A week after bettering the Public League course record by 13 seconds, Lavaughn Jones of Engineering & Science (E&S) was back at Belmont Plateau on a mission - set a new standard. This time she lowered the mark another 14 seconds, to 19:14, leading her team to the win. Teammate Trevon Rainford tiied the Public League course record with his 16:23, also leading E&S to a win.

Wellsboro had been a big part of the pre-season talk to capture the 10/27 PIAA District 4 Championships at Bloomsburg University, but Danville put together a strong top five and took the AA Girls win. Northeast Bradford\'s boys won AA. And Shikellamy swept both AAA titles.

They\'re always there at the end of the season. Despite bumps, major or minor, you can pretty much count on Allentown Central Catholic to be ready for the post-season. They are, and they advance, along with the Easton girls. In boys AAA, it\'s Parkland and Liberty. And in AA, it was Alexa Griffiths and Isaac Dunkelberger leading their Tamaqua teams to District 11 titles.

The Virginia men\'s cross country team was a huge treat on Halloween as they captured the ACC Cross Country Championships, their first conference title since 1984, with a 4-5-6-7-8 finish that put them 8 points over second place Florida State. Racing the 8K race at The Greenway in Tallahassee, Fla., the men came into the meet ranked 18th nationally and were the highest ranked team in the conference. Jan Foerster, Andrew Dumm, Soeren Lindner, Ryan Foster, Andy Biladeau, and Alex Tatu all earned All-Conference honors by virtue of their finish. The top five runners for the Cavaliers crossed the finish line in a ten-second span, and all eight runners finished within a minute of each other.

29 images are now online for viewing from the CVAC Championships, held Oct. 21 in Anderson.

37 images are now online for viewing only from the Region 3-4A Championships, held on Oct. 27

The William & Mary men and women\'s cross country teams continued their streak of Colonial Athletic Association conference championships as the men won their sixth consecutive and the women their third consecutive in the conference championship held on the campus of UNC Wilmington. With top runner Christo Landry out due to a minor injury from a biking accident as well as having Adam Tenerowicz not racing, the Tribe\'s depth was still overpowering for the rest of the conference as they placed eight runners in the top 15 places to win by a 20 point margin over James Madison University. Tribe sophomore Ian Fitzgerald won the individual conference crown with a 24:31 clocking on the 8K course. Likewise, the William & Mary women showed their strength in their depth with 11 runners ahead of runner-up James Madison\'s fifth finisher. James Madison University senior Shannon Saunders successfully defended her conference title in a winning time of 21:04 on the 6K course after she got a strong challenge from Hofstra University freshmen Mary Sullivan.

10 images are now online for viewing only from the upper state meet, held at Eastside High School in Greenville.

Greenville High alumna Lauren Paige, 21, a former USC runner, and high school cross country state champion finished 297th overall, 23rd in her gender and third in her division earlier today at the Marine Corps Marathon. Paige covered the 26.2 mile course in 3:13.18.

44 images are now online for viewing only from the Big South Conference Championships, held at VMI.

Despite the chilly weather and a hill known as

Ellwood City SR Jake Walker has not only wiped the one blemish off his season, he has complete erased it. In AAA, North Allegheny continued their season-long win streak, once again topping Pittsburgh Central Catholic. In AAA Girls, Latrobe firmly established themselves as one of the favorites for a state title. The race also produced the three fastest times of the day. Frosh Natalie Bower led her Latrobe team to the title, running 18:51 for the win. Sophomore Kacey Gibson of Neshannock beat the defending state champ Rachel Erny of Brentwood by 16 seconds, going 19:12. Riverwiew won the team title by 87 to 95 over Greensburg Central Catholic.

The announcement on the Foot Locker web site...

Four Photo Galleries by Don Rich from 10/29 PIAA District 3 Championships @ Hersheypark

By popular demand of the WVIAC coaches and the support of Coach Mike Ryan of Morgantown High School, WVRunners became a reality on Friday, October 28 2005. On the first day of existence, the site had 1,249 views.

Athens, WV

Five Photo Galleries by Don Rich from 10/28 PIAA District 1 Championships @ Lehigh University

Athens, WV

Due to popular demand by coaches in the state, West Virginia has been added as the newest state on the MileSplit Network!

The Dallas girls, minus their #4 girl, survived the muck and wind and yes, snow flurries for their race, to win the AA Girls title over great team races from Lake-Lehman and Blue Ridge The AA Boys race was a romp for defending state champs Scranton Prep. The AAA Girls race was won by Hazleton, despite the absence of their #1 runner, Maria Monks, who is out for the season with a back injury. The 19-point win came over Wallenpaupack, which took the top two spots as Jessica Hunter ran 20:12 (the best time of the day) and Rachel Schmalzle, a freshman. Abington Heights had started the race-day out with a 17-point margin of victory over Hazleton in the AAA Boys race. Wallenpaupack\'s Keviin Sives ran 17:12 for the win, the fastest time of the day.

LaSalle used a 21-second compression behind the winning 16:40 by Pat Jeffers to win the PCL Northern Division meet with a day-best 16:50.52 team average. St. Hubert\'s placed five in the top ten to win the girls race. In the Southern Division, Cardinal O\'Hara swept the team and individual titles, as Greg Thomas ran 16:04.35, and Beth Kelly went 19:28.96 to lead their teams.

42 images are now online for viewing only from the Region 7-4A Championships.

Brian Duffy led his Malvern mates on a sweep and a perfect score of 15 at the 10/24 Inter-Ac Championships held at Chestnut Hill Academy. His time set a meet record. The girls race was close, as Germantown Academy edged Notre Dame by two.

