Summit High School senior Ella Hagen left the Foot Locker Midwest Regional meet disappointed with her performance. 

After claiming her second 4A state cross-country title and qualifying for her third Nike Cross Nationals meet a few weeks prior, Hagen had a rare, off-brand performance in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Saturday, Nov. 30.

Heading into the meet, Hagen had set her sights on qualifying for her second national meet of the season by placing within the top 10 of the field. However, as the race progressed, the University of Colorado commit narrowly missed qualifying for the national meet, placing 11th. 

Although she was disappointed as to how the race ended, Hagen had no choice but to dust herself off and get in a good headspace for the Nike Cross Nationals meet in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, Dec. 7.

“I had to remember that one race in no way defines my entire season,” Hagen said. “Everybody is going to have their days, and one race does not take away from any of the work that I have done or put in. Being able to refocus and kind of use it as a fire to prove I can do better than that on the big stage.”

Brushing the performance aside, Hagen arrived in Portland and prepared to take to the start line for her final high school cross-country meet.

Surrounded by some of the nation’s best runners, Hagen jogged around the Nike World Headquarters campus in Beaverton on Thursday, Dec. 5, before getting another glimpse of the semi-challenging course at Glendoveer Golf Course on Friday, Dec. 6.

Although Portland had been free of its frequent rain for a couple of days, Hagen, unlike most of her competitors, hoped that the morning of the race would be dreary, wet and muddy. Hagen’s wish came to fruition on Saturday morning as the area was blanketed in rain, giving way to huge puddles and mud across the course. 

“I wanted it to be muddy for the fun of it,” Hagen said. “It makes it challenging, It makes it hard for everybody. Not very many people are going to be prepared for something as hard as racing in that mud and rain. At the end of the day, it is about cross-country, it is about getting dirty and having fun out there.”

Ecstatic about getting her desired race conditions, Hagen was introduced to the surrounding crowd and then jogged to the start line with her Southwest region teammates. The girls 5K championship race featured 199 runners from the eight regions represented in the meet. A few minutes later, Hagen sprinted from the start line and the girls championship race at the Nike Cross Nationals meet was underway.

Wanting to top her 10th-place finish from last year, Hagen put herself at the front of the pack early on in the 5-kilometer race, but made sure to pace herself. Through the first kilometer of the race, Hagen split a time of 3 minutes, 19.2 seconds and comfortably sat in 12th place overall.

“I really just wanted to put myself in it and not let the pack get away from me at the start — really race hard and race with attitude, give it my all,” Hagen said.

At the front of the race was Nike Southwest region champion Jane Hedengren. Confident in her fitness after a huge win at regionals, Hendengren took control of the race within the first kilometer and began pulling away from the rest of the field.

Not wanting to get dragged out with the influx in pace from Hendengren, Hagen wisely kept to her race plan and positioned herself in the thick of the chase pack.

While trying to dodge slick spots on the course, Hagen moved up two spots to 10th place over the second kilometer. Knowing that the race historically rewards those who are patient, Hagen stayed consistent over the third kilometer before beginning to truly push over the final 2-kilometers to the finish line.

As the rain showers seemed to intensify and further soak the runners out on the course, Hagen made her move. Not leaving anything in the tank, the distance runner charged over the golf-course grass, up the final steep hill and sprinted down the final straight to the last finish line.

Hagen completed the race in 17:33.0 to place ninth overall, a spot improvement from last year. 

“It was a culmination of all the moments that have gone into it,” Hagen said. “It has been a long and amazing process. Coming across that line was bittersweet, but it was very special. … Showing that I can put myself in it when it counts. It paid off. All of the moments came together, all of the races stacked on top of each other and all the lesson learned were used in that race.”

Hedengren ran away with the race, taking first overall in a new course-record time of 16:32.7. Fellow Southwest region teammate and last year’s champion Addy Ritzenhein took fifth, and Denver’s Keeghan Edwards finished a spot ahead in fourth.

Further displaying the depth of the Southwest region, three teams made up the top four in the team rankings in girls race. Denver (Mountain Vista High School) won the race with 75 points, Lone Peak (Lone Peak High School in Highland, Utah) took second with 107 points, Clovis (Buchanan High School in California) took third with 123 points and Academy (Air Academy High School) finished in fourth with 129 points.

“It is pretty awesome for sure,” Hagen said. “Putting on that jersey, you are racing for girls and with girls that you have been competing with for a long time. Wearing the same jersey as Addy and some of those other girls is very special. We are dominant out there. We show how strong we are no matter the conditions.”

Hagen finishes her Summit cross-country career with two state titles and two, top-10 finishes at Nike Cross Nationals. With plenty of snow in Summit County, Hagen will now turn her focus to her senior Nordic skiing season before gearing up for outdoor track.