PHOTO CREDIT: Ken Martinez/West Coast XC
The Coeur d'Alene boys, Rocky Mountain girls and Meridian senior Nate Stadtlander ended their historic cross country seasons at Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) over the weekend in Portland.
Coeur d'Alene made its second consecutive appearance at NXN upon repeating as boys team champions at Nike Cross Northwest Regionals (NXR) on Nov. 16 at Eagle Island State Park. The Vikings placed ninth at NXN with 275 points, two spots better than last year. Senior Max Cervi-Skinner led Coeur d'Alene with his 37th place finish in 16:06.4 at Glendoveer Golf Course, followed by his twin brother and fellow senior Zackery Cervi-Skinner (82nd in 16:32.4), sophomore Wyatt Carr (93rd in 16:35.4), junior Mitchell Rietze (109th in 16:46), freshman Rowan Henry (127th in 16:55.5), freshman Wyatt Morgenstern (138th in 17:01.9) and sophomore Gabe Heule (149th in 17:12.1).
Making a program first NXN appearance upon winning the NXR Northwest girls team title, Rocky Mountain placed 18th with 412 points. Junior Hallie Heemeyer was the top Rocky Mountain finisher in 18:41.8 for 69th place. Senior Emmaline Hamm was 118th in 19:21, senior Brooklyn Hom was 122nd in 19:24.4, freshman Makelle Carlson was 154th in 19:47.6, senior Chloe Pollock was 165th in 20:05.1, sophomore Brooke Thompson was 171st in 20:13.1 and freshman Eve Archibald was 173rd in 20:16.2.
Stadtlander, who was fifth at NXR Northwest, placed 137th at NXN in 16:58.6
The girls race had 22 teams and 199 finishers while the boys race had 22 teams and 198 finishers. Runners traveled to Portland two days before the race, and Nike rolled out the red carpet from the moment they arrived.
First up was a visit to the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton shortly after arrival on Dec. 5. While there, the runners explored the Nike campus and had the chance to run on the Michael Johnson track, a five-lane track with trees in the infield. They also met professional Nike runners such as Charlie Hicks, Craig Engels and Cooper Teare, Olympians Connor Mantz and Karissa Schweizer, Olympic champion Cole Hocker and double Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher.
Heemeyer, who attended NXN last year to watch older brother Landon compete as a Northwest individual qualifier, took in everything with new eyes and ears this year as a competitor herself. Sharing it with her Rocky Mountain teammates only added to the experience.
"It was so much fun," Heemeyer said by phone. "You don't understand until you go. We got to see and do so many cool things. It was so special and I think something we'll always look back on."
Stadtlander expressed disbelief at being there in person after watching the NXN livestream in previous seasons.
"I couldn't believe all this stuff was all for us," Stadtlander said by phone. "It was super nice to be treated that way."
On Dec. 6, the opening ceremonies took place at Nike Headquarters. The runners visited the course for the first time and received their race day uniforms. For Coeur d'Alene and Rocky Mountain, the uniforms were solid forest green with white lettering. For Stadtlander, he and the other Northwest individual qualifiers had white tops with green splatter patterns and 'Northwest' in green lettering to pair with green shorts for the boys or green Spandex for the girls.
"They took us into the athletes' village for the first time and there were all the curtained off areas for the teams," Heemeyer said. "All our gear was there. We tried on our uniforms and took pictures. That made it feel real."
"It was surreal," added Stadtlander. "I was so happy that I finally got one of these (Northwest jerseys). I raced and earned it."
Beyond their race day uniforms, NXN runners bringing plenty of Nike gear home with them thanks to new NIL (name, image and likeness) rules for high school athletes taking effect last year. Heemeyer, Stadtlander and Max Cervi-Skinner said they took home their uniforms, arm sleeves, customized backpacks, warm up pants, a quarter-zip jacket, spikes, running shoes and everyday shoes.
The weekend provided much opportunity to mingle with runners from around the country. NXN, which began as Nike Team Nationals in 2004 before adding individual qualifiers in 2008 and rebranding as NXN, featured 44 total teams and nearly 400 total runners from nine regional championship races this year.
Heemeyer, Stadtlander and Max Cervi-Skinner said the community aspect was one of their favorite moments of the weekend.
