Foot Locker Nationals 2007

As the 2013 cross country season looms, we look back to 2007. Wellington's Ashley Brasovan defeated recently turned pro and Oregon star Jordan Hasay to take the Foot Locker National championship. Check out the highlights, article, and video interviews with Brasovan and the other three Florida finalists in this week's Throwback Thursday.

What a season it's been for California's Christine Babcock. The Woodbridge H.S. senior ran 10:04.03 for 3200m at the Arcadia Invitational, taking Jordan Hasay to the line and running one of the top ten fastest times ever in the event. However, Babcock really broke onto the national landscape when she ran 4:36.57 for 1600m at her Master Section Championships, one of the fastest times ever run. At the California State Championships this past weekend Babcock ran the fastest 1600m ever with her winning time of 4:33.82, and when converted ranks her as the second fastest miler in prep history. See what Babcock has to say in this exclusive interview, where she talks about her record-breaking race, why she didn't run Foot Locker, and much more.

While this might be the heart of the track and field season, cross country simply cannot stay out of the headlines.  A source close to MileSplit explained this past weekend that Nike Team Nationals (NTN) will be undergoing a name change in 2008 to Nike Cross Nationals (NXN).  For well over a year rumors have swirled about that Nike would include an individual aspect to their already successful team nationals, and that possibility now seems to be a reality. 

The final MileSplit Foot Locker National Power Rankings are here.  With Foot Locker Nationals taking place last weekend, the top athletes in the nation had a chance to go head to head and prove just who is best.  Ending number one on our Power Rankings are Foot Locker champions Ashley Brasovan and Mike Fout (above, photo by John Herzog).

South Carolina senior Luke Lovelace (above) competed in his second consecutive Foot Locker National competition last Saturday.  Lovelace finished thirty-fourth overall and capped his high school cross country career with his best season yet.  See what Lovelace says about the exciting weekend and all its happenings.

  Click Here for the most updated MileSplit coverage of the Foot Locker Nationals Brasovan & Fout Win!!!The results are in and the champions are...Ashley Brasovan of Florida and Mike Fout of Indiana!!!  Brasovan used a strong third mile to beat out defending champions Jordan Hasay (CA) and Kathy Kroeger (TN).  In the boys race Fout survived a blazing opening mile to pull away in the third mile in grand fashion.  The Foot Locker National Championships definitely inspired! (Photos by John Herzog)Durkin finishes fifth and Infled 13th!  Four female runners from Ohio qualified at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional held on November 24th in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  The ladies are: Claire Durkin of Worhington Kilbourne; Emily Infeld of Beaumont; Chelsea Oswald of Walsh Jesuit; and Stephanie Morgan of Barnesville.  Congratulations Claire Durkin on finishing fifth and being an All-American.  Other Ohio finishers were Emily Infeld, 13th place, Chelsea Oswald, 31st, and Stephanie Morgan, 35th.  These ladies have had outstanding Cross Country seasons, and at OHRunners we look forward to seeing how well they compete in the upcoming Track and Field seasons. Click Here to see past results of the Foot Locker Nationals Check out the Foot Locker Nationals home page for a live webcast of the races. Official Foot Locker Nationals Results  Boys/Girls Foot Locker Finalist Capsules: Northeast / South / Midwest / West Foot Locker Videos: MileSplit Foot Locker Nationals Video Page (All Videos)Foot Locker Photos: Race Photos by John Herzog / Friday's Course Preview Foot Locker Top 15 Predictions by Brandon Miles: Boys / GirlsGirls Summary: The Florida Mighty Mite Brasovan Wins Girls RaceBoys Summary: Underdog Fout Wins Boys Race Post Race Interview With Claire Durkin:  Click HereRace Videos: Girls Championship / Boys Championship FL Champs Post Race Interviews: Ashley Brasovan - Part 1 / Ashley Brasovan - Part II / Mike Fout Interview

Chapin senior Luke Lovelace recaps his second trip to Foot Locker Nationals at Balboa Park in San Diego

The final MileSplit Foot Locker National Power Rankings are here.  With Foot Locker Nationals taking place last weekend, the top athletes in the nation had a chance to go head to head and prove just who is best.  Ending number one on our Power Rankings are Foot Locker champions Ashley Brasovan and Mike Fout (above, photo by John Herzog).

