Tiandra Ponteen won the 400m and Josh Walker took first in the 110m hurdles on the second day of competition at the 2004 NACAC Championships on Saturday.

Florida All-American Steve Zieminski finished second in the 3000m steeplechase in leading a strong showing by the United States team on the first day of competition at the 2004 North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association Championships on Friday at Universit

Through our powerful elite performances database, we have compiled a list of the top returning athletes. We have also scored the PRs of returning elite athletes from last season as a cross country meet, and have the team-by-team breakdowns.

Sanya Richards only recently went pro, but already she is getting the star treatment.

United Stars Track Club of Philly captured the Intermediate Girls 4x800 in 9:12.53, and took 2nd in the Youth Girls 4x800, going 9:18.52. In other finals, Michael Wiles, Nadia TC, cleared 6-05.50 to take 3rd in the Intermediate Boys High Jump. Other highlights include Chanelle Price of the United Stars, taking 2nd in the Youth Girls 800 in 2:13.54, and Michael Wiles, Nadia Track Club, getting 3rd in the Intermediate Boys High Jump, clearing 6-05.50.

Ashley Godoy will start her second her of running at West Florence this fall. She is a fellow teammate of West Florence star Alisha Royal. Both Godoy and Royal are currently in Cleveland, Ohio for the International Children\'s Games, an event endorsed by the International Olympic Committee. This event brings athletes from over 200 cities and 50 countries together.

Baldwin grad Ryan Sheehan and Harrisburg grad Dominique Darden, both former PA State Champs, were named to the US Under-23 team in the NACAC-TELUS Championships in Sherbrook, Quebec, scheduled for July 30-August 1. Athletes are from North and Central America, plus the Caribbean. However, because of a lack of competitors, both the men\'s and women\'s 10,000 have been cancelled. The 10,000 was Sheehan\'s race. He was then entered in the 5,000, scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 1:40pm.

In his first of a possible three races in Europe as a tune-up to the Olympic Games in Athens, Alan Webb showed little sign of jet lag as he set a personal best time at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix meet in London as he finished fourth in a very competitive mile race with a time of 3:50.73. The race was won by Kenyan Paul Korir in 3:49.84 as Ukraine\'s Ivan Heshko (2nd, 3:50.04) and Kenya\'s Eliud Kipchoge were also able to finish just ahead of Webb in a close and quick race.

Former Virginia State Champions, Keith Moffatt of Menchville and Nicole Cook of Petersburg will represent the US at the North American, Central American, and Caribbean (NACAC) Track and Field Championships in Shebrooke, Quebec, Canada on July 30 - August 1. Moffatt in the High Jump and Cook in the 800. This is the 3rd annual meet for 23 and under.

VMI head track and field coach Mike Bozeman announced Tuesday the signing of 10 recruits to national letters-of-intent during the spring signing period. The new signees are Kurt Able, Matthew Bierlein, Joseph Brennan, Patricia Coughlin, Spencer Kimori, Donnie Mikels, Ania Najda, Sean Thompson, Iris Sykes and Ashley West.

Brian Fussell, a rising senior at Hayfield High School, posted the second fastest qualifying time in his preliminaries heat of the 800 meter run in the young men\'s division with a personal best time of 1:52.28 at the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Championships. Fussell, the 2004 AAA outdoor state champion at 800 meters, improved upon his previous personal best by a full two seconds (1:54.29). The finals of the 800 meter run will be held on Saturday, July 31st.

Being fortunate enough to personally be able to follow Webb\'s exploits ever since his freshman cross country season at South Lakes in 1997, I was fortunate even further a few days after the Oly Trials to discuss with Webb and coach Raczko about some of the progress and process behind this outdoor season\'s success.

Photo gallery of miscellanous fun activities for campers at the 2004 Ragged Mountain Running Camp.

Great Bridge\'s Mike Morrison won the intermediate divsion decathlon at the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Charles Proctor recently graduated from Richland Northeast High School. The former Cavalier will attend Coastal Carolina in the fall. Proctor\'s achievements include winning the 1998 AAU National 400m 12 and under division, a win in the AAU National 100m 14 and under group in 2000, runner up in the 100m at the European Championship in 2001, 200m champion at the European Division I Championship in 2002 and most recently 2004 South Carolina State Champion in the 100m.

