PORTLAND, OREGON, December 07 — Prep XC fans can be forgiven if they experienced a little déjà vu when they saw Jane Hedengren (Timpview, Provo, Utah) start to gap the Nike Cross Nationals girls field impressively just 400m into the race. After all, Rachel Forsyth and Elizabeth Leachman both started very aggressively last year only to fade to 5th and 15th.
But those expecting Hedengren to fade haven’t been paying attention. The Utah state champ and BYU signee had crushed the NXN Southwest field 2 weeks earlier with a 15:50, 51 seconds up on defending national champ Addy Ritzenhein (Niwot, Colorado). And while the relentless rain and 40-degree temperatures Saturday were a 180 from what she had faced in Arizona, she seemed oblivious to it, moving almost effortlessly into the front and away.
The senior hit 3:13 for the first kilo, where her lead was 3 seconds, and 5:17 for the mile — and just kept going. She never ran a kilo slower than 3:22 and simply set a tempo no one else could approach, stretching her lead to 10 seconds at 2K, 25 at 3K and 35 at 4K.
While the possibility of a course record might have seemed folly, the one factor that was in runners’ favor Saturday was an almost complete lack of wind. With a clear field of vision ahead of her and the saturated course not battered from previous races, Hedengren was able to navigate efficiently.
The terraces that runners climb in the final 600 have been daunting for many over the years. But the race was really long over before Hedengren reached that point; she simply maintained the same rhythm and effort she had the entire race. She crossed the line triumphantly in 16:32.7, beating Katelyn Tuohy’s ’18 meet and course record by 5 seconds.
“I felt like I was in control,” Hedengren said. “Felt great, felt strong. I was staying light on my feet, because it was muddy out there. I like running in weather like this.”
While the winner added that her strategy was to “stick with the pack and see how it played out,” that plan obviously only lasted about 400m. On the other hand, there was never a noticeable increase in effort, but rather she just maintained an unmatchable pace that no one else could stay with for more than a quarter-mile. “I was just running out there with Christ today and had strength beyond myself,” she said.
The drama in the individual race was in the battle for the other podium spots. At 2K, a chase pack of 6 had formed with Ritzenhein, California D2 champ Sadie Engelhardt (Ventura) and Michigan D1 and Midwest 1-2 finishers Victoria Garces (Midland Dow) and Helen Sachs (Holland West Ottawa) the biggest names.
Meanwhile, Leachman was only 18th at 2K, but had moved up to 5th by 4K. Running a race she called “opposite” from 2023, the Texas champ and NXN South runner-up had much more left at the finish this year, even if she couldn’t quite outsprint Garces for the runner-up spot (17:13.4–17:13.7). Ritzenhein, 2 seconds farther back, had to settle for 5th (17:15.3) also outsprinted by none other than the low stick for the winning team.
That would be Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch, Colorado) senior Keeghan Edwards, who moved from 8th to 4th in the final stretch. Her Denver squad was preseason No. 1 and in that spot the majority of the season including going into Portland. Mountain Vista had the low score for each of its first 4 runners (1-4-8-16) and tallied 75 points, 33 markers ahead of state rivals and at-large qualifiers Lone Peak.
“Always going back to our ‘why,’ why we love the sport, why we do it in the first place is what’s been helping us to get to this point in the season,” said Edwards.
Colorado teams, which swept the first four spots last year, settled for 1-2-4-8 this time, with Clovis (California) taking 3rd.
NXN GIRLS
Teams: 1. Denver 75; 2. Lone Peak 107; 3. Clovis 123; 4. Academy 129; 5. Delmar 149; 6. Bruce Township 204; 7. Trabuco 211; 8. South Ft. Collins 234; 9. Wayzata 247; 10. Union County 252; 11. Downers North 317; 12. Raleigh 321; 13. Brentwood 334; 14. Flower Mound 358; 15. Carmel 395; 16. San Juan Capistrano 396; 17. Clifton Park 403; 18. Meridian 412; 19. Hinesburg 459; 20. Forest Park 462; 21. Johnston 502; 22. Carroll 507.
Individuals (5K): 1. Jane Hedengren (Southwest3) 16:32.7; 2. Victoria Garces (Midwest1) 17:13.4; 3. *Elizabeth Leachman (South4) 17:13.7; 4. Keeghan Edwards (Denver) 17:15.2; 5. Addy Ritzenhein (Southwest1) 17:15.3; 6. **Mia Sirois (Midwest4) 17:16.0; 7. *Marissa Ferebee (Heartland2) 17:16.4; 8. **Sophia Rodriguez (Northwest4) 17:27.3; 9. Ella Hagen (Southwest2) 17:33.0; 10. Dani Scheffler (Midwest3) 17:34.2;
11. Sadie Engelhardt (California3) 17:35.0; 12. Victoria Rodriguez (Northwest3) 17:35.2; 13. Elektra Higgins (Northwest1) 17:37.5; 14. Holly Barker (Trabuco) 17:37.9; 15. Sophia Bendet (South1) 17:41.5; 16. Emily Wisniewski (Northwest5) 17:42.2; 17. *Lilly Beshears (South2) 17:43.6; 18. Helen Sachs (Midwest2) 17:43.8; 19. Zariel Macchia (NewYork-4) 17:44.6; 20. Chloe Huyler (Northwest2) 17:46.5;
21. Rosie Mucharsky (Southwest4) 17:46.6; 22. Abby Faith Cheeseman (Southeast2) 17:46.8; 23. ***Elin Latta (South3) 17:46.9; 24. **Delaney Reuter (Southwest5) 17:47.0; 25. *Greta Hammer (Northeast2) 17:51.6; 26. Hannah Rae Shaffer (Ral) 17:52.1; 27. Juliet Frum (Denver) 17:53.9; 28. Rylee Blade (California1) 17:54.5; 29. **Chamorra Cooper (Academy) 17:55.8; 30. **Paige Sheppard (UnionCty) 17:56.4;
31. Tessa Walter (Academy) 17:57.3; 32. *Claire Guiberson (Denver) 17:57.5; 33. Hanne Thomsen (California5) 17:58.0; 34. **Maya Bybee (LonePeak) 17:58.8; 35. *Maddie Gullickson (Wayzata) 18:02.2; 36. **Annie Hrabovsky (BruceTwp) 18:03.0; 37. *Millie Bayles (Trabuco) 18:07.0; 38. **Ruby Ihmels (Heartland3) 18:07.0; 39. *Mallory Weller (Midwest5) 18:08.4; 40. *Ryin Miller (Heartland4) 18:10.0. (199 finished)