As the year draws to a close, we will be counting down what we felt were the 10 best performances of 2008. Today we revisit the moment voted as #5 by our staff and webmasters.

As the year draws to a close, we will be counting down what we felt were the 10 best performances of 2008. Today we revisit the moment voted as #6 by our staff and webmasters.

Milesplit chronicles a few of the signature moments for the 2008 cross country season in the first annual XCNATION Year in Review.

As the year draws to a close, we will be counting down what we felt were the 10 best performances of 2008. Today we relive the moment voted as #7 by our staff and webmasters.

Brooke Hamscher (Whitehall, PA) with a U.S. #1 12-2 pole vault at the Robert J Burdette Indoor Classic

Charlene Lipsey didn’t wait for anyone to set the pace for her. She’s grown out of that. The Hempstead senior led wire-to-wire and wasted no time announcing herself as one of the top half-milers in the country Saturday.

When Sheepshead Bay’s Naquan Alexander zipped by the Westlake (Md.) anchor leg – on the inside of all places – by most accounts the race should have been over. But while Alexander was trying to hold on to the lead, there was Newburgh’s Randy Patterson tacked on to their heels looking for an opportunity.

As the year draws to a close, we will be counting down what we felt were the 10 best performances of 2008. Today we relive the moment voted as #8 by our staff and webmasters.

ArmoryTrack.com will once again webcast the meet this Saturday from 10am-4pm. Tune in right here on this page for results, highlights, and the streaming webcast starting at 10am EST Saturday morning.  

As the year draws to a close, we will be counting down what we felt were the 10 best performances of 2008. Today we relive the moment voted as #9 by our staff and webmasters.  

As the year draws to a close, we will be counting down what we felt were the 10 best performances of 2008.Today we relive the moment voted #10 by our staff and webmasters as well as some other performances deserving of mention.

December 19, 2008 - Chapel Hill, NC The National Scholastic Sports Foundation is pleased to announce the move of its Great American Cross-Country Festival back to Cary, NC. Credited as one of the nation's foremost high school cross-country events, the Great American Cross-Country Festival returns to Cary after a three year hiatus in Hoover, Alabama. http://www.nationalscholastic.org/article/425/

TJ Hobart begins his campaign to earn an invite to the Millrose Games with a win at the Bishop Loughlin Games (photo by Tim Fulton, ArmoryTrack.com)

Amadou Gueye had never run the 55-meter hurdles before. He didn’t know what a good time what. In never raced at the Bishop Loughlin Games before. In fact, the Albany Academy senior never even ran indoor track.

Cardozo sophomore Chamique Francis doesn’t have much experience running 300 meters. But she watched the meet. She knew the 55-meter champ was in her race. She knew the girl to her outside would challenge her all the way to the finish.

Girls results, winners table, pictures all posted. Streaming video went well from 9am-4pm. Tune in next Saturday for the next broadcast from the Marine Corps Holiday Classic.

Marki Lyon is an active and talented distance runner and soccer player at Fletcher High. Entering her junior year in 2008 she found herself feeling in the "worse shape of her life", little did she know that symptoms would likely save her life. She had congenital heart defect of the type that have caused other healthy athletes to simply die unexpectedly during physical activity. Watch this video, it may save your life or that of someone you know.

Southeast Raleigh's Wayne Davis II has had a storied career. Wayne has made his decision and plans to head to the state of Texas next year. Photo taken by the International Associationa of Athletics Federations

 PHOTO COVERAGE OF BOYS RACE (All photos by Don Rich and Margot Kelly)      

Flint Southwestern Academy sophomore Dynasty McGee clocked 57.50, bettering a field full of collegians to win the 400 meters at Grand Valley State.

Over the past four years Kayla Hale has become a constant on cross county courses in the state of Florida and beyond. Hale’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed. Schools came from near and far, and after months of visits, calls and soul searching a decision has been made. Kayla Hale will become a Duke Blue Devil.

Hear what the participants had to say about their Foot Locker CC Championships experience. More than 40 athlete interviews are available, including 28 of the 31 FL All-Americans. Also, full boys and girls race videos are available on demand.

PHOTO COVERAGE OF GIRLS RACE (All photos by Don Rich and Margot Kelly)  

To hear Trevor Dunbar tell it, Solomon Haile slithered away gracefully. There was no great move, no defining surge, no decisive burst. It was simply a methodical sharpening of the pace that, before those with him noticed, turned into an insurmountable margin.

Mission Prep senior Jordan Hasay used a late surge to become just the fourth repeat girls champion in the 30-year history of the Foot Locker CC Championships.

