Nike Southwest Regional Recap

The fastest male and female performances on any 5-kilometer course in Nike Southwest Regional history highlighted Saturday’s event in Arizona, with the return to Toka Sticks Golf Course in Mesa for the first time since 2013 also showcasing the deepest championship fields of any region in the country, as the girls lineup from Vista Nation XC Club of Colorado and the boys program from Herriman XC of Utah captured the team titles.

Jane Hedengren, a senior at Timpview High in Utah, ran 15 minutes, 50.01 seconds in the girls 5-kilometer regional final to win the individual title after placing 11th at the 2022 event at Coyote Run Golf Course in Leisure World in Mesa.

Hedengren not only eclipsed the Toka Sticks course record, but also smashed the Southwest Region all-time 5-kilometer mark of 16:23.4 in 2015 by former Air Academy of Colorado standout Katie Rainsberger at the Grande Sports Complex in Casa Grande.

Hedengren established a nine-second lead after the first mile and increased her advantage to 25 seconds at the 2-mile mark.

Addy Ritzenhein of Niwot High in Colorado, who produced the previous fastest performance of 16:41.3 at Toka Sticks on Sept. 27 at the Desert Twilight Festival, secured second Saturday in 16:31.72 in preparation to pursue back-to-back Nike Cross Nationals individual titles Dec. 7 at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore.

Kaden Evans, a senior competing for American Fork XC Club in Utah, was victorious in the boys 5-kilometer championship race in 14:24.37, securing the third consecutive NXR Southwest individual title for the Cavemen following back-to-back championships by Daniel Simmons at Coyote Run Golf Course at Leisure World.

Evans not only led eight athletes under the previous all-time mark at Toka Sticks, but he also achieved the top effort in NXR Southwest history, taking down the 14:39.1 performance in 2018 by Cole Sprout of Valor Christian in Colorado at Grande Sports Complex.

Evans moved from 41st following the first mile into the top 10 at the 2-mile split, just three seconds behind the leaders. He covered the final 1.1-mile stretch in 4:52, more than six seconds faster than anyone in the field.

Herriman had five scorers in the top 45 to win the program’s first Southwest team title with a 74-90 victory against REAL Training, with athletes from Niwot High.

Herriman, the reigning NXN champion, captured its first regional title and secured the program’s third overall berth to race in Oregon.

American Fork took third at 122 points, with fellow Utah program Taylorsville placing fourth with 223 points, ahead of Valor Christian and Rio Rancho of New Mexico, both at 236 points.

Jackson Spencer secured seventh in 14:34.04, Tayshaun Ogomo achieved ninth in 14:44.74, Micah Tang took 11th in 14:46.65, Jonah Tang captured 18th in 14:56.19, Eli Jarvis finished 41st in 15:09.85, Noah Manwaring placed 49th in 15:12.9 and Caleb Brown grabbed 114th in 15:40.66 for Herriman, which rebounded from a second-place regional finish last season to win the national title.

REAL Training, which advanced to NXN for the second time, was led by Quinn Sullivan placing 12th in 14:47.68, Ryder Keeton taking 15th in 14:49.73, Hunter Robbie capturing 21st in 14:57.03, Keegan Geldean finishing 27th in 15:03.77, Gabriel Marshall grabbing 29th in 15:04.74, Rocco Culpepper achieving 65th in 15:20.76 and Cole Mazurana earning 129th in 15:48.99.

Kyle Steadman from Mountain View High in Utah was second in 14:27.66, Charlie Vause from Rio Rancho – who established the previous Toka Sticks record Sept. 27 by winning Desert Twilight in 14:42.2 – took third in 14:30.19, followed by Oliver Horton of Coronado High at 14:30.38, along with fellow Colorado standouts and Cheyenne Mountain High teammates Aiden Le Roux (14:30.86) and Brogan Collins (14:31.39).

All five athletes are expected to compete at NXN, along with four girls individual qualifiers from Colorado plus Hedengren.

Delaney Reuter, a sophomore at Eaton High, took third in 16:42.87, Ella Hagen from Summit achieved her third career trip to NXN after finishing fourth in 16:48.67 and Rosie Mucharsky of Denver East secured sixth in 16:54.07, as Colorado produced 10 of the 13 fastest female competitors in the regional final, as well as the top three programs.

Vista Nation XC Club, representing Mountain Vista, had five competitors in the top 30 to produce a 59-point performance to secure a fifth appearance at NXN, with Air Academy finishing second at 129 points and Fossil Ridge taking third with 156 points, just ahead of Lone Peak from Utah at 160 points.

Chap City Distance, representing Chaparral High in Colorado, was fifth with 194 points and REAL Training – with athletes from Niwot – took sixth at 205 points. 

Vista Nation, which won its third regional title along with 2016 and 2018, was led by Keeghan Edwards finishing fifth in 16:54.04, Claire Guiberson grabbing ninth in 17:04.33, Juliet Frum placing 13th in 17:14.77, Peyton Adams achieving 25th in 17:33.43, Zoe Brandt capturing 28th in 17:40.0, Brenna Jorde earning 38th in 17:56.63 and Gabriela Boeckman taking 70th in 18:18.11.

Chamorra Cooper led Air Academy, the reigning NXN champion competing as Academy XC, by placing 10th in 17:08.48, Tessa Walter achieved 18th in 17:21.5, Jordan Banta secured 21st in 17:28.51, Mariah Hook finished 44th in 18:00.01, Lauren Myers grabbed 99th in 18:41.04, Olivia Chura was 150th in 19:16.79 and Madeline Pool earned 193rd in 19:52.01.

By Erik Boal