Ferris, Mead chase national championship

Unlike his state champion brother Isaac (in 1995 and 1996) and sister Emily (1997), cross country runner Peter Hawkins has received little individual recognition.

But as the No. 5 runner on Ferris’s distance team, Hawkins accomplished something his elder siblings didn’t as an important component on back-to-back team state-title wins.

Number five will be as important as number one for the Southside Farm Team (Ferris) given the nature of the intent of the inaugural Nike Team Nationals Saturday in Portland, Ore.

Billed as the only true national championship of traditional high school sports, 41 of the best boys and girls cross country teams from across the country are converging on Portland Meadows Race Track Saturday for a horse race of their own—to decide the verity of mythical national rankings compiled by media entities such as The Harrier magazine.

Hawkins and his state titlist Saxon teammates will be joined by the North Spokane Harriers (state runner-up Mead) among the 21-team boys field. Ferris is rated No. 3 in the country in The Harrier’s Super 25 National Rankings, behind Fayetteville-Manlius of New York and York Elmhurst from Illinois. Mead runners are ranked 16th.

“To have two teams from the Greater Spokane League (in the race) is unprecedented and a big honor,” said Mead coach Pat Tyson. “It just shows again how the GSL and Spokane is a distance powerhouse and has respect around the United States.”

The idea for the Nike Team Nationals germinated a couple of years ago, said Nike spokesperson Maggie Mahler, by people who thought it would be nice to have a true national team championship event.

“People got involved who were experts in the sport,” Mahler said.

The various entities have created eight regional team rankings and used them, as well as the national cross country poll, as a basis for choosing the qualifying teams.

Top two teams from each region, plus four at-large choices, were selected for the first NTN. Ferris was first in the Northwest Region, ahead of Jesuit from Portland. Third- and fourth-placers, Mead and Eisenhower in Yakima, were among the at-large selections.

There were glitches. Some state activities associations wouldn’t sanction such an event for it’s member schools and the Foot Locker West Regionals, a race for individual runners, conflicts with this Saturday’s Portland race. As a result six regional No. 1 teams, five of them girls teams, won’t compete

But a concession was worked between Footlocker, a presenting sponsor of the NTN and Nike out for Western Region individual. The top two West finishers in both boys, where Mead’s Laef Barnes is a contender, and girls races at the Nike Team Nationals will compete in the Foot Locker nationals Dec. 11 in San Diego.

To work around High School Federation and state association concerns, each team at the Nike Team Nationals is entered as a track club and in many states, Washington included, high school coaches cannot be involved.

Eight runners from each has had their airfare paid and will be outfitted with uniforms and shoes by Nike.

“The kids will be treated as royalty for three days,” said Tyson.

Cross country is tailor-made for runners like Peter Hawkins. Seven make up a team and all are important to the outcome of a race. The top five team finishers, based upon their placing, determine a team’s point total. Low score wins.

There are horse races at Portland Meadows until 8 tonight, said Nike’s Mahler. Race officials will have 12 hours to set up the 5-kilometer course.

“It follows in the tradition of European meets with a 2K multiple loop and man-made obstacles,” she said.

There will be hay bales to navigate and large mud hills to conquer on the otherwise flat course.

“It’s going to be great,” said Mahler. “We’re expecting 5,000 spectators who will have a continuous live view of the race. On top of that we’ll utilize FinishLynx tracking technology on each runner and post team scores live every kilometer.”

Ferris coach Mike Hadway said the South Side Farm Team—named by Hawkins after the club of the same name which is affiliated with Stanford where his brother Isaac ran collegiately—can contend for the NTN team title.

“I think the guys have a really good chance,” he said. “The (top-ranked) team’s runners are just behind ours in terms of respective times and I think it is so close between the top four or five teams.”

The top four fifth place team runners will be presented an “anchor award” recognizing their importance to the team results, Mahler said.

Peter Hawkins was Ferris’s fifth man, his come-through a big reason the Saxons won their first title in 2003, and again No. 5 in the team’s dominant repeat in the fall.

“When I ran number five at state (in 2003),” said Hawkins, “I was our seventh man going in and no one expected much out of me. Someone had to step up.”

He talked with his brothers before the race and they told him to bury the demons of doubt, be a believer and race like he knew he could, Hawkins explained.

This year’s team was so tight knit that only 20 seconds separated the five Saxons scorers. That’s why Hadway and Hawkins both feel that the Farm Team can make a strong showing at the NTN.

“At the beginning of the season we were ranked fourth nationally and whatnot which is nice,” said Ferris’ ASB president. “But ultimately we wanted to prove we’re No. 1 not just in the city, regional or state. We’re definitely going to Oregon to make a statement.”

And have some fun.

“It only took a couple of thousand miles (of training),” said Hawkins, “but it was worth every mile, step and injury.”