Brasovan & Fout Win!!!  The results are in and the champions are...Ashley Brasovan of Florida and Mike Fout of Indiana!!!  Brasovan used a strong third mile to beat out defending champions Jordan Hasay (CA) and Kathy Kroeger (TN).  In the boys race Fout survived a blazing opening mile to pull away in the third mile in grand fashion.  The Foot Locker National Championships definitely inspired! (Photos by John Herzog)Race Results: Boys / GirlsBoys Summary: Underdog Fout Wins Boys RaceGirls Summary: The Florida Mighty Mite Brasovan Wins Girls RaceRace Videos: Girls Championship / Boys Championship FL Champs Post Race Interviews: Ashley Brasovan - Part 1 / Ashley Brasovan - Part II / Mike Fout Interview / Coach Butler (Brasovan's Coach)Boys Post Race Interviews: Chris Derrick (IL) / German Fernandez (CA) / Colby Lowe (TX) / Donn Cabral (CT) / Kevin Havel (IL) / Luke Puskedra (UT) / Brandon Jarrett (NJ) / Rob Finnerty (MN) / Mark Dennin (PA) / Luke Lovelace (SC) / Brian Leung (NJ) / Bobby Nicolls (CO) / Chris Aldrich (PA) / Vince McNally (PA) / Jason Witt (VA) / Patrick Campbell (NC) / Ryan Hill (NC) / Stephen Clark (UT) / Miles Unterreiner (WA) / Rory Tunningley (TX)Girls Post Race Interviews: Kathy Kroeger (TN) /  Jordan Hasay (CA) / Neely Spence (PA) / Claire Durkin (OH) / Emily Lipari (NY) / Emily Jones (MA) / Kauren Tarver (CA) / Chelsea Ley (NJ) / Brittany Koziara (FL) / Kacey Gibson (PA) / Chelsey Sveinsson (TX)  / Aurora Scott (VA) / Carly Seymour (PA) / Cory McGee (MS) /  Lauren Smith (TX) / Kathleen Lautzenheiser (VA) / Emilie Amaro (FL) / Brittany Koziara (FL) / Kayla Hale (FL) / Brasovan, Koziara, Amaro, Hale (FL)Foot Locker Photos: Race Photos by John Herzog. Don Rich and Scott Bush / Friday's Course PreviewFoot Locker Videos: MileSplit Foot Locker Video Page (All Videos) Footlockercc.com Race Coverage: Click HerePre Race Interviews:  German Fernandez (CA) / Course Preview / Aurora Scott (VA)  / Brian Leung & Brandon Jarrett (NJ) / Bobby Nicolls (CO) / Kevin Williams (CO) / Jordan Hasay (CA) / Chris Derrick (IL) / Michael Hammond & Jason Witt (VA) / Aurora Scott's Parents (VA)Foot Locker is staying the course... to write and relive running history Foot Locker Finalist Capsules: Northeast / South / Midwest / WestFoot Locker Top 15 Predictions by Brandon Miles: Boys / Girls

Chapin senior Luke Lovelace finished 34th at Foot Locker Nationals Saturday at Balboa Park in San Diego.   

Mike Fout (IN) racing to the finish, winning the boys title(Photo by John Herzog)Running as a true underdog despite winning Foot Locker Midwest, Indiana's Michael Fout ran an incredibly smart race to win the Foot Locker Nationals Boys Race. As the race pushed on minute by minute Fout put himself in position to win, finally opening a slight lead before the second run up the big hill.  A strong field pushed the pace early, with the top finishers getting up front.  At the end though it was the strong kick of Fout's earning the victory.

Brasovan & Fout Win!!!  The results are in and the champions are...Ashley Brasovan of Florida and Mike Fout of Indiana!!!  Brasovan used a strong third mile to beat out defending champions Jordan Hasay (CA) and Kathy Kroeger (TN).  In the boys race Fout survived a blazing opening mile to pull away in the third mile in grand fashion.  The Foot Locker National Championships definitely inspired! (Photos by John Herzog)Video Interview with Miles UnterreinerRace Results: Boys / GirlsFoot Locker Photos: Race Photos by John Herzog / Friday's Course PreviewFoot Locker Videos: MileSplit Foot Locker Video Page (All Videos)MileSplit Foot Locker National Coverage Page 

