Katy (Texas) won’t be going to the state championship game for the first time since 2011, and this defensive stand with 90 seconds remaining against North Shore (Galena Park) make certain of that fact.

Katy had the ball on fourth-and-1 and rather than opt for the tie to potentially force overtime, the Tigers went for the score and the lead. North Shore’s Jacoby Allen hit Katy’s Josh Oglesby for a 1-yard loss and a turnover on downs.

“I just felt like you get up on them, it would make them have to score a touchdown to beat us,” Katy coach Gary Joseph told the Houston Chronicle. “They’d have to drive the ball. We did pretty well all game long. We just didn’t get it when we had to have it.”

North Shore walked away with the 20-17 victory in a Class 6A Division I Region III semifinal Friday.

This as the third time that Division I and Division II big-school state champions met in the playoffs the following year — the others were in 2006 and ’07.

Katy and North Shore have combined for 10 state titles, with eight belonging to Katy. The Tigers had been to the state title game each year since 2012, with wins in 2013 and 2015.

The atmosphere was crazy even by Texas standards with fans lining up for a 4 p.m. CT kickoff at 6:30 a.m., lines going around the stadium, standing room only going three and four rows deep and, according to reports, the fire marshall eventually having to stop fans from coming in.

The attendance was listed as an overflow crowd of 19,000, according to reports.

In the end, Allen downed host San Angelo Central 34-21 in what was being billed as West Texas vs. the Metroplex. Some said the matchup was the biggest football game ever to be played in San Angelo. The loss snapped San Angelo’s 22-game home winning streak.

A back-and-forth high-octane offense first half turned into a defensive battle in the second, in part because of heavy rain. Of the 55 points scored in the game, 52 came before halftime and just three after. Nonetheless, San Angelo’s 21 points were its fewest in a game this season.

In all, Central outgained Allen 385 to 324 but as hurt by turnovers.

RELATED: This one-handed catch by San Angelo Central will leave you speechless

Allen (13-0) awaits either Duncanville or Arlington Bowie in the 6A Division I regional final Saturday at AT&T Stadium. That will be a much shorter ride after the six hours needed to get to San Angelo on Friday morning.

Despite rain, Allen ran for 324 yards, led by 152 and a touchdown from Brock Sturges.

“I enjoyed the bus ride down here and spending time with my teammates,” Sturges told Gannett partner The Standard Times after the game. “Now we’re going to stop at Whataburger and head home.”

Trailing 14-7 late in the first quarter, Allen quarterback Mitchell Jonke went to work as the Eagles scored 21 unanswered points.

Jonke ran for a 46-yard TD with 3:57 left in the opening quarter to tie the game at 14-14. His 10-yard TD pass to Josh Cornell with 11:46 left in the first half gave Allen a lead it would not relinquish.

Jonke hit Carson Schleker for a 43-yard score with 8:15 remaining in the half and a 28-14 lead.

Central answered as Cal Vincent connected with Henry Teeter on a 48-yard TD pass less than two minutes later to cut the margin to 28-21. Vincent left the game late in the second quarter with a shoulder injury after he got caught between two Allen players. Vincent was 15 for 20 for 154 yards and the two TDs before having to watch the rest of the game in street clothes.

Michael Ewton nailed a 48-yarder with 2 seconds left in the half and Allen took a 31-21 edge into the locker room. Ewton’s 46-yarder midway through the third quarter capped the scoring.

“We hadn’t been having turnovers all year, but in this kind of (wet conditions) it just makes it tougher, but we’re not making excuses,” Central coach Brent Davis said. “Allen came to town and they played extremely well. That’s a great football team. You can see why they’re No. 1 in the state, but I thought we went toe-to-toe with them. One of these days we’re going to get one of those guys in this third round.”

No. 4 DeSoto (Texas) lives to play on.

