Recap of NXN Invididual races

On Saturday, 398 of the best high school cross country athletes toed the line in Portland, Oregon and over 5 kilometers, fought through the rain and cold, just for one to come out victorious. Let’s take a look at how they fared-

 

 

 

Girls Individual:

Prior to the race, there was a lot of speculation about who might win because there were multiple girls who had the ability to win the race. One of the favorites was Addy Ritzenhein, the returning champion. In 2023, as just a sophomore, Ritzenhein chased down Elizabeth Leachman for the win, so naturally a lot of people had her as the favorite.

 

Another clear favorite was Sadie Engelhardt. She started off the season well with a win at Clovis, and won her state meet just one week prior to NXN. Engelhardt also has incredible speed with times of 4:26.77 in the 1500m and 2:03.48 in the 800m from last track season.

 

Though there were many other girls that you could have made a case for, Jane Hedengren ended up showing up on the day. As soon as the gun went off Hendengren went straight for the front. At first, it seemed similar to 2023 where Elizabeth Leachman took the lead in the first half of the race which eventually led to her fading during the second half of the race, placing 15th. However, this was not the case for Hendengren; as the race progressed it became more apparent that she was not going to back off and she able to hold the lead. It started with just a 4 second lead but pretty quickly it turned into 12 seconds and before you knew it she was finishing 41 seconds ahead of 2nd place!

 

 

Results:

1. Jane Hedengren - 16:32.7

2. Victoria Garces - 17:13.4

3. Elizabeth Leachman - 17:13.7

4. Keeghan Edwards - 17:15.2

5. Addy Ritzenhein - 17:15.3

6. Mia Sirois - 17:16.0

7. Marissa Ferebee - 17:16.4

8. Sophia Rodriguez - 17:27.3

9. Ella Hagen - 17:33.0

10. Dani Scheffler - 17:34.2

 

 

Boys Individual:

Similar to the girls race, there were countless people who you could have made the argument for winning. Athletes like Ty Sterols, Keegan Smith, Joe Barrett, Manny Putz and countless others were considered top contenders for the individual title.

 

While you could have made the case for 10 to 15 people to win, one person you did not hear a lot about was Charlie Vause, who ended up winning. Although you may not have heard much about him this year, he has had some sizable accomplishments this year. Vause was runner up in the New Mexico NMAA 5A state championships and 3rd at NXR Southwest where he ran his 5k personal best of 14:30.19. Looking back, you would think that someone who has a PB of 14:30 and was 3rd at a NXR regional should be in the conversation for the title, but for whatever reason, no one thought about Vause as a possibility.

 

When the race kicked off the uncertainty of who would win continued throughout the first 3k or so. Just after the 3k mark, the lead pack had gotten smaller and was around 5 people with a chase pack not far behind. Within the group Caden Leonard appeared to look the most relaxed at the pace and was driving the pace forward. Between the 3k and 4k markers, the lead pack of just 6 people was making a left turn on the course and Caden Leonard slipped into the mud and fell. He appeared to jump up quick in order to continue running and was shown on the broadcast just 36 seconds later, back in the front and driving the pace.

 

With about 2 minutes left in the race, Charlie Vause made a huge move in order to put a gap on the rest of the lead pack. Leonard and the rest of the lead pack attempted to cover the move but were unable to keep up. He reached the final two hills with just 60 seconds and made it up with plenty of room. Coming down the final stretch he took a few looks behind him and came through the line in 15:28.1 and became the Nike Cross Nationals champion!

 

 

 

Results:

1. Charlie Vause - 15:28.1

2. Tj Hansen - 15:30.6

3. Caden Leonard - 15:31.0

4. Thomas Latham - 15:32.4

5. Evan Noonan - 15:32.7

6. Keegan Smith - 15:33.6

7. Jackson Spencer - 15:35.6

8. Kaden Evans - 15:35.8

9. Aiden Le Roux - 15:36.2

10. Robert Mechura - 15:36.3

 

 

All photo credit: Christian Beck (@cbeckphotos)