2025 NXR Southwest

WHEN:  Saturday, 22 November 2025

WHERE:  Toka Sticks Golf Club, 6910 East Williams Field Rd, Mesa, AZ 85212

MEET WEBSITE: Click here

PARKING: No event parking at Golf Course. Parking will be in various paid lots east of course. DO NOT PARK IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS OR DORMITORIES. YOUR VEHICLE WILL BE TOWED. Drop Off Zone is east of course off Edgewater by the Cart Barn. Look for Signs. 

RESULTS: with mile splits, will be posted on the following websites: runnerspace.com, FinishedResults.com  

TEAM ACTIVITIES AND SCHEDULE: (a rough schedule that will be modified as needed)

Thursday, 20 November

• Arrive in Phoenix at various times. See the travel plans below.

• A short and easy ~30-minute run with a few strides is recommended after arrival to loosen up from the travel.

Friday, 21 November

• Breakfast on own

• 9:00 am - Easy 25-minute run at Riparian Preserve at Water Park. 

  • https://www.gilbertaz.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/riparian-preserve-at-water-ranch 

  • https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/2022/06/30/riparian-preserve-at-water-ranch-gilbert-az/7727304001/ 

• Lunch on own

• 1:00 pm - Top Golf

• 3:45 pm - Arrive at Toka Stix and find/set up team camp area. (Arrive earlier - much earlier - if you want to buy any NXR clothes. The lines are very long and they sell out. Probably best to have parents stand in line and purchase the gear while we are on the course recon.)

• 4:00 pm - Begin course walk/recon. Meet at the start line. A light jog and a few strides.

• 5:00 pm - Race talk and special interview at awards stand.

• 5:20 pm - T-shirt exchange (if you wish to participate)

• 5:40 pm - Depart for Buca di Peppo

• 6:00 pm - Team Dinner at Buca di Peppo

• 9:00 pm - or before, go to bed.

Saturday, 22 November (will be updated when we know which races we are in.)

• 6:00 - or earlier, girls in Medium school race should wake up and do a 8-10 minute shakeout run, have a light breakfast.

• 7:00 - or earlier, boys in Medium school race wake up and do a 8-10 minute shakeout run. Boys in Medium school race should have a light breakfast.

• 7:00 - Girls in Medium school race should arrive at team camp area. It is forecast to be about 55 degrees. Wear warm ups.

• 7:10 - Warm ups begin for girls in Medium school race.

• 7:30 - Citizen's race. (Are any parents interested?)

• 8:00 - Boys in Medium school race should arrive at team camp area. Cheer the girls in the Medium school race!

• 8:09 - Girls Medium school race 2

• 8:30 - Warm ups begin for boys in Medium school race.

• 9:33 - Boys Medium school race 2

• 10:20 - Start warm ups for Girls Championship race

• 10:45 - Boys Championship race

• 11:10 - Line Up for Girls Championship race

• 11:25 - Girls Championship race

• 12:10 - Awards

• 2:00 - Team Pool Party at ??

Departures

• Saturday evening - Michael Hagen

• Sunday morning - 

• Sunday afternoon - 

• Sunday evening -

Participation at NXR Southwest is open to everyone. We would love to have a lot of SHS runners compete – ideally at least five girls and five boys so we can race as a Summit Distance Project team. (All the runners on a team have to be from the same high school, but you can't run as an official high school team. It's due to rules in some states.)

The costs of this trip are born by the individual runner/family. Most runners will probably have a parent or two that will travel with them. We are glad to chaperone any runners who don't have parents traveling with them. For everyone, but especially for those athletes traveling without parents, it would be beneficial and more fun if we travel and lodge together as much as possible. To arrange that, below are the travel arrangements we have made. We looked for the cheapest flights last year and found it was cheaper to fly there on Thursday and fly back Sunday than to go Friday to Saturday. We don't have school the week after NXR, so some families may wish to spend more time in Arizona and return later.

Please provide your travel info here. Scroll down for the spreadsheet with the group travel plans.

Participant waiver here. Must be signed by a parent and sent (photo or scan) to NXR.Waivers@nike.com.

TRANSPORTATION: 

My flight details are:

• Denver to Phoenix on United 1686. Departure at 11:35am Thu, Nov 20

• Phoenix to Denver on Frontier Airlines 2142. Departure at 4:37pm Sat, Nov 22

Athletes traveling without parents are requested to be on these flights or coordinate with other parents if possible.

HOTEL OPTIONS:

Four Points by Sheraton

6850 E Williams Field Rd
Mesa, AZ 85212
480-579-2182
Meet Headquarters
Mention Nike Cross Southwest

Courtyard by Marriott Mesa Gateway Airport

6907 East Ray Rd
Mesa, AZ 85212  480-351-7088
Mention Nike Cross Southwest

Holiday Inn Express Mesa Gateway Airport

5530 S Power Rd
Gilbert, AZ 85295  480-507-3000
Booking Link

Hampton Inn

3265 S Market St
Gilbert, AZ 85297  480-543-1500
All Room Must Be Booked By 10/23/2024
Booking Link

Hyatt Place Gilbert

3275 S Market St
Gilbert, AZ 85297  480-899-5900
Mention Nike Cross Southwest

Home 2 Suites by Hilton Gilbert

3333 S Market St
Gilbert, AZ 85297  480-857-4778
Booking Link

Doubletree By Hilton
1800 S San Tan Village Pkwy
Gilbert,  480-809-4061

TRU By Hilton

1950 S San Tan Village Pkwy
Gilbert,  602-567-9800

Country Inn & Suites By Radisson Mesa

6650 E Superstition Springs Blvd
Mesa, AZ  480-641-8000
Mention Nike Cross Southwest

REGISTRATION: 

I will register our athletes when you have confirmed participation with me. Please do that as soon as possible. At least by 5 November so we don't have to pay late fees. We will pay for entries from the team fundraising.

