Regular Season Participation of Wheelchair Athletes in the Sport of Track & Field Track and field events administered by PIAA are intended for participation by able-bodied athletes. To promote the participation of students with disabilities, accommodations may be made in specific sports for such persons under PIAA's policy relating to "Requests for Accommodations Due To Disabilities."
The Southeastern District is looking particular tough this spring with the likes of Indian River's Thomas Speller and Lakeland's Predist Walker as top returnees in multiple events, while possessing the top team in the region and state currently in the AAA Indoor State team champions from Western Branch. Complete preview to come by Friday to compliment top returnees list already posted. Who will be this year's king of the Eastern Region? It was Bayside's Charles Clark last year. A special video rewind treat from last year's AAA State 400 meter finals inside. ;-)
Both Saunders and Brown were All-Americans at Nike Outdoor Nationals last June in the 400 meter hurdles. (Photo by Brandon Miles) Get pumped for the girls hurdles this spring out of the Eastern Region with three national caliber and All-American hurdlers found in the Tidewater with Hampton's Tierra Brown and the Menchville duo of Nicole Saunders and Kali Watkins. Brown is the defending state champion in both the 100 and 300 meter hurdles, while Saunders was a national runner-up at 400 meter hurdles and competed at the USATF Junior Nationals. Full preview to come by Friday of the Eastern Region with a list of the top returnees (20 deep) from the 2006 outdoor season to hold you over until then...
Defending Central Region 100 and 200 meter champion Anthony Chesson returns as the strong favorite to repeat along with his 2006 regional champion squad from Manchester. A mixture of new and old faces will be making splashes this spring in the Central Region. (Photo by John Herzog)
Top returnees from the 2006 outdoor track season among the Central Region girls. In a region dominated by plenty of great underclassmen and junior distance girls, Midlothian senior M.C. Miller is one of the lone class of 2007 members ranking up near the top in the Central Region as she has the fastest returning times for the 1600 meter run (4:53.19) and 800 meter run (2:14.42). However, James River junior Kristen Wolfe returns to make things interesting after she took off the indoor season to train for outdoors and Deep Run senior Courtlin LaReau will be continue her breakthrough late blooming 12th grade year of running.
PIAA AAA State XC Champ and Foot Locker Finalist Neely Spence – who ran for Shippensburg High School last fall after a law was passed requiring PA school to allow participation of homeschoolers – will join the Shippensburg team again this spring. Spence had planned to run open and collegiate meets this spring in preparation for the Nike Outdoor Nationals in June, but a new regulation has changed her plans.
Video highlights by Brandon Miles from the 2007 All-American Track Classic held Saturday, March 24th at Sports Backers Stadium in Richmond, Virginia. More video clips from individual races and events to come!
Coaches Classic in Columbia, Beach Run Invitational in Conway and Warrior Invitational in Mt. Pleasant.Salley, Wilson inducted into coaches association hall of fame.
Moss entered in 1600 and 3200 at Coaches Classic
Greenbriar Christian's Aaron Ransom was a state runner-up in three events at last May's VISAA State Championships in the 100, 200, and 400 meter dashes. For his senior year, Ransom comes back as the top returnee in all three events as well as the long jump. Plenty of champions return including 1600 and 800 meter winner Axel Mostrag of Fork Union. (Photo by John Herzog)
Potomac School's Samantha Adelberg is one of the top returning track athletes among the private school girls after running a 2:13 800 meter time last spring at the MileStat.com Elite Track Gala. Adelberg is defending VISAA state champion at 400 meters with a 58.01 best. With Katie Doswell now out of the picture and running for Duke, Adelberg and teammate Michaeline Nelson could dominate the middle distance events as both will be teammates again in college at Brown University. (Photo by John Herzog)
Senior at White Knoll has top seed in event at Coaches Classic
Where is Peter Dorrell on the list? He was in Japan last year. However, expect the Group AA indoor state champion for 1600 meters and state runner-up for 1000 meters to be a force in any distance event he chooses to compete in including a 9:10 3200 meter best as well to his credit. Footlocker finalist Griff Graves of Abingdon returns with the fastest times from last spring at 4:18 for 1600 meters and 9:14 for 3200 meters, while Sherando's Ryan Witt looks to defend his state title in the 1600 meter run.
