The Heat at JO XC in Reno

The Heat Cross Country Team won the Youth Boys division at the Junior Olympic National Championships held in Reno on Saturday.

The Heat had its first five runners finish in the top-40 places and showed great depth by having 10 runners in the top-70 spots.

Connor McCarthy, who earned All-American honors by placing 10th overall, led the team. Also earning All-American status were Caton Avilla (17th place) and Aidan Goltra (21st place). Gabe Arias-Sheridan (27th place) and Nolan Petersen (38th place) rounded out the scoring spots.

"Our great team depth was the difference," said Heat Coach Eric Petersen. "Jacob Schlachte, Brynn Sargent, Tim O'Shea, Adler Faulkner and Sean Aylward all figured in the scoring. With so much talent on the team we were able to handle individual performance swings and extreme changes in course conditions.

"We raced twice in Reno this season, the first time was sunny and dry with temperatures in the 40s. Last Saturday the course was buried in snow with more falling all the time. The team was strong both times, but the finishing order of the boys was significantly different."

In addition to the National Championship win for the youth boys, the Heat also placed third in the under-12 boys' division. Peter Schlachte led the way with his 16th-place finish, earning All-American honors. Helping put the team on the podium were Michael Dunne, Kahale Warring, Ben Zaeske and Daniel Tang. The Heat had another seven individuals earn All-American status, a new team record and one of the best overall team performances at the National Championship meet. Julia Bounds was second in the Bantam (under 10) girls' division. In the Bantam boys' division, the Heat had three All-Americans: Tim Falls (7th), Alex Sokol (16th) and Sam Reynolds (23rd). Sophie Hartley continued her string of All-American finishes by placing 12th in the youth girls' division. In the Intermediate girls' division (ages 15 -16), Natalie Dimits earned All-American honors with her 19th-place finish. In the Intermediate boys' division, Parker Deuel led the way with a 14th-place finish. This was his eighth All-American award making him one of the most decorated runners in team history.

"We had an amazing season," McCarthy said. "The entire team worked tremendously hard all season. There were lots of long hilly runs in 100-degree heat in August, and hard intervals on cold, rainy days in November. It is very gratifying to see all that hard work pay off. This team proved they are the best in the country."

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