"I got to meet a bunch of other people from like Heartland, from the South regions and Southwest," Stadtlander said. "I was mainly with the Northwest guys. They're a bunch of cool guys that were great to hang out with the whole time."
"Our team's been all over the country racing and I've been to multiple different types of running camps and met all sorts of people from all over the place," added Cervi-Skinner by phone. "It's cool seeing them at NXN and reconnecting, getting to know other teams and how they live their lives and how they run."
Heemeyer said she met several runners while waiting her turn at ping pong, finally able to put faces to names she's only read about or heard about.
"These are like some of the kids who you hear their names, but you don't picture meeting them," Heemeyer said.
The morning of Saturday, Dec. 7, was race time. Rain and mud are synonymous with NXN on race days and this year was no different. Last year, the course was soaked from several days of rain. This year, it was dry the two days before the race but there was a steady downpour by the time runners took to the starting line. Every qualifying team and individual was announced before the start of each race.
The girls ran first this year and the runners realized how slick the course was right away.
"Already from the start it was super muddy, super slippery," Heemeyer said. "It was kind of an out-of-body experience. We made sure our inserts and spikes were on. For the most part, we managed to stay on our feet."
The course was chewed up by the time the boys ran, and a tight turn before the 4k mark resulted in a number of runners slipping and falling. Stadtlander said he usually enjoys running in the rain, but the conditions at NXN altered his race plan quickly.
"The whole time, I was just sliding through the race," Stadtlander said. "That wasn't what I wanted. The race started and I lost my traction. My race plan kinda fell apart right before my eyes."
Max Cervi-Skinner said there was no foot and a half deep puddle on the course like last year, but he called this year's course worse due to the boys being the second to race. The boys and girls alternate who goes first each year. Last year, the boys ran first.
"We had bigger spikes than last year, but it was hard to get traction the entire race," Cervi-Skinner said. "There were definitely a few spots that I nearly fell. I did fall after the race."
Heemeyer said she and her teammates went into race day with the mentality of 'make the best out of it.'
"We could take this as a negative thing, but let's honestly just have so much fun and make it a little adventure," Heemeyer said of the conditions. "It was just another race."
Rocky Mountain and Coeur d'Alene both prioritized executing a strong start. Heemeyer said the Grizzlies train hills every Saturday, which allowed them to dig deep on Glendoveer, particularly the two terraces in the final kilometer.
"It can make up a lot of points in the end," Heemeyer said. "We knew obviously all the other regions have a lot of good teams. We knew this race would have a ton of good runners, so much more than we're used to. Our main goal was to race every part of it to the best of our ability. There's no expectations on us, so let's just go and try and do the best we can."
As one of four Coeur d'Alene runners who also raced at NXN last year, Cervi-Skinner said a big takeaway from a year ago was to start well and get in good position. The Vikings made up considerable ground to place 11th at last year's meet.
"Last year in the first kilometer, we were 22nd out of 22 teams," Cervi-Skinner said. "The whole goal was to lay it all out there. We were hoping for a top-five finish. Ninth place is better than we did last year, but not quite what we were hoping for."
The Grizzlies, Vikings and Stadtlander all had support on race day thanks to family, friends and coaches who traveled to Portland. For Heemeyer, she and Landon traded places. With Hallie watching, Landon placed 14th a year ago. On Dec. 7, he was among the supportive spectators for his sister.
"My brothers flew out from Utah," Heemeyer said. "Coach (Jeff Howard), our head coach, was our chaperone. All our other coaches flew out, too. I'm so grateful for all the support."
For Max Cervi-Skinner, race day was a moment of the present merging with the future. "There's a good group of parents and relatives that love to come out and watch us," Cervi-Skinner said. "I got to talk to my future college coach from Wake Forest."
Stadtlander also had family support at Glendoveer. "I had my coach and my dad and grandpa," Stadtlander said.
For Rocky Mountain, NXN brought to end a season of notable firsts. The Grizzlies won a program first girls cross country state championship, became the second Idaho girls team to win NXR Northwest Regionals and the fourth Idaho girls team to ever qualify for NXN. From Oct. 10 to Nov. 16, the Rocky Mountain girls won every meet on their schedule, making DyeStat.com's national rankings for the first time on Oct. 31 and ending the season with a No. 20 national ranking in DyeStat's final girls team rankings released Dec. 11.
