It will be a new look and owner on Saturday, but the same style of grinding high-level cross-country racing (Griffin Forberg photo)
The Course:
The course at Parkside is a true cross-country course, with a 400m straightaway followed by 700m of uphill before descending into some woods loops that could be nice and muddy in the midst of a snowstorm. The last mile is rolling hills through some wooded terrain that spits you out for the final 300-meter finishing straight. The NCAA D2 national championship was run on this course just last week, and it felt every bit of a championship layout. As athletes emerge from the woods, it will be a battle to the finish for the qualifying spots to the Brooks XC National meet.
Qualifying for Nationals:
The top ten athletes in each championship race will advance to the National Meet. Athletes from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin will battle it out for the ten qualifying spots in the Championship race that kicks off with the girls' race at 10:40 AM Central time and the boys' race at 11:25 AM.
Girls Championship Race:
The top two runners in the country according to our MileSplit rankings are Natasza Dudek (So., Ann Arbor Pioneer, MI) and Addison Ritzenhein (Sr., Niwot, CO). They were slated to put on a fireworks show in the snow, but they will have to wait until December 13th in San Diego. Why? They were awarded two byes to nationals via "Golden Tickets." By default, US#5 Maddie Gullickson (Sr., Wayzata, MN) won the Heartland NXR Regional two weekends ago and is undefeated against high schoolers. With a personal best of 16:49, she appears to be the favorite.
Despite being morbidly distant from Wisconsin, Colorado has a history of strong representation on the Parkside course. Leading the charge is Emily Cohen (Sr., Cherry Creek), who has placed in the top 10 of every race of a grueling schedule. Cohen placed 14th in the national finals last year. Next is Payton Meineke (Sr., Riverdale Ridge), Chamorra Cooper (Jr., Air Force Academy), and Claire Guiberson (Sr., Mountain Vista). This is one of the deepest crops in the Rocky Mountain State representation to Kenosha.
The Illinois contingent will be led by "Sunny" Sundara Weber (Sr., Sandwich), Karlin Janowski (So., Elmhurst York), Macy Ermitage (So., Downers Grove North), and Kate Foltz (Sr., Tuscola), who was a national qualifier, is slated to compete. Weber, who has already qualified for one national championship race via the Nike Cross Nationals route, is expected to be a frontrunner and punch her ticket to San Diego. Ermitage is a relative unknown, but it has been running well over the past month and could surprise a few folks.
Indiana state champion and Notre Dame U signee Libby Dowty of Indian Creek reclaimed her state title and appears ready to return to San Diego; she placed fifth a year ago. Newcomer and state runner-up junior Macey Thompson of Lake Central is still learning the post-state championship racing side of the game. She will be on the mend after taking 31st at MW NXR.
Elena Aldrink (Sr., Oletangy Liberty), Sophia Szolosi (Sr., Athens), and Kaitlyn Carr (Sr., Smithville) will also be in the mix from Ohio. Aldrink won the big class state championship, but hasn't garnered much attention this season. One reason could be that she hasn't raced much, nor has she competed in many top-level invites outside of her state.
Some of the top entrants come in from the plains states: Peyton VanDeest (Jr., Spearfish, SD). VanDeest took second in her state meet and followed up with another runner-up at the NXN Heartland Championship.
Boys Championship Race:
Downers Grove North, IL senior superstar Philip Cupial could have secured a Golden Ticket based on his season. But as the grinder he is, he would rather earn a trip to sunny California. Cupial is hot after dominating his state championship meet and later pulling off an exclamation point win at MW NXR. Lake Zurich senior Gordy Libby has been on a mission for quite a while. Don't expect the 3A state runner and MW NXR all-regional team member to slow down. He is an underdog to most, but could easily advance to nationals. Plainfield North's senior duo, Thomas Czerwinski and Aidan Connors, should also be near the front after leading their team to a National berth at NXN Midwest.
Sean Fries from Minnetonka, Minnesota, is another leading contender and has already earned a golden ticket and will not compete.
There are multiple state champions from other states looking to book their ticket to Nationals.
Noah Bontrager (Sr., Westview, IN) has earned a golden ticket to nationals, but his state competitor, Calvin Seitz of Spring Valley, won the state meet and is poised to make the trip to San Diego. Seitz did not race at MW NXR.
Carson Driemeier (Sr., Festus, MO) earned one trip to nationals based on a top-five finish at NXR Midwest. He will be in the hunt with the leaders, chasing the warm air of San Diego.
Jaden Merrick (Sr., Cedar Falls, Iowa) is the best from his state and will be among the flock to watch. He placed 10th at the NXR Heartland Regional two weeks ago.
Kamari Ronfeldt (Jr., Ann Arbor, Michigan) was the Michigan big class champion and took third at the MW NXR. Although he is an emerging national elite talent, he is ready to step up and challenge for the win.
The Badger state will have its top four state performers toeing the line, led by D1 state champ senior Grady Lenn.
The Dakotas were supposed to be represented by Mikah Peters of Brandon Valley, South Dakota, but he earned a golden ticket to sunny Southern California.