NIKE​ ​PORTLAND​ ​XC​ ​AT​ ​PORTLAND​ ​MEADOWS HOSTED​ ​BY​ ​ALOHA​ ​HIGH​ ​SCHOOL

-​ ​Major​ ​Invitational​ ​Cross​ ​Country​ ​Meet​ ​to​ ​Take​ ​Place​ ​on Saturday,​ ​September​ ​30,​ ​2017​ ​ ​-

BEAVERTON, Oregon (September 23, 2017) – Aloha High School will be hosting the 38th annual Nike Portland XC Cross Country Meet at Portland Meadows in North Portland. The Nike Portland XC Cross Country Meet is one of the premier cross country meets on the west coast with teams coming from across the USA to compete. A record number of teams and athletes will be racing on Sept.30. More than 160 teams with 4,500 athletes will participate at the meet.

There will be 17 different races including four divisions of boys and girls varsity races. The top varsity race for the boys and girls is the Jim Danner Championship where 25 of the top teams and individual athletes in the region, West Coast, and USA will compete. The course is fast, challenging, and easily viewable for its entire length.

The Nike Portland XC Meet will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, with an open Citizen’s race followed by the Alan Webb 3,000 Meter Championships for middle school girls and boys. Alan Webb, American Record holder in the Mile at 3:46.91, will be at the races to meet the athletes and hand out awards for the middle school races. High School races will begin at 9:15 a.m. with the Division 3 Varsity Girls race. Gates will open at 7 a.m. and there is an entrance fee of $5.

“We are excited to welcome some of the best programs and athletes in the country to compete in Portland,” Aloha cross country coach Ken Martinez said​. “We have teams from as far away as Alabama racing this year with the hopes of returning for Nike Cross Nationals in December.

If you are a sports fan, you will want to be a Portland Meadows to see some great racing of human athletes rather than the equine athletes one normally watches at Portland Meadows.” 

Each year the races at Nike Portland Cross Country produce great drama as athletes test each other during the races and conclude with many exciting finishes. Martinez continued saying, “We expect to see a competitive team competition in the Jim Danner Championship races which are shaping up to be stacked with top programs and amazing athletes from across the U.S.”

 The results of the NikePortland Cross Country races will have an impact on the national rankings for the teams and the individuals competing at the meet.

The entries in the varsity races have not yet been finalized; however, the Jim Danner Championship races for both boys and girls are expected to be very close in the team races and for individual honors. The Jim Danner Championship Boys race is deep with experienced teams and exciting individual performers. Eleanor Roosevelt (Eastvale) is ranked No. 5 in the nation by DyeStat and Crater (Central Point, OR) is ranked No. 8 in the Nation by DyeStat and are the pre-race favorite.

However, there are several other teams who can take the title and re-order the national rankings.

Travelling from Birmingham, Alabama is the Mountain Brook squad of young but veteran runners who finished second in the Alabama 7A State meet in 2016. The Summit ​(Bend, OR) team is consistently a top program and the California teams of Cathedral (Los Angeles), Chico (Chico), Gig Harbor​ (WA), and Saugus​ (Santa Clarita), will challenge for the team title.

The pre-meet favorite for individual honors ​is James Mwaura​, a senior from Lincoln (Tacoma, WA) who is ranked No. 5 in the nation by DyeStat and ran 8:54 to win the 3,200 meters 3A state title in track last spring. Mwaura is also the top returner to the Danner Championship, where he placed fourth last September. More nationally ranked runners will be challenging James for the individual title. Daniel Maton of Camas was ranked No. 17 in the nation by DyeStat in the preseason and other DyeStat ranked boys include: Andy Monroe (Crater) No. 25, Raymon Ornelas ​(Eleanor Roosevelt, CA)​ ​No.​ ​45,​ ​Alex​ ​Slenning​ (Wilson, OR) No.​ ​48​ and​ ​Joe​ ​Waskom​ (Mt. SI, WA) No.​ ​57.

The team race in Girls Jim Danner Championship will be a compelling competition with a local squad looking to confirm a top national ranking. Sunset ​(Beaverton, OR) is ranked No. 19 in the nation by DyeStat and is the pre-race favorite. The girls from Mountain View (Meridian, ID) are another great squad and are ranked No. 22 in the nation by by DyeStat. Both teams are led by nationally ranked runners. Looking to upset Sunset and Mountain View are other DyeStat nationally ranked teams.

These teams include the preseason No. 31 team, Camas (WA) and No. 34, Saugus (Santa Clarita, CA).

Always tough Summit (Bend, OR), Mountain Brook (Birmingham, AL), Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, CA), and Bishop Amat (La Puente, CA) will be looking to enter the top 50 teams in the nation with a win for the team title.

The girls race for individual honors should be up for grabs between several nationally ranked runners where it will be likely that a large pack of ladies will be vying for the win over the final mile of the course. Ember Stratton ​of Sunset is currently ranked No. 23 in the nation by DyeStat and won the Danner Championship in 2015 and finished second in 2016.

Challenging Ember will be Lexy Halladay​, a sophomore from Mountain View (Meridian, ID) who is ranked No. 7 in the nation by DyeStat. Halladay is used to leading and winning big races and won the Bob Firman Invitational last weekend. She also won the Middle School girls 3,000-meter race in 2015 and if she can win the Jim Danner race, would be the first athlete to pull that career double at the Nike Portland XC meet. Also expected to be in the front pack is Eve Jensen of Boise who was ranked No. 45 in the preseason and won the Stanford Invitational last year, Kelly Makin of Sunset (Beaverton, OR) who is ranked No. 72, ​and Mariah Castillo of Saugus (Santa Clarita, CA) who is ranked No. 94 in the nation​. The lead pack will also include other regionally ranked athletes such as Emma Jenkins of Camas (WA), Jacqueline Cascione of Saugus, and Isa​ ​Meyers​ of Northwest (Seattle, WA).

For more information about the Nike Portland XC Cross Country meet, please visit www.NikePortlandXC.runnerspace.com​.

ABOUT​ ​THE​ ​NIKE​ ​PORTLAND​ ​XC​ ​MEET

The Nike Portland XC Meet was first run in 2007 at Portland Meadows and was known as the Nik Pre-Nationals Meet​. Before 2007, the meet was known as the Jim Danner Memorial Invitational and was first run in 1980 at venues across the greater Portland area. The Pre-National Meet was held on the same course as the Nike Cross National Meet held every December for the top high school cross country programs and individual runners in the nation. With the relocation of the Nike Cross National meet to Glendoveer Golf Course, the Pre-National meet was renamed the Nike Portland XC Meet​. While the name is new, the high quality fields, fast and competitive races, and the high energy and fun atmosphere remain the same. The Nike Portland XC Meet continues to provide a venue for teams and individuals to raise their regional and national images.

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