Please provide your travel info here. Scroll down for the spreadsheet with the group travel plans.

2025 SCHEDULE

Friday, November 21  

3:00 - 6:00 PM NXR Apparel Sale  

3:30 - 6:00 PM Packet Pick Up  

4:00 - 5:00 PM Course Walk Through (Only At This Time)

5:00 - 5:15 PM Pre Meet Review, Special Interview  

5:20 - 6:00 PM T-Shirt Exchange, Nike Elite Athlete Appearance / Q&A Session 

Saturday, November 22  

6:30 - 7:20 AM Walk Through, Late Registration  

6:30 - 7:20 AM Final Registration Citizens Race  

7:30 AM Citizens 5K Race  

7:45 AM Girls Small School Open Race PINK

7:57 AM Girls Medium School Open Race I YELLOW

8:09 AM Girls Medium School Open Race II TEAL

8:21 AM Girls Large School Open Race I PEACH

8:33 AM Girls Large School Open Race II SILVER

8:45 AM Girls Large School Open Race III VIOLET

8:57 AM Boys Small School Open Race I ORANGE

9:09 AM Boys Small School Open Race II RED

9:21 AM Boys Medium School Open Race I WHITE

9:33 AM Boys Medium School Open Race II MAROON

9:45 AM Boys Large School Open Race I RUBY

9:57 AM Boys Large School Open Race II BROWN

10:09 AM Boys Large School Open Race III PURPLE

10:30 AM Line Up Boys Championship Race  

10:30 AM National Anthem  

10:35 AM Introduction  

10:45 AM Boys Championship Race BLACK

11:10 AM Line Up Girls Championship Race  

11:10 AM Introduction  

11:25 AM Girls Championship Race GREEN

12:10 PM Awards  

12:45 PM Championship Teams & Individuals Processing for Nationals

NXR Southwest Championship Records

Boys Kaden Evans American Fork UT 2024 14:24.37

Girls Jane Hedengren Timpview UT 2024 15:50.01*

*Fastest Recorded HS Girls XC Time Ever

Note: There are other post-season XC competition opportunities, including Footlocker Midwest Regionals in Wisconsin on Saturday, 29 November and Running Lane Nationals in Alabama on Saturday, 6 December. Contact me if you are interested.

NXR Travel Arrangements

Course Map

It is flat and fast!

2024 nxr results

NXR was a great day of racing and a nice bounce back from a slightly disappointing State. 

8 of the 12 boys ran season or personal bests (and 3 more were within 7 seconds) as did 4 of the 9 girls (with 3 more within 8 seconds and all 5 within 18 seconds). 

Boys

The boys placed 2nd out of 41 teams in the Medium school division - actually tying with Timpanagos for 1st with 146 points, dropping on the 6th runner tie breaker. Josh was 1st and Jay was 2nd! Our top 5 boys were in the top 20% of the medium school merge.

In the Power Merge (all teams and individuals) the boys were 23rd of 181 teams! 181 of the top teams in the Southwest. The weak teams don't come to NXR. So yes, we should have been selected for the Championship heat.

Perhaps Josh and Jay not getting into the Championship was a good thing, as it provided motivation to 1) prove the selectors wrong and 2) do well in the team division. The earned trophy is quite nice and should be displayed prominently at SHS.

• Four Summit boys ran under 16 minutes this year. The most ever. That is quite an accomplishment. A lot of teams don't have anyone run under 16:00, much less 4 in one year. Four more were under 17 minutes and another four under 18 minutes. The previous most under 16:00 was two last year and in 2022.

• Carter had a huge 53 second PR, getting that breakout race we knew was there ready to spring out. He went under 16 minutes for the first time. That vaults Carter up from 15th to 6th on the Summit All-Time Performance List and from 9th to 4th for Juniors.

• Lukas ran a 27 second PR that propels him from 14th to 9th on the All-Time List and 8th to 5th for Sophomores.

• Malachi's 22 second PR jumps him 20 spots from 41st to 21st All-Time and from 15th to 13th Sophomore.

• John had a 17 second SB and 6 second PR.

• Max had the biggest Summit boy PR with a huge 59-second improvement for a jump from 64th to 39th All-Time and 27th to 18th Sophomore.

• Bodhi and Gavin also ran their fastest times of the year.

Girls

The girls placed 6th in the Medium school 2 heat and 13th in the Medium School merge out of 29 teams. That was without Ella's time from the Championship, which wasn't included. Ella placed 4th in the Championship heat, earning her third consecutive trip to Nike Cross Nationals (NXN).

The girls were 51st out of 115 teams in the Power Merge without Ella. With Ella included in our results we would have not only been 20th - and clearly should have been in the Championship - but we would have beaten Timnath and Battle Mountain who were first and second at State!

• Six Summit girls ran under 20 minutes this year! Two more were under 21 and another two under 22. The previous high number of girls under 20:00 was 4 last year, with 2 in 2022 and 1 in 2021.

