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Footlocker Preview 2013 |
I compiled the following lists to familiarize myself with runners competing in Footlocker 2013 ... I wanted a general idea of what the runners have accomplished in terms of speed ratings with a look towards handicapping the race ... Knowing something about the runners and contenders make the races more interesting when watching the races. The tables below include: Some brief comments about selected runners are given following the tables ... (Link to Speed Rating History at Footlocker Finals) |
| BOYS Footlocker Preview Ratings |
FL FL State
Overall Region Region Meet
Name Gr School St Region Rating Rating Place Rating Other Seasonal Ratings
Matthew Maton 11 Summit OR West 196+ 195 1 196 195 (BorderClash), 194 (GeoFox)
Aaron Templeton 12 Hardin Valley Academy TN South 196+ 196 1 194 ---
Elijah Armstrong 11 Pocatello ID West 197 194 3 193 198 (NXNNW), 187? (Pre-Nat) 193 (Firman)
Mickey Burke 12 Rush-Henrietta NY Northeast 197 199 1 193 192 (Manhattan), 197 (McQuaid)
Grant Fisher 11 Grand Blanc MI Midwest 196 196 1 192 ---
John Dressel 11 Mt Spokane WA West 194 194 2 193 191 (BorderClash), 194 (Richl), 192 (Firman)
Joe Hardy 12 Seattle Prep WA West 194?? 190 10 200 188 (Border), 195 (Richl), 194 (Stanford)
Addison Dehaven 12 Brookings SD Midwest 194 194 2 193 NXNH(195), NXN(191)
Ben Huffman 12 Providence Day NC South 193 193 2 --- 192 (Great Amer)
Christian Alvarado 12 Fairfield Prep CT Northeast 193 198 2 193 188 (NE Champ)
Alexander Ostberg 11 Darien CT Northeast 193 198 3 190 190 (NE Champ)
Conner Mantz 11 Sky View UT West 193 194 4 191 181 (Murray), 191 (Firman)
Liam Mullett 12 Pingry NJ Northeast 193 195 4 186 188 (NJ Groups), 191 (Manhattan)
Jesse Reiser 11 McHenry IL Midwest 192 193 3 191 NXNMW (191), NXN(192)
Garrett Corcoran 12 Villa Park CA West 192 190 9 190 195 (Mt Sac), 190 (Woodbridge)
Toby Hardwick 12 Newark OH Midwest 192 193 4 190 ---
Jackson Bertoli 12 Terre Haute South IN Midwest 192 192 5 187 NXNMW (180)
Josef Holt-Andrews 12 Telstar ME Northeast 192 193 5 170 190 (NE Champ)
Patrick Perrier 12 O'Fallon IL Midwest 192 192 6 191 187, 188
Ian Milder 12 Mount Tabor NC South 192 192 3 188 ---
Louis Colson 12 Thomas Edison VA South 191 191 4 191 186, 192 (Great Amer)
Levi Thomet 11 Kodiak AK West 191 193 6 191 190 (GeoFox)
Kramer Morton 12 Alta UT West 191 193 7 181 190 (Nebo), 182 (Murray)
Blair Hurlock 12 De La Salle CA West 191 193 8 190 189 (Mt Sac), 187 (Stanford)
Trevor Reinhart 11 Marin Academy CA West 191 193 5 185 177 (Stanford)
Daniel Curts 12 Ellsworth ME Northeast 191 192 6 187 ---
Scott Meehan 12 Pope John XXIII NJ Northeast 191 192 7 187 184 (NJ Groups)
Tai Dinger 12 St. Albans School DC Northeast 191 192 8 --- ---
Louis Corgliano 12 Hammonton NJ Northeast 191 191 9 192 179 (NJ Shore), 184 (Briarwood)
Thomas Pollard 11 Gilbert IA Midwest 191 191 7 184 ---
Frank Lara 12 Houston Strake TX South 190 190 9 187 187 (NXNS), NXN(186)
Mackenzie Haight 12 George C Marshall VA South 190 191 5 173 182, 185 (Great Amer)
Ben Barrett 11 Norman North OK South 190 191 6 --- 186 (NXNS), NXN(174)
Tyler Bennett 12 Fort Myers FL South 190 191 7 184 188 (Pre-St), 185
Noah Kauppila 12 Marquette MO Midwest 190 190 8 191 NXNMW(183)
Ross Wilson 12 Council Rock North PA Northeast 190 191 10 188 185 (PA Dist 1)
David Dalton 12 Greenwood Community IN Midwest 190 190 9 186 ---
Ryan Robinson 11 Waterford Mott MI Midwest 190 190 10 183 NXNMW(187)
Brent Demarest 12 Porter-Gaud SC South 190 190 8 --- 186 (Great Amer)
Patrick Sheehan 12 Lake Norman NC South 190 190 10 184 ---
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| General Comment ...
In contrast to recent Footlocker Nationals where Edward Cheserek and Lukas
Verzbicas were solid favorites for the win, this field could be very
competitive for the victory .... I can see as many as 9 or 10 guys having
a chance with a top performance.
