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Flotrack Articles en-us Copyright 2006-2009 Flocasts Inc Sat, 7 Nov 2009 10:17:41 -0500 http://www.flotrack.org/assets/portal/simple30/images/logos/flotrack-logo.gif Erik Van Ingen KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1525-erik-van-ingen-kwik-e Binghamton's Erik Van Ingen had a stellar 2009 outdoor track season. The underclassman made it all the way to the USA Championships, where he failed to make the final, but still locked down a 1,500-meter personal-best time of 3 minutes, 43.18 seconds in his sophomore outdoor season. At the America East Cross Country Championships this past weekend, Van Ingen took the individual title. With his eyes set on making it to the NCAA Championships at Terre Haute, let's see if Van Ingen can reach his goal! What are your individual goals for this season? Originally the plan was to get to Terre Haute on the 23rd. That's the biggest plan. I've got to make it there as an individual, which is pretty tough. Pretty much, if I get there, that's the biggest thing. My coach and I have been tossing around the phrase “All-American”. We really don't know 100% what I'm capable of. It's pretty vague what I'm hoping to accomplish this fall. If I can get to the NCAA meet, than that's the priority. It's a lot easier to assess and set your goals as far as track is concerned. That's just solely because of the consistent nature of track. You don't really have that in cross. With me, just with cross, it's tough to tell because I've come such a long way since last January and February to now. I'm pretty much a different runner, so it's hard to gauge how much I'm improving really. That's another thing that's really throwing everything off as to what I'm able to do. That's got to be exciting too! Like you don't know your own bounds. God, it's cool! It's really cool! I like to know things for sure, but it's really good at the same time. ">What are your team goals? We're hoping to get top seven, as strange of a number as that might sound. That's just where we can see ourselves finishing if we run well. For the past couple of years for our team, it's been a huge transition. Two years ago, our program was basically a joke and it was bad. It's come a long way. Now we're a team that, you know, we get some attention on the East Coast. Hopefully we can continue the trend to where we can be a team that can be noticed on a national stage. That's to be determined. We could be one of those obscure teams that's known for cross country, like an American type. Why did you decide to go to college—I just did this on Google Maps—27 miles away from where you went to high school? My whole school-picking process was pretty screwed up. In high school, I was into running, but it wasn't my everything like it is now. In high school, I was a big skier and it was main sport. Originally, I was planning on skipping college to pursue a professional career in skiing. My parents were pretty against that and I wised up. An education will hopefully help me out later on. I ended up going to school at Canisius College out in Buffalo. They offered scholarship money and only had cross country. I was able to get money and only obligated to run during the fall and the summer. As far as trying to ski, that was good. At the end of my senior year was when I really started running well. The next six months after that was a bit of a transition stage in figuring out what I wanted to do. That's when I figured out that running is what I wanted to do. And that's when I transferred. The fact that it's 27 miles away from home is pretty much coincidence. I looked at a couple of schools out west. For schools on the East Coast, it was Binghamton and Syracuse. I ended up coming to Binghamton just because I was a little scared of going to a program where I wasn't the big dog. At my high school program I was a big fish in a small pond. That's what I was comfortable with. Also academics played into the decision a bit. It was a coincidence that it was that close. Actually, at the time, my mom was a graduate student in the nursing program. So, I went to school with my mom for some amount of time. Although I never saw her on campus. You couldn't carpool with her? There's no chance in hell that I'd carpool with my mom to college. Was there a split decision for you where you're like, “OK, here it is. Running or skiing?” A quick decision or a gradual process? It was so long. In high school, my coach couldn't understand why I was so adamant against not running indoor track and skiing. I think it was because he saw I had a lot of talent and wanted to see me succeed. He was always pounding it in my head to give running a try. It was a fragile process. I remember being in Canisius and being on the phone with my high school coach and one thing he said just turned my switch. It was a culmination of a long time of having to make this decision. The light just turned on upstairs. It was like, “this is it!” And ever since then it's been like, “I made my decision.” And I try not to b*tch and complain about it. (Link to Erik's ski promo video) What were doing in high school? Were you a low-mileage guy who was just really talented? I was trained really well. My high school coach knew his stuff for sure. During the summers, I'd go out for runs and during my senior year, I'd peak at 70 miles. But, throughout cross, I'd maintain at about 50. During the summer, I'd just do some cruise intervals, some reps...similar to the Daniels stuff. That was pretty much a frame for a lot of my high school training. I wouldn't run a step from Thanksgiving weekend to the first day of track practice. Then in the spring my coach would just race me into shape and for the first month, month and a half, I'd feel like garbage. All of a sudden, I'd feel good. Since I came to college, my coach here is pretty conservative, I guess, in her approach. I spent the majority of my freshman year and some of my sophomore cross country year kind of butting heads with her. I guess I'm pretty aggressive with my running and my approach with training. I ran into a scenario where I was not listening to her very much and over training and running too hard on my runs and all that junk. Last indoor season is when I finally gave into her advice and started running really well. As far as mileage, last year I was 70-75. This year I'm between 80-85. It's a pretty normal training layout. In the fall, it's 40-minute tempo runs and V02 stuff. It's pretty basic stuff. Interview interrupted by my dog, Maddy, playing with her squeakiest toys right next to me. Do you go by any interesting nicknames or anything like that? Pretty much just, “Van Ingen”. In high school, a couple of guys called me “Sanchez”. That was because I'd come back from skiing trips and have a dirty-a*s ski-goggle tan and it looked like I had a dirty, Mexican beard. They thought it was pretty funny. It stuck through high school and even when I'd go home for break, people still call me it. Other than that, it's just my last name. What do you and your teammates do for fun in Binghamton? Fun things in Binghamton (laughs)? I joke around and say it's a lot like purgatory. It's not bad, but it's not like Miama, Florida. We do pretty normal stuff. I'm pretty low-key during the season. After a workout recently we went apple picking. We play video games...Super Smash Bros and Call of Duty. Last semester I had Xbox Live and it was like, “game over!” My roommates discovered the Nazi zombie and it was just too much fun. Typical college kid stuff. Whatever we can find to do when we're not practicing or studying. You vaguely mentioned not knowing your own bounds. Do you have any long-term goals in mind? Oh, yeah. Everyone's got goals and ambitions and dreams and stuff. I'd like to have a shot at winning an NCAA title on the track before I leave Binghamton. I'll be sticking around through 2012, taking a fifth year. I'd like to run professionally and make a World Championship or Olympic team. As ridiculous as that sounds, I think I have a lot of upside. I've only been training as—I don't want to say a world-class runner— an elite runner for the past year and a half or so. Hopefully that stuff will happen, because honestly I don't want to do much else than run and I sure as hell don't want to get a real job after college. With those types of runners coming out of the bigger programs, do you feel like it's going to be harder for you to accomplish what you want to accomplish? It doesn't phase me. I just think that I don't really give a sh*t about that too much. I have all the contacts and stuff within our school. We just had a pole vaulter sign a contract