Foot Locker Girls XC — Leachman Scores Back-To-Back

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, December 14 — Never, ever count out Beth Leachman (Champion, Boerne, Texas).

Thanks to her teammates, she now counts as a 2-time Foot Locker champion.

The junior said she hit rock bottom and seemingly had her season end prematurely when she walked off the course after 2M at her Regional, an undiagnosed respiratory condition again rearing its head at the worst time.

“My team was able to still qualify [for State] without me finishing,” she said, “which saved my season because I wanted to come back at State and do all I could to race for them,” said Leachman, who also suffered a stress reaction in her femur over the summer.

“My fitness just wasn’t where it needed to be and I was ready to shut it down — until my team made State.”

And that was how Leachman’s season was not only salvaged but resurrected to produce a second Foot Locker title.

Ironically, her recent illness might be credited for making her a bit better racer as well.

Last year at Nike Cross Nationals, Leachman followed her textbook aggressive early pace and paid the price royally, swallowed up by an all-timer field on a challenging course as the co-favorite instead settled for a distant 15th-place finish. A week later she employed a far more conservative start to win Foot Locker Nationals in one of the fastest times in meet history.

With missed training due to both injury and illness this year, she said her limited fitness levels have forced a more reserved racing pace in the opening half of recent races. That’s resulted in more steady recent efforts, where she still courts just enough aerobic reserve to excel.

“At NXN last week, I was just hoping to edge in for a Top 15 or so finish and maybe make All-American, but really thought even that was a long shot,” said Leachman, who said her heart rate was skyrocketing close to 200 beats per minute during her recent bout with the flu and other breathing issues. “[Doctors] took tests but couldn’t find the problem. I know other runners around the country who’ve had similar issues this year without any answers. It’s been really weird.”

Leachman, a noted fitness fiend who reportedly spent 2 hours in the hotel gym upon arrival into Oregon for NXN before being ushered away to her room, shocked herself with a 3rd-place finish in Portland.

“That was a huge confidence boost and made me think that maybe another week of training and recovery might lead to a good showing at Foot Locker.”

Unlike last year, this year’s Foot Locker finale delivered a far more conservative clip — 20 seconds slower at the mile — an approach that landed directly into the wheelhouse Leachman’s body needed.

By the final mile, early leader Zariel Macchia of New York had fallen off the pace and a rematch between Leachman and eventual NXN runner-up Victoria Garces of Michigan presented itself. Leachman grabbed the lead before the final climb and never relented, prevailing by 8 seconds but in a winning time 41 seconds slower than last year.

“The pace was slower this year… and that’s exactly what my body needed,” Leachman said. “By the last hill, I was feeling good and the chance to win again was like a dream.”

A dream come true.

Leachman said she looks forward to some down time this winter before possibly running at the Millrose Games — but possibly not.

“We’ll see how I feel,” she explained. “I might even wait until Nike Indoor. I’m just hopeful for the future. Leachman’s 2024 winter campaign was of such quality she earned selection as High School Indoor Girls Athlete Of The Year.

“Things looked so bleak last month but then it began to come together. I can’t thank my teammates enough.”

---

FOOT LOCKER GIRLS

Teams: 1. South 35; 2. Midwest 36; 3. Northeast 74; 4. West 95.

Individuals (5K): 1. Elizabeth Leachman (S) 17:31.1; 2. Victoria Garces (MW) 17:39.9; 3. Zariel Macchia (NE) 17:49.6; 4. Ruby Ihmels (MW) 17:50.5;

5. Libby Dowty (MW) 17:55.9; 6. Kerrigan Chaney (S) 18:00.9; 7. Lilly Beshears (S) 18:04.0; 8. Virginia Kraus (NE) 18:04.6; 9. Jaelyn Williams (W) 18:04.9;

10. Macy Wingard (S) 18:06.9; 11. Sophia Bendet (S) 18:08.0; 12. Norah Hushagen (MW) 18:08.9; 13. Brooke Chapman (MW) 18:14.1; 14. Emily Cohen (MW) 18:16.9;

15. Rosie Mucharsky (MW) 18:19.9; 16. Kate Foltz (MW) 18:20.1; 17. Cassidy Armstrong (W) 18:21.7; 18. Caroline Barton (S) 18:23.0;

19. Abby Faith Cheeseman (S) 18:25.5; 20. Mallory Weller (MW) 18:28.6; 21. Adria Favero (W) 18:30.1; 22. Brooke Strauss (NE) 18:32.7;

23. Liliah Gordon (NE) 18:33.5; 24. Jessica Jazwinski (MW) 18:37.3; 25. Dylan McElhinney (NE) 18:40.1; 26. Chase Gilbert (NE) 18:42.1;

27. Carolina Areheart (S) 18:43.2; 28. Kate Loescher (S) 18:45.4; 29. Allison Lee (NE) 18:50.3; 30. Ayanna Hickey (W) 18:52.4; 31. Jazzlyn Garmer (S) 18:53.0;

32. Tatum Flach (W) 18:57.8; 33. Eleanor Raker (W) 19:00.5; 34. Erika Kirk (W) 19:15.0; 35. Lillian DiCola (NE) 19:18.5; 36. Sadie Krueger (W) 19:21.9;

37. Nicole Alfred (W) 19:31.8; 38. Tess Sherry (NE) 20:50.2; 39. Liv Sherry (NE) 21:45.3;… dnf—Chiara Dailey (W).