Florida State freshman Tom Lancashire (Bolton, England/Turton) represented Great Britain in the 1500m run at the 10th IAAF World Junior Championships in Grosetto, Italy, held during the month of July.

Hump Day Race photos held at Highland Road Park.... results coming soon

The SCTCCCA summer meeting took place earlier today at the Palmetto Exposition Center in Greenville. The association recognized new state record holders as well as talking about new ideas in the sport. 20 photos are now online for viewing only.

Ah, almost as quickly as Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery have become drug free, the Olympic Trials have come and gone. While some people were at the top of their game and should be celebrated, many were equally as poor, and will now be mocked and ridiculed in no particular order.

This year\'s flrunners.com Invitational is shaping up to be the best ever, as we continue our tradition of putting together Florida\'s largest and most elite race. We have added a Friday evening varsity division, to accomodate additional teams and athletes with religious obligations after sundown.

Good morning sunshine! An early wakeup call at 7:00 am arroused the campers for day two at the Ragged Mountain Running Camp. The second day would be a busy day with two runs and two guest speakers.

Anderson College announced Wed. afternoon that Leroy Thomas, head cross country coach resigned to pursue other opportunities.

A nice cool day with a drizzle on and off of rain greeted campers at the 2004 version of the Ragged Mountain Running Camp held at the Miller School in Crozet. The camp will run throughout the week until Thursday. Camp director Buz Male, who coaches cross country currently at the Miller School, previously coached at the University of Virginia and Langley High School and the Episcopal School in northern Virginia. Helping making up Buz\'s staff is a talented and energetic group of coaches, post-collegiate runners, collegiate runners, and recent high school graduates.

Rising USC Gamecock sophomores Ronnetta Alexander and Stephanie Smith competed at the World Junior Track and Field Championships from July 12-18 in Grosseto, Italy.

After the departure of former head coach Joe McKinney and the transfer of Senior stand-out Tim Mcleod, Coach Lawson tackles one of the more high profile programs in the State. Episcopal Boys were 1A state Champions in 2003.

North Hills running back (and sprinter) Andrew Johnson will be eligible to play for Miami University this fall in football. And former PA Shot Put star Tyree Suber, a West Virginia recruit, was injured practicing for the Big 33 Football Championship in Hershey. The story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (scroll to bottom of page).

Mike Foley is the head boys cross country coach at Blue Ridge High School. Foley will compete in the US Transplant Games from July 28-31. Foley started to run his freshman year of high school in Ohio.

Shawn Crawford, an alumnus of Clemson University qualified for his second event of the Olympic Trials Sunday with a win in the 200m. Duane Ross, another alumni of Clemson placed second in the 110m hurdles, also making the 2004 US Olympic Team.

Three hurdles with ties to the University of South Carolina made the Olympic US team in the final day of the US Olympic Track and Field Trials.

Former William Penn star Juanita Broaddus teamed with Ashley Owens, Jasmine Baldwin and Shalonda Solomon to take the world Junior championships in the 4x100 in 43.49 on the final day of competition in Grosseto, Italy.

Kane graduate Amy Rudolph has until Aug 9 to get the A standard after taking 3rd in the women\'s 1500 finals in 4:08.57. She had just missed earlier in the Olympic Trials, getting 4th in the 5000. Simon Gratz grad Joyce Bates-Fair was 13th overall in the women\'s 100 Hurdles Semis, going 12.99.

Lashawn Merritt etched himself as one of the greatest Virginia high school preps of all-time by winning the world championship at 400 meters among juniors at the IAAF World Junior Championships with sizzling time of 45.24.

Virginia was well represented by quite a few former high school athletes at the U.S. Olympic Trials held in Sacramento, California. Former Virginia high school preps Latesha Colander (women\'s 100), Tiombe Hurd (women\'s triple jump), Sheena Johnson (women\'s 400 meter hurdles), Tisha Waller (women\'s high jump), and Alan Webb (men\'s 1500) became U.S. Olympic Trials champions in their respective events and earned spots to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece next month.