with Asics about a year and a half ago. Was that Quiller? Yeah, that was Rory. Our coach is familiar with what needs to be done with all that and stuff. It's nice to have someone who's been there to help out with the process. That kind of stuff just motivates me and lights a fire under me. Throughout my running career, a lot of people have underestimated me and that's really gotten me really stoked and got me training so I can run my butt off. It's ideal for me in that aspect. If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? I would have my mom make a Shoefly Pie. That's what I'd have. Can you explain that one for us? I sure can. Everyone seems to think I'm making that one up or something. It's like a Pennsylvania-Dutch sort of thing. It's molasses and brown sugar and I don't know what else, but it's just heavy and rich and sweet. My mom will make it every now and then as a treat. Whenever she makes it, it's gone pretty quickly and I kind of regret how quickly it's gone. I'm usually on the couch and in a considerable amount of pain. Can you give a crazy running-related story? When I was at Canisius we were doing one of our normal runs or whatever. And were in this Buffalo suburb to the east of Buffalo called Amherst. We were running down some neighborhood street and taking up the whole road like a bunch of jackasses. A guy driving a big Range Rover or some really big SUV drives up and is honking his horn while screaming at us. As he drives, a bunch of the guys on the team start banging on the car and stuff and he slams on the brakes and starts driving along with us as we're running and talking sh*t. His girlfriend is sitting next to him in the passenger seat, so he's got to act all tough. One of my friends gets up on the back bumper and starts climbing on top of the SUV. Our captain at the time, gets in the guy's face and they exchange some words and ends up spitting in the guy's face. It was bad, I'm surprised he didn't get try to get out and try to take out five or six scrawny runner boys. This guy was tough! He said some choice words and said that he was going to get the police. He drove off all big and bad. We never heard from him again.   Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1525-erik-van-ingen-kwik-e Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:00:00 -0500 KOLAS Calculator #3, Nov 4th - Women By Ryan From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1523-kolas-calculator-3-nov-4th-women Nationals Qualifiers by Round QUALIFIER #1 is SYRACUSE (#1 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is VILLANOVA (#1 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is DUKE (#1 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is MICHIGAN (#1 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is ILLIONIS (#1 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is SOUTHERN METHODIST (#1 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is COLORADO (#1 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is WASHINGTON (#1 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is FLORIDA (#1 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is PROVIDENCE (#2 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is PRINCETON (#2 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is VIRGINIA (#2 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is MICHIGAN STATE (#2 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is MINNESOTA (#2 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is ARKANSAS (#2 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is TEXAS TECH (#2 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is OREGON (#2 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is FLORIDA STATE (#2 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #19 is WEST VIRGINIA (#3 Md-At) (*Pushed in by PENN STATE) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: PROVIDENCE (PENN STATE NATIONAL) SYRACUSE (BIG EAST) PROVIDENCE (BIG EAST) QUALIFIER #19 is PENN STATE (#4 Md-At) (Entered on 8 wins) Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) SOUTHERN METHODIST (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (PENN STATE NATIONAL) ILLIONIS (BIG TEN) MINNESOTA (BIG TEN) MICHIGAN (BIG TEN) MICHIGAN STATE (BIG TEN) QUALIFIER #21 is NEW MEXICO (#3 Mtn) (*Pushed in by BYU) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) SOUTHERN METHODIST (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #21 is BYU (#4 Mtn) (Entered on 4 wins) Wins against qualified listed: MICHIGAN (WISCONSIN INVITE) ARKANSAS (WISCONSIN INVITE) ARKANSAS (CHILE PEPPER INVITE) SOUTHERN METHODIST (CHILE PEPPER INVITE) QUALIFIER #23 is ARIZONA STATE (#3 West) (Entered on 3 wins) *ARIZONA STATE wins common-opponent against IOWA STATE *ARIZONA STATE wins common-opponent against IOWA STATE *ARIZONA STATE wins common-opponent against IOWA STATE Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) SOUTHERN METHODIST (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #24 is IOWA STATE (#3 Mid-W) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: MINNESOTA (ROY GRIAK) MICHIGAN STATE (ROY GRIAK) MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #25 is GEORGETOWN (#5 Md-At) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: IOWA STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) PROVIDENCE (BIG EAST) QUALIFIER #26 is STANFORD (#4 West) (Entered on 2 wins) *STANFORD wins head-to-head against IOWA Wins against qualified listed: IOWA STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #27 is CALIFORNIA (#5 West) (*Pushed in by ARIZONA) (Entered on 0 wins) *CALIFORNIA wins head-to-head against IOWA Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #27 is ARIZONA (#6 West) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: IOWA STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #29 is NORTE DAME (#3 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: ARIZONA (NOTRE DAME INVITE) ARIZONA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #29 is IOWA (#4 Mid-W) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: ARKANSAS (WISCONSIN INVITE) MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #31 is TENNESSEE (#3 South) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: ARKANSAS (SEC) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ QUALIFIER #32 is NC STATE (#3 SE) (*Pushed in by NORTH CAROLINA) (Entered on 1 wins) *NC STATE wins head-to-head against TENNESSEE Wins against qualified listed: TENNESSEE (PAUL SHORT) QUALIFIER #32 is NORTH CAROLINA (#4 SE) (Entered on 2 wins) *NORTH CAROLINA wins head-to-head against HARVARD *NORTH CAROLINA wins head-to-head against TENNESSEE Wins against qualified listed: NORTE DAME (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) ARIZONA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #34 is INDIANA (#4 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: TENNESSEE (PAUL SHORT) QUALIFIER #35 is NEBRASKA (#5 Mid-W) (*Pushed in by KANSAS) (Entered on 0 wins) *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against HARVARD *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against BUCKNELL *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against WILLIAM AND MARY *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against MIAMI *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against NEBRASKA *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against BAYLOR *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against TEXAS *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against NORTHERN ARIZONA *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against UC SANTA BARBRA *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against GEORGIA *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against ALABAMA *NEBRASKA wins common-opponent against TENNESSEE Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #35 is KANSAS (#6 Mid-W) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #37 is OHIO STATE (#5 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 1 wins) *OHIO STATE wins head-to-head against WILLIAM AND MARY *OHIO STATE wins head-to-head against TEXAS *OHIO STATE wins head-to-head against NORTHERN ARIZONA Wins against qualified listed: KANSAS (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #38 is BAYLOR (#3 S-Cen) (*Pushed in by TEXAS) (Entered on 0 wins) *BAYLOR wins head-to-head against WILLIAM AND MARY *BAYLOR wins head-to-head against NORTHERN ARIZONA Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #38 is TEXAS (#4 S-Cen) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: KANSAS (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #40 is WILLIAM AND MARY (#5 SE) (Entered on 1 