 Stan's 3 Foot Locker Finalists Midlothian coach Stan Morgan had coached cross country for years without a Foot Locker finalist. While he still has to catch up to good friend and Mountain View coach Dave Davis who had his fifth qualifier this past weekend in San Diego with two-time qualifier Thomas Porter, Morgan was able to get his first finalist in the form of a trio with Michael Hammond, Kathleen Lautzenheiser, and Jason Witt. The only school to have sent more from Virginia in the same year was in 1979 with 4 athletes from Virginia High. (Photo by John Herzog) Virginia had a fair showing at Foot Locker Nationals. Nothing to jump out of the seat over, but the fact that the state had six athletes make the trip reflects highly of the talent in Virginia as well as the fantastic seasons by all six in order to earn their trip to San Diego. Aurora Scott wrapped up an incredible career at Foot Locker Nationals with her third All-American honor with a seventh place finish of 17:46. She joins very elite company with achieving the feat on three occassions. Meanwhile, Midlothian senior Jason Witt (pictured left by John Herzog) nearly became an All-American as well as he finished two seconds and one place off top 15 with a 16th place time of 15:43. Virginia will have to wait another year to see if they can have a boy crack into the top 15 as it has been since 2002 that a qualifier from the state has earned All-American honors at Balboa Park. Plenty of national coverage of the event with MileStat.com's Brandon Miles and John Herzog assisting in coverage at our MileSplit Network national site at MileSplit US. Please go and check out the great coverage found there including results, race summaries, stories, interviews, photos, race videos, and more!Foot Locker Nationals Coverage Central at MileSplit US

Interview with Coach Doug Butler, who coaches Ashley Brasovan (national champ) and Kayla Hale.

Post-race interview at the Hotel del Coronado with Kayla Hale, 19th place finisher in 18:05

Post-race interview with Brittany Koziara of Florida at the 2007 Foot Locker Nationals. Koziara finished 29th in the girls race with a time of 18:36.

Post-race interview with Ashley Brasovan of Florida at the 2007 Foot Locker Nationals. Brasovan won the girls race in 17:20.

Florida's Ashley Brasovan winning the girls titleA quick early pace broke up the girls race very early with a group of five chasing pre-race favorite Jordan Hasay.  With a mile left to go the top athletes started catching Hasay with the smallest of athletes, 4' 11" Ashley Brasovan making the biggest move to challenge for the win.  In the final 600 meters the Florida star proved her toughness to knock out the rest of the field and cruise away to victory.

Mike Fout (IN) racing to the finish, winning the boys title(Photo by John Herzog)Running as a true underdog despite winning Foot Locker Midwest, Indiana's Michael Fout ran an incredibly smart race to win the Foot Locker Nationals Boys Race. As the race pushed on minute by minute Fout put himself in position to win, finally opening a slight lead before the second run up the big hill.  A strong field pushed the pace early, with the top finishers getting up front.  At the end though it was the strong kick of Fout's earning the victory.

Chris Derrick and Kevin Havel finished their seasons on a high note.  All season long these two runners distinguished themselves as two of the best runners in the country.  Derrick entered as a pre-race favorite, while many predicted Havel somewhere between 12-20.  Congrats to both Chris and Kevin on amazing cross country careers!Kevin Havel Post-Race InterviewChris Derrick Post-Race Interview

Florida's Ashley Brasovan winning the girls title(Photo by John Herzog)A quick early pace broke up the girls race very early with a group of five chasing pre-race favorite Jordan Hasay.  With a mile left to go the top athletes started catching Hasay with the smallest of athletes, 4' 11" Ashley Brasovan making the biggest move to challenge for the win.  In the final 600 meters the Florida star proved her toughness to knock out the rest of the field and cruise away to victory.

 Oh there were plenty of doubters!  There were doubts that she could qualify through Footlocker South--a course that jinxed her for the prior two years.  And then there were doubters after she qualified with a 6th place finish out of the South region.  But you'd be hard pressed to find any doubters today!Ashley ran what was described by many as the "perfect race" and it was exactly what Coach Doug Butler had prescribed that she do.  Brasovan went out conservatively, hanging roughly around 10th place.  Then slowly she started moving up in the pack... to 7th... to 5th.  At about the 1.75 mile mark, she really started to make her move.  At that point, Jordan Hassay of California had a big lead and looked like she would take it home--although some said Hassay looked weathered even early in the race despite her leading.  Ashley moved into second place just before the 2.5 mile mark.  She then whiddled away at Hassay's lead and finally took the lead for good with about 600 to go.  Her lead grew and Hassay got caught.The rest of the Florida girls also ran great races.... four girls qualifiers and national championship!  What a great day for Florida!  Tons of coverage, photos, videos, results, and articles are up.  Click the headline for coverage.

Foot Locker Nationals proves to be huge success for both runners . . . they have made all of NC proud! Congrats, guys.  Ryan Hill of Hickory finished 11th in 15:32Hill post race interviewPatrick Campbell of Mooresville came across in 15:38 for 14th.Campbell post race interview  

Interview with the parents of Aurora Scott, Spencer and Ozella Scott on pre-meet Friday at Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego. A lengthy interview (13:53) talking about the beginning of Aurora's running to her development into one of the nation's best high school cross country runners today as a senior.Pictured left by John Herzog: Aurora Scott doing her run through the course preview on Friday with mom Ozella watching in the background. 

