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It was a relatively successful day for Massachusetts athletes at the 2011 Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon. The Pembroke boys, Hamilton-Wenham girls, and Lexington's Nat Adams qualified for the event after impressive performances last week at the Northeast Regional Championships in New York.
Pembroke was making their second consecutive trip to Portland Meadows in an effort to improve on their 19th place finish in 2010. The Titans had experience on their side, but were still relying heavily on sophomores John Valeri and Christian Stafford for valuable points up front. The impressive sophomore duo have race with a level of poise beyond their years, and the team’s aerobic strength meshed perfectly with the challenges of an always muddy course.
Stoic and businesslike, Pembroke stood on the starting line among a sea of almost 200 bodies. Chaos ensued as the cannon blast signaled the start, and Pembroke went to work as the field bolted to a very fast first mile split of roughly 4:45. At the first team score checkpoint the Titans were mid-pack and looked assertive among the ultra talented field.
Age and experience paid off with seniors and Wes Gallagher and Joe Vercollone posting impressive performances; finishing 70th (16:12) and 131st (16:43), respectively. The team would finish 18th overall with a 1:08 spread, due in large part to the quality running of Stafford (16:21), Valeri (16:39), and Patrick Cunningham (17:20).
 Nat Adams of Lexington was the lone individual qualifier from the state of Massachusetts, and the talented junior has left no questions regarding his tremendous potential. Adams finished 121st with a time of 16:38 to cap-off a cross country season that earned him a spot among the state's elite.
The Hamilton-Wenham girls shocked the Northeast Region last week with a stunning defeat of the 2011 New England Champions, Champlain Valley of Vermont. The Generals were a stark contrast to the demeanor of Pembroke; displaying a lighthearted attitude that appeared to dissipate the palpable tension that is usually created by a meet of this caliber.
H-W would finish 22nd among one of the deepest fields in recent memory, and freshman Emily Weigand showed the rest of the country that her finish as the top freshman during last week's Northeastern Regional Championship was no fluke. She repeated the effort by leading the team for the second consecutive week (19:34), and was once again, one of the top freshman athletes in the field. Her supporting cast of Margaret Blatchford (20:03), Emily Horgan (20:18), Kerry Phelan (20:23), and Claire Pacione (20:47) combined for a 1-5 spread of 1:13 and a point total of 543.
 The Nike Cross Nationals is an experience like no other. From the time the athletes arrive in Portland to the moment they are ushered back to the airport, every athlete is treated like a star. Free gear, meeting Olympians, and unprecedented access to the Nike campus are just a few perks of this tremendous event. All of that makes the trip worthwhile, but most importantly, the meet emphasizes one of the best aspects of the sport.......team.
Congratulations to all of the Massachusetts athletes who competed this weekend and represented your state with pride. The official end of the season will come next weekend when Catarina Rocha, Joel Hubbard, Chris Allen, and Jon Green will travel to San Diego to compete in the Foot Locker National Championships. It should be another exciting weekend of racing and the MileSplit National staff will be on-site to bring you all of the action from Balboa Park.
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