the real national champions will be in Portland.

I work for an energy company. Tuohy and Mwara are electing to race for flashy freebies instead of the individual national championship.

pa does in fact play wrote:

In PA/the Northeast a very odd thing occurred that was quite interesting to me. The team that won our biggest classification's state title had their number 1 runner (who is very fast) go to Footlocker NE and qualify. The rest of the team (2-8) went to NXN NE and got third, and then didn't get a wild card. If that #1 runner ran, there is a very, VERY good chance the team makes it. What happened?

2 thoughts about this:

1. If the team needed their #1 runner to qualify, it means the team on a 'national level' is marginal and would not have been competitive at the NXN national meet and perhaps would not have even qualified out of the NE. A "marginal team with one low stick" is not a great team, it is a essentially a "marginal team with one low stick". At best, the one low stick is basically giving his team an NXN experience, which collectively they have not earned.

2. This team's star athlete lead his team to a state title, which is a major accomplishment, but collectively is all they are entitled to. Now he has the opportunity to do something for himself that he is entitled to.

At the Penn Relays, the top schools, the one expected to be competitive in the COA, will routinely hold out their top runner(s) from the qualifier. Aside from resting their top athlete(s), the thought process is that if you need your top athlete just to qualify, you probably aren't going to competitive in the COA. I am not making a judgement call on what is right or wrong in this particular situation; however, if the athlete is a senior, I always opted for allowing athletes to optimize their individual opportunities.

fake news wrote:

real mans wrote:

It's simpler than that. The individual national champion is the winner of Foot Locker and the team national champion is the winner of NXN. In order to race for the national title you'll have to go to Foot Locker, even if that means you can't run for your team at NXR/N (Maton). People don't go to NXN to "race against the best". They go for the shiny goodies and the team title.

You must work for footlocker.

The winner of footlocker is the just that, "the winner of footlocker", just so happens that this year and it looks to be a trend, that this year the best male (Mwara) and female (Touhy) will both be at NXN. So the real national champions will be in Portland.

In years to come, perhaps high school will have something like the NCAA Championships, but currently, Footlocker is recognized as the 'individual' national championship and NXN as the 'team' national championship. With that said, their are certainty athletes at NXN who could compete for a Footlocker individual championship, but they chose team success and perhaps NXN individual success. There is a cache to being able to say you are the FLNC that NXN does not rise to. NCAA champs and Olympians have come from Footlocker, currently, NXN came not say that. NXN is on the rise, but some people are pushing it ahead of where it actually is. If you want to prove you are best H.S. XC runner in the nation, you need to be at Footlocker, else go to NXN and shoot for team success and/or the best athlete on the best team.

real mans wrote:

fake news wrote:

You must work for footlocker.

The winner of footlocker is the just that, "the winner of footlocker", just so happens that this year and it looks to be a trend, that this year the best male (Mwara) and female (Touhy) will both be at NXN. So the real national champions will be in Portland.

I work for an energy company. Tuohy and Mwara are electing to race for flashy freebies instead of the individual national championship.

No, this is such BS, they are racing the better race, the race that is most like every other XC race they have run and will run at the NCAA level. You need to wake up, for the best kids the freebies are meaningless, they get them all the time (think Brooks PR). This is reality, you have an agenda, give it a rest.

Brod Cruz wrote:

Geographer wrote:

I thought the race was in Portland? Is the trip to China after the race?

LMAO. POTW.

On a side note- most states limit what the kids at NXN can receive and stay eligible. It’s usually very meager. A pair of shoes, a shirt and jacket, something similar.

Unless you're a senior and have committed to a college.

real mans wrote:

runn wrote:

It's simple- every great team has a great runner- they will go to NXN. The individuals who want to race against the best will follow them.

It's simpler than that. The individual national champion is the winner of Foot Locker and the team national champion is the winner of NXN. In order to race for the national title you'll have to go to Foot Locker, even if that means you can't run for your team at NXR/N (Maton). People don't go to NXN to "race against the best". They go for the shiny goodies and the team title.

But there are individuals at Nike. In some states you can't do both.

If Claudia Lane goes to Foot Locker it's because SHE IS THE DEFENDING CHAMPION, idiot.

Let's see if she can repeat... rarely been done.

gaa wrote:

If Claudia Lane goes to Foot Locker it's because SHE IS THE DEFENDING CHAMPION, idiot.

Let's see if she can repeat... rarely been done.

Easy to repeat when the comp goes to another race.

She knows where Touhy will be, let's see if she is up to the challenge.

If Touhy goes to Nx teams, it is because she is afraid of Claudia Lane at Footlocker Nationals.

If she is about racing the best, she will go Footlocker Nationals, because that is where the best will be.

TrackCoach wrote:

I am not making a judgement call on what is right or wrong in this particular situation; however, if the athlete is a senior, I always opted for allowing athletes to optimize their individual opportunities.

Good for you coach. I wish there were a lot more good coaches like you.

runn wrote:

real mans wrote:

It's simpler than that. The individual national champion is the winner of Foot Locker and the team national champion is the winner of NXN. In order to race for the national title you'll have to go to Foot Locker, even if that means you can't run for your team at NXR/N (Maton). People don't go to NXN to "race against the best". They go for the shiny goodies and the team title.

But there are individuals at Nike. In some states you can't do both.

I'm aware of that. In those states they have to decide if they are racing for the individual national championship or not.

Foot Locker is a better race to see who has the most fitness and who is most likely to be successful at the NCAA and post-collegiate level. NXN is run on a course that favors runners from areas of the country that are cold, wet and often run on very soft muddy terrain.

Like past 2x time winner from UTAH, Casey Clinger?

watered down race wrote:

Easy to repeat when the comp goes to another race.

She knows where Touhy will be, let's see if she is up to the challenge.

You come on here every year trash talking the people who don't go to Nike.

If Footlocker Nationals is so easy, why did Touhy chicken out huh huh huh. So much for your theory.

DesertRat wrote:

Foot Locker is a better race to see who has the most fitness and who is most likely to be successful at the NCAA and post-collegiate level. NXN is run on a course that favors runners from areas of the country that are cold, wet and often run on very soft muddy terrain.

Like past 2x time winner from UTAH, Casey Clinger?

AND Clinger is the top Freshman at NCAA D1 XC this year.

Not sure where Brown ended up at Nats this year.