Boys Foot Locker ResultsFull Boys Results*Official Results Courtesy of Footlocker*1. Michael Fout 14:502. Christopher Derrick 14:573. German Fernandez 15:094. Colby Lowe 15:125. Luke Puskedra 15:156. Brandon Jarrett 15:167. Kevin Havel 15:188. Donn Cabral 15:199.  Rob Finnerty 15:2110. Maverick Darling 15:23 Girls Foot Locker ResultsFull Girls Results*Official Results Courtesy of Footlocker*1. Ashley Brasovan 17:202. Kathy Kroeger 17:283. Jordan Hasay 17:314. Neely Spence 17:355. Claire Durkin 17:446. Emily Lipari 17:467. Aurora Scott 17:468. Katie Flood 17:479. Carly Seymour 17:4810. Lauren Tarver  17:53 

Post-race interview with Ashley Brasovan of Florida at the 2007 Foot Locker Nationals. Brasovan finished first in the girls race with a time of 17:20.

Post-race interview with Emilie Amaro of Florida at the 2007 Foot Locker Nationals. Amaro finished 25th in the girls race with a time of 18:31.

A short interview with the 4 Florida Footlocker Finalists after the race at the Hotel del Coronado

Photos taken by John Herzog and Don Rich from Saturday's races and events at the 2007 Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego, California on Saturday, December 8th.

Photos taken by John Herzog and Don Rich of VA athletes at the 2007 Foot Locker Nationals.

Friday course preview at 2007 Foot Locker Nationals.

 There was no magic to the creation of the first, and still only true national championship in high school sports. But over the years, the meet has created a bit of magic on its own – from launching professional running careers, to introducing future couples, to creating one of the more exclusive clubs in sports – that of the Foot Locker Finalist."This meet kind of marks you as a leader, and someone who can make a difference down the road" says Foot Locker Vice President of Brand Marketing, Jeanine Zocks. "It's like a club, a badge and an honor that says you have what it takes to influence others in a positive way."The MileSplit Network's Don Rich sat down with Foot Locker VP of Brand Marketing, Jeanine Zocks, for an interview on the past, present, and future of Foot Locker Nationals.

 There was no magic to the creation of the first, and still only true national championship in high school sports. But over the years, the meet has created a bit of magic on its own – from launching professional running careers, to introducing future couples, to creating one of the more exclusive clubs in sports – that of the Foot Locker Finalist.The MileSplit Network's Don Rich sat down with Foot Locker VP of Brand Marketing, Jeanine Zocks, for an interview on the past, present, and future of Foot Locker Nationals. Read on for more...

  If one were to ask the question of who was the only Virginia high school runner to win the boys title in a Foot Locker/Kinney Nationals, many would be stumped to come up with the correct answer of 1981 Kinney Nationals champion Charles Alexander of St. Christopher's School in Richmond. In the third ever Kinney Nationals held in Orlando, Alexander would win by four seconds in 14:51 by outkicking Californian Harold Kuphaldt.MileStat.com's Brandon Miles was able to catch up with the 1981 national champion while out in San Diego this week for the 29th annual event. Yes, it has been 26 years since Virginia had an individual boys champion. 

It was a great year for Florida girls!  Four Floridians qualified for this year's prestigious Foot Locker Nationals race in San Diego:  Kayla Hale, Emilie Amaro, Brittany Koziara, and Ashley Brasovan.  This is the most historic and significant cross country race for a high school individual and an experience that will no doubt forever be a highlight in these ladies' lives. The girls and their crews have already arrived on the West Coast for tomorrow's race.  I will be joining my our MileSplit coverage team out there on Friday night, bringing our total to six.  We will be bringing you a flood of thousands of photos, hours of video interviews and race footage, and plenty of articles, race summaries, and analysis throughout the weekend.  There is also a live webcast and will be live updates posted during the race on the forum and our national portal.  Look for results within the hour after the race. Click Here for More on Our MileSplit Us National Portal...  

Claire Durkin (OH) won the FL Midwest girls race by 41 seconds Pack running will be the key to success if the Midwest hopes to win the team races Saturday at Foot Locker Nationals.  At the Midwest Regional packs reigned supreme in both races if you look at the results.  The boys have a dominant top four with a lot of experience after them to fill the rest of the scoring gaps, while the girls have a mix of newcomers and experience that should make their team very strong.  

