Due to differences with her coaching staff at Fauquier High School, Fauquier senior Sarah Bowman has left the cross country team. Bowman had been splitting practice time with her personal coach, Mike Byrnes (Nike Indoor Classic and AOC director) and her coaches at Fauquier, but has made the decision to leave the team for various reasons. She will not be competing at the Region II or Group AA State meets, but plans to race at the Foot Locker South Regional Meet in Charlotte.

At the start of the season, Florida\'s Winter Park and Tampa Jesuit were the favorites for the Southeast\'s two qualifying spots for Nike Team Nationals. This season has been a rough one on Florida, and those odds of diminished. Winter Park and Tampa Jesuit (the early favorites) have been joined in the top ten by Pensacola Washington. An impressive state showing will certainly be needed if any of those teams are to qualify for the first national team championship.

The undefeated giant called the J.R. Tucker cross country team was finally slain by the Douglas Freeman boys in a huge upset at the Colonial District Meet. J.R. Tucker ranked #1 in the state and #1 in the entire Southeast region, finished second to Freeman by 12 points as the Tigers raced without number three runner Thuom Mathaing. Mathaing sat out due to injury.

26 photographs are now online from the Upper State Championships, held at Furman University on Oct. 30.

CHICAGO, Ill. - Tulane University ran at the 10th annual Conference USA Cross Championships at Bullfrog Lake in the Palos Hills Forest Preserve on Saturday morning. The Green Wave men finished in ninth place while the women took 12th place.

RUSTON, La.

Photo Gallery of 10/30 District 3 Championships @ Hersheypark

16 photographs are now online from the Southern Conference Championships. The meet was held at Furman University earlier today in Greenville.

With junior Matt Keally (Virginia Beach, VA) winning the individual crown, leading a Tribe sweep of the top four, William and Mary men\'s cross country won its fifth-straight CAA Championship this morning. The College scored 18 points (one shy of the Tribe\'s own record) on the strength of a sweep of the top-four positions (with its fifth scorer finishing a strong eighth) to easily down runner-up James Madison (45) and third place Virginia Commonwealth (87).

26 photos taken by Mr. Lee Dick of the men\'s 8K and women\'s 6K at the CAA Championships held at the New Market Battlefield in New Market, Virginia.

Dwight Parker of Woodlawn and Emma Larkin of Dulaney won the individual titles in the rain and humidity at Dulaney HS. Parker became the first Woodlawn athlete to ever take a county cross country title and Larkin won the title in her first year of running.

With five runners earning all-conference honors William and Mary women\'s cross country edged James Madison in a thrilling 36-37 finish to repeat as CAA Champion and win its 12th conference title overall. The one-point victory is the closest in the history of the CAA, and the Tribe won the battle thanks to its consistent depth. The two squads were evenly matched at the top, but W&M placed all of its scoring five in the top-12 and all of its scoring seven ahead of James Madison\'s No. 5, while the Dukes were forced to count a 15th place result towards its team total. Shannon Saunders of James Madison won the individual title by completing the 6,000m New Market Battlefield course in 21:00.4.

Running to save something for States, the #2 team in the Northeast rolled through their District meet with just 49 points on a 41-second spread behind 3rd place Pat Caulfield (left at finish). Craig (15:58) and Brad Miller went 1-2. The Cedar Cliff girls also won, with Chambersburg\'s Sarah Morrison going 19:07. In AA boys, It was Kutztown\'s Andrew Stutzman at 16:50. The Wyomissing boys won. And in AA girls, Boiling Springs frosh Kara Millhouse posted the 2nd fastest time of the day to win in 19:22. York Suburban took the team championship. Read the full story for quotes.

Photo gallery from today\'s race at Lakewood Ranch. Kerry Allen wins easily in 19:11 on the girls side. While Joey Faitella squeaked out a 16:50 victory in the boys race.

23 photos taken by Mr. John Herzog of the Colonial District Meet hosted at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, VA.

LSU women\'s photos from the 2004 SEC XC championships hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayettville.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Behind top-25 performances by senior Ruth Nanyinza and junior Patrick Gavin the Tigers finished sixth and the Lady Tigers were ninth at the SEC Cross Country Championships Saturday.

Sophomore John Ciccarelli became the first Richmond Spider to win a individual A-10 Cross Country crown Saturday in Pittsburgh, Pa. Ciccarelli's 8K win paced the Richmond men's team to a fourth place finish overall, while sophomore Amanda Russell's third place finish helped the women capture second place.

Virginia\'s Will Christian and Emily Harrison earned All-ACC honors with top-10 finishes at the ACC Cross Country Championships, leading the men to a third-place finish with an upset of Duke while the women finished fifth overall, up one place from last year. The men upset #26 Duke and also finished ahead of Clemson, who received votes in the last poll.

Josh McDougal of Liberty University became the first Big South rookie to claim the individual championship as he ran the 8K course in 23:49, breaking the previous course record of 24:13 set by Alan Webb and named the men

The Washington and Lee men

Freshman Jessica Fanning, Virginia Tech\'s first All-ACC cross country runner, led the women\'s team to a seventh place finish in its first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championships hosted by the University of Maryland today. The Hokie men finished ninth out of the 11 conference teams with 249 points.