Two-time Olympic 110 Hurdles Gold Medalist Roger Kingdom, now a coach at California University of Pennsylvania, decided against appealing to be included in this year\'s Olympic Trials in his signature event. The story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Former Simon Gratz star Joyce Bates-Fair, advanced from the quarterfinals in the 100 Hurdles, going 13.01. Chambersburg grad Christopher Clever took 6th in the Javelin Finals with a throw of 233-02. John Taylor (Bishop McDevitt) was 8th at 232-09; and Baldwin\'s Mark Bridge was 12th at 202-00. Bridge injured a muscle in the qualifiers. That story from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

On Day Five, the next to last of competition at the IAAF Junior World Championships in Italy, Juanita Broaddus and her 4x100 teammates posted a 44:00. The mark was the second fastest of the day. Finals are Sunday. Broaddus graduated from William Penn (Philly) in 2003. And Nicole Leach ran the first leg of the 4x400 Trials, as they posted the fastest qualifer in 3:30.13.

Super Sophomore Jeremy Wariner (Baylor) wins the Olympic Trials 400m. Jeremy ran a quick 44.37 in a race that had 7 men under 45 seconds. Jeremy got out to a quick start in the race and never relinquished the lead.

When I came up as a freshman at Spring Ford High School, no one really expected anything of me, and I didn\'t really expect anything of myself. But over the years I have realized that running to me was not just an after-school activity, but a way of life.

Amy Rudolph, who missed a spot on the 5000 team with her 4th place finish, stayed in the hunt in the 1500 with a 4:15.76. Yough\'s Jim Carney finished 15th in the 5000 Finals, going 14:00.34. In the women\'s 10000, Kristin Price (Penn-Trafford/NC State) finished 13th in 33:51.53. And in the 1500 Semi-Finals, Aaron Lanzel (Eisenhower), was 15th in 3:44.05.

Florida Gator Kerron Clement set a new championship record today, on his way to the gold medal at the World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy. The freshman won the 400 meter hurdles in a meet record time of 48.51, despite appearing to falter before the last two hurdles.

Coach Dan Epstein sent in some pictures from last weekend\'s Citrus Summer Showdown. The meet featured some quick times and is now a traditional mid-summer checkpoint for many athletes.

Texas Tech Junior Jonathon Johnson is headed to Athens. Jonathon won in 1:44.77. Jonathon was the NCAA champion at the same distance earlier this year.

The Greenville Track Club hosts All-Comer track and field meets throughout the summer at Furman University. Next Thursday is the last meet of the summer. For more information visit: www.greenvilletrackclub.com. 27 photographs are now online for viewing only from the July 15 meet.

Kerron Clement and Brandon Johnson are the best juniors in the world. Kerron (LaPorte/Florida) and Brandon Johnson (West Orange Stark/UCLA) went 1-2 in the 400 Hurldes at the World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy

Former University of Florida athlete Erin Gilreath became the second UF women

Ivory Williams graduate of Beaumont Central won the IAAF World Junior Championship 100m.

Writing from a younger point of view, parents are sometimes too expecting of their children. Not all of us are standout students, people, or athletes, yet we are expected to be amazing every time.

South Carolina senior Otis Harris won the silver medal 400m at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials. He now joins South Carolina junior Lashinda Demus on the US Olympic team headed to the 2004 Athens Olympics.

As much as it pains me to pass up the opportunity to absolutely rail on Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery for stopping the drugs and suddenly running the 100m slower than Kevin Toth (the house like structure who heaved the shot put like it was a tennis ball, poking a needle in his arse for the energy to do so), I must turn to the men\'s 10k.

O\'Hara grad Robert McDade finished 7th in the first bracket of Discus (1.750kg) qualifers on Day 4 with a throw of 179-05.50, then waited for the 2nd bracket before he learned he had missed the finals by one spot, just 10.25 inches. He would finish 13th. And Norristown grad Michael Whitehead was 9th overall, and did not advance in the Triple Jump, going 49-10.00.

17-year-old LaShawn Merritt became the fifth American in the history of the IAAF World Junior Championships to clinch gold in the men

At the Olympic Trials, Eisenhower grad Aaron Lanzel advances to the Semis with a 2nd place 3:47.11 in his heat. Chambersburg grad Christopher Clever had the 3rd best Javelin qualifer with a throw of 238-11. Baldwin\'s Mark Bridge was right behind at 235-07. And Bishop McDevitt\'s John Taylor was 5th best at 234-10.

