Photo Gallery of 12/30 Robert Burdette Indoor Classic @ Lehigh University

Robert Burdette Indoor Classic Sidelight Pix

Robert Burdette Indoor Classic Boys\' Race Pix

Robert Burdette Indoor Classic Girls\' Race Pix

West Catholic\'s Nicole Leach (left with fellow Athlete of the Meet Steve Hallinan, and Olympian Jon Drummond), beat Wissahickon star Krista Simkins twice, setting two meet records by taking the 200 in 25.00 and the 400 in 55.43. Steve Hallinan, Cardinal O\'hara, ran virtually alone (and several laps in lane three passing a crowd), going 8:47.49 in the 3000. , a meet record. Central hurdler Michael Wray went 8.18 (a meet record) in the Trials of the 60 hurdles, taking the finals in 8.30. Also setting meet records were Easton senior Courtney Regan, 11-00 in the Pole Vault; and Adrienne Beltz, Hamburg, in 10:22.16 for 3000 meters; Latavia Thomas, West Catholic, 2:18.83 800; North Penn\'s boys\' 4x800 in 8:12.35, and the Haverford girls 4x800 in 9:57.14. Haverford also captured the SMR in 4:21.63 and the 4x400 in 4:13.83.

The Western Albemarle pair of Steven Thompson and Ashley Early both came away from wins at the Lake Braddock Pole Vault Summit as both have placed themselves on the right track to win AA state titles in the pole vault this winter as Thompson is the defending champion on the boys side.

2003 Outdoor AAA State Pole Vault Champion Courtney Regan of Easton, will attend annd compete for Prineton University in 2004.

A battle was waged at the F.I.T. Relays between schools from Northern Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Colombia and as a result, some exciting track and field action was found at the Prince George County\'s Sports and Learning Complex. Though no team scores were kept, it was clearly obvious that the Westfield boys have the most talented track team in Northern Region and quite possibly in the entire state. Despite sitting out their distance studs David Groff and James Scheiner, the Bulldogs saw plenty of strong performances from their athletes in other events.

Many Richmond area athletes showed up at the Green Dragon Clinic Invitational held at the Arthur Ashe Center over the holidays to compete as some solid performances were found throughout the meet. Top meet performers included jumping event double winners Prince George's Allen Brown and Shoshana Pettes as well as St. Catherine's Ann Trip, who took two victories in the distance races.

Sophomore Lindsay Regan of Easton, who holds the US Freshman PV record of , cleared 12-05.50 to win the meet. Older sister Courtney cleared 11-06 for 2nd place. In the boys\' PV, Joe LaBarbere, Montrose, cleared 14-01. St. Joseph\'s Prep junior Juan Cave went 6-08 in the High Jump. In the Girls Long Jump, Angela Wells, Simon Gratz, leapt 17-11.25 for the win, while inn the Shot Put, Sheenna Thompson, Delcastle, went 39-06.50. Springfield (Montco\'s) Faye Korich won both the 800 (2:29) and the Mile (5:23). Gwynedd-Mercy posted a fast DMR win, going 12:57. Josh Davis, Phillipsburg, took both the 800 (2:05) and the Mile (4:39). In the sprints, Sabrinna Shaw of Simon Gratz posted an 8.72 for the win. The boys 55 was a fight from the Trials to the Finals. Bethlehem Catholic\'s Branndon Carter was the fastest in both, going 6.60 and 6.52 for the win. Kenneth Talley, Simon Gratz, was 2nd in 6.59 (6.64 Trials); and Reading Kalise Cook was 6.61 in both, and took 3rd. Chichester\'s Carrinngton Queen was 2nd to a New Jersey runner. His 7.83 in the Trials was his best time.

Cardinal O\'Hara\'s boys won the 4x800 in 8:10 and were 4th in the DMR in 10:32.43. Perkiomen Valley won the 4x800 in 9:53.18 and was 2nd in the DMR in 12:34.80. Lion Anthony Heygood went 41-05 in the Triple Jump. The O\'Hara 4x200 clocked 1:34.38, while the 4x400 was timed in 3:37.60. Bonner\'s sophomore boys won their race in 3:42.50. Archbishop Prendergast was 3rd in the Sprint Medley in 4:23.87, and 6th in the 4x200 in 1:49.05.

Jesuit\'s Andy Biladeau and Oviedo\'s Jenny Barringer were this years flrunners.com Runners of The Year.

The 2003 edition of the East Coast Invitational will be a competitive one with many of the top track athletes in the Richmond area as well as many other parts of state of Virginia will be doing battle at the Arthur Ashe Center for the two day event.

