Foot Locker Cross Country Championship 5K (33rd)
Balboa Park, San Diego, CA
Saturday, December 10, 2011

The American high school cross country season came to a close at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in San Diego, Calif., where Edward Cheserek and Molly Seidel both won their first national high school cross country titles after breaking away late in their respective races. Minutes into the Boy's Championship race, the two pre-race favorites in Cheserek of New Jersey and Futsum Zeinasellassie of Indiana, had established themselves towards the front of a large, tightly bunched lead pack. Through the mile, though, a surprising leader in C.J. Albertson had made his way out front, crossing in 4:48 with a comfortable lead. Seconds later, Cheserek and Zeinasellassie came charging to the front, battling move for move, glancing at each other repeatedly as if to say "let's go." Up and down the rolling hills, the two exchanged leads as they moved away from the rest of the field, close to Ruben Reina's course record pace of 14:36.8 through halfway. Cheserek, in a blue vest representing the Northeast, and Zeinasellassie, wearing the red of the Midwest, were all alone at two miles in 9:50. Continuing to battle side by side, the duo kept trading the lead over the final mile, first Zeinasellassie, then Cheserek, then Zeinasellassie at the front. After crossing Jacaranda Place and battling up the largest hill of the course for the final time, Zeinasellassie gained a little ground. But Cheserek responded, surging fast and into the lead once again. On the ensuing downhill, Cheserek maintained his lead by a half meter. With 400 meters to go, the Kenyan from Newark, N.J., was still powering, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to check on Zeinasellassie. Just off of the leader's left shoulder, Zeinasellassie tried to sneak by, taking a wider turn than his counterpart. But Cheserek would have nothing of it. Fending off a late charge was Cheserek, who completed his undefeated cross country campaign of 2011 with a 14:51.5 win. "We stayed together and when we came down the second hill, I knew I could make it," said the quiet Cheserek in the post-race webcast interview. Only a junior, Cheserek attends St. Benedict's High School. Zeinasellassie finished less than a second behind in 14:52.1. "Every time Cheserek threw a surge, I wanted to respond and go with him," said Zeinasellassie, who lists Meb Keflezighi as the person he would most like to meet. Though Cheserek and Zeinasellassie only met for the first time on Thursday, the latter says both have become fast friends. "I am proud of him and will be following him every week," he said.


To begin the Girl's Championship race, Erin Finn, a junior from West Bloomfield, Mich., took the pace out very hard early, creating a large gap back to the rest of the 40-girl field. 

Leading all alone through the mile in 5:21, Finn, who finished seventh a year ago, kept lengthening her lead. 
As she began her first ascent of the largest hill on the course, Finn was still by herself.   Reaching the top, the leader gave a brief look back to see where the rest of the group was (far behind).

With close to a ten-second gap on the field, Finn, an all-American both on the track and in cross country, began the second loop of the five kilometer course all alone. Behind, Molly Seidel had broken away from the chase pack, trying to chip away at her Midwestern teammate's lead.  

As Finn crossed two miles in 11:08, Seidel was now clearly in the picture, cutting the deficit to five seconds.  Both wearing red vests representing their region, the two soon were within meters of each other.  Another glance back and Finn saw she had company. It was now a two-girl race.

Heading up the largest hill of the course for the second and final time, the two were side by side. Passing on Finn's right shoulder midway up the hill, Seidel took the lead for the first time. The senior from Hartland, Wisc., immediately created a small gap. 

But Finn wasn't going to fade away completely. Regrouping, she caught up to Seidel using the large downhill with 600m to go, a second wind having taken over. 

"When Erin rocketed past me on the downhill, I was definitely getting nervous," said Seidel in the post-race interview.

Seidel was ready to react to the move though; with a quarter mile to go, the senior made the final pass on the last uphill before the finish. 

Hitting the three mile mark in 16:47, Seidel was relying on her 4:46 mile speed to kick away from Finn, who has run 4:58 for 1600m. With the finish in sight, Seidel kept moving, crossing the line with her hands high in 17:21.4. Two seconds behind was Finn in 17:23.9, with Laura Leff of New York rounding out the top three in 17:33.9.

"I knew there was an uphill with 400 meters remaining, and I used that to my advantage," said Seidel in the post-race webcast interview.  "I was definitely getting a bit nervous when Erin went out so fast."

Finn was happy finishing second. "I wanted top five [coming in], but I really didn't think I could get top three, which was my ultimate goal," she said. "Second is really good, so I am pretty happy with it." 

