 The first-ever Nike Team Nationals were held on December 4, 2004 at Portland Meadows.The inaugural NTN Championships were hailed as the definitive championship of team cross country, as no prep cross country meet prior to this date had brought together the best teams in the nation, and therefore teams such as the York High School (Illinois) boys and Saratoga High School (New York) girls had dominated the polls for the vast majority of the preceding fifteen years.York and Saratoga were tagged as the favorites.