The 2023 high school cross country season finally strode to an end with a bang as the 44th Footlocker National Championship meet played out its drama last Saturday at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.
The top 40 qualifiers in each gender field — 10 from each of four regional qualifiers — helped write history into the storied event.
And there was a San Diego connection this year as Division IV section, state and Footlocker West Regional champion Chiara Dailey, a sophomore from La Jolla High School, placed 11th in the girls race.
Dailey finished as the top runner from California – and the West region — on the 5K course. She moved up from the middle portion of the race to finish in 17:53.1 — over a minute behind San Antonio’s Elizabeth Leachman, a sophomore from Boeme Champion High School, who blazed to the winning time of 16:50.7.
Senior Allie Zealand (Pacers homeschool, Forest Va.) finished in second place in 17:04.5.
The day started off on the cool side but quickly warmed up as the sun rose over sunny skies. It was near-perfect racing conditions.
The 80 runners hailed from 27 states, including 11 from California.
Almost 10,000 runners competed in regional qualifiers for the right to run in San Diego in December. A total of 46 state champions were represented among the 80 final qualifiers.
The race continues to shine a spotlight on college running. Seven runners from this year’s group are bound for Notre Dame.
Rachel Forsyth (Ann Arbor, Mich.) jumped out to a quick 17-second lead in the girls race. By the second loop, however, she was joined by a challenger running shoulder to shoulder. By the end of the race, Forsyth had dropped to third place — 18 seconds behind Leachman and four seconds behind the Zealand.
Leachman created some space on the last uphill to best Zealand by 14 seconds at the finish line.
The first three place-finishers in the boys race all hailed from the Northeast: Drew Griffith (Butler, Pa.), Ryan Pajak (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Tamrat Gavenas (Andover, Mass.).
The boys race looked more like a bicycle peloton through the opening mile with runners moving forward in a tight bunch separated by mere seconds.
As the field spread out, Griffith (15:06.9) and Pajak (15:12.1) continued to push the font and finished six seconds apart. Tamrat (15:16.6) finished six seconds behind Pajak and 10 seconds off the lead.
The Footlocker Nationals awards were spread across four All-American teams. The top five finishers in each gender field are considered First Team All-Americans, the next five runners Second Team All-American, runners who placed 11th through 15th Third Team All Americans and runners who placed 16th through 40th as Honorable Mention All-Americans.
Dailey qualified as a member of the girls All-American Third Team.
Grant Morgenfeld (Palo Alto) was the top male finisher from California in 21st place in 15:48.1.
Besides individual honors, the Footlocker event also awards team champions. The South team won both gender titles this year.
The South out-pointed the Midwest, 22-28, to win the girls team title while the South edged the Northeast on the placement of the sixth runner to win the boys team title.
Boys National Finals
FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
Drew Griffith (Butler, Pa.) Ryan Pajak (Pittsburgh, Pa.) Tamrat Gavenas (Andover, Mass.) Berkley Nance (Richmond, Va.) Brayden Marshall (Winfield, W.Va.)
SECOND TEAM ALL AMERICANS
Ty Steorts (Hurricane, W.VA.) Paul Bergeron (Westford, Mass.) Cameron Todd (Indianapolis, Ind.) Benjamin Anderson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) Juan Gonzalez (Fremont, Neb.)
THIRD TEAM ALL AMERICANS
Jake Liebert (Charleston, S.C.) Colin Eckerman (Knoxville, Tenn.) Micah Blomker (Mission, Kan.) Tony Provenazno (Carmel, Ind.) Patrick Koon (Tallahassee, Fla.)
Girls National Finals
FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
Elizabeth Leachman (San Antonio, Tex.) Allie Zealand (Forest, Va.) Rachel Forsyth (Ann Arbor, Mich.) Mary Donner Dalton (Charlotte, N.C.) Addison Knoblauch (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
Ruth White (Orono, Maine) Jaynie Halterman (Thompson’s Station, Tenn.) Samantha Humphries (Flower Mound, Tex.) Jessica Jazwinski (Shelby, Mich.) Zariel Macchia (Shirley, N.Y.)
THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICANS
Chiara Dailey (La Jolla) Reese Dalton (Charlottesville, Va.) Abby Faith Cheeseman (Bell Buckle, Tenn.) Ellie Shea (Belmont, Mass.) Maddie Gardiner (Charlottesville, Va.)
TEAM SCORING
Boys: South 38, Northeast 38, Midwest 54, West 101
Girls: South 22, Midwest 48, Northeast 76, West 94