Capping off an amazing fall of cross country from the girls of Crozet on the Western Albemarle girls' cross country team, the Lady Warriors finished the season ranked 21st in the country in the final 2003 cross country edition of "The Harrier", the official national ranking magazine of high school cross country. The Western Albemarle girls won their second consecutive VHSL Group AA state team title this fall under second year head coach Carin Ward, a former Western Albemarle runner on past great Western Albemarle teams in the mid 90's.

The Charlotte Observer announced on Dec. 23 Northwestern\'s Angelina Blackmon earned Runner of the Year after finishing out her senior cross-country season as a Trojan.

Jack Shephard of Track and Field News recently released his 46th edition of High School Track annual. The book lists the top 50 athletes in the nation for each standard high school track and field event. Nineteen high school track and field athletes from South Carolina were mentioned on the list, based on their 2003 track and field performances.

12/26-Rocky Grove\'s Drew Gavlik was born to coach. Anyone who has ever been around school sports knows that the most valuable coaches are the ones who take the long-term view of their jobs -

PIAA AAA State Champ Craig Miller of Manheim Township, and AA State Champ David Mock of Westmont Hilltop, have been named to the Harrier\'s list of the Top 50 boys in the US for the 2003 Cross Country season. Girls champ and 9th place finisher at Foot Lockers, Frances Koons of Allentown Central Catholic, is 2nd Team All-American with her finish at Nationals. Miller was also named to the Harrier\'s All-Soph Team, consisting of just seven runners. The Top 50 are made up of all 32 Foot Locker Finalists, plus the 18 athletes that Harrier determines had the best overall seasons.

The location has changed and the format has changed, but it looks like the Friends of Indoor Track (F.I.T.) Relays will once again provide some great quality competition as we usher out year 2003 and springboard towards the 2004 indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.

2002 PA AA State Cross Country Champion, and 2003 Runner-Up, Chris Spooner of Lewisburg, will be taking his talents to run for the Duke Blue Devils.

12/17 PCL Boys\' Indoor Meet #1 @ Haverford College Photo Gallery

12/13 TFCAGP Division 1 Indoor Meet #2 @ Haverford College Photo Gallery

12/13 TFCAGP Division 2 Indoor Meet #2 @ Haverford Photo Gallery

12/12 DVGTCA Indoor Meet #3 Photo Gallery

Ryan Whiting of Central Dauphin has the top Shot Put throw of the season with his 59-04.75. Spring-Ford took the 4x400 in 3:49.22 and the SMR in 3:57.01. Antoine Tramel of Harry S. Truman, won two events, the 55 in 6.84 and the 2000 in 23.83. Gwynedd-Mercy won two relays, taking the Sprint Medley in 4:28.78 and the DMR in 13:24.26. Sheena Thompson of Delcastle, Delaware, won the Shot Put, going 37-05.75.

Harrisburg's Andre Hicks won two events, the High Jump, clearing 6-04, and the Long Jump with a leap of 19-05.50. Reading's Jessica Forrest won two events, the 55 meter dash in 7.2 and the 200 in 26.6. And joining Hicks and Forrest as double champs was Red Lion's Kate Papenberg, taking the 1600 in 5:25.7 and the 3200 in 11:39.2.

Glen Mills\' Tyree Suber was over six feet better than the competition in his first TFCAGP meet, throwing the Shot 57-02.50 (MR). LaSalle\'s Kevin Moore was 2nd (51-07.75) and Andrew Dubs of Council Rock South was 3rd (51-06.25). In the first race between Henderson\'s Tracy Robinson and Abington\'s Cowin Mills this season, Robinson was .4 better in the 400 with his 50.4. Juan Cave won the High Jump, clearning 6-06.

Upper Dublin\'s Matt Lawson ran alone to an 8:59.9 3000 meter win. Garnet Valley\'s Jarrett Pendleton won the 300 meter run in 36.5 (MR). Wissahickon captured the 4x400 in 3:36.3 and the 4x800 in 8:49. In the 400, Upper Merion\'s Steve Tyson won in 51.8.

The Washington-Lee girls from Arlington ventured north to compete at the Bishop Loughlin Games held at the New York Armory and saw some admirable performances in the distance races.

West Catholic junior Nicole Leach posted a top ten all-time 600m time of 1:31.58 at the Bishop Loughlin Games today at the New York Armory. Hickory\'s Andy Rademacher opened his senior campaign with a 15-0 Pole Vault win, a meet record, and was named Most Outstanding Field Performer. Other top PA performances included Leach\'s teammate Latavia Thomas, who won the 1000m in 2:58.12. Nazareth\'s Jordan Teuber went 35-08 to win the Triple Jump. St. Hubert\'s Amy Kelly was 2nd in the mile in 5:01.87; Sarah Roberts, Perkiomen Valley, 5th in 5:16.25. In the Two-Mile, Archbishop Carroll senior Mike Tilger was 2nd in a state-leading 9:26.89.

