Talented Group Primed And Ready As National Finals Returns To San Diego

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Photos by John Nepolitan and Maynard St. John

The meet has undergone a name change. The grand hotel has a front facade and lobby. And pandemic rages on. 

But for athletes like Gavin Sherry and Juliette Whittaker and a few others, the long wait for a return to the Eastbay (former Foot Locker) National Finals has finally ended. 

On Friday, the paint was being applied to the grass at Balboa Park's Morley Field and the course managers were smoothing out the rough edges, the 80 national qualifiers arrived in motor coaches and went through a rehearsal and run-through for Saturday's championship races. 

The girls will lineup first for a race that begins at 9:15 a.m. Pacific. The boys race follows at 10. 

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"It's exciting to be back here," Sherry said. "Throughout this season I just feel like I've been getting stronger with every race, and I did have a little period of sickness where I missed a couple of races, but honestly that may have helped. I feel like I'm really starting to peak for the season right around the the right time. I'm just excited to see what I can do."

Sherry, of Conard High in Connecticut, was 14th as sophomore. He comes in as the favorite in the boys race after winning the Northeast regional with a new course record at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. 

Aidan Puffer of Manchester High in Connecticut is the only other returner from the 2019 race on the boys side. He was 21st then. 

Even if Sherry wins on Saturday, it might take a monster performance for him to viewed as the best in the country given Newbury Park's dominance in recent weeks in California and at the RunningLane Championships. 

"I really don't think there was ever much of a chance (of racing the Newbury Park quartet of Colin and Aaron Sahlman and Leo and Lex Young)," Sherry said. "I didn't really want to do RunningLane with (Eastbay) so close. (And) it sounds like they didn't feel like coming to (Eastbay).

"Those guys are really great and hopefully I'll get to race them at some point over the next two seasons (indoor and outdoor track)."

Sherry should have company at the front of the race from two-time Michigan champion Riley Hough of Hartland and Colorado 4A champion Zane Bergen of Niwot. Those two finished fourth and fifth last weekend at the RunningLane Championship in Huntsville, Ala. 

"I definitely want to be more aggressive at the start than I was two years ago," Sherry said. "I think no matter how fast it goes out, I’m going to be in the front pack this year, and just try and work it like I have every race this season so far (and) control it when I can. With this course and the hills and the terrain, I think I have a bit of an advantage coming from Wickham and the Northeast. I’m looking forward to proving my abilities on this course and hitting that hill like the Green Monster.”

Northeast runner-up Marco Langon of Bridgewater-Raritan NJ, West champion Tyrone Gorze of Crater OR and South champion Ethan Ashley of Denmark GA also belong on the list of contenders. 

Natalie Cook of Flower Mound TX could give the Lone Star State its first girls champion if she can maintain her recent surge through the end of the season. Cook ran within five seconds of Jenna Hutchins' all-time fastest 5,000-meter cross country performance by running 16:03 last weekend at RunningLane. Prior to that she won the South regional by 35 seconds at McAlpine Park in North Carolina. 

Cook, whose mother Melissa Gulli competed in the 1997 national finals, faces a showdown with US#1 Angelina Perez of Lakeland NJ, who won the Northeast regional, and US#3 Kate Peters of Lake Oswego, a junior, who won the West regional last weekend. 

Perez and Peters are both undefeated in 2021. Perez dominated the New Jersey Groups and MOC races at Holmdel Park and Peters has big wins under belt at Nike Portland XC and the Oregon Class 6A final. 

Peters, who is coached by West team coach Shalane Flanagan's husband, Steve, has been working on her racing tactics this fall and avoiding the lead until the final half-mile. It's a strategy that may bear fruit again this weekend. 

Midwest champion Riley Stewart of Cherry Creek CO will make her third appearace at the national finals after placing 17th two years ago. 

The top returner from 2019 is Karrie Baloga from Cornwall NY, who was 11th as a freshman. 

Whittaker, one of five girls in the race committed to Stanford (a group that includes Stewart), was a U.S. Olympic Trials semifinalist in the women's 800 meters last June in Eugene, Ore. She was 13th at the Foot Locker finals in 2019.