Region achieves second all-time sweep at meet, first since 2016, with girls lineup placing five athletes in top eight for 22 points and boys team relying on tiebreaker to edge Northeast after both groups achieved 38 points; Leachman becomes seventh South girls individual winner, including second from Texas

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The South Region hasn’t enjoyed as many memorable moments in comparison to their Midwest, Northeast and West peers at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, accumulating the least amount of individual and team titles of any of the groups in meet history.

But when the South does rise to the occasion, the results are spectacular, and the region commanded the spotlight Saturday at the event’s 44th edition at Balboa Park’s Morley Field.

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For the first time since 2016 and just the second occasion in meet history, the South swept both team titles, producing five female competitors in the top eight to dominate the field with a 22-point performance and relying on impressive depth to overcome Northeast male athletes sweeping the top three individual spots to prevail on a tiebreaker after the lineups both achieved 38 points.

Unlike National Federation High School competition that uses a sixth-runner tiebreaker to determine the winner, the final outcome Saturday was decided based the USATF-enforced No. 5 scorer tiebreaker, which had Colin Eckerman from Webb School of Knoxville in Tennessee placing 12th for the South in comparison to Jack Bertram of North Allegheny High in Pennsylvania achieving 27th for the Northeast.

The South had not won either boys or girls team titles since sweeping the crowns in 2016, becoming the first region to achieve the feat since the Midwest in 2018.

The Midwest still boasts the most all-time sweeps in meet history with nine, followed by the West with five. The lone Northeast sweep of both team championships remains in 1982.

The South still only has four boys team titles, along with 2011 and 2012, and just three girls championships, with the first coming in 2014.

The last time the South boys won, the lineup also achieved 38 points in 2016. The South girls had 39 points to triumph in the same year.

When the South girls won their first team title in 2014, the lineup accumulated 41 points.

But the performance Saturday of the South girls was not only the region’s most impressive all-time effort, but one of the strongest in meet history.

Elizabeth Leachman of Boerne Champion High in Texas became the seventh South female athlete to capture the individual title, covering the 5-kilometer layout in 16 minutes, 50.7 seconds.

Leachman is also the second Texas girls competitor in three years, following Natalie Cook of Flower Mound in 2021 to secure the individual crown. And she also became the seventh sophomore in meet history to capture the girls title.

Allie Zealand of Pacers Homeschool was one of three Virginia competitors to earn All-America honors for the South, placing second in 17:04.5, with Covenant School teammates Reese Dalton (17:55.4) and Maddie Gardiner (18:05.6) finishing 12th and 15th, respectively.

Despite Claire Stegall of Nolensville High being knocked down in the first mile and unable to complete the race after stopping just past the 2-mile mark, Tennessee still had a pair of All-Americans in Independence High senior Jaynie Halterman securing seventh in 17:43.4 and junior Abby Faith Cheeseman of Webb School in Bell Buckle capturing 13th in 17:56.3.

Samantha Humphries of Flower Mound earned eighth in 17:44.5, giving Texas an All-American tandem, along with Leachman.

And Mary Bonner Dalton from Myers Park in North Carolina finished fourth in 17:28.1 to continue to showcase the exceptional presence up front for the region, which also had Zoie Lamanna of Jefferson Forest High in Virginia achieve 30th in 18:40.3.

West Virginia was showcased well for the South boys, with Brayden Marshall of Winfield (15:18.4) and Ty Steorts from Hurricane (15:21.2) placing fifth and sixth, respectively, just behind Berkley Nance of Mills Godwin High in Virginia finishing fourth in 15:17.5.

Jake Liebert of Wando High in South Carolina (15:34.1) and Eckerman (15:35.1) were 11th and 12th, respectively, with Patrick Koon of Leon High in Florida earning the final All-America honor by taking 15th in 15:38.8.

Gabe Schmid from Orange High in North Carolina was 16th in 15:41.6 and Riku Sugie of Thomas Nelson High in Kentucky captured 18th in 15:44.8.

Another North Carolina competitor, Raghav Gopalakrishnan of Ardrey Kell, achieved 22nd in 15:48.5 and Matt Ryan from Nease High in Florida grabbed 39th in 16:24.3 for South, which didn’t score fewer than 40 points in either boys victory in 2011 and 2012.