• Anna had the biggest PR of the entire season at 1:52 faster than her previous best at Liberty Bell. She leaps from 70th to 44th All-Time and 48th to 26th Freshman.

• Claire had a big 41-second season best with Lila a 37-second season best.

• Sophie, Lily, Avery, Paige and Cece all ran within 20 seconds of their season bests to earn that 6th place team finish.

Boys Results

• Medium School 2

• Medium School Merge

• Championship

• Power Merge (all teams and individuals)

Girls Results

• Medium School 2

• Medium School Merge

• Championship

• Power Merge (all teams and individuals)

Videos of the races and interviews

• Meet Highlights 

• Boys Medium School 2

• Girls Medium School 2

• Boys Championship

• Girls Championship

• Ella - Youth Runner, RunnerSpace

Press

• Utah Standout Wins NXR Southwest By 41 Seconds, Runs 15:50 At Toka Sticks; Herriman Boys, Vista Nation Girls Win Regional; Kaden Evans Runs 14:24

• Summit’s Ella Hagen secures 3rd trip to Nike Cross Nationals. Josh Shriver wins medium school race

• ELITE INDIVIDUALS, TEAMS PREPARED FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW AT NIKE SOUTHWEST REGIONAL

• Nike Cross Regional Southwest: By The Numbers

• All results

• Milesplit results (these show the school names instead of the club names)

Improvement from State

The boys ran significantly better than at State! Maintaining focus can be hard after State. Some teams and individuals work hard for the three weeks after State. Others slack off and view NXR as an after season fun trip. The Summit boys clearly took the first approach - training hard despite the snowiest November in years.

I estimated the NXR course to be 30 seconds faster than the Colorado state course due to the lower altitude and flat, fast grass. The boys exceeded that estimation. All six who ran at State and NXR ran at least 30 seconds faster.

• Josh: 44 seconds

• Jay: 73 seconds

• Carter: 53 seconds

• Lukas: 59 seconds

• Cain: 34 seconds

• Owen: 43 seconds

Commendations boys on your focus, competitive spirit and hard work. 

Kudos also to Ella, on the same and running 42 seconds faster at NXR than at State. Lily also worked hard after State resulting in a 21 second improvement.

girls Team Places

NXR Performance of top 4A Teams at State

top teams at nxr

Boys Team Places

nxr performance of Top 4A Teams at State

top teams at nxr

Border Wars

Just for fun, and a bit of rivalry, here are the Border War results - as if the top individuals from each state had been scored as a team.

Photos 

See more and upload your own here.

2024 NXR Southwest

WHEN:  Saturday, 23 November 2024

WHERE:  Toka Sticks Golf Club, 6910 East Williams Field Rd, Mesa, AZ 85212

MEET WEBSITE: Click here

PARKING: No event parking at Golf Course. Parking will be in various paid lots east of course. DO NOT PARK IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS OR DORMITORIES. YOUR VEHICLE WILL BE TOWED. Drop Off Zone is east of course off Edgewater by the Cart Barn. Look for Signs. 

RESULTS: with mile splits, will be posted on the following websites: runnerspace.com, FinishedResults.com  

TEAM ACTIVITIES AND SCHEDULE: (a rough schedule that will be modified as needed)

Thursday, 21 November

• Arrive in Phoenix at various times. See the travel plans below.

• A short and easy ~30-minute run with a few strides is recommended after arrival to loosen up from the travel.

Friday, 22 November

• Breakfast on own

• 9:00 am - Easy 25-minute run at Riparian Preserve at Water Park. 

  • https://www.gilbertaz.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/riparian-preserve-at-water-ranch 

  • https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/2022/06/30/riparian-preserve-at-water-ranch-gilbert-az/7727304001/ 

• Lunch on own

• 1:00 pm - Top Golf

• 3:45 pm - Arrive at Toka Stix and find/set up team camp area. (Arrive earlier - much earlier - if you want to buy any NXR clothes. The lines are very long and they sell out. Probably best to have parents stand in line and purchase the gear while we are on the course recon.)

• 4:00 pm - Begin course walk/recon. Meet at the start line. A light jog and a few strides.

• 5:00 pm - Race talk and special interview at awards stand.

• 5:20 pm - T-shirt exchange (if you wish to participate)

• 5:40 pm - Depart for Buca di Peppo

• 6:00 pm - Team Dinner at Buca di Peppo

• 9:00 pm - or before, go to bed.

Saturday, 23 November 

• 6:00 - or earlier, girls in Medium school race should wake up and do a 8-10 minute shakeout run, have a light breakfast.

• 7:00 - or earlier, boys in Medium school race wake up and do a 8-10 minute shakeout run. Boys in Medium school race should have a light breakfast.

• 7:00 - Girls in Medium school race should arrive at team camp area. It is forecast to be about 55 degrees. Wear warm ups.

• 7:10 - Warm ups begin for girls in Medium school race.

• 7:30 - Citizen's race. (Are any parents interested?)

• 8:00 - Boys in Medium school race should arrive at team camp area. Cheer the girls in the Medium school race!

• 8:09 - Girls Medium school race 2

• 8:30 - Warm ups begin for boys in Medium school race.

• 9:33 - Boys Medium school race 2

• 10:20 - Start warm ups for Girls Championship race

• 10:45 - Boys Championship race

• 11:10 - Line Up for Girls Championship race

• 11:25 - Girls Championship race

• 12:10 - Awards

• 2:00 - Team Pool Party at ??

