5. The Strength Of The Midwest Region Was No Joke, But Neither Was The South
The two regions that represented very well at Foot Locker Nationals were the Midwest and the South.
On the boy side, the Midwest region took the "team" victory by one point over the South region 31-32. The Midwest team was led by Dylan Jacobs, who took home the win in 15:19.7. But the South region took second, with sophomore Graydon Morris having an exceptional race in 15:23.3.
The Midwest and South regions made up eight of the top 10 finishers in the country.
The Midwest region's performance was even more special as several of the region's top athletes ran just the weekend before at Nike Cross Nationals. Jacobs, Danny Kilrea, Clayton Mendez, and Drew Bosley all ran in back-to-back weeks.
The South region also had a few things go right.
One of the most impressive things was the South's ability to reload. On Saturday, every runner on the line from the South except Morris was a new athlete.
The South also had the most non-seniors represented, including Morris and Kyle Harkabus, both sophomores. Juniors Carter Cheeseman, Jake Renfree, and Camren Fischer all will have a chance at running Foot Locker next year.
"It's been the best team experience ever," Renfree said. "This is the second-best team I've ever been a part of except for Knoxville Catholic. Back at home those guys are the best, but this is awesome. I mean it really was a team experience. I thought that was really kind of the driving force for me is just kinda try and get the South as high as possible."
The girls side saw a huge race from the Midwest as well. They put six athletes in the top 10, including second and third from Katelynne Hart and Olivia Theis.
As a team, they took the win scoring 29 points.
- Bryan Deibel