Nationally Ranked Teams And Runners Will Battle It Out At Woodbridge

Key Girls Individuals

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Claudia Lane

School: Malibu (California)

Grade: Junior

Skinny: The No. 1 runner in the nation will open at Woodbridge. And really, you shouldn't be surprised at anything Lane -- our top athlete on the Flo50 top 25 chart -- accomplishes. A year ago, she finished second to Oakley in the sweepstakes race, earning a season best and U.S. No. 2 time of 16:16.70 before going on to earn a state title in California (16:45.00) and wins at Foot Locker West (17:20.10) and Foot Locker Nationals (17:04.81). The expectations are high for Lane to come out of the gate right away with a big performance, perhaps even challenging Oakley's course record of 15:54. While she has yet to go under 16 minutes, she ran 10:01.18 at Brooks PR -- right behind Oakley -- in the 2-mile in June and ran 9:57.52 for 3200m at Arcadia. But you'll just have to see what Lane does when Saturday night rolls again. Be prepared for something special, though.

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Akemi Von Scherr

School: La Quinta (California)

Grade: Sophomore

Skinny: Von Scherr will be on her game for the sweepstakes race. A year ago, the then-freshman ran 16:54.40 at Woodbridge to place 17th -- and also grab a top-50 time nationally for the effort -- before going on to finish 12th at the CIF Division I championships. A year wiser and a little more mature, Von Scherr will ultimately be a little more determined to challenge up top. She opened with a 3-mile effort of 18:01.00 at the Laguna Hills Invitational on September 9 to place first and also won the Fastback Shootout on September 2 at the 2-mile distance in 11:09.30. 

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