Both of Christopher Newport\'s men\'s and women\'s cross country teams qualified for the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Saturday afternoon by winning the USA South Championship meet. The Lady Captains captured six of the top seven spots highlighted by Emily Low\'s first place performance in the 6K run with a time of 24:48. On the men\'s side, the Captains captured spots two through eight and the tenth spot.

After finishing in second place for the last two years, the Hampton University Women

The Norfolk State University men

Sophomore Anthony Harris

adford University men placed eighth and the women seventh at the 2004 New Balance Big South Cross Country Championships Saturday in Rock Hill, S.C. The High Point men and Coastal Carolina women captured the Big South titles. The Panthers won the men's title for the third-straight year, while the Lady Chanticleers took their fourth-straight Championship crown, which set a Conference record.

12 photographs are now online from the Region 3-4A Championships.

Photo Gallery of 10/29 District 1 Championships @ Lehigh University

Photo Gallery of 10/28 District 11 Championships @ Lehigh University

Katie Thaeder had two big goals this year. Break 18 minutes, and help her team win a state championship. To those who watched her down a quality field at the District 1 Champs, and her team dominate some very strong programs, those state titles look like real possibilities.

Hillcrest alumna Jennifer Hitt captured the individual title at the CVAC Women

Some new blood and some familiar teams will be racing at States thanks to clutch performances in District 4.

In light of Hayfield senior Melissa Dewey running the third fastest all-time at the Burke Lake 2.98 course in Fairfax with her 16:42 clocking at the Patriot District Meet, Pearl Watts has released an updated version of the all-time best times that have been posted on this historical course where many Virginia greats have raced on.

Sophomore Anthony Harris and junior Amber Blain will lead the VMI cross country teams into the Big South Conference Championships Saturday morning in Rock Hill, S.C. The competition will be familiar, as the Keydets have run against fellow Big South competition in each of the last three meets they have participated in. Over those meets, the Keydets have defeated league rivals Radford, Charleston Southern and Winthrop, while gaining valuable experience by competing against High Point and UNC Asheville four weeks ago.

The University of Richmond cross country teams are set to face the best of the Atlantic 10 Conference this weekend at the A-10 Cross Country Championships in Pittsburgh, Pa. The women's squad will try to repeat its 2003 performance and garner its second-straight conference title, while the men will try to knock off a La Salle team looking for its fourth-consecutive championship.

The first District 12 Championship was a Central affair. The Philly Public League's top team took care of business, qualifying both boys and girls teams for their first-ever PIAA championships.

Good thing that the Fairfax County police do not place speed traps on the Burke Lake 2.98 mile cross country, because Hayfield senior Melissa Dewey would have a tough time trying to talk her way out of a ticket with the reckless speeding she was found doing at the Patriot District Meet. Dewey had a jaw dropping performance in defending her district crown as she won in a sizzling time of 16:42. The time was 29 seconds faster than her previous best, which she had posted at the Monroe Parker Invitational in early September. A police barricade might be the only thing that can stop Dewey as she is blossoming into becoming one of Virginia\'s all-time greats.

Well, Marania Staab of Penn-Trafford did run. The soccer player-turned XC star, was permitted to run in her first WPIAL championship race, and she made the most of it. She won. Jeff Weiss, the McGuffey senior, followed up his record run of a week ago with a 15:37 win.

22 photographs are now online from the Region 7-4A Championships

Several photos taken by Paul Beardmore of the top finishers at the Northwestern District Meet held at Great Meadows.

If the Allentown Central Catholic-Parkland battle gets any more entertaining, they\'ll have to charge admission. Oh, that\'s right. This is XC. But they could. Today, round 3 between these league and district rivals reached a new level.

Four-time defending CAA Champion William and Mary men's cross country will seek its fifth-consecutive conference crown this Saturday as it contests the CAA Cross Country Championship, hosted by James Madison in New Market, VA. The 8,000m men's race is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. The Tribe will again present a formidable force at the Championship, returning five all-conference harries from last season, along with several underclassmen ready to step up and snare All-CAA honors.

Reigning CAA Champion William and Mary women's cross country will defend its crown this Saturday as it contests the CAA Cross Country Championship, hosted by James Madison in New Market, VA. The 6,000m women's race is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. Last season, the Tribe won its 11th CAA Cross Country Championship, and first since 1998, in a record-setting performance.

It\'s the week for PIAA District meets and a few remaining league championships. PennTrackXC will provide on-site coverage of three, Districts 11, 1 and 3. Best of luck to all the athletes!

The Cardinal O'Hara boys and girls swept the team and individual titles in the Southern Division Championships of the Philadelphia Catholic League at Belmont Plateau. LaSalle's boys and the Saint Hubert girls capture Northern Division crowns. And the O'Hara-LaSalle boys are too close to call next week.

