by Larry Eder
Megan Goethals sprints by Chelsea Sveinsson, photo by PhotoRun.net!
When the rains came…..
XC XPress publisher Walt Murphy called it a “very un-San Diego like day.” Walt was right. Cross country in chilly weather with rain? Sounds like the Midwest or East Coast.
In the 2009 Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals, the word of the day was perseverance. And that word was used by both the the apparent winner and the suprise winner.
The race….
The pack hit the 800 meters in 2:38, mile in 5:16, with Chelsey Lea and Megan Goethals in control. At the 2 miles (11:14), Megan Goethals, Chelsea Ley lead, with Sveinsson (4th in 2008), and Emily Sisson, a four time qualifier and favorite of many here, and Aisling Cuffe in tow. Chelsea Sveinsson took over past two miles and build up, between two and three miles, by all observers a nearly insurmountable lead.
Megan Goethals was not out of the picture. ” I just ran patiently.” Chelsey Sveinsson, who had won the NON one mile and two mile, and was one of the favorites of Harrier publisher Marc Bloom in his recent issues, looked good and was running well, building a lead from two miles, looking like the winner. The announcers even thought Chelsey had the race won, annointing her the apparent winner with less than 200 meters to go.
But, this is where it got interesting. Megan Goethals was moving well again, moving into second place as she made a huge charge at Chelsey Sveinsson. “I had to see what I could do….” said Megan afterall.
Chelsey Sveinsson had given it her all, and looked to be letting down as Megan Goethals charged up the last hill and just kicked like mad! Goethals move surprised everyone! “She had another gear that surprised all of us!” noted Mark Bossardet, Saucony’s VP of Sports Marketing, “it was the best finish in the 31 years of Foot Locker!”
added Bossardet.
And that was not superbola, as Megan Goethals nipped Chelsey Sveinsson at the tape, 17:06.9 to 17:07.1. ” I knew I had to give it all I had, ” noted Megan, ” I knew Chelsey was good, but I had to see what I could do, ” Megan added in a post-race interview with Tracy Sundlun.
Chelsey Sveinsson noted afterwards, ” I ran out of gas, but it was Megan’s day…today, she was the best runner.”
Emily Sisson was third in 17:18.8, Aisling Cuffe was fourth in 17:21.4 and Megan Ferowich was fifth in 17:31.0. (NXN winner Katie Flood -who I called Caty Flood, was eighth today in 17:42.)
On the team side, Midwest won with 27 points, South was second in 44, West was third in 71 and the NE was fourth in 72 points.
To see the replay, please click on http://replays.robertsstream.com/events/footlocker/footlocker_replay.php
Watch for our photo galleries from PhotoRun.net on Sunday!
2009 Foot Locker Cross Country Nationals – 12/12/2009
Morley Field, San Diego, CA
Last Completed Event
Event 1 Girls 5k Run CC
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Name Year School Finals Points
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Results – Women
1 Megan Goethals 12 MW,Rochester, MI 17:06.9 1
2 Chelsey Sveinsson 11 SO,Dallas, TX 17:07.1 2
3 Emily Sisson 12 MW,Chesterfield, MO 17:18.8 3
4 Aisling Cuffe 11 NE,Cornwall-Hdsn,NY 17:21.4 4
5 Megan Ferowich 10 SO,Caryville, TN 17:31.0 5
6 Kelsey Lakowske 11 MW,Boulder, CO 17:32.6 6
7 Chelsea Ley 12 NE,Clarksboro, NJ 17:37.2 7
8 Katie Flood 12 MW,Des Moines, IA 17:42.0 8
9 Ashlie Decker 12 MW,Des Moines, IA 17:43.8 9
10 Wesley Frazier 9 SO,Raleigh, NC 17:44.2 10
11 Rachel Johnson 11 SO,Plano, TX 17:51.0 11
12 Molly Grabill 11 WE,Poway, CA 17:52.2 12
13 Jessica Tonn 12 WE,Paradise Vlly,AZ 17:57.1 13
14 Liberty Miller 12 WE,West Hills, CA 17:58.1 14
15 Karlie Garcia 9 WE,Roseville, CA 17:59.7 15
16 Amanda Russell 12 SO,Cedar Park, TX 18:00.7 16
17 Megan Morgan 12 WE,Del Mar, CA 18:01.9 17
18 Marielle Hall 12 NE,Mt Laurel, NJ 18:05.8 18
19 Diane Robison 12 MW,Chesterfield, MO 18:07.5 19
20 Grace Tinkey 9 SO,Macon, GA 18:08.0 20
21 Sara Sargent 9 NE,Yardley, PA 18:09.4 21
22 Abbey Leonardi 10 NE,Kennebunkport,ME 18:10.6 22
23 Maddie Meyers 10 WE,Seattle, WA 18:11.6 23
24 Avery Clifton 12 MW,Topeka, KS 18:12.0 24
25 Julie Nacouzi 11 WE,Santa Rosa, CA 18:15.0 25
26 Theresa Devine 12 WE,San Rafael, CA 18:17.2
27 Colleen Schmidt 11 NE,Point Lookout,NY 18:17.9 26
28 Kathryn Fluehr 11 SO,Naples, FL 18:18.6 27
29 Marya Haegler 12 MW,Cascade, WI 18:24.4
30 Shannon Osika 11 MW,Waterford, MI 18:28.3
31 Alaina Alvarez 11 WE,Dana Point, CA 18:28.7
32 Lauren Mullins 10 NE,Binghamton, NY 18:29.2 28
32 Lauren Sara 12 NE,Stratford, CT 18:29.2
34 Erika Fluehr 11 SO,Naples, FL 18:34.1
35 Sara Kroll 12 MW,Westland, MI 18:35.2
36 Meg Ryan 12 NE,Fairfield, CT 18:38.9
37 Emily Durgin 10 NE,Standish, ME 18:40.6
38 Paige Kvartunas 12 SO,Springfield, VA 18:57.6
39 Shelby Hayes 12 SO,Orlando, FL 19:10.5
40 Jacque Taylor 12 WE,Petaluma, CA 19:18.0
Team Scores
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Rank Team Total 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 *9
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Results – Women
1 MW,Rochester, MI 27 1 3 6 8 9 19 24
Total Time: 1:27:24.11
Average: 17:28.82
2 SO,Dallas, TX 44 2 5 10 11 16 20 27
Total Time: 1:28:14.00
Average: 17:38.80
3 WE,Poway, CA 71 12 13 14 15 17 23 25
Total Time: 1:29:49.00
Average: 17:57.80
4 NE,Cornwall-Hdsn,NY 72 4 7 18 21 22 26 28
Total Time: 1:29:24.40
Average: 17:52.88
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