Lukas Verzbicas, IL, has clearly established himself as the best high school XC harrier of 2010 with an impressive Nike XC Nationals win in the mud and a dominating win in the sun at the Foot Locker Nationals.  Lukas became the first harrier to win both the NXN and Foot Locker titles in the same year and just the 3rd harrier ever to win 2 Foot Locker titles.  These stats should establish a foundation for considering him as one of the best high school harriers of all-time.  

The 2010 Foot Locker Nationals are in the books!  Aisling Cuffe and Lukas Verzbicas have put their stamp on history with equally dominating performances with winning times of 16:53 and 14:59.

BOSTON, MA, December 8, 2010 – Global athletic leader New Balance is pleased to announce an official multi-year partnership with the National Scholastic Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in New York City in the New Balance Indoor Nationals. The event will bring together the best indoor track and field high school athletes from across the country for a weekend of intense competition.  

Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius, NY) made history by winning their 5th straight NXN girls title with a mere 27 points!

    Congratulations to Westonka senior Julia Harrison, who has been named one of 12 national finalists for the 2010 Wendy's High School Heisman Award!  Click the story title to read the news release prepared by Mary Pat McNeil.  Photo courtesy of Mary Pat McNeil.

    The 7th annual Nike Cross Nationals will be held on Saturday, December 4th, at Portland Meadows on the north side of the city of Portland, Oregon. The meet has served as the unofficial yet virtually legitimate national high school cross country team championships since NXN's inception in 2004. A total of 22 of the nation's best cross country teams representing nine regions across the country will be racing alongside each other on the three loop course inside the horsetrack within the infield area of Portland Meadows.  The 5K course layout has traditionally been muddy and slick footing as a result of the area's regular rainfall. The Nike experience is an unforgettable few days for the athletes and coaches starting with the all-expense paid trip to Oregon as well as plenty of free gear and other perks showered upon them as they arrive on the Nike Campus.

Photo by Ron Crocker    Fayetteville-Manlius girls have been in a league of their own against the best of the best for four years running now as the defending Nike Cross Nationals team champions. The New York squad saw a group of seniors graduate last spring which were members of four straight national champion squads and will have another senior group which is in line to enjoy the same feat as the unanimous US #1 team in several national team rankings. If there were ever a year for the California girls to knock off the New York girls from having bragging rights in cross country, this year would be a great opportunity with their four team representatives. An exceptionally strong season of performances by the California girls earned them two at-large berth squads in Great Oak and La Costa Canyon to join the two automatic qualifiers Saugus and Mira Costa after the state meet results merge.

Photo by Ron Crocker   While the girls' race focus stays on the original purpose of the Nike Cross Nationals in crowning the national team championship and if the Fayetteville-Manlius girls can extend their streak to five titles, it is the individual stars which takes the spotlight for the boys' race at the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals. Defending Foot Locker Nationals champion Lukas Verzbicas of Sandburg High School in Illinois will be attempting to put stamp himself as one of the all-time greats in the history of United States high school cross country by trying to win both national titles at the Nike Cross Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals in consecutive weekends. His biggest test arguably will not be in doubling back on likely tired legs in San Diego next Saturday at Foot Locker Nationals, but his first stop in the double at Portland Meadows in his first ever Nike Cross Nationals race.

A virtual meet preview of the championship girls' race for the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals based on current season best 5K performances in the MileSplit database. No individual qualifiers are included in this virtual meet preview and only runners on the 22 team qualifiers. Any corrections or missing times, please email to bmiles@milesplit.us.

A virtual meet preview of the championship boys' race for the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals based on current season best 5K performances in the MileSplit database. No individual qualifiers are included in this virtual meet preview and only runners on the 22 team qualifiers. Any corrections or missing times, please email to Brandon Miles at bmiles@milesplit.us.

 The 10th release of the MileSplit XC Super 50 rankings comes amidst the thick of the post-season.  The NXN Nationals are held this weekend in Portland, Oregon and the Foot Locker West Championships are held in Walnut, California.  The following weekend in San Diego the best individual harriers take to the historic stage of the Foot Locker National Championships to crown a new girls and boys champion.  We are getting ever closer to seeing who the best harriers truly are, the only way possible, through head-to-head racing!

Throughout his high school cross country career, Andrew Gerdts’ hallmark has been consistency. No matter what course conditions or weather may bring, Gerdts consistently finished among the top runners in the contest. So there is a bit of irony as Gerdts crossed the finish line in his last high school meet – the 2010 State Class A cross country meet at St. Olaf College in Northfield. His time of 16:47 was exactly the same as last year’s state meet. How is that for consistency? (via lesueurnews-herald.com)

 (via www.swiftcountymonitor.com)

(via www.mnsun.com)