The Nike Cross Nationals Northwest Regional cross country meet returns to Eagle Island State Park on Saturday for the third consecutive season.

Teams from Idaho, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming will race over 5 kilometers of grass, sand and packed dirt. Runners in the championship races, which begin at 2:05 p.m., will be competing for invitations to the national championship meet Dec. 5 in Portland.

A meet schedule, top course times, a course map and helpful links are located at the bottom of this story.

Idaho has yet to produce a top-two team finish at regionals — the standard to automatically advance to nationals. Third- and fourth-place teams will be considered for at-large berths after results from all nine regional meets are reported. Also, the top five individuals not on a qualifying team will be invited to compete in Portland.

On the boys side, three-time 5A state champion Eric Fitzpatrick of Boise and two-time 5A runner-up Cody Helbling of Lake City should be in the running for individual berths. The team race, however, will likely be settled by three teams from Washington.

Defending national champion North Central (Spokane) will be back to defend it's regional championship and was ranked third nationally in this week's DyeStat Elite/ESPN RISE FAB 50. Ferris (Spokane) is ranked fourth and Jackson (Mill Creek, Wash.) is ranked eighth.

On the girls side, the race for individual berths could feature four local runners — Eagle senior Liz Brandon, Bishop Kelly sophomore Emily Nist, Boise junior Kate Jamboretz and Boise senior Michelle Hickerson. Brandon was the 5A runner-up two weeks ago and Nist won the 4A title.

The top local girls teams entering the meet are 5A state champion Boise, 4A state champion Bishop Kelly and 5A runner-up Mountain View. Defending regional champion Jesuit (Portland) is ranked sixth in the DyeStat Elite/ESPN RISE FAB 50 and is the favorite to win. Two Washington teams, Shadle Park and Glacier Peak also should be in the running, but local teams running on their home course could sneak in for a berth to nationals.

GALEN RUPP ON HAND: The 23-year-old is already an accomplished runner. After breaking records in high school — most notably the 40-year-old 5k record, which he shattered by nearly seven seconds — Rupp became one of the most decorated runners in the the University of Oregon's history. He won five individual NCAA titles, one relay title and led his Ducks to two NCAA cross country championships. Rupp also qualified for the 2007 World Championships and the 2008 Beijing Games, both in the 10k.

NXN NORTHWEST REGIONAL SCHEDULE

10 a.m. — Grade School & Middle School boys & girls 3K
10:30 a.m. — Open & Citizen men & women 5K
11:40 a.m. — Girls Junior Varsity 5K
12:20 p.m. — Boys Junior Varsity 5K
12:55 p.m. — Girls Varsity 5K
1:30 p.m. — Boys Varsity 5K
2:05 p.m. — Girls Championship Introductions and National Anthem
2:15 p.m. — Girls Championship Race 5K
2:45 p.m. — Boys Championship Team Introductions
2:50 p.m. — Boys Championship Race 5K

FASTEST TIMES AT EAGLE ISLAND

Boys
14:49 (2007), Luke Puskedra, Judge Memorial (Utah)
15:16.6 (2006), Taylor Farnsworth, Highland
15:27.0 (2008), Jeff Howard, North Central (Spokane)
15:27.2 (2008), Barak Watson, Columbia (Nampa)

Girls
17:58.6 (2008), Alyssa Andrews, Gig Harbor (Wash.)
18:08.3 (2008), Liz Brandon, Eagle
18:16.6 (2008), Nicole Nielsen, Borah
18:16.9 (2008), Sandra Martinez, Yakima (Wash.)

HELPFUL LINKS
Dyestat.com: Find national and regional rankings, results and stories
IdahoXC.com: Loaded with statewide results.
Bob Firman Invitational: The last big meet at Eagle Island this season. See how locals stacked up against some of the region's best in September.
NXN Northwest Regional: The meet's official Web site.

COURSE MAP

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