Manlius girls, Bozeman boys win titles at NXN

By Ka'Deem Wynn for DyeStat

The 2016 Nike Cross Nationals meet, like its predecessors, brought something to the table that hadn’t been previously offered. Repeats, dethroning and crowning of champions, and classic team battles raged on as all of those competing in lovely Portland, OR. put it all on the line, finishing on empty.

The girls championship race was not what anyone would have expected. Brie Oakley, who was one of the favorites coming in, led the way throughout the 5000-meter race in dominating fashion. Oakley took charge of the race shortly after the 1K mark and didn’t look back. She went through the mile in 5:20, with those in the lead pack, including Ember Stratton, who finished as runner-up, and Lauren Gregory, who finished third, just a few seconds behind around 5:26.

A few seconds became about 25 seconds at the two-mile. Oakley came through in 10:52, with the next six runners that made up the lead pack all around the 11:20 mark.

During the race, Oakley tripped and fell in a mud puddle, but quickly recovered and charged home. At the end, she would become this year’s NXN champion, running 17:10.. Stratton crossed the line in 17:38, and Gregory was in tow at 17:39.

After the race, Oakley said that she was expecting the race to be a lot closer than it was. But after the mile, she decided to shoot ahead and not look back, a decision that proved to be her triumph.

On the team side, Manlius came out on top, virtually unchallenged. Manlius won their tenth NXN team title with 41 points, with Davis taking second with 181 points. Manlius sealed the deal early as they had their five girls finish in the top 15, respectively. Taking the third spot in the race was Temecula, who moved up well throughout the race and finished with 185 points.

The boys championship race featured a heated battle for the top spot, as defending champion Casey Clinger, Seth Hirsch, Brodey Hasty, and Sam Worley traded places throughout the race.  Hirsch led the lead pack through the mile in 4:52, a quick but respectable pace for the field.

The pack began to separate just after the two-mile, with the top runners all around 10:00. As the pack began to split in two, the leaders turned into a string of six and Clinger led the way, pushing the pace and constantly looked back. Battles ensued behind him as it came down to the wire. Casey dug deep and was able to keep his lead at the end to become not only this year’s NXN champion but the first in NXN history to defend his national title running 15:28.

“It just feels great,” Clinger said when asked how it felt to be the first NXN back-to-back champion.

With six guys coming down the final stretch, Worley pulled away and grabbed second place in 15:35, and Hasty grabbing third in 15:37. Worley has shown his colors as a true gamer, as he won Foot Locker South last week in 14:58, and is set to run at Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego next weekend.

On the team side, like last year, it came extremely close, and anticipation ran high before the official results were released.