Photos taken by John Herzog at Friday's course preview at the 2007 Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego.

 Claire Durkin (OH) won the FL Midwest girls race by 41 secondsPack running will be the key to success if the Midwest hopes to win the team races Saturday at Foot Locker Nationals.  At the Midwest Regional packs reigned supreme in both races if you look at the results.  The boys have a dominant top four with a lot of experience after them to fill the rest of the scoring gaps, while the girls have a mix of newcomers and experience that should make their team very strong.

Photo by Scott BushTop 15 girls predictions for Foot Locker Nationals by Brandon Miles of MileSplit US. There are two past Foot Locker Nationals champions in the field coming off strong regional wins in 2005 champ Jordan Hasay from California and 2006 champ Kathy Kroeger from Tennessee. History will be working against both though for a second national title. Hasay would become the first runner to win a second title with a year of separation between two wins. Meanwhile, Kroeger will be attempting to break the curse of the four previous underclassmen national champions before her who failed to repeat the following year and gave way to a new champion. Best bets to become the new champion appear to be are Midwest Region winner Claire Durkin of Ohio (pictured above), Northeast Region winner Neely Spence of Pennsylvania, and last year's national runner-up Aurora Scott of Virginia.

  Brandon Miles of MileSplit US is confident to predict for this weekend's Foot Locker Nationals that the weather will play a role in how runners from different geographic regions of the country will fair at Balboa Park with rain (80% chance on Friday, 40% chance on Saturday) and cooler temperatures expected for this weekend.By breaking 15 minutes in his Midwest Regional victory in Kenosha, Mike Fout joined pretty good company to make him the slight individual favorite according to Miles. A group of runners who more than often end up as Foot Locker Nationals champions, which has been the case in recent years with the likes of Dathan Ritzenhein, Chris Solinsky, and Matthew Witherow. Solinsky and Witherow would have enjoyed being able to run in Saturday's forecasted weather than the typically warm Southern Cal that they ran through onto theirnational titles.

 MileStat.com will be on-site with coverage of the Foot Locker Nationals in not so sunny San Diego (rain forecasted for Friday into Saturday) with Brandon Miles and photographer John Herzog. This week will have the largest number of finalists from Virginia at the Foot Locker Nationals in a decade as the 1997 FLN had four girls and two boys from Virginia. At least one in the group including Jason Witt of Midlothian, Griff Graves of Abingdon, Thomas Porter of Mountain View, and Michael Hammond of Midlothian will be looking to break a four year drought of no Virginian boys earning All-American honors with a top 15 finish at Foot Locker Nationals (Kippy Keino, Fork Union, 2002, 15th). While two boys in Griff Graves and Thomas Porter will have experience from last year as returning finalists, Aurora Scott will be making her fourth trip to San Diego as she looks to continue her progression of improved places in each of her races at Balboa Park. A national runner-up last year, Scott is not in the favorite role as she found herself in last year after a course record breaking performance at the regional meet in 2006. Winning is a goal for Scott, but a victory would be an upset to others. Kathleen Lautzenheiser is part of the trio of Midlothian finalists who will be in San Diego as they were all guided by long-time Midlo coach Stan Morgan. Coach Morgan has coached for decades until having his first individual qualify for Foot Locker Nationals this year and ended up having not just one, but three finish in the top 10 at the South Regional.We arrive in San Diego on Thursday and will be bringing you plenty of coverage through Sunday with photos, videos, interviews, stories, and more. Excited to also be part of the MileSplit US national coverage team with national editor Scott Bush, penntrackxc.com's Don Rich, flrunners.com's Jason Byrne, and MileStat.com's own Brandon Miles and John Herzog. Foot Locker is staying the course... to write and relive running history FL Nationals Webcast Live: Click HereFoot Locker Videos: MileSplit Foot Locker Video Page (All Videos) Pre Race Interviews:  German Fernandez (CA) / Aurora Scott (VA)  / Brian Leung & Brandon Jarrett (NJ) / Bobby Nicolls (CO) / Kevin Williams (CO) / Jordan Hasay (CA) / Chris Derrick (IL) / Michael Hammond & Jason Witt (VA) / Aurora Scott's Parents (VA)Foot Locker Photos: Friday's Course PreviewFoot Locker Finalist Capsules: Northeast / South / Midwest / WestFoot Locker Top 15 Predictions by Brandon Miles: Boys / GirlsFoot Locker Regional Recaps: Northeast / South / Midwest / WestFoot Locker Nationals Official Website: Click Here