The Allderdice boys and girls teams tallied a total of 37 team points in TWO races. Schenley\'s Angelica Martinez broke her own new meet record. Colie Smith led the Allderdice boys at the 10/22 PIAA District 8 Championships at Schenley Oval in Pittsburgh.

Four Photo Galleries by Don Rich from 10/26 PIAA District 2 Championships @ Scranton Municipal Golf Course

Unionville narrowly swept the teams titles over Great Valley at the 10/19 Southern Chester County League meet at Nottingham Park.

The Daniel Boone Homestead course was as mean to its competitors as ever, but that didn

PHOTO GALLERIES: Districts 1, 2, 3 and 6 NOW ON!(Cover photo of Chambersburg JR Sarah Morrison, D3 AAA Champ in 18:45 at Hershey -- photo by Don Rich) Results are on for the Philadelphia Catholic League Division Champs, PIAA Districts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; Inter-Ac League, Friends Schools League, Keystone Conference, PA Independent Schools, Philly Public League Champs. In the second year as a part of the PIAA, Central continued to dominate the AAA races, while Engineering & Science did the same in AA at the 10/20 PIAA District 12 Championships. Allderdice swept District 8 on 10/22 as Angelica Martinez broke her own course record at Schenley Oval. Malvern Prep scores perfect 15 behind Brian Duffy at 10/24 Inter-Ac Championships at Chestnut Hill Academy. Germantown Academy girls edges Notre Dame. Germantown Friends sweeps the 10/25 Friends\' Schools League Champs at Belmont Plateau. Phil-Mont Christian throws a perfect 15 at the 10/26 Keystone Conference Champs at Church Farm School. At the 10/26 PCL Northern and Southern Division Championships, NE#10 LaSalle\'s boys showed they are the team to beat. Greg Thomas, O\'Hara, reinforced his position as the individual to beat. The O\'Hara girls won comfortably. St. Hubert\'s took their division. In the 10/26 PIAA District 2 Championships, the Dallas girls, minus their #4 girl, survived the muck and wind and yes, snow flurries for their race, to win the AA Girls title over great team races from Lake-Lehman and Blue Ridge The AA Boys race was a romp for defending state champs Scranton Prep. The AAA Girls race was won by Hazleton, despite the absence of their #1 runner, Maria Monks, who is out for the season with a back injury. Abington Heights had started the race-day out with a 17-point margin of victory over Hazleton in the AAA Boys race. At the PIAA District 7 Championships, Jake Walker has not only wiped the one blemish off his season, he has complete erased it. In AAA, North Allegheny continued their season-long win streak, once again topping Pittsburgh Central Catholic. In AAA Girls, Latrobe firmly established themselves as one of the favorites for a state title. The race also produced the three fastest times of the day. Frosh Natalie Bower led her Latrobe team to the title, running 18:51 for the win. Sophomore Kacey Gibson of Neshannock beat the defending state champ Rachel Erny of Brentwood by 16 seconds, going 19:12. Riverwiew won the team title by 87 to 95 over Greensburg Central Catholic. They\'re always there at the end of the season. They\'re always there at the end of the season. Despite bumps, major or minor, you can pretty much count on Allentown Central Catholic to be ready for the post-season, starting with the 10/27 PIAA District 11 Championships at Lehigh. They are ready once again, and they advance again, along with the Easton girls. In boys AAA, it\'s Parkland and Emmaus. And in AA, it was Alexa Griffiths and Isaac Dunkelberger leading their Tamaqua teams to titles. PIAA District 4 Championships at Bloomsburg University: Danville put together a strong top five and took the AA Girls win. Northeast Bradford\'s boys won AA. And Shikellamy swept both AAA titles. At the 10/27 Philadelphia Public League Champs at Belmont Plateau, E&S was led to team wins by course records by Lavaughn Jones and Trevon Rainford. 10/28 PIAA District 1 Champs: One district championship team captured their first league title just last Saturday. So a district title is the logical next step, right? Another district champion ran her first district race. Ever. The Coatesville boys defended all comers, being joined by two other teams from their league in the top three spots. Keith Capecci used a furious close to take the AAA title. Gwynedd Mercy got back to states as a full team. Beth Lambright dominated. Devon Prep did likewise in AA Boys, as another Springfield Montco runner proved the best again in AA. At the Gettysburg Invitational, it was Vince McNally pushing Craig Miller to a sub-15 on a flat course. At the 10/29 PIAA District 3 Championships, it was Kennard Dale senior Jon Grey as the only one to stay with Miller through the mile and then 2.5 miles before the senior star pulled away for a 15:31 course record. The Millers 1st and 3rd led their Manheim Township team to a 93-point margin of victory over surprising Twin Valley, 58-151. Chambersburg\'s girls weren\'t quite as dominant over a strong Governor Mifflin squad, winning by 40 behind the fastest time of the day, an 18:45 by junior Sarah Morrison. York Suburban\'s AA boys used a 38-second compression to beat Lancaster Mennonite 92-100, with Kutztown senior Josh Neyhart winning the race in 16:35. The Lancaster Mennonite girls had little trouble in the AA race, as Lindsey Shertzer took 2nd in 19:10 and Katie Ruth 4th in 10:21, tallying just 68 points. Boiling Springs sophomore Kara Millhouse won her second District 3 AA title in 19:05. Run on the same day on the same course, the 10/29 PIAA District 5 Championships belonged to the Chestnut Ridge boys and Bedford girls. It was a State College sweeps for the boys and girls at the 10/29 PIAA District 6 Championships in the AAA races. In AA, Central Cambria sophomore Carly Seymour posted the fastest time of the day to lead her team to the title. Penns Valley\'s boys won a two-point race over Central Cambria, while Westmont Hilltop\'s Travis Dean was District champ. This was close. In the AA Girls race at the 10/29 PIAA District 10 Championships, it was Slippery Rock by a nose in AA. Frosh Lauren Zarger best time of meet, 19:31. Northeast boys easier time. General McLane girls, Meadville boys take AAA. At the 10/29 PIAA District 9 Championships Bradford won both AAA title behind individual wins by their top runners, while in AA, it was Elk County Catholic taking both team titles, and Brookville\'s Jessica Swonger and Smethport\'s Ben Hahn capturing individual honors.