Spectators at Wednesday's District 2 Championships at the Scranton Municipal Golf Course all had the same feeling after the four races were completed...a feeling of deja vu. All four team champions repeated from last year and both girls races saw the same individuals at the top.

Nine photographs are now online from the York County Championships, hosted by Fort Mill High School.

Some great battles were waged among the Concorde District teams and individuals at their championship meet held at Burke Lake\'s 2.98 mile course. The Thomas Jefferson boys walked away with the boys hardware after being given a good run by the Oakton boys, while the Oakton girls won convincingly with a team low score of 22 points. Chantilly\'s Brad Siragusa and Westfield\'s Catherine Lynn were crowned as the individual race champions.

37 photos taken by Mr. Lee Dick of the Commonwealth District Meet hosted at Culpeper High School in Culpeper, Virginia.

The Walker Shootout is set to kick off at 8:30am Saturday morning in Walker, LA. The meet will feature 20 plus teams. Top individuals to watch for on the girls side are ..

Few changes in this week\'s rankings with limited racing action last week as teams geared up for the championship season with districts starting this week. However, there was a new #1 found in this week\'s rankings as Danielle Moyer\'s win at the Millbrook Invitational impressed coaches enough to place her ahead of defending state champion Kelly Clark in the Group A rankings.

Little movement in this week\'s rankings as the only collegiate action that took place this past week was among CNU and Mary Washington in the Division III ranks at the Mason-Dixon Meet. There should be plenty of shifts in the rankings after this weekend\'s conference championships are held.

Christopher Newport\'s cross country team swept the men\'s and women\'s Runner, Rookie and Coach of the Year honors, the conference office announced Wednesday. Sophomore Cary Chaffee was named USA South Men\'s Runner of the Year while freshman Jay Wyss was named USA South Men\'s Rookie of the Year. On the women\'s side, junior Emily Low was named USA South Women\'s Runner of the Year while freshman Bridgett Dryer was named USA South Rookie of the Year.

The Kellam girls won their second consecutive Beach District title, while the Ocean Lakes boys put an end to Cox\'s three year reign as district champs at the Beach District Championships held at the Sportsplex 5K course in Virginia Beach. Kellam also had to the two individual district champions in junior Tara Connor (19:06.48) and senior Mitch Cooper (15:59.07).

Virginia Tech men\'s and women\'s cross country teams will compete in its first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 30. This year\'s conference championships is hosted by the University of Maryland. The women\'s race will start at 10 a.m. followed by the men\'s race at 11 a.m. on the University of Maryland Golf Course, which is across the street from Byrd Stadium.

Maranie Staab was a soccer player. Now she\'s a runner. While most make the transition successfully, virtually no one makes it as well as Staab, a Penn-Trafford junior. Good enough to make the varsity for the District 7 meet?

The Fort Defiance boys cleared their first test in their quest to defend their Group AA state title from a year ago as they won the Valley District Meet by an 18 point margin over Spotswood. Meanwhile, the Broadway girls are quietly becoming a prominent team in AA as they won the girls\' district team title with a team total of 42 points.

Being the team host of the Seminole District Meet, Jefferson Forest is required to show other teams the way on their home course. However, the Jefferson Forest boys and girls' cross country teams went out of their way in the actual races to route their competition to district titles. The Cavaliers also had individual race champions in each race.

he Three Rivers District Meet featured one of Group A\'s best teams in the Floyd County girls as well as the defending state girls\' champion, Kelly Clark of Glenvar. The Floyd County girls and Kelly Clark did not disappoint at their district championship as both are geared towards winning the state title.

Marshall Meyer is a sophomore at Hilton Head High School. Meyer talks about his goals for the remaining of the season and his future in the sport.

Interlachen\'s Jeremey Criscione has made waves this year, battling back and forth all season against FPC\'s Justin Harbor. Entering the state series Criscione is among the favorites for the 2A crown, but he will have his hands full with Andy Biladeau, Bryan Sharkey, Chris Mullaney, and others also after the title.

Four CNU cross country runners received USA South Athlete of the Week honors, the conference announced Monday evening as they helped the men\'s and women\'s programs secure first place finishes at the Mason-Dixon Championships. Cary Chaffee and Emily Low were named USA South Cross Country Runners of the Week. Jay Wyss and Bridgett Dryer were named Cross Country Rookies of the Week.

Jimmy Wiggins has proved he has what it takes to go the distance, adding talent and dedication to become the leader of the LSU cross country team. There is no doubt the senior has talent, but according to distance coach Mark Elliott, it is Wiggins\' perseverance through the years that has led to his success

In the first District race of the season, Allderdice dominated the other Pittsburgh city schools, winning the boys race with 29, and the girls with just 22. Colie Smith paced the boys with a 18:00 first at Schenley Oval. Angelica Martinez of Schenley won the girls race in 19:57.

The Northeast Bradford boys used home course advantage to win the Northern Tier Invitational, while the Wellsboro girls showed strength again in 2004.

The beauty of cross country is that hard work pays. For three years, Julia Somers of Haverford has been a very good cross country runner, and a valuable member of the 2003 State Championship AAA 4x800 team from Haverford. At her final race on her \"favorite course,\" she ran a 30-second PR to win a league title, and the biggest race of her career.

