Foot Locker Midwest is always a very interesting and fun meet. Lots of surprises happen at this meet and you will see some rising stars emerge. All Illinois eyes will be on Kenosha Wisconsin this weekend as the Thanksgiving Week festivities continue.
Location: University of Wisconsin Parkside
Race Schedule:
10:00am - Fr/So Boys
10:40am - Championship Girls
11:25am - Championship Boys
12:05pm - Coach Fed Youth Race
12:35pm - High School Girls
1:10pm - Jr/Sr Boys
1:45pm - Open Race
Live Results: HERE
Girls -
Victoria Garces (Sr. Midland Dow [MI])
Garces enters the meet as the favorite to win this race as she is undefeated until this point in her season. She won NXR Midwest just a few weeks ago and will be looking to make her 2nd trip to San Diego for FLN. She was 8th in this race last year to qualify and she took 20th at FLN.
Ruby Ihmels (So., Bismarck [Century] [ND])
Ihmels was undefeated all the way until NXR Heartland where she finished runner-up, but ran 16:34 for 5K. Ihmels dominated her season in North Dakota as she won by large margins in her regular season campaign. 16:34 is one of the fastest times in history at Yankton Trail Park. She is arguably a top 10 runner in the country this year.
Ella Hagen (Sr., Summit [CO])
Hagen has had a phenomenal season up to this point of the season. She only has 2 losses on the year and that was at Air Academy Kadet Invite and NXR Southwest. She still ran great in loaded NXR Southwest Meet where she qualified for NXN with her 4th place finish in 16:48. She was 10th at NXN last year so she has history of being one the most premier runners in the country.
Jessica Jazwinski (Sr., Hart [MI])
Jazwinski hasn't competed a whole lot this season as she has ran Unattached this year instead of representing her high school. She ran 16:52 for 5K back in late August so its obvious that she is extremely fit at the present time. Jazwinski was 4th in this race last year and is the top returner in the meet from Foot Locker Nationals where she took 9th place.
Rosie Mucharsky (Sr., Denver East [CO])
Mucharsky had a massive breakout race at NXR Southwest when she took 6th in the talented field and qualified for NXN Championships. She took 10th at her state race, but if she can replicate that NXR Southwest performance here then expect her to punch her ticket to Balboa Park.
Emily Cohen (Jr., Cherry Creek [CO])
Last year Cohen qualified for Foot Locker Nationals when she took 7th at Foot Locker Midwest. She finished 22nd at Foot Locker Nationals and will be looking to return this season. She was 7th at NXR Southwest in one of the best races in the country this year.
Mallory Weller (Jr., Fort Wayne [Concordia Lutheran])
Weller has had an amazing last few weeks to her season as she most recently qualified for NXN with her 4th place finish at NXR Midwest in 17:10. She didn't startoff her season great but, really shifted into a new gear in late September. The Indiana State Champion was 21st in this race last year and will look to qualify here.
Libby Dowty (Jr., Indian Creek [IN])
Dowty is the top returner from this race last year where she finished 3rd overall and finished 19th at Foot Locker Nationals. She has been an all-american in the past as she took 17th at Nike Cross Nationals last year. She knows what it takes to qualify for a National meet. She just missed out on qualifying to NXN as she took 7th at NXR Midwest. Expect that to fuel her here.
Payton Meineke (Jr., Riverdale Ridge [CO])
Meineke took 6th place in this race last year and qualified to run at Foot Locker Nationals last year via that performance. She took 16th at Foot Locker Nationals last year and will be looking to make her way back to gain all-american honors this time around. She also ran at NXN last year. She was 8th at the Woobridge Classic and 2nd at the Desert Twilight Meet so she is aware of how to run in national level meets.
Brooke Chapman (Jr., Olentangy Orange [OH])
Chapman was 6th at NXR Midwest which marked what was likely her best performance of the season. She was 2nd at the Ohio D1 State Championships in 17:12 which is her 5K PR. She will be in the mix for one of the last qualifying spots.
Kate Foltz (Jr., Tuscola [IL])
Foltz didn't have her best day at NXR Midwest (at least compared to the week before) as she placed 10th in 17:28. At the Illinois State Meet she ran the 3rd fastest time ever at Detweiller Park when she broke 16:00 for 3 miles to run 15:59. If she can run another race near the level of that one then she can qualify for Nationals.
Norah Hushagen (Sr., Forest Lake [MN])
Hushagen has had a great season up to this point with her most recent performance being a 8th place finish at NXR Heartland. She sports a PR of 17:04 in the 5K and will be fighting for one of the final qualifying spots to run at Balboa Park.
Emma Hoffman (Jr., Otsego [MI])
Hoffmann was undefeated all year until the Michigan State Meet where she was 2nd in the D2 Race. Hoffman holds a win against Jazwinski this year in Jazwinski's only loss of the year at the Otsego Bulldog Invite. She was 12th at NXR Midwest and will be looking to nab one of the final qualifying spots.
Sunny Weber (Jr., Sandwich [IL])
Weber was undefeated this year until NXR Midwest where she took 14th place. It really marked the first race this season that Weber had anyone in front of her at 2 miles. Maybe that was a shock to her there? If she runs the same way that she did at State then she will be fighting for a qualifying spot.
Julia Score (Jr., Indianapolis [Bishop Chatard] [IN])
Last year Score qualified for NXN as she placed 41st place at the National Meet in Portland, Oregon. This year her NXR Midwest race wasn't what she wanted as she placed 20th in 17:48. She could bounce back here and qualify for another National Meet.
Karlin Janowski (Fr., Elmhurst [York] [IL])
Janowski is a wildcard in this field. She was 2nd at the Illinois 3A State Meet in 16:30 for 3 miles. She had a very impressive performance at NXr Midwest where she was 11th overall. The Lady Dukes' freshman has a dangerous kick. If she in the mix in the final mile then she could sneak her way into a qualifying spot.
