Nike Team Nationals: Naperville (IL) Boys, Manlius (NY) Girls Win NTN Titles

Naperville (Neuqua Valley, IL) won the boys race over Los Alamos (NM) in the closest of battles, winning the title by two points.  Manlius (Fayetteville-Manlius, NY) dominated the girls race as expected, scoring an 88 points win.  Our MileSplit NTN Team brings you extensive coverage of the weekend's events.  Keep checking back throughout the weekend as we continue to add more videos, photos and articles.

MileSplit Coverage: Nike Team Nationals

NTN Results: Complete Results from all races

Race Summaries: NTN: The Test of Teamwork (Girls Summary) / NTN Boys Round-Up (Boys Summary)

NTN Videos: NTN Video Page (All Videos) / Madeline Morgan (Girl's Ind. Winner) / Chris Derrick (Boy's Ind. Winner) / Colby Lowe / Martin Keino / Championship Boys Race / Championship Girls Race / Open Boys Race / Open Girls Race

NTN Photos: Friday Course Preview / Brandon Miles Gallery / Tyrone Hoskins Gallery (Available at RecCentral.net)

Articles: Madeline Morgan Wins '07 NTN / NTN Race Preview / Mountain Brook (AL) Girls Preview / North Central (WA) Boys Preview

 

Girls Race Summary 

NTN: The Test of Teamwork

By: Maura Warren

Start of girls race & F-M dominating early (#302 & two runners next to her)

(Photo by Tyrone Hoskins)

  Teeth were chattering, hearts were pounding and snow was beginning to fall again.  The anticipation and suspense of the 2007 NTN Girls Championship race was visible in the eyes of every team member on the start line.  This race brings a high level of competition, and even though each team has had many success stories throughout the season, no one knew how it all would end.

  As a spectator, the most exciting aspect of NTN is watching how team scores change kilometer by kilometer.  It was no surprise that last year's winner Manlius (Fayetteville-Manlius H.S., NY) dominated from the beginning, but the other top spots were a toss up right until the very end.  After the first kilometer the top five teams were: Manlius, Kinetic (Saratoga Springs H.S., NY), Newhall (Saugus H.S., CA), Hanover (Hanover H.S., NH) and Westfield (Westfield H.S., IN).  With four girls in the top ten during the first minute, Manlius seemed determined to hold onto their number one spot.  Click Here for Full Article

 

Colby Lowe (#21) & Chris Derrick lead the boys race

(Photo by Robert Mirenzi)

Boys Race Summary

NTN National Boys Round-Up

By: Robert Mirenzi

The repeat teams are fully invested in the honor and privilege of being here, the new teams are thrilled to death to have had the great seasons needed to be running here and thrilled to death to be in a group of equals who they have read about on the likes of Milesplit  and High School Runners, etc

Two team brought agendas.

Albuqerque and Los Alamos have been battling each other all season. Los Alomos sneaked a decisive win from Albeuqerque in the state finals.  The challenge to repair the upset was topmost on the to do list of the Albuqerque squad.

This challenge was important enough for their #1 runner Ben Johnson to choose between his team and the FootLocker West  Regionals.  Click Here for Full Article

 

MileSplit NTN Videos

Kicking off the weekend at NTN in Portland, Brandon Miles interviewed Josh Rowe and John Truax. They have been the driving forces in creating and implementing the concept of NTN. And they're not done yet. Listen as they reflect on the past and fill us in on what to expect next from NTN!  Click Here for MileSplit NTN Videos

 

Road to Portland: The End of the Road - NTN Race Preview

*All rankings are from the MileSplit National Team Power Rankings.

Boys Race

  Now in its fourth year, Nike Team Nationals is gaining attention from teams like never before.  With regionals put in place for the first time ever, teams from across the land felt as though they finally had an equal shake to qualify for nationals regardless of who they faced during the season or where they were from.

  Some great matchups took place from coast to coast, with only two teams qualifying from each region and another four teams selected as at-large teams.  The depth of this year's boys field is amazing.  No fewer than ten teams have the athletes necessary to rise up and finish in the top three.  The battle plans to be fierce, the question is which teams will rise up and meet the challenge.

Girls Race

  It is mind blowing to think just how dominant the New York squads have been at Nike Team Nationals in the past three years.  Two past champion girls teams are in the field in Kinetic XC Club (Saratoga Springs H.S., NY) and Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius H.S., NY).  Four teams from the state race in the girls championship Saturday making it even more likely that they'll be the most powerful state.

  However, numerous teams can capture some attention if they run their race plans to perfection.  While a few teams may be the clear favorites this time around, a top five finish is very realistic for over a dozen teams.  The rain and mud may slow down this girls field, but the competition will be fierce.  Click Here for Full Article