Using a new regional format, District 10 has placed teams of similar size together. There are six regions and the meets serve as final preparation for districts in one week.

Wissahickon swept the Suburban One American Conference team championships, notching 35 points for the girls and 38 for the boys.

It\'s just as you plan it. Train hard. Survive the nicks and scrapes. And get healthy and faster as you approach the prime time part of the season. The Council Rock North and (Brandon Pomerantz and John Mahoney lead CRN-photo by Aaron Russell) South boys and the girls of Hatboro Horsham seem to be following that familiar course.

People have been talking about the potential of the Coatesville boys all season. Well, they are winding into shape just when it counts.

The Western Valley District\'s two stars on the state scene, E.C. Glass junior Patterson Wilhelm and Franklin County sophomore Brittany Killough cruised to easy wins in defending their district crown wins from a year ago in strong fashion. Wilhelm posted a time of 16:19 on the Ballou Park 5K course, while Killough won by over a minute in her time of 19:04.

13 photographs are now online from the Charleston County Championships, held on Oct. 20 at Mt. Pleasant Recreation Center.

Clinton, Miss.

DENVER -- The 2004 edition of the WAC Cross Country Championship will be held at Lincoln Parish Park in Ruston, La., Oct. 30, and will be hosted by Louisiana Tech. The men will get things started, competing in an 8k race at 9:30 a.m. (CT). The women, who compete in a 5k, will start at 10:30 a.m. There are 10 teams that compete on the women\'s side, while the men sponsor six teams. In 2003, both the Tulsa men and Nevada women brought home their first team titles since joining the WAC, while UTEP\'s Mircea Bogdan won the men\'s individual title, and Nevada\'s Abigail McCallister won the women\'s side.

The mantle has been passed in Red Lion. Erin Zellers is the leader now and didn't let another talented senior take away a league Championship. Dover junior Josh Snelbaker held off a senior to win his title.

The Philadelphia Public League held their Area Champs in preparation for their first PIAA meet as District 12. They have one course, Belmont Plateau, and they share it with the PCL and countless clubs and casual runners. One of the favorites to make their first-ever state meet are the Central girls and boys.

Southern Lehigh's boys placed all seven runners from 5th through 23rd, and their 83 points were enough for the win.

Conestoga Valley has been aiming for Manheim Township all season, and they got a big one, nailing their league rival by 17 points, 42-59 in the Lebanon-Lancaster League Champs. As expected, Manheim started off with their twin three-point system, otherwise known as Craig and Brad Miller.

Even at full strength, Gwynedd Mercy wouldn't have beaten Saint Basil on this day. Behind the 1-4-5 by sisters Lynn, Rachel and Christina Morelli, plus a 6th by Kathleen Davis, Saint Basil tallied just 31 points, 35 better than GMA.

McGuffey senior Jeff Weiss says he didn\'t do anything special over the summer other than train hard. Something\'s different, though. He\'s smoking the courses and competition in western PA, and as a AA school for the first time in his high school career, he\'s looking like the runner to beat at States as well. At the biggest Tri-State Coaches Association meet ever - on what is arguably the best XC course in the state - Weiss ran the fastest time ever on the course that hosts the Slippery Rock Invitational, Tri-States and WPIAL\'s year after year.

The Avonworth boys surprised everyone with a 1-3 finish to lead a 68 point charge to the Freedom Invitational championship at Brush Creek Park. The Mars girls use a pack of four in the top 14 behind junior Brittany Zaborowski\'s 3rd place in 21:19, to hold off Riverside.

Unionville captured both Southern Chester County League team and individual titles on a wet Nottingham Park 5k course.

Alexa Criffths, a Tamaqua sophomore, posted a strong 18:53 to lead her team to the win in the Schuylkill League with 41 points.

Brian Cullin is continuing his strong season for East Stroudsburg South, and so is his team.

Westmont Hilltop took both team titles, with Central Cambria 2nd by 25 in the boys, and just a point in the girls race, 62-63.

35 photographs are now online from the Oct. 23 Spartanburg County Championships, held at the Milliken Center in Spartanburg.

33 photographs are now online from the Greenville County Championships that took place at Cleveland Park on Oct. 23.

Both Christopher Newport\'s men\'s and women\'s cross country teams were crowned Mason-Dixon Conference champions Saturday afternoon. Emily Low was named the meet\'s Most Outstanding Women\'s Runner en route to her first place finish. Her time of 21:51 set a new school record and it also set a new personal best.

The University of Mary Washington cross country teams both placed third among five teams at the Mason Dixon Invitiational in Salisbury on Saturday. The men placed third with 53 points, behind Christoipher Newport\'s 36 points and Salisbury\'s 38 points. UMW\'s Todd Kronenberg (Reston, VA/South Lakes) placed first overall, at 25:33.

Photo Gallery from 10/21 Tri-State Coaches Association meet @ Slippery Rock

In the Harrier regional rankings release on Friday 10/22, Allentown Central Catholic moved into 9th in the Northeast, one spot ahead of league and district rival Parkland.

