Elizabeth Leachman and Tamrat Gavenas Capture First-Place Titles at the 45th Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals

Elizabeth Leachman of San Antonio, TX, and Tamrat Gavenas of Andover, MA, captured first-place titles at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals Presented by HOKA®.

Elizabeth Leachman from San Antonio, TX winner of the girls competition said:“I think the focus was really just to have something left for the second half [of the race]. I know this is where it gets really tough and it’s kind of an unforgiving course … and contrary to what feels natural to me. When you are in a stacked field, racing from the front is not always a good strategy. So [the strategy was] just to have something left for the second half of the race so I could make it up and down that big hill again.”

 The prestigious event is the longest running high school cross-country championship in the nation, now celebrating an unprecedented 45th year. Racecourse conditions at historic Morley Field at Balboa Park in San Diego were ideal with mostly firm terrain, sunshine and temperatures reaching 58 degrees.

In the girls’ 5K race, Leachman took the lead shortly before the two-mile mark and pulled away to a comfortable margin of victory, winning in a time of 17:31.1. With the win, Leachman became a back-to-back national champion and the seventh girl finalist to win two Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in the 45- year history of the event. She is also the first athlete from the state of Texas ever to repeat as champion. In the boys’ 5K race, Gavenas, a three-time Foot Locker National finalist, broke away from his remaining challengers on the last major uphill climb to go on to claim victory in 15.23.9. He is also the first three-time national qualifier from the state of Massachusetts.

The National Championship Course at Morley Field at Balboa Park is a 1.5-mile loop run twice that covers 5,000 meters with a steep incline featured just after the mile and 2.5-mile marks. Some twists, turns and varied terrain also characterize the iconic championship course situated in the hills of San Diego.

Foot Locker Cross Country Championships – Girls’ National Final:

Senior Zariel Macchia (Shirley, NY) made a controlled move from the gun, breaking away from the field and leading the charge with a half-mile time of 2:38.5. She maintained the front position en route to a 5:20.6 first-mile split before her advantage was erased in the second mile by junior Elizabeth Leachman. Leachman’s aggressive out-of-the-pack burst saw her brushing past the early pace setter just prior to the field’s second pass up the newly coined “Hoka Hill” – the San Diego course’s most notorious challenge. From there it was all Leachman’s stage as the final mile turned into a victory coronation as she cruised to the finish line in 17:31.1. Senior Victoria Garces (Midland, MI) finished strong while coming in second in 17:39.9. Macchia, a four-time Foot Locker national finalist, fell back as far as fifth place before rallying to a third-place finish in 17:49.6. Rounding out the top five and earning accolades were fourth-place finisher sophomore Ruby Ihmels (Bismarck, ND) in 17:50.5 and fifth-place finisher junior Libby Dowty (Morgantown, IN) in 17:55.9. A quote from the winner is below. Click here for full girls’ results.

Foot Locker Country National Championships – Boys’ National Final:

The race was closely contested throughout its early stages with nine national finalists moving along within one second of each other and 20 within three seconds of the lead all the way up to the half-way mark. At that point, the duo of senior Sam Quagliaroli (Fishers, IN) and senior Tamrat Gavenas began alternating pace-setting
duties once early race leader senior Ben Crane (Wilmette, IL) yielded the lead. Crane recorded splits of 2:23.2
at the half mile and 4:48.4 at the mile before getting passed by the duo of Quagliaroli and Gavenas. The middle part of the race turned into a “Sam and Tam” show as a side-by-side Gavenas and Quagliaroli captured an identical two-mile split of 9:59.7. Shortly thereafter, Gavenas made the decisive move of the race, charging up the final big “Hoka Hill,” putting 20 meters on Quagliaroli and essentially setting up another coronation dash to the finish line with a winning time of 15:23.9. Though Quagliaroli faded somewhat, he still held on to finish a strong fourth in 15:35.0. The race runner-up was senior Juan Gonzalez (Fremont, NE), who made a late charge toward the front while finishing within four seconds of the champion in a time of 15:27.4. Rounding out the top-three was senior Jack Graffeo (Westford, MA), who just slipped past Quagliaroli as they approached the finish while notching a 15:34.5 time. In fifth place was senior Keegan Smith (Kingston, TN), who finished in 15:41.6. A quote from the winner is below. Click here for full boys’ results.

The boys’ winner Tamrat Gavenas from Andover, MA said, “It feels pretty good. I got injured in the middle of the season and I’m just getting back into shape and wanted to be here. I felt I had a shot at nationals. With a half mile to go I thought to myself: ‘This is my chance.’ I was really nervous – as most competitors are – and thought as long as I hung in there and followed the plan we set up before the race, I would be okay. I executed it and just believed in the plan. This is my third time coming here and love the San Diego weather.”

Néw Mexico was represented this year ranking 14th with a time of 15:50.2. More details on his performance can be found at 
https://2ndlifemediaalamogordo.town.news/g/alamogordo-nm/n/283941/organ-mountain-high-schools-corbin-coombs-competed-foot-locker-country

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