Ravenscroft School (Raleigh, N.C.) senior Ryen Frazier | Photo courtesy of Tammy Palmer
Ryen Frazier, the back-to-back Gatorade North Carolina cross country runner of the year and one-woman record breaking machine, finally ran out of challenges in the U.S., so she’s headed overseas.
OK, that might not be quite the full story, but it does get to the heart of Frazier’s next big event: The Bupa Great Great Edinburgh Cross Country Challenge, in Scotland. As reported by the News & Observer, Frazier will be among six different U.S. runners forming a junior American women’s team for the event, and they will face off against similar squads culled from the best cross country runners in Britain and the rest of continental Europe.
Frazier was selected for the team by USA Track & Field, which selected three high school seniors and three collegiate freshmen to fill out the junior women’s team for the event. The other two high school seniors selected where Anna Rohrer, the Indiana phenom who missed most of her regular season due to a foot injury but returned to edge out Frazier at the Foot Locker national championships, and Montana superstar Makena Morley. The collegiate freshmen rounding out the squad are Regan Rome (William & Mary), Katie Lembo (Providence), and Mary Grace Doggett (North Carolina State)
The same formula was used to seed the junior men’s squad, with three prep stars joining three collegiate freshmen on the team. The high school seniors making the trip to Scotland include Idaho native Elijah Armstrong, Wisconsin superstar Olin Hacker from Madison West High, and Big Bear’s Caleb Webb, the California champion. The three men collegiate runners are Andrew Rafla (Boise State), Cerake Geberkidane (Oklahoma State), and Joe McDonald-Hardy, a Seattle native running at Wisconsin.
Whether any of the American runners will escape with a division title remains to be seen, but it might be foolish to bet against Frazier or Rohrer. The duo has developed a nice little rivalry, and will definitely aim to outpace each other down the stretch, as Rohrer succeeded in at the Foot Locker championships.
Needless to say, a flip of the script would suit Frazier fine. And this time, if that doesn’t happen, she can still be happy for an international teammate.