BOYS -       
 1 Edward Cheserek           11 NE Newark, NJ (KEN)       14:51.5 
 2 Futsum Zeinasellassie     12 MW Indianapolis, IN (ERI) 14:52.1 
 3 Nathan Weitz              12 WE Spokane, WA            15:20.5   
 4 Jake Leingang             11 MW Bismarck, ND           15:21.2 
 5 Daniel Vertiz             12 SO San Antonio, TX        15:22.5 
 6 Andrew Gardner            11 WE Spokane, WA            15:23.1 
 7 Tony Smoragiewicz         12 MW Rapid City, SD         15:24.0 
 8 Joshua Brickell           11 SO Suwanee, GA            15:24.2  
 9 Thomas Graham             12 SO Cary, NC               15:24.4  
10 Sean McGorty              11 SO Fairfax, VA            15:28.0 
11 Dallin Farnsworth         12 WE Pocatello, ID          15:28.9 
12 Ahmed Bile                12 SO Annandale, VA          15:29.2  
13 Dustin Wilson             12 NE Philadelphia, PA       15:29.4 
14 Craig Nowak               12 SO Cypress, TX            15:31.0  
15 Matthew McClintock        12 NE Athens, ME             15:31.3  
16 Timothy Ball              12 NE Piscataway, NJ         15:32.7  
17 Darren Fahy               12 WE Carlsbad, CA           15:33.7  
18 Connor Rog                12 NE Fairfield, CT          15:34.1  
19 Jacob Thomson             11 SO Louisville, KY         15:41.5   
20 Robert Domanic            11 SO Lewisville, TX         15:42.0 
21 Daniel Lennon             12 NE Morrisonville, NY      15:43.7   
22 Jonathan Green            11 NE Berlin, MA             15:45.4   
23 Thomas Madden             11 SO Front Royal, VA        15:45.7  
24 Christopher Allen         12 NE Norfolk, MA            15:46.7 
25 Michael Clevenger         12 MW Decatur, IL            15:50.7  
26 Malachy Schrobilgen       12 MW Oak Park, IL           15:52.3  
27 Evan Chiplock             12 MW Saginaw, MI            15:52.8 
28 Ryan Polman               12 MW Independence, OH       15:56.2 
29 Sam Berger                12 MW Zionsville, IN         15:57.6  
30 Luis Luna                 12 WE Santa Rosa, CA         16:00.9   
31 Cameron Miller            12 WE Bakersfield, CA        16:01.5  
32 Addison DeHaven           10 MW Brookings, SD          16:02.6
33 Grant Nykaza              11 MW Beecher, IL            16:06.4 
34 Billy Gaudreau            12 WE Dana Point, CA         16:07.0   
35 Joel Hubbard              12 NE Marshfield, MA         16:09.4  
36 CJ Albertson              12 WE Fresno, CA             16:15.9 
37 Kevin Durham              12 WE Lake Forest, CA        16:20.8 
38 Miles Smith               11 WE Lakewood, CA           16:21.8 
39 Chris Godwin              12 SO Gainsville, FL         16:27.9  
40 Blake Udland              12 NE Short Hills, NJ        16:53.9

Team Results: 
 1. South, 44
 2. Midwest, 58
 3. Northeast, 63
 4. West, 63

GIRLS - 
 1 Molly Seidel              12 MW Hartland, WI           17:21.4 
 2 Erin Finn                 11 MW W Bloomfield, MI       17:23.9 
 3 Laura Leff                10 NE Syracuse, NY           17:33.9 
 4 Abbey Leonardi            12 NE Kennebunkprt, ME       17:35.3 
 5 Karlie Garcia             11 WE Roseville, CA          17:35.6 
 6 Grace Tinkey              11 SO Macon, GA              17:37.0
 7 Catarina Rocha            11 NE Peabody, MA            17:37.3 
 8 Kelsey Braithwaite        12 WE Perry, UT              17:38.4 
 9 Makena Morley              9 WE Bigfork, MT            17:39.1 
10 Julia Bos                 11 MW Rockford, MI           17:39.2 
11 Sophie Chase              11 SO Burke, VA              17:44.2 
12 Karis Jochen              11 SO College Sttn, TX       17:44.8 
13 Angel Piccirillo          12 NE Homer City, PA         17:46.1
14 Lindsey Burdette          12 MW Horton, MI             17:55.1 
15 Alexandria Fons           10 MW Franklin, WI           17:56.7 
16 Megan Moye                12 SO Moseley, VA            18:01.8 
17 Nikki Hiltz               11 WE Aptos, CA              18:04.0 
18 Cali Roper                12 SO Conroe, TX             18:04.1 
19 Olivia Ortiz              11 SO Bradenton, FL          18:05.9 
20 Nicole Mello              11 MW Columbia, MO           18:06.4 
21 Maria Hauger              11 MW Shakopee, MN           18:06.6 
22 Camille Chapus            12 WE PfcPalisades, CA       18:07.9 
23 Jordan McPhee             10 WE Normandy Prk, WA       18:13.7 
24 Anna Maxwell              10 WE Felton, CA             18:14.5 
25 Taylor Manett             12 MW Rockford, MI           18:16.1
26 Sydney Scott              12 MW Idaho Sprngs, CO       18:17.2 
27 Clare Carroll             10 WE Folsom, CA             18:17.7 
28 Holly Bischof             12 NE Hainsport, NJ          18:17.9 
29 Samantha George           12 SO Raleigh, NC            18:18.9 
30 Alexis Panisse            12 NE Bellrose, NY           18:19.2 
31 Kaylee Flanagan           11 MW Roselle, IL            18:19.4
32 Sydney Segal              11 WE BeverlyHills, CA       18:20.7 
33 Hannah Oneda              12 NE Wesminster, MD         18:21.0 
34 Alana Hadley               9 SO Charlotte, NC          18:22.0
35 Lily Williams             12 SO Tallahassee, FL        18:29.1 
36 Caroline Kellner          12 NE Wst Windsor, NJ        18:32.1 
37 Emily Nist                12 WE Meridan, ID            18:34.3 
38 Bridget Blake             11 SO Orlando, FL            18:36.1 
39 Tori Gerlach              12 NE Perkasie, PA           18:37.3
40 Meredith Speakman         12 NE Carlisle, PA           18:45.6

Team Results: 
 1. Midwest, 42
 2. Northeast, 52
 3. West, 61
 4. South, 63