Eastbay National Cross Country Championship
Saturday: Morley Field’s 3.1-mile course at Balboa Park. Girls race 9:15 a.m., Boys race 10 a.m.
Overview: Although the name has changed for the third time (Kinney, Foot Locker, Eastbay) and the race a year ago was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, anticipation is high. The races feature the top 40 high school runners in the nation, qualifying from four regional championships. The 3.1-mile course includes two trips up and down the rugged Upas St. hill, not to mention undulations throughout that challenge even the most experienced runners.
Regional champions: (West) Tyrone Gorze and Kate Peters; (South) Ethan Ashley and Natalie Cook; (Midwest) Riley Hough and Riley Stewart; (Northeast) Gavin Sherry and Angelina Perez.
Girls preview: Want a favorite? How about Midwest champion Natalie Cook. Not only did she win her region by 35 seconds last weekend in Huntsville, Ala., the senior from Flower Mound High in Texas clocked a 16:03.98 for 5K in the RunningLane championships, the second fastest time ever over the notoriously fast John Hunt Park course. It turns out that race actually was a precursor for the Eastbay championship as all but the West regional qualifiers could compete in Alabama and many did. Riley Stewart, the Midwest champ by 17 seconds, was third in the RunningLane meet and can add another factor — she was 17th in this meet in 2019. And fourth in Alabama, Jenna Mulhern, was fourth in the Northeast Regional behind Perez, who won by 21 seconds. Additionally, returners from 2019 include All-American 11th place finisher Karrie Baloga, a junior from New York, and Maryland’s Juliette Whittaker, who was 13th, giving the Northeast a veteran 1-2 punch behind Perez. Since the West Regional was just last week, Oregon’s Kate Peters and a trio of Californians behind her led by Ventura freshman Katie Engelhardt, are also ready to test the course.
Boys preview: This year there is a local flavor as Francis Parker’s Kenan Pala and Santa Fe Christian’s Mark Trammell are hoping to give San Diego its first boys champ since 2005, when El Camino’s A.J. Acosta won. Pala finished second to Oregon’s Gorze by just two seconds over the rough Mt. SAC course in the West Regional. It was his first setback of the season and that can be balanced by the home course advantage Pala has gained the last four years. Trammell settled in comfortably with a huge pack and made his move on the final hill to finish just eight seconds behind Pala. The Midwest had two of its top runners in Alabama and although they faced a buzzsaw in national No. 1 Newbury Park (1-2-3), Zane Bergen of Colorado, the No. 2 finisher in the regional championship, roared up to place fourth, one spot and less than a second ahead of regional champion Riley Hough of Michigan. Consider that the John Hunt course is super-fast while Morley Field is probably second only to Mt. SAC in difficulty. Only two 2019 finalists return — 2021 Northeast champion Gavin Sherry was 14th and teammate Aiden Puffer was 21st.
Girls record: 16:39.8, Melody Fairchild, 1990.
Boys record: 14:36.8, Reuben Reina, 1985.