The best of the best congregated at the Foot Locker Midwest, Northeast and South Regional courses Saturday to prove just who belongs in San Diego in two weeks time for nationals.  Each region showed talent, and a few surprises took place.

MileSplit Coverage: Foot Locker Regionals (MW, NE & S)

Foot Locker Northeast Regional

Northeast Winners: Donn Cabral (CT) & Neely Spence (PA)

Results: Boys Seeded Race / Girls Seeded Race

Race Videos: Boys Seeded Race / Girls Seeded Race / More Seeded Race Photos

Video Interviews: Neely Spence / Mary Kate Champagne / Donn Cabral / Mark Dennin / Carly Seymour / Pat DuPont / Kacey Gibson / Zach Rivers / Chris Aldrich / Brandon Jarrett / Andrew Judd / Brian Leung & Andrew Brodeur

Special Interview: Josh McDougal (New York great, '07 NCAA DI CC Champion)

Stories: The Back Hills / The Surge

Boys winner Donn Cabral (CT) running tough

  On a cold but calm morning at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York seniors Donn Cabral, of Glastonbury, Conn., and Neely Spence, of Shippensburg, Pa., won the Northeast regional qualifier and earned invitations to the prestigious Footlocker National Cross Country Championships in San Diego on December 9th.

  Undefeated this season, Cabral won the boys race comfortably in 15:09, narrowly missing the high school record held by Josh McDougal on the 5000 meter course. McDougal was present Saturday to witness Cabral’s performance less than a week after winning a race of his own -- the NCAA Division I Cross-Country National Championship.

Neely Spence (PA) winning the girls race

  Spence won the Northeast Regional for the second year in a row with a time of 17:37. A pre-race favorite who finished 8th at last year’s Footlocker National Championship, Spence beat runner-up Emily Jones of Harvard, Ma. by 4 seconds. Click for Entire Article.

FLNE Top Ten Girls: Neely Spence (PA), Emily Jones (MA), Mary Kate Champagne (NY), Carly Seymour (PA), Keely Maguire (MA), Emily Lipari (NY), Kacey Gibson (PA), Kathleen McCafferty (NJ), Shelby Greany (NY), Chelsea Ley (NJ).

FLNE Top Ten Boys: Donn Cabral (CT), Mark Dennin (PA), Brian Leung (NJ), Pat DuPont (NY), Chris Aldrich (PA), Zach Rivers (NY), Vince McNally (PA), Brandon Jarrett (NJ), Andrew Brodeur (NJ), Andrew Judd (CT).

Foot Locker South Regional

South Winners: Colby Lowe (TX) & Kathy Kroeger (TN)

Results: Boys Seeded Race / Girls Senior Race

Foot Locker South Photo Album

Foot Locker South Photo Album 2

Foot Locker South Photo Album 3 

Foot Locker South Photo Album 4

Race Videos:  Girls Seeded Race | Boys Seeded Race / Boys Freshman Race / Girls Seeded Race Finish (Amazing!) | Girls Seeded Finish in Slow Motion | Junior Boys | Fresh/Soph Girls | Jr/Sr Girls | Soph Boys | Open Race / Girls Seeded Finish in Slow Motion / Boys Senior Finish

Video Interviews: Kayla Hale | Colby Lowe | Michael Hammond/Jason Witt | Aurora Scott | Kathleen Lautzenheiser | Griff Graves / Luke Lovelace / The Florida Girls / Sophomore winner Brandon Easler / Luke Lovelace's Coach

Florida Girls Dominate (flrunners.com Race Summary) 

6 Virginia Boys Qualify (MileStat Race Summary) 

Colby Lowe (TX) and Kathy Kroeger (TN) made significant statements Saturday by winning the Foot Locker South Regional races.  For Lowe it came from having an undefeated season and beating one of the stronger South boys fields in years.  For Kroeger it was about taking another step on her "comeback tour."  Her rise back from being a national champion last fall, to overcoming a layoff during the track season and her gradual climb back into shape this season.

  Each field produced deep results.  Virginia dominated the boys field, while the girls field had four Florida girls make the team.  McApline generally produces some very fast results and this year was no exception. 

FLSouth Top Ten Girls: Kathy Kroeger (TN), Kayla Hale (FL), Emilie Amaro (FL), Brittany Koziara (FL), Aurora Scott (VA), Ashley Brasovan (FL), Chelsea Sveinsson (TX), Cory McGee (MS), Lauren Smith (TX), Kathleen Lautzenheiser (VA).

FLSouth Top Ten Boys: Colby Lowe (TX), Ryan Hill (NC), C.J. Brown (TX), Jason Witt (VA), Luke Lovelace (NC), Rory Tunningley (TX), Griff Graves (VA), Thomas Porter (VA), Patrick Campbell (NC), Michael Hammond (VA).

Foot Locker Midwest Regional

Midwest Winners: Mike Fout (IN) & Claire Durkin (OH)

Results: Boys Seeded Race / Girls Seeded Race

Girls winner Claire Durkin (OH) sets a new course record 

Freezing temperatures and a windy morning couldn't slow down the competition at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional Saturday.  Claire Durkin (Sr., Worthington, OH) won the girls race in course record time, beating the field by over 40 seconds.  Mike Fout (Sr., La Porte, IN) held off the pack to win the boys race. 

  Few athletes ever win a Foot Locker Regional by more than ten seconds.  Ohio senior Claire Durkin won the girls race at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional Saturday by 41 seconds.  Many expected a battle between Durkin and Iowa sophomore Katie Flood.  While that dual took place during the first mile, Durkin's strong move during the second mile ended the question as to who was a better runner on the day.

Boys winner Mike Fout (IN) crossing the finish line 

 A slow start to the boys race made for an exciting finish.  The first mile of the race went out around 4:50 for the first mile.  At the mile mark all the pre-race favorites were packed together, as Chris Derrick (IL) and Eric Fernandez (MO) led the way.  The pack stayed together for the majority of the first two miles, where the athletes went through in a tactical 9:46.  Click Here for Entire Article.

FLMW Top Ten Girls: 1.Claire Durkin (OH), 2. Katie Flood (IA), 3. Emily Infeld (OH), 4. Emily Sisson (NE), 5. Stephanie Morgan (OH), 6. Alex Banfich (IN), 7. Lindsay Anderson (ND), 8. Chelsea Oswald (OH), 9. Katie Hines (MI), 10. Meggan Freeland (MI).

FLMW Top Ten Boys: 1. Mike Fout (IN), 2. Chris Derrick (IL), 3. Maverick Darling (MI), 4. Rob Finnerty (MN), 5. Kevin Havel (IL), 6. Kevin Williams (CO), 7. Joseph Manilafasha (CO), 8. Tito Medrano (IN), 9. Bobby Nicolls (CO), 10. Evan Appel (CO).