Nike Portland XC Preview
Nike Portland XC - September 26, 2026
Blue Lake Regional Park - Fairview, OR
Watch the preview of the meet HERE
Watch the meet live HERE
Aloha High School is hosting the 47th annual Nike Portland XC meet at Blue Lake Regional Park. The meet has over 3700 athletes from eight states the province of British Columbia. Here is the preview of the Jim Danner Championships.
Girls
Alyssa Gutierrez of St Francis travels with her team from Sacramento. Alyssa ran 17:17 on the 5000 meter state meet course at Woodbridge Park in Fresno which makes her one of the top returners in California. Alyssa also finished seventh in the deeply competitive Woodbridge Invitational Sweepstakes race. Carol Dye of Santa Margarita (CA) ran 17:22 at the Woodward Park state meet and finished 10th at 16:18 last weekend at Woodbridge's sweepstakes race. Jetta Betts of ThunderRidge of Colorado will come down from altitude after 17:32 at the Liberty Bell Invitational. Fellow Colorado athlete Kylee Hu of Cherry Creek finished close to Jetta at the Liberty Bell Invitational in a time of 17:38.
Eleanor Wyatt is the top returner from last year's Jim Danner Championship with her tenth place finish of 17:52. Ellie Williams moved from Turlock to St Francis and helps the Troubadours depth. Ellie recently finished fourth at the Kim Duyst Invitational in a 5000 meter time of 17:31. Ryan McClellan and Brighton Dance of Mt Si of Washington bring a 1-2 punch as they finished 1-2 at the PLU Invitational last week. Sophia Rodriguez of Mt Si will bring a 1-2-3 punch soon as she has to run JV for the first part of the of the season with her move to Mt Si. Sophia will run the Junior/Senior JV race at Nike Portland XC. Maya Hoxie of La Serna ran an impressive 17:00 at last week's Woodbridge Classic. Sophia Service of Tigard is one of the top Oregon 6A returners and has finished fourth at The Opener and Oregon City Invitational. Kate Westfall of Camas won last year's division 1 race at Nike Portland XC and will race in the Danner Championship this year. Molly Schoolmeester of Banks fourth last fall at the Oregon 1A/2A/3A State Meet as a freshman and finished second earlier this month at the Ash Creek Invitational at Western Oregon University.
Who will take home the Jim Danner Championship Nike backpacks on the girl's side? St Francis started the season ranked fifth on DyeStat's preseason ranking and looks to be the favorite. ThunderRidge of Colorado started the season ranked 19th on DyeStat's ranking and will be the main challenger. Fellow California division 3 rival of St Francis, Santa Margarita will also be in the mix. Despite not having Sophia Rodriguez available to race varsity on Saturday, Mt Si is deep enough to challenge too.
Boys
In the boy's Jim Danner Championship, the top returner from the 2025 Jim Danner Championship is Ashenafi McKinnis of North Eugene who finished eighth last year in a time of 14:58. Ashenafi is undefeated so far this season with wins at The Opener and the Marist Invitational. Will he continue his unbeaten streak? Lord King Nana-Badu-Weah of Battleground may have other ideas. He finished tenth last year at the Jim Danner Championship with his time of 15:03. William Thompson of La Serna will be new to the Jim Danner Championship and last week ran 14:07 at the Woodbridge Classic. Two years ago at Woodbridge, William ran 21:59 as a freshman. William looks to improve even more on Saturday.
Paul Hretcanu of Tigard is the two-time defending 800 meter champion at the 6A Oregon State Meet. If Paul is in the front pack with 100 meters to go, watch for his 800 meter speed! Faysal Ibrahim of David Douglas outstanding fifth place finish in the Oregon 6A Cross Country State Meet last fall propels him as one of the top runners in the Danner Championship. Corbin Sage of Marist is used to be in front of the pack as he won Oregon's 4A division last fall in cross country. Jack McDaniel of Grant is the leader of the nationally ranked Grant High School Generals. Joaquim Sandoval of Warren ran an impressive 14:27 last weekend at the Woodbridge Classic and will be a factor. Franklin has been one of the top teams in Oregon in the last decade and Max Gallagher is one of many talented runners at Franklin. Reuben and Judah Tevelde of Meridian (WA) look to be the class of the Washington 1A State Meet and will also be athletes to watch on Saturday at the Jim Danner Classic.
Grant High School of nearby Portland received a 37th nationally ranking from DyeStat in the preseason and has an opportunity to prove their ranking. Crescenta Valley are coming off a competitive team race at Woodbridge Classic and hope to take home the Jim Danner Championship. Torrey Pines from the San Diego Section also ran in the competitive sweepstakes race at Woodbridge and will challenge. Franklin High School is from the same league as Grant and will have their sites on the top teams in the Jim Danner Championship.
Look for galleries of Nike Portland XC after the meet!
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