Park View's Natalie Baird returns this spring to let it rip in the thrower's circle as the junior from Sterling was an All-American in the discus throw last year and had a best mark of 157'7". Only Jackie Wallace of Lafayette in 1981 has a better mark in state history at 159'9". Baird also is the defending state champion in Group AA in both the discus and shot put. Catherine White of Northside in the 800, 1600, and 3200 meter races and Keisha Garrick of Caroline in the 100 and 200 meter dashes are also Group AA top returnees in multiple events. (Photo by John Herzog)
Except for the hurdle events, all of last year's VHSL Group A Outdoor State boys champions in the individual running events return to make for what will certainly be an even greater year for the small schools than 2006. Radford junior Nathan Brame is one of those returning state champions for 1600 meters and stands an excellent shot at breaking 4:20 this spring and going after the state meet record of 4:19.1 held by New Kent's Guy Alton (2001). Meanwhile, the boys sprints should see some great competition including the likes of Goochland's D.J. Coles, a state champion for 100 meters last June as a sophomore. (Photo by David Fleenor)
Plenty of talented individuals return this spring among the Group A girls for the 2007 outdoor season. Most notable returnees are Rahsheeta Hundley of West Point, Ashton Bishop of Gate City, Mariah Hagadone of Buffalo Gap, and Alisha Jenkins of Buffalo Gap. Bishop is the most versatile athlete in Group A as she won both the 100 and 300 meter hurdles as well as the high jump at last year's Group A Outdoor State Meet along with a second place run in the 800 meter run. Bishop plays volleyball in the fall and basketball in the winter to keep her busy year around. (Photo by David Fleenor)
Easier College Admission for Athletes Sparks a Review by NCAA March 20 (Bloomberg) -- The longstanding practice at U.S. colleges of admitting athletes with substandard academic credentials is coming under fresh scrutiny.
2nd Annual KYtrackXC.com Indoor Awards for Sprinter of the Year, Distance Runner of the Year, and Field Event Athlete of the Year. Congratulations to all the athletes who competed the 2007 Indoor Track Season.
Equity in Athletics, Inc. (“EIA”) announced today it has filed a lawsuit in United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia seeking to set aside the so-called “three-part test” utilized by the Department of Education (“DOE”) to determine compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The case is Civil Action No. 5:07-0028 before Judge Glen E. Conrad.
Important links for the 2007 Penn Relays Carnival, April 26-28, 2007Entry form signed by school principal: April 3 at 4:00pm Individual entry update by April 8 at 12:00 noon (thru Penn Relays website) Relay entry update by April 15 12 noon (thru Penn Relays website)
It has been an interesting past four months for the high school cross country community! Since its start three years ago Nike Team Nationals (NTN) has been a boon to the sport, putting the top teams from around the country on a national stage, but for better or worse it has been the source of great controversy as well.Now things are about to get very interesting. Nike has officially announced today what track & field insiders have heard speculated upon for the past week: they will scrap their selection committee in favor of qualifying meets.
Coach Claude Toukene at Western Branch High School and Coach Stan Morgan at Midlothian High School have been announced as the 2007 All-MileStat.com Indoor Track Team Coaches of the Year.
Videos from most of the Bob Hayes Invitational finals are now up. Check that out in the Videos Section. We also have over 800 photos from the finals.There were some extremely fast times and good marks across all disciplines. Shataya Hendricks put up a national leading time of 11.30 in the 100 meters (no wind guage though). Chris Ward ran a new meet record 46.90 in the 400.Full Results & Coverage
The highlight of the indoor season would probably have to be running at the New Balance Games at the Armory in New York. What an amazing place! We had to fight off teams from all around just to get a seat. But once the bloodshed was over, the view was worth it. The seats overlooked the track, and it was almost like sitting in a football stadium. The track almost smelled fast. How can anyone help but run the race of their life there? I had also never run on a banked track, so even the hollow thundering sound of each race going off was new and fascinating to me.
Northside senior Catherine White has been named the girls distance runner of the year for the 2007 All-MileStat.com Indoor Track Team. White was the state leader for 1000 and 1600 meters, while picking up her 11th and 12th Group AA state titles. The University of Arkansas recruit ran times for 1000 meters and the mile distance, which rank in the top 5 all-time indoors by Virginian girls. More team members to be announced throughout the week!
In a series of featured videos to be released this week, Fork Union senior Axel Mostrag has been selected as the boys distance runner of the year on the 2007 All-MileStat.com Indoor Track Team. Plenty of similar featured videos to be released throughout the week to make up the 2007 All-MileStat.com Indoor Track Team! Enjoy!
