Rauber adds girls 15-18 championship to USATF women’s junior crown, with Norland winning boys 15-18 division; Engelhardt leads Valley United to big girls 13-14 double, with Cervi-Skinner brothers sparking North Idaho 13-14 victory

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Brooke Rauber ended the year just like she began, by winning a USATF cross country title.

Keller Norland of the Timberhill Harriers continued his streak of victories this fall, even before his official high school season in Oregon is scheduled to begin.

And Sadie Engelhardt of Valley United Track Club completed the most impressive two-week stretch of racing in the girls 13-14 division in more than two decades Sunday at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships at the Bourbon County cross country course in Paris, Ky.

RACE VIDEOS | INTERVIEWS | RESULTS

Rauber, a senior at Tully Senior High in New York, covered the 5-kilometer course in 16 minutes, 52.7 seconds to add the girls 15-18 division championship to the women’s junior title she captured Jan. 18 in San Diego, before securing the Under-20 gold medal Feb. 29 at the Pan American Cup in Canada.

The North Carolina State signee ran the fastest high school 5-kilometer time ever at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla., by clocking 16:54.9 to place second overall Dec. 5 in the 15-18 division at the AAU National Championships.

Rauber took runner-up to Stanford freshman and last year’s Foot Locker national champion Zofia Dudek, who set the all-time Apalachee 5-kilometer record by running 16:16.16, but wanted one more opportunity to compete for a title Sunday.

Pinecrest High sisters Carmen Alder (17:25.2) and Vanessa Alder (17:41.8) – the fastest of all the 15-16 athletes – were second and third overall representing Franklin Elite Athletics Track Club from North Carolina, less than 48 hours after competing in a 5,000-meter track race in South Carolina at the Five and Dime Athletics Meeting.

Hannah Ielfield of South Lewis Central in New York finished fourth in 17:59.5, Mia Loafman of Rogers High in Arkansas and Triple Threat Racing placed fifth in 18:22.1 and Texas commit Eva Jess of El Paso Franklin High, last year’s 15-18 champion representing Team Bliss, secured sixth in 18:28.4.

Triple Threat won the girls 15-18 team title with a 27-55 triumph over Valley Flash of Washington.

Engelhardt, an eighth-grader at Cabrillo Middle School in Ventura, Calif., completed an exceptional sweep of individual and team titles in the 13-14 division at both the USATF and AAU national meets, becoming the first female athlete to achieve the feat since the turn of the century.

Engelhardt, 14, covered the 4-kilometer layout in 14:31.4 to lead Valley United to a 36-66 victory over Multisport Explosion of Tennessee. Alexis Leone of Seton Catholic High in Washington, a freshman representing Whisper Running, was second in 14:47.1.

Tiffany Sax took 10th in 15:24.1, Cynthia Herrera was 23rd in 15:54.4, Jacelyn Gonzaga placed 29th in 16:08.3 and Arden Keeton secured 40th in 16:27.6 for Valley United, which also captured the AAU team title Dec. 5 by knocking off reigning champion and California rival Los Gatos Track Club by a 49-71 margin.

Engelhardt, the first female athlete to win both 13-14 individual national crowns in the same year since the mid-1990s, ran the fastest 4-kilometer time in history at Apalachee Regional Park by clocking 13:19.82.

Norland, a senior at Crescent Valley High in Oregon, ran the first mile in 4:31.9 and cruised to victory in the boys 15-18 division with his 5-kilometer effort of 15:14.6. It marked his third victory in five weeks, including a 15:16.5 time trial in Tillamook, in addition to winning the Yakima XC Meet of Champions in Washington in 15:49.

Nathan Lopez of St. Johns Prep in Massachusetts, representing New England Elite Track Club, was second in 15:35.8 and teammate Ryan Young of Londonderry High in New Hampshire took third in 15:39.4.

Lopez, last year’s USATF National Junior Olympic winner in the 13-14 division and the fastest among all 15-16 athletes Sunday, helped New England Elite capture the team championship by a 56-58 margin over Center Grove Track and XC Club from Indiana.

Drew Costelow, a sophomore at Center Grove, finished fourth overall in 15:40.3 for the runner-up team and Tillamook senior Marshall Bush placed fifth in 15:42.4 for the Oregon Road Runners, who secured third overall with 68 points.

Maximus Cervi-Skinner of North Idaho XC Club, runner-up in the boys 13-14 division Dec. 5 at the AAU championship meet in Florida, won his first national title by covering the 4-kilometer course in 13:16.83.

Thomas Latham of Alpha Crush Running Club in Georgia finished second in 13:22.25, with Jack Capes of Carmel Middle School in Indiana taking third in 13:33.25.

Zackery Cervi-Skinner, Maximus’ brother, placed fourth in 13:36.04, helping North Idaho also win the team championship with a 52-88 victory over the Ohio-based Grasshoppers.

Dylan Smith of the Parker Panthers in Colorado won the boys 11-12 individual title Saturday by covering the 3-kilometer layout in 10:22, with William Malueg capturing the 9-10 championship in 10:42.4, representing Jefferson Parks and Recreation of Georgia.

Micah Weber of Federal Way Track in Washington was the boys 8-and-under winner with a 2-kilometer effort of 7:29.8.

Jessica Abbott of Shore Athletic in New Jersey secured the girls 11-12 crown Saturday with a 3-kilometer mark of 10:57.2, with Ela Budzinski of New England Elite capturing the 9-10 championship in 11:53.5.

Angelina Alder, one of five family members competing during the two-day meet for Franklin Elite Athletics Track Club under the direction of parents Dan Alder and Janeth Alder, won the girls 8-and-under national title by covering the 2-kilometer course in 8:01.5.