Julia Kelly, Baylee Espinosa, Jaxon Schoedel and the State College boys team all secured auto qualifiers for Nike Cross Nationals (NXN).
Many Pennsylvania standouts toed the line on Saturday in Wappingers Falls, New York, at Nike Cross Regionals Northeast (NXR) for a chance to qualify for NXN. The top two teams and top five placing individuals not on qualifying teams receive automatic bids to NXN in Portland, Oregon.
It was a standout day for PA athletes, with Julia Kelly (Downingtown West) and Baylee Espinosa (Lewisburg Area) locking down individual NXN qualifying berths.
Kelly paced the PA girls, competing with a fourth-place finish. The standout freshman clocked a solid 18:37.4, splitting Cayleigh Kaiser (Union Catholic Reg. HS, NJ) and Madeleine Lane (Hopkinton, NH). Kaiser ran 18:30.5, and Lane ran 18:38.9, respectively.
Espinosa finished seventh overall in 18:46.8, earning the final individual spot as the fifth runner, not on a qualifying team. Paige Sheppard, the individual champion, and Kaiser, the third-place finisher, represent the victorious Union Catholic Reg. HS and do not count towards the five individual NXN spots from the region.
Leah Navarro (Dallastown) is another individual who wasn't out of the conversation. She finished 12th in 19:02.6.
Jaxon Schoedel (Mohawk) and State College got the job done on the boy's side.
Schoedel finished third, running 15:45.8, narrowly getting beat by Alex Fisher (Loomis Chaffee, CT). The two boys broke away from fourth-place finisher Marshall Vernon (La Salle Academy, RI), who ran 15:51.4.
State College sealed the deal in a close team race for second place with Ridgefield High School, CT. The State College boys held off their opposition, scoring 142 points to Ridgfield High School's 153. Notably, Christina Brothers Academy won with an impressive 39 points.
Theo Oppermann and Isaac Oppermann led the way for State College, placing 11th and 14th. Theo ran 16:06.7, and Isaac clocked 16:12.7. Luke Bradbury, 27th place in 16:29.0, and Owen Coughlin, 30th in 16:33.8, served as the team's third and fourth scoring runners. Kyle Fritzsche rounded out the five in 95th place, running 17:15.7.
Nicholas Mazzeo (Lower Merion) is another PA individual who had a solid day. He finished 10th overall in 16:05.6.