The Florida Southern men raced to their eighth consecutive SSC championship, while the Tampa women captured their third straight SSC title Saturday morning in Melbourne. Florida Southern junior Tyrone Bell won the men\'s individual championship, posting an 8K time of 25:27.39, while Tampa junior Allison Macsas took home the women\'s individual crown with a 6K time of 20:35.73.

Baltimore County (with correction}, Harford County, Anne Arundel County and IAAM

Aurora Scott was recently featured in an exclusive article printed in The Virginian-Pilot. The revealing article of the freshmen phenom discusses Aurora\'s adjustment from her home schooled and AAU Junior Olympics national record setting days in her youth to attending high school at Western Branch and competing on the school\'s cross country team currently.

Composite Individual Rankings for Varsity Boys

The Tucker boys maintain their #1 ranking in the region, while the Oakton girls are bumped up to the #1 spot on the girls\' side. The Thomas Jefferson boys move up three spots to #6 while the Lake Braddock girls still find themselves unranked oddly enough.

This year marks the 2nd year of the VMI 3200m time trial. Last year

Composite Individual Rankings for Varsity Girls.

It came down to the wire in the boy's varisty race at the 2004 Pioneer Athletic Conference XC Championships.

13 photographs are now online from the Region 2-3A Championships on Oct. 20.

16 photographs are now online from the 2004 Region 3-3A Championships on Oct. 19.

The number 5 ranked team in the Northeast US took care of league business with a 21-76 win over Great Valley at the Southern Chester County League Championships.

T.L. Hanna\'s Ben Comen will be featured on the C.B.S. Sports Arete Awards Show which will be aired this Sunday afternoon from 3-4 p.m. (ET). on C.B.S.

Sarah Colosimo belongs to the top ten traveling squad on LSU\'s distance squad she holds a pr of 23:33 for 6k which she recently ran at the Chile Pepper Inv. in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

A distance runner on LSU\'s women squad, she is a consistant top 3 performer for her team and hold a pr of 22:55 for 6000 meters.

No new #1\'s this week, but plenty of shifting occurred in the rankings under the top ranked teams and individuals.

Shannon Saunders of James Madison University takes over the #1 spot among Division I women\'s individuals after decisively defeating former #1 Julia Cathcart of William & Mary at Penn State. No movement among team rankings but a fair amount of shuffling with individuals for both Division and Division III.

Race photo highlights from 10/16 Penn State National Invitational by Ryan Comstock

Athletes and coaches share their memories of Penncrest coach Larry Simmons, who died 10/14 following a stroke. If you\'d like to share your thoughts, please send an email to PennTrackXC

20 photographs are now online from the Trojan Invitational. Northwestern was the host school for the Trojan Invitational that took place on Oct. 16.

William and Mary men

Liberty

For the fourth time this season Washington & Lee University freshmen Lindsay Erickson was named ODAC Athlete of the Week for her performance at the Gettysburg Invite. Erickson, a freshman from Silver Spring, Md., finished fifth out of 177 competitors at the Gettysburg Invitational on Saturday, crossing the tape in 23:14.00, helping the Generals to a second-place team finish.

Two Christopher Newport University cross country runners received weekly honors from the USA South Conference for their performances at the Gettysburg Invitational this past weekend. Senior Nate Wallace was named men\'s cross country runner of the week, while freshmen Jay Wyss was named cross country rooke of the week.

Act II goes to Parkland in the continuing drama with Allentown Central Catholic. ACC took Act I last week in a dual meet, and in the first rematch, the Lehigh Valley League meet at Lehigh University, Parkland placed five in the top 12 for just 30 points, posting a team compression of 1:47. ACC coach Jack Pressman said that he held out two of his top runners to be prepared for the more critical District meet, but that \"if Parkland runs at Districts and States like they ran today, they will win both no matter who they are running against in PA.\"

New Orleans (Oct. 19, 2004)

Here we go - Fun Time. Good excuse for putting off that homework tonight. Get those poisoned pens ready and keep those cards and letters coming.

The top five on both the girls and the guys side stay consistant as the season pushes into week 6.

BEAUMONT, Texas

During halftime of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Football game against Masters Academy, a rather enthusiastic Tiger crowd witnessed their first 2 Mile Postal event.

Photos from the 2004 Menard Invitational.

Miranda Walker (Southlake Carroll)

Jenny Barringer has been taking it slowly coming back from summer jaw surgery, but also has been quite busy bouncing around the country visiting potential colleges. Our reporter Kevin Beck (finally) was able to get Jenny to stay in one place long enough to provide this feature story!

LaSalle must be tiring of 4th place at Van Cortlandt, but on the positive side, they have lost to four of the top teams in the Northeast and Southeast US. They were 16 points out of 3rd behind SE#9 Thomas Jefferson VA in the Eastern States boys race. NE

The University of Louisiana at Monroe's Maya Aden saw his unbeaten string end but made a respectable showing in the Chile Pepper Invitational against a national-class field Saturday.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.