Departures

• Saturday evening - Adnan, Hagen, Remeikis, Niemkiewicz

• Sunday morning - McDonald, Ellison

• Sunday afternoon - Stafford, Dinse, Steinweg, Benbow, Benedict

• Sunday evening - Fallon, 

• Monday - 

• Driving - Love, Miner

• ? - Ratliff, Jackson, Shriver, Klein

Participation at NXR Southwest is open to everyone. We would love to have a lot of SHS runners compete – ideally at least five girls and five boys so we can race as a Summit Distance Project team. (All the runners on a team have to be from the same high school, but you can't run as an official high school team. It's due to rules in some states.)

The costs of this trip are born by the individual runner/family. Most runners will probably have a parent or two that will travel with them. We are glad to chaperone any runners who don't have parents traveling with them. For everyone, but especially for those athletes traveling without parents, it would be beneficial and more fun if we travel and lodge together as much as possible. To arrange that, below are the travel arrangements we have made. We looked for the cheapest flights last year and found it was cheaper to fly there on Thursday and fly back Sunday than to go Friday to Saturday. We don't have school the week after NXR, so some families may wish to spend more time in Arizona and return later.

Please provide your travel info here. Scroll down for the spreadsheet with the group travel plans.

Participant waiver here. Must be signed by a parent and sent (photo or scan) to NXR.Waivers@nike.com.

TRANSPORTATION: 

We reserved seats on these flights: 

To Phoenix: Frontier 2141 - Departs DIA at 2:21 Thursday. Arrives in Phoenix at 4:18.

Return to Colorado: United 1915 - Departs Phoenix 5:45pm Saturday. Arrives at DIA at 7:40.

HOTEL OPTIONS:

Four Points by Sheraton

6850 E Williams Field Rd
Mesa, AZ 85212
480-579-2182
Meet Headquarters
Mention Nike Cross Southwest

Courtyard by Marriott Mesa Gateway Airport

6907 East Ray Rd
Mesa, AZ 85212  480-351-7088
Mention Nike Cross Southwest

Holiday Inn Express Mesa Gateway Airport

5530 S Power Rd
Gilbert, AZ 85295  480-507-3000
Booking Link

Hampton Inn

3265 S Market St
Gilbert, AZ 85297  480-543-1500
All Room Must Be Booked By 10/23/2024
Booking Link

Hyatt Place Gilbert

3275 S Market St
Gilbert, AZ 85297  480-899-5900
Mention Nike Cross Southwest

Home 2 Suites by Hilton Gilbert

3333 S Market St
Gilbert, AZ 85297  480-857-4778
Booking Link

Doubletree By Hilton
1800 S San Tan Village Pkwy
Gilbert,  480-809-4061

TRU By Hilton

1950 S San Tan Village Pkwy
Gilbert,  602-567-9800

Country Inn & Suites By Radisson Mesa

6650 E Superstition Springs Blvd
Mesa, AZ  480-641-8000
Mention Nike Cross Southwest

REGISTRATION: 

I will register our athletes when you have confirmed participation with me. Please do that as soon as possible. At least by 7 November so we don't have to pay late fees. We will pay for entries from the team fundraising.

Please provide your travel info here. Scroll down for the spreadsheet with the group travel plans.

2024 Schedule:

Friday, November 22  

3:00 - 6:00 PM NXR Apparel Sale  

3:30 - 6:00 PM Packet Pick Up  

4:00 - 5:00 PM Course Walk Through (Only At This Time)

5:00 - 5:15 PM Pre Meet Review, Special Interview  

5:20 - 6:00 PM

T-Shirt Exchange (Bring T-Shirts from Your School)

Nike Elite Athlete Appearance / Q&A Session

Saturday, November 23  

6:30 - 7:20 AM Walk Through, Late Registration  

6:30 - 7:20 AM Final Registration Citizens Race  

7:30 AM Citizens 5K Race  

7:45 AM Girls Small School Open Race PINK

7:57 AM Girls Medium School Open Race I YELLOW

8:09 AM Girls Medium School Open Race II TEAL

8:21 AM Girls Large School Open Race I PEACH

8:33 AM Girls Large School Open Race II SILVER

8:45 AM Girls Large School Open Race III VIOLET

8:57 AM Boys Small School Open Race I ORANGE

9:09 AM Boys Small School Open Race II RED

9:21 AM Boys Medium School Open Race I WHITE

9:33 AM Boys Medium School Open Race II MAROON

9:45 AM Boys Large School Open Race I RUBY

9:57 AM Boys Large School Open Race II BROWN

10:09 AM Boys Large School Open Race III PURPLE

10:30 AM Line Up Boys Championship Race  

10:30 AM National Anthem  

10:35 AM Introduction  

10:45 AM Boys Championship Race BLACK

11:10 AM Line Up Girls Championship Race  

11:10 AM Introduction  

11:25 AM Girls Championship Race GREEN

12:10 PM Awards  

Note: I requested entry in the Championship races. 

NXR SW Record Boys – Cole Sprout Valor Christian, CO 2018 14:39.10

NXR SW Record Girls – Katie Rainsberger Air Academy, CO 2015 16:23.40

Toka Sticks Golf Club Course Record - 

• Charlie Vause Rio Rancho, NM 14:42.20 2024

• Addison Ritzenhein Niwot, CO 16:41.30  2024

Note: There are other post-season XC competition opportunities, including Footlocker Midwest Regionals in Wisconsin on Saturday, 30 November and Running Lane Nationals in Alabama on Saturday, 7 December. Contact me if you are interested.