In a shocking ending, DeSoto recovered a fumble at midfield and Shawn Robinson ran in for a 13-yard touchdown with 49 seconds remaining and a 49-45 victory against Abilene in a 6A Division 2 regional semifinal.

After DeSoto (13-0) scored to cut the lead to 45-42 with more than two minutes remaining, DeSoto tried an onside kick that was recovered by Abilene (11-2).

Abilene quarterback Petyon Killam, who had been terrific all evening, ran the ball twice, but on the second play the ball was fumbled. DeSoto recovered at its own 48.

KD Nixon ran for 34 yards on the first play of the drive and then five on the second to move the ball to the 13. That’s when Robinson took over and went into the end zone.

On its final possession, Abilene moved the ball to the DeSoto 44 with seconds remaining, but two incompletions ended the game.

The final margin was DeSoto’s only lead of the night after it spent the game trying to dig out from a 24-7 hole after the first quarter. In the first half, DeSoto had three fumbles and gave up a pick-six.

Before the winning score, DeSoto had moved to within three points three times in the second half.

Robinson completed a 69-yard pass to KD Nixon to cut the margin to 31-28 and the Eagles defense then forced a punt. The next DeSoto drive ended with a Robinson interception and Abilene took over near midfield. After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Abilene ran on six of the next seven plays and scored on a 10-yard run by Killam to extend its lead to 38-28 after three quarters.

DeSoto answered with a five-play drive that ended with a 42-yard TD pass from Robinson to Laviska Shenault Jr. to cut the margin to 38-35 at the end of three quarters.

A key play in the fourth quarter was a defensive stand by Abiline midway through the fourth quarter. Abilene knocked DeSoto backward on a pair of running plays, including a fourth-and-2 at the DeSoto 31 with 7:32 left in the game. That gave Abilene a short field.

Abilene cashed in with a nine-play drive that used the clock and was capped by Killam’s five-yard TD run for a 45-35 lead.

And still, Robinson was not done. He led DeSoto on a five-play drive and this time connected with Shenault for a 55-yard score to trim the lead to 48-45 just more than two minutes remaining.

DeSoto finished with 642 yards of offense – 341 passing from Robinson and 301 on the ground, including 119 yards from Robinson. He finished with three passing touchdowns to go along with two interceptions and a rushing score. Nixon had 80 yards rushing and 111 receiving. Shenault had five receptions for 123 yards.

For Abilene, Killam threw for 109 yards and a touchdown and ran for 101 and two touchdowns. Abram Smith ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

DeSoto advances to meet Cedar Hill (11-2 ) in a rematch of DeSoto’s 33-18 win in September. It was the first time DeSoto had beaten Cedar Hill in three years.

No. 12 Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.) is heading back to the state semifinals after holding off McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.), 31-28, on Friday night in a AAAAAAA quarterfinal.

In a tight contest as expected, the teams were tied 21-21 at halftime and the final moments included some drama.

Mill Creek (13-0) extended its lead to 31-21 as Cameron Turley found Ace Williams for a 64-yard touchdown with 3:09 remaining. It was their second TD connection of the game.

McEachern (11-2) answered with 1:41 left as Bailey Hockman hit Quay Holmes to cut the lead to 31-28. Hockman finished with four touchdowns on the night.

Mill Creek’s Jack Powell recovered the onside kick, but McEachern had all three timeouts remaining.

McEachern stopped Mill Creek on a third-and-6 run by Joe Thomas with 1:20 remaining, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty provided a first down. McEachern had a final timeout, but Mill Creek was able to go to victory formation and close out the win.

Mill Creek had taken a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter, but the score was tied before the quarter ended. Each team scored in the second quarter to go to the locker room at 21-21.

Mill Creek faces No. 20 Grayson (Loganville) next Friday.

Here is the schedule for games of Nov. 25-26. All times Eastern.

