NXR Midwest Preview

Date: Sunday November 17th, 2024

Location: LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course

• NXR is finally here. The qualifying meet for NXN brings a lot of excitement for some of the top teams and individuals in the country as they attempt to claim their spot to run at NXN. Runners from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Michigan are all represented at NXR Midwest.

Girls Individuals -

Victoria Garces (Sr., Midland Dow [MI])

• Garces has looked great this season as she is likely the favorite entering this race. She is undefeated this year and is coming off a 16:37 5K performance at the Michigan State Meet where she beat Helen Sachs by 24 seconds. She has the 7th best speed rating in the country from that meet. She was 20th at Foot Locker Nationals last season, so she has experience in national qualifying meets.

Mia Sirois (So., Barrington [IL])

• Sirois has been undefeated this season in major invites. She has had one of the best seasons in the country this year which has been most recently headlined by her new Illinois State Record of 15:53.40. She will be a lock for one of the top 5 positions in this race.

Kate Foltz (Jr., Tuscola [IL])

• Foltz had a magical day at the Illinois State Meet where she won the Class 1A State Title as she ran 15:59. She didn't have the best start to her season, but has been on fire since her conference meet. She ran the 3rd fastest time in Illinois History. She will be almost a lock to be in the top 5 individuals.

Libby Dowty (Jr., Trafalgar [Indian Creek] [IN])

• Dowty has been the top runner in Indiana all season long. She ended up 6th at the Indiana State Meet which was surprising. She was 17th at NXN and 19th at Foot Locker last year. Expect her to bounce back here and be in contention for a spot for nationals. She has experience in this style of meet.

Helen Sachs (Sr., Holland [West Ottawa] [MI])

• Sachs was the NXR Champion in 2022 when she blazed the course in 16:47. Last year wasn't a great season for her and opted not to race at NXR. This year she returned to form and only loss of the year came at the Michigan State Meet where she was 2nd to Garces. She ran 17 seconds faster at the state meet this year than she did in 2022 which is a great sign that she is fit.

Sunny Weber (Jr., Sandwich [IL])

• Weber has been undefeated all year and will make her NXR debut this Sunday. That's right, the 2A State Champion has never ran in a XC National Qualifier before. She is a wildcard in this race and could sneak into the top 5. Her 16:11 could be just scratching the surface of her potential.

Isabella Keller (So., Effingham [St. Anthony] [IL])

• Keller was 8th at NXN last year in probably her best race of the season. Keller has had a terrific season up to this point, but was a surprising 2nd at the Illinois 1A State Championship to Kate Foltz. Good news for Keller is that she was only one second off what she ran at the State Meet last year. She followed that performance up a week later with a 3rd place finish. She has valuable experience to qualify again.

Mallory Weller (Jr., Fort Wayne [Concordia Lutheran] [IN])

• Weber had a slow start to her season, but really picked it up in the final weeks of the year. She shocked many with her win of the Indiana State Title. 17:12 was what it took to win which is flying. Last year she was 21st in this race and could sneak into the top 5. She will need a big race to do that.

Natasza Dudek (Fr., Ann Arbor [Pioneer] [MI])

• It feels like Pioneer has an individual to watch every season at NXR. This year its freshman Natasza Dudek. Who is the younger sister is the former National Champion, Zofia Dudek. She was 3rd at the Michigan State Meet in 17:04 which is one of the fastest times in state history.

Daniela Scheffler (Sr., Lake [Uniontown] [OH])

• Scheffler is another athlete that has remained undefeated this year and will be an interesting name to keep an eye on. She has made massive developments this year and was 1:28 faster this year at the state meet than she was last season. She is on the outside looking in for an individual qualifying spot, but its not out of the question.

Julia Score (Jr., Indianapolis [Bishop Chatard])

• Score had been very consistent all year until the Indiana State Meet where she was 5th in 17:37. That was 21 seconds off what she ran at Nike XC Town Twilight and will be looking to bounce back this weekend and hopefully qualify. She was 41st at NXN last year. She has been to the dance before and will be looking to return.

Annika Swan (Jr., Chicago [St. Ignatius])

• Swan was 2nd at the Illinois 2A State Meet this past weekend. Swan is an intriguing runner in this race as she hasn't had really any headline wins, but does always run up to the level of the competition. She could be right in the race with the leaders and find her way to representing the Midwest at NXN. She was 14th in this race a year ago.

