Rodriguez-Villen and West Seattle Road Runners win titles at National Junior Olympics in Kentucky

Results 

On Saturday (9-Dec), 203 athletes representing 15 clubs from USATF Pacific Northwest competed at the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.  The competition was held at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park, the site of numerous NCAA championships, including the 2012, 2015, and 2017 Division 1 championships. Near-perfect weather conditions graced the park for much of the day Saturday, but lightning and heavy rain came in just ahead of the 15-18 Boys start, delaying the race until Sunday morning. 

A total of 3054 athletes and 273 teams from across the country competed in the championships.

Races were contested in 6 age divisions (8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18) for boys and girls.  The top 25 finishers in each age division earned all-American status and the top 3 teams were awarded championship recognition. 
 
Twenty-one (21) athletes from the Pacific Northwest association earned all-American honors while the West Seattle Road Runners 9-10 Girls ran to the national team title and two teams from the Rain City Flyers left Louisville as runner-ups; all earning trips to the awards podium during the post-event ceremonies. 

RODRIQUEZ-VILLEN AND WEST SEATTLE ROAD RUNNERS WIN NATIONAL TITLES IN 9-10 GIRLS RACE

The headliners on the day for the Pacific Northwest athletes came in the 9-10 Girls race as Martina Rodriguez-Villen (Rain City Flyers - pictured on top of page) won the individual title, the West Seattle Road Runners (pictured above) won the team title, as six Pacific Northwest athletes earned all-American honors in the division. Rodriguez-Villen came to Louisville, having finished second last year in Texas, as the highest returner. She honed her skills over the summer by winning the 800m and 1500m titles at the track championships in Eugene. In the weeks ahead of Louisville she won Pacific Northwest and Region 13 titles against very strong fields. In Louisville, she navigated the "favorite" label with perfection as she stopped the clock at 10:43 on the 3 km course defeating Avery Piala of Colorado by three seconds. Her Rain City Flyers teammate Leah Kussick finished fifth running 11:18 with Beau Berry (Mercer Island Bluebirds) just one second behind to finish sixth. 

The West Seattle Road Runners packed three runners in the top 18 to capture the team title scoring 91 points. Beau Sitzmann (13th), Teagan Kemper (14th), and Savannah Brondstetter (18th) all crossed the line within four seconds of each other. The terrific trio were backed up by the strong performances of Everly Haase and Isobel Laing who finished 29th and 88th, respectively. The low sticks by Rodriguez-Villen (1st) and Kussick (5th) helped the Rain City Flyers to a sixth-place team finish. The other scorers for the team were Mia Jackson (50th), Cleo Charles (129th), and Sima Janes (162nd).

ALL HALE TO OLIVER

 
In the first race of the day Oliver Hale (Rain City Flyers - pictured above) improved on his eighth-place finish from last year as he finished fourth in the 7-8 Boys race. His time was 6:59 as he cracked the seven-minute barrier for the first time in his young career. His Rain City Flyers teammate Desmond Hoopes finished 22nd and Aditya Das (Cascade Striders) finished 23rd, both running 7:43, to join Hale on the awards podium.  The race was won by Deshawn Turner of Nevada in 6:55.

The strong finishes by Hale and Hoopes led their Rain City Flyers team to a second-place team finish with 87 points. They were backed up by Oliver Sandoval (49th), Harrison Newkirk (63rd), and Stuart Baker (66th). The West Seattle Road Runners finished 17th with 465 points. The California Comets won with 77 points; just 12 points better than the Flyers.
 

IT'S RAIN(ING) SILVER

 
Following the second-place finish by their 7-8 Boys team the rest of the Rain City Flyers squad knew they needed to step up their game to keep up with their younger teammates.  And keep up they did. In the 13-14 Girls race Ciana Johnson and Reed Atwood finished fifth and seventh, respectively to lead the team to another second-place team finish as they scored 120 points. Johnson ran 14:06 on the 4 km course with Atwood just two seconds back. Corinne Hudders (42nd), Alex Urquhart (68th), and Natalie Severs (76th) rounded out the scorers for the Flyers. The team title was won by Palatine Pack from Illinois with an impressive 43 points. 

Sloane Clines (Salish Stride Youth RC) joined Johnson and Atwood on the podium with her 22nd-place finish.

In the 9-10 Boys race the Flyers finished fourth in the team results just missing a visit to the awards podium by 20 points. Maceo Conta led the team with his eighth-place finish running 11:08. He was followed by Calder McKee (35th), Caleb Andrews (66th), and Delano Connors (69th), and Conrad Charles (124th).

MORE TOP 10ERS

Joining Rodriguez-Villen, Kussick, Berry, Conta, Johnson, and Atwood as top-10 finishers were Elin Beeler (Cascade Striders), Jane Roloff (Unattached), and Alan Penrose III (Whisper Running).

Beeler finished fourth in the 11-12 Girls race as she stopped the clock at 10:48. Joining her on the podium to receive a championship medal and her all-American hat was Sol Sitzmann (West Seattle Road Runners) who finished 15th in 11:01. The race was won by Addison Kegel of Montana in 10:20.

Roloff ran to a sixth place finish in the 17-18 girls in a time of 19:33. Also nabbing a place on the podium in the division was Brynn Williams (Unattached) with her 20th place finish.

Penrose ran in the delayed 17-18 boys race on Sunday morning and finished 10th running 17:14; just .13 seconds ahead of the 11th place finisher Maxton Kline from Indiana.

ALL-AMERICAN ROLL-CALL

Below is the complete roll-call of 2023 All-Americans from Pacific Northwest:

7-8 BOYS            
   4. Oliver Hale (Rain City Flyers) 
  22. Desmond Hoopes (Rain City Flyers)

7-8 GIRLS            
  17. Genevieve Dreher (Cascade Striders) 

9-10 BOYS            
  10. Maceo Conta (Rain City Flyers)

9-10 GIRLS            
   1. Martina Rodriguez-Villen (Rain City Flyers)
   5. Leah Kussick (Rain City Flyers)
   6. Beau Berry (Mercer Island Bluebirds) 
  13. Beau Sitzmann (West Seattle Road Runners) 
  14. Teagan Kemper (West Seattle Road Runners) 
  18. Savannah Brondstetter (West Seattle Road Runners) 11:37

11-12 BOYS            
  11. Karsten Christensen (Rain City Flyers) 
  15. Luke Contreras (Club Northwest) 

11-12 GIRLS            
   4. Elin Beeler (Cascade Striders) 
  15. Sol Sitzmann (West Seattle Road Runners) 

13-14 GIRLS            
   5.  Ciana Johnson (Rain City Flyers) 
   7.  Reed Atwood (Rain City Flyers) 
  22. Sloane Clines (Salish Stride Youth RC)

15-18 BOYS                        
  22. Brody Will (Whisper Running)
  23. Henry Nelson (Whisper Running)

17-18 BOYS            
  10. Alan Penrose III (Whisper Running)

17-18 GIRLS            
   6. Jane Roloff (Unattached)

Next year's championships will return to Louisville on December 14.
 

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Looking ahead to the 2024 indoor and outdoor seasons the USATF Youth Indoor Championships will be held in Louisville, KY (March 8-10), the USATF Youth Outdoor Championships will be held in New York (June 26-29), and the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships will be held in College Station, TX (July 22-28).