SUPER 25 RANKINGS: Expert | Computer

Trinity’s Alec McGuire, left, takes a bite on the 2016 6A Semi-State Champion trophy after the Rocks beat the St. Xavier 24-14 Friday night (Photo: Matt Stone, Courier-Journal)

1.  Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas (13-0)

Saturday at Arbor View (Las Vegas) in a Sunset Region final, 4.

2.  Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif. (13-0)

Beat Rancho Cucamonga in Southern Section Div. I semifinal, 48-21

3.  IMG Academy, Santa Ana, Calif. (11-0)

Season complete.

4. DeSoto, Texas (13-0)

Beat Abilene in 6A-I region playoff at Wichita Falls, 49-45

5. McGill-Toolen, Mobile, Ala. (13-0)

Idle.

6. DeMatha, Hyattsville, Md. (12-0)

Season complete.

7. Centennial, Corona, Calif. (11-1)

Lost to No. 11 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) in Southern Section Div. I semifinal in Norwalk, 49-47

8. Allen, Texas (13-0)

Beat Central (San Angelo) in 6A-I region semifinal, 34-21

9. St. Thomas Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale (10-2)

Beat Mater Academy (Hialeah Gardens) in Hialeah, 50-10

10. Mountain Pointe, Phoenix (13-0)

Saturday vs. Chandler in 6A championship in Glendale, 10.

11. St. John Bosco, Bellflower, Calif. (10-2)

Beat No. 7 Centennial (Corona) in a Southern Section Div. I semifinal in Norwalk, 49-47

12. Mill Creek, Hoschton, Ga. (13-0)

Beat McEachern (Powder Springs) in AAAAAAA quarterfinals, 31-28

13. St. Joseph’s Prep, Philadelphia (11-0)

Saturday vs. Parkland (Allentown) at Philadelphia in a 6A quarterfinal, 1.

14. Bingham, South Jordan, Utah (14-0)

Season complete.

15. Trinity, Louisville (14-0)

Beat St. Xavier (Louisville) in a 6A semifinal, 24-14

16. Roswell, Ga. (13-0)

Beat North Cobb (Kennesaw) in a AAAAAAA quarterfinal, 42-21

17. Cass Tech, Detroit (13-0)

Saturday vs. Detroit Catholic Central (Novi) in state Div. I championship in Detroit, 1.

18. John Curtis, River Ridge, La. (10-1)

Friday vs. Evangel Christian (Shreveport) in a Division I semifinal, 27-6.

19. Grayson, Loganville, Ga. (12-1)

Beat Colquitt County (Moultrie) in a AAAAAAA quarterfinal, 49-21

20. Loyola Academy, Wilmette, Ill. (13-0)

Saturday vs. Maine South (Park Ridge) in 8A championship in Champaign, 8.

21. Liberty, Henderson, Nev. (11-1)

Saturday vs. Damonte Ranch (Reno) in 4A state semifinal in Reno, 4.

22. Oakland, Murfreesboro, Tenn. (14-0)

Beat Maryville in 6A semifinal, 23-7.

23. American Heritage, Plantation, Fla. (12-0)

Beat Bishop Moore (Orlando) in a 5A Region 4 final, 20-7.

24. North Penn, Lansdale, Pa. (14-0)

Beat Garnet Valley (Glen Mills) in a 6A quarterfinal, 48-38.

25. Center Grove, Greenwood, Ind. (12-2)

Lost to Carmel in 6A championship in Indianapolis, 16-13

The Texas playoff showdown between No. 7 Allen and San Angelo Central had just about everything you would want in a high school football playoff game: Huge crowd, great atmosphere, rough weather conditions, and great players.

None was greater than this one-handed grab by 6-8 Adam West for San Angelo. What makes it more amazing is how effortless it appears for the Harvard commit.

The play was ranked No. 2 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 on Friday night.

“In the heat of a game, everything happens so fast,” West told USA TODAY High School Sports. “I don’t ever think. The hundreds, even thousands of reps that I’ve done take over and my body reacts with instinct. I just reached up as high as I could and used the ability God gave me to come down with the ball.”

