By DIXIE KNUTSONThe Daily Inter Lake

Final Foot Locker run for Zoe

Nelson hopes to qualify for a 4th National Finals

It's nervous time for all the area cross country runners interested in this weekend's Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.

Flathead senior Zoe Nelson is part of a large contingent of Flathead and area athletes that Flathead cross country coach Paul Jorgensen will shepherd to Saturday's 26th annual West Regional at Mt. SAC Walnut, Calif.

Flathead athletes who will compete are: Elliott Welder, Sean Clark, John Fairweather, Dan Windauer, Seth Grossman, Aaron Wilson, Carl Nystuen, Justin Barth, Orion Bras, Seth Svennungsen, Tera Klein, Chelsea Burfeind, Carly Brown and Nelson.

Two junior high boys are also making the trip to Walnut, Calif. They are eighth grader Dan Howell and seventh grader Alec Surynt.

Other area runners competing include Bigfork's Brooke Andrus, Dane Steward of Plains and Theron Truman of Eureka. Billings, Bozeman, Big Sky and Helena Capital also plan to take several kids.

But all eyes will be on two-time regional champion Nelson.

She's qualified all three years of her high school career for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals (only two women have qualified four years).

She won the National Finals as a sophomore.

But this year she says her approach to the regional will be different.

"I think I'll just try to take my first mile out a little conservatively,"Nelson said.

"This isn't the race I'm concerned about," she explained.

"If it's a close race, I'm not going to work hard to come in first.

"Last year, I think I was really concerned about winning (regional). All around last year, I let the stress get to me," Nelson added."

"Last year (Nelson) had to work pretty hard to win and I think it took a little bit out of her," Jorgensen agreed.

One week later, she was eighth at the National Finals.

So her main priority Saturday will be to place among the top eight and claim a spot at the Dec. 11 championships in San Diego.

"I think this year I'll be a little more laid back," she said. "If everything goes well, I should make it, but stuff can always happen."

"It's hard to tell how well she'll do," Jorgensen said. "Obviously, she'll do well. But how well?

"You want to qualify. That's the main thing. There's no given. There's no guarantee your top runner will even qualify. But Zoe has been consistent."

The Mt. SAC course is known for being difficult.

"The whole thing is hard-packed dirt. It's really hard," Nelson said. "It's kind of famous for having these three big hills."

The first is switchback hill, the second is poop-out hill (short but very steep) and the third is reservoir hill.

"It must be bad, if they have their own names," she joked.

But first things first.

Regional race time for the girls is 10 a.m. and at 10:45 a.m. for the boys.

Top competition this year arrives in the form of Marie Lawrence, a sophomore from Las Vegas, Nev., who finished second at the Finals last year.

"I expect her to be tough this year," Jorgensen said of Lawrence. "She'll probably want to win it."

As for the other Flathead runners, Carly Brown also has a chance to qualify for national, the coach said.

"She'll have to run her best race ever to qualify, but it's definitely within the realm of possibility."

The rest don't have such lofty expectations.

"They want to improve, not only on time, but have a good race," he said.

"We've been training for six weeks now. They haven't raced for six weeks, so they're ready to go. They've actually worked pretty hard," he added.

"Sometimes kids have a tendency to slack off, but not these kids. They seem real enthusiastic as far as their training."

For Jorgensen, the next two weeks are the among the most enjoyable of the year.

Saturday will be his 19th regional.

"I've done this a long time. It's fun. It's gotten into my blood. It's exciting. It's fun to go down and watch these kids.

"Going to a race like this kind of plants a seed. If you do well, it's a motivational thing.

"I think going to Foot Locker is one of the best things we do that benefits our program. "