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2006 Foot Locker National
Cross-Country Championships

"Greatest Girls Field
Ever Assembled"

By Rich Gonzalez, DyeStatCal.com

2006 Foot Locker Cross-Country Championships

"Greatest Girls Field Ever Assembled"
More speed. More stamina. More endurance. More toughness. More blowouts.
More reasons than ever to tune in to DyeStat this weekend!

Amber Trotter	Jordan Hasay	Julia Stamps	Marie Lawrence
Following thoroughly dominating and record-setting performances at both the FootLocker West and Nationals competitions in 2001, several considered Amber Trotter to be the greatest prep ever in the FootLocker era. Then Jordan Hasay arrived on the scene, tying Trotter's FLW course record and then beating a better field at nationals. Julia Stamps was America's sweetheart in the 1990s and won the Footlocker title in 1994. Marie Lawrence is the sentimental choice of many in 2006, with the Nevadan seeking her first FootLocker title after three straight runner-up finishes.

Deena Drossin	Aurora Scott	Kathy Kroeger	Katie Vanatta
Deena Drossin lit up the courses during her prep days at California's Agoura HS, then went on to enjoy long-distance and marathoning fame as a professional. Virginia's Aurora Scott has shown similar over-distance prowess early on, including a sensational half-marathon effort on the roads in Open competition this past summer. Tennessee's Kathy Kroeger and Colorado's Katie Vanatta haven't had as many chances to face national-class foes as some of their rivals have, but both will be arriving in San Diego with major performances that rank among the most impressive on the map in 2006.

Melody Fairchild	Alex Kosinski
Colorado's Melody Fairchild posted one of history's biggest landslide wins in a major meet during her 1990 FootLocker run, but how would she fare in 2006? Runners like Alex Kosinski possess greater leg speed than many all-time greats, with her 4:42.93 mile PR ranking as #19 on the all-time U.S. prep list.

By Rich Gonzalez, DyeStatCal.com
         (--) Imagine Amber Trotter squaring off against Julia Stamps, charging stride for stride across Balboa Park for all the marbles. Or perhaps Melody Fairchild mired in a ferocious final-mile duel against Jordan Hasay, with the title of America's greatest ever prep cross-country runner at stake. Or Marie Lawrence blazing her descent along the pivotal roadside slope while pitted against Cathy Schiro and Deena Drossin in a perfect matchup between three of the nation's most consistently elite prep females.
        Imagine no more.
        While the names may have changed, this weekend's climactic Balboa Park finale at the Foot Locker Cross-Country Championships showcases perhaps the finest girls field in history, with more high-end "all-timers" here than ever to appear before in a single race.
        Foot Locker has always played host to the nation's finest, but the all-star collections of years past produced races that were either dominated by a particular all-time sensation (such as Fairchild's stunning 59-second win in a 16:39 sizzler amid oppressive heat in 1990) or were a display in strong yet balanced parity as several yearly standouts vied for top annual honors.
        In 2006, however, the wealth of top-end talent is faster, stronger and tougher than ever before!
        Consider the following:

If you're a fan of speed, just know that never in the meet's illustrious 27-hear history has a high school girl ever arrived to the Foot Locker Nationals meet with a sub-4:43 mile effort already under her belt. Now we have two: Californians Jordan Hasay (4:42.21) and Alex Kosinski (4:42.93), who helped comprise the deepest four-lap collection in U.S. prep history in 2005.

If you're a fan of stamina, just know that never in Foot Locker history has a girl ever arrived to the national meet with sub-10:27.00 3,000-meter steeplechase credentials to her name. This race has Nevada's Marie Lawrence, who power-galloped to a 10:15.26 over-the-barriers performance that dove way below that standard.

If you're a fan of endurance, just know that girls traditionally don't run a half-marathon, let alone be clocked faster than 85 minutes for the 13.1-mile race distance. This race features Virginia's Aurora Scott, who torched the roads for a stunning 78-minute road-race performance late this past summer.

If you're a fan of toughness, just know that it is rare for a girl to run under 17 minutes for three miles under even the most ideal conditions. This race showcases Colorado's Katie Vanatta, who turned the trick despite running at over 5,000 feet altitude, where air is much thinner and thus a great hindrance to distance runners.

If you're a fan of huge victory margins, just know that most girls still don't know what Kathy Kroeger looks like when she finishes. The Tennessee flash has posted a series of runaway triumphs this year, including a not-as-close-as-the-time-would-indicate win at the Great American Cross-Country Festival, where she threw down the hammer in the final mile to easily win by 20 seconds.

       "It's incredible what these girls are doing on the track these days," commented girls' track and field historian Mike Kennedy in midseason. "You have performances that used to make the annual national leaders' list that can't even get you into some state meets now. When you look down the road to Foot Locker, it's going to be a war unlike we've ever seen."
       Even when remarkable athletes stalked the Foot Locker Nationals courses in years past, any mind-blowing depth unfortunately was lacking as their chief competition was usually a few notches below them.
       Case in point was Fairchild's win in 1990, when the distance phenom from Colorado posted the largest victory margin in meet history. She was absolutely overpowering while others wilted under the hot Florida sun. The rest of the field, however, lacked any entrant with sub-4:56 mile speed coming in and only one other that had previously run sub-10:40 for two miles. If Fairchild were racing this field in 2006, she not only would be unable to run away with it, she might even lose.
       But lose to whom? Who will be national champion?
       Will it be the defending champion Hasay, who would then become the first repeat girls winner since Erin Sullivan in 1997-1998? Or will it be Kosinski, who missed most of the season to a broken foot but arrives here fit and without expectation? Perhaps it will finally be Lawrence, the popular fan favorite who has finished second each of the last three years? Or maybe Scott, who has been carefully biding her efforts while shifting into another gear of late? Maybe Vanatta, who emerged as the unknown favorite early in the season after great showings at altitude? Could it be Kroeger, the #2 freshmen to Hasay a year ago but more battle tested now?
       If you're a fan of prep cross-country, just know this: The best field in girls' history is assembled -- you'd be foolish to not be in San Diego or not be tuning in to DyeStat to find out what happens.