**Mead Boys Cross Country Team Shines with Third Place at Nike Cross Regional**
*November 15* — The storybook season for the Mead boys cross country team added another stupendous chapter Saturday afternoon. Ranked 19th in the nation, Mead took third place at the Nike Cross Regional under overcast skies at the Spokane Polo Grounds.
As if on cue, the sun broke through the clouds and cast a brilliant glare on the finish line, contrasting with the dark skies to the east.
Stumptown, a team consisting of runners from Jesuit High School in Portland, won the event with 88 points. Forest Park claimed second place with 149 points, while Mead finished just one point behind in third.
The top two boys and girls teams at the regional earn berths to the Nike Cross National meet on December 6 in Portland. Additionally, four more boys and girls teams will receive at-large berths.
Mead, fresh off a commanding State 4A championship win last weekend, made a strong statement for an at-large bid at nationals.
Leading Mead was Jovanny Lieb, who finished 23rd with a time of 15 minutes, 11.4 seconds. He was followed by Stejer Frankler in 31st place (15:16.7), Aaron Pooler 55th (15:29.3), Jonah Wiser 76th (15:41.1), and Noah Reischman 77th (15:41.2).
Mead coach Austin Stuchell was ecstatic following the race. “We were the underdogs,” Stuchell said. “Now we’ll let the selection committee make its decision. We outperformed ourselves. I can’t ask for any more. I think they ran better today than they did at state. It’s kind of a fairytale ending.”
Despite the fantastic performance, Mead hopes for one more race at the national meet.
It was a disappointing day for Coeur d’Alene, the defending NXR champion, who finished a distant sixth with 212 points. Wyatt Carr led his team with an eighth-place finish in 14:48.7.
“It was a tough one,” said Coeur d’Alene coach Emry Carr. “I have to look at our splits and process it. I don’t know what exactly happened.”
Carr admitted the team faced difficulties from the very beginning. “I don’t know where it went wrong,” he added. “It’s a tough, tough way to go out.”
Coeur d’Alene typically trains with the NXR as their primary focus rather than the state meet, making Saturday’s results even more frustrating.
“That’s why it doesn’t matter if you’re ranked third in the nation or not,” Carr said. “You’ve got to run the race. And if you don’t perform on that date, that’s the way it goes.”
On the individual front, Cohen Butler of Camas, who captured the 4A state individual title just a week ago, took the boys championship with an impressive time of 14:36.8.
In the girls’ race, Addison Kegel, a freshman from Billings Central Catholic in Montana, claimed the title with a time of 16:51.7. Kegel went undefeated during her high school season, and her time at the regional was a personal best by 17 seconds.
What made Kegel’s victory even more impressive was that she was accidentally knocked to the ground about halfway through the race. She quickly scrambled to her feet and eventually took the lead with 400 meters remaining.
“I am so amazed,” Kegel said. “I wanted to finish in the top 10. The gravity of the race still hasn’t sunk in yet. This course was made for personal bests.”
Next year, the NXR race will move to the Course Spokane Valley.
Among area runners, Annabelle Carr of Coeur d’Alene Charter, who won her second straight state title two weeks ago, was the highest finisher in the girls’ race, placing 29th with a time of 17:52.6.
https://sports.yahoo.com/article/mead-boys-cross-country-finishes-030300365.html