Roper and Nowak Capture First Place Titles in 33rd Annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championships South Regional

RACE HIGHLIGHTS: Cali Roper of Conroe, Texas, and Craig Nowak of Cypress, Texas, won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships (FLCCC) South Regional today.  The girls race was dominated by a tight group of runners, including Roper, Grace Tinkey of Macon, Ga., and Sophie Chase of Burke, Va. With 400 meters remaining, Roper overtook Tinkey and Chase to win the race in 17:02, marking her first foray at the FLCCC South Regional event. Chase, a junior at Lake Braddock Secondary School, finished second in 17:06, qualifying for the FLCCC National Finals for the second consecutive year, with Tinkey, a junior at First Presbyterian Day School, placing third in 17:08. Tinkey is a three-time FLCCC National Finalist.

The boys went out hard and fast with the lead changing hands several times throughout most of the race. Nowak, a senior at Cypress Woods High School, finally pulled away from the pack with only twenty meters remaining, to capture the Regional title in 14:37. Two-time FLCCC National Finalist Ahmed Bile of Annandale, Va., claimed second in 14:38, with Daniel Vertiz of San Antonio, Texas, placing third in 14:40.