by Larry EderSaturday, December 1, 2007 was a very special day of cross country across the U.S. In Portland, Oregon, the fourth annual Nike Team Nationals went off, under the threat of a winter storm. In Southern California, mother nature played a hand as there were torrential rains forced changes for the Foot Locker Western Regional. The tough Mt. SAC course became a quagmire, according to photographer Victah Sailer. The course was changed to a two loop nearly road course as the race directors did not want the prepsters carried away in the Global flooding that is hitting Southern California right now…
Nothing fazed Jordan Hasay, arguably the best middle distance runner of her generation. Under the watchful and thoughtful eye of coach Armando Siqueros, Hasay continues to improve her game, developing the tools which she will need to become the great distance runner that many see in her.
In this race, Hasay took the lead and stayed there, start to finish. She has now equalled Nicole Blood’s three straight wins of a Foot Locker regional (2003-2005).
On the boy’s side, German Fernandez took off with 600 meters to go, after setting a tough early pace, hitting the mile in 4:33 and two miles at 9:10. Fernandez won by fifteen seconds!
I have attached the press release from Foot Locker plus links to the top ten boys and girls in all four regionals for Foot Locker. The nationals will be held December 8 in Balboa Park in San Diego, California, for the 29th season.
(The following was taken from the Foot Locker press release found on their site):
Hasay and Fernandez Capture First Place Titles in 29 th Annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championships West Regional
Hasay wins West Regional for third consecutive year
Walnut, Calif., December 1, 2007 – Jordan Hasay of Arroyo Grande, Calif., and German Fernandez of Riverbank, Calif., won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships (FLCCC) West Regional at Mount San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) in Walnut, Calif., today. Hasay, who has won the West Regional for the third consecutive year, becomes the second Foot Locker Cross Country athlete to three-pete as a Regional Champion since Nicole Blood of the Northeast Region (2003-2005).
Hasay, the 2005 Foot Locker National Champion, took the lead early on, finishing the first mile at 5:09. Hasay, a junior at Mission College Prep., kept a steady lead through the second mile (10:31) and continued to keep her distance to secure the win in 17:17. Laurynne Chetelat (Davis, Calif.) trailed Hasay the entire race to finish at 17:28. Jessica Tonn (Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Kauren Tarver (Wrightwood, Calif.), and Meghan Marvin (Clovis, Calif.) rounded out the top five, finishing within two seconds of each other. Tarver, who finished fourth, is a four-time FLCCC national qualifier.
In the boys’ race, Fernandez, a senior from Riverbank High School, and Luke Puskedra, a senior from Ogden, Utah, led from the beginning, and finished the first mile at 4:33 and the second mile at 9:10. Fernandez made his move with about 600 meters remaining, blowing Puskedra away to finish the race in 14:53. Puskedra finished second with a time of 15:08, while Stephen Clark of Salt Lake City, Utah, finished third with a time of 15:14.
The top 10 boys and 10 girls from the West regional will compete against runners from the Midwest, South, and Northeast regional meets in the 29 th Annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals, which will take place on Saturday, Dec. 8 at Morley Field, Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif.
For more on the Western regional, click:
http://www.footlockercc.com/2007/west.shtml
For more on Foot Locker cross country:
http://www.footlockercc.com
For more on athletics, please click:
http://www.american-trackandfield.com
