Inaugural Nike Track Nationals Draws 24 Qualifying Clubs
National championship event at legendary Hayward Field on Friday, July 2; ten event decathlon-style scoring to determine best U.S. high school track & field program

E-mail this page  Printer-friendly page Related info: Running USA

Posted Thursday, 1 July, 2010

From Ryan Lamppa, Running USA

BEAVERTON, Ore. - Nike has announced the 24 clubs to qualify for the first ever Nike Track Nationals. This national championship event, to be held on Friday night July 2nd at famed Hayward Field, will name the best high school track & field program in the United States.

With the goal of crowning a true national track and field champion, Nike Track Nationals is a four-month virtual competition culminating in the national championship event where the top 12 boys and top 12 girls programs will compete for the title via decathlon-style scoring the night before the Prefontaine Classic.

"The qualifying teams at this year's Nike Track Nationals competition represent the best high school aged runners across the country," said Nike's Vice President of Running Amy White. "Moving from the on-line portion of this competition to winning the championship event at Hayward Field will depend on how these amazing athletes come together and show what it takes to be a winning team."

Qualifying Teams - Girls and Boys
NW = Kentwood TC - Covington, WA and Sam Barlow TC - Gresham, OR
SW = Chandler TC - Chandler, AZ and Brophy Prep TC - Phoenix, AZ
HL = Hopkins TC - Minnetonka, MN and Bismarck TC - Bismarck, ND
SO = Clinton TC - Clinton, MS and Spring TC - Spring, TX
MW = Lee's Summit West TC - Lees Summit, MO and Kentwood TC - Kentwood, MI
SE = Western Branch TC - Chesapeake, VA and Brookwood TC - Snellville, GA
NE = Columbia TC - Maplewood, NJ and Franklinville TC - Franklinville, NJ
CA = Long Beach Poly TC - Long Beach, CA and Vista Murrieta TC - Murrieta, CA
At-Large = Harvard-Westlake TC - North Hollywood, CA and Dana Hills TC - Dana Point, CA
At-Large = Trabuco Hills TC - Mission Viejo, CA and Wayne TC - Huber Heights, OH
At-Large = Desert Vista TC - Phoenix, AZ and Brentwood TC - Brentwood, TN
At-Large = South Brunswick TC - Monmouth Junction, NJ and Loyola TC - Los Angeles, CA

NTN Background:
From March 1 - June 13 all track & field clubs were invited to compete in the virtual competition at www.NikeTrackNationals.com by inputting times and records set at USATF meets. Coaches updated marks weekly to see how their squad ranked against state, regional and national competition. Upon completion of the virtual competition on June 13, the top club in each of eight regions automatically qualified for the Nike Track Nationals competition in Eugene, Oregon on July 2. The next four highest scoring clubs from any region rounded out the twelve team field.

Clubs will compete in ten track & field events including: 100m, 110/100m Hurdles, 400m, 800m, Mile, Long Jump, High Jump, Pole Vault, Shot Put, Discus Throw. Each team is allowed to enter their top mark for each event, with a two-event maximum per individual athlete. Those marks will then be scored in decathlon fashion with performance marks awarded a point score. Although competition consists of ten events, the lowest scoring event will be dropped, making the total score the sum of their best nine events. The highest score takes homes the national crown.

In addition to commentary and highlights from the Nike Sportsdesk, the Nike Spike Bus will be on hand for athletes to customize their spikes. In addition, ten Nike elite athletes and Olympians will be on hand throughout the meet to provide color and interact with competitors including Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards and Bernard Lagat.

For more information, go to: www.NikeTrackNationals.com