Doctor Bob releases his top-10 predictions live from Hotel del Coronado

  WATCH LIVE ON MILESPLIT!!! Coming to you from the course Milesplit's own Jason Byrne, Don Rich, Fran McLaughlin, and Margot Kelly bring unparallelled live onsite coverage.

Will it be Hasay, Brasovan or Kroeger? Or will a new girls champion be crowned? Catch all the live action from the Foot Locker CC Finals right here on MileSplit.

Shippensburg freshman, and NCAA Division II runner-up and all-American Neely Spence tells PennTrackXC that she has decided to remain at Shippensburg for the remainder of her collegiate career.

Each week here at MileSplit we will be giving you a quick look at four of the nation's best runners. Featured this week are Drew Shields (IN), Madeline Morgan (AL), Ben Furcht (PA) and Lindsay Flanagan (IL).

NXN Champions Fayetteville-Manlius (NY) and North Central (WA) finish the season at the top in the final 2008 MileSplit National Cross Country rankings

Texas 2-Step:  Texas stars Reed Connor and Chelsey Sveinsson add course record wins to NXN haul.

Longtime USA Track & Field volunteer and contributor Bob Fine of Delray Beach, Fla., was struck and killed by a car while running at 5:45 a.m. In Reno, police confirmed Wednesday morning. Fine, 77, was in Reno to attend USATF's 2008 Annual Meeting.

Catch all of the action from the 30th Foot Locker Cross Country Championships live right here on MileSplit. Live coverage from Balboa Park begins around 8am ET on Saturday, December 13.

MileSplit US #1 North Central boys, competing as North Spokane XC Club, used a late surge to capture the Nike Cross Nationals. Reed Connor raced to a course record 15:15 for the individual crown.

Race video from the championship boys at the 2008 Nike Cross Nationals held Saturday, December 6th in Portland, Oregon.  

Championship girls race video from the 2008 Nike Cross Nationals held Saturday, December 6th in Portland, Oregon.

  (12/13/2008: Balboa Park, San Diego, CA) The National Championships have arrived, California provides a preview of what to expect and his pre-race favorites. With the past three Footlocker Girls Champions in attendance and the top boys gone from a year ago, this years final is shaping up to be stellar.

PORTLAND, Ore. – It’s not uncommon for it to get rough at the start of an elite cross country race. Shoving happens. Elbows. Some tripping. But rarely does an entire team bite it the opening meters of a national race. Let alone, get up and finish fourth.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Normally we see a stoic Fayetteville-Manilus squad unfazed by success, already on to the next challenge. Not this time. This time they made room for tears and hugs. And more tears. It’s not that none of the other races mattered. It’s that each race was another step climbed; another step toward its third-straight national championship. It was another step toward an ever-evolving stage of excellence.

Fayetteville-Manlius girls win 3rd straight national title with 66 points. Chelsey Sveinsson (Texas) wins individual title. Reed Connor (The Woodlands, TX) wins individual title. North Spokane, WA boys win national title.

There isn't much sanity left to be salvaged--it's all XC tomorrow here in Portland, Oregon.

Jordan Hasay CA races to her 4th straight Individual Championship, Alex Dunne CA 2nd, Danielle Menlove UT 3rd; Chris Schwartz CA runs away with boys individual crown, Brian Schrader AZ 2nd, Trevor Dunbar AK 3rd.

NXN Girls Team Previews: Thumbnail sketches and analysis of all 22 girls teams.

NXN Boys Team Previews: Thumbnail sketches and analysis of all 22 boys teams

           

North Allegheny has a team compression of 2:57. But not in the way you think.

Ashley Brasovan, Bobby Nicolls, Doug Smith and Jordan Hasay are four of the best cross country runners in the country this fall, and they've each signed up to share their journey throughout the fall in our seasonal feature.

Five new teams joined the rankings this week, the most newcomers in a single week since the rankings were still in diapers very early in the season. Both coasts flexed some muscle as teams from New York and California made strong cases that they are among the best in the nation.

If cold weather bothers Solomon Haile, it didn't appear to affect him yesterday in New York City and should bode well for his chances in San Diego.

The 30th anniversay of the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships expects to be a thriller with favorites, wildcards, and past champions in the field. This is the first year that the meet has had to seriously compete for the recruitment of the nation's best athletes for its event with the Nike Cross Nationals adding individual qualifiers to its meet format. There were be several top national harriers either missing or racing on tired legs with a second straight race on the West Coast this weekend after competing in Portland last Saturday for NXN. Many of the nation's best are still coming to Balboa Park as the history of this meet and the title of being a Foot Locker Finalist still holds great significance and pride to the vast majority of high school runners.