U.S. #2 Luke Puskedra leads the way at NTN Southwest
(Photo by Gary Murray)
One week to go until three of the four Foot Locker Regionals take place. With such important meets ahead, many of the top runners in the land ran one more race before the big weekend. Two new athletes join the ranks this week. Mike Fout of Indiana jumps to #10 on the boys side, while Nastia Bishton of Arizona joins her sister Nadya at #12 on the girls side.
MileSplit Foot Locker National Power Rankings (Nov. 20)
Boys
1. Chris Derrick (Sr., Neuqua Valley, IL) - Idle.
2. Luke Puskedra (Sr., Judge Memorial, UT) - Started a blazing pace from the gun at NTN Southwest. Puskedra beat U.S. #5 Ben Johnson by eight seconds to earn bragging rights heading towards Foot Locker Regionals.
3. German Fernandez (Sr., Riverbank, CA) - Little competition meant another big win for Fernandez. His nearly two minute win shows he is ready to face some stiffer competition.
4. Colby Lowe (Sr., Southlake Carroll, TX) - Facing similar competition to what he has seen all season, Lowe easily beat the field at the NTN South Regional. He ran a solid time of 15:06 to win by 21 seconds.
5. Ben Johnson (Sr., Albuquerque Academy, NM) - The New Mexico star led his team to victory at the NTN Southwest Regional. Johnson lost his first race of the year, taking second to U.S. #2 Luke Puskedra by eight seconds.
6. Kevin Williams (Sr., D'Evelyn, CO) - Idle.
7. Rob Finnerty (Sr., Burnsville, MN) - Idle.
8. Brian Leung (Sr., WW-PS, NJ) - A 15:33 win at the NJ Meet of Champions was made a little bit easier with U.S. ranked Doug Smith dropping out. Leung's performances have been getting increasingly better.
9. Vince McNally (Sr., Conestoga Valley, PA) - Idle.
10. Mike Fout (Sr., La Porte, IN) - The senior from Indiana ran a technically savy race Saturday at the Mid-East Meet of Champions. Fout paced a even race, eventually passing Michigan star Maverick Darling in the final 400m to win in 14:59. Fout's mark was the course record by eight seconds, a record set by past Foot Locker champion Bob Kennedy.
11. Doug Smith (Jr., Gill-St. Bernard's, NJ) - Smith DNF'd after becoming dizzy at the NJ Meet of Champions. Feeling under the weather earlier in the week definitely affected his performance. One of the big questions for next week's Foot Locker Northeast is whether Smith can bounce back in time.
12. Sean Keveren (Sr., Brentwood, TN) - Idle.
Girls
1. Jordan Hasay (Jr., Mission Prep, CA) - The California front runner hasn't had much competition this season, as the California state meet approaches.
2. Ashley Brasovan (Jr., Wellington, FL) - The junior star kept her undefeated season rolling along, winning her division of the Florida State Meet by eight seconds over U.S. ranked Emilie Amaro. Brasovan ran 17:04 for the victory.
3. Carly Seymour (Sr., Central Cambria, PA) - Idle.
4. Neely Spence (Sr., Shippensburg, PA) - Idle.
5. Katie Flood (So., Dowling Catholic, IA) - Idle.
6. Kathy Kroeger (Jr., Independence, TN) - Idle.
7. Claire Durkin (Sr., Worthington, OH) - Competing at the Mid-East Meet of Champions, Durkin ran 17:24 to beat the rest of the field by over forty seconds. Her time was a course record by eight seconds and distinguishes Durkin as one of the favorites to win Foot Locker Midwest next weekend.
8. Christine Babcock (Sr., Woodbridge, CA) - Running on the lightning fast Mt. SAC course, Babcock ran the fastest time of the day to win her Southern Section race. The senior ran 16:38 over the 2.91 mile course.
9. Georgia Griffin (Sr., Hanover, NH) - Idle.
10. Nadya Bishton (Sr., Moutain Ridge, AZ) - Bishton pushed early to gap the field at the NTN Southwest Regional Saturday. She ran 17:38 over the 5k spread to beat her sister Nastia by five seconds and the rest of the field by over twenty.
11. Emilie Amaro (Sr., Cypress Bay, FL) - Amaro ran a great race to stay within striking distance of U.S. #2 Ashley Brasovan at the end of the race Saturday at the Florida State Meet. Amaro finished eight seconds back in 17:12.
12. Nastia Bishton (Sr., Moutain Ridge, AZ) - Despite finishing behind her sister Nadya all season long, Nastia has been beating many of the better runners in the country consistently all season long. She ran 17:43 to place second at the NTN Southwest Regional this past weekend.