Prior to 2008, Nike Cross Nationals was called Nike Team Nationals. This is the race broadcast replay from 2006.
Full event coverage from 2006 is available at NikeCrossNationals.com. All free of charge.
From 2006 DyeStat recap:
New York sweeps - Fayetteville-Manlius ends dream season with 50-point win. Ashley Higginson NJ 19:19 wins. Corona del Mar CA's Sarah Cummings and Shelby Buckley win Foot Locker finals berths
Unheralded F-M girls do what highly rated F-M boys could not
by Dave Devine, Northwest regional editor
Two years ago, at the inaugural Nike Team Nationals, there was a substantial buzz surrounding a school from upstate New York believed to be one of the top boys’ teams in the nation. Fayetteville-Manlius (F-M) was the perfect match for a nascent, countrywide team competition—a tight pack with no superstars and a legendary work ethic. That team placed second to an equally vaunted York squad in 2004, and returned in 2005 to place 3rd behind Saratoga NY and York (on a tie-breaker). This year F-M was back, as the Manlius XC team, but it was the girls, not the boys, who toed the line.
And it was those girls who delivered Coach Bill Aris his first national title in his third attempt.
The F-M girls had been gaining steam all season, according to Coach Aris. “I knew we were going to have a good team this year. How good remained to be seen. It kept developing and building...we rose at the right moment at the end of the year, winning our State and Fed [NY Federation] championships, and I believed we had one more race in us. We just ascended the ladder.”
Even during pre-race introductions, Aris’ young charges were all business. While some teams smiled or joked among themselves as they jogged from the introduction paddock to the starting line, the Manlius girls were grim-faced and determined. That razor focus was on display early, as Mackenzie Carter and Kathryn Buchan got out strong, infiltrating the top ten in the first kilometer. The team was in 5th at that point (180 pts), with live scoring updated on massive screens alongside the track. Hilton (NY) XC club was listed in first place, with 115, followed by Westfield (Indiana) with 144.
By the second checkpoint, Manlius had asserted itself, surging to the lead in the team standings with 147 to Westfield’s 172 and Newport’s (Corona del Mar CA during the season)187. A chip error, undiscovered until after the race, resulted in Hilton being dropped from the live scoring updates, though they were more than holding their own on the muddy course.
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