NXR Travel Arrangements

2023 Results

We enjoyed the rare experience of running in the rain in the desert! It poured quite hard during the girls Medium school race for Darby, Lila and Cora. Gradually, with several thousand pairs of feet traversing the course, parts of the course turned to slippery mud, with a few puddles of water. The course was also rerouted from last year, replacing a couple of long straight stretches with a much curvier and somewhat hillier course. All in all, it made for a slower, more difficult course, somewhat offset, especially for the early races, with nice cool temperatures.

Summit took advantage for great individual and team performances at by far the most competitive meet of the year for us - and likely in the nation other than the upcoming national championships. 18 Summit Distance Project runners competed - by far the most we have ever sent to NXR - and we represented well! It was so exciting to have two complete teams, including 9 in the Championship race and a girls team in the Championship race for the first time ever.

While the results were encouraging, they also show we will have to work hard to make the next step up to becoming contenders to place high at NXR and qualify for NXN.

Full results - for splits, click Live Results, then for each race click Compiled.

Press

Summit High School’s Ella Hagen outlasts muddy course to qualify for Nike Cross Nationals in Portland 

Niwot And Air Academy Girls Book Tickets To Portland For NXN

Real Training Girls Beat Academy XC 58-72 For Southwest Title In Meeting Of Top Girls Teams; AFXC, Herriman XC Continue Drive To NXN Showdown

Interviews

A Big-Budget Preview Of NXR South, Southwest and Southeast

Boys Results

Boys Championship with Club Names

Boys Championship with High School Names

Boys Medium School with Club Names

Boys Medium School with High School Names

Josh and Jay ran in the Championship race, while we had a full team in the Medium school race. Jay placed 77th and Josh 79th, in 15:47 and 15:48. They ran near each other and pushed each other the whole way. It was great to see the bright yellow and green go by. 

Jay was the second 9th grader. Both ran faster than their times at State and close to their PR times. Although Josh wasn't at full health last year, his time this year was an incredible 2:29 faster!

In the Medium school race, our 6 boys placed 12th. Carter placed highest at 46th in 17:14, just two seconds slower than his PR time at Liberty Bell and 4 seconds faster than his time at State. Carter was 9 seconds faster than last year. 

Owen had a fantastic race finishing in 17:47, 14 seconds faster than his previous PR. Owen was the only boy to run faster than his time at the fast Regional course. 

Cain was third in a strong 18:06, very close to his excellent time at State and a full 32 seconds faster than last year. 

John was fourth in 18:21, 16 seconds faster than at State. Gavin had a strong race for fifth in 18:37. Max edged Owen for the largest PR with his 19:32 knocking 15 seconds off his previous best.

Boys Merge - The team scores if all the races were combined into one. 

Summit Boys were 54th out of 165 complete teams - and about 40 teams without 5 runners - with 1765 points in the merge. That is without Will Bentley. We likely would have scored several hundred fewer points with Will. 

For comparison other Colorado teams are underlined in the screenshots below. Pikes Peak = The Classical Academy, Colorado Cougars = Coronado, Vail Valley = Battle Mountain, Great Strides = Northfield. REAL Training = Niwot (isn't pictured but finished fourth in the merge with 272 points). 

Our main 4A competitors next year are Cheyenne Mountain, Coronado, Thompson Valley, Longmont and Eagle Valley. 

Niwot, Durango and Northfield move to 5A. Eagle Valley and Lewis Palmer didn't race at NXR.

Cheyenne Mountain and Coronado graduate two, Longmont one, Thompson Valley and us none. Battle Mountain graduates 5, including their top 3. Cheyenne Mountain and Coronado appear to be out of reach next year. We should place ahead of Longmont. Beating Thompson Valley will be a stretch. Our top 3 beat theirs, but their 4 and 5 are very strong. We will have to improve a lot at 4 and 5 to beat them next year - a similar story to the girls (see below).

Girls Results

Girls Championship with Club Names

Girls Championship with High School Names

Girls Medium School with Club Names

Girls Medium School with High School Names

Summit was chosen for the first time ever to run as a team in the Championship race, and we showed we deserved the high honor. The girls placed 18th out of the 27 teams in the Championship. Niwot (REAL Training) and Air Academy showed they deserve their number 1 and 2 rankings in the nation, and we showed we are competitive with the other strong Colorado teams. We placed ahead of 5A Boulder and Valor Christian, 3A State Champions The Classical Academy and 4A Northfield (Great Strides), who beat us at State.

The race started slow up front, with a large pack still together at the mile, reached in a relatively slow 5:32. By the two mile mark, a lead group of 5 established a small gap. Ella was in that group, taking turns at the front with three other girls that qualified for Nationals last year and a 8th grade newcomer from New Mexico. 

Ella ran a fantastic race, placing fifth and grabbing an auto-qualifying spot for Nationals. She ran 22 seconds faster than at State, the only Summit girl to run faster at NXR than State. She was also 22 seconds faster than last year, despite the slower course. 

Lindsey ran up front and steady the entire race, right around the 45th spot that she finished in. That was a huge 60 seconds faster than last year!