And then there was the reaction he got after the catch.

“Overwhelming,” he said. ” The 20,000-plus fans were roaring; my teammates were ecstatic; my heart was pounding, but the only thing on my mind was blocking out all the hype and focusing on the task at hand.”

Derrick Jones from Lee (Jacksonville, Fla.) was all over the field and all over the stat sheet in one of the more memorable performances of the season Friday night.

Jones accounted for nine touchdowns and 685 yards in total offense to lead Lee to a 61-59 comeback victory against Bartram Trail in the Region 1-7A final.

Oh, and he threw the game-winner with 34 seconds to go, 16-yarder to Theodore Ingram IV.

“That last drive, amazing,” Jones told Jacksonville.com.  “We always say we can’t give up; we won’t give up. We’ll fight until we see zeroes [on the clock].”

Lee (10-1) then batted down a Hail Mary attempt in the end zone as time expired.

Here are the numbers, courtesy of Justin Barney and Jacksonville.com.

Passing: 29 for 43, 486 yards, four touchdowns.

Rushing: 25 carries, 199 yards, five touchdowns.

More amazingly, Lee had 746 yards in total offense. That means Lee was involved in all but 80 of those yards. The game featured nearly 1,400 yards of total offense.

Lee (10-1) plays Tampa Plant (12-0) on Dec. 2 in the state 7A semifinals.

Hunter Bucknam from Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) might have made the block of the year in a 42-17 victory against Melbourne Central Catholic in the 3A state semifinal.

Here’s the video to prove it:

Then there was this on Saturday morning:

“They were punting the ball so I dropped back to block for my teammate,” he told USA TODAY High School Sports. “He went to the right side of the field and then looped back around to the left side.

“Once he was on his way to the left side I saw the block I had to make and I made it.”

The player on the receiving end was on the field before being able to get to the sideline.

“He didn’t get up for a while, and I had so much adrenaline rushing through my body that I didn’t feel it until I got to the sideline,” said Bucknam,a 6 foot, 220-pound senior linebacker.

Chaminade-Madonna (10-3) advances to meet Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) in the state final on Dec. 10 in Orlando.

Kirby Bennett ran for 83 yards on 13 carries as No. 7 Allen (Texas) beat San Angelo Central 34-21 in 6A Division I regional final.

This might have been the highlight of the night as Bennett hurdled a defender.

Here is the play from a ground-level angle:

Zion Williamson (Photo: NBPA Top 100 Camp)

Zion Williamson  from Spartanburg Day School in South Carolina is ranked as the No.3 player in the Class of 2018 by ESPN and was a member of the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Preseason Basketball Team.

A 6-7 forward, Williamson threw down on one-handed alley oop off an inbounds play in the Oglethorpe Tournament of Champions in Washington, Ill., as captured by BallIsLife.com.

Tate Martell had five touchdowns for Bishop Gorman (Photo: Kelvin Kuo, USA TODAY Sports)

No. 1 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) scored 36 unanswered points to turn a 10-7 deficit into a 42-10 lead and went to beat Arbor View 56-17 in the Sunset Region final.

With the win, the Gaels earned their spot in next week’s 4A state championship game against No. 21 Liberty (Henderson) as they attempt to win an eighth consecutive state title. Gorman (14-0) ran its overall winning streak to 53 games.

Gorman has now eliminated Arbor View from the playoffs in six of the last seven seasons, three times in the region title game.

The teams had to be separated by the officials who formed a barrier as players and coaches headed to the locker room with yelling and taunting coming from both sides. Both teams were hit with multiple personal foul penalties during the course of the game.

The bad blood seemed apparent when Gorman went for an onside kick with a 32-point lead with four minutes remaining,   recovered and scored another touchdown.

However, Gorman coach Kenny Sanchez said the onside kick made sense because of an Arbor View penalty that pushed the kickoff to the 45-yard line.