wins) *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against KANSAS STATE Wins against qualified listed: KANSAS (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #40 is NORTHERN ARIZONA (#5 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins) *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against STONY BROOK *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against BUCKNELL *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against WESTERN KENTUCKY *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against MIAMI *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against WICHITA STATE *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against BAYLOR *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against TEXAS *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against NORTHERN ARIZONA *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against UC SANTA BARBRA *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against GEORGIA *NORTHERN ARIZONA wins head-to-head against ALABAMA Wins against qualified listed: WILLIAM AND MARY (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) KANSAS (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #42 is UTEP (#6 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins) *UTEP wins head-to-head against JAMES MADISON *UTEP wins head-to-head against KANSAS STATE Wins against qualified listed: MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #43 is KANSAS STATE (#7 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins) *KANSAS STATE wins head-to-head against JAMES MADISON *KANSAS STATE wins head-to-head against COLORADO STATE Wins against qualified listed: TEXAS (BIG 12) QUALIFIER #44 is HARVARD (#3 NE) (Entered on 1 wins) *HARVARD wins head-to-head against JAMES MADISON *HARVARD wins head-to-head against WICHITA STATE *HARVARD wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *HARVARD wins head-to-head against STONY BROOK *HARVARD wins head-to-head against BUCKNELL *HARVARD wins head-to-head against WESTERN KENTUCKY *HARVARD wins head-to-head against PURDUE *HARVARD wins head-to-head against BAYLOR *HARVARD wins head-to-head against UC SANTA BARBRA *HARVARD wins head-to-head against GEORGIA *HARVARD wins head-to-head against ALABAMA Wins against qualified listed: KANSAS STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #44 is COLORADO STATE (#7 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: KANSAS (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #46 is WICHITA STATE (#8 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins) *WICHITA STATE wins common-opponent against JAMES MADISON *WICHITA STATE wins common-opponent against JAMES MADISON Wins against qualified listed: KANSAS (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #47 is JAMES MADISON (#6 SE) (Entered on 1 wins) *JAMES MADISON wins common-opponent against MISSOURI *JAMES MADISON wins common-opponent against MISSOURI Wins against qualified listed: TENNESSEE (PAUL SHORT) QUALIFIER #48 is MIAMI (#6 Gr-Lk) (*Pushed in by TOLEDO) (Entered on 0 wins) *MIAMI wins head-to-head against MISSOURI *MIAMI wins head-to-head against SOUTHERN UTAH *MIAMI wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *MIAMI wins head-to-head against STONY BROOK *MIAMI wins head-to-head against BUCKNELL *MIAMI wins head-to-head against WESTERN KENTUCKY *MIAMI wins head-to-head against PURDUE *MIAMI wins head-to-head against WICHITA STATE *MIAMI wins head-to-head against RICE *MIAMI wins head-to-head against UC SANTA BARBRA *MIAMI wins head-to-head against ALABAMA Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #48 is TOLEDO (#7 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: JAMES MADISON (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #50 is MISSOURI (#9 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: SOUTHERN METHODIST (CHILE PEPPER INVITE) QUALIFIER #50 is SOUTHERN UTAH (#8 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: JAMES MADISON (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #52 is PURDUE (#8 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: MISSOURI (GREATER LOUISVILLE XC) QUALIFIER #53 is BUTLER (#9 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: SOUTHERN UTAH (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #54 is GEORGIA (#4 South) (Entered on 0 wins) *GEORGIA wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *GEORGIA wins head-to-head against STONY BROOK *GEORGIA wins head-to-head against BUCKNELL *GEORGIA wins head-to-head against WESTERN KENTUCKY *GEORGIA wins head-to-head against AKRON *GEORGIA wins head-to-head against TULSA *GEORGIA wins head-to-head against RICE *GEORGIA wins head-to-head against WEBER STATE *GEORGIA wins head-to-head against UC SANTA BARBRA Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #55 is WESTERN KENTUCKY (#7 SE) (Entered on 0 wins) *WESTERN KENTUCKY wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *WESTERN KENTUCKY wins head-to-head against STONY BROOK *WESTERN KENTUCKY wins head-to-head against BUCKNELL *WESTERN KENTUCKY wins head-to-head against AKRON *WESTERN KENTUCKY wins head-to-head against TULSA *WESTERN KENTUCKY wins head-to-head against RICE *WESTERN KENTUCKY wins head-to-head against WEBER STATE *WESTERN KENTUCKY wins head-to-head against UC SANTA BARBRA *WESTERN KENTUCKY wins head-to-head against VANDERBILT Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #55 is ALABAMA (#5 South) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #57 is KENTUCKY (#8 SE) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: MISSOURI (GREATER LOUISVILLE XC) WESTERN KENTUCKY (GREATER LOUISVILLE XC) QUALIFIER #58 is LOUISVILLE (#9 SE) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: MISSOURI (GREATER LOUISVILLE XC) WESTERN KENTUCKY (GREATER LOUISVILLE XC) QUALIFIER #59 is VANDERBILT (#6 South) (*Pushed in by AUBURN) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: KENTUCKY (SEC) QUALIFIER #59 is AUBURN (#7 South) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: LOUISVILLE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) KENTUCKY (SEC) QUALIFIER #61 is RICE (#5 S-Cen) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: AUBURN (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) LOUISVILLE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #62 is COLUMBIA (#4 NE) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: ALABAMA (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #63 is STONY BROOK (#5 NE) (*Pushed in by CORNELL) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #63 is CORNELL (#6 NE) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: JAMES MADISON (PAUL SHORT) TENNESSEE (PAUL SHORT) Ryan From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1523-kolas-calculator-3-nov-4th-women Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:29:00 -0500 KOLAS Calculator #3, Nov 4th - Men By Ryan From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1522-kolas-calculator-3-nov-4th-men Nationals Qualifiers by Round QUALIFIER #1 is IONA (#1 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is GEORGETOWN (#1 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is WILLIAM AND MARY (#1 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is WISONSIN (#1 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is OK STATE (#1 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is ARKANSAS (#1 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is NORTHERN ARIZONA (#1 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is STANFORD (#1 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is ALABAMA (#1 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is SYRACUSE (#2 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is VILLANOVA (#2 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is NC STATE (#2 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is BUTLER (#2 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is OKLAHOMA (#2 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is TEXAS (#2 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is COLORADO (#2 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is OREGON (#2 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is FLORIDA STATE (#2 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #19 is NEW MEXICO (#3 Mtn) (*Pushed in by BYU) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) BUTLER (NOTRE DAME INVITE) FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #19 is BYU (#4 Mtn) (Entered on 4 wins) Wins against qualified listed: OREGON (BILL DELLINGER) VILLANOVA (BILL DELLINGER) IONA (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) FLORIDA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #21 