I expect the speed ratings for the top finishers at Footlocker Nationals will be higher than those shown in table above (that's almost always the case) ... To finish in top places at Footlocker Nationals typically requires exceptional performances, usually season-best performances ... Footlocker is unique because it has a small field of select runners coming to the race expecting to run fast (knowing they have to run fast to place well) ... Top competition on a fast course under good weather conditions yields top performances (season-best performances) ..... I do not like to talk about track during cross country season, but something of a track analogy is the Arcadia Invitational 3200 meter race (in early April) where a select field of runners come to the meet to run fast and post times many do not come close to for the remainder of the season. Individual Runners Matthew Maton ... Won Footlocker West and the OR-WA Border-Clash handily ... seems to be in top form, so I believe he should considered a co-favorite. Aaron Templeton ... Won Footlocker South handily ... Aaron Templeton is the top returning underclassman from Footlocker 2012 where he finished a very good 7th ... I consider him to be a co-favorite. Elijah Armstrong ... finished a very good 2nd at NXN Northwest (198 speed rating), but opted to run Footlocker West rather than NXN Nationals which could suggest he wants to perform well at Footlocker. Mickey Burke ... Footlocker Northeast winner in a fast time (I believe it puts him 12th on the all-time list for Van Cortlandt Park which says a lot) ... Broke the big McQuaid Invitational course record earlier in the season. Grant Fisher ... Won Footlocker Midwest handily ... Michigan State Meet champion ... a definite contender for the win. John Dressel ... Raced very well all season against very strong competition in Washington State ... Finished 14th at Footlocker 2012 (3rd best returning Footlocker runner from 2012). Joe Hardy ... Popped a big performance at the Washington State Meet ... Not sure what to think of the 10th-place finish at Footlocker West (which is why he is not higher on the list above). Addison Dehaven ... Won the NXN Heartland regional (finished 17th at NXN) and finished 2nd at Footlocker Midwest. Ben Huffman ... Won the Great American Race of Champions and finished 2nd at Footlocker South. Connor Mantz ... Finished 12th at Footlocker Nationals last year as a sophomore (2nd best returning Footlocker runner from 2012).
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| GIRLS Footlocker Preview Ratings |
FL FL State
Overall Region Region Meet
Name Gr School St Region Rating Rating Place Rating Other Seasonal Ratings
Makena Morley 11 Bigfork MT West 158 154 1 159 155 (NXNNW), 147 (Cap 7), 149 (Mt West)
Tessa Barrett 12 Abington Heights PA Northeast 158 155 1 158 152 (Foundation)
Anoush Shehadeh 11 Phillips Andover Acad MA Northeast 154 154 2 --- ---
Hannah DeBalsi 10 Staples CT Northeast 153 153 3 148 151 (NE Champ)
Stephanie Jenks 10 Linn-Mar IA Midwest 153 145 2 --- Dellinger (16:57) 150+ ???; 141 (adidas NC)
Caroline Alcorta 12 West Springfield VA South 151+ 151 1 150 145 (adidas NC)
Briana Gess 9 Haddonfield NJ Northeast 151 152 5 151 140 (Groups), 142 (Manhattan), 135 (NJ Shore)
Taylor Werner 10 Ste. Genevieve MO Midwest 151 143 4 149 151 (NXN), 145 (NXNMW), 155 (Forest Park)
Anna Maxwell 12 San Lorenzo Valley CA West 150 132 7 150 148 (Mt Sac), 146 (Stanford)
Brianna Schwartz 11 Shaler Area PA Northeast 150 152 4 136 ---
Gabriella Karas 9 Martha Layne Collins KY South 150 147 4 152 ---
MarLee Mitchell 11 Bingham UT West 149 132 8 121 135 (Westlake), 135 (Nebo), 126 (Firman)
Sarah Feeny 12 Ogden UT West 148 148 2 148 144 (NXNSW), 137 (Firman), 133 (Murray)
Amelia Paladino 12 University High WV South 148 148 2 --- 138 (Carlisle PA)
Lucy Biles 11 Herriman UT West 147 138 3 142 148 (NXNSW), 144 (UT R4), 142 (Nebo), 141 (Firman)
Megan Reilly 10 Warwick Valley NY Northeast 147 149 6 147 143 (NY Feds), 139 (Roy Griak)
Samantha Ortega 11 Saugus CA West 146 135 4 144 144 (CA SS), 151 (Mt Sac)
Jessica Lawson 9 Corning NY Northeast 146 145 7 141 147 (NY Feds), 145 (McQuaid)
Natalie Rathjen 12 Highland Park TX South 146 147 3 142 NXNS(140), NXN(143), 140 (Marcus I)
Katie Lembo 12 Penfield NY Northeast 145 145 9 144 143 (NY Feds), 143 (Manhattan), 145 (McQuaid)
Kelcy Welch 12 Carmel IN Midwest 145 147 1 140 144 (NXN), 141 (NXNMW), 136 (Culver)
Hannah Long 11 Eureka MO Midwest 144 143 5 143 141 (Great Am), 139 (Forest Park), 143 (BrTwil)