Running against the best competition in her life, West Catholic\'s Nicole Leach ran a PR of 57.56 to take 4th in the IAAF Junior Outdoor World Championships in Grosseto, Italy. She was just .12 out of 2nd. The race was won in 55.55 by Russia\'s Katya Kostetskaya, who will be a frosh at Texas State University this coming fall.

Lauryn Williams is turning pro. The story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

2004 CAA Rookie of the Year Keith Bechtol (Alexandria, VA) represented the United States this afternoon at the IAAF World Junior Championships, held in Grosseto, Italy. Bechtol, who came into the race ranked 24th in the world among juniors at that distance (the fastest American), finished 19th in the field of 25 runners. The highest-placing American in the race, he clocked a 31:45.99.

On Day Two (7/14) of the IAAF Junior World Championships in Italy, Nicole Leach won her heat of the 400 Hurdles in 57.98, the 2nd fastest time of the day. Former William Penn star Christina Smith, now at Clemson, did not advance from the first heat in the 400 Hurdles, going 1:00.42. And Leach teammate, rising junior Latavia Thomas, ran out of PR\'s and went 2:09.11 to miss the finals of the 800. On Tuesday, she had run 23:07.17, a PR, to advance to the Semis. Also on Day One, Union City grad Justin Clickett threw the 6kg shot 60-08 to advance to Finals later that day where he threw 59-04.50 to finish 12th.

Coastal Carolina\'s Amber Campbell launched a throw of 218\' 1\" on her first throw of the women\'s hammer throw preliminaries to automatically qualify for the finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, CA, July 12.

Sanya Richards, a St. Thomas Aquinas graduate who recently turned pro after one full season with the Texas Longhorns, set American Junior Record for the second time in two months. She has the fastest times going out of the quarterfinals.

Hazel Clark finished third in the 800m to secure a spot in the 2004 U.S. Olympics at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Track & Field Trials on Monday at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.

Six PA athetes have met the IAAFstandard and are competing as a part of the US team competing in Grosseto Italy in the IAAF World Junior Championships later this summer.

We don't always have time to find the article links, but thanks to folks like Mark Schwartz, we can keep up with the fine coverage of our state's best in PA's newspapers.

Haverford grad Shayne (Wiley) Culpepper Photo by Victah Sayler, Photo Run won the Women\'s 5000 in 15:07.41. Amy Rudolph (Kane HS) was 4th in 15:13.74). Former McDowell multi-event star Sheena Gordon tooks 8th in her Olympic Trials premier, clearing 6-00.50. James Carney (Yough/MIllersville), advanced in the Prelims of the 5000. After her 4th place finish in the Heptathlon, Hyleas Fountain missed advancing from the Prelims of the Long Jump by a quarter of an inch, leaping 20-09.00. Chris Dugan, (Southmoreland HS), did not advance from the Prelims of the 3000 m Steeplechase, taking 20th in 8:47.11. USATF Quote from USATF.org SHAYNE CULPEPPER, adidas \"This was one of the hardest races of my life, I had to dig really deep. It\'s a dream come true, after 2000 was so disappointing. I knew Marla (Runyan) had a great kick, so I tried to save something for the last 100 meters. You have to be ready on that day. To win with that time is such a joy.\"

The 2004 Junior Olympics Regional took place this past weekend at the University of South Carolina - Columbia. 54 photos are now online from Friday\'s portion of the meet for viewing.

Former Clemson track and field athlete Shawn Crawford will compete in the 100m dash at the 2004 Olympic Games after placing third in the event at the US Trials in Sacramento, CA. Crawford crossed the line with a time of 9.93. In June, Craword recorded this year\'s world-fastest time in the 100m with a time of 9.88, winning the Prefontaine Classic.

Amy Backel of Northern York High School won the Berks Elite Heptathlon with a score of 4252 points. The soon-to-be senior earned big point totals with a high jump of 5

Ben Franklin (Philly) grad Shakeema Walker took 2nd in the Triple Jump with a leap of 46-01.50. She\'ll have until August 9th to make the \"A\" standard to make the team. Serene Ross was 5th and Inge Jorgensen was 11th in Javelin at the USATF Olympic Trials in Sacramento.

