Providence Day runner qualifies for Nike Cross Nationals

To contact us Click HERE

Providence Day cross country runner Ben Huffman finished fifth at the Nike Cross Southeast Regional Saturday, qualifying him for the Nike Cross National meet in Portland, Ore., Dec. 1.

Huffman finished with a time of 15 minutes, 22.8 seconds on the 5-kilometer WakeMed Soccer Park course in Cary, N.C. He was 13 seconds behind the first place finisher.

"Honestly, it wasn't a great race for him, but he's so mentally strong," wrote Providence Day cross country coach Ben Hovis in an email. "It was crazy windy on the WakeMed course, with the wind blowing in their faces going up the 600-meter hill (twice)."

The Southeast Regional included runners from Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. There were 229 runners in the Boys' Championship race.

Twenty-two seven-member club teams and 45 individual runners from across the country qualify for the Nike Cross Nationals.

For more, check out a feature on Huffman I did earlier this fall: "Providence Day runner gaining speed."

Learn more about the Nike Cross Nationals at www.nxn.com.