by Larry Eder
2016 NXN, December 3, 2016, photo by Larry Eder
The NXN nationals grew out of the Nike Border Clash, the battle between the 40 best of Oregon and Washington high school cross country runners, in a battle for cross country supremacy for the Northwest.
The NXN was a series of fine races in fine cross country weather, at the Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon on December 3, 2016.
Here my lessons from the NXN.
Here are my five lessons from the Nike NXN in 2016:
1. The Nike NXN is the real team championships for high school cross country. The NXN regionals allow the finest teams in the country good chances of reaching out the finals, which have continued to grown in stature.
2. The course at Glendoveer gold course is a near perfect course for cross country fans to view the race. This year, the wet footing slowed down the race, allowing strength runners to have a better chance against the speed merchants.
3. The Live coverage and announcing also gives fans and coaches alike a unique view into the race and the team battle. I liked the team of Ray Gonzalez, Chris Derrick, and Paul Swangard, who did their homework and provided this observer behind the scenes info and kept us up to date on the team battle.
4. Bozeman XC showed that, at least on the boy’s side, there are still chances for teams to dream, train and win. The battle between Bozeman, American Fork and Brentwood was truly exciting. I like that.
5. Manlius XC won the girls’s team title for ten of eleven tries. Their level of supremacy is fascinating as Davis XC and Temecula XC tried to challenge Manlius. Manlius has built a dynasty on the women’s side that is hard to match.
Each year, I try to go to both NXN and FootLocker. Both very different races, for different types of athletes. NXN is the team race, and FootLocker is where you go if you are an individual.
Looking forward to 2017.
