Methner wins Foot Locker Boys National Championship

Hart, David earn All-American honors in Girls race

By Michael Newman

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Josh Methner made his final high school cross country race an easy and memorable one. The senior from Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Ill. pulled away from the rest of the field just after 2-kilometers to win the Foot Locker National Boys Championship Saturday morning at Sand Diego’s Balboa Park.

Methner’s winning time was a comfortable 15:08. He was eight seconds ahead of Carter Solomon of Plymouth, Mich.

In reality, this race was not that close. While runners behind Methner were in all out sprints to the finish collapsing afterwards, Methner’s approach to the finish line was effortless as if he had already started his victory lap.

I really did not have any race strategy today,” Methner said. “I was just feeling out the pace and see who would make a move first. I made that move just after a mile to see if anyone would go with me.”

There was no strategy of this 40 runner field in the first mile of the race. The pace was pedestrian as the field stayed within three seconds of each other going through 800-meters in 2:16 and the mile in 4:48.

Solomon made a move from the middle of the pack to get to Methner’s side just before the mile. That was his strategy just trying to work with his future teammate. The two runners will attend the University of Notre Dame next fall.

“When Josh made his move, all I could think was there he goes,” Solomon said. The Michigan runner finished fourth in this race a year ago. “That is what he (Methner) does the best.”

Methner becomes the fifth Illinois runner to win this title.

Methner is the sixth title from this state winner joining Jorge Torres (1998), Matt Withrow (2002), Lukas Verzbicas (2009/2010), and Dylan Jacobs (2017).

His season has been nearly flawless with only his second-place finish in last week’s Nike Cross Nationals his only loss of the season.

“This is really special,” Methner added. “This has been a long eight weeks, so this finish today is special. My coach and my teammates have been working hard all four years. So this feeling, it’s icing on the cake right now.”

Bob Liking of St. Charles East IL capped off a strong senior season in this race finishing 24th place overall in this 40 runner field. Liking was in the top 25 throughout the entire race moving up at the end. It finishes a great season where he earned All-American honors last week finishing 19th along with being the top runner for his team’s state championship squad in November.

Methner knew he had the race won when he passed 1.5 miles into the race. The Girls race was not decided until the final meters of the race when Zofia Dudek of Ann Arbor, Mich. pulled away from Marlee Starliper of Wellsville, Penn. to capture the championship in a fast 16.45.0 winning time. Starliper’s time was 16:46.8.

The fast time in this race was not possible without Katelynne Hart of Glenbard West IL pushing the pace from the outset. Hart finished fourth overall (17:14.4) behind the third place finish of Abby VanderKooi of Fremont, Mich. (16:55.2).

Hart got herself to the front alongside of Bethany Graham of Aldie, Va. n the first 880 yards of the race as the two runners led the pack through a blistering 2:26 first 880.

The pace started to pick up and Hart was the runner that was applying the pressure similar to how she did in her 2018 Foot Locker race.

The Illinois state champion led through the first mile in 5:09 with Dudek a second back along with Taylor Ewert of Dayton, Ohio who was another second behind. If you wanted to be in contention for the title, you had to be close at this point as the group held on.

It was different for Starliper as she was in the top 10 about six seconds behind Hart’s lead. Starliper, who finished fifth the week before at the Nike Cross Nationals, disclosed after the race that she was sick with a fever two days before this race. The conservative approach was working for her as she started to work her way towards the front.

Hart continued to push the pace but could not shake the other runners that willed themselves to stay close. By 2-miles, Dudek was along side Hart as the two passed that point in a fast 10:43.8 with VanderKooi just a step behind the two. Starliper was now three seconds back with Ewert and looked to be the strongest of the five.

As they climbed the final hill of the race just after that 2-mile point, Dudek and Starliper made a surge with VanderKooi in tow. Hart just could not keep that pace as started to fall back.

The final 400-meters of the race was exciting as first Starliper tried to stretch the lead but Dudek would not let go. Dudek made a surge 200-meters later holding off the relentless charges of Starliper in the final stretch.

“I wanted to finish this season with a strong kick,” Dudek said after the race. “ The only thing that was going through my mind was to get to the finish and to get there as fast as possible.”

“I needed to stay patient and trust my instincts and remember what happened last year,” Starliper said recalling her 13th place finish in this race from a year ago. “I was just hoping for a kick-off at the end.”

Hart ended her high school cross-country career with a fourth-place finish in this race. She has finished in the top five in this meet three times finishing second in both the 2017 and 2018. What people will remember on this day is how she made this race pushing the pace from the outset.

“NXN did not go as I had planned as I put to much pressure on myself. I just had to come here and refocus,” said Hart. “I knew last year’s race went great. I executed the race plan I wanted. I obviously faded at the end. Just coming off last week this race means a lot to me. It was definitely a better way to end my cross-country season.”

She ends her career in cross country a seven-time All-American and a four time Illinois Class 3A State Champion. Hart will go down as the greatest high school runner ever to come out of this state.

“It hasn’t hit me yet that my high school cross country career is over. It has been a long season,” Hart added. “I’m going to enjoy the holidays and then get ready for track. I already started talking to  my coach on what races I am going to run. I am excited for track this spring.”

Whereas the high school cross country career is over for Hart, it has just begun for Tatum David of Richland County IL. The freshman ended her first high school cross country season successfully staying in the top 10 throughout this race and finishing 10 overall. David was the second freshman finisher in this race trailing only Carly McNatt of Bradenton, Fla. who finished eighth.

David was the only freshman nationally this year to earn All-American honors in both national races. She finished 17th last week at Nike Cross Nationals.

“This was really excited today. I was just hoping I would finish in the top 10 or top 15,” David said. “This was a good experience to come here with some of the freshmen and see what it is like and what it will be like for years to come.”