“When the ball is on the positive 45-yard line, if you kick an onside kick and don’t get it, they get it on the 35, so it’s football 101,” Sanchez told the Las Vegas Sun.

With the score 14-10 and the clock ticking down toward halftime, Gorman put together back-to-back score in the final minute. Biaggio Ali-Walsh scored on a 2-yard run with 59 seconds remaining and Tate Martell hit Brevin Jordan for a 23-yard touchdown with 30 seconds remaining after an interception. That gave Gorman a 28-10 lead.

Gorman had 51 yards rushing in the first half, but Ali-Walsh changed that quickly. The Cal commit went 90 yards and Gorman was up 35-10 and the rout was on. Ali-Walsh had 123 yards rushing in the second half.

Tate Martell finished with 268 yards passing and five touchdowns, although he did throw his first interception of the season in Gorman’s 14th game. Three of those touchdowns went to Jalen Nailor for 23, 80 and 26 yards, respectively. Nailor finished with six receptions for 184 yards.

No. 21 Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) gets another shot at No. 1 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) with the state title on the line.

Liberty downed Damonte Ranch (Reno), 30-27, on Saturday to win its seventh Sunrise Region championship and advances to face Gorman for the 4A title next weekend.

A year ago, Gorman beat Liberty 62-21 in a game that many expected to be closer.

On Saturday, Damonte Ranch took a 6-0 lead with 3:15 remaining in the first quarter. Ethan Dedeaux scored on a 3-yard run to cap a 17-play drive with 8:09 left in the second quarter. With the extra point, Liberty (12-1) led 7-0 and did not trail again.

Dedeaux caught an 18-yard TD pass from Kenyon Oblad for a 14-6 lead midway through the second quarter and it remained that way at halftime.

Liberty held Damonte Ranch to 95 yards in the first half, including minus-1 yards rushing.

The game tightened on a sequence that included a safety and Damonte Ranch then scored on the first play after the free kick and Liberty’s lead was 17-15.

Dedeaux plowed in from the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal for his third TD of the game and a 23-15 lead.

Crishaun Lappin, ordinarily a defensive tackle, caught a 36-yard TD pass from Oblad and the lead seemed safe at 30-15 midway through the fourth quarter. Damonte Ranch answered with a score, but could get no closer than the final margin.

Damonte (12-2) came into the game averaging 43 points per game and on a 12-game winning streak since losing to Cathedral Catholic from San Diego in the opener.

Liberty has had a strong program for several years, but coach Rich Muraco said this version might be tops among all the previous teams. And now the Patriots have the state title game ahead of them.

“It’s hard to say the best when you’re in the middle of it. I’ve had some teams with better individual players on it, but this team, to me, is the best that’s come together and bought into the system and believe in each other and believe in themselves and do all the right things,” Muraco told Gannett partner the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Maine South players celebrate after defeating Loyola 27-17 in the IHSA Class 8A high school championship football game (Photo: Bradley Leeb, Associated Press) 

Maine South (Park Ridge) upset No. 20 Loyola Academy (Wilmette), 27-17, in the Illinois 8A state championship game Saturday night in Champaign.

The victory gave Maine South its sixth state title in school history and the fourth under current coach Dave Inserra, with the previous three coming consecutively in 2008, ’09 and ’10.

The loss snapped defending 8A champion Loyola’s 30-game winning streak.

Maine South quarterback Nick Leongas was responsible for three touchdowns, one passing and two rushing, and finished with 200 yards in total offense.

He also was responsible for the turning point in the game. Loyola had led 14-10 at halftime, but Leongas hit Luke Hinkamp for a 20-yard touchdown on a third-and-9 play with 8:28 remaining in the third quarter.

Maine South (10-3) never trailed the rest of the game and scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

After a huge 66-yard punt by Sean McNulty early in the fourth quarter, a Loyola fumble was recovered at the Ramblers’ 17, and Leongas scored on the next play. On its next possession, Maine South maneuvered through a 12-play, 66-yard drive that took up nearly five minutes of the clock. McNulty hit an 18-yard field goal to push the Hawks lead to 10 and wrap up the state title for Maine South.

