CIF California Cross Country State Championships 2013 Presented by FarmersNov 26, 2013 by FloTrack Staff
CIF 2013: Could Sarah Baxter beat Jordan Hasay?
CIF 2013: Could Sarah Baxter beat Jordan Hasay?
By Aaron Rich
The CIF State Cross Country Championships are on the line this Saturday and the meet promises to be one of the best in recent memory. A big part of that excitement centers around Simi Valley senior Sarah Baxter. This year marks Baxter's final cross country season and state championship meet, as well as one of the most remarkable 4 year spans of running the state, and perhaps the country, has ever seen.
Sarah's dominance over the state begs the comparison to another all-time great from California who ruled her time. Of course, I am talking about Mission Prep's Jordan Hasay. Both girls burst onto the scene as talented freshmen. Both girls run fearlessly from the front, pony tails bobbing with the pace. And both girls were rarely beaten on the cross country course. In fact, Baxter has never been beaten over hill and dale by another high schooler.
Hasay was the best of her time in California, blasting course records and winning everywhere she went. Hasay began turning heads as a freshman, winning the California State XC meet and then becoming a Foot Locker champion, only the second frosh in history to accomplish the feat. On the state level Hasay continued to win big as she won state titles in each of her four years of high school.
Nationally, however, there were better runners. As a sophomore Hasay was 10th at Foot Locker and as a junior she finished 3rd overall. In her senior season, 2008, Hasay was once again unstoppable as she went undefeated in California and won a second Foot Locker nationals title over the 2007 champion, Ashley Brasovan from Florida.
Flash forward to September 2010 at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic. Sarah Baxter, in her high school debut, won her race in 16:46 and was the second fastest of all the runners in the meet. She proceeded to sweep through the rest of the season undefeated and won the Division 1 state title with the fastest time of all runners.
Her sophomore season went similarly, undefeated and a state title as the fastest runner in the field out of all divisions. She also won her first national title by taking the Nike Cross Nationals race over some notable talent in Haley Pierce, Katie Knight, Jillian Fanning, Amy-Eloise Neale and the newly minted Nike athlete, Mary Cain.
Perhaps people were thinking of Baxter as one of the best runners in California state history at that point. Perhaps they were even thinking of placing her alongside Hasay as the state's best.
Baxter's junior season changed all that. To be more specific, one race and 3 miles changed all that.
As a junior Baxter was winning her races as usual and entered the Mt. SAC Invitational as a heavy favorite. From the start of the race Sarah got out hard and by the time she crossed the finish line no one in attendance could believe what they had just witnessed. Sarah erased the 11 year old course record by 16 seconds and ran a time of 16:00 on the fabled layout. Even the great Hasay had 'only' turned in a time of 16:27 at Mt. SAC.
With that perfect race Baxter put herself in the conversation to be one of the best US prep cross country runners of all-time.
But she wasn't done.
Sarah returned to Portland Meadows and won a second straight NXN national title. This time conditions were horrible with very deep mud, but Sarah is a cross country runner, and great cross country runners adapt and win anyway. The runners in her wake that year included Mary Cain, Katie Knight, Alexa Efraimson and Elise Cranny.
Sarah's senior year is hardly a coronation, there is still work to be done. And of course there are a host of talented harriers around the country who aren't afraid of her. Though they ought to be, as she is one of the most fearless and driven runners many have seen in a long time. Not a coronation, but if all goes according to plan and Sarah wins a 4th state crown and a 3rd straight National title in Portland, it can be said: Over the past 4 years we bore witness to the greatest prep cross country runner of all time. Period. Case closed.
If you happen to be in Fresno, CA or Portland, OR over the next two weeks take a moment and just watch Sarah Baxter as she runs by, driving forward, pony tail bobbing in tow, and be captivated. Just like Jordan Hasay used to captivate fans during her time as a prep athlete. Because then she'll be gone from the prep ranks forever, just as quickly as she came.
And just like Jordan Hasay, she'll be an Oregon Duck, captivating fans at Hayward field. Or perhaps more fitting, she'll be captivating fans out on the cross country course, where grit and guts trump victory laps.
The 2013 CIF State Cross Country Championships will be streamed live on Flotrack starting at 8 a.m. PST.
The 2013 CIF State Cross Country Championships will be streamed live on Flotrack starting at 8 a.m. PST.