is PORTLAND (#3 West) (Entered on 3 wins) *PORTLAND wins head-to-head against VIRGINIA Wins against qualified listed: VILLANOVA (BILL DELLINGER) IONA (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) FLORIDA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #22 is ARIZONA STATE (#4 West) (*Pushed in by WASHINGTON) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) BUTLER (NOTRE DAME INVITE) FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #22 is WASHINGTON (#5 West) (Entered on 4 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NC STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) BUTLER (NOTRE DAME INVITE) FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #24 is VIRGINIA (#3 SE) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: SYRACUSE (UVA PANORAMA FARMS) VILLANOVA (UVA PANORAMA FARMS) FLORIDA STATE (ACC) QUALIFIER #25 is PROVIDENCE (#3 NE) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: BUTLER (NOTRE DAME INVITE) FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #25 is INDIANA (#3 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: IONA (PAUL SHORT) NC STATE (PAUL SHORT) QUALIFIER #25 is IOWA STATE (#3 Mid-W) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: OKLAHOMA (ROY GRIAK) TEXAS (BIG 12) QUALIFIER #25 is AUBURN (#3 South) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NC STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #29 is LOUISVILLE (#4 SE) (Entered on 2 wins) *LOUISVILLE wins common-opponent against TULSA Wins against qualified listed: IOWA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) PROVIDENCE (BIG EAST) QUALIFIER #30 is MINNESOTA (#4 Mid-W) (*Pushed in by TULSA) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: INDIANA (BIG TEN) QUALIFIER #30 is TULSA (#5 Mid-W) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NC STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #32 is TEXAS AM (#3 S-Cen) (Entered on 1 wins) *TEXAS AM wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *TEXAS AM wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *TEXAS AM wins head-to-head against UTAH STATE *TEXAS AM wins head-to-head against CAL POLY Wins against qualified listed: AUBURN (WISCONSIN INVITE) QUALIFIER #33 is LAMAR (#4 S-Cen) (Entered on 1 wins) *LAMAR wins head-to-head against DUKE *LAMAR wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *LAMAR wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *LAMAR wins head-to-head against UTAH STATE *LAMAR wins head-to-head against CAL POLY Wins against qualified listed: AUBURN (WISCONSIN INVITE) QUALIFIER #34 is COLUMBIA (#4 NE) (Entered on 1 wins) *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against DARTMOUTH *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against DUKE *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against SOUTHERN ILLIONIS *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against UTAH STATE *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against CAL POLY Wins against qualified listed: LAMAR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #35 is SOUTHERN ILLIONIS (#6 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins) *SOUTHERN ILLIONIS wins head-to-head against DARTMOUTH *SOUTHERN ILLIONIS wins head-to-head against DUKE *SOUTHERN ILLIONIS wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *SOUTHERN ILLIONIS wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *SOUTHERN ILLIONIS wins head-to-head against UTAH STATE *SOUTHERN ILLIONIS wins head-to-head against CAL POLY Wins against qualified listed: LAMAR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #36 is IOWA (#7 Mid-W) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: TEXAS AM (WISCONSIN INVITE) LAMAR (WISCONSIN INVITE) AUBURN (WISCONSIN INVITE) QUALIFIER #37 is ILLIONIS (#8 Mid-W) (Entered on 4 wins) Wins against qualified listed: TEXAS AM (WISCONSIN INVITE) LAMAR (WISCONSIN INVITE) AUBURN (WISCONSIN INVITE) LAMAR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #38 is OHIO STATE (#4 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: INDIANA (BIG TEN) IOWA (BIG TEN) ILLIONIS (BIG TEN) QUALIFIER #39 is MICHIGAN (#5 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 3 wins) *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against DARTMOUTH Wins against qualified listed: AUBURN (WISCONSIN INVITE) IOWA (BIG TEN) ILLIONIS (BIG TEN) QUALIFIER #40 is NORTE DAME (#6 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 3 wins) *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against DARTMOUTH Wins against qualified listed: ILLIONIS (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) LAMAR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) OHIO STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #41 is UTAH STATE (#5 Mtn) (Entered on 3 wins) *UTAH STATE wins common-opponent against DARTMOUTH Wins against qualified listed: BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) IOWA (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) NORTE DAME (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #42 is DARTMOUTH (#5 NE) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: ILLIONIS (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) LAMAR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) OHIO STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #42 is CAL POLY (#6 West) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: UTAH STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) IOWA (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #44 is PRINCETON (#3 Md-At) (Entered on 2 wins) *PRINCETON wins head-to-head against DAYTON *PRINCETON wins head-to-head against UTEP Wins against qualified listed: NORTE DAME (NOTRE DAME INVITE) DARTMOUTH (HEPS) QUALIFIER #45 is UTEP (#6 Mtn) (Entered on 2 wins) *UTEP wins common-opponent against DAYTON Wins against qualified listed: IOWA (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) TULSA (CONFERENCE USA) QUALIFIER #46 is AIR FORCE (#7 Mtn) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) UTEP (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) IOWA (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #47 is DAYTON (#7 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: AIR FORCE (ROY GRIAK) OHIO STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) NORTE DAME (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #48 is DUKE (#5 SE) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: DAYTON (ROY GRIAK) AIR FORCE (ROY GRIAK) TEXAS AM (UVA PANORAMA FARMS) QUALIFIER #49 is UCLA (#7 West) (Entered on 2 wins) *UCLA wins common-opponent against NORTH CAROLINA Wins against qualified listed: DAYTON (NOTRE DAME INVITE) NORTE DAME (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #50 is WASHINGTON STATE (#8 West) (Entered on 10 wins) Wins against qualified listed: DAYTON (ROY GRIAK) AIR FORCE (ROY GRIAK) TULSA (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) NC STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) CAL POLY (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) UTAH STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) AIR FORCE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) UTEP (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) IOWA (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #51 is UC SANTA BARBRA (#9 West) (Entered on 8 wins) Wins against qualified listed: SOUTHERN ILLIONIS (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) NORTE DAME (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) DARTMOUTH (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) ILLIONIS (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) LAMAR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) DAYTON (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) OHIO STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) UCLA (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #52 is VIRGINIA TECH (#6 SE) (*Pushed in by NORTH CAROLINA) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #52 is NORTH CAROLINA (#7 SE) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: OHIO STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) UCLA (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) NORTE DAME (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #54 is INDIANA STATE (#8 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 2 wins) *INDIANA STATE wins head-to-head against GEORGIA Wins against qualified listed: NORTH CAROLINA (NOTRE DAME INVITE) NORTE DAME (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #55 is FLORIDA (#4 South) (Entered on 2 wins) *FLORIDA wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN STATE *FLORIDA wins head-to-head against CALIFORNIA Wins against qualified listed: IOWA (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) INDIANA STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #56 is GEORGIA (#5 South) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NORTH CAROLINA (NOTRE DAME INVITE) NORTE DAME (NOTRE DAME INVITE) FLORIDA (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #57 is CALIFORNIA (#10 West) (Entered on 3 wins) *CALIFORNIA wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN STATE Wins against qualified listed: UC SANTA BARBRA (STANFORD INVITE) INDIANA STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) GEORGIA (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #58 is KENT STATE (#9 Gr-Lk) (*Pushed in by MICHIGAN STATE) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #58 is MICHIGAN STATE (#10 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: DAYTON (ROY GRIAK) AIR FORCE (ROY GRIAK) GEORGIA (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #60 is NEBRASKA (#9 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins) *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against NAVY *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against MONTANA STATE *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against UC DAVIS Wins against qualified listed: AUBURN (WISCONSIN INVITE) Ryan From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1522-kolas-calculator-3-nov-4th-men Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:25:00 -0500 DII XC Region Preview 2009 By Cara Hawkins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1515-dii-xc-region-preview-2009 For many this weekend it will be their last meet of 2009 cross country season, and for seniors including myself, it will be the last meet of their college cross country careers. For a few, this weekend is the only the last step towards the 2009 DII Cross Country Championships hosted by Southern Indiana University on November 21. DII regions work differently then DI; there are no at-large bids, but rather a straight qualification system.  Each region sends at least two automatically qualifying teams and two individuals to the national meet. The top five individuals who are not part of a qualifying team will also automatically advance. The number of team qualifying spots per region, however, depends on whether or not any of the region’s teams finished in the top eight at the national meet the previous year. This year’s allotment of spaces per region has changed since last year and is listed below: Men’s Region (Teams) (Individuals) East 2             2 Midwest 3             2 Atlantic 2             2 Central 5             2 South 3             2 South Central 3             2 Southeast 3             2 West 3             2  Women’s Region (Teams) (Individuals) East 2                 2 Midwest 3                 2 Central 6                 2 Atlantic 3                 2 South 2                 2 South Central 2                 2 Southeast 2                 2 West 4                 2   I will preview the Region meets based on regional rankings and the recent conference meet. I like this column to be a conversation so please leave your thoughts about the regional match-ups.   Atlantic (CIAA,PSAC,WVIAC)- There are only two team qualifying spots on the men’s side. It is shaping up to be a tight race between PSAC rivals Lock Haven, Edinboro and Shippensburg. At the PSAC championships it was Lock Haven (39), Edinboro (53) and Shippensburg (73).  Will the results be the same over a 10k course? The three teams have traded places in region rankings the whole season and one of these teams will not be making it to the National Championship. In the hunt for the individual title look for Saint Augustine’s Johnny Shuping, Virginia Union’s Geoffrey Langat,  Lock Haven’s Nick Hilton and Brandon Pomerantz. After a top finish by Shippensburg last year, the region has expanded to three qualifying spots. As of week seven, the top three teams were Shippensburg, Kutztown and Slippery Rock. After PSAC championships this will surely change with Bloomsburg finishing second (95) behind Shippensburg (77) and ahead of Slippery Rock (106). Look for Shippensburg’s Neely Spence to take the win. Millersville’s Priscilla Jennings will give her a little competition.   Central(NSIC, RMAC)- Will RMAC teams take all five spots or will a Northern Sun team be able to qualify one team? It is assumed that Adams State and Western State will both qualify on the men’s side. The next three ranked teams will be competing for the last two spots; Colorado School of Mines, Metro State and Augustana. Augustana took their conference championship but CSM and Metro State had a strong showing at RMACs. Look for one of the Adams State’s trio of Reuben Mwei, Aaron Braun or Brian Medigovich to take the individual title. With the largest allotment of qualifying teams (six), the team race will be tight in the bottom three. Adams State, Augustana and Western State should qualify easily. The race between Mesa State, Minnesota Duluth, Colorado School of Mines and University of Mary will be close for the last three spots. Minnesota Duluth’s Morgan Place, Adams State’s Kristen McGlynn and Mesa State’s Alexis Skarda will be in the hunt for the individual title. East(ECC, Northeast-10, CACC)- The two qualifying team spots on the men’s side will likely go to Stonehill and UMass Lowell who both looked strong at Northeast-10 conference championships last week.  Southern Connecticut could upset. Look for American International’s Glarius Rop to take the men’s individual title. In the women’s team race, it will most likely be Stonehill and UMass Lowell for the two qualifying sports. Look for Southern Connecticut’s Laura Brustolon to try to take the individual title. Midwest(GLIAC,GLVC)- On both the men’s and women’s side Grand Valley and Southern Indiana won their conference titles and are the favorites for the top two qualifying spots of the three that both sides are allotted. On the men’s side that leaves four teams competing for one spot; Drury, Hillsdale, Saginaw Valley and Bellamarine. Drury and Saginaw Valley were second at their conference championships. Look for Grand Valley’s Tyler Emmorey and Ross Faassee,Saginaw Valley’s Steve Genther and Drury’s Jaime Villa Zapatero to try to take the individual title. On the women’s side, the third spot could go to either Ferris State or Bellamarine. Southern Indiana’s Mary Ballinger, Ferris State’s Tina Muir, and Grand Valley State duo of Megan Maceratini and Katherine McCarthy to go for the individual title. South(GSC,SIAC,SSC)- With three qualifying spots on the men’s side Harding and Florida Southern will likely take the top two spots. The third spot could be West Georgia, UAH or Nova Southeastern for all were close to the winning teams at their conference championships. Harding’s Daniel Kirwa should take the individual title. On the women’s side, both Tampa and Harding took their conference title with about 20 points and will most likely take the two qualifying spots. Harding’s Katy Grant Arkansas Tech’s Bailee Miller and Florida Tech’s Sara Trane will be in the hunt for the individual title. South Central(Heartland, Lone Star, MIAA)-  The top three ranked teams in this region are Missouri Southern, Abilene Christian and Pittsburg State on the men’s side. Abilene Christian is likely to take one of those qualifying spots and along with Missouri Southern. Pittsburg State did not finish far behind Missouri Southern at their conference championships and is the favorite to take the third qualifying spot.  Abilene Christian’s Amos Sang and Southwest Baptist’s Michael Pierce will chase the individual title. On the women’s side there are two qualifying spots and Missouri Southern and Truman State appear to be the favorites for that spot. Dallas Baptist could be spoiler and take the second spot. Missouri Southern’s Kimi Shank will likely take the individual title. Southeast(Conference Carolinas, Peach Belt, SAC)- On the men’s side for the first time in many years there are three qualifying spots. Queens perfect scored their conference meet even without frontrunner Michael Crouch and will easily win this meet. The next two spots will be a tight contest between Columbus State, Mars Hill and Lees McRae. Crouch if he runs should take the individual title. In the women’s side, Queens is emerging as a favorite to take one of the two qualifying spots. Lees McRae has a tight pack but will have to compete with Columbus State that has a clear frontrunner.  