Girls Teams -

Washington (Romeo) [MI]

• The Bulldogs are clearly the best team in the region! The only issue for this team is that the are from Michigan. For years Michigan teams have been unable to compete at NXN, but a loophole has now been added to the states by-laws. If Romeo qualifies for NXN and are able to get every state association that is represented at NXN to sign a waiver, they will be permitted to compete. Now that's easier said than done, but there is a chance that they can compete at NXN. They won their State Meet with a total of 61 points! They had a 28 second 1-5 split at the State Meet, if they do that at NXR then they will be champions.

Barrington [IL]

• The Illinois 3A State Champions had a magical week in program history last weekend as they claimed their 2nd State Title in program history. Unfortunately they will be shorthanded this weekend as both Storms sisters will not compete at NXR. Scout Storms will be trying to run for selection as part of England's U20 XC Team and Georgia Storms will be also out of the country. The legacy that Scout has left on Barrington XC has been massive and has been a great teammate throughout her four years. She will be unable to take part in U20s next year due to the qualifier happening during the NCAA season. This will of course make the path to NXN hard for this group, but not impossible. They will need to rely on a big race from Abby Lewis who has been rapidly improving.

Elmhurst (York) [IL]

• The Lady Dukes had a great day at the Illinois 3A State Championships and took 2nd by 1 point to Barrington. They will once again be fighting for a spot to go to Portland this weekend. They had a 1-5 split of 1:18 at the state meet and will need to try and get that as close to 1:00 as possible in order for them to qualify to NXN. This is a young team with only two members being on the National qualifying team last year.

Downers Grove North [IL]

• The Trojans have five runners on this team that ran at NXN last year as part of their 16th place team. They did not have their best day at the Illinois 3A State Meet where they were 3rd and only 2 points out of winning the meet. They have had a tight pack all year and it seemed like they just couldn't find each other during the race which resulted in a 57 second 1-5 split. If they can get that back to under 35 seconds then the Trojans could very easily walk away with the win.

Mt. Prospect (Prospect) [IL]

• The Knights had their best race of the season at the IHSA State Meet where they took 4th, but only were 12 points from winning the meet. They return four members from their 14th place finish at NXN last year, so this team has experience. Actually what's interesting is Prospect took 4th at State last year as well and came back the following week to win NXR. Could they do the same in 2024? They have a great top three of Veronica Znajda, Meg Peterson, and Ireland Wildhart which will be big in a race with some many runners competing. They will need Mary Laba and Sophie Fransen to race how they did at state in order to qualify.

Carmel [IN]

• Carmel was the Indiana State Champions just two weeks ago at LaVern Gibson. They had a 1-5 split of 49 seconds at State. The only issue that this squad faces is the fact that they do not have a real front runner who will be up in this race. They will need to rely on their 1-5 split being under 40 seconds in order to qualify.

Fort Wayne (Concordia Lutheran) [IN]

• The Cadets were 2nd at the Indiana State Championships to Carmel but only by 10 points which puts them into the conversation for this weekend. They are led by Indiana State Champion Mallory Weller who will be near the front of this race. Mallory's younger sister will also be a top individual in the field as she was 9th at the Indiana State Championships. They had a 1-5 split of 1:42 and will need to reduce to make it to nationals.

Boys Individuals -

TJ Hansen (Sr., Freeland [MI])

• Hansen is the top returner from NXr last year where he was 4th and qualified to NXN. He took 10th at Nationals last year and is the biggest name in the field. He only has one loss on the year and it was at Nike XC Town Twilight where he lost to Jack Bowen. He will be the favorite heading into this meet for a lot of people.

Landon Kimmel (Jr., Tippecanoe [OH])

• Kimmel has only lost once this season and that was to Alex Bruns in mid September. He dominated at the Ohio D1 State Meet where he won over Bruns in 14:33. He has the 6th fastest speed rating in the country and is one of the countries premier runners. He was 15th at NXR last year and will be challenging for the win this year.

Sam Quagliaroli (Sr., Fishers [IN])

• Quagliaroli only has one blemish on his resume and that was his 7th place finish at the Nike XC Town Twilight where he ran 14:55. He advenged that performance at the Indiana State Meet where he reigned as Indiana State Champion in 14:46. He was 3rd at the State Meet last year, but did not have his best race at NXR when he was 28th. He will look to be in the top 5 potentially this weekend if everything goes well.

Ben Crane (Sr., Winnetka [New Trier] [IL])

• Crane was the Illinois 3A State Champion this past weekend in the 13th fastest time ever at the State Championships of 14:03. He has Nationals expierence as he qualified for Foot Locker Nationals in 2023 to take 24th. He already visited LaVern Gibson this season when he was 4th at Nike XC Town Twilight in 14:49 for 5K. He could sneak up on some people and secure the win.