Avery ran an even bigger 90 seconds faster than last year! Before the race, I told/warned the girls that this Championship race would be unlike anything they have raced before, and that a mile into the race there might be 100 or 150 girls in front of them. Don't be discouraged - they might be having a fantastic race! And this was the case. Avery improved from 161st at the mile to 142nd at the finish.

Freshmen Lily and Ashley completed our scoring with strong finishes of 20:37 and 21:09, with Cece close at 21:45. Claire's troublesome calf flared up again unfortunately during the race.

Darby, Cora and Lila raced in the Medium School race earlier in the day during a hard downpour. They seemed to enjoy it. (See the photo below.) Darby had probably her best race of the season, with a PR nearly 30 seconds faster than her previous best of the season and improving upon last year's time by 16 seconds. Lila nearly PR'd and Cora continued her remarkable improvement, knocking an immense 1:33 off her previous best!

Girls Merge - The team scores if all the races were combined into one. 

Summit Girls were 23rd out of 108 complete teams - and about 60 teams without 5 runners - with 910 points in the merge.

For comparison other Colorado teams are underlined in the screenshots below. REAL Training = Niwot, Academy = Air Academy, Vista Nation = Mountain Vista, Fossil = Fossil Ridge, Chap = Chaparral, Angels = Denver East, Pikes Peak = The Classical Academy, Peak Racing = Peak to Peak School, RCXC = Rock Canyon, Great Strides = Northfield. 

Our main 4A competitors next year are Cheyenne Mountain, Conifer, Holy Family and Timnath. Niwot, Durango and Northfield move to 5A. Conifer didn't race at NXR. Vail Valley (Battle Mountain), who edged us at Regionals but we beat at State, was 50th in the merge with 1381 points. Battle graduates their top 3 and 5th. Holy Family (Amateur Track Club) was 54th in the merge. Timnath 74th.

Cheyenne Mountain will be very strong competition for us next year. They graduate their top finisher Lauren Raley, while we graduate Lindsey. Cheyenne Mountain's top two runners were in the Championship, but their whole team wasn't accepted for the Championship. They probably deserved to be in the Championship, as shown by their beating us by 5 places (18th place) and 202 points in the merge. We had the edge through our first two runners and the third runners were close. They pulled well ahead of us in the 4th and 5th positions, something we need to fix next season to have a shot at beating them at State.

Photos

There are far too many to place in the carousels below. See the rest of them here. Thanks to Myrth and Dillon for taking and uploading so many great photos. You can upload your photos on Google Drive as well.

2023 NXR Southwest

WHEN:  Saturday, 18 November 2023

WHERE:  Coyote Run Golf Course, 1548 Leisure World Blvd, Mesa, AZ 85206

MEET WEBSITE: Click here

TEAM ACTIVITIES AND SCHEDULE: (a rough schedule that will be modified as needed)

Thursday, 16 November

• Arrive in Phoenix at various time.

• A short and easy ~30-minute run with a few strides is recommended after arrival to loosen up from the travel.

Friday, 17 November

• Breakfast on own

• 8:00 am - Easy 25-minute run at Riparian Preserve at Water Park. 

  • https://www.gilbertaz.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/riparian-preserve-at-water-ranch 

  • https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/2022/06/30/riparian-preserve-at-water-ranch-gilbert-az/7727304001/ 

• Lunch on own

• 1:00 pm - Top Golf

• 3:45 pm - Arrive at Coyote Run and find/set up team camp area. (Arrive earlier - much earlier - if you want to buy any NXR clothes. The lines are very long and they sell out. Probably best to have parents stand in line and purchase the gear while we are on the course recon.)

• 4:00 pm - Begin course walk/recon. A light jog and a few strides.

• 5:00 pm - Race talk and special interview at awards stand.

• 5:20 pm - T-shirt exchange (if you wish to participate)

• 5:45 pm - Depart for Buca di Peppo

• 6:00 pm - Team Dinner at Buca di Peppo

• 9:00 pm - or before, go to bed.

Saturday, 18 November 

• 6:00 am - or earlier, girls in Medium school race should wake up and do a 8-10 minute shakeout run, have a light breakfast.

• 7:00 am - or earlier, boys in Medium school race and Championship race runners should wake up and do a 8-10 minute shakeout run. Boys in Medium school race should have a light breakfast, Championship race runners a hearty breakfast.

• 7:15 am - Girls in Medium school race should arrive at team camp area. It is forecast to be about 60 degrees. Wear warm ups.

• 7:25 am - Warm ups begin for girls in Medium school race.

• 7:45 am - Citizen's race. (Are any parents interested?)

• 8:15 am - Boys in Medium school race and Championship race runners should arrive at team camp area. Cheer the girls in the Medium school race!

• 8:24 am - Girls Medium school race 2 - Darby, Lila, Cora

• 8:30 am - Warm ups begin for boys in Medium school race.

• 9:36 am - Boys Medium school race 2 - Gavin, Owen, John, Carter, Cain, Max

• 9:40 am - Start warm ups for Boys Championship race

• 10:20 am - Start warm ups for Girls Championship race

• 10:30 am - Line Up for Boys Championship race

• 10:47 am - Boys Championship race - Jay, Josh

• 11:15 am - Line Up for Girls Championship race

• 11:27 am - Girls Championship race - Ashley, Lily, Avery, Ella, Claire, Lindsey, Cece

• 12:10 pm - Awards

• 2:00 pm - Team Pool Party at the Staybridge Suites/Holiday Inn Express pool, 5275 E. Baseline Road, Gilbert.