Foot Locker Finalist Frances Koons of Allentown Central Catholic, ran a 10:43 3200 @ Red & Black HS Invitational @ East Stroudsburg University 12/19. The news from her coach Jack Pressman, included two unofficial splits during the race, a 5:09.2 mile and a 10:03.2 3000. Two NJ athletes, Brandon Mason of Phillipsburg, and Keely Marsh of North Hunterton, posted Dyestat elite performances of 7.5 in the 55 and 10-06 in the Pole Vault, respectively.

Wissahickon's Krista Simkins posted a 35.8 for 300 yards, with Great Valley's Janessa Murphy 2nd, four seconds back. Middle distance specialist Caitlin Klaas goes 5:16.8 for the mile win. Other notable performances included Joanna Horstman of Downingtown West, winning the 600 yard run in 1:33.7; Great Valley senior Katy Andersen, taking the 1000 yard run in 2:51.1; and Shot Putter Tayvon Gray of Coatesville, winning with a toss of 37-09.

The newly resurfaced Arthur Ashe Center track was debuted for invitational competition this past weekend at the Green Dragon Relays as numerous teams from the Richmond area and outside of the area came to compete in a relay dominated event.

The selection process for the prestigious Millrose Mile is new this year.

PennTrackXC reader Ed Bosch, who founded the CYO program that helped start the careers of several top runners, including Foot Locker Finalist Frances Koons, wrote us to share the names of a few other alums of the program who are excelled in HS and in College. Ed made a special point of saying he just helped to get them started, and that \"...their high school coach, (Jack Pressman), their parents, and most importantly, their own love of the sport is what made the difference.\"

Foot Locker Finalist Frances Koons of Allentown Central Catholic, ran a 10:43 3200 @ Red & Black HS Invitational @ East Stroudsburg University 12/19. The news from her coach Jack Pressman, included two unofficial splits during the race, a 5:09.2 mile and a 10:03.2 3000. Two NJ athletes, Brandon Mason of Phillipsburg, and Keely Marsh of North Hunterton, posted Dyestat elite performances of 7.5 in the 55 and 10-06 in the Pole Vault, respectively. Frances 3200 m 10:43.

Family Foot Locker Fotos By Fred Koons

PCL Boys Indoor Meet #1 @ Haverford College Photos

Steve Slaton of Conwell Egan, cruised to a 6.4 win in the 55m dash. He also won the 200 in 22.8. Archbishop Ryan captured two relays, the 4x800 in 8:57.8 and the 4x400 in 3:46.6. West Catholic\'s Seth Mitchell won the 400 in 52.8. Cardinal O\'Hara took the top four spots in the 800 with times of 2:04-2:08, and none of the athletes was name Hallinan or Callanan. St. Joe\'s Prep took the DMR in 11:21.5 behind the 1600 leg by Tim O\'Neill (left).

Nazarath Academy's Jordan Teuber, a senior, leapt 17-07.75 to win the Long Jump by over two feet. Teuber also captured the 55 in 7.2. Springfield Montco's Faye Korich won two events, the 1600 in 5:24.5 and the 3200 in 12:09.6. Perkiomen Valley's 4x800 won in 10:02.5. Three of the team's legs also placed in the open 800, and 3200. The Hill School won both the girls' and boys' team competitions. The top boys' individual performance came from John Stephens, Church Farm School, who won the 55 in 6.5.

Greg Williams, who helped Henderson win two straight AAA state championships in XC, despite suffering from heat and hydration problems both years, has committed to run for the nation's #1 Division I XC team, Stanford.

It was pretty much the Nicole Leach and Amy Kelly show at the first Philadelphia Catholic League meet. Kelly, the St. Hubert's senior, wasn't seriously challenged in either the 800 or the mile, taking the four-lapper in 2:21.9 and the eight-lapper in 5:18.1. Leach, the super-talented West Catholic junior, took the 55 Hurdles in 9.0 over St. Hubert's Sam Scoda, who was awarded the same time. Leach also captured the 200 in 25.5.

Foot Locker All-American, Jenny Barringer shares her experience while competing in the Footlocker National Championship in San Diego.

Eleven cross-country runners from South Carolina traveled 1465 miles to compete in the USATF Junior Olympic Cross-Country Championships on Saturday, Dec. 13 at Lovelace Soccer Complex in Albuquerque, N.M.

