The table below lists the Top 20 Footlocker Final entrants based on Best Seasonal Speed Rating for 2008.

Best Seasonal Speed Rating was taken from available data for 2008 (see table of Available Speed Ratings for All Footlocker Entrants).

      TOP 20 BOYS
                                                                         BEST
                            Gr  City                St     Region     Speed Rating
  1   Solomon Haile         12  Silver Spring       MD     Northeast       203
  2   Trevor Dunbar         12  Kodiak              AK     West            202
  3   Joseph Manilafasha    12  Denver              CO     Midwest         201
  4   Chris Schwartz        12  Bakersfield         CA     West            200
  5   Bill Matthews         12  Birmingham          AL     South           200
  6   Andrew Springer       12  Westerly            RI     Northeast       200
  7   Jakub Zivec           12  Grand Rapids        MN     Midwest         199
  8   Brian Shrader         11  Flagstaff           AZ     West            199
  9   Matthew Sonnenfeldt   12  Knoxville           TN     South           198
  10  Wyatt Landrum         12  Oakley              CA     West            198
  11  Evan Appel            12  Littleton, CO       CO     Midwest         197
  12  Tyler Udland          11  Short Hills         NJ     Northeast       197
  13  Shane Moskowitz       11  Bremerton           WA     West            197
  14  James Cameron         12  Mission Viejo       CA     West            197
  15  Cody Helbling         11  Coeur D'Alene       ID     West            197
  16  Joe Whelan            12  Hamburg             NY     Northeast       196
  17  Tyre Johnson          12  Gonzales            CA     West            196
  18  Zachary Torres        12  La Crescent         CA     West            196
  19  Steve Magnuson        11  Oro Valley          AZ     West            196
  20  CJ Brown              12  Southlake           TX     South           195


      TOP 20 GIRLS
                                                                          BEST
                            Gr  City                St     Region     Speed Rating
  1   Ashley Brasovan       12  Wellington          FL     South           168
  2   Kathy Kroeger         12  Franklin            TN     South           167
  3   Allie Mclaughlin      12  Colorado Springs    CO     Midwest         164
  4   Jordan Hasay          12  Arroyo Grande       CA     West            163
  5   Emily Jones           12  Harvard             MA     Northeast       160
  6   Emily Sisson          11  Chesterfield        MO     Midwest         160
  7   Chelsey Sveinsson     10  Dallas              TX     South           158
  8   Shelby Greany         12  Suffern             NY     Northeast       157
  9   Aisling Cuffe         10  Cornwall-On-Hudson  NY     Northeast       157
  10  Emily Lipari          11  Greenvale           NY     Northeast       157
  11  Chelsea Ley           11  Clarksboro          NJ     Northeast       156
  12  Alex Dunne            12  San Clemente        CA     West            156
  13  Melanie Thompson      12  High Bridge         NJ     Northeast       155
  14  Megan Goethals        11  Rochester           MI     Midwest         154
  15  Megan Marsico         11  Salem               VA     South           153
  16  Kimberly Spano        12  Huntersville        NC     South           151
  17  Chelsea Oswald        12  Medina              OH     Midwest         151
  18  Jessica Tonn          11  Paradise Valley     AZ     West            151
  19  Danielle Menlove      9   Sandy               UT     West            150
  20  Lindsay Flanagan      12  Roselle             IL     Midwest         150

Some top elite runners have not necessarily been pushed to "All-Out" performances in 2008 ... So there may be more gas in the gas-tank to improve on performance thus far in 2008 (Jordan Hasay is a definite possibility) ... and some outstanding runners just do not run well at Balboa Park (Nicole Blood would be an example from past years).

BOYS

No single runner in the boy's race "overlays" the field based on speed performance to date ... Top-rated Solomon Haile won handily at Footlocker Northeast, and appeared to have something in reserve for future races; Solomon Haile was also an impressive winner at the Manhattan Invitational ... Trevor Dunbar has popped some very nice races in 2008, but can a runner from Alaska run at peak-performance levels at Balboa Park in December?? (I have no idea) ... And most of the other top-rated guys are so closely rated, it makes prediction very difficult ... The Boys race could be wide-open ... If forced to choose, I might pick Solomon Haile to win ... If there was pari-mutuel wagering on this race, I would likely use Joe Whelan in the gimmick wagers (exactas, trifectas, superfectas) because I think he just might have a great race.

GIRLS

This race could be special ... Three Footlocker Final Champions (Ashley Brasovan, Kathy Krueger and Jordan Hasay) ... Add in three other runners with seasonal best ratings of 160 or higher (Allie Mclaughlin, Emily Jones and Emily Sisson) and the NXN National Champion (Chelsey Sveinsson) ... The three NY runners are next in the list above (Shelby Greany, Aisling Cuffe and Emily Lipari).

Shelby Greany joins an elite group of runners qualifying for four Footlocker Finals ... Who knows how well first-year runner Aisling Cuffe might do?? ... Emily Lipari was sick at Footlocker NE and still qualified; Lipari was 6th at Footlocker Finals last year and just might do better this year if 100% healthy.

Jordan Hasay is 4th in the list above (Allie Mclaughlin popped a huge performance at the Colorado State meet and is a real "wild-card" in any prediction scenario based on current speed ratings) ... My favorite moment of the past Olympic Summer was watching Jordan Hasay qualify for the 1500 meter finals at the US Trials (followed by the Bob Neumeier interview and crowd-chants "Come-to-Oregon" on live TV) ... Jordan Hasay is a special talent ... If on her game, it's hard to believe anybody could beat her.

BUT ... Ashley Brasovan and Kathy Krueger are also special talents, especially at XC ... that's why they are Footlocker National Champions ... and they have both beaten Jordan Hasay at Footlocker ... 5K on the terrain is different than 1500m, 1-Mile or 2-Miles on a track ... Who will win?? - I hope it's a photo-finish!