Photo Gallery of the October 20 Berks County meet by Aaron Russelll

Three Photo Galleries of the October 19 Mid-Penn Conference meet @ Carlisle byJoe Guty, Aaron Russelll and Derek Hockenberry

Danville swept the girls and boys championships at the 10/22 Susquehanna Valley Conference meet, one comfortably, and one by just four points. Lindsey Scheller, Shikellamy, and Ryan Boyer, Southern Columbia, took home individual titles.

The SCTCCCA released the top 10 poll earlier this week.

The Wellsboro girls and the Northeast Bradford boys dominated their races behind a win by Heather Sayre and a 3rd place showing by Ethan Laudermilch.

Kennard-Dale took three of the top five spots in the boys race, as Jonathan Grey led his team with a strong 15:49 at John Rudy Park. York Suburban\'s Emily Perina outsprinted Eastern York\'s Elicia Anderson to win by a second in 18:59.

45 images are now online for viewing only from the York County Championships, held on Oct. 22.

47 images are now online for viewing only from the Greenville County Championships, held Oct. 22 at Cleveland Park.

General McLane girls and boys use front-running clusters to dominate. Harbor Creek frosh Lauren Zarger wins in quick 18:09, while Lane King of Fairview takes the boys\' race in 16:07.

At the D10 Region 1 meet at Buhl Park, Sharon\'s girls were seven-point winners over West Middlesex, but the West Middlesex boys took their race by six over another region power, Sharpsville.

Josh Hibbs led Hatboro-Horsham to a 19-point win over Central Bucks South and Council Rock South. Claire Smith and Anna Aegenes led Central Bucks West to the girls team title with their 3rd and 4th place performances. Kate Ross, Central Bucks East, won in 19:10.

The Council Rock North girls came into their league meet with a perfect record. They left impressed with the North Penn pack, which threw an impressive 28-second compression at their competitors. The Council Rock North boys were 12 point winners over North Penn as senior Keith Capecci set the pace.

The Upper Dublin girls were nine-point winners over Wissahickon behind the 18:54 by junior Heath Calisto, and the Wissahickon boys took care of business, taking five of the top six spots.

In the second year as a part of the PIAA, Central continued to dominate the AAA races, while Engineering & Science did the same in AA at the 10/20 PIAA District 12 Championships. E&S\'s Lavaughn Jones set a public league course record at Belmont Plateau with a 19:21, while Bartram\'s Shativah Lewis also broke the old record, running 19:31.

Guess what, Governor Mifflin still has that front pack, and now, within 40 seconds, they have their 5th runner. They totaled just 36 points, placing their five scorers in the top 13 behind the 1st place finish by frosh Lindsay Topper...and Twin Valley took the boys title as Exeter\'s Nick Hilton won the individual race.

\"I am so tired, I can\'t even talk

Three Photo Galleries by Don Rich from 10/22 Central League Championships @ Rose Tree Park

Forest Park senior Stefanie Slekis has been well known in the state of Virginia since her freshmen year when she burst onto the scene as one of the state\'s top new faces. Since then she has emerged into one of the state\'s elite runners, but has had her share of bumps along the road including a trying junior year. Through it all though, Slekis has risen above the adversity as she is in the middle of an outstanding senior year that may lead her to her first state title.

Photo Gallery by Ryan Comstock from 10/19 Ches-Mont League Championship.

Halsey Sinclair and Ryan Janes had to earn it at Saturday

Conestoga\'s Liz Costello posts a very fast 18:34 on a cold, wet day at the rolling Rose Tree Park course. Radnor places four girls in top eight to win by 14 over Strath Haven. Radnor\'s Sean Mahoney edges Conestoga\'s Myles Lund, but Haven puts four in top nine to seal boys\' title.

57 images are now online from the Greenville County Championships, held in Cleveland Park.

There were two close races in the Colonial League Champs at DeSales Unversity with the Notre Dame boys and Northwestern Lehigh girls taking titles.

John Parrish, one of our sophomores, lost his life in an automobile accident Friday night 10/21/05. John\'s brother, Brennan, is a 7th grader at JCS. His father and mother, Gil and Robin, Brennan, and two older sisters will benefit from our prayers and support. Please remember them often in the days to come. Visitation will be Saturday, 5:00-8:00 p.m. at Arrington Funeral Home on University Parkway in Jackson and again on Sunday, 1:00-4:00, at the Union University Chapel. Funeral services will be at 4:00 p.m. Sunday at the Union University Chapel.

30 images are now online for viewing only from the Region 3-3A meet, held Oct. 19 at Union High School.

Craig Miller sets a course record 15:20 in the Lebanon-Lancaster League Championships. Vince McNally of Conestoga Valley was 2nd. But this time, Craig wasn\'t pushed. Brad took 3rd, and the boys of Manheim Township used a 1:14 compression to score just 27 points. Lindsay Shertzer (19:09), Lisa Wingard (19:15) and Katie Ruth (19:15) went 1-2-4 to lead Lancaster Mennonite to a team win with 68 points.

Brian Cullin won his third straight Mountain Valley Conference title, leading his team to a narrow win over Lehighton. Pleasant Valley won the girls title as Lehighton\'s Hailey Neff won individual honors.

Central Cambria swept the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference, taking one individual championship and placing three in the top ten of both races. Carly Seymour led her team with a first place. Travis Dean, Westmont Hilltop, won the boys race.

