Heading West, Young Men?

All eyes will turn to Bowdoin Park Saturday as the Nike Cross Nationals Regionals return to what is quickly becoming the center of cross country in the area. Sure Van Cortlandt Park is still called the 'mecca' by many, but when the season gets really interesting Bowdoin Park is the place to be.

Eight races will be run altogether — with the last four serving as qualifiers for the NXN Championships in Portland, Ore. The Northeast girls' kick off the championship portion of the day at 11 am and are followed by the Northeast boys at 11:35 am, the New York girls at 12:10 pm and the New York boys at 1:30 pm.

The New York girls race has a few interesting story lines — with Jillian Fanning vs. Mary Cain being the lead. Fanning appears ready to lead FM back to the promised land as the Stotans try and win their sixth straight national title. But after Cain's race last week combined with what Fanning did the week before, this battle appears to be one for the ages. The course record of 17:16.9 might be a little out of reach here, but Nicole Blood's 17:27.3 from 2004 — still ranked second-best all-time — could be in jeopardy. What adds more drama is that both North Shore girls — Brianna Nerud and Samantha Nadel — could very well be pushing the pace as well.

The team battle isn't really for first, but for second place as most people just assume FM will win going away. Saratoga Springs (aka Kinetic) and North Shore will be battling it out for the auto-qualifying spot that goes with second place. The Shore beat 'Toga, 98-138, in the merge at states, but a closer race is expected this week after Saratoga ran much better last weekend at the Federation Championships. Even though the third-place finisher is expected to be invited with an "at-large" Sunday invitation, you can bet the coaches would prefer to punch a ticket to Portland on Saturday.

So what if any of the top three falter? Which team would have a chance to move up and steal a qualifying spot? Or who could run well enough to prove that New York deserves a fourth team? Bronxville is ranked No. 4 overall after placing second at Feds, but Coach Mitchell tells us that only Cain will run on Saturday. Burnt Hills looked much better last week as did Pearl River. If either of can put it all together, they could find themselves with a chance.

The team races impact the individual races in a big way since the top-five girls on non-qualifying teams earn spots for NXN as well. That means that even after the awards ceremony on Saturday, we may not know exactly who's heading to Portland. Spots may be decided by "at-large" team invites on Sunday.

Besides Cain, other top contenders include Laura Leff of West Genesee, Kelsey Margey of Friends Academy, Rachel Paul of Sachem East, Gianna Fontera of Newburgh and Meghan McCormick of Canandaigua. Both Margey and McCormick qualified a year ago. If the course holds up and both Saratoga and North Shore wind up qualifying, anything under 18:40 would have a chance. The next pack of girls to keep an eye on — if they compete — are Lizzie Predmore of Shen, Leila Mantilla and Katie Lembo of Penfield and Holly Cavalluzzo of Valley Central.

The New York boys' team race could be fantastic. The Stotans (FM) beat Rush Henrietta for the NYSPHSAA Class A title by a point. The kicker is that Rush (aka Comets XC Club) actually beat FM in the merge of all races that day, 89-102. FM coach Bill Aris said he was lucky to escape with the title. Throw in what appears to be a surging Shaker squad, which won the NYS Federation title last Saturday, and you have the recipe for a very close race. Arlington is the next best team in the race, but they have clearly been the fourth team for the last four weeks. FM is currently ranked No. 3 in the U.S. while RH is ranked No. 8, Shaker No. 17, Arlington 25th, East Aurora 30th, St. Anthony's 31st and Farrell 44th.

The tight team battle makes the boys' individual race even harder to forecast than the girls. FM's Nick Ryan is the best runner in the state and should be able to win this one. Brenden Smith of CBA would be the next one you would expect to cross the line, yet he is not listed on the latest entries despite saying that he would most likely compete at NXN over Foot Locker.

Dan Galford of Monsignor Farrell (aka Fidelis NYC) just missed winning last week's Federation Championship and should have an excellent chance at placing second — as does fellow CHSAA runner Thomas Awad of Chaminade (aka Flyers XC Club). Awad missed qualifying a year ago by merely three seconds.

Mike Libruk of Shaker will be trying to run his team into the meet, but if he can't he'll be in the hunt for his own ticket as would Matt Deyo of FM, Konrad Surkont of Stuyvesant, Mike Turi of John Jay-EF, Sam Anderson of South Lewis and Eddie Merenda of Arlington (all of whom are entered). Ryan Manahan of Marcellus, Mickey Burke of Rush-Henrietta and Brenden Wortner of Dobbs Ferry have all shown the ability to run with the pack as well.

The Northeast boys' race has the No. 2 team in the country — Christian Brothers Academy of Lincroft, N.J. — who trounced the competition last weekend at the New Jersey Meet of Champions by beating Don Bosco Prep, 45-111, and avergaing 16:04 at Holmdel Park. Bosco is right in it for second with Westfield, N.J., which was third by a point. The teams from New England are going to have a very hard time breaking up this group. Even West Windsor Plainsboro South of Central Jersey, fourth a week ago, appears to be able to beat the rest of New England.

The Northeast girls' race is wide open. Bishop Feehan (Mass.) appears to be the favorite, but challengers are plentiful. Champlain (Vt.), La Salle (R.I.), Rumsen Fairhaven (N.J.), Hillsborough (N.J.), Pennsbury (Pa.) and Hamilton-Wenham (Mass.) all appear to be in the mix at least.

Foot Locker Northeast

No question it is very difficult to try and figure out the 10 best kids from the entire Northeast — especially given that many of them will be at NXN. But we'll be keeping an eye on heavy favorite Edward Cheserek of St. Benedict's Prep in New Jersey at Sunken Meadow. There should be no doubt he can win the race, but can he make a run an yet another course record?

Brenden Smith of CBA in Syracuse is a contender to earn a ticket to San Diego, Calif., after winning the NYS Federation title last weekend. It's an interesting choice of meets for Smith who seems like a sure-fire lock to qualify at NXN. Smith actually lives in Fayetteville, N.Y., and attends the private school in Syracuse. Is there something in the water up there?

Dan Lennon of Peru, N.Y., and Ryan Colabella of Happauge are probably the only other New York boys with a chance to qualify.

New Jersey appears loaded on the boys' side and should get a few in, at least. Tim Ball of Piscataway, Ben Malone of Pascack Valley, Tyler Gibbons of Ridge, Shawn Wilson of Cherokee and probably three or four others capable of beating the top-ranked Empire State runner.

It's been a quarter century since a PSAL runner has qualified for Foot Locker Nationals, but that's exactly what Alexis Panisse of Benjamin Cardozo will be trying to do on Saturday. Last week she placed third at the NYS Federation Championships. Fellow New Yorker Laura Leff of West Genesee and Lauren Mullins of Johnson City will also be gunning for San Diego. All three have a very good chance and should be in that lead pack.