Stanford freshman Dudek crushes women’s 5-kilometer record by running 16:16.16 at Apalachee Regional Park, Harrison elevates into top 10 all-time for prep male performers; Stewart, Michalak lead Colorado-based Kokopelli girls to one-point win over Loomis Elite of California, with Le Roux guiding boys lineup

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Mary Albl of DyeStat/Todd Grasley for DyeStat

Nearly a year after her Foot Locker championship run, Stanford freshman Zofia Dudek demonstrated she hasn’t lost a step.

For Rheinhardt Harrison, his encore performance Saturday at Apalachee Regional Park was even more impressive than the first act.

And Kokopelli Racing team from Colorado secured a sweep of the titles in both 15-18 championship races, but not before relying on junior Riley Stewart and freshman Bethany Michalak to prevail by one point in a thrilling girls battle with Loomis Elite Distance Running Club from California.

The AAU Cross Country National Championships in Tallahassee, Fla., showcased several outstanding performances, but none more exceptional than Dudek, 18, who competed in a cross country race for the first time since capturing the Foot Locker individual crown as a senior for Ann Arbor Pioneer High in Michigan and eclipsed the all-time women’s 5-kilometer course record on the prestigious Apalachee layout.

Dudek clocked 16 minutes, 16.16 seconds, smashing the mark of 16:50.3 achieved Oct. 2 at the Florida State Invitational by Mercy Chelangat of Alabama.

Only six collegiate female athletes had ever produced sub-17 efforts at Apalachee before Saturday. Dudek also led a group of high school standouts to four of the top six prep girls marks ever recorded at the venue that is scheduled to host the NCAA Division 1 Championships in November.

Brooke Rauber, a North Carolina State commit from Tully Senior in New York, ran the fastest high school time in history at Apalachee, taking second overall to Dudek in 16:54.90.

“I was really satisfied. It definitely means a lot. I was glad I was able to finish it off with a PR and sub-17, and it’s just amazing for me,” Rauber said. “It was really nice to be able to go down here, the weather was definitely a lot better, and there were a lot of really good girls. I was just happy I got to come down here because it’s my senior season, so I got to finish it off good.

“I didn’t really have a plan going into the race, I just tried to stay as close as I could (to Zofia) and I knew that whatever happened at the end I want to be happy with it. From the beginning (Zofia) kind of went, but I just tried to stay as close as I could.”

Audrey DaDamio, a senior at Ernest W. Seaholm in Michigan and a future teammate of Dudek at Stanford, took third in the wave and fifth overall in 17:18.40. Lauren Ping of Desert Vista High in Arizona, representing Ahwatukee, was sixth in 17:20.62, Caroline Wells of Winter Springs in Florida – the former course record holder at 17:16.5 – took seventh in 17:20.95 and Julia David-Smith of Issaquah High in Washington was ninth in 17:23.65 among the individuals competing unattached.

“I got out a little slow, taking some time to catch up to the chase pack at the mile mark. From there, Lauren, Julia, and I tightened the pack and started catching up to Caroline, who went out with Brooke at the start. I used the final hill to my advantage, passing the girls in my pack as well as Caroline. It was my plan to start kicking with the final hill, and I was glad to have been able to execute that plan well,” DaDamio said. “If I could change one thing about the race, I would have pushed the second mile more. Our pack’s 2-mile split was about 15 seconds slower than that of the girls in the first (team) race. My final 1.1 miles was pretty fast and I felt strong through the finish, so I think if I’d pushed the beginning part more I may have come away with a faster time and a better overall finish. I was unsure of the times the girls in the first heat ran, so knowing that information may have helped as well.

“Still, I’m really proud of the way I competed. It was a pretty tactical race for me, which was fun, and good practice for collegiate running. I also really enjoyed reconnecting with some Foot Locker girls and meeting some of the NXN girls.”

DaDamio, Dudek and Stewart were all members of the Midwest lineup at last year’s Foot Locker final that placed nine athletes in the top 20 overall, led by Dudek winning in 16:45, the fastest winning performance in San Diego since 1994.

“Zofia absolutely killed it. I know that it was nerve wracking for her to toe the line for the first time in almost a year, but she was able to use her nerves to propel her to run fast,” DaDamio said. “She’s clearly really fit, and seeing her improve so much over last year, when she was a national champion, is really exciting because it shows that she has excelled in her transition to college. I’m really excited to be able to be teammates with her next year, and I look forward to working together to achieve our goals.”

