A fine week of performances keep the MileSplit Foot Locker National Power Rankings interesting. A few loses by ranked athletes helps new athletes jump into the fray as the Foot Locker regional competitions draw near.
MileSplit Foot Locker National Power Rankings (Nov. 14)
Boys
1. Chris Derrick (Sr., Neuqua Valley, IL) - Derrick destroyed yet another course record, despite not being 100% healthy. His time of 14:54 marked Derrick as the first athlete to ever break 15 on the course. The victory came 18 seconds faster than runner-up Kevin Havel, winning despite being a bit under the weather.
2. Luke Puskedra (Sr., Judge Memorial, UT) - Idle.
3. German Fernandez (Sr., Riverbank, CA) - Fernandez won his sectional meet this past weekend by nearly two minutes, winning in a fast 15:03.
4. Colby Lowe (Sr., Southlake Carroll, TX) - Lowe kept his undefeated season rolling along, picking up another state title. Lowe won the Texas State Championship by nearly half a minute in 15:11.
5. Ben Johnson (Sr., Albuquerque Academy, NM) - BenJo won the individual title Saturday at the New Mexico State Championships. The veteran coasted away from the field for a 14 second win.
6. Kevin Williams (Sr., D'Evelyn, CO) - Idle.
7. Doug Smith (Jr., Gill-St. Bernard's, NJ) - Smith won the non-public B race in 15:44. His time beat the runner-up finisher by over a minute, leaving him only three seconds off of Brian Leung's top time of the day.
8. Rob Finnerty (Sr., Burnsville, MN) - Idle.
9. Brian Leung (Sr., WW-PS, NJ) - Leung won the Boys D4 State Championship Saturday, running 15:41 to blitz the field by 24 seconds. Leung's mark was the fastest time of the day.
10. Vince McNally (Sr., Conestoga Valley, PA) - Idle.
11. Sean Keveren (Sr., Brentwood, TN) - Idle.
12. Jason Witt (Sr., Midlothian, VA) - Witt ran the third fastest mark in Virginia State Meet history Saturday, crushing the field in the Boys AAA race by 12 seconds. Witt's third all-time mark put him behind only Alan Webb and Bobby Lockhart. Obviously everyone knows Webb's accomplishments, but Lockhart was a three time Foot Locker Finalist and placed second as a senior. That is mighty fine company to be in.
Girls
1. Jordan Hasay (Jr., Mission Prep, CA) - A strong performance at her sectional competition keeps Hasay at the top this week. She won the race by over 90 seconds in 17:26.
2. Ashley Brasovan (Jr., Wellington, FL) - Another fine effort on Brasovan's part helped her Wellington team win their regional. Her time of 17:13 easily beat the field.
3. Carly Seymour (Sr., Central Cambria, PA) - Idle.
4. Neely Spence (Sr., Shippensburg, PA) - Ran the NYRR XC Championships Saturday on the FL Northeast course. Her mark of 17:18 ranks her in the top four all-time on the course. With another week and half to prepare, can Spence run faster?
5. Kaite Flood (So., Dowling Catholic, IA) - Flood beat a solid field of competitors by over 30 seconds Saturday to help guide her team to their first ever Nike Team National berth. Flood continues to impress and be a great leader of her team.
6. Kathy Kroeger (Jr., Indepedence, TN) - Idle.
7. Georgia Griffin (Sr., Hanover, NH) - Griffin scorched the field at the New England Championships. Her time of 18:06 bested the course record, which she set last year, by 25 seconds. That type of improvement bumps Griffin up a spot this week.
8. Christine Babcock (Sr., Woodbridge, CA) - Winning by an increasing margin, Babcock ran 17:10 at Mt. SAC to win her sectional race. Her time was the fastest on the day.
9. Aurora Scott (Sr., Home Schooled, VA) - Idle.
10. Claire Durkin (Sr., Worthington, OH) - Idle.
11. Nadya Bishton (Sr., Mountain Ridge, AZ) - Idle.
12. Emilie Amaro (Sr., Cypress Bay, FL) - Amaro has run well all season long. Last weekend she helped her team finish a mere point behind Brasovan's Wellington team. This week at the Florida State Meet expect Amaro to challenge Brasovan for the individual title.