Maine South’s Emmett Zima (66), Michael Pusateri (42), Sean McNulty (51), and Nick Leongas (4) raise the championship trophy after defeating Loyola 27-17 (Photo: Bradley Leeb, Associated Press)

The regular season loss was the only blueprint the Hawks needed.

“That was it, that’s all we needed. It inspired us,” Maine South coach David Inserra said. “All the motivation, all the homework, all the preparation, we did it to give ourselves a chance to win tonight.”

Maine South running back Fotis Kokosioulis ran for 106 yards on 18 carries.

Defensively, Maine South controlled Jake Marwede, the Duke commit and Under Armour All-American. A combination pass catcher and H-back, Marwede had one catch for 25 yards and 16 yards on the ground on eight carries.

Loyola running back Kyle Rock ran for 155 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Tommy Herion threw for 159 yards.

Contributing: Associated Press

One of the nation’s longest active unbeaten streaks in 11-man football ended Friday night in an epic double-overtime Class AA semifinal in West Virginia.

Fairmont Senior beat three-time defending state champion Bridgeport 22-21 to snap Bridgeport’s 38-game unbeaten streak, which was tied for the seventh longest streak. Bridgeport’s last loss was Sept. 5, 2014, to Wheeling Park by a 14-10 score.

The streak is an unbeaten streak rather than a winning streak because Bridgeport’s game against Wheeling Park in September 2015 was considered a 1-1 tie by the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission because a scoreless game was halted in the first quarter by lightning. The game was not completed.

Fairmont Senior has not beaten Bridgeport since 2006, including a 28-20 loss in last year’s state semifinals and a 17-14 loss during the regular season this fall.

RELATED: Updating the nation’s longest winning streaks

In the second overtime, Fairmont quarterback Jake Abbott connected with Bryson Gilbert on a 41-yard pass on second-and-31 for a touchdown. An extra point would have tied the game and forced a third OT; instead Fairmont went for the victory.

Abbott took the keeper and was initially stopped before stretching over the goal line for the win.

Fairmont Senior (10-2) moves to its first state title game since 1981.

Oddly enough, Bridgeport ended Wayne’s 36-game winning streak in the Class AA state final in 2013.

Noah Daniels (Photo: Nike The Opening)

Baylor football is down to one commit for the Class of 2017 after the decommitment Sunday of three-star cornerback Noah Daniels. He made the announcement on Twitter.

Daniels, from Clear Creek (League City, Texas), had committed in July to acting head coach Jim Grobe.

Daniels is ranked as the No. 136 cornerback in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Daniels has a reported 25 scholarship offers, with TCU offering in mid-October. Daniels indicated he was excited by the interest from the Horned Frogs.

The remaining commit is Daniel Pitre, a three-star safety from Stafford (Texas). He committed in July 2015 and has remained steadfast amid the turmoil.

“The education hasn’t changed,” Pitre told the Houston Chronicle in June. “My coach is still there. Coach Briles is a big part, but I didn’t feel like he was the whole reason I committed in the first place.”

The Baylor safeties coach is Cris Dishman, a 13-year NFL veteran who has spent two years at Baylor. He was named safeties coach in January 2015. The status of Dishman or the assistant coaches is uncertain, pending a decision on Grobe.

Levelland quarterback Nick Gerber is 156 yards short of breaking the single-season passing yardage record in Texas after he threw for 325 yards in a 53-22 victory against Andrews in a 4A regional semifinal Friday.

The record belongs to Refugio’s Travis Quintanilla with 5,557 in 2013.

Gerber added to his own state record for touchdown passes in a season with three more to bring his total to 76.

He also is moving up the career touchdown charts with 156, which ranks fifth. Quintanilla’s state record of 184 is out of reach, but with the possibility of three more games, he could move as high as second should Levelland advance. Graham Harrell from Ennis is second with 167 from 2000-03.

