Full recap from the 2022 Nike Cross Nationals at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland.
PORTLAND - The return of Nike Cross Nationals was one that didn't disappoint.
After a three-year hiatus, the nation's top high school cross country runners made their way back to Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland for the first time since the 2019 season and delivered an all-time classic meet.
Featured in the field were three of Washington's own runners.
In the girl's race, 4A state and NXR Northwest champion Anna Callahan of Skyline capped off her incredible junior year with a ninth-place effort in a time of 17 minutes, 23.7 seconds for the 5,000-meter course, just a tenth off her personal best mark from the KingCo League Championships back in October.
"I definitely was very excited and happy with that place," Callahan said. "It's a really cool experience and a great race to kind of top it off."
The junior from Sammamish hung well with the top racers who pushed the pace early on for the first mile. Once settled in, she remained in the top 10 throughout the race and never lost sight of her position.
"I started out strong and expected it to be a very fast finish," Callahan said. "Pretty sure I was in first for a bit and I was like, 'Whoa, that is not what we want.' Then I just held back and tried to find a pack. There was lots of movement constantly going on, but just tried to make sure I was constantly with a group of girls and not letting myself drop them."
Callahan's ninth place run earned herself second team all-American honors, becoming the first Washington girl to claim a Nike Cross Nationals all-American spot since former Issaquah great Julia David-Smith finished 18th back at the 2019 meet. Top 21 finishers are awarded with all-American honors.
East Valley's (Spokane) Logan Hofstee, the 2A state champion and runner-up at NXR Northwest, finished 38th in the field, running a time of 18:01.7.
Irene Riggs of Morgantown (West Virginia) won the individual title in a time of 16:40.9.
On the boy's side, Sehome's Zack Munson concluded his high school career with a 30th-place finish in a time of 15:31.2. The 2A state champion went out with the lead pack for the first 1.5 miles and eventually fell back to 21st place with around 1 kilometer to go.
Coming up to the final stretch, the senior from Bellingham, who placed sixth at NXR Northwest, was passed by nine runners over the last bit of the race to fall out of all-American contention.
Newbury Park's (California) Aaron Sahlman played the spoiler of the day, coming out on top as the individual winner in a time of 14:44.5 to pick up his first-ever high school cross country win.
Champs Sports Cross Country West Regional Championships
Central Valley's Nicole Bissell, fourth at 4A state, placed 15th at the Champs Sports Cross Country West Regional Championships on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif.
Bissell ran a time of 19:06 for the 5k course to lead Team Bloomsday, a group of Spokane-area runners.
Mt. Spokane's Charlotte Pedersen followed in 20th place, running a time of 19:19.
Katelyn Galloway of Stadium ran 19:33 to finished 28th.
Sadie Englehart from Ventura (California) won the individual title in 17:43.
Lewis and Clark's Evan Bruce and Mt. Spokane's Cade Brownell finished 18th and 19th, respectively, in times of 16:08 and 16:09 in the boy's field.
Medical Lake's Reid Headrick, the 1A state champion, ran 16:37 to finish in 50th place.
Sam Hansen out of Woods Cross (Utah) ran 15:20 to win the boy's race.