Photo: Andrew Bumbalough of Brentwood Tenn. leads John McGuire of Golden. Photo by Victor Sailor / www.PhotoRun.net

West Regional Champion Ken Cormier of Douglas Ariz., and Aislinn Ryan of Bellvale N.Y., won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals at Morley Field in Balboa Park in San Diego Calif.

Beginning with a fast pace, most of the boys race was run in a large pack thundering together through the course. Mohamud Ige of Denver Colo.,took an early lead of several meters until the one- mile-mark, when the chase pack began closing in. A group of runners, including Ige, Andrew Bumbalough of Brentwood Tenn., and John McGuire of Golden, Colo., hit the two-mile point in 9:50. Bumbalough and McGuire moved to the front and were stride-for- stride, chased by the large group. Cormier then appeared seemingly out of nowhere, to become a player in the constant exchange for lead of this exciting race, that was determined in the final stretch.

With 400 meters remaining, McGuire led, with Bumbalough in second, and Cormier closing fast. The three were in a dead heat, and then in the final 200 meter stretch, Cormier moved into the lead, just managing to hold off Bumbalough, for the win in 15:22. Bumbalough placed second in 15:24, and Mark Matusak, Torrance, Calif. placed third in 15:26, pulling ahead of McGuire who placed fourth in 15:27.

The girls race also started with a fast pace led by Ryan, Midwest Regional Champion Ramsey Kavan of Yankton, S.D., West Regional Champion Marie Lawrence of Reno, Nev., and Nelson of Kalispell, Mont. The group constantly battled for the lead throughout the race. At the two-mile point, Ryan pulled ahead to gain about a seven-to-eight meter lead over the group. Ryan, who placed second in the Northeast Regional race, increased her position over the remainder of the course, stretching it out for the win in 17:31. Lawrence, who chased Ryan over the last mile, placed second in 17:39. Kavan placed third in 17:47 and Nelson ended up placing eighth in 18:09.

The runners competed under sunny skies with good course conditions. The weather was unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the mid-seventies for the girls race, and cooling down a bit as a fog rolled in for the boys race.

The Foot Locker Cross Country Championships is comprised of four regional 5K races, which took place across the country in the Midwest (Kenosha, Wis.), Northeast (Bronx, N.Y.) and South (Charlotte, N.C.) on Nov. 27, and the West (Walnut, Calif.) on Dec. 4, culminating in the National Finals here today.

Colorado runners who competed in the event faired well, with all the runners placing in the top 15.

Girls
4 - Whitney Anderson, Summit, 17:49
9 - Madeline McKeever, Heritage, 18:14
11 - Keara Sammons, Smoky Hill, 18:20
15 - Katelyn Kaltenbach, Smoky Hill, 18:28

Boys
4 - John McGuire, D'Evelyn, 15:27
13 - Mohamud Ige, Denver South, 15:44

1. Mohamud Ige of Denver South leads Levi Fox of Troy, OH. Ige would finish thirteenth. Photo by Victor Sailor / www.PhotoRun.net

2. Summit's Whitney Anderson finished fourth. Photo by Victor Sailor / www.PhotoRun.net

3. Madeline Mckeeve of Heritage finished ninth. Photo by Victor Sailor / www.PhotoRun.net

4. Smoky Hill's Keara Sammons finished a strong eleventh. Photo by Victor Sailor / www.PhotoRun.net

5. Defending champion Katelyn Kaltenbach of Smoky Hill finished fifteenth. Photo by Victor Sailor / www.PhotoRun.net

Full results can be found here.