The Dallas boys and girls sweep the Ed Narkiewicz meet at Kiirby Park in Wilkes-Barre. Pack running helps both, but Lisa Giacometti\'s 1 point for a first place 19:25 goes a long way, as well.

NE#7 Coatesville\'s boys had to earn their Ches-Mont title in the state\'s toughest boys\' league. West Chester East\'s Duriel Hardy set a course record. Downingtown East\'s girls are almost as dominant in the girls race, but West Chester Easy Alycia Woodruff set the individual pace for the Ches-Mont League Champs @ Malvern Prep.

Hillcrest alumna Jennifer Hitt, a sophomore at Anderson College captured her second CVAC individual title Friday in Anderson at Pine Lake Golf Course.

Three Photo Galleries by Don Rich from 10/20 Tri-State Coaches Association Meet @ Cooper\'s Lake near Slippery Rock

Lauren Klas is a senior at Mauldin High School. Klas talks about summer training, the 2004 season, this season and the future.

Lakeshore Foundation is pleased to inform you of an exciting opportunity to attend the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy! The US Paralympics\' International Paralympic Academy Essay Contest is now accepting applicants, winners will include ten athletes with physical disabilities and five coaches working with physically disabled athletes from across the country who will take an all expenses paid trip to Torino, Italy to the 2006 Winter Paralympic Games March 8 - 13, 2006.

Latrobe and their front-running freshman Natalie Bower are looking like a strong challenger for state honors, while in the boys Varsity race, it was a AA show at the front by Jake Walker and Lucas Zarzeczny at the 10/20 Tri State Coaches Assocation meet at Cooper\'s Lake.

50 images are now online, for viewing only from the Charleston County Championships, held Oct. 19.

Strike up the Band Tri-Cities, because we have a new cross country talent in the region. His name is Josh Vasquez of Dobyns-Bennett. The super sophomore is no Clark Kent. He

Three photo galleries of the 10/19 Mountain Athletic Conference @ Indian Valley MS by Karen Ward

Leading from the gun, State College junior Katherine Ward won the Mountain Athletic Conference comfortably in 19:03 at the Indian Valley Middle School course, leading her team to a six-point win over favored Altoona. On the boys\' side, Altoona\'s Zach Epple pulled ahead of Indian Valley\'s Ben Loht in the last quarter mile to win in 16:42. But the State College boys pulled off the easy team win with 5 in the top 8. (Thanks to Lewistown coach Scott Falkner for the race notes.)

West Springfield junior Mike Spooner has set a path of greatness for himself thus far this fall. This past Saturday, Spooner won his fourth consecutive major invitational at the Runnin\' With The Wolves Invitational as he defeated many top ranked runners including Christiansburg\'s John Horst, Northside\'s Zac Edwards, and E.C. Glass\' Patterson Wilhelm. While the three forementioned runners are in their final year of high school, Spooner has one more year of development after this year to become one of the best runners this state has seen in the last few years. Coming from the storied West Springfield program, he sure has great tradition and coaching to guide him down that road of success.

Chambersburg won the girls team title behind a 3rd place finish by Sarah Morrison. Big Spring\'s Lara Crofford earned an individual title. In the boys race, Cumberland Valley moved up from 2nd to first this year, just as team leader Curtis Bixler did in taking the individual win in a quick 16:07.

The Tamaqua\'s have it. Once again, Alexa Griffiths and Isaac Dunkelberger won the Schuylkill League Championships at the Tuscarora State Park 3-mile layout. Actually, it\'s a three-peat for the pair... and next year would be a high school sweep.

Chrystal Haire is a senior at Westminster Catawba (Rock Hill). Haire is looking to defend her NCISAA state title on Oct. 28.

Easton takes the individual titles, but it\'s Allentown Central Catholic\'s girls and the Parkland boys who win the Lehigh Valley Conference titles.

Liberty

PHOTO GALLERIES: Berks County (Aaron Russell), Mid-Penn Conference (Aaron Russell, Derek Hockenbery), Central League, Ches-Mont boys, Tri-State, Mountain Athletic Conf. (Karen Ward), and D10 Region 6 (Carl Strub). Video link at Schuylkill League page. On 10/17, Trinity captured the individual titles, but took 2nds in the team competition at the Washington County Coaches Meet. On 10/18 Easton athletes captured the individual races, but it was Allentown Central Catholic\'s girls and the Parkland boys who won the Lehigh Valley Conference team titles. On 10/19: The Dallas boys and girls sweep the Ed Narkiewicz meet at Kiirby Park with classic pack running, but Lisa Giacometti\'s 1 point for first place goes a long way, as well. At the 10/19 Freedom Invitational, defending state AA champ Rachel Erny cruises. Riverview\'s girls edge Center by a point. Washington boys win. In the Mid-Penn Conference, Chambersburg wins the girls team title behind Sarah Morrison. Big Spring\'s Lara Crofford earned an individual win. In the boys race, Cumberland Valley moved up from 2nd to first this year, just as team leader Curtis Bixler did in taking the individual win. The State College boys and girls won the Mountain Athletic Conference on 10/19. Katherine Ward led wire-to-wire, and Zach Epple came from behind to win the boys race. The Daniel Boone Homestead course was as mean to its competitors as ever, but that didn

Mercersburg took four of the top six places behind the 18:07 by James Finucane to tally 34 points and win the Saint James School Inv in Maryland. In the girls race, Madi McConnell ran 21:32 for 2nd place, leading her team to a 2nd place finish.

These rankings are based on performances entered as of Oct. 18. If you see an athlete missing that has a performance that is entered, their graduation year is not entered. E-mail the graduation year to me and next time they will show up in the rankings when we publish them, based on performances from full meet results we have received.