Departures

• Saturday evening - Cece and Patty

• Sunday morning - Jacksons, Carter, Benbows, Hagens, Lila, Steinwegs

• Sunday afternoon - Eytels, Lefflers, Shrivers?

• Sunday evening - Fallons

• Monday - McDonalds, Max

• Driving - Kiehls, Adkins?

• Benedicts?

Participation at NXR Southwest is open to everyone. We would love to have a lot of SHS runners compete – ideally at least five girls and five boys so we can race as a Summit Distance Project team. (All the runners on a team have to be from the same high school, but you can't run as an official high school team. It's due to rules in some states.)

The costs of this trip are born by the individual runner/family. Most runners will probably have a parent or two that will travel with them. We are glad to chaperone any runners who don't have parents traveling with them. For everyone, but especially for those athletes traveling without parents, it would be beneficial and more fun if we travel and lodge together as much as possible. To arrange that, below are the travel arrangements we have made. We looked for the cheapest flights last year and found it was cheaper to fly there on Thursday and fly back Sunday than to go Friday to Saturday. We don't have school the week after NXR, so some families may wish to spend more time in Arizona and return later.

Please provide your travel info here. Scroll down for the spreadsheet with the group travel plans.

Participant waiver here. Must be signed by a parent and sent (photo or scan) to NXR.Waivers@nike.com.

TRANSPORTATION: 

We reserved seats on these flights:

Frontier flight 695 Denver to Phoenix

Depart Thursday, 16 November at 9:59 AM, Arrive 12:02 PM

Frontier flight 4812 Phoenix to Denver

Depart Sunday, 19 November at 8:55 AM, Arrive 10:50 AM

HOTEL OPTIONS:

Mention Nike Cross Southwest to get the discounted rates. All Hotels are within 8 miles of the course with Free Breakfast.

Doubletree By Hilton
1800 S San Tan Village Pkwy
Gilbert, 480-809-4061

TRU By Hilton
1950 S San Tan Village Pkwy
Gilbert, 602-567-9800

Hampton Inn & Suites By Hilton
1825 N Higley Rd
Gilbert, AZ 85234 480-654-4000

Residence Inn By Marriott Phoenix-Gilbert
3021 E Banner Gateway Dr
Gilbert, AZ 85234  480-699-4450

La Quinta Inn & Suites Mesa Superstition Springs
6530 E Superstition Springs Blvd
Mesa AZ 85206  480-654-1970
Mention NXRSW for rate

Country Inn & Suites By Radisson Mesa
6650 E Superstition Springs Blvd
Mesa, AZ 480-641-8000

Staybridge Suites Phoenix-East Gilbert  
5275 E Baseline Rd
Gilbert, AZ 85234 623-632-0585
Mention NXRSW for rate

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Gilbert-East Mesa  
5285 E Baseline Rd
Gilbert, AZ 85234 480-213-8000
Mention NXRSW for rate

REGISTRATION: 

I will register our athletes when you have confirmed participation with me. Please do that as soon as possible. At least by 7 November so we don't have to pay late fees. I'll ask for payment once you are registered.

Please provide your travel info here. Scroll down for the spreadsheet with the group travel plans.

2023 SCHEDULE:

Friday November 17th

3:00 - 6:00 p.m. NXR Apparel Sale 

3:30 - 6:00 p.m. Packet Pick Up 

4:00 - 5:00 p.m. Course Walk Thru (Only at this time)

5:00 - 5:15 p.m. Pre Meet Review, Special Interview  

5:20 - 6:00 p.m. T-Shirt Exchange. (Bring T-Shirts from your schools). Nike Elite Athlete Appearance.

Saturday November 18th

6:30 - 7:30 a.m. Walk Thru, Late Registration

6:30 - 7:30 a.m. Final Registration Citizens Race

7:45 a.m. Citizens 5K Race   

8:00 AM Girls Small School Open Race PINK

8:12 AM Girls Medium School Open Race I YELLOW

8:24 AM Girls Medium School Open Race II TEAL

8:36 AM Girls Large School Open Race I RED

8:48 AM Girls Large School Open Race II SILVER

9:00 AM Girls Large School Open Race III VIOLET

9:12 AM Boys Small School Open Race ORANGE

9:24 AM Boys Medium School Open Race I WHITE

9:36 AM Boys Medium School Open Race II MAROON

9:48 AM Boys Large School Open Race I RUBY

10:00 AM Boys Large School Open Race II BROWN

10:12 AM Boys Large School Open Race III PURPLE

10:30 AM Line Up Boys Championships Race  

10:35 AM National Anthem  

10:40 AM Introduction  

10:47 AM Boys Championship Race BLACK

11:15 AM Line Up Girls Championship Race  

11:20 AM Introduction  

11:27 AM Girls Championship Race GREEN

12:10 PM Awards  

12:45 PM Championship Teams & Individuals Processing for Nationals

Note: I will ask that we be entered in the Championship races. 

NXR SW Record Boys – Cole Sprout Valor Christian, CO 2018 14:39.10

NXR SW Record Girls – Katie Rainsberger Air Academy, CO 2015   16:23.40

Note: There are other post-season XC competition opportunities, including Eastbay Midwest Regionals in Wisconsin on Saturday, 25 November and Running Lane Nationals in Alabama on Saturday, 2 December. Contact me if you are interested.