Noah Bontrager (Jr., Westview [IN])

• Bontrager was undefeated up until the Indiana State Meet when he was 2nd to Quagliaroli in 14:51. That is one of the fastest marks ever Connerat LaVern Gibson and is almost 30 seconds better than his performance last year at State. Bontrager is a young runner that is on the rise and could make a big name for himself by qualifying to Nationals.

Alex Bruns (Sr., Cincinnati [St. Xavier] [OH])

• Bruns is coming off a 2nd place finish at the Ohio State Meet where he was 14 seconds behind Kimmel for 2nd place in 14:47. Bruns has already ran at LaVern Gibson this year as well when he took 5th at the Nike XC Town Twilight Meet. Bruns has made massive strides this year into one of the best runners in the region. He could make the team.

Dylan Maloney (Sr., Plainfield South)

• Maloney has had a great season and was 5th at the Illinois 3A State Meet. It wasn't the performance that he wanted, but was still an excellent day as he ran 14:15. He is more geared towards a strength based course like LaVarn Gibson so expect a better performance than he had at the state meet. He very well could be in the top 5 in this race.

Seth Conner (Sr., Jenison [MI])

• Conner has had a great season with only two losses occurring. He was the Michigan D1 State Champion as he ran 14:54 for the win. He has never ran at NXR before so this will be his first time in a meet like this, but he will be in the mix for individuals to qualify.

Henry Acorn (Sr., Kansas City [Rockhurst])

• Acorn only has one loss on the season and it was to Gabe McLain at the Forest Park XC Festival. He had a huge day at the Missouri Class 5 State Championships where he won in 14:52. This performance far exceeds any other performance that he has had this season. The question is can he replicate it at NXR? His team will be in contention for a spot in Portland.

Jack Bidwell (Sr., Marshall [MI])

• Bidwell was 2nd at the Michigan D2 State Championships to TJ Hansen, but ran a great 14:57 time. He has had some great moments this season and a few down races. He was 89th at the NXR Meet last year after being 4th at the State Meet Bidwell will be looking to avoid a similar result.

Boys Teams -

Downers Grove North [IL]

• The Trojans produced the fastest 1-5 average at the Illinois State Championships this past weekend when they averaged 14:29. The old record was held by the greatest team in Illinois history in the 1999 York Dukes team who averaged 14:31/ They are continuing their path towards being called the greatest team ever this weekend. They are led by Grant Schroder and Phillip Cupial who will be top individuals in the race. They had a 40 second 1-5 split at the State Meet and will need to do that once again to dominate this meet.

Plainfield North [IL]

• The Tigers were the 2nd place team last year at NXR and are the favorites to take 2nd again after a great State Meet. They took 2nd at the Illinois 3A State Championships behind an amazing DGN team. They are led up front by Quinn Davis and Thomas Czerwisnki who will be near the front of the individual race. The key for the Tigers in order to qualify to the National meet again is they will need either Gavin Hall or Dom Frigo to close the gap that they currently have on James Maso. If they can keep that to 20 seconds then expect another National Meet appearance.

Rockhurst [MO]

• Rockhurst has a legitimate shot of making it to NXN as one of the two automatic qualifiers. They had a 1-5 split at their State Meet of 1:21 and will need to try and get that to as close as 1:00 as possible in order to qualify. They have a great 1-4, but their 5th man could hurt them in this race. Henry Alcorn leads this team as one of the top individuals in the field.

Allendale [MI]

• Allendale was the top team in Michigan this year as they won the Michigan D2 State Title with a score of78 points. They had a 1-5 split of 24 seconds at the State Meet which will be very beneficial in a big race like NXR. They will need to find each other during the race and could be a potential team to qualify for NXN.

Bloomington North [IN]

• The Cougars of Bloomington North were the Indiana State Champions at LaVern Gibson just two weeks ago. They had a 1-5 split of 40 seconds at the State Meet The issue with this group is that they don't have any front runners. They will need to move the pack up throughout the race and outperform their State Meet race in order to qualify.

Noblesville [IN]

• This group was 2nd at the Indiana State Championships by only 10 points to Bloomington North. They had a 1-5 split at the State Meet of 38 seconds. The issue with this group is the same as Bloomington North as they do not have a front runner. Moving their pack up in this race will be key in order for them to qualify.

Plainfield South [IL]

• The Cougars qualified to NXN back in 2022 and missed out by 1 point in 2023. They are led up front by Dylan Maloney who will be one of the states top individuals. They have had Alex Batsala, Dylan Buturusis, Austin Cory, and Riley Fink all be near each other at different races this year. In order for the cougars to qualify they will need their 4th and 5th runners with Batsala and Buturusis.