This weekend Kelly Parish won the Citrus Summer Showdown, Florida\'s favorite mid-summer CC checkpoint. CSS Meet Director, Milton Lyons, chatted with Kelly about the race and about the impressive looking Vanguard pack--a girls team that has never qualified for the state meet.

After a rough start, Rochester grad Lauryn Williams didn\'t panic, and came back to beat Gail Devers by .01 and Marion Jones by .04 to secure the 3rd and final spot on the US Women\'s 100 Olympic Team. Photo by Victah Sayler, Photo Run Central Dauphin East grad Hyleas Fountain finished 4th in her first Women\'s Olympic Trials Heptathlon competiton. In the final three events on Day Two of her event, she went 20-03.50 in the Long Jump, for 4th place. Unfortunately, it was the Javelin that cost her a shot to make the team. Her throw of 125-03 was 15th best. She did run 2:18.85 to take 5th in the final event, the 800. In the 100 Semis, Rochester grad Lauryn Williams advanced to the finals with the 4th best time. Philly\'s Jon Drummond did not advance from the prelims, going 10.45. And Harrisburg grad Dominique Darden did not advance in the semis of the 400 Hurdles.

Central Dauphin\'s East grad Hyleas Fountain is 2nd after the first day in the women\'s Olympic Trials Heptathlon, going 13.47, jumping 5-11.25 in the HJ, throwing the Shot 38-02 and posting a 24.02 200 for 3659 points, just 27 points out of first. Rochester grad Lauryn Williams posted the fastest 100 time in the Prelims, going 11.13. Harrisburg grad Dominique Darden advanced to the 400 Hurdles semis by just .07, going 58.05. In the women\'s 5000 Trials, both Amy Rudloph and Shayne Culpepper advanced. In the Javelin prelims, both Serene Ross (Wilmington HS) and Inge Jorgensen (also Wilmington) advanced to the finals. In the 10000 final, Former Millersville runner (Youth) James Carney took a remarkable sixth in 28:31.82. Former Woodbury PA (St. Francis) runner Brian Sell was in 17th at 29:17.83.

William Penn grad Juanita Broaddus, and Norristown\'s Michael Whitehead, both competed well in a final tune-up meet prior to next week\'s IAAF Junior World Championships in Italy. Broaddus was on the winning 4x400 in 3:36.55, while Latavia Thomas, Christina Smith and Nicole Leach were on the 2nd place 3:38.14 team Only USA teams were in the 4x400. The story from USATF.

Here is the TV schedule for the US Olympic Track and Field Trials the coming week.

Who are the top boys and girls teams in the US? No arguement. No discussion. No doubts. The questions will be answered on December 4th at the first Nike Team Nationals in Oregon. That\'s the Saturday between Northeast Foot Lockers in New York and the Foot Locker Finals in San Diego.

The TV schedule for the USATF Olympic Trials in Track & Field will include 14 hours on air July 9 - 18.

Former Satellite standout, Alex Stewart placed 8th in the steeplechase at Junior Nationals earning him All-American Honors.

2004 CAA Champion William and Mary men's track and field's distance ace Keith Bechtol (Alexandria, VA) was honored as the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year, the conference office announced today. Bechtol, who will compete in the 10,000m at the IAAF World Junior Championships on July 14, has campaigned one of the most successful seasons ever by a Tribe freshman.

With the 2004 Olympics getting close to reality the track and field athletes are preparing for the trials with hopes of making it to the finals. Below is information on the track and field trials along with several sources of information on the track and field portion of the Olympic Games.

Stephanie Buffo is a rising sophomore at Dorman High School. Buffo captured the Eye Opener title in 2003 and finished second in the 4A State Cross Country Championships.

Pete Sampras. Tiger Woods. And now Hicham El Guerrouj. How many times must history repeat itself before the most dominant men in sports catch on?

The 2004 Easley Sporting Firecracker Frolic 5k took place on July 3. The event began in 1993 with 105 participants and has grown into an event with over 300 participants. 99 photographs are now online for viewing only.

OK, Well now I have your attention. We love our sport. We want to see it grow. Here are a couple of ways that you can help making Track and Field survive by becoming a certified coach or official.

Booker T. Washington\'s Tim Harris signs with University of Miami.