Levelland faces Abilene Wylie in the regional final at 7:30 p.m. Friday in San Angelo.

Here are Gerber’s regular season highlights:

High school boys and girls basketball teams around the country were stunned this week when donations of shoes and gear arrived at their school courtesy of LeBron James and Nike.

The gear came with notes from James, who also has retweeted some of the videos that were posted of teams receiving the gifts.

D’Andre Swift ran for career-high 318 yards on 17 carries and had two touchdowns as No. 13 St. Joseph’s Prep beat Parkland (Allentown), 38-17 in a Pennsylvania 6A quarterfinal.

An Army All-American who is ranked as the No. 4 running back in the nation by the 247Sports Composite, Swift also had a long return touchdown called back by penalty.

The Prep now faces No. 24 North Penn (Lansdale) in a PIAA Class 6A state semifinal Saturday.

More than anything, as this highlight video shows, he’s almost impossible to bring down.

The field is beginning to come together for the 38th annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals after three of the four regional event were held this weekend.

The top 10 boys and top 10 girls in seeded races qualify for nationals on Dec. 10 in Balboa Park in San Diego. The West Regional is Dec. 3 in Walnut, Calif.

Samuel Worley cross the finish line at the South Regional
(Photo: KevinMorris@PhotoRun)

SOUTH REGIONAL

In Charlotte, N.C., senior Nevada Mareno of Raleigh, N.C., won the girls race in 17:22 to return to the national finals. Junior Heather Holt, from Fairfax, Va., was second in 17:24, and Niamh Schumacher of Seymour, Tenn., was third in 17:25.  Julia Heymach from Houston finished in eighth place to earn a return trip to the nationals.

In the boys race, Samuel Worley of New Braunfels, Texas, picked up the pace in the final 200 meters to win in 14:58. Connor Lane of Raleigh, N.C., came in second in 15:00, and Alexander Maier of Flower Mound, Texas, was third in 15:04.

Waleed Suliman of Henrico, Va. was fifth and Reed Brown of Grapevine, Texas, was six to qualify for the nationals for the second time.

Anne Forsyth cross the line as the winner of the Midwest Regional (Photo: Bruce Wodder@PhotoRun)

MIDWEST REGIONAL 

On a 36-degree day in Kenosha, Wis., Anne Forsyth of Ann Arbor, Mich., won the girls race in 17:18. India Johnson of Hilliard, Ohio, came in second in 17:37, and Kayla Young from Denver, placed third in 17:38. Young will return to nationals for the second time.

On the boys side, Dylan Jacobs of Orland Park, Ill., won the title in 14:59. Jack Aho of Boulder, Colo., placed second in 15:01, with Gabe Fendel of Carmel, Ind., finishing third in 15:08. Matt Aho, Jack Aho’s brother, finished sixth in 15:11.

Three runners qualified for a second trip to the finals: Seth Hirsch from Omaha (fifth), Matthew Pereira from Killdeer, Ill., (seventh place), and Finn Gessner from Madison, Wis. (ninth).

Alyssa Aldridge wins the Northeast Regional  (Photo: Victah Sailer@PhotoRun)

NORTHEAST REGIONAL 

At historic Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, Alyssa Aldridge of Linwood, N.J., won the girls race in 17:41. She placed sixth last year in nationals.  Jacqueline Gaughan of Exeter, N.H., was second in 17:56, and Maria Coffin of Annapolis, Md., finishing third in 18:00. Coffin was also third in the regional last year.

Noah Affolder, from Carlisle (Pa.), repeated as regional champion with a time of 15:29 and his younger brother, Samuel Affolder, placed second in 15:37. Patrick O’Brien of Durham, N.H., finished third in 15:38. Matt Grossman from Millburn, N.J., finished seventh to join Noah Affolder as returnees to nationals from the region.