(8-5-09) From Press Release - The 6th annual Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) will be held this year on Saturday, December 5th. This premier year-end cross country meet showcases the best runners and teams across America as they come together at Portland Meadows racetrack for the 5,000-meter cross country challenge.
WHAT IS NXN?
The Nike Cross Nationals is comprised of 8 Regional Qualifying meets and the National Finals in Portland. Following in the tradition of European cross country meets, the Nationals event will again feature a multiple loop race course with man-made obstacles built on the inside of the horse race track at Portland Meadows in Oregon. Spectators can enjoy a continuous live view of the race from the venue's enclosed 3,000-seat grandstand, and a live webcast feed of the event will run on nikecrossnationals.com.
Fields of 22 seven-person teams and an additional 45 individuals (male and female) will lay it all on the line in the quest for the sport's biggest prize, the coveted Winged Goddess of Victory statue.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
All teenage cross-country runners and teams are invited to participate in the NXN Series which includes the Nike Cross Nationals Regional Championships in eight select cities across the United States.
The teams and individuals competing in Nike Cross Nationals are selected through a series of regional qualifying events. The nine regions represented are: Heartland, Midwest, Northwest, Southwest, South, Northeast, Southeast, California and New York. There are also four at-large teams.
In addition, NXN-VI in Portland will feature the NXN Open Race for any additional club teams and individuals (even team members from different schools) willing to test their mettle across the championship course!
HOW DO YOU QUALIFY?
Qualifying for the featured NXN Championship race in Portland will be extended in each gender to the top two placing teams and the top five placing individuals not on a qualifying team from each of the eight regional championship meets. California comprises the ninth region, with an additional two team berths and five individual spots per gender from that region extended based on criteria to be detailed later.
There will also be four at-large team invitations per gender based on input from a committee of cross-country experts across the nation, with greatest weighting criteria given to those third-place squads at regional championships that may have defeated an eventual regional champion during the course of the season. Only teams that finish among the top four places at a regional championship will be considered for an at-large invitation by the committee.
THE BEST OF THE BEST…
Much like the Tour de France tradition of the overall tour leader donning the yellow jersey during the next stage of the race, the top attending individual returnee in each gender from last year's NXN Championship race will be wearing a custom-designed race uniform identifying him or her as the one to beat.
The top eligible returnees for 2009 are Chelsey Sveinsson (Texas) and Joe Rosa (New Jersey). But they'll need to come ready to run!
Cross country participation numbers and the levels of competition continue to skyrocket so the action promises to be even more exciting this year!
In 2008, Sveinsson and Reed Connor (Texas) took the individual championship while club teams from Spokane, Washington (boys) and Manlius, New York (girls) each took home the Nike statue.
SO WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR?
This year we are taking seven runners and two chaperones instead of eight runners and one chaperone. This will eliminate the eighth traveling runner and provide stronger support for each team.
The great state of Wyoming has moved from the Southwest Region to the Northwest Region.
WHERE ARE THE REGIONAL MEETS?
NXN - NORTHWEST (11.14.09), Boise, Idaho
NXN - HEARTLAND (11.14.09), Souix Falls, South Dakota
NXN - MIDWEST (11.15.09), Terre Haute, Indiana
NXN - SOUTHWEST (11.21.09), Tempe, Arizona
NXN - SOUTH (11.21.09), The Woodlands, Texas
NXN - SOUTHEAST (11.21.09), Cary, North Carolina
NYN - NORTHEAST (11.28.09), Wappingers Falls, New York
NXN - NEW YORK (11.28.09)m, Wappingers Falls, New York
GET IN ON THE ACTION!
Visit www.NikeCrossNationals.com for more details and registration information.