2022 Race Review

Cody Jone's article in the Summit Daily - link below - is very comprehensive.

Press

11/18/22: Team Regionals: Girls South & Southwest Predictions/Preview

11/23/22: Ella Hagen punches ticket to Nike Cross Nationals with 7th-place finish at Southwest regional cross-country meet

11/19/22: Colorado Girls Dominate As Niwot And Co. Head To Nationals

Photos

See the carousel below and a bunch more here

2023 season Outlook

A hint of things to come:

• From Colorado High School Sports on 11/2/22 - The 2022 4A State Story:

Girls: Summit, another western slope school, showed well enough to finish sixth (at State). Depending a little on whose projections you read, that finish appears to beat the projections by a little. The Tigers are a rising program. We would all do well the pay attention to what happens with this team the next couple of years.

Boys: Eagle Valley? Jake Drever graduates, but brace yourself for what's coming up behind him. Battle Mountain has Brunner and Middaugh back next year. That's a scary thought. Scarier still is the idea of how much the rest of the team can close up ranks behind them given another year of training in the Rob Parrish system. (My comment: I agree that Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain look to be strong next year. We graduate three seniors. Returning to another runner up, or better, finish at Regionals will be difficult, but not out of reach. EV and BM are picked as top 6 teams at State next year. We need to give them a run.)

• 10/24/22: Summit Middle School boys cross-country team wins state for the first time in school history

• From MileSplit on 11/23/22: Top Returning 4A Girls Cross Country Teams For 2023

On paper it looks like Summit is about to make the jump. They return the third-fastest squad, led by defending state champ Ella Hagen. Summit owns a 1-5 average of 19:24, and a 1-5 split of 3:50 - compliments of Hagen's fiery front-running. 

2022 NXR Southwest

WHEN:  Saturday, 19 November 2022

WHERE:  Coyote Run Golf Course, 1548 Leisure World Blvd, Mesa, AZ 85206

MEET WEBSITE: Click here

TRANSPORTATION: 

We reserved seats on these flights: 

United UA2249: Thu, Nov 17

Depart 03:51 PM, Arrive 05:49 PM

Denver to Phoenix, AZ

United UA2491: Sat, Nov 19

Depart 05:32 PM, Arrive 07:22 PM

Phoenix to Denver

This was quite a bit cheaper than leaving Friday returning Sunday.

LODGING: 

We reserved rooms here:

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS, PHOENIX EAST - GILBERT 

5285 East Baseline Road

Gilbert, AZ  United States 85234 

Hotel Front Desk: 1480-218-8000 

Email: phxgtfrontdesk@gmail.com

2021 NXR Southwest Review

Adaline Avery and Cece Miner were the first to race in the medium sized school race. Adaline ran 20:27 and PR'd by almost 40 seconds! Adaline was the only one to PR. This was a great reward for her very consistent and hard training all season. We found out later the course was long. At least 3.18 miles, some GPSs showing up to 3.22. So Ella, Cece Miner and Josh Shriver probably would have also PR’d. Plus, it was getting quite warm, for mountain kids, in the later races (Ella, Josh and Landon).

Dominykas was second to race. His preparation was compromised by over a week of missed training due to the virus he caught just before state, plus two weeks of 3 hour long basketball tryouts. He went out fast and fought fatigue to finish 26th in his medium school heat.

Ella raced in the Championship Race. She started controlled and was in 28th place after 1 mile. She steadily moved up and finished 15th, in 17:53, for 3rd team Nike Regional recognition!

Josh and Landon went a few minutes later, in the hottest part of the day. Both went out fast, setting mile PRs in the first mile of the 5k! Landon actually led this medium school heat for the first mile, before the effort and heat built up. He held on gamely, finishing 51st. Josh was 13th at the first mile, moving up to finish 9th and narrowly missing a PR despite the long course and heat.

It was a good trip and great competition. The Southwest region is definitely the strongest region in the U.S. and Colorado one of the strongest states in the nation. (As an example, 3 girls from just our 4A region in Colorado finished in the top 15!) This was the first NXR competition for everyone except Dom. Racing in extremely competitive meets is a great way to raise the bar, expand horizons and realize that with consistent hard work we can mix it up with the best.

Next year we expect to take a larger group and compete as girls and boys teams. With another year of training, we can set very high goals!

11/24/2021: Tigers represent Summit County at Nike Cross Southwest Regional in Arizona

Heat sheets: https://nxrsw.runnerspace.com/eprofile.php?event_id=302&do=news&news_id=629155

Saturday November 20

6:30 - 8:00 am Walk Thru, Late Registration at course

8:05 am  Girls Small School Open Race  PINK

8:25 am  Girls Medium School Open Race I  YELLOW

8:45 am  Girls Medium School Open Race II  TEAL - Adaline, Cece

9:05 am  Girls Large School Open Race I  RED

9:25 am  Girls Large School Open Race II  BLANK

9:45 am  Boys Small School Open Race  ORANGE

10:05 am  Boys Medium School Open Race I  WHITE  - Dom

10:50 am  Boys Championship Race  BLACK

11:30 am  Girls Championship Race  GREEN  - Ella

11:55 am  Boys Medium School Open Race II  BLANK  - Landon, Josh

12:15 pm  Boys Large School Open Race I  BROWN

12:35 pm  Boys Large School Open Race II  PURPLE

12:50 pm  Boys Large School Open III  GREY

1:05 pm  Girls Large School Open III  TANGERINE