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Staples Runner Races Saturday In Regional Championships

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. --  Darien High School senior Alex Ostberg and Staples High junior Hannah DeBalsi will be among the favorites in Saturday's FootLocker Cross Country Northeast Regional championship race Saturday in New York.

Darien's Alex Ostberg, left, and Staples' Hannah DeBalsi will run Saturday in the FootLocker Northeast Regional cross country championships in New York.

Darien's Alex Ostberg, left, and Staples' Hannah DeBalsi will run Saturday in the FootLocker Northeast Regional cross country championships in New York.

Photo Credit: Photorun.net

Ostberg and DeBalsi will be among the contestants in the race at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. 

The 5,000-meter seeded race begins at 10:40 a.m. for the boys and at 11:10 a.m. for the girls. The Top 10 boys and the Top 10 girls in the seeded races qualify for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Morley Field, Balboa Park in San Diego.

Ostberg placed 11th in last year’s national race. He has not lost this year, with big victories in the New England, State Open and Class L championships. Ostberg has the fifth fastest 5k time in the country this year, a  14:47 effort at the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference championships.

DyeStat, a national running website, ranks Ostberg No. 3 in the nation. Ostberg was 11th last year at the FootLocker nationals.

DeBalsi is also undefeated this year, with notable wins in New Englands, Class LL and State Open. She is ranked fourth in the nation by Dye Stat. She finished second in last year's FootLocker championships.

Runners eligible to compete in the Northeast Regional are all high school students in grades 9 through 12 living in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont or Washington, D.C., and U.S. citizens in Overseas Military Installations.

A host of races will be held Saturday, beginning at 9:45 a.m. Divisions for freshman and sophomore, juniors and seniors will race along with an Open division. Runners from schools from throughout Fairfield County are in the field for the races. For more information, visit the FootLocker website.

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