Fairview crossed the New York border and left with the first place individual and team championships at the Bulldog Stampede at Alden HS. Aryn Gruneisen captured the girls race in 19:30, and was followed in with her team's scoring five in 10th, 16th, 24th and 25th, good enough for 55 points. The boys tallied just three more points behind Lane King's win in 16:22.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- LSU\'s men\'s cross country turned in an impressive performance at the Chile Pepper Festival Saturday, finishing fourth out of the 34-team field at Agri Park. The Lady Tigers placed 15th overall. (Photo: LSU Distance Coach Mark Elliot covering as much disance as his runners as he cheers his runners on to the highest team finish in his tenure at LSU)

Photos: LSU men & women at the 2004 Chile Pepper Xc Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Baldwin beats Cardinal O\'Hara at the Penn State National Invitational 10/16. Well, not exactly...

Christiansens and General McLane dominate on a chilly and damp day at the Rocky Grove Invitational. The festive atmosphere attracts a great turnout of budding talent and achieving talent from elementary to varsity. And if there is a Christiansen in a race, they\'re usually the victor.

Spring Valley junior Kate Niehaus traveled to the Northeast Saturday for the Brown Invitational, held in East Greenwich, RI. Niehaus, a two-time Footlocker National Finalist placed second behind All-American Laura Cummings (Bay Shore, NY). Niehaus crossed the line in 17:44.00. Niehaus holds the Palmetto State meet best of 17:36.81.

The Wando Invitational took place on Saturday in Mt. Pleasant. 35 photographs are now online for viewing from the meet.

Being ranked #13 in the entire nation this past week and the pressure that comes along with such attention, it would be easy for the J.R. Tucker boys to have a letdown performance at the Lee-Davis Invitational held at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville. However, the J.R. Tucker boys maintained their dominance over the state by easily defeating a very solid field that gathered to compete at the Lee-Davis Invite. Four of the top six ranked boys\' teams in the state competed at Pole Green this past weekend.

The Oakton girls and Thomas Jefferson boys had impressive team performances at the Eastern State Championships held at Van Courtland Park\'s 2.5 mile course in New York City. The Oakton girls, ranked #2 in the NTN Southeast region, won the girls\' A division race with a low team score of 35 points. Meanwhile, the Thomas Jefferson boys competed in the competitive Eastern State Boys Championship race and came away with a third place finish behind NTN Northeast #4 ranked Christian Brothers Academy of New Jersey and #5 ranked Cherokee of New Jersey with a team total of 145 points.

No. 22 William and Mary men

The Virginia men\'s and women\'s cross country teams competed at the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet held at Indiana State University today. Will Christian led the men\'s team while first-year Emily Harrison led the women with a top-25 finish. Harrison finished 25th with a 21:17.2 while Christian just nipped teammate Alex Tatu by 2.5 seconds, finishing with a 24:57.4.

No. 22 William and Mary women

The state of Virginia was well represented at this year\'s Georgetown Prep Invitational with some strong individual and team performances. The performance of the day came from Forest Park junior Stefanie Slekis, who ran away with the victory in the seeded girls\' race with a time of 18:46.98. Slekis won by five seconds over a field comprised of many schools from the Mid-Atlantic states.

James Madison senior Ted Herbert (Virginia Beach, Va./Cox) placed eighth among some 300 collegiate runners and led the Dukes to a fourth-place team finish at the Penn State National Men\'s Cross Country Invitational Saturday morning. Meanwhile, James Madison junior Shannon Saunders (Forest, Va./Jefferson Forest) placed 10th among 345 collegiate runners and led the Dukes to a ninth-place team finish.

Photo shots taken by Mr. John Herzog of the large school varsity races at the Lee-Davis Invitational held at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville, Virginia. 22 photos total.

Both the Liberty University men

Virginia Tech women's cross country team claimed sixth place while the Hokie men finished tenth in the 31 team field at the Chile Pepper Invitational hosted Arkansas today. Freshman Jessica Fanning (Charlottesville, Va.) was the first Hokie to cross the finish line in the six kilometer women's race in eighth place out of the 245 runner field with a time of 21:04.7. Fanning had the only Tech top-ten finish of the day.

The Washington and Lee men

The 1st annual Charles Lauck Invitational at the VA Horse Center in Lexington was held Saturday, October 16th. The meet was hosted by Rockbridge County High School. The course is very challenging, with many hills for the runners to climb. The course is also designed as one large loop, with stunning, panoramic views of the mountains. Coaches and spectators can easily see the competitors run most of the course from the finish and start line area.

No. 22 William and Mary men

Former PA stars showed their stuff at the NCAA Division I Pre-Nationals at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana.

The Norfolk State men

The Mary Washington cross country teams competed at the DeSales University invitational on Saturday. For the women, who finished seventh among 27 schools, Erin Connelly was the top finisher, in 26th place at 25:20. On the men\'s side, UMW placed sixth among 28 schools. UMW was led by Todd Kronenberg, at 27:15 in tenth place.

