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2013 Press Release #3 - Nike Pre-Nationals

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Nike Portland XC   Sep 25th 2013, 3:32am
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2013 Press Release No 3 Posted 09/25/2013 (365 downloads)

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Ken Martinez, Aloha
High School Head Cross Country Coach
(503) 544-6111 / [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BEAVERTON, Oregon (September 23, 2013) - By Steven Sparks

What do two of the Nation's best female cross country runners have in common? According to their coaches, they are down to earth young ladies and they love to race fast!

On Saturday, September 28th at Portland Meadows, the Nike Pre-Nationals Cross Country meet will take place with two of the Nation’s premier female prep runners going head-to-head, again.

The race? The Jim Danner Championship starting at 3:40 PM

The runners? Ella Donaghu, a sophomore at Grant High School in Portland, is considered by DyeStat, a web page dedicated to Cross Country and Track and Field, to be the pre-season #15 runner in the nation. Two weeks ago in Portland at the Pier Park Invitational, Ella faced off against DyeStat’s #4 runner in the nation, Alexa Efraimson, a junior at Camas (WA) High School. In a very exciting race, Ella won by 0.10 of a second! On September 28th there will be a rematch!

Ella had a solid summer of training and enjoyed a great experience at the Steens’ Mountain Running Camp with some of her teammates. According to her coach, Ella has kept her mileage modest and is building to do big things later in the season.

Alexa also had a great summer and traveled to do some running. She was selected to represent the USA at the World Youth Games in Donetsk, Ukraine, where she ran the 1500 meters. In Alexa’s first taste of world stage racing, she placed third, earning herself a Bronze Medal!

Alexa has received a lot of attention from the media and running programs over the past couple of seasons. How does Alexa handle the attention? Her coach, Laurie Porter, explained that “Alexa is a very strong and confident person. She keeps everything in perspective.” Coach Porter continued, “Alexa’s goal for the season is to lead her team to a third straight Washington State cross country title!” While individual achievement is rewarding, Alexa looks to be a person who is very close to her teammates. “Alexa’s teammates love her and they all look up to her,” said Coach Porter.

When asked about the Nike Pre-Nationals meet, both Coach Porter and Coach Winn said their athletes are ready to race. Grant Coach Winn said, “Ella is always excited to go up against great competition. She has tremendous respect for Alexa and knows that a rematch will not be easy. Ella’s confidence is rock solid.”

Coach Porter said that “Alexa is very confident and ready to race Ella this weekend. Alexa is a strong competitor on any course.”

The Pacific Northwest is very fortunate to have two prodigious talents running in their communities. A third runner ranked by DyeStat as the #11 runner in the Nation is Sara Tsai, a junior at South Eugene High School. Unfortunately, Sara has recently sustained an injury and will not be able to compete with Alexa and Ella. However, there are other girls out there who will be competing closely with Alexa and Ella. “Ella knows that Hanna Gindleperger from Summit High School and Charlotte Corless from Sunset High School will be very worthy opponents, and she does not take racing against them lightly,” said Grant coach Doug Winn.

So here are two very pleasant and nice young ladies you should meet. However, you might want to wait until after the race because they will be getting ready to get down to business before the race!

For more information about the Nike Pre-National Cross Country meet, please visit www.NikePreNationals.com.

ABOUT THE NIKE PRE-NATIONAL MEET

The Nike Pre-National Meet was first run in 2007 at Portland Meadows. Before 2007 the meet was known as the Jim Danner Memorial Invitational and was first run in 1980 at venues across the greater Portland area. The Pre-National Meet is now held on the same course as the Nike Cross Nationals Meet held every December for the top high school cross country programs and individual runners in the nation. The Pre-National meet was created in part to allow prospective qualifying teams and individuals to race the national championship course and to raise the regional and national image of the competing programs.



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