Two teams to Oregon from the Northern Region?
The final entries for the first ever Nike Team Nationals Southeast Regionals have been released and a total of four Virginian squads will make the long trip down to Hoover, Alabama over Thanksgiving weekend to attempt to qualify for Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Oregon via a top two finish at the regional meet. In the championship boys' race from Virginia will be AAA state champions from Thomas Jefferson and AA state champions from Brentsville as well a the team which had been the state's top ranked team for much of the season in Oakton. The AA state champion Blacksburg girls will be the lone team from Virginia in the championship girls race.
Probably one of the bigger stories is the top teams from Virginia not entered for NTN Southeast as neither Midlothian boys or girls teams are entered after sending both teams to Oregon last December. The Midlothian girls were a bit more of a surprise absence than the Midlothian boys as they had rolled through a third state Group AAA state championship, while the Midlothian boys were on less solid ground of finishing in the top two with a weak fifth man which doomed them in a second straight state title. However, the teams possess two state individual champions in Jason Witt and Kathleen Lautzenheiser who can now turn their attention solely to gunning for top 10 finishes at Foot Locker South this weekend and qualify for Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego.
Nonetheless, Virginia has three capable boys teams of earning trips to Portland, Oregon. Oakton had been the region's dominant team for much of the season including defeating Great American champion Oak Ridge (TN) at the Maymont Festival. The Thomas Jefferson boys have been the hottest team down the stretch and could be argued as the favorites to win in Hoover after defeating Oakton two straight weekends at the regional and state meet as well as quality teams in Midlothian and Mountain View for a third state championship in six years. Brentsville has also scored wins over top teams in the region including Maryland state champions Quince Orchard at Octoberfest as the four-time Group AA state champions will be the only Virginia team of the three with experience at the Hoover course after competing at Great American in 2006. There are some good teams outside of Virginia in the Southeast region, but it is possible that the two automatic qualifying spots for NTN could be earned by two Virginia teams with the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Oakton, and Brentsville.
Despite dealing adversity down the stretch including a loss at their regional meet, the Blacksburg girls walked away as state champions once again at Great Meadow in one of the most competitive AA girls team races in recent years with several strong challengers. While their shot at a top two finish is less likely than the Virginia boys, the Southeast girls appears to be weaker up front than last year to leave room for some surprise teams to slip in the top two.