Nike Cross Regional Heartland: By The Numbers

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Sunday, Nov. 13 at Yankton Trail Park, South Dakota 

States in the Heartland Region:  Seven

Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin

The regional meet will serve to qualify teams to Nike Cross Nationals for the first time since 2019.

BOYS

States represented at NXN/NTN:

Minnesota 22 times

Wisconsin 5 times

North Dakota 2 times  

South Dakota 2 times

Kansas 2 times

Iowa 1 time

*Missouri one time - Missouri was moved to the Nike Midwest in 2007

Nebraska has never qualified a team for Nike.

 

States with the longest streak, current:  

Minnesota 7 years. Minnesota has sent a team to Portland every year since the inception of NTN in 2004 except for 2012. 

Longest consecutive state streak all time:

8 - Minnesota 2004-11   

 

At-large bids:  2

2014  Lincoln High, Sioux Falls SD  

2015  Wayzata MN     

 

Current nationally ranked teams (as of 11/10/22):  3

Wayzata MN No. 17

Dowling Catholic IA No. 18

Stevens Point WI No. 20

 

Number of different teams to qualify for NTN/NXN: 16

 

Teams with the most national appearances:

Wayzata MN 9 times

Edina MN 5 times

Bismarck ND 2 times

Shawnee Mission KS 2 times  

Willmar MN 2 times

Middleton WI 2 times

Mounds Vew MN 2 times

Lincoln High, Sioux Falls SD, Hopkins MN, Dowling Catholic IA, Stillwater MN, Arrowhead WI, Eden Prairie MN, Potosi MO*, Yankton SD, Madison West WI, Marshall MN and Stevens Point WI have qualified once.

 

Longest team streak:

Wayzata MN 5, 2013-17  

Longest current team streak:

2 - Mounds View MN, 2018-19  

 

Highest national finish:

Wayzata MN second in 2014  

DyeStat preseason picks to qualify for NXN:

Wayzata MN

Williston ND 

Current Prediction:

Wayzata MN

Dowling Catholic IA

Note -- From the moment Dowling Catholic of West Des Moines went to the Roy Griak Invitational and beat Minnesota's top teams, it was clear that the NXR Heartland competition was going to be a good one. Minnesota teams have gobbled up most of the national qualifying berths in the past, but it does seem like there are viable contenders this year from Iowa, Wisconsin and North Dakota. Wayzata has been gaining momentum throughout the season and won the Minnesota Class AA championship last weekend. The Trojans are cresting at the right time and their pack might be the most solid 1-5. Dowling Catholic has a low stick with Jackson Heidesch and a good group behind him. The Maroons have had a week off and beat Wayzata by 19 points at Griak. Then there is Stevens Point of Wisconsin, a 2019 NXN qualifier, which put together a very strong state meet performance that is very nearly equal to what Wayzata and Dowling Catholic put together in their state meets. Those three are not separated by much and there are other teams that could rise up and beat a couple of them. Williston from North Dakota could be in the picture if its fourth and fifth can run a bit closer to the team's top trio, led by Fynn Krenz. Up front, along with Heidesch, race for individual berths should be entertaining as well. Simeon Birnbaum from Rapid City Stevens SD is a sub-four miler, after all, and looking to be in the national title picture. Wyatt Haughton from Shawnee Mission West in Kansas broke the Kansas state meet course record at Rim Rock Farm. Wisconsin champion Manny Putz, Minnesota Class AA champion Aidan Jones and last year's runner-up, Noah Breker, are among the challengers. 

 

GIRLS

States represented at NXN/NTN:

Minnesota 20 times

South Dakota 7 times

Iowa 5 times

Wisconsin 2 times 

Kansas, Nebraska and North Dakota have never qualified a team for Nike.

 

States with the longest streak, current:

Minnesota 12 years. 2008-19

 

Longest consecutive state streak all time:

12- Minnesota 2008-19

 

At-large bids: 0 

* The Heartland Region received three bids to NTN in 2004 and 2006.

 

Current number of nationally ranked teams: (as of 11/10/22): 3

Wayzata MN No. 8

Minnetonka MN No. 24

Olathe West KS No. 26

 

Number of different teams to qualify for NTN/NXN: 15

 

Teams with the most national appearances: 

Wayzata MN 5 times

Edina MN 5 times

Yankton SD 4 times

Sioux Falls Roosevelt SD 3 times

Dowling Catholic IA 3 times

Willmar MN 3 times

Iowa City West IA 2 times

Eden Prairie MN 2 times 

Lakeview North MN, Elk River MN, Neenah WI, Monticello MN, Eagan MN, East Ridge MN and Muskego WI have qualified once.

 

Longest team streak: 

Edina MN 5, 2015-19.

Longest current team streak: 

5 - Edina MN 2015-19.

 

Highest national finish:

Wayzata MN 1st 2013

 

DyeStat preseason picks to qualify for NXN:

Wayzata MN

Minnetonka MN

Current Prediction:

Wayzata MN

Minnetonka MN

Note: Minnesota has secured 15 of the past 16 automatic berths in the region during the past decade, with Muskego from Wisconsin earning its first qualifying berth to compete in 2019 at NXN. Olathe West has an opportunity to make history by becoming the first Kansas girls program to advance to nationals, but will likely need to secure an automatic berth since the region has never grabbed an at-large berth in meet history. Wayzata, led by Minnesota Class AAA champion and Colorado commit Abbey Nechanicky, is seeking its sixth trip to the national meet, which would be the most by any girls program in region history. Edina earned its fifth straight berth in 2019, but it will be challenging for the group to extend that streak after finishing third at the Minnesota 2AAA Sectional and not qualifying as a team for the state meet. Minnetonka is also pursuing its first national berth following a runner-up finish behind Wayzata in the MSHSL Class AAA final at St. Olaf College in Northfield. Minnetonka won the Heartland preview meet Sept. 10, but did so without Maya Mor in the lineup, with the senior adding more depth to a roster led by eighth-grader Evie Malec. Mounds View, the Minnesota Class AAA third-place finisher, along with Class AA champion St. Paul Highland Park, are also scheduled to compete. Olathe West took third Sept. 23 behind Wayzata and Cherry Creek from Colorado, which competes in the Southwest Region, at the Roy Griak Invitational and is looking to build off the momentum of a Kansas 6A state championship Oct. 29 on the Rim Rock Farm course in Lawrence. Muskego, the Wisconsin Division 1 winner, is also looking to recapture the magic of its 2019 performance, with Dubuque Hempstead – the Iowa Class 4A champion – attempting to become only the third girls program in state history to advance to nationals, joining Dowling Catholic and Iowa City West. Nechanicky, who helped Wayzata win the regional title as an eighth-grader in 2018, is the individual favorite, having won at Roy Griak and setting the record on the St. Olaf 5-kilometer layout by clocking 16:47.61. Nechanicky also has the potential to challenge the Yankton Trail Park all-time mark of 16:48.67 established by Tierney Wolfgram of Math and Science Academy at the 2017 regional meet. Sydney Drevlow of Hopkins and Luna Scorzelli of St. Paul Highland Park are Minnesota competitors capable of securing individual berths to NXN, along with Paityn Noe of Ballard Community and Adrienne Buettner-Cable of Des Moines Roosevelt in Iowa, as well as Katelyn Rupe of Salina Central and Anjali Hocker Singh of Olathe North in Kansas, plus Sara Mlodik of D.C. Everest in Wisconsin, Mia Murray of Lincoln East in Nebraska and Ali Bainbridge of Sioux Falls Lincoln and Libby Castelli of Sioux Falls O’Gorman in South Dakota.