Defending AA state champ Rachel Erny of Brentwood posted a quick 19:13 to win by 22 seconds over Baldwin\'s Allyson Sheehan, but Baldwin, with three runners in the top six, would win. For the boys, Gateway was a ten point winner. Baldwin\'s Mike Meade won the race in 16:29.

Collins Hill (Ga.) junior Drouin Jackie finished first in the Sandhills Invitational girl\'s varsity race. Drouin covered the course in 18:29 with South Carolina\'s first runner being Chrystal Haire of Westminster Catawba, a member of the NCISAA. Haire (second), a senior finished ahead of the strength of Mauldin High runners Alyssa Kulik (third), Hannah Morgan (fourth) and Lauren Klas (fifth) in 18:39.

The Forest never ended and I loved it

MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (Oct. 14, 2005)

LaSalle finally catches O\'Hara, taking 2nd at the Eastern States race at Van Cortlandt Park behind Pat Jeffers in 13:00 for 6th. O\'Hara\'s Greg Thomas was 2nd in 12:45.

Ellwood City swept the team titles at the Tri-County North Conference meet as Jake Walker finished 1st in 15:55, and teammate Janet Carson took 2nd in 20:47. Kacey Gibson, Neshannock, won the girls race in 18:26.

Carlisle went west to run in the adidas Southern California Invitational, a uniquely formatted event that pits #1 vs #1, and down the line to 6\'s and 7\'s in the same race. The places are then tallied, and team finishes determined. The Carlisle girls took 3rd in Division 2 behind Marie Lamparter\'s 14th place 14:57 for the slightly short of 4k course. The Carlisle boys would take 6th behind Aaron Hoover\'s 17:59 for 5k.

Knoch senior Artie Black led a trio of teammates across the line in the top five to start the scoring that would result in a 62 to 68 win over Titusville. The girls race wasn\'t as close as General McLane tallied just 39 points behind Lindsay Petri.

66 images are now online for viewing only from the Wando Invitational, held on Oct. 15.

Five photo galleries of the 10/15 State College Invitational @ State College HS by Karen Ward

At the Gettysburg College Invitational, homeschooled Neely Spence was 2nd out of 257 runners in the women\'s 6k, going 20:58.

Ashley Brasovan dominated the field on the girls side, while Kyle Cooke wrapped up another win in the boys varsity race. We have some great action shots here by Barry Jones!

Let\'s say you want to get in some good hill training during the summer before facing the worst the fall cross country courses have to offer. You see you have the Spiked Shoe on your schedule on the Blue Golf Course at Penn State University, along with its lengthy closing rise. You know you\'re going to run at Steel City, with it\'s winding, grueling trek toward the VA hospital at the top. And there\'s that challenging home course race in State College two weeks later. Plus, if all goes as planned, there is the nasty hill 600 meters into the race at the Hersheypark course in the PIAA State Championship.

The Oakton boys, unranked in the Nike Team Nationals Southeast Region and ranked #5 in the state, scored a huge upset in defeating the previously unbeaten and #1 state ranked Thomas Jefferson boys at the Eastern State Championships held at Van Courtland Park in New York City. On the 2.5 mile course, the Oakton boys (106 pts) won the team title by 35 points over the third place Thomas Jefferson boys (131 pts). Lasalle of Pennsylvania (122 pts) took runner-up honors and fellow PA school and #9 NTN Northeast ranked Cardinal O\'Hara finished fourth (166 pts). Meanwhile, the #2 NTN Southeast ranked Oakton girls (82 pts) were defeated in the \"A\" race division by NTN Northeast unranked Pope John of New Jersey (59 pts).

Juniors Mike Spooner of West Springfield and Catherine White of Northside set new course record marks at the Runnin\' With The Wolves Invitational held at Wolf Branch Farm. Spooner knocked one second off the old record with his 16:25 clocking as he beat a field that included some of the state\'s best in Group AA #2 ranked John Horst (2nd, 16:44), Group A #1 ranked Simon Biddle-Snead (3rd, 16:54), Group AA #1 ranked Zac Edwards (4th, 16:58), and Group AAA #4 ranked Patterson Wilhelm (5th, 17:15). White destroyed her own course record by one minute and four seconds with her 18:47 clocking. She won by even a larger margin with Jefferson Forest\'s Lisa MacPherson (20:12) taking runner-up honors on her home course. The Blacksburg girls continued their winning ways that has them posed as a strong threat to Nike Team Nationals ranked Brentsville this season with 38 points. Blacksburg put their entire top five in the top 15 places with Allison Homer (4th, 20:47), Ariel Burbey (5th, 21:02), Laurel MacMillian (6th, 21:06), Cate Berenato (12th, 21:36), and Hannah Barrow (13th, 21:59). The Jamestown boys (73 pts) scored a huge upset over the Nike Team Nationals Southeast Region #9 ranked West Springfield boys (77 pts). A 38 second time gap between the Eagles top five runners helped lead them to victory with Thomas Horley (8th, 17:31), Andrew Mearns (14th, 17:49), Raymond Hutchinson (18th, 18:00), Kirk Aldridge (20th, 18:04), and John Holt (23rd, 18:09).