The goal for Stewart and Michalak from the outset of the first wave, which only included scoring teams, was to push the pace in pursuit of sub-17 performances. Although they finished third and fourth overall, Stewart in 17:02.04 and Michalak in 17:14.84, it was enough to lead Kokopelli past Loomis Elite by a 37-38 margin to capture the team championship.

But Stewart was also thoroughly impressed with Dudek’s triumphant return, especially after watching her run 15 seconds faster at the mile mark and 32 seconds ahead of the pace at the 2-mile split established in the first wave by both she and Michalak.

“I didn’t know how she was going to come back. I knew she was going to be good, but I didn’t know she’d be that good,” Stewart said. “She came back stronger than she was before, and she was already amazing. It was really incredible what she did.”

For Stewart, it was the third major team title in seven weeks, including winning the 5A state crown with Cherry Creek on Oct. 17, followed by leading the same group competing as the Colorado Bruins to the title Nov. 15 at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions, presented by The Garrett Companies, in Terre Haute, Ind.

Kokopelli Racing also had Aspen Fulbright of Pueblo West finish 17th in 18:07.48, Nina St. John of Mountain Vista place 28th in 18:25.54 and Madelyn Blazo of Pine Creek clock 18:39.79 to secure 31st.

“It feels amazing to do it with such a great group of girls and to have these experiences with such amazing Colorado runners. To win state and to win again in Indiana with my high school team and then to finish it off with this group (in Florida), being able to end on such a high is just incredible,” Stewart said. “Me and Bethany really wanted to work with each other and push one another from the beginning because we didn’t know what was going to happen in the other race.”

For Michalak, the top ninth-grader in the country this year, blocking out nagging shin pain during a challenging final mile Saturday in order to achieve the team goal of winning a national championship after capturing the 4A individual state crown Oct. 17 for Air Academy was the ideal conclusion to a memorable debut season at the high school level.

“All the Colorado athletes I’ve been running against all year are all so talented and really tough, but our goal was to come out here and kick some butt. I think there was an amazing spirit shown by all of us,” Michalak said. “We have a pretty incredible team and we all wanted to run with each other and for one another. It feels amazing to share this experience with them.”

Loomis Elite, which held a projected nine-point lead over Kokopelli Racing at the 2-mile mark, was led by Del Oro junior Riley Chamberlain placing third in the wave and eighth overall in 17:22.43. Harper McClain, an Oregon signee from St. Helena, was 13th in 17:48.51, Natalie Wieland from Ponderosa placed 19th in 18:12.21, fellow junior Cate Joaquin of St. Francis High in Sacramento took 21st in 18:14.88 and Del Oro freshman Karissa Chamberlain earned 30th in 18:35.91.

The Colorado Penguins (106), Trail Distance (126) and Stout Road (143), all representing Colorado, rounded out the top five girls teams.

Kokopelli Racing also prevailed by a 49-80 margin over Bullseye Running from Maryland to capture the boys team title, followed by New England Elite with 109 points and Lake Cities from Texas with 112 points.

Erik Le Roux of Cheyenne Mountain posted the top time in the team wave for Kokopelli Racing by clocking 15:13.66, only to have Harrison, a junior at Nease High in Florida, respond with a 15:08.72 in the unattached wave to ascend to the No. 8 all-time prep performer on the 5-kilometer layout. Harrison had run 15:26.9 on Nov. 14 at Apalachee to capture the 4A individual championship.

“I was hoping to have the opportunity to run against Erik but unfortunately that didn’t happen. My goal this race was just to take it easy and go do what I love. It was a super fun event and the race turned out just how I wanted it to,” Harrison said. “It was really cool to see everything come together. I have run a faster time on another course, so it wasn’t a PR for me today, but the goal was just to win. Getting ready for indoor track now.”

Sadie Engelhardt, an eighth-grader in Ventura, Calif., who represents Valley United Track Club, won the girls 13-14 division title with a 4-kilometer effort of 13:19.82, holding off Sydney Collier of the Cascade Striders in Washington (13:21.93).

Keegan Smith, an eighth-grader at Knoxville Catholic in Tennessee, won the boys 13-14 division crown with a 4-kilometer performance of 11:49.39.