Washington Reigns at Borderclash 9

BorderClash  9   2007


The Washington State Teams brought it today to the Nike campus, wrapped it up in a big box, put a Green Bow on it and brought it all back home.(after watering it a little)

The Washington Boys, lead by Miles Unterreiner of Gig Harbor 14:13 and Jonathan Lafler of Tahoma 14:17, dominated today.  16 of the top 20 runners, on  the Washington Team.    
                            

The Washington Girl, led by 4 time Borderclash attendee, Nicole Cochran of Bellarmine Prep, 16:23 did the same.  13 of the top 20 girls were from, guess where?  WASHINGTON!

You’ve been hearing all the same names for quite a while:
Kayla Evans of Tacoma, 16:27
Devon McMahon of Redmond 16:38
Sarah Lord of Redmond    16:42
Sandra Martinez of Yakima    16:45
Bronwynn Crossman of Bellingham 16:47
Bridget Berg of Ballard, the list goes on.  16:54

The Washington Sate girls have been delivering consistent, outstanding performances.  Every race has offered a  steady decrease of times and an increase of top performers.

The next 2 weeks with, NTN and Footlocker, around the corner should put a lot of theses names on the lists all over the country, not just in the NW.

The boys list is just as familiar and holds the same promise of great things to come in the next 2 weeks.

Kevin Rosaan of Wilson 14:26
Kelly Lynch of Mead         14:30    
Rob Webster of Puyallup    14:32
Ryan Prentice of Mt Rainier        14:33
Justin Rose of Colvile and on and on.    14:34

The day was about the worst I have ever seen for a cross country meet.  The temperature hovered in the mid 40's, and it rained, and rained , and rained.  First it rained a little for the girls race at 10:30 and then it rained a lot for the boys race at 11:30

The rain continued thru the awards ceremony but the excitement and pure thrill of a job well done seemed to make it just a bit dryer.

This year the Washington HS running scene impressed me with a distinct difference than previous years.  This years teams had such a high level of quality runners and such a large amount of them. Both the boys and girls teams, across the state offered 20 -30 runners deep of great talent, strong desire and unlimited potential.  Whenever I talked to any of theses top athletes,  the common theme, respect for the other runners desire and potential to win at any given race.

This respect and consideration really came home today at the Nike Campus.  These teams of top athletes, many of whom had been battling each other for the last 4 years, came together, melted their talent and desire into the great teams the all deserve to be members of.

For Immediate Release


WASHINGTON TAKES 7TH TITLE IN THE 9TH ANNUAL NIKE BORDERCLASH

 

The Top 160 High School Runners from Oregon and Washington

Compete For Pacific Northwest Bragging Rights; Series Now Stands at 7 - 2

 

Beaverton, Oregon – November 18, 2007 – An estimated crowd of 2,000 gathered Sunday on the Nike Campus and watched as Team Washington won the ninth annual Nike BorderClash competition.  The competition featured two separate races, one for the girls and one for the boys. Miles Unterreiner of Gig Harbor, Washington, won the boys’ race with a time of 14:34:34 and Nicole Cochran of Tacoma, Washington took first in the girls’ race with a time of 16:23.70.  Each team’s girls’ and boys’ scores were then combined to determine which state would be crowned "Champion of the Border."  The series now stands at 7-2, Washington.

 

Nike BorderClash is a cross country showdown to determine the best running state in the Pacific Northwest.  The annual event features the elite high school runners from Oregon and Washington in a dual meet format. Forty girls and forty boys from each state are selected each year based upon their finishes at their respective state cross country championships.  Staunch competitors during the race season, athletes from each state join together to rally as one team under their state’s flag.  Nike elite athletes Michelle Sikes and Matt Tegenkamp were in attendance to cheer on the talented runners.

 

“As a company founded by runners, Nike has had a long-standing passion for cross country,” said Josh Rowe, Nike Youth Running Sports Marketing Manager.  “BorderClash is a great way to honor the strong rivalry that exists between Oregon and Washington and to showcase some of the best runners in the country.”

 

As in years past, Sunday’s race featured a unique and exciting “Braveheart” style format; drum bands heightened the atmosphere as each team started on separate starting lines, ran directly toward the other team for the first 100 meters and then merged onto the 4.4K course through Nike’s campus. Along with an overall grand trophy awarded to Washington, trophies were awarded to the top 10 finishers in both the boys’ and girls’ races.  The championship trophy will now reside in Niketown Seattle until next year’s competition.

 

 

About Nike, Inc.
NIKE, Inc. based in Beaverton, Oregon, USA is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Bauer NIKE Hockey Inc., a leading designer and distributor of hockey equipment; Cole Haan® a leading designer and marketer of luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Exeter Brands Group LLC, which designs and markets athletic footwear and apparel for the value retail channel.

 

For race results and further details, visit: www.borderclash.com