9 Inches of Snow at NXN Northwest! Course & Meet Video Preview!

The Nike Cross Northwest Regional might end up being one of the most epic high school cross country races ever. Well at least the race video will be! The Boise, Idaho area got a snowfall amount up to 9 inches dumped on the NXN Northwest course at Eagle Island State Park over the last 48 hours, which has made the course conditions for Saturday's national qualifier race interesting to say the least. Brandon Miles of MileSplit dives into the snow and competition which both will be abundant at NXN Northwest in the meet preview on-location at the course.

MileSplit's NXN Northwest Pre-Race Predictions!

Top 5 Girls Teams

1. Coeur d'Alene (ID) - B Miles - The Idaho State Champs will look to bring back their NXN Northwest title from two years ago

1. Summit (OR) - Jimmy - Coming of a solid two weeks of training after a confidence boost when they handily won the 5A Oregon State Championship led by two underclassmen in Olivia Brooks and Hannah Tobiason. You might think lack of experience (3 freshmen and 2 sophomores) will hurt them, but on the other hand, the lack of experience could be reason to not overthink things thus helping this younger squad to respond to the conditions as a challenge they are ready to attack instead of a barrier. 

2. Summit (OR) - B Miles
2. Camas (WA) - Jimmy - 
Even without Alexa Efraimson this team is deadly. On paper they have the fastest times coming into the race. That doesn’t mean too much though, especially considering the conditions. The question now is how well can they compete on the day? They should at the Washington State Meet that they are dangerous running away with the win.

3. Camas (WA) - B Miles
3. Bozeman (MT) - Jimmy - 
What will put Bozeman over the top is their ability to race on in these outlandish conditions. Everyone has to face the same conditions, so Bozeman can approach this meet with great confidence knowing that they are more familiar with these conditions than potentially every team racing.

4. Sunset (OR) - B Miles - Lost to South Eugene in the girls 6A Oregon State Champs in a tie 6th person tie breaker. That lose will only fuel this squad's fire as Sunset looks to show that not only can they top South Eugene, but that they can roll with Summit.
4. Coeur d'Alene (ID) - Jimmy

5. Bozeman (MT) - B Miles
5. Issaquah (WA) - Jimmy
- Suffered a lost to Camas at Washington State Meet so they’ll be hungry to reverse the rolls. Need 4 and 5 girls to close the gap from their top three to have a chance.

 

Top 5 Boys Teams

1. North Central (WA) - B Miles
1. North Central (WA) - Jimmy
After capturing their 9th Washington State team title in a row the NC boys showed that they are coming on at the right time.

2. Kamiakin (WA) - B Miles
2. Kamiakin (WA) - Jimmy
Still an incredibly strong team, despite losing to North Central at States.

3. Summit (OR) - B Miles
3. Summit (OR) - Jimmy
It is amazing to even have Summit on this list, knowing that Matthew Maton is not racing. This just goes to show how deep this squad is.

4. Mountain View (ID) - B Miles
4. Mountain View (ID) - Jimmy
The ridiculous snowy conditions will favor the Idaho State Champs.

5. Central Catholic (OR) - B Miles
5. Central Catholic (OR) - Jimmy
Another team that could break into the top four is the pre-season top 10 Central Catholic, but we don’t see them racing as well as some may expect.

 

Top 5 Girls Individuals

1. Allie Ostrander (AK) - B Miles
1. Allie Ostrander (AK) - Jimmy
Not only is she US #1 ranked, but she’s had a more than a month of solid training without racing and is chomping at the bit to get out there. The heavy snow conditions and cold will play to her favor as well. Ostrander will win by more than 15 seconds.

2. Makena Morley (MT) - B Miles
2. Makena Morley (MT) - Jimmy
With a few outstanding freshmen in this race, Makena’s experience as a 4-time Montana XC Champ will bring her a long way. She won’t be able to keep up with Ostrander, but count on her breaking open the chase pack the last 1k.

3. Annie Hill (MT) - B Miles - Left the Mountain West Classic back in mid-late September as one of the top freshmen in the nation, after beating Makena Morley and her little sister Bryn. Despite being so young, Hill is a competitor and is not unfamiliar with winning.
3. Ella Donaghu (OR) - Jimmy - The back to back 6A Oregon State Champ will benefit greatly with Ostrander the strong field around her.

4. Lindsay Bradley (WA) - B Miles - The Washington State Champ was only 12 seconds off of Alexa Efraimson's winnning time from last year's state meet. Bradley is peaking at the right time and looks poised to punch her ticket to Portland.
4. Annie Hill (MT) Jimmy

5. Ella Donaghu (OR) - B Miles
5. Bryn Morley (MT) - Jimmy - 
Wherever big sis is expect Bryn to not be too far behind. This duo of sisters is one of the best in the nation along with the Hasz twins who went first and third at the NXN Heartland Regional last weekend.

 

Top 5 Boys Individuals

1. Tanner Anderson (WA) - B Miles
1. Tanner Anderson (WA) - Jimmy
The top NXN returner is going to ride his huge wave of confidence into the shores of victory as he is coming off a Washington State Champs repeat win where he set the state meet record and defeated John Dressel after losing to him the week before.

2. Levi Thomet (AK) - B Miles - The long awaited Regional race is finally here for the Alaska native who had his state meet in the beginning of October. If Thomet can stay patient and race well, he is most certainly top 2-3 material.
2. Elijah Armstrong (ID) - Jimmy - I’m sure the Idaho boy is chomping at the bit to see some competition. Armstrong will do well with company, but won’t have enough to overtake Anderson

3. Elijah Armstrong (ID) - B Miles
3. Levi Thomet (AK) - Jimmy

4. Reilly Bloomer (OR) - B Miles - Besides Anderson and Armstrong, Bloomer is the top returner to the NXN Northwest Regional with his 5th place finish last year. Could he, along with Armstrong be back to back individual qualifiers for the big show? 
4. Tristan Peloquin (WA) - Jimmy - The leader of the reigning NXN Champs Gig Harbor knows how to win, but his undefeated streak has been broken with loses in his last two meets, most recently a 4th place finish at Washington State Champs (different race than Anderson). Despite struggling recently, expect Peloquin to bounce back and stick his nose in it.

5. Tristan Peloquin (WA) - B Miles
5. Reilly Bloomer (OR) Jimmy

 

More on NXN Northwest:

  • MileSplit Meet Page
  • Virtual Meet Preview: Boys - Girls
  • Top 50 Fastest Teams in Region: Boys - Girls
  • Top 500 Fastest Times in Region: Boys - Girls
  • Race Results, Photo Gallery, Race Videos, & Interviews To Be Posted After Meet!