Summerville boys and girls sweep team titles at home meet, Azalea Invitational.Mann's Kate Borowicz wins 3200 at Bob Hayes Invitational in Florida by 20 seconds.
Dreher senior Jonathan Chu runs 4:31.39.
Coaches plan. Athletes listen. When the coach is as accomplished and strategically experienced as West Chester Henderson's Kevin Kelly, and the athletes are as talented and coachable as Chris Ferry, Tim Shea, Andrew Jervis and Chris Aldrich, good things are bound to happen. Kelly had a plan. The runners knew that their workouts indicated they could beat the team they perceived as their main competition - Fork Union Military Academy of Virginia. Kelly outlined his battle plan to PennTrackXC's Gayle Rich. "Our strategy was to give Aldrich as big a lead as possible." Photo by David Fleenor for The MileSplit Network
Pole vault action at Saturday's Diamond Hornet Invitational
scrunners.com staff writer Chuck King interviews Mann's 3200-meter winning girls team following their race at Diamond Hornet Invitational.
The superlatives escape him. She is not easily impressed.He is Rob Ronzano, coach of one Ryann Krais, the remarkably talented, genuinely humble talent who added another national title to her growing resume with the #3 all-time indoor Pentathlon on Saturday at the Nike Team Nationals. Ronzano saw the talent when she started her indoor season as a freshman. His reaction was to read everything he could find, and talk with as many coaches as he could - all in an effort to try to stay ahead of her talent curve. He's still ahead, but it's like trying to outrun a train. Sometimes it's just best to step off the track and watch. On Saturday at NIN, he coached. But he also watched, and what he saw from the junior again amazed him. "To be a little off and to still set a record, that's pretty special," Ronzano understated. Photo by John Herzog for the MileSplit Network
Video interview by Brandon Miles with Aurora Scott as the homeschooled junior finished 10 seconds off the high school national indoor record with a 16:53.55 national title win at Nike Indoor Nationals.
Don't forget to subscribe. That is the main way we pay for this full-time level of coverage. Three choices: 3-months/4-months/One Year Highlighting the weekend... On DAY THREE of the NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS at the New York Armory, North Penn captured 2nd in the 4x800. Jamar Jones of Engineering & Science early all-American with his 3rd place in the 800. Kiski Area's Garner McCloud earned all-American status with a 5th place in the triple jump. Chris Ferry of Henderson, took 8th in the 800. On DAY TWO, Caitlin DeFusco, Germantown Academy, moved to the semis of the 200 but was DQed in the finals. PCL reps Archbishop Prendergast and Cardinal O'Hara boys were 8th and 9th in the 4xmile. In the 4x200, Cardinal O'Hara, Neshaminy and Neumann Goretti's boys advanced, as did the West Catholic girls. Joe Berry, Hatboro-Horsham, advanced to the finals of the pole vault. Liberty's Beki Finn and Easton's Abby Schaffer tied for 5th and earned all-American certificates. Simone Carter, West Catholic, did not advance to Sunday's final in the 60. On DAY ONE in New York, Unionville senior Paul Springer ran 2nd in the 5000, going 14:51.07. Steve Murdoch of NY took 1st. West Catholic's Simone Carter advanced in the 60 dash with a 7.84. Kashif Thompson of Archbishop Ryan moved on in the 60 hurdles, going 8.36. The Cardinal O'Hara boys were 7th in the 1600 Sprint Medley Relay, running 3:33.32.(North Penn takes 2nd in the 4x800 - Photo by Maroon News of NJ) On DAY TWO of the NIKE INDOOR NATIONALS in Maryland, Chanelle Price set a meet record in the 800, winning in 2:07.43. Shaniel Chambers of Chester was 5th in 2:14.36. Elliot Rhodes of Germantown Academy was 4th in the 800. Karen Shump of Penncrest, was runner-up again in the shot put. And Weston Banks of Hempfield, took 2nd in the boys' shot put. Cheltenham's Brandon Bing was 5th in the 200. Glen Mills' Reuben Aimes was 6th in the long jump. Also earning all-American honors were Great Valley and Baldwin in the boys' 4x800. Great Valley was 3rd and Baldwin, 6th. William Tennent's James Pittinger took 6th in the high jump. Abby Schaffer, Easton, took 6th in the pole vault. Ryann Krais advanced to the semis of the 60 hurdles, but missed by .02 at 8.70 in advancing to the finals. In the 60 dash, Jasmine Russ of Franklin High in Philly, and Kristen Arnold of Downingtown West each advanced to the semis, but both missed the final. PA 3000 champs Carly Seymour and Jason Weller were 9th and 11th, respectively, in the 2-mile run. On DAY ONE in Maryland, Ryann Krais, Methacton, set a meet record and recorded the #3 all-time prep Pentathlon with 3715 point, six better than Gayle Hunter scored in 2004. She won the 60 