via Press Release more photos here
The Woodlands, TX (November 19, 2011) – The Southlake Boys and Girls Carroll Cross Country Club convincingly landed first place title’s at the Nike Cross Country South Regional Championships at Bear Branch Park, in the Woodlands. The first and second place team competes at the Nike Cross Country Nationals in Portland, Oregon on December 3rd.
The Carroll Cross Country Club boys scored only 26 points with all runners placing in the top 25, beating The Woodlands with a score of 91. The girls’ team earned the opportunity to race against the top teams from across the country at the Nike Cross Country Nationals seven of the last eight years and scored 48 points topping Kingwood who earned a second place finish with 72 points. The Carroll Cross Country Club has qualified together for the fifth time.
Championship Division
In the Boys Championship division, the team had three runners finish in the top 10. Joe Sansone placed 5th and led the pack with a time of 15:35. Trevor Gilley placed 9th with 15:57, Jordan Chavez (10th, 15:58), Alex Johansson (11th, 15:59), Nate Sullivan (15th, 16:05), Connor Hendrickson (20th, 16:17), and Ben Golestan (23rd, 16:19), as he endured the rocky and winding course with one shoe; lost in the opening 400 meters of the race.
Courtney Kriegshauser led the Carroll Club in the Girls Championship division with a 6th place finish on a time of 18:35 and Rachel Harper finished 15th with a time of 18:49. Other Carroll runners included Shelby Chapin (20th, 18:53), Allison Naval (22nd, 18:58), Felice Johnson (24th, 19:00), Julia Sunderland (26th, 19:01), and Sarah Roe (41st, 19:28).
Open Division
In the Open Division, the Carroll runners finished fourth. Jacob Pickle led the Open division with a 3rd place finish on a time of 16:31 and Chase Wichman secured 10th with a time of 16:53. Other Carroll runners included Alec Garner (22nd, 17:08), Johnny Kemps (58th, 17:40), Luke Lanham (108th, 18:05), Justin Nevarez (141st, 18:21), Sam Smith (158th, 18:32), and Brent Aydon (178th, 18:45:30).
Page 2/NXN South Regional Championship
In the Girls Open Division the Carroll Cross Country Club ran two teams taking 1st and 2nd place. The Open A team landed four runners in the top 10. Convincingly, Annie Fillers finished 1st on a time of 19:31, followed by Taylor Ullman in 4th place with a time of 19:53, Morgan Baulier (6th, 20.07), Sarah Cory (8th, 20:11), Vicki Bottorff (11th, 20:20), Lauren Berry (17th, 20:39), and Maddie Keen (18th, 20:41).
Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) Background
Eight regional qualifying teams compete at the annual Nike Cross in Portland. Following in the tradition of European cross country meets, the Nationals event features a multiple loop race course with man-made obstacles built on the inside of the horse race track at Portland Meadows in Oregon. Spectator-friendly, a continuous live view of the race is available from an enclosed 3,000-seat grandstand. A live webcast feed of the event will run on nikecrossnationals.com. Fields of 22 seven-person clubs and an additional 45 individuals (male and female) will lay it all on the line in the quest for the sport's biggest prize, the coveted Winged Goddess of Victory statue.
Results: Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) South Regional Championship Finals Qualifiers
1st and 2nd place teams are automatic qualifiers; 3rd and 4th place teams are eligible for selection as a national at-large team. Individual qualifiers are the top 5 not on a qualifying team. Auto qualifiers in bold
Boys Teams
1. Carroll XC (Southlake Carroll TX) 26
2. The Woodlands XC TX 120
3. Bentonville XC AR 197
4. Rogue Cedar Park TX 242
Girls Teams
1. Carroll XC (Southlake Carroll TX) 48
2. Kingwood XC TX 72
3. Park XC TX 133
4. The Woodlands XC TX 142
Boys Individuals
1. Daniel Vertiz TX 15:19.00
2. Kevyn Hoyos TX 15:25.92
3. Craig Nowak TX 15:26.59
4. Cale Wallace TX 15:31.54
5. Joe Sansone TX 15:35.37** Carroll XC
6. Ryan Teel TX 15:46.45
** Qualified with team
Girls Individuals
1. Madi McLellan TX 18:03.61
2. Karis Jochen TX 18:07.23
3. Alexandra Davis OK 18:19.02
4. Safiya Belbina TX 18:19.95
5. Magdelana Escobar TX 18:27.49
6. Courtney Kriegshauser TX 18:35.71**
Carroll XC
** - Qualified with team