Radford men\'s cross country finished eighth with 197 points, while the women finished fifth with 159 points at the Winthrop Fall Classic on Saturday morning. Sophomore, Maria Geary and senior Shannon Brown finished in the top half of the 4k run.

Photos from the conference championship race at Jackson Middle School in Titusville.

Thibodaux, La.

Orlando, Fla. Jean Cassandra and Richard Brouckaert led Loyola at the Disney Classic held at the Wide World of Sports Complex. Cassandra led Loyola

PennTrackXC correspondent and Parkland runner Scott Parks caught up with Emmaus star Sam Luff after his team\'s dual meet with them on 10/12. If Luff\'s 9:10 3200 in the spring gave him confidence, his PR 15:38 at Great American made it even stronger. But he\'s taking it one race, and one challenge, at a time.

Olympic medalist Lauryn Williams is going back to school. The story in the Detroit Free Press.

The Lynchburg College cross country teams competed Friday in the 15th Annual Hatter Invitational, hosted by Stetson University. The Lynchburg College cross country teams competed Friday in the 15th Annual Hatter Invitational, hosted by Stetson University.

The VMI men

John I. Leonard and Pope John Paul II win titles, as a former cross country standout is remembered.

CM Wright moved up to #4 in the South East in the latest rankings for the NTN

This week, it's the Eastern States boys race at Van Cortlandt Park. Making the trip will be Archbishop Carroll, Cardinal O'Hara, LaSalle and Monsignor Bonner from the PCL.

The bad week in PA got worse when we received news that Penncrest coach Larry Simmons died Thursday 10/14 after suffering a stroke on Sunday. Funeral information is now complete.

For the third week of the season W&L runners sweep the ODAC Athlete of the Week honors. Freshmen Linsday Erickson and Junior Nathan Johnson were honored for their efforts at this weeks State Meet. This is the second weekly honor for Nathan Johnson and the third honor for Lindsay Erickson.

The disqualification of twenty six runners from Ocean Lakes High school at a dual meet in Virginia beach due to wearing their Lance Armstrong \"LiveStrong\" rubber band bracelets in the race, has caused quite a bit of controversy and news. The story has made national headlines being told on several national television networks such as ESPN and CNN. The pressure and criticism received from the runners, coaches, parents, community, and media has forced the Beach District to reverse its decision on the disqualification of the runners. Featured below is two articles published on the incident. ESPN.com: One Rule Meant To Be Broken by Ray Ratto The Virginia Pilot: Decision reversed on cancer-support wristbands

The FIU community received sad news this week, former teammate and Sun Belt All-Conference athlete Michael Felsberg died in Ramadia, Iraq. Teammate and friend Edda Santiago shares with us an article she wrote in tribute to Michael\'s memory.

A recent move made by the NCAA could benefit Virginia Division III colleges and universities in cross country by giving their NCAA region more national berths than the region traditionally receives. The NCAA Championships Committee has moved to proceed with a new national selection criteria for the 2005 NCAA DIII Men

The Cedar Cliff boys have risen from US#10 to US#7 in the latest Harrier Super 25 national rankings, based on their big win in the Meet of Champions at Great American 10/2. No other PA teams are currently in the top 25.

Runners who had been disqualified for wearing the Lance Armstrong Livestrong wrist bands in an October 6th meet, have had their disqualification rescinded.

LouisianaRunning.com\'s latest addition to the running log community. If you are of good speed and would like to join the running log community please email the site administrator

Photos taken by Mr. Dick of the first annual Free Lance Star All Area Meet hosted at Loriella Park in Fredricksburg, Virginia. 14 race photos are included.

The Oakton girls asserted themselves as the officially top ranked team in the state by winning the Glory Days Invite over Lake Braddock, while the Clarke County boys are finally getting Group A some recognition with a #7 ranking in the cream of the crops poll.

Photo Gallery from 10/12 Allentown Central Catholic-Parkland Dual Meet in Allentown

A quiet week of collegiate racing from Virginia schools leads to little or no changes in the rankings. No changes made to the Division I rankings, while a few slight changes have been made for the Division III schools.

The J.R. Tucker boys made national headwaves with their runner-up performance in the Race of Champions at the Great American Festival two weeks ago and were rewarded from their strong run in Cary, North Carolina with a #13 national ranking in the latest Harrier magazine Super 25 released today. Tucker's #13 national ranking is one of the highest ever received by a Virginia school in recent memory.

Three suburban Birmingham schools, Hoover, Vestavia, and Oak Mountain, represented Alabama well this weekend in South Carolina at the Furman Invitational. Alabama runners swept the individual races by wide margins and the Hoover men

Andrew White is a junior at Fort Mill High School. White has a 2004 database best of 16:35. White came in second at the Sparkle City Classic on Sept. 15 where he set his 2004 best.

The temperature was near a perfect 60 degrees though earlier rains during the day had left the low spots a bit muddy. Nevertheless, the buses were rolling in for Fredericksburg

Freshman standout broke UCF\'s regular season record for 8K at Disney this past weekend.

