Niehaus Finishes 17th, Blackmon Finishes 32nd at Footlocker

(footlockercc.com photo) Kate Niehaus finished 17th overall at Footlocker Nationals. Following this years' nationals Niehaus has competed at two Footlocker Nationals.

Kate Niehaus (sophomore, Spring Valley) and Angelina Blackmon (senior, Northwestern) concluded their 2003 cross-country season Saturday at the 2003 Footlocker Nationals at Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif. Both Blackmon and Niehaus compete in South Carolina's 4A classification of female runners. "The National Meet is about much more than just a race," said Niehaus' Coach Kevin Shaw. "It (the meet)does determine the National Champion, but Footlocker and Nike's ultimate goal is to mold future Olympians. These kids were treated like "Olympians" the three days they were there."

State meet best holder Niehaus crossed the line first for South Carolina in 17th spot with a time of 18:11 at this years' nationals. Blackmon finished 32nd in the girl's event in 19:37.

This is Niehaus' second showing at Footlocker and Blackmon's first showing. Niehaus finished fourth at the 2003 South Region meet at McAlpine Park, home of Wendy's Cross-Country Invitational with a time of 17:49. Blackmon finished ahead of Niehaus at the 2003 Wendy's Invitational. In her first (2002) season as a cross-country runner Niehaus set a new state meet best (17:52.9) and qualified for Nationals after placing fifth at the South Region meet at McAlpine Park in Charlotte. Niehaus DNF at the 2002 Footlocker Nationals in San Diego. During the 2003 South Carolina cross-country season Niehaus captured her second consecutive state title while breaking her own state meet best from 2002 (17:52.9) with a time of 17:36.81. Niehaus also runs track and plays soccer at Spring Valley. "Kate's race went really well," said Shaw. "The pace was fast but not killer. Kate was anywhere from 12th to 20th during the majority of the race. We planned for her to be in that range and then hopefully finish in the top 15."

(footlockercc.com photo) Angelina Blackmon ended her high school cross-country career with a high note at Footlocker Nationals.

Saturday was Blackmon's last high school cross-country meet. Blackmon finished first for South Carolina and second overall at the 2003 South Region on Nov. 29 with a time of 17:42 at McAlpine Park, home of Wendy's Cross-Country Invitational. The last cross-country meet that took place in South Carolina for Blackmon was the State Championships on Nov. 8. Blackmon finished fourth in the meet after battling with Niehaus for the title with a time of 18:16.82.

Prior to the State Championships, Blackmon captured the Region 3-4A individual title with South Carolina's 2003 fastest female time of 17:25. Niehaus finished 14 seconds behind Blackmon at the region meet to finish second overall. Blackmon is coached by Calvin Hudgins at Northwestern. Blackmon's sister, Tiayonna, an eighth grader, also runs for Northwestern. Tiayonna Blackmon finished third at the 2003 South State Championships and has the ability to lead Northwestern during the 2004 cross-country season. Both sisters also run track at Northwestern.

The South team finished in fourth out of the four teams with a combined score of 85. Jennifer Barringer, a junior at Oviedo High School in Florida finished third overall and first for the South in the meet. Niehaus was the South's third finisher that crossed the line while Blackmon was the South's eighth finisher.