Riley Stewart of Englewood, Colorado and Riley Hough of Fenton, Michigan won the Eastbay Cross Country (formerly Foot Locker CC) Championships (ECCC) Midwest Regional. Stewart, a senior at Cherry Creek High School, claimed the title in the girls’ championship race in 16:54.4. She will be returning to the ECCC National Finals for the third time. Ali Weimer, a senior from Saint Michael, Minn., finished second in 17:11.2 and junior Sophia Kennedy (daughter of 1987 ECCC Champion and two-time Olympian Bob Kennedy) of Carmel, Ind. placed third in 17:18.4.
Hough, a senior from Hartland High School, took the title in the boys’ championship race in 14:49.5. Izaiah Steury, a senior from Pleasant Lake, Ind., finished second in 14:53.8 and Zane Bergen, a senior from Longmont, Colorado, finished third in 14:55.4.
The race was held on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 at the University of Wisconsin Parkside in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The 5,000-meter course was held under good course conditions; 30 degrees; calm winds; cloudy skies.
The top 10 boys and the top 10 girls in the seeded races qualify to compete against runners from the South, Northeast and West Regional meets in the Eastbay Cross Country Championships National Finals, on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, at Morley Field, Balboa Park in San Diego, California.