It was a cold day in Shelbyville, Indiana as more than 3,300 of the country’s top youth runners competed for their shot at a national title at the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships. Anticipated rain was nowhere to be seen as cloud cover lifted halfway through the day and the sun stayed out through the final race of the day as a dozen individual champions were crowned.
A handful of runners broke away from the pack almost immediately off of the starting line with three running in a strung-out lead pack as they passed 500 meters. 2023 runner-up Morgan Codrington (VO2Max Track Club) came back with a vengeance after taking second by a mere .3 seconds in 2023. By the halfway point, Codrington had three runners on her tail. Presley Tragesser (Unattached) shot up the hill with 500 meters to go attempting to close the gap, but Codrington wasn’t allowing it. She had a late surge to take the win in 7:32.66 for a course record. Tragresser was close behind in 7:34.10 for second ahead of Kamille Gray (Unattached), who finished in 7:48.74. Unlike the 8 and under girls race, a lead pack quickly formed in the boys race but soon turned into a two-person show between Collin Romero (Peak Performance Running) and Forrest Park (Grassroots Running Club). Romero fought to stay in the lead but lost the edge to Park as the pair rounded their first sharp turn of the race. Anthony Fragale (Lakeland Track Club) broke away from the chase pack, showing some impressive skill climbing hills. He fought hard to hold on but couldn’t quite keep the momentum. Park took a decisive win, shattering the course record of 7:42 by nearly 30 seconds with his 7:16.49 clocking. A battle for second was happening right behind Park as Anthony Fragale tried to maintain the lead but Romero overtook Fragale just before the finish line to take second in 7:19.19. Fragale was right on his heels in 7:19.88 for third. In total, a whopping 24 runners finished in under eight minutes.
Sadie Hamon (Sun City) and Giulua Gabriele (Valley United Track Club) broke away from the lead pack just before the 1000 meter mark. A trio formed a single line behind Hamon 1500m into the race, but her lead was under threat as Kalliah Boddie (Maryland Blaze Track Club) got into her groove. Boddie and Hamon went stride for stride as they took the hairpin turn before coming in sight of the finish line. Hamon surged ahead as Boddie plotted her kick. As the duo powered down the final stretch, Boddie made a statement, pulling away with 300 meters to go. Boddie crossed the finish line with an impressive 11:19.21. Hamon gave it all she had to hold off Carly Truini (Kokopelli Racing Team), crossing the finish in 11:21.90 over Truini’s 11:24.80. In the boy’s 9-10 division, Craig Thompson (Mount Diablo Heat A) took over the lead early in the first 500 meters of the race. He continued to extend his lead as a chase pack formed behind him at the one kilometer mark. What seemed to be a battle for second place formed in Thompson’s wake as Zody Benoit (Maryland Blaze Track Club), Brady McCarty (Grassroots Running Club), and Cyrus Boschen (VO2Max Track Club) fought to hold on. As Benoit and Thompson rounded the final turn to the finish line, Benoit surged to try to overtake Thompson, but Thompson had just enough left to hold him off to take the win in 10:30.94. Benoit took second in 10:31.56 and McCarty was third in 10:40.04.
A pack of six grouped up in the first 500m of the girls 11-12 race. Flora Caputo-Wilkowski (Unattached), Isla Rahmer (Albuquerque Athletics Track), Aliyah Yorek (HP Distance), Martina Rodriguez-Villen (Rain City Flyers), Quinn Hanley (Bowerman Track Club), and Harper Green (Ohio River Valley Racers) were all clearly in the fight. By the 2K point, Rahmer had taken the lead and seemed to be making effortless strides to extend the gap as they came into the hairpin turn. There was no contest as they made it to the final straight. Rahmer extended her lead at a pace no other could match, crossing the finish in what’s become her signature style - arms outstretched in celebration. Rahmer clocked a 10:27.03 to win by more than 11 seconds. Rodriguez-Villen took second with a 10:38.98 and Hanley was third in 10:40.15. Similar to the girls’ race, a large lead pack of six formed in the first three minutes of the boys’ 11-12 race. Eli Hernandez (Mount Diablo Heat), Robert Stepanov (Unattached), and Lukas Derheimer (Eagles Wings Track), broke off into a smaller lead pack after the first kilometer, stretching their lead to nearly 100 meters as they reached the halfway point. Stepanov and Hernandez began to make their move away from Derheimer at the 2K mark. It wasn’t until the final turn of the race that Hernandez pulled away for good, but when he did, he made his way down the final stretch with a smile on his face, extending his lead every step of the way. With his fist pumping, Hernandez crossed the finish line in a course-record time of 9:33.60. Then, it was a hard-fought battle for second between Derheimer and Stepanov. Derheimer came out on top, clocking a personal best 9:41.10 over Stepanov’s 9:43.27.