Originally planned as a subvarsity only meet, the Lee-Davis Invitational opened up a varsity division and a flood of fast times came with them. One time in particular, 18:13, the new course record time set by Oaktree Academy sophomore Aurora Scott as she shattered the old mark of 18:59 held by Christy Ward (James River HS, 2004). Runner-up Anne Barber of Tallwood also dipped under the old record with a 18:56 clocking as she continues to have a breakthrough cross country season. The boys\' race saw an exciting finish with three seconds separating the top three finishers in Alex Bowman of Hermitage (16:26), Richard \"Skeeter\" Morris of Nottoway (16:27), and John Vial of Hermitage (16:29). With only a #10 ranked Western Albemarle girls without four of their top seven in attendance at Pole Green, the #6 state ranked Fairfax girls won easily with a 34 point team total. The Fairfax ladies had an impressive 27 second spread between their top five runners on a course that is fairly comparable to the state course with Jessica Trapeni (4th, 19:50), Liz Kakouris (7th, 20:05), Anne-Marie Duncan (8th, 20:09), Frances Dowd (9th, 20:11), and Natalie Auble (11th, 20:17). The #6 state ranked Hermitage boys (61 pts) won by 24 points over Group AA #5 ranked Fort Defiance (85 pts) with a strong front two in Bowman and Vial as well as a solid three to follow in Nathan Puckett (8th, 16:42), Ben Hendrick (26th, 17:24), and Kieran Lee (31st, 17:29). Fort Defiance finished ahead of #10 state ranked Osbourn Park (3rd, 94 pts) as the lack of a strong fifth man continues to separate the Indians from being one of the state\'s top teams this fall.

The 2005-2006 schedule of indoor meets at New York\'s Armory is now posted.

Coatesville remained at NE#8, while Cardinal O\'Hara, with a dominant showing in the Delaware County Championships, moved up a notch to NE#9. Manheim Township, who was idle, dropped from the NE top ten.

Running a week later made a big difference in the weather, and LaSalle took advantage, getting 2nd at the Eastern States Championships at Van Cortlandt Park. Katherine Ward won her home invitational in State College, her 4th meet win of the season, Altoona won the Girls\' team title. In the boys\' race, State College held off Chambersburg, but C-burg\'s Tommy Taylor took 1st. (Photo of boys varsity at 10/15 State College Invitational - by Karen Ward)

The SCTCCCA released the top 10 poll earlier this week.

From RunnersWeb.com: In a 41 minute ceremony at St. Patrick\'s Church in Burrillville, R.I. last Friday, Mark Carroll and Amy Rudolph were married after some 14 years of dating. They were married during a traditional Catholic mass given by Fr. Bernie O\'Reilley.

Rankings compiled through tallied polls of rankings sent in by coaches on a weekly basis. If you are a coach and interested in participating in next week\'s rankings, send your rankings into MileStat.com at milestat@yahoo.com

Florida\'s top female returner Kelly Parrish called her college visit marathon short. The Ocala Vanguard senior announced that she has verbally committed to the University of Tennessee, foregoing her final two trips to Arkansas and North Carolina.

Photo Gallery by Don Rich from 10/8 Manhattan Invitational - Boys Race C with LaSalle and North Penn

The Cardinal O\'Hara girls came in as favorites, especially after their win at the Briarwood Invitational. But Radnor has been a program on the rise in recent years, and it\'s beginning to pay off. Three underclassmen led the charge for Radnor, taking 1st, 2nd and 4th to start with seven points. O\'Hara had it a bit easier in the boys race, and pre-race predictions held firm for the NE#10 school.

Rainy conditions and stiff competition greeted the Virginia schools that made the hike to the Manhattan College Invitiational held at the historic Van Courtland Park in New York City. The Brentsville and Midlothian girls got a taste of how competitive the Northeast Region is as they competed in the Eastern State division. Both teams failed to finish in the top ten in the team scoring of the race division which included six of the top ten teams ranked in the NTN Northeast Region including US #1 Saratoga Springs of New York. Forest Park senior Stefanie Slekis had the best individual run today among the Virginia girls as she clocked a time of 15:17.3 to finish 13th overall in the Eastern State girls\' race.

There were puddles, muddy hillsides, falling runners, and finally... a flat track with some traction to welcome the soaked runners from their 3 mile trek over the William Tennent HS campus. The rain and conditions didn\'t slow Liz Costello or Tom Mooney as much as you\'d think...

19 images are now online from the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational, held on Oct. 8.

Pushed back due to heavy rains that flooded the course for the original race date on Saturday, the Glory Days Grill Invitational went ahead with races on Monday with high schoolers out of school for Columbus Day. The top ranked team in the state, Thomas Jefferson boys, won the team title, but not exactly in dominating fashion as they won by 13 points over #8 state ranked Herndon. #4 West Springfield (3rd, 115 pts) and #3 Oakton (4th, 149 pts) fell back on a course still feeling the effects of the wet weather in previous days. Mike Spooner, after posting two convincing victories at Great American and the Salesianum Invitational, proved his legitimacy in his neck of the woods as he defeated Northern region rivals Abreham Daganchew of Herndon (2nd, 16:19) and Brad Siragusa of Chantilly (3rd, 16:20) in a time of 16:15 on the 5 kilometer course at Bull Run Regional Park. While no surprise given her performances in past years, Michael Nelson of The Potomac School has been under the radar this fall due to a lack of racing and was a surprise winner given that in the girls\' race with a 19:19 clocking. The Oakton girls (67 pts) ran away with the team title by a 46 point margin over #6 state ranked Fairfax (113 pts). The Lady Cougars, ranked #2 in the state currently and current favorite for the AAA state crown, placed four runners in the top 15.

Well, I went out conservatively like I always do

Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common injuries in runners, recreational and competitive alike. Although it can be frustrating to experience, there is good news for plantar fasciitis sufferers: it gets better! This frustration is perhaps best illustrated by the bumper sticker available at the Ragged Mountain Running Shop that reads, \"I survived plantar fasciitis!\" Mark and Cynthia don

Despite wind and rain, Justin Harbor of Flagler Palm Coast wins his race in the Manhattan Invitational (the largest meet in the nation) with the fastest time of the day of 12:34.5 on the 2.5 mile course.

38 photographs are now online for viewing only from the Furman Invitational.