Look for Anderson’s Whitney Bishoff, Queens’ Jessica Neville and Lenoir-Rhyne’s Kate Griewisch to be in the hunt for the individual title. West(CCAA, GNWAC, PWC)- Chico State is a favorite to take one of the three qualifying spots on the men’s side. The next two spots will be a tight contest between Western Washington, Alaska Anchorage and Cal Poly Pomona. Alaska Anchorage’s Mark Cheesto and Chico State’s Jimmy Elam will battle for the individual title. Chico State, Alaska Anchorage and Seattle Pacific are likely to take three of the four qualifying spots. The fourth spot will be a contest between UC San Diego and Western Washington. Returning cross country champion, Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler is likely to take the win. Cara Hawkins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1515-dii-xc-region-preview-2009 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:55:00 -0500 NCAA ANNOUNCES SITE SELECTIONS FOR 2011 AND 2012 DIVISION I INDOOR TRACK & FIELD By NCAA News [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1521-ncaa-announces-site-selections-for-2011-and-2012-division-i-indoor-track-field   INDIANAPOLIS--- The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee has selected College Station, Texas, and Nampa, Idaho, to serve as hosts for the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships, respectively. The 2011 Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Texas A&M University, will be held at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium at McFerrin Athletic Center. This will mark the second time Texas A&M will host the event, with its first occurring in 2009. Boise State University, who will host for the first time in championship history, will hold the 2012 competition at the Jackson Track at the Idaho Center.  “The committee was fortunate to receive several attractive bids for the Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships,” said Holly Sheilley, chair of the Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee and assistant athletic director for student development and championships at the University of Louisville.  "We are dedicated to enhancing the student-athlete experience and bringing the event to areas that elevate the championship. We are confident that Texas A&M will build upon the great job they did hosting in 2009 and make it an even better championship in 2011,” said Sheilley. “We are also excited to take the championship somewhere new, with Boise State as a host in 2012.  Both have good reputations as premier track venues and the ability to draw good crowds, which makes them not only ideal selections to host the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, but will help to continue to foster the sport's growth.” The 2010 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held in Fayetteville, Ark., at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas, March 12-13. For more information on the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships, log on to NCAA.com. NCAA News http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1521-ncaa-announces-site-selections-for-2011-and-2012-division-i-indoor-track-field Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:49:00 -0500 Athletics Canada's Apparent Albatross By Christopher Kelsall [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1514-athletics-canadas-apparent-albatross   © Copyright – Christopher Kelsall - 2009 There is a stirring of athletes and involved personalities, gently rustling the jib of the Canadian cross-country scene. This is happening right now at a well-known Canadian running forum. The parties appear to be organizing, in their attempts to sway Athletics Canada (AC) brass to hand over management of the national cross-country team to them, at least for one year. The proposal? Well it is in the works as they say, swirling in virtual dialogue. The athletes, coaches and interested parties appear to be developing their mission schematics  in ad-hoc discussions; the ideology is mired in the early stages of development. This public discussion may cause AC to simply dig in their heels. They hold the purse strings and the policy to boot; it’s called being in the position of power. It is the athlete’s place it seems to fight their organizing body of sport, they who decide to or decide not to send an athlete or a team to international competition. Canadian athletes have attempted in the past to approach AC with a protest of sorts; they were firmly rebuffed. Subsequently wars of words continue to simmer on about such items as qualification standards, budgets, mandatory training camps, wording of legalese, grassroots development and required attendance to specific events. AC indicate on their website that their purpose is “the pursuit of leadership, development and competition that ensures world-level performance in athletics. The association believes in physical health and fitness, individual excellence and personal growth, individual development beyond sport, as well as inclusiveness and integrity”. It appears that although performance levels have improved in Canada recently, there is not enough of that world level caliber coming to fruition just yet; otherwise AC would be sending more athletes to international competition. At least that is how the wording appears. To quote one particular oldster from this discussion: “I think AC's sharpest critics (of which I am one, it's no secret) acknowledged a few pages ago (in this thread) that no group that actually wants to remain relevant can actually hope to usurp AC’s control over any program covered by its administrative mandate. What some of us were envisioning at one point is that it might be convinced to concede some of this control over the X-C program, since it doesn't appear all that interested in it, apart from setting stricter standards and exhorting Canadian athletes to "be faster" (when, as a supposedly expert body in the sport, it should know that quality is a function of over all depth, not the isolated efforts of a handful of individuals who are probably already training really hard; but that's another story). Since it probably never will cede this kind of control, some of us began envisioning a way to help fund this team FOR AC, on the model of the WC marathon project.” In reply, one well-respected international athlete who serves a volunteer position with AC countered the above and other slung arrows with the following: “It's really easy to sit on the message boards and cry that the taxpayer paid administrators simply have a "basic instinct for institutional survival." Those are some pretty harsh words directed at many of the leaders in AC who, prior to being paid by the taxpayer, have done the same hundreds and thousands of hours of free volunteer work that coaches such as yourself do. On top of the paid staff such as Martin, Alex, and Scott, there are countless others who volunteer in the committee structure or on the board of directors who, in addition, continue to volunteer in our sport outside of the board/committee rooms. So you'll have to excuse the "tone" of those who also have a passion and love for the sport take to your complaints, when you start accusing them of having narrow visions, technocratic arrogance, and disdain for democracy.” On performance Canada’s athletics future, in terms of performance, looks a little rosier today than it has in a decade or more. The athletes coming up now are no less or more talented than those in the past, the difference is in the commitment to training and volume - what is old, is new again. Throughout the US there is an upswing in performance at regional and national cross-country and on the track and roads, including the marathon. The low-mileage and high anaerobic intensity of the 1990s is falling away to aerobic development first – again. For example a NCAA Division 1 athlete from California told me that the first two weeks of school was spent running 10 to 15 miles every morning in the desert, with a second run in the afternoon: “20 miles-per-day, everyday to develop the aerobic system first.” This may be a small indication of better training practice, and results are indeed coming around. Canada’s trends often follows suit on the heels of our southern neighbours. Reid Coolsaet has run 10, 000m in 27:56’92, Simon Bairu’s streak of National cross-country titles are a good showing. Even marathon performances are a little deeper; there certainly is a larger and younger group at this near-international level, headed by Dylan Wykes’ 2:15’16 marathon result from Rotterdam. The Canadian athletes who are debating AC’s engagement are looking for a world stage to perform on, in order to expose this rising performance level to higher competition – to raise the bar, as it were.  