Solinsky, Top Returnee, is Top Finisher
By Becky Orfinger

Chris Solinsky just past the two-mile mark. (Photo by Alison Wade/NYRR)

As the top returning finalist from last year's Foot Locker Championships, Chris Solinsky had a lot of expectations to live up to. Shortly after the second mile of today's race, Solinsky made it clear that he wasn't going to buckle under the pressure. Perhaps it was the fact that dozens of his friends and family back home had come to see "The Rocket" win a national championship, or his after-school job lifting hundred pound bags of feed. Whatever the reason, Solinsky proved he truly was the best cross country runner in the country this year, winning the race by 20 seconds and tying Dathan Ritzenhein's record for the largest margin of victory in the history of this competition.

Before he took the lead, Solinksy was one of many running in a tight pack. Coming into spectator sight at the first half mile, there was no clear leader, but Bobby Curtis, Solinsky, Nef Araia and several others looked to be in control. Heading up the hill after going through the one mile mark at about 4:42, it was still anyone's race. When the boys came down the hill, it was a trio of Midwest teammates -- Solinsky, Araia, and Wesley Smith -- holding a slight lead over their pursuers. Steven Pifer, another Midwesterner, as well as Curtis and Matt DeBole, the top two finishers from the South regional, were not far behind the leaders.

Araia led at the two mile mark (9:37), with the Midwest-dominated pack only a few ticks behind, but by the time the runners headed up the hill for the second time, Solinksy had a clear lead. Behind him, Curtis, Araia, Smith and Kippy Keino occupied positions two through five. Solinsky really turned on the power as he turned the corner to go down the hill for the second and final time, closing the door on his pursuers. His finishing time of 14:41 tied for the third fastest time ever on the Balboa Park course, and was a personal record.

After crossing the finish line, Solinsky immediately headed over to his screaming fan club, hugging everyone he saw and thanking them for their support. Once the reporters finally got a hold of him, he explained a little bit about how the race unfolded. "I had originally wanted to go out in 4:35 [for the mile] and 9:20 [for the two mile], but I knew after seeing the course that I would have really paid on the second loop if I did that," he said. "I felt really, really comfortable on the first loop, like I was just out for a jog," he said. "And then on the back of the second loop, I had the legs left to go for it." Solinksy hopes to build on his success here and qualify for the World Junior Cross Country team.

Behind Solinksy, Ohio's Smith -- having what he later called "the race of his life," emerged from the pack in second. Araia seemed to be assured of third place until the last few meters, when three-time Foot Locker finalist Curtis launched a furious kick and outleaned him. Curtis's South region teammate DeBole rounded out the top five.