Looking for a tune-up for Northeast Foot Lockers after that long break following Districts/States? Didn

So far both the Glory Days Grill Invitational and Albemarle Invitational, set to go on this Saturday, have been postponed due to unsafe course conditions from the heavy rain and flooding from the past few days. The Glory Days Grill at Bull Run Park, will use the original race schedule and be run on Monday, October 10th. The Albemarle Invitational at Panorama Farms, has been rescheduled to Tuesday, October 11th.

Oaktree Academy sophomore Aurora Scott scorched yet another swift 5K against college competition as she dropped her previous state season leader best of 17:36 with a 17:32 win at the Norfolk State College Invitational. Scott had clocked her previous season best of 17:36 at Great American in the Nike Race of Champions college women race where she finished 13th overall. In wet conditions at Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach and little of any competition as she won by 53 seconds, Scott outdid her Great American performance by four seconds.

Latrobe dominated their county meet behind the one-two punch of Natalie Bower and Liz Brickley, while the Norwin boys used a tight pack to beat Penn Trafford.

I have a race on Sunday!!!

LaSalle College and North Penn went to New York to race in the biggest one-day invitational, the Manhattan Inv at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Both teams drew the toughest race, in the tougest weather, and responded well. In western PA, Latrobe dominated their Westmoreland County meet behind the one-two punch of Natalie Bower and Liz Brickley, while the Norwin boys used a tight pack to beat Penn Trafford on Thursday 10/6. (Front Page: Pat Jeffers and Cody Edling nearing the exit of the woods at Manhattan - Photo by Don Rich)

After a week that saw NE#9 West Chester East lose two meets by a total of just three points (a dual with Henderson by one, and Paul Short to Cumberland Valley by two) there remain three PA teams ranked in the NTN Northeast list -- Coatesville at #8, Manheim Township at #9, and Cardinal O\'Hara at #10.

Wissahickon\'s Boys and Girls teams each captured 2nd place awards in the Varsity A Races on the difficult Brandywine Creek State Park course at the annual Salesianum Invitational.

Souderton made the trip to Williamsburg, Virginia and came away with a first place finish in the Boys B Race...

Latrobe girls\' cross country team sends message: It\'s for real - by Rich Emert, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette...

We are pleased to welcome once again all the competitors, coaches, parents and relatives of the runners and all other interested followers of cross country to the 13th Annual Glory Days Grill Invitational here at Bull Run Regional Park. Everyone concerned with the meet are again looking forward to an exciting afternoon of racing with approximately 1,500 runners representing almost 60 schools, scheduled to compete in one of the nine races on Bull Run\'s 5,000 meter (3.1 mile) layout.

Rankings compiled through tallied polls of rankings sent in by coaches on a weekly basis. If you are a coach and interested in participating in next week\'s rankings, send your rankings into MileStat.com at milestat@yahoo.com

Wellsboro is one of the best AA girls teams in the state, and they gave Danville all they could handle, losing by just two points. Central Cambria sophomore Carly Seymour won again. And Sean Craig led Honesdale to a relatively easy win with his first place.

The Owen J. Roberts guys continued their strong season, winning the Harrier Invitational at Pottstown by 12, while the Oley Valley girls won the team title behind the individual win by Rachel Suydan.

Gettysburg went to Smithburg MD High School for the Don Stoner Invitational, and came away with two individual titles in the Large School races.

Dallas swept both Varsity races... with the girls winning by a lot, and the boys by 15. Dallas girls went 1-2-3.

Scott Van Kooten won the Varsity A Race, but North Allegheny, behind Pat Morgan\'s 5th place, beat Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Natalie Bower is rocking western PA cross country this season, and she has company. Two teammates joined her in the top five at the Pittsburgh Central Catholic Invitational to lead Latrobe to a 41-72 win over North Allegheny. In the Varsity B Race, Punxsutawney held off Greensburg Central Catholic by two points. And in the boys\' Varsity B race, it was Canon MacMillan by 46 over Greensburg Central Catholic.

Lara Crofford continues her strong season, capturing the Cumberland County Individual title. Red Land took the team title. For the boys, Justin Keller and Corey Creek lead Cedar Cliff to the team title.

Luckily, Fritz shot that down and said, \"no, let\'s just try another 2k.\" And I made it through of course!

Bona Jones has dominated the distance events in Southwest Florida since coming to Estero last season, but thus far has only come up with two silvers at state. This year she\'s craving her first championship.

Erie McDowell wins boys race. Avonworth junor Lucas Zarzeczny wins by over a minute in quick 15:30. Trinity frosh Chelsea Sumney cruises to win, but her team falls by five to Villa Maria

Photo gallery of the October 1 Grove City Invitational by Carl Strub

Boys and Girls Team Rankings for 10/2

I

We will have load of photos and race summaries coming over the next few days. Full results are posted and photo galleries will be posted Sunday morning.

Daniel Vincent is a senior at Wando High School. Vincent talks about goals for this year, summer training and the future.

Katherine Ward is no longer an emerging star in PA. She proved the point with a big win over a talented field at the Steel City Invitational... while Boyertown\'s Jason Weller ran 15:49 for the win. NE#7 Coatesville defended home turf with their usual strategy of out-hard, hold on.

