Nike Team Nationals

Nike Team Nationals (NTN) is an invitational cross country meet that serves as the unofficial team national championship of United States high school cross country. It was designed to heighten competition between high school cross country teams nationwide. NTN is a part of the Nike Nationals Series, which includes Nike Indoor Nationals, Nike Outdoor Nationals and Nike Web Nationals for track and field. Nike sponsors the event.

History

NTN was started in 2004 along with the other two meets in the Nike Nationals Series in order to promote the national circuit for high school competitive running. The inaugural race in 2004 consisted of 21 boys teams and 20 girls teams and was seen by an estimated 4,000 spectators. Kinetic XC Club of Saratoga High School, which had been ranked in polls as the number one girls team in the country for the past decade, dominated the girls race with a score of 51. Kroy XC Club of York High School won the boys race with 92 points. The race featured a special award called the "Golden Anchor," given to the top four number five runners in each race.

The 2005 race saw the introduction of an eighth man race, which was held before the main event races, and in 2006 combined with the open race.

An Open Race was new to the 2006 event, with 30 top boys and girls from around the country given the chance to compete as a team on the national level; however they did not qualify and therefore Nike did not provide their expenses or clothing. Also new to 2006 was a revision of the course. On December 2, 2006 a Kenyan boys team and a Kenyan girls team were also flown in to partake in the open events; the teams dominated the North American course and showed spectators a whole new view of racing.

On April 25, 2008, Nike announced that it will change their name from NTN to NXN (Nike Cross Nationals). Along with the two teams from each region that make it to NXN, Nike will also take the next five individuals from each region and they will also be able to compete in the same race, just without a team.

This new format has created many conflicts with Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. The FLCC has been one of the most prestigious high school cross country races since the 1970s. With the different regions for FL and NXN and both races/qualifying races near the same dates as the other, runners are faced with a tough decision to make.

The Competition

In the past, Nike has selected 20 teams from around the nation to compete in the NTN meet, which typically was held the first weekend in December. These selections were based on regional and national rankings updated weekly during the fall cross country season. Teams were selected on "Selection Sundays", typically following the finish of state meets. There were eight regions across the country: Northeast, Southeast, South, Midwest, Heartland, Southwest, Northwest, and California. In addition, four at-large teams were selected, which could be from any region. Starting with the fourth NTN meet, however, the entry procedures changed; New York became its own region due to the girls' teams over the years dominating the meet (see below), raising the number of selected teams to 22. Also, regional meets held in each of the regions (except for California; will use end-of-season performances) now guarantee the top two finishing teams invites, most likely due to complaints about how a team should have gone, but didn't. New York was originally going to use the top 2 teams in the Federation Meet, but it was changed to also have a regional meet. This upset some fans, and cause some teams to skip the Federations meet to prepare for the NTN regional. There will still be four at-large teams chosen by the NTN committee, in addition to the top two teams from each region.

The event is held in the second weekend of December in Portland, Oregon, at the Portland Meadows thoroughbred racing track. The race features a man-made 5 kilometer course that is completed with three loops, following European cross country tradition. The venue has an enclosed 3,000 seat grandstand, allowing spectators to see the whole race, unlike normal cross country meets. The infield of the track, where the course is set up, is also open to spectators who wish to get a more close-up view of the race.

NTN has a reputation for being extremely muddy. The course is located not only in the rainy Pacific Northwest but also in a low area and a drainage basin. It is a common sight to see runners soaked in mud at the end of NTN races.

Since NTN is held on the same weekend as the Foot Locker Cross Country West Regional Championship, in 2005 and 2006, the top two runners at NTN who would have otherwise competed in the west region earned automatic bids to the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championship.

Boys NTN Champions

* 2004 - Kroy XC Club (York High School), Elmhurst, Illinois
* 2005 - Saratoga XC Club (Saratoga High School), Saratoga, New York
* 2006 - Bridgetown XC Club (Coatesville High School), Coatesville, Pennsylvania
* 2007 - Naperville XC Club (Neuqua Valley High School), Naperville, Illinois

Girls NTN Champions

* 2004 - Kinetic Running Club (Saratoga High School), Saratoga, New York
* 2005 - Hilton XC Club (Hilton High School), Hilton, New York
* 2006 - Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius High School), Manlius, New York
* 2007 - Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius High School), Manlius, New York

Trivia

* Manlius XC Club (Fayetteville-Manlius High School) is the only team to win back to back Nike Team Nationals.
* Saratoga High School is the only school to win Nike Team Nationals, one on the girls side (2004) and one on the boys side (2005).
* Since the first NTN in 2004, the national champion for the girls has always been a team from the state of New York.
* Nike Team Nationals is an unofficial national race, and because of this schools are not allowed to use their actual school name. In most cases schools will use their city name plus "XC Club."
* The boys national champion in 2004, Kroy XC Club is their school name (York) spelled backwards.

Links

* [http://www.nike.com/nikerunning/niketeamnationals/map2006.pdf 2006 Updated Course Map]
* [http://www.dyestat.com//?pg=nikentn NTN's site on Dyestat.com]
* [http://www.niketeamnationals.com Official NTN site]

ources

* [http://www.niketeamnationals.com Nike Team Nationals Homepage]
* [http://www.dyestat.com/?pg=us2006NikeTeamNationals Dyestat Coverage of the 2006 NTN Championships]
* [http://www.ktvotv3.com/Global/story.asp?S=5692067 KTVO-TV Report about the 2006 NTN Championships]