Foot Locker West Regional (Rain Course) 2007

The pack during the first mile of the FL West boys race The strength of the West once again lies in how well their pack runs.  Both the boys and girls squads have front runners with a chance to win the individual title.  German Fernandez and Jorday Hasay enters as pre-race favorites, while Luke Puskedra is also a pre-race favorite on the boys side.  The boys side however has no athletes competing with past Foot Locker Nationals experience.

 German Fernandez (CA) sprints to the finish  Despite a race day decision to change the course, the favorites at the Foot Locker West Regional all qualified for FLN next weekend in San Diego.  Jordan Hasay (CA) earned herself the third regional title of her fantastic career, finishing in 17:17.  German Fernandez (CA) won the boys race with a powerful last 600m to finish in 14:53.Foot Locker West Photo AlbumGirls FL West Qualifiers: Jordan Hasay (CA) 17:17, Laurynne Chetelat (CA), Jessica Tonn (AZ), Kauren Tarver (CA), Meghan Marvin (CA), Nadya Bishton (AZ), Taylor Wallace (OR), Nastia Bishton (AZ), Sarah Sumpter (CA) and Nicole Nielsen (ID).Boys FL West Qualifiers: German Fernandez (CA) 14:53, Luke Puskedra (UT), Stephen Clark (UT), James Attarian (CA), Miles Unterreiner (WA), Jim Walmsley (AZ), Chris Schwartz (CA), Brett Walters (CA), Riley Sullivan (CA) and Jonathan Lafler (WA).

FL West favorite Luke Puskedra (UT) leads the way at NTN SW(Photo by Gary Murray)The best in the West converge at Mt. SAC Saturday for the Foot Locker West Regional Championships.  Both the boys and girls seeded fields are stacked with talent.  Fantastic battles highlight the scene.  In the boys race German Fernandez (CA) v. Luke Puskedra (UT) should battle, while Jorday Hasay (CA) is not quite as invincible as last year it seems.  See who the favorites are.

Miles Unterreiner (WA) winning Nike BorderClash(Photo by Dave Clark)The past few years have been a journey for Washington's Miles Unterreiner (Sr., Gig Harbor).  The senior star is finishing up his senior cross country campaign the way any athlete dreams of.  Miles earned himself a state title, beating a very strong field.  He came back to win the Nike BorderClash two weeks later.  Now labeled as one of the favorites at the Foot Locker West Regional this weekend, see what Miles has to say on an array of questions.MileSplit Interviews: Miles Unterreiner (Sr., Gig Harbor, WA)

FL West favorite Luke Puskedra (UT) leads the way at NTN SW(Photo by Gary Murray)The best in the West converge at Mt. SAC Saturday for the Foot Locker West Regional Championships.  Both the boys and girls seeded fields are stacked with talent.  Fantastic battles highlight the scene.  In the boys race German Fernandez (CA) v. Luke Puskedra (UT) should battle, while Jorday Hasay (CA) is not quite as invincible as last year it seems.  See who the favorites are.

  The cross country courses out west are really starting to heat up!  Newly minted 1-2 ranked boys, German Fernandez and Luke Puskerda, opened their seasons with blazing course records, while on the girl's side Christine Babcock broke her own meet record this past weekend impressively.  The West looks great, but there is a long way to go.

With nearly half of the Foot Locker West National Team returning from '06, the expectations are high in '07.  Jordan Hasay is the number one ranked harrier of course, after her however, the rankings get a little more complex.  Every year the West seems to have a lot of young ladies who put up some very impressive numbers, and this year should be no different.

The West boys were dominated by senior talent last fall at Foot Locker Regionals.  With 17 of the top 19 regional racers now graduated, a new era can rise up and take hold of the dominant West reign.  With a nice mix of talent, from a variety of states, this year's West squad could be the most diverse in some time.

Nothing is more prestigious for a distance runner than qualifying for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.  The best of the best have annually competed in this event, making it the showcase of post-season competition.  This year, MileSplit.us will be ranking the top individuals in each region!