Ammar Moussa (Jr., Arcadia) finished 6th in the USATF Cross Country Junior National Championships held at the Plantes Ferry Recreation Park in Spokane Washington.
(Photo courtesy of Victah Sailor; PhotoRun.net)
Moussa ran with a lead pack through most of the race and was only the 2nd high school runner to finish in the top six. Colorado runner Walter Schafer (Sr., Cherry Creek HS) finished second, 6 seconds behind former Alaska prep runner Trevor Dunbar (University of Portland, OR).
Moussa finished the race in 24:28 followed by Erik Olson (Sr., Novato HS, CA) in 24:33.
The top 6 runners will travel to Poland to compete in the World Cross Country Championships. As the alternate, Erik Olson, will go to Poland if one of the top 6 runners drop out by a specific date determine by the USATF Cross Country Council.
Moussa just returned from the Reebok Boston Indoor Games where he placed 2nd in the mile with a time of 4:14.13.
In December he finished 4th at the Nike Cross nationals and won the USATR National J.O. XC Championships a week later.
Moussa also won the California Gatorade Player of the Year award for Cross Country.
Molly Grabill (Jr., Rancho Bernardo) was the top California finisher for the girls. Grabill finished in 12th place with a time of 21:47.