White Places 17th at Champs XC Nationals

Orono junior Ruth White toed the line against some of the best runners in the country at the Champs Sports National Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Balboa Park in San Diego, California.

Results | Photos

White the two time New England and Maine Class C State Champion qualified for the meet after finishing fourth in the Northeast Regional qualifier two week ago. Ruth found herself in unfamiliar territory once the gun went off as she was 30th place after the first 800 meters which she covered in 2:43 but still just eight seconds out of first. At the mile mark she had moved up five spots as she crossed in a fast 5:29.2 and that trend continued over the next half mile as well she erased another five. Hitting the two mile mark in 11:23.1 she moved up three more spots to 17th overall. At the 2.5 mile mark, White moved up to her highest spot in the race 15th which she held up until the three mile mark which she crossed in 17:11.9. In the end she gave back two spots over the final kick finishing 17th overall in a strong 17:55.5.

 White joined an elite group of Maine high school athletes that have competed at the XC National Championship race in San Diego over the years. Her time bettered that of recent Maine female competitors, only bettered by Abby Leonardi's 17:35.3 from 2011.