Both coaches know the other team is good. It\'s been that way since 2000. Each has won a state championship. Each wants to repeat. And each compete in the same league. Which means they face each other for a dual meet, Leagues, Districts, and then, if all goes well, States. The first match-up between two of this year\'s best teams in PA highlighted the talents of Allentown Central Catholic and Parkland. This one went to ACC, BY ONE POINT, 27-28. Parkland is ranked 8th in the Northeast, came in healthy and ready to go. \"We ran well, we just lost\" is how coach Loretta Dodson succinctly put it after the meet. \"But it\'s not over unless we let it be over.\" Each team placed five scorers in the top 12, with the top four tallying 18 points for each team. On this day, it was the ACC #5 who held off Parkland\'s #5 by just three seconds for the team win. Marcie Sobrinski (in photo) paced ACC with a first place 18:42 on the flat 5k layout.

Virginia Military Institute will play host to several high school indoor track and field meets and clinics this winter with a total of two meets and three clinics.

The Furman Invitational took place on Oct. 9. The meet course consisted of high school and college races that held the NCAA D-I NCAA Championships in 1997 and 2001. 40 photographs are now online from the meet.

The course record was broken twice at Big Spring HS on 10/9. How? Simple. Two different races with two very talented runners, one a freshman and one a sophomore.

Gwynedd-Mercy girls get 2nd to AA rival Christopher Dock, while Souderton\'s boys land four in the top nine for a team win. (photo by Bob Rodgers)

District 11's Liberty HS made a trip of it to Florida (after the hurricanes, of course) and left with some nice hardware, including a 2nd place trophy in the girls race, and 3rd place in the boys.

For the first time in the history of the Delaware County Championships, Archbishop Carroll\'s boys are the top team. O\'Hara junior Greg Thomas ripped a 15:55 win. Katie Kelly led the O\'Hara girls to the title witn an individual win.

Photos from Louisiana Women competing in the 2004 Auburn Invitational.

AUBURN, Ala. Behind a top 10 finish by junior Patrick Gavin the Tiger cross country team stormed to a third-place finish at the highly competitive Auburn Invitational Monday. The Lady Tigers finished seventh overall.

The best placed boys team from PA was NE#9 LaSalle, who finished 4th in the very tough Varsity Boys C race with 104 points. That\'s the race swept by Fayetteville-Manlius NY in record average time. Sean McGinley led LaSalle with a very strong 13:07, good for 7th place behind only the FM Five and CBA\'s #1.

The Florida men\'s and women\'s cross country teams both had outstanding performances Saturday at the Ninth Annual Disney Cross Country Classic. The women won their 5K race with 32 points while the Florida men also took first in their 8K race with 45 points at the meet held at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Florida also had the individual champion in both races.

In the biggest meet the thriving program from Unionville has ever run, they came up big. The Eastern States race at the annual Manhattan Invitational attracts the best teams to a single race. In the mix were the three top-ranked teams from the Northeast US, Saratoga Springs NY, Bay Shore NY, and Bethlehem Central NY. Also in the race were previously ranked teams, includiing St. Basil and Hatboro-Horsham.

The NSU men

This year\'s Glory Days Grill Invitational held at Bull Run Regional Park\'s 5K course was one of the most competitive meets hosted so far this season with many key head to head matchups between some of the state\'s top teams and individuals. What is known after the Glory Days Invite is that Melissa Dewey of Hayfield, Brad Siragusa of Chantilly, the Oakton girls, and the Thomas Jefferson boys are very good.

DaWit Legesse has made a name for himself in Virginia High School Track and Cross Country. However, in Cross Country it is usually for finishing in 2nd place. Last week at OctoberFest, Legesse could taste victory only to have Chantilly

Shots from the Astronaut Invitational CC Meet held at Jackson Middle School in Titusville.

Photos from the 2004 Catholic High Invitational.

Both Washington & Lee University Men's and Women's Cross Country teams competed in the annual Virginia Division II / III State Cross Country Meet on the hilly Peakview cross country course in Harrisonburg Virginia. Both teams came away from the meet with the team championship honors. Individually Nathan Johnson won his second race in two weeks.

Sophomore Anthony Harris and freshman Donnie Mikels paced the Keydets, as the VMI cross country squad took home a ninth place finish out of 26 teams in the Furman Invitational Saturday afternoon.

The top two finishing teams in the varsity boys\' race at the Albemarle Invitational hosted at Panorama Farms made strong statements for their state title bids this fall as Group AA\'s Fort Defiance and Group A\'s Clarke County were able to finish ahead of a field that included many AAA squads.

26 various shots taken by Mr. Dick at the Albemarle Invitational hosted at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville by Albemarle High School.

Motorcycles filled the parking lot Saturday at Salem Civic Center. A couple hundred yards away from the two-wheeled speedsters, Glenvar\'s Kelly Clark and Christiansburg\'s John Horst were the fastest things on two legs. The two juniors were out of everyone\'s class in the Metro Invitational cross country meet, posting easy victories on the 5-kilometer course at Roanoke College\'s Elizabeth Campus.