Walt Murphy reports that highlights of this past weekend's Foot Locker Championships, with FL Alums Bob Kennedy and Lauren Fleishman will be shown on Fox Sports Net on Wednesday, December 17, at 3pm. Check your local listings.

TFCAGP D2 Indoor Meet #2 Race Pix

TFCAGP D1 Indoor Meet #2 Race Pix

DVGTCA Indoor Meet #3 Race Pix

To some of you, Wally Gilbert, is just the name of a track meet held each year at Heritage High School in Lynchburg, Virginia. However, I had the pleasure of getting up close and personal with the man, Wally Gilbert, and I can tell you he is much more than just a name.

Octorara junior Ryan Fritz won the AA Outdoor State Championships in 2003, and cleared 6-08, an inch higher, to win the first Indoor meet of the 2004 campaign. In the Shot Put, Upper Merion\'s Steve Tyson, who was 4th at Indoor States in 2003, won with a throw of 51-05. Upper Dublin held off Strath Haven by 1.5 seconds in the DMR with an 11:01.2 effort.

Council Rock South senior Andrew Dubs won the Shot Put with a strong 56-02.50 throw, more than two feet better than his 8th place AAA States effort in outdoor. Prep\'s Juan Cave finished third at Indoor States in 2003, and matched that jump with a 6-06 effort at Haverford in the first meet for the boys. Central\'s Mike Wray won the 60 Hurdles in 8.1 after going 8.2 in the Trials. And the Central DMR of Thurman Sanders, Mike Taras, Justin Sullivan, and Mike Syrnick went 10:52.4 for the win. O\'Hara, minus a resting Steve Hallinan, was second, four seconds back.

Frances Koons began as a 12 minute two-miler in 9th grade and today, finished 9th in the Foot Locker XC Championships, starting to cry in shear joy at her achievment just before crossing the finish line in San Diego, California. Despite the hyperactive atmosphere of the event, Koons went to San Diego to \"represent Pennsylvania well.\" And that she did, getting focused on the race itself when the time came to run. \"It went out so amazingly fast. I thought it must have been a 200 meter race. But we all got out well and it settled down.\\\" The only thing that bothered her during the race was the dust and dirt kicked up by the lead vehicle as they crossed changing surfaces, including grass, dirt and wood chips. \"I felt bad for the girls up front. It bothered me a little.\"

Kirby Lee provides us with some great shots from San Diego.

Athletes react in different ways when they finally achieve a long-sought dream. Some raise a fist in triumph. Others stop and kiss the ground. Still others yell with relief. But for PA

Thirty senior cross-country runners from South Carolina have committed to participate in the 2003 Shrine Bowl Run on Dec. 20. The relay run takes place from the state house steps in Columbia and the ball is run up to Rock Hill District III Stadium, 70.8 miles from Columbia for the Shrine Bowl as the official game ball. This is the 18th year that the Shrine Bowl Run has been in existence.

Kate Niehaus (sophomore, Spring Valley) and Angelina Blackmon (senior, Northwestern) concluded their 2003 cross-country season Saturday at the 2003 Footlocker Nationals at Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif. Both Blackmon and Niehaus compete in South Carolina\'s 4A classification of female runners.

Keira Carlstrom, a 2002 graduate of Oakton High School, and currently a sophomore at American University in Washington, D.C., was featured in a recent article on fast-women.com. Carlstrom is coming off an oustanding sophomore season of cross country where she earned NCAA All-American honors with a 16th place finish at the NCAA Division I National Cross Country Championships.

At the CNU Winter Frolic, many teams were getting their feet wet with the majority of the competitors competing in their first indoor meet of this young season. The Lake Braddock boys and girls' track teams both were impressive in taking both team titles.

Beth Fahey of Forest Park finished her strong senior cross country season with an admirable 27th place finish at the Foot Locker Nationals race at Balboa Park in San Diego with a time of 18:39. Fahey was the fifth finisher for the South region after being the final national qualifying individual at Foot Locker South with a eight place finish. Fahey was only one of three Virginia girls who have qualified for Foot Locker Nationals competition in the past five years (Erin Swain in 1999 and Cara Kiernan in 2002).

Both Bethel and Kecoughtan's girl track teams made the trek north to compete at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore Invitational held at UMES's W. P. Hytche Athletic Center. Each team had individuals who faired well in early season competition.

The indoor track season got underway for many squads at the Walt Cormack Relays, held at VMI\'s indoor track facility, commonly known as \"The Pit\". No one athlete shook \"The Pit\" more on the day than the performance put forth by Spotswood\'s Nathan Turner in the shot put.

We have full boys and girls results up. More details about the races and photos coming this weekend.

