Wolfpack embracing challenge of racing two-time Nike Cross Nationals winner in Race of Champions in North Carolina, followed by rematch in California with Newbury Park at Clovis Invitational, all in an eight-day span

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The biggest showcase for all of the nation’s elite high school cross country programs remains nine weeks away at Nike Cross Nationals.

But there aren’t too many schools in the country that will have the opportunities awaiting the Great Oak CA boys team during the next two weekends.

Beginning Saturday with the 20th Great American Cross Country Festival at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., the Wolfpack will be challenged in an eight-day span by two potential boys national championship contenders, the latter coming Oct. 12 against state rival Newbury Park at the 41st ASICS Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif.

The first marquee matchup for Great Oak comes Saturday from two-time defending national champion Loudoun Valley VA in the Nike Race of Champions. The Vikings have also won the past two Race of Champions titles, as well as the past two Nike Southeast Regional championships on the WakeMed course.

No boys team in meet history has won three Race of Champions titles overall, let alone three in a row.

“I don’t think you’re going to get this type of a (regular-season) matchup very often, with teams across the country like this, where you’ve got really two of the top three teams in the country racing,” Great Oak coach Doug Soles said. “I think it’s going to be a spectacular show.”

Loudoun Valley prevailed against Great Oak by a 77-114 margin at last year’s Nike Cross Nationals to become the first boys team to win back-to-back championships and just the second program to capture multiple boys national titles, joining Arcadia CA in 2010 and 2012.

That created the motivation for Great Oak to travel this season to North Carolina to square off against Loudoun Valley on the same 5-kilometer layout the Vikings have run four times as a team under 77 minutes, 30 seconds the past two years.

Christian Brothers Academy NJ still holds the meet and course records from 2012, running 77 minutes flat, a mark that could be challenged Saturday by both Great Oak and Loudoun Valley. Brodey Hasty of Brentwood TN holds the individual meet and course records, running 14:32.2 in 2016.

“We’re trying to get everybody clicking, we’ve just kind of been a little bit off rhythm wise,” Soles said. “Most of the kids are just wanting to focus on the end of the season, so none of them have really cranked the (competitive) juice up yet, but we’re getting there. We’re hoping to have a better performance here and just get a big pack of guys up towards the front of this race and see how that stacks up. These trips go a long way for bonding and all the different things.”

Great Oak suffered a rare setback to an in-state rival Sept. 21 when Newbury Park produced a 36-69 victory over the Wolfpack in the Doug Speck boys sweepstakes race at the 39th Woodbridge Classic at SilverLakes Sports Complex in Norco, Calif.

“I would have rated our race at Woodbridge a ‘C-minus’ and it was the fastest race we’ve ever run for 3 miles,” Soles said. “For us, it’s just a matter of it coming together and when they all start clicking at the same time, we’re going to make huge jumps compared to what we did at Woodbridge.

“I’m trying to be patient because I know it’s there. The hardest thing, as a coach, is to come up with the talent. If you have talent and they’re just not ready to race super fast yet, that’s a good problem to have, so I’m not stressing about it at all. I don’t see a lot of teams mathematically being able to beat us when you look at what we’re capable of, and I think Newbury Park, Loudoun Valley and us have really separated ourselves at this point from the rest of the country.”

Great Oak is scheduled to race Gabe Abbes, Mateo Joseph, Aric Reza, Cole Sawires Yager, Christian Simone, Chris Verdugo and John Worthy. Joseph is hoping to bounce back after being knocked down in the first 100 meters at Woodbridge and finishing 56th overall.

Loudoun Valley is expected to line up Mateo Barreto, Kevin Carlson, Kellen Hasle, Jeremiah Mussmon, Taylor Ney, Carlos Shultz and Matthew Smith against a field that also includes Belen Jesuit FL, Bishop Hendricken RI, Huntsville AL, LaSalle Academy RI and Severna Park MD.

Simone, a junior transfer from Chaminade CA who led Great Oak with a fifth-place finish at Woodbridge, knows the Wolfpack is capable of rebounding from two weeks ago and rising to the occasion against a program the caliber of Loudoun Valley.

“I think our top seven right now is pretty solid, I just think we have more work to do,” Simone said. “We have a lot more on the table and there’s a lot more that we can do and I don’t think anyone should count us out. We’re going to come back with a vengeance.”

Great Oak is making its second appearance at Great American, with the boys placing second behind Cardinal O’Hara of Springfield, Penn., in the 2011 Race of Champions by a 119-129 margin.

Murrieta Valley is the only California girls team to place in the top three in meet history, taking third in 2002, a goal Great Oak also hopes to equal or improve upon Saturday in a race headlined by North Rockland NY senior Katelyn Tuohy, a two-time Nike Cross Nationals champion who has the potential to eclipse the all-time girls course record of 16:36.2 set in 2015 by former Leesville Road NC standout Nevada Mareno.

No California team, boys or girls, has captured a Race of Champions title in meet history, with Long Beach Poly joining Great Oak by placing second in the boys race in 2000 and Canyon Country Canyon finishing third in 2001.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got seven guys that could all be the No. 1, so we’ll see how it plays out. This is the most talented team I’ve ever coached. The 2015 team (that won Nike Cross Nationals) had three really good guys and some decent depth, but these guys, on any given day, could all be our No. 1 guy and finish in the top 10 in just about any meet,” Soles said. “This group is very competitive. I just have to remind them, ‘It’s not about who gets the glory, it’s just a matter of going out and running together.’ We’re still trying to put it all together in terms of going from a team of really good individuals to a team that’s hard to beat.

“I think Loudoun Valley and Newbury Park might be ahead of us in the game right now as far as that stuff goes, but I doubt they will be when it matters (in December).”