Photo Gallery of 10/1 Varsity Girls Race @ Paul Short Run - Lehigh University, by Ryan Comstock

Three photo galleries of the 10/1 Steel City Invitational @ Coatesville HS by Karen Ward

Georgetown Prep\'s Steven Duplinsky destroyed the course record of 14:44 held by Matt Keally and set in 2001 with a winning time of 14:30 on the Eastern State Hospital 3.05 mile course as the William & Mary Invitational returned to the original course layout after two years with an altered shorter course. The performance bodes well for the Marylander Duplinsky as many Foot Locker finalists could not post as fast of a time on this course in years past. Duplinsky went through the mile mark in 4:28 and two miles in 9:18 as he distanced himself far ahead of Virginia\'s top finisher in E.C. Glass junior Patterson Wilhelm in 15:32. Maryland took the team title as well as Duplinsky\'s Georgetown Prep squad won with a team score of 115 points as they narrowly held off a suprise runner-up finish by Osbourn Park with 117 points. A team battle within the team scoring for Group AA bragging rights was found with #5 AA ranked Western Albemarle (4th, 131 pts) taking down #3 AA ranked Jamestown (5th, 140) on Jamestown\'s home course as Will Massie (4th, 15:42) led the way for the Warriors of Western. The girls\' individual and team crowns stayed in the state as James River sophomore Kristin Wolfe continued her momentum from her great run at Great American with a victory at William & Mary with a 18:19 clocking. Great Bridge\'s Kristine Tobin was a close second in 18:24, while fourth place Kaylan Comer (18:29) led the #9 AAA ranked Colonial Forge girls (90 pts) to the team title over the #8 state ranked Western Albemarle girls (115 pts).

The Octoberfest Invitational saw some heavyweight matchups with some of the state\'s best racing against one another. The Thomas Jefferson boys proved their legitimacy as the top ranked team in the state with a convincing win by 55 points over second place Herndon with five runners under 16:50 on the Great Meadows hill course for 5,000 meters. Chantilly senior Brad Siragusa proved just why many are considering him the best runner in the state this year by getting revenge on Herndon\'s Abe Daganchew and beating Group AA\'s best in John Horst of Christiansburg and Zac Edwards of Northside in a time of 15:44.10. Horst finished a strong second in 15:48.09 for his second consecutive victory over a Group AA #1 ranked runner in Edwards (3rd, 16:01.43) this week and Abingdon\'s Griff Graves at Bristol Cross last weekend. Dagnachew, a race leader and with the lead pack for most of the race, faltered badly in the latter portion of the race to a 20th place finish. Another upset in the AA ranks was the Sherando boys (216 pts) knocking off Fort Defiance (247 pts) for fourth place honors. On the girls\' side, the individual and team winners were probably surprises to most, but no shocker for those who have seen Albemarle\'s Rachel Rose and the Blacksburg girls race all season. Albemarle junior Rachel Rose took a convincing victory over Group AAA #1 ranked Stefanie Slekis (18:16.41) with a winning time of 17:58.96. Rose had previously been ranked #2 in Group AAA behind Slekis. Meanwhile, the Group AA #3 and #9 state ranked Blacksburg girls defeated four higher ranked teams in #4 Westfield (2nd, 161 pts), #5 Fairfax (3rd, 185 pts), #6 Lake Braddock (4th, 206 pts), and #7 Brooke Point (5th, 209 pts) with a team score of 150 points. With a strong top four that all finished in the top 20 places in Ariel Burbey (7th, 18:56.64), Allison Homer (15th, 19:36.83), Laurel MacMillan (19th, 19:41.84), and Cate Berenato (20th, 19:42.06), the Blacksburg girls were able to negate a weak fifth runner to take it to the larger Group AAA schools from northern Virginia.

In honor of their fallen teammate, the Heritage high school cross country team participated at the Athens Academy Invitational on Saturday. Many members of the family of Aubrae Gunderson were their in support. It\'s been an emotional week for the Patriots of Heritage but they reminded us all of what this great sport is all about. Kudos to you, Heritage. Coach Smith and Coach Wade have a remarkable group of athletes to work with and they celebrated the life of Aubrae Gunderson and did honor to her memory. It was a prvilege to compete with you on this day and best of luck to you all the rest of the season.

It\'s moving day, but there is more on Josi\'s mind. \"PATIENCE

I got 100+ pictures of the 2005 Volunteer Cross-Country Invite. I got there just after the girls middle school started and left before the college girls ran. I hope you enjoy all the pictures that I did get.

29 images are now online for viewing only from the Electric City XC Festival.

The West Springfield boys and junior Mike Spooner continue to look stronger each week of racing as the Spartans and their star runner took home first place honors for the second consecutive weekend at the Salesianum Invitational held at Brandywine Creek in Wilmington, Delaware. Spooner, who won the red invitational division race last weekend at Great American in 15:53, posted the third fastest clocking all-time at the Brandywine Creek 5K course with a winning time of 16:22. Only two runners have ran faster and Spooner finds himself in an elite class behind the two fastest in Alan Webb (2000) and Sharif Karie (1999). Meanwhile, three other teammates of Spooner\'s finished in the top 15 to secure the team victory with senior Chris Benton (10th, 17:20), junior Alex Martis (13th, 17:32) and junior Leo Walker (15th, 17:38). West Springfield\'s fifth man, sophomore Loring Ross, ran injured, but still managed a 34th place effort of 18:21. The next race up for Coach Kelbaugh\'s squad is at the Glory Days Invitational where they may get a crack at the state\'s top two programs in Thomas Jefferson and Brentsville.

27 images are now online for viewing only from Saturday\'s Wendy\'s Invitational, held at McAlpine Park in Charlotte.

Thanks to perfect racing weather conditions and dry, racetrack-like course, lightning fast times were recorded in the college races at the Paul Short Run with many of the state\'s programs in attendance. The short-handed Virginia Intermont College men (16th) and University of Richmond women (13th) were the top Virginia schools in the invitational divisions, while Richmond\'s John Ciccarelli (24:09.9), Amanda Russell (21:35.8), and Katie Van Horn (21:35.8) had the top individual performances of the day. The CNU women were the sole Virginia school to win a team title as they won the 6K open division. VMI (23rd) and U of R (29th) men have strong team performances in invitiational division.