"I always had a lot of faith in this group," Heemeyer said. "After last year, we lost a couple seniors and we didn't really know how this group would shake out. NXN has always been a reasonable goal, but the first time it seemed realistic was districts. It's crazy to look back at all the things that led up to this moment. In 2019, our team didn't even qualify for state. Five years later, we got to qualify for the national meet. We've been so blessed. We've poured our hearts out."
The Coeur d'Alene boys matched much of their success from last season, but with some new, younger faces on varsity. Beyond the Cervi-Skinner twins, Coeur d'Alene's five other NXN runners are underclassmen. With that new varsity lineup, the Vikings repeated as champions at Battle for the 509, Nike Hole in the Wall, Idaho's 6A state meet and NXR Northwest Regionals. The only meet they lost this season was the prestigious Woodbridge Classic on Sept. 21 in Irvine, Calif., where they placed fifth. They ended the season with a No. 9 national ranking in DyeStat.com's final boys team rankings released Dec. 11.
Coeur d'Alene is the only Idaho boys team to qualify for NXN.
"They're just a bunch of gritty, consistent guys," Max Cervi-Skinner said of his teammates. "They're focused and driven. They're committed to this craft and they'll be good for a while."
Stadtlander became a back-to-back individual state champion this season, winning the 6A boys title last month after winning the 5A boys title last year. He also joined the Cervi-Skinner twins and Boise senior Jack Sheesley in running sub-15 for a 5k, breaking 15 minutes three times and recording a personal best 14:55.6 at state. Stadtlander completed a Meridian sweep of the 6A individual state titles with fellow senior Paisley Taylor, a feat that has not occurred at the state meet for runners from Idaho's largest classification since 1975. He will continue his career at Oklahoma State.
While NXN did not quite go the way he hoped, Stadtlander said he is satisfied with his senior season.
"I definitely achieved the goal of going back-to-back state champion then winning state with Paisley then making it to NXN," he said. "NXN was a sour note to end on, but I'm so thankful for the whole season I had. Breaking 15 was another major goal I accomplished this season. I'm happy overall."
Cervi-Skinner, who started running with twin brother Zack in second grade, has track season to look forward to before continuing his career in college with Zack at Wake Forest. Max said he and his twin are 'very close,' and they planned all along to compete for the same college. He and Zack concluded their senior seasons with sub-15 minute times for the 5k---Max's personal best is 14:40.1, Zack's is 14:53.1--and as two-time NXN qualifiers.
"I was a cross country guy since elementary school, but I had no idea about what the world of cross country was," he said. "I didn't even know what NXN was as a freshman. If I were to show the things that I did to me before this season started, I'd definitely be proud. I like to set very lofty goals for myself. It hurts a little bit to say I didn't achieve some of those goals. If I were to look back on it, I'd say it's a very successful season."
Heemeyer, Cervi-Skinner and Stadtlander are all currently taking time off from running, albeit on different timelines. Heemeyer and her teammates are taking a couple weeks off from running, Cervi-Skinner and his teammates have been in the pool or on the bike and Stadtlander is taking one week off from running. All three athletes expressed pride at the opportunity to represent Idaho on the national stage.
"It feels super good to be a part of something like that and be part of something I also love doing," Max Cervi-Skinner said. "Not even just Coeur d'Alene, but the teams from all over Idaho making big jumps and doing so well. It's been really great to be a part of that movement."
"It's amazing," added Stadtlander. "It's just great that Idaho is getting deep and we're getting good."
Inspired by the tradition of pin trading at the Olympics, Heemeyer and her Rocky Mountain teammates took a little bit of Idaho with them to NXN.
"We got some Idaho potato pins we got from the Idaho commissioner and we handed them out at the race," Heemeyer said. "We feel very proud of where we're from. I definitely think it's so cool that we can represent our state."
Jane Hedengren of Utah, a BYU commit running in her first NXN, ran a course record 16:32.7 to win the girls race while New Mexico's Charlie Vause took the lead in the final kilometer to win the boys race in 15:28.1. Colorado swept NXN team titles: the Denver girls won with 75 points and the Niwot boys won with 70 points.
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