It took more than a kilometer for a clear lead pack to form in the penultimate girls race of the day. Graceleen Mabry (Palatine Pack TFCC A), Jennifer Friedman (Speed Skills) Madison Lange (Elevated Distance Training), Mckenna Groen (Elevated Distance Training), and Daphne Weller (HP Distance A) were all clear contenders for the title as the leaders grouped up. The pack started to string out at the halfway point with Weller setting the pace through the twists and turns of the course. Weller and Mabry began to separate from the pack at the 3k mark with Lange maintaining pace ten meters back. With 300 meters left, Weller pulled away, thinking she had the win locked in, but the race wasn’t over. Mabry kicked to the finish, taking Weller by surprise, and was just a lean away from the win as Weller took the title by a fraction of a second in 13:39.35 over Mabry’s 13:39.41. A trio of personal bests followed as Lange clocked a 13:43.14 for third with teammate Groen in fourth in 13:51.40, just ahead of Sloane Groendyk (Rock Creek Track Club) in fifth with a 13:55.42. Brayden Domont (Dixon Distance A), Karanveer Patil (Palatine Pack TFCC A), and Sterling White (California Comets) got a strong start in the boy’s 13-14 division race. At the halfway point, Domont and Patil were running side by side more than 100 meters ahead of White, their closest competitor. Patil tried to break away from Domont, but Domont caught him and was able to match Patil’s pace. Domont took the inside on the tight hairpin turn and took over the lead, but as the duo powered down the final straight Patil took over for good. Domont couldn’t catch Patil as he shot down the final straightaway and took the win in 12:04.73. Domont clocked a 12:06.39 for second place, well ahead of the third-place finisher Miro Parr-Coffin (North Idaho Distance Project) in 12:22.98.
In the final girls race of the day, a long, strung out line formed rather than runners bunching up in a lead pack. 15-year-old Kenya Leitch (HP Distance) decided that she was comfortable running a solo race early on and crept away from a chase group that was beginning to form. As she reached 300 meters to go, not a single runner was in sight in her trail. At this point, it was a race for silver. Leitch clocked an 18:17.93 as they came through the finish line with 20 seconds to spare over the chasers. Melia Murphy (Unattached) and Lucy Kramer (HP Distance) duked it out until the finish, but Murphy got the edge, taking second in 18:38.23 to Kramer’s 18:39.57. Taryn Janssen (NX Level Athlete) was the top runner in the 17-18 division, clocking an 18:58.79. Madeleine Holland (NTX Warriors Track Club) was second in 19:15.28 and Addyson Hunt was third in 20:12.34. Noah Burgh (Unattached) made his move to set the pace early in the boys 15-18 division race. He ran solo until he was joined in the lead by Maddox Mangers (Pillows.com Racing) at the 1K point. The pair ran together until Mangers took over the lead halfway through the race, but the battle was far from over. Burgh held on for nearly a kilometer, but as they reached the 4K point Mangers was pulling away. As the finish line came into sight, with less than 200 meters to go, Burgh took Mangers by surprise as he powered past to take a clear win. Burgh clocked a 15:48.65 over Mangers’ 15:55.38 - second overall, but first in the 15-16 division. 16-year-old Jackson Klinger (Unattached) clocked a 16:10.49 for third overall and second in the 15-16 division. Cass Violet (Three Forks Running Club) and Amos Kimble (Unattached) were second and third in the 17-18 division in 16:12.81 and 16:16.37. Lucas Hollinshead (Midwest Milers Club) was third in the 15-16 division and sixth overall with a personal best time of 16:19.85.
Fishers Fire - 58 El Paso Westside Run Squad - 89 Rain City Flyers - 124
California Comets A - 72 Lakeland Track Club - 100 Valley United Track Club A - 131
West Seattle Road Runners - 76 California Comets - 87 Valley United Track Club - 103
Mount Diablo Heat A - 49 California Comets A - 71 El Paso Panthers - 152
Quick Track Club - 82 Rain City Flyers - 124 North Idaho Distance Project - 135
Palatine Pack TFCC A - 131 Kokopelli Racing Team - 181 West Seattle Road Runners - 218
Palatine Pack TFCC A - 63 Speed Skills - 175 Boulder Mountain Warriors - 211
North Idaho Distance Project - 140 Dixon Distance A - 161 Palatine Pack TFCC A - 168
HP Distance - 15 New England Elite Track Club - 59 Valhalla Running Club - 67
HP Distance A - 38 Arkansas Track Club - 58 Pillows.com Racing - 58 A full list of results can be found here.