DISCLAIMER: The author of this article competed in Nike Cross Regionals
The weekend of Nov. 15, 41 Franklin Cross Country (XC) runners traveled to Spokane, Washington to race in Nike Cross Regionals (NXR). The final and most important meet of the XC season for the vast majority of high school runners, NXR Northwest 2025 drew 3,735 high school runners from dozens of teams across seven states: Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Hawaii, Alaska, and Wyoming.
For Franklin, NXR is a full weekend event as well as a very fun trip. Athletes carpooled with parent drivers, with most cars leaving Thursday morning. We left early Thursday morning with four runners; two Varsity and two JV. On Thursday and Sunday, we spent six hours full of rest stops, Chipotle runs, and music jams on our journey to and from Spokane. Everyone stayed in one hotel, with four runners to each room. We had lots of time to hang out Thursday night, Friday afternoon, and Saturday night. Races were on Saturday, so on Friday we drove to the course to do a course walk and shakeout run. Additionally, every runner received a NXR hat and stickers along with their bibs, which we picked up on Friday.
Races lasted all of Saturday. The first women’s race, which I was in, started at 8:15 a.m., while the last one was at 2:55 p.m.. Girls left the hotel in different race groups Saturday morning, with the first one leaving at 6:15 a.m.. Despite such an early wake up time and such a long day spent at the course, everyone was in high spirits and there were lots of games, jokes and snacks throughout the day. Everyone showed up to support and cheer on the team in almost every race.
Throughout the weekend there were also a lot of team bonding experiences. Franklin runner Fern Preppernau says her favorite part of NXR is always the team bonding, and that it provides the opportunity to “support teammates even more than at normal meets.” Triniti Ramos, a sophomore at Ferris High School in Spokane, agrees, saying that “the opportunity to run with so many people was really cool, because this is by far the biggest race I’ve ever ran in, and…it’s such a cool way to end off the season.”
There are multiple ways to participate in NXR. It has races of varying levels of competition. These races are separated into three categories; Rising Stars for junior varsity (JV) runners, Open, which anyone can enter, and Championship, which you have to qualify for. All of the races are five kilometers long, the standard distance for high school XC races. Franklin has sent athletes to NXR every year it has been held, says Women’s XC Head Coach Ashley Rose.
Athletes that perform well at cross country (XC) state championships automatically qualify for the NXR championship race, as do the top teams. This year, Franklin had one runner in the championship race, junior Alison Fajardo. She placed 49th out of 201 runners in the girls championship race, with a time of 18:21.10.
Preppernau, a JV runner, ran in open invite 3, which is technically a varsity race. She said, “Even though I run JV at normal meets, I got to be in [a varsity race] this year and see where I placed [comparatively].” This highlights the unique opportunity JV athletes are given at NXR; they are able to compete at a high stakes meet to see how they fare on a larger stage.
Doug Bender, the editor of Dyestat — a site that ranks high school XC times — and media person for NXR, agrees with this. He says the unique format of NXR allows JV athletes to “run against a lot more competition,” which is good for development and improvement.
The unique competition format of NXR provides an opportunity for JV athletes to race at a high level meet. They are provided the same race opportunity and experience as the best high school runners in the country. Rose agrees with this and says that “the unique racing experience at NXR is something that JV athletes really only get to experience at NXR.”
NXR also serves as a qualifying meet for Nike Cross Country Nationals (NXN). The top two teams and top five individuals, in both men and women’s championship races, qualify for NXN. It is hosted annually at Glendoveer golf course in Portland, and this year it took place on Dec. 6.
Another unique part of NXR, Bender notes, is the fact that it is technically a club meet, not a high school meet. Because of this, athletes are not allowed to wear team singlets or anything tying them to their high school. They must take on a different team name; for example Franklin runs as “Southeast Portland.” This is due to its designation as a club meet; it is technically out of season and NXR athletes cannot be officially tied to their team. In many states, although not in Oregon, coaches cannot be affiliated with runners out of season, so many teams that attend NXR do so with parental leadership only.
NXR is not without its controversy; this year the location changed for the first time since 2009. For the past 15 years, the race has been located at Eagle Island State Park in Boise, Idaho. This year it changed locations to a course outside of Spokane, Washington — the Spokane Polo Fields.
Athletes have had many opinions about this, particularly upperclassmen who are used to the old course and planned for it to be the same. Many top runners make their race strategies based on the course, often far in advance. However, most of the athletes I talked to enjoyed the new course and found it better than last year’s. Gabriela Chencheva, a sophomore at Eastlake High School in Sammamish Washington, said that “the course last year in Idaho was a lot harder.” Chencheva competed in the open race, placing 13th out of more than 850 runners.
Many local college coaches attend NXR for recruiting purposes. Sean McLachlan, head coach at Spokane community college and Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) men’s coach of the year, noted that now that NXR is in Spokane, he is able to attend. McLachlan says that NXR is a good recruiting opportunity and place to see prospective athletes race.
The meet will be changing locations again next year, to another course also in Spokane. McLachlan notes that next year’s course is the only course built just for cross country in the Pacific Northwest.
NXR is a season highlight for many athletes, Franklin and otherwise. A weekend-long meet with lasting team bonding, memories, and hats, it is one of the best parts of Cross Country. As a JV runner, it is a notable opportunity to compete at a large race, and I can’t think of a better way to end the season.