According to AC they need to witness this higher level before sending athletes forth. We can all assume if the athletes become capable of mixing it up on the world stage, AC would be remiss in not sending them to the highest level of competition. Will it happen? The proverbial chicken and egg question comes up yet again. What comes first the performance or the exposure to a higher level of competition? Steve Moneghetti, arguably Australia’s greatest marathon runner, was twice appointed to the Australian  team to run the marathon. The first time he was selected was for the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games where he won a bronze medal. The second time was to run in the Seoul, Olympic Marathon. He had not even run a marathon before Edinburgh. Athletics Australia gave Moneghetti the green light  based on his performance over shorter distances. The second time he was appointed he didn’t do so well having one of those inexplicable bad days we all run into eventually. Later that season he went on to break the world half-marathon record for the second time in Tokyo, Japan; so, he demonstrated he was capable regardless. Good decision by Athletics Australia. A couple years ago I compared Switzerland’s Viktor Rothlin’s performances to Athletics Canada’s Osaka World Track and Field Championships selection criteria and although he went on to win bronze in Osaka, he would not have qualified for that marathon had he been Canadian. In fact, neither would Jon Brown, a man who had finished seconds from bronze in the previous two Olympic marathons and still holds the UK 10, 000m record today (27:18’14). So is it the money? Approximately sixty percent of participants in road races are over the age of 45. They are the boomer generation. Depending on whose boomer theory you subscribe to they are born in 1964 or 1966 and earlier. Canada’s David K. Foot, PhD and author of Boom Bust and Echo goes by the latter (Canada’s boom was slightly different than Europe’s and the US).  Although you will find 10, 000 people on the downtown streets of the cities of Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria  or Toronto engaging in those city’s respective marathons and 50, 000 participating in the Vancouver Sun Run 10k, what is fascinating is not only how many people pay to run, but how much money the average destination marathon runner spends to toil in their hobby. Jerry Agrusa, PhD. Professor of Travel Industry Management at Hawaii Pacific University conducted some math wizardry and found that 28,635 runners, walkers, and family and friends who came specifically for the 2006 Honolulu Marathon accounted for $101,590,000 in visitor spending and generated $4.6 million in state taxes, an increase in visitor spending as well as taxes generated for both the city of Honolulu and the state of Hawaii, this, from one marathon. There is no doubt that the boomer generation is also the consumer generation. According to Ahotu Marathon dot com in any given year there are at least 46 marathons in Canada. There are many more road races of various distances. By smartly attracting the boomer hordes to register, the shoe companies, travel agencies and supplement suppliers have found a rich market to tap. Why hasn’t Athletics Canada?    The dubious effort of knocking on AC’s door with a proposal to alleviate them of the apparent albatross - in having to handle elite cross-country runners pining to go to international competition on the public’s dime - may just be a wasted effort, as while the performances are now coming up, athletes in theory will earn pass to the world stage, one would think. Let’s do some arbitrary math: Let’s sample a rough estimate of paid registrations from a handful of well-known Canadian road races. Vancouver Sun Run, Victoria Times Colonist 10k, the Toronto Marathons (there are two), Ottawa Marathon, Vancouver International Marathon, Marathon des Deux Rives, and the Royal Victoria Marathon together total approximately 130, 000 entrants. If AC asks for $1 from every sanctioned road race registration in the country, this would bolster the coffers enough, I assume, to send a full compliment of athletes to the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships plus a little may be left over for grassroots development. Grassroots development is paramount to the continued success of any sport. In my opinion, it should be incumbent upon AC to make sure junior development is funded and qualified athletes are given every opportunity to perform at the best possible level. They are the future of running and better performances should yield greater opportunity. I’d pay an extra $1 on each of my race entries to help send athletes to IAAF World Cross-Country Championships or any other international competition and to help fund junior development. Maybe, just maybe, the vocal few who aim to organize collectively for the benefit of this country’s racing future will approach AC with a well thought out plan and to that, AC should listen.         Contact Chris: chriskelsall@flocasts.org   Christopher Kelsall http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1514-athletics-canadas-apparent-albatross Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:08:00 -0500 Deborah Maier KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1507-deborah-maier-kwik-e Cal-Berkeley Golden Bear sophomore Deborah Maier has big goals for this cross country season. She wants to lead her Golden Bear harrier squad to the NCAA Division I Championships in Terra Haute, Indiana. She recently placed 13th overall in the White Race at the Pre-National Meet, running 21 minutes, 0.3 seconds over the 6,000-meter cross country course. Can you give me your team goals this season? I think more than anything we just want to qualify for Nationals. We haven't a team qualify in, I think it's been, close to 20 years on the women's side. The men's team has qualified the last few years. We're just looking to make it to that level this year and hopefully do well there. As of right now, I think we're ranked 34th on the Kolas Calculator and obviously 32 teams get to make it to Nationals. We really want to focus on Regionals and beating some teams there and hopefully qualify. How does your team stack up against other Cal teams in the past as far as you know? I know last year at Regionals, we were seventh and the year before eighth. It's really just been an upward trend. From what I know, the women had a solid team in the late 80s and early 90s, then there was this decline. Now it's steadily been building back up. Hopefully this year we'll be at the level where we can qualify for Nationals. And you've got a few more years of cross country and can be part of that upward trend. Yeah! That was one of the reasons that I came to Cal. A lot of times, at the other programs I was looking at, you can just become another face on the team. But at Cal, I felt like I was coming here to actually take part in that movement and bring the program up. I know last year was a really good year for the women on the recruiting side. We had quite a few women, new freshman girls, that have been on the team. This year our top seven are all sophomores and freshman with one senior. We're a pretty young team. So you went there knowing you'd be a leader more than just one of the girls in the top seven? I don't know if I so much came knowing I would be a leader, but I knew that I'd make an impact on the team right away, whereas in a lot of programs, freshman don't make the top seven and work their way up. I came in expecting to make an impact, but not necessarily being the number one or number two runner. Speaking about your personal impact, what are your individual goals this season? I didn't run at NCAAs last year because we obviously didn't qualify. I think individually I would love to finish in the top 40 and be an All-American. The answer to this question might be very obvious, but I'd like to hear your take on this: why does it seem that California natives—more than other states—seem to stay in-state to go to college? Because California is the best! (Laughs) I looked at schools out of state, on the East Coast and weather became more of a factor than I anticipated. I went to New York on a trip in the middle of the winter and it was snowy and freezing and I could barely stand being outside walking around, so I had no idea how I was going to be able to train in that kind of weather. Berkeley is pretty nice and temparate and a pretty nice environment to train in all year round. It never really gets too hot and it never drops very far below 50. Which school in New York were you looking at? It was Iona. The trip I was