By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 12-13 at the Bourbon County course in Paris, Kentucky.

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Here are five storylines to follow at the annual competition, which is expected to feature more than 1,400 athletes competing in both genders in five age-group divisions.

Engelhardt looks to earn rare double

Sadie Engelhardt, an eighth-grader at Cabrillo Middle School in Ventura, Calif., has an opportunity to achieve an impressive historical sweep Sunday in the girls 13-14 championship race.

Engelhardt, representing Valley United Track Club, has the potential to capture both individual and team titles at the AAU National Championships and USATF National Junior Olympic Championships in consecutive weeks.

DYESTAT DISCUSSIONS WITH ENGELHARDT

Engelhardt, who finished third in the 11-12 division in 2018 in Nevada and second in the 13-14 final at last year’s USATF Junior Olympics in Wisconsin, would be the first female athlete to sweep both USATF and AAU individual championships in her age group since the turn of the century.

She ran the fastest 4-kilometer time achieved in a cross country race by clocking 13:19.82 at Apalachee Regional Park to secure the AAU individual title Dec. 5 in Tallahassee, Fla.

Valley United, which prevailed by a 49-71 margin over defending 13-14 team champions and California rival Los Gatos Track Club at the AAU National Championships, won’t be competing with the identical lineup Sunday in Kentucky.

But with Engelhardt and Tiffany Sax, who was 14th at the AAU national final, both scheduled to race for Valley United, the group is still highly motivated to secure the 13-14 team title after placing second last year to the Colorado-based Kokopelli Racing Team.

Full schedule for the Alder family

Daniel Alder and Janeth Alder might be the busiest parents at the Bourbon County course with five children racing over the two-day meet for Franklin Elite Athletics Track Club.

Angelina Alder is scheduled to race first Saturday in the 2-kilometer race in the girls 7-8 division, followed by Michael Alder competing in the 3-kilometer event in the boys 9-10 division.

Pinecrest High teammates Carmen Alder and Vanessa Alder will open the schedule Sunday competing in the 5-kilometer race in the girls 15-18 division, also representing Franklin Elite Athletics Track Club, with Lily Alder participating Sunday in the 4-kilometer event in the girls 13-14 division.

If that wasn’t enough activity for the family for one weekend, BYU commit Carmen and sophomore Vanessa are both scheduled to compete Friday in South Carolina in a 5,000-meter track race as part of the Five and Dime Athletics Meeting at Columbia International University.

Daniel and his wife, formerly Janeth Caizalitin, met while attending BYU. Janeth is a 1998 South American Games gold medalist in both the 800 and 1,500 meters, in addition to representing Ecuador in the 3,000 at the 1992 Olympics. She still holds the Ecuadorian national record in the 1,500 with her 4:17.70 effort in 1990.

Dan and Janeth founded Franklin Elite Athletics Track Club in 2017 and the group has enjoyed consistent success at the national level ever since.

Carmen Alder won the 15-18 individual title last year at the AAU National Championships and is looking to achieve the same feat Sunday by capturing the USATF 15-18 individual cross country crown in a race headlined by North Carolina State signee Brooke Rauber of Tully Senior in New York.

Alder already won a 15-16 national track title in the 3,000 meters at the USATF Hershey National Junior Olympic Championships in 2018 at North Carolina A&T.

Lopez taking the next step

Nathan Lopez, a sophomore at St. Johns Prep in Massachusetts, won the national title in the 13-14 division last year.

Following a strong fall schedule, placing in the top five in all seven meets, Lopez moved up to the 15-18 division at the AAU National Championships in Florida and finished 31st overall, including ninth among the 15-16 competitors by clocking 16:06.52.

Lopez, representing New England Elite Track Club, will compete again Sunday in the 15-18 division, looking to get closer to his 5-kilometer personal-best 15:23, achieved Nov. 15 at the USATF New England Youth Invitational.

Lopez is seeking a third consecutive top-10 finish at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships after placing sixth in the 13-14 division in 2018.

The fastest entry in the boys 15-18 division is Alex Mainvielle, a senior at West Torrance High in California, followed by senior Keller Norland of Crescent Valley High in Oregon, representing the Timberhill Harriers.

Mainvielle, representing the Pacific Coast Shockwaves, placed seventh in the same age group at the AAU event by running 15:42.05 on the 5-kilometer layout at Apalachee Regional Park.

Jess tries to extend impressive streak

Since an 11th-place result in the girls 11-12 division in 2015, El Paso Franklin senior and Team Bliss athlete Eva Jess has finished in the top 10 at the USATF competition for the past four years, including a national title last year in the 15-18 race in Wisconsin.

Jess, who ran 17:35.5 last year in the 15-16 group to produce a faster time than Mary Caroline Heinen of Virginia clocking 17:46.2 in the 17-18 section, placed fourth overall in the 15-18 division in 2018 in Nevada. She also took sixth and ninth in the 13-14 division in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

The University of Texas commit is looking to rebound from a disappointing 25th-place finish for Franklin in the UIL 6A state final Nov. 24. Jess had finished second the year before and third at the Nike South Regional to advance to Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Ore.

Cervi-Skinner hoping to reach his maximum potential

Following a second-place finish in the boys 13-14 division Dec. 5 behind three-time AAU national champion Keegan Smith of Tennessee, Maximus Cervi-Skinner of North Idaho XC Club is looking to secure his first title in the final event of the meet Sunday in Kentucky.

Cervi-Skinner, who clocked 12:02.34 in the 4-kilometer championship race in Florida, finished seventh in the 13-14 division at the USATF meet in Wisconsin after placing fifth in the 11-12 group in 2018 in Nevada.

Zackery Cervi-Skinner, Maximus’ brother, finished 11th at the AAU meet and is still seeking his first top-10 finish in a national cross country competition Sunday.

Thomas Latham, representing Alpha Crush Running Club of Georgia, is also entered in the boys 13-14 division after placing fifth at the AAU national competition.