hurdles, high jump, long jump and 800, and tied for 2nd in the shot put for a total of 3715 points. Germantown Academy's Alex Holcombe tied for 3rd in the boy's Pentathlon, taking 6th in the 60 hurdles, 4th in the long jump, 2nd in the shot put, 13th in the high jump, and 5th in the 1000 meter run, for a total 3966 points. The West Chester Henderson boys won the DMR, with Baldwin taking 5th, and Great Valley 8th. The Easton girls won the SMR in a US#1 time (All-Time #4), as Chester took 4th. In the 5000, two Pennsylvanians earned all-American status as Kassie Meholick of Cedar Cliff and Katherine Ward of State College ran 5th and 6th, respectively. Germantown Friends ran to a 4th place finish in the 4xmile, while Saint Basil's Academy captured 6th. Both captured all-American honors. No PA athletes advanced in the 400. Ijeoma Iheoma of Council Rock South was the top PA runner for the girls, and Russell Dinkins of Philadelphia was 19th. Flash Results from NIN Live Results from NIN Results from NSIC
Here is an event-by-event look at the girls competition in the Nike Indoor Nationals this weekend (March 10-11) in Landover, Maryland.
Here is an event-by-event look at the boys competition in the Nike Indoor Nationals this weekend (March 10-11) in Landover, Maryland.
MileStat.com's Brandon Miles interviews two of many important pieces to the puzzle that made the 2007 VHSL Group AAA state champion boys team in Western Branch with head coach Claude Toukene and one of their many talented sophomores in Kelvin Griffin, who placed in four events individually at the state meet. While the Midlothian girls achieved a rare feat in winning the AAA team title from a team of distance runners, the Western Branch boys had an equally unique team in winning a state team championship with the bulk of their points coming from a talented class of 2009 found in their sophomores. For Coach Toukene, it is the first group of athletes he will be able to work with for all four years of their high school careers. Toukene has competed internationally for his native country of Cameron including the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics. He has taken his experience of competing against the world's best to cultivate a winning attitude at the City of Chesapeake high school, which has led to a state championship last weekend and possibly many more to come with the core of his team having five more seasons of high school track left.
Indiana Invaders' Hunter Spencer added
Coach Elder gives his Charlottesville girls a big hug after winning the AA team championship. (Photo by David Fleenor) Many championships are won by shear talent. Other titles are won by a little luck of the draw. Charlottesville won the Group AA girls indoor track team title this past Saturday at Liberty University off of perseverance. The fighting attitude exhibited by the Charlottesville girls in refusing to accept Blacksburg as a runaway team champion started well before the start of events on Saturday. Their head coach in Curtis Elder was on his death bed last year, but refused to give up. Their star athlete Rashawnda James has been dealt a rough family life and now is in foster care, but has refused to make herself a victim of her situation. Both were made to be champions. Feature story on Ethan Nixon & the Brookville bees to come!
Boys entries for Nike Indoor Nationals this weekend in Maryland.
Girls entries for this weekend's Nike Indoor Championship in Maryland.
Eleven new stadium records at Sandlapper Classic (West Ashley), five new meet records at GSP Relays (Dorman).
February 28 3200 meter relay video at Eastside High in Taylors. Submit meet results to john@scrunners.com.
Karl Dusen, a 24-year-old Columbia University grad who qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with a 2:20:35 at the Lasalle Bank Chicago Marathon in October, will run the USA 8K in Central Park in New York on March 17.
Jackie Coward’s performance this season in the 60-meter hurdles has been . . . well, heroic.
"There is no constitutional right to play anything," he says. "Young people are resilient. They'll get over it." Recent quote by Lamar Daniel, the Title IX consultant hired by James Madison University. MileStat.com would like to take full use of the peak traffic that we will be experiencing this week with this weekend's state championships by drawing attention to the travesty that has occured at James Madison University this past year in the administration at JMU deciding to cut the men's cross country and track programs at the school due to compliance with Title IX. An online petition has been started, which will be presented to the Virginia State Legislature. As supporters of MileStat.com and the sport, please give the same support the James Madison University men's programs.