St. Hubert senior Amy Kelly found out quickly just how strong she is after a solid XC season, pulling away and powering to a 10:12.1 3000 meter win. Coatesville junior Tayvon Gray upped her season best by over 8\" in the Shot Put, winning with a throw of 38-05.25. The two hottest relays were the 4x800, where Hatboro-Horsham, with a 2:15 split from Caitlin Klaas, went 9:36.2 for a very quick early season win; and West Catholic cruised to a 4:01.3 victory in the 4x400 (left: Leach + Lawson).

Ben Comen steps to the line as any cross-country runner does every week during the season. This year has been busier for Comen as he has been interviewed for Sports Illustrated, met the United States President on Nov. 11 and also goes to the school where \"Radio\" attended.

Plenty of close calls and tough choices sums up the final selections for this year\'s All-MileStat.com cross country team, which honors the top runners and coaches in the state for their great achievements this past fall.

Chase Shealy, 18, a former pole vaulter at Brookland-Cayce received a two year suspension by the United States Anti-Doping agency on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Shealy\'s suspension was put in place after being tested positive for amphetamine, which was from a prescription medicine in June, 2003. According to Shealy\'s father, Rusty the USADA is required to give a two year suspension for anyone who tests positive for the substance.

Muddy conditions at the 2003 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Cross-Country Nationals were a surprise to all the runners in Kettering, Ohio on Dec. 6. South Carolina brought two teams to the event. The upper state was represented by the Greenville Track Club (GTC) and the lower state brought the Viking Track Club (VTC). \"It (conditions) got much worse as the day progressed,\" said Foley.

Katherine Warden is a freshman at Gardner-Webb University. Warden graduated from Dreher High School in Columbia last May. Warden is focusing on middle distance events for the upcoming track season.

Hickory senior Andrew Rademacher cleared 16-00 in the Pole Vault at an open college meet 12/5 @ Robert Morris University in Moon Township. The mark technically ties the state indoor record by Reading\'s Mason Ternay set in 1989, but is awaiting validation by state officials.

The snow caused schools to close and traffic to crawl, buut it couldn\'t stop the hardy few who made it to Ursinus for DVGTCA Meet #2, especially the girls from West Catholic and Simon Gratz.

12/5-The threat of additional snow with hazardous conditions through the Lehigh Valley, has led the Track & Field Coaches Association of Greater Philadelphia to cancel both the Division I and II meets scheduled for Saturday, December 6th at Lehigh University.

Nicole Leach, Latavia Thomas, Krista Simkins - the names are well-known and not one of the three stars is yet a senior. Our good fortune, as the three got off to fast starts with the 2004 indoor season at Lehigh University.

PennTrackXC Elite 2004 Indoor Standards now on

Christopher Newport University\'s Brandon Miles and Cary Chaffee were honored by SouthRegionRunning.com as co-freshmen of the year for the NCAA Division III South/Southeast Region. Meanwhile, the CNU women\'s cross country team coaching staff of Keith Maurer, George Seward, and Cassie Stilley received honors as the region\'s top women\'s coaching staff for the season.

Virginia Tech director of track and field Dave Cianelli has announced the first members of his 2004 recruiting class with the signing of four student-athletes during the early signing period.

Walt Murphy reports that the NCAA Division I XC Championships will be on TV several times between Dec 3 and 16.

1995 Grad of St. Thomas Aquinas H.S. 2000 Grad of Nicholls State University. Cross Country/Track Coach at Walker High School. PR's of 1:54.43 (800m), 4:01.31(1500m).

On paper, this was the best PA class in years. Three had broken a legend\'s CR at Belmont Plateau. One had beaten the new record holder and won a state title. Another had been this way before, going to the finals in 2002. Another had set a CR on Slippery Rock\'s hilly layout. And three had fare well against the Midwest\'s best. So what happened?

William & Mary head men

The Spiders inked 4 student-athletes during the early signing period. Caitlin Chock (Granite Bay High School-Granite Bay, CA) who defended her California Cross Country title on November 29th and is a 2002 Foot Locker National Finalist, Kate Merrill (Jordan High School-Durham, NC) who defended her state championship title in North Carolina this fall and is also a 2002 Foot Locker National Finalist, Johanna McKnight (John Curtis High School, LA) the 2003 Louisiana State 200M Champion and Patricia Graves (Jamestown High School-Jamestown, NY) who is a shot put and discus specialist.

Starting this winter, Geoff Moore will be compiling weekly team track team rankings based off top 8 deep lists in all the events for Group AAA. He will also be breaking down AAA into the respective regions (Central, Eastern, Northern, Northwest).