Ask any top high school cross country runner what they would want, and it would be to peak in the last and most important race of the season.
Liverpool senior Jenna Schulz can proudly proclaim that she did just that when she traveled to Portland, Oregon and roared to a 13th-place finish in Saturday’s Nike Cross Nationals.
It took Schulz finishing third in Nike’s New York/Northeast Regional race Nov. 30 at Bowdoin Park just to earn that berth in Portland, where once again America’s top cross country teams and individuals gathered.
They would race over the Glendoveer Golf Course, a 3.1-mile odyssey through woods and hills and, as often happens in Oregon in December, plenty of rain that turned the course into mud.
Accustomed to tough conditions in Central New York, the North Carolina State-bound Schulz made her way near the front of the field right after the start and would stay there amid a strong local contingent.
Ultimately, Schulz crossed in 17 minutes, 56.5 seconds, that 13th-place effort less than a minute behind the winning 17:18.4 from North Rockland superstar Katelyn Tuohy, who won the Nike Cross Nationals for the third year in a row.
Not only did Schulz run well, so did her future N.C. State teammate, Claire Walters, who led Fayetteville-Manlius as she got to fourth place in 17:28.4. Tully’s four-time state Class D champion, Brooke Rauber, was seventh in 17:38.6.
And capping off a tremendous day for New York State runners, Saratoga Springs took the team title with 78 points, well clear of runner-up Summit (Colorado) who had 160 point. Saratoga had finished second to F-M in both the state Class A and New York/’Northeast regional races.