talking about. How does that translate in your running? How do you handle running in colder conditions? Last year the only races we ran where it was cold was at Pre Nationals and it happened to be a really nice day there. So, that didn't really change much. This year at Pre Nats, it wasn't too bad. It was chilly, but it wasn't snowing or anything. It helps when it's hotter outside. At the Stanford Invite, for instance, I was pretty ready for that. I live in The Valley in the summer. That's where I'm from. I'm used to running 100-degree weather. Can you explain your training and your mileage? Yeah, sure. I've actually been injured with a stress fracture from the end of track season until the end of summer and only started running again in August. My mileage is lower this season than it was last year. I'm hitting around no higher than 60 miles a week. We normally have two hard workouts a week. One on Tuesday and that's normally more of threshold intervals. And we try to do those on grass to simulate what it's going to be like in a race. Then on Friday, we also have a hard workout. And that's more like race pace or race simulation...normally faster. Then, other than that, it's normal runs and on Saturday we do our long run. What do you put in for a long run? My longest has been an hour and 40 minutes, but it's usually between 90 minutes and an hour and 40. What are you studying? I'm an intended political science major, with an emphasis on international studies. What about that interests you? I'm not entirely sure what I want to do, but I'm interested in working with international aides in developing countries. I'd love to one day take a trip to some of the countries in Africa and study. Obviously I can't study abroad right now with running and stuff, but after I graduate...maybe I'll take some trips and do some traveling. How would describe your team chemistry? Do you do a lot of activities together? We have really good team chemistry. It doesn't even matter what we're doing. If we're hanging out together, we're having fun. We do all kinds of stuff. We do the standard hanging out at people's houses and team dinners. We get into a little bit of mischief from time to time (laughs). But nothing too bad. Can you go into that mischief at all? Or as much as your comfortable with? Oh, there's just all sorts of stuff! There are certain members of the men's team that have tendencies of coming to the women's dinners and finding out where they are and throwing water balloons. There hasn't been too much of that this year though. Do you have anything planned for Halloween this year? I haven't put too much thought into what's going on, but I'm sure there will be some sort of shenanigans going on. Any costume ideas? I haven't put much thought into my costume, but I do know that some of the girls on my team, three of them, are going to be the Powederpuff Girls. Another one is going to be a toy troll. I do know that Eric Lee—from our guy's team—the guy from our Track Shacks on Flotrack will be breaking out the light suit. I'm quite sure of it! That's a pretty sweet light suit. How can you not have fun when there's a guy walking around in a light suit? If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? We have some really good cooks on our women's team. I'm going to say a pre-race team dinner where everyone makes something. One of the highlights is that one of the girls on our team makes the most delicious corn bread from scratch. I could seriously just eat that for dinner, I don't even need anything else. What about butter? Oh, yeah! That's the thing, she makes home-made butter with it too! She sounds like she deserves a shout out. Her name is Rowena Tam and one day she's going to open some sort of bakery and she's going to be successful. And you'll be there eating three square meals a day? Exactly! The cornbread is awesome! Can you give me a crazy running-related story? Well, I do have a tendency to getting hit by cars. But none of the stories are all that exciting because I just get hit and roll off the top and continue my run. ...Yeah, that's not exciting at all! (Laughs) It's really not! I guess one of the funny things that happened earlier this season is we had a race in San Francisco. It was a pre-meet race and only some of the people on the team raced. The rest of us decided that we were going to do our long run around Golden State Park in San Francisco and then cheer the rest of our team on later. We're like half way through our long run and this bum slows us down and stops us and was like, “do any of you ladies have a cigarette?” What!? We thought this was crazy ironic because out of all these people that were walking around, why would runners have cigarettes? I don't know a whole lot of runners that smoke in the first place and not to mention that it was 90 degrees and we were wearing sports bras and spandex. Did he expect to pull cigarettes from our sports bras? Or were we going to take a break halfway through our long run and light up and have a smoke? Most teams take bathroom breaks, but we take smoke breaks! It was kind of a bizarre story!     Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1507-deborah-maier-kwik-e Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:00:00 -0500 Loaded Field Set For USA Men's Marathon Championship By USATF Press [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1506-loaded-field-set-for-usa-mens-marathon-championship INDIANAPOLIS - It's difficult to pick a favorite for this weekend's USA Men's Marathon Championship. As one of the most competitive U.S. men's fields outside of an Olympic Trials lines-up Sunday at the ING New York City Marathon, the field is loaded with a wide range of experience and emerging talent.    Ryan Hall (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), sports the fastest marathon in the field (2:06:17) but Meb Keflezighi (San Diego, Calif.) has seen a return to the form that earned him an Olympic Silver medal in the marathon in 2004.    Keflezighi's year started off with a USA Half Marathon title in Houston and from there he went on to win titles at the USA Cross Country Championships, USA 7 Mile Championships as well as turning in a time of 1:01:00 half marathon to win the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in San Jose, setting a then U.S. 20 km record en route.      Hall and Keflezighi will likely have plenty of company in their race through the five-boroughs.  Joining them in the hunt for the U.S. title will be Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.) who recently won his fourth USA 10 Mile Championship title in a championship record, 46:35.  With several months of focused preparation behind him, Abdirahman says that he is better prepared for this marathon than any of his previous attempts.   2008 Olympian Brian Sell (Rochester Hills, Mich.) is reportedly making his last appearance in a major marathon but can't be overlooked as a top-five finisher given the experience that has served him well in the Big Apple before.   This year's championships could also provide a glimpse into the future of U.S. marathoners with the much anticipated debut of Jorge Torres (Boulder, Colo.), a two-time USA 8 km champion.  Also stepping up to the marathon for the first time will beJosh Moen (Minneapolis, Minn.), who pushed Abdirahman to the final mile of the men's 10 mile championships earlier this month, finishing only three seconds back.      Others to watch will include Bolota Asmerom (Oakland, Calif.), Fasil Bizuneh (Flagstaff, Ariz.), Nick Arciniaga (Rochester Hills, Mich.), Jason Lehmkuhle (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Max King (Bend, Ore.).   The ING New York City Marathon will be presented live on Universalsports.com at 9 a.m. EDT.   About the USA Running Circuit   The USA Men's Marathon Championships is the final race on the 2009 USA Running Circuit (USARC).  The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners.   The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series featuring USA Championships from one mile to the marathon, which attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The 2009 USARC has ten events each for men and women. Anthony Famiglietti(Knoxville, Tenn.) currently leads the men's standings with 53 points but either Keflezighi or Abdirahman could overtake him with at least a runner-up finish on Sunday.   The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.   The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.   For more information on the USA Men's Marathon Championship and the 2009 USARC visit www.usatf.org. USATF Press http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1506-