Hannah Christen 12 Lake Braddock VA South 143 144 5 137 132 (MileStat), 140 (Desert Twi)
Rebekah Topham 11 Griswold IA Midwest 142 143 3 137 137 (NXN Heart)
Lauren Brasure 12 Rockford MI Midwest 142 142 6 142 ---
Mailin Struck 11 Riverside-Brookfield IL Midwest 142 141 7 145 122 (FirstToFinish)
Kathryn Foreman 10 Landmark Christian GA South 142 143 8 136 ---
Molly Breidenbaugh 12 Trinity Episcopal VA South 142 143 9 --- 128 (MileStat)
Devin Clark 11 Smithson Valley TX South 142 143 7 138 NXNS(137), NXN(140)
Katy Kunc 12 Lake Braddock VA South 142 144 6 134 129 (MileStat), 127 (Desert Twi)
Kirstin Sandreuter 12 Greely ME Northeast 142 144 10 141 140 (NE Champ), 121 (Manchester)
Regan Rome 12 Dallas PA Northeast 142 145 8 125 123 (PTXC5)
Kirsten Olling 12 Breckenridge MI Midwest 141 141 8 141 ---
Abby Hong 12 Mira Costa CA West 140 132 10 141 141 (CA SS), 138 (Mt Sac), 116 (Firman)
Rachel Nichwitz 11 Hamilton Southeastern IN Midwest 140 140 9 137 ---
Karen Xiang 12 Nease HS FL South 140 142 10 128 136 (flrun)
Alex Buck 10 Pendleton Heights IN Midwest 137 137 10 126 ---
Sara Tsai 11 South Eugene OR West 135 134 5 130 135 (BorderClash), 114 (GeoFox)
Maddie Criscione 12 Park City UT West 134 132 9 135 133 (NXNSW), 128 (Firman), 123 (Murray)
Mikayla Malaspina 11 Vallivue ID West 132 132 6 127 126 (Firman)
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| General Comment ...
Makena Morley and Tessa Barrett enter Footlocker 2013 as
co-favorites ... Both girls have raced extremely well this season and at a
very high performance level ... and may have matched-up surprisingly well
against the top three finishers at NXN.
The field does not include Sarah Baxter, Alexa Efraimson or Elise Cranny, but this is an excellent field of runners ... It is very strong at the top-end (stronger than might be realized), and overall depth at the top half equals, or probably exceeds, the corresponding group of runners at NXN in my opinion. The Footlocker West regional was run under wet rainy conditions at Mt SAC ... the speed ratings I finally decided on had an "inconsistent" nature for the girls race (probably due to the wet conditions). Individual Runners Makena Morley ... Won Footlocker West handily ... Popped a huge performance at the Montana State Meet ... Raced very competitively with Alexa Efraimson at the NXN Northwest regional in her only loss of the season ... definitely a favorite to win. Tessa Barrett ... Won Footlocker Northeast handily ... Popped a huge performance at the Pennsylvania State Meet ... I'm not sure of the extent of her ability, but what I have seen thus far is very impressive ... a co-favorite for the win. Anoush Shehadeh ... a NY resident who attends Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts ... competes in a New England prep league (does not race in the normal State Meets) ... Her second place finish at Footlocker Northeast (and finish in front of Hannah DeBalsi) indicates she is very good. Hannah DeBalsi ... Won the New England Championship and Connecticut State Championship handily ... Has an excellent running resume. Stephanie Jenks ... Runners like Stephanie Jenks and Anoush Shehadeh make this race interesting from a handicapping view-point because they their current form is somewhat unknown ... Stephanie Jenks attends Linn-Mar HS, but did not compete for her school XC team ... To me, the girl's Footlocker Midwest race looked like a plain qualifying run where the top runners simply ran fast enough to qualify easily, so I don't think that showed the real ability of Stephanie Jenks ... She ran in the Dellinger Invitational where Alexa Efraimson beat this year's NCAA runnerup (Emma Bates), and Stephanie Jenks beat runners like Katie Knight and Maddie Meyers and finished close to Katie Flood and Amy-Eloise Neale ... she was 22 seconds behind Alexa Efraimson which probably corresponds to a speed rating of 150 or higher .... Can Stephanie Jenks surprise this field?? Caroline Alcorta ... Won Footlocker South handily ... Finished 16th in last year's Footlocker Nationals. Briana Gess ... one of three outstanding freshmen in the field ... Won the New Jersey Meet of Champions impressively. Taylor Werner ... excellent Missouri runner who competed in both Footlocker and NXN Nationals last year, and is doing the same this year ... she finished a very good 5th at NXN 2013. Gabriella Karas ... a freshmen who popped a big performance at the Kentucky State Meet and followed that with a very good performance at Footlocker South. . |