by Larry EderThe thirtieth Foot Locker Cross Country championships featured Jordan Hasay, who last weekend won her fourth Western regional FootLocker-never before done-and this weekend, won her second FL title, something only done before by one other women athlete. Erin Sullivan of Jericho, VT won back to back titles in 1997 and 1998.
Our informants told us that the Foot Locker ” was the best produced ever.” We also heard good things about the webcast and a TV show will be appearing on December 22 on ESPN something, I believe.
Special kudos to Saucony for coming in at the last minute to sponsor FL, an event that has had most of the past three decades American distance elite run at the event. From Carrie Tollefson to Todd Williams were at the meet this past weekend, cheering on the present generation.
I do have special praise for Jordan Hasay, who continues to develop as a racer. I can not help but think back to Armando Siqueros, her coach and a chat we had with Joe Mangan in the stands in Indy two years ago. Armando spoke about how Jordan needed different experiences racing and how she needed to trust her own judgement. It is a coaching method that is tremendous in the long run, but requires a mature athlete, a thoughtful coach and parents who act as parents.
Jordan Hasay is developing into a world class athlete. The maturity she showed in this race, moving late in the game and pushing through the finish, shows what this young women could be capable of in 2012 and 2016.
Congrats to Jordan and the other young women and men who ran Foot Locker and who last weekend ran NXN. You all have had wonderful experiences to cap off high school careers. Now, it is important to turn off the running and racing, be teenagers for a few weeks, stay up late, hang out with friends watch gross movies on You Tube or at the movie theatre, and just be human. It is time to recharge…..
Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service
X-Country X-Press
(c)Copyright 2008-all rights reserved. May not be reprinted or retransmitted without permission.
30th FOOT LOCKER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Balboa Park-San Diego,NY, 12-13, 5k, breezy, cool.
Home Site–Results, Videos
http://footlockercc.com/
Dyestat
http://www.dyestat.com/
Milesplit
http://www.milesplit.us/
Flotrack Videos
http://tinyurl.com/5dn9n6
Hasay
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/sports/story/558982.html
It took three years, but Jordan Hasay finally got her 2nd Foot Locker National x-country title. After winning in 2005 as a frosh, Hasay finished 10th in 2006 and 3rd in 2007.
The race was billed as a battle of former champions, with Hasay, 2006 winner Kathy Kroeger, and defending champion Ashley Brasovan looking to pick up their 2nd win.
Senior Allie McLaughlin mustn’t have read all of the pre-race previews, building a 10-second lead before eventually getting caught by Brasovan on the final downhill stretch.
It appeared to be a 2-girl race at this point, but Hasay(17:22), who set a National prep 1500 record of 4:14.50 at the Olympic Trials, patiently closed ground on the leaders and took the lead for good as they straightened out for the homestretch finish. Brasovan(17:25) finished 2nd, while the gutsy McLaughlin(17:34) slipped back to 5th. Kroeger(17:42) was never a threat, but still finished a respectable 6th.
There was no drama in the boys race, with Ethiopian-born Solomon Haile taking an early lead and winning easily in 15:15. Trevor Dunbar(15:25) finished 2nd, the highest placing ever for a runner from Alaska in the 30-year history of the event.
Another “highest†honor went to Futsum Zeinasellasie, a native of Eritrea who finished 7th, the best placing ever for a freshman in the boys race(1998 champ Jorge Torres finished 13th as a frosh in 1995).