Veronica Znajda (Sr., Mt. Prospect [Prospect] [IL])
Znajda had a great race at NXR Midwest where she took 15th in 17:41. She was only 4 seconds off of Janowski at the state meet as she took 3rd. She is a very gritty type of runner so this course can suit her well. She could potentially snag a qualifying position.
Boys -
Juan Gonzalez (Sr., Freemont [NE])
Gonzalez hasn't lost a single race this season which has been highlighted by a big win over Manny Putz at NXR Heartland. He ran 14:34 for 5K at NXR which is one of the fastest times in the country this season. He qualified for both NXN and Foot Locker last year and of course already has qualified for NXN this year. He will look to qualify for his 4th XC National here. He is arguably the best runner in the country so this will be a fun one to watch.
Manny Putz (Sr., Onalaska [WI])
Putz makes his return to Foot Locker Midwest after his 2022 performance where he just missed qualifying by one spot as he finished 11th. Putz is one of the top runners in the country as he took 5th last year at NXN. His only loss of the season came to Juan Gonzalez which happened at NXR Heartland. He will look for revenge this weekend.
Robert Mechura (Sr., Roseville Area [MN])
Muchura came close to winning NXR Heartland, but ended up being 3rd behind Gonzalez and Putz. He was undefeated until NXR, but his best performance of the year was likely his NXR race. If he can replicate that performance then he might be a sneaky winner of this race.
Ben Crane (Sr., Winnetka [New Trier] [IL})
Crane has had a phenomenal season with only one loss on it and it being at Nike XC Town Twilight where he took 4th. He is coming off a massive win at NXR Midwest where he won in 14:46. He took 8th at this meet last year to qualify for Foot Locker Nationals where he took 24th overall. He will be challenging for the win here.
Aiden Le Roux (Jr., Cheyenne Mountain [CO])
Le Roux got a big win at the Colorado 4A State Meet where he won the race in 15:02 which is a pretty serious time at altitude. He followed it up with a 5th place finish at NXR Southwest which qualified him for NXN. He will look to qualify for another national meet here. He was 8th at RunningLane XC Championships last year. He has plenty of big meet racing under his belt.
Sam Quagliaroli (Sr., Fishers [IN])
Quagliaroli was locked into a great battle with Crane at NXR Midwest and ended up taking 2nd place overall. He had a massive last few weeks of his season with his best performance likely being at Indiana State when he won in 14:46.9. He is new to Foot Locker Midwest and will be looking to qualify for the National Championship in his first trip to the park.
Benjamin Anderson (Sr., Mountain Vista [CO])
Anderson was undefeated this year until the NXR Southwest Meet where he ended up taking 8th overall. It wasnt his best race of the yea, but he still ran 14:41 for 5K. Last year he took 41st at NXR Southwest and came back to take 7th at Foot Locker Midwest and qualified for Nationals. He took 9th at Balboa Park and is one of the top returners in the country from that race.
Noah Bontrager (Jr., Westview [IN])
Bontrager had a massive breakout race at the Indiana State Meet where he was 2nd in 14:51 for a massive PR. He followed that up with another great race at NXR Midwest where he was 3rd overall. Bontrager will be a name that is expected almost at this point to make it to Foot Locker Nationals, but we will have to see how the race plays out.
Jaden Merrick (Jr., Cedar Falls [IA])
Merrick has had one of the best overall seasons in terms of time as you can consistently depend on him to be under 15:00. He was 2nd at the Iowa State meet, but its obvious that meet wasn't his best of the year. He will be looking to bounce back here. He is a sub 9:00 3200m on the track. Expect him to be in the mix to qualify.
Graham Stevener (Sr., Kirkwood [MO])
This is a pretty cool story as Stevener had no cross country results on Athletic.net prior to this year. The first year cross country runner will be looking to qualify for a national championship! He was 2nd at the Missouri State Class 5 Meet in 15:00. If he can replicate that performance then he will set himself up for potential qualification.
Grant Schroder (Sr., Downers Grove North [IL]) and Phillip Cupial (Jr., Downers Grove North [IL])
Schroder has had a great season along with his teammate Cupial. When you talk about one of them you have to mention the other as their margains between them have been razor thin every race this year. Schroder was 10th at NXR Midwest and Cupial was 7th and only 4 seconds ahead of his teammate. Either one of these two could nab an National Qualifying spot and will be interesting to see if they can.
Carson Driemeier (Jr., Festus [MO])
Driemeier had a great second half to his season as he was crowned the Missouri Class 4 State Champion. He followed that up with an 8th place performance at NXR Midwest which was very impressive compared to what he had been running the rest of the year. If he can replicate that performance then he will be in contention to qualify for Nationals.
Joe Bregenzer (Sr., Barrington [IL])
Bregenzer took 3rd at the Illinois State Meet where he ran a blazing 14:12 for 3 miles at historic Detweiller Park. He didn't have his best day at NXR Midwest where he was 32nd overall in 15:33. If he can replicate his state performance then he will be in shape to make a potential push to qualifying for nationals.
Dylan Maloney (Sr., Plainfield South [IL])
Maloney has been one of the best runners in Illinois all year and prior to the state meet the convo was very heavy between him and Crane. He ended up taking 5th at the State Meet and unfortunately had food poisoning at NXR Midwest. He will look to bounce back and snag a qualifying spot to Balboa Park to finish off his season.
Sean Fries (Jr., Minnetonka [MN])
Fries was 2nd at the Minnesota Class 3A State Championships and followed that up with an excellent 9th place finish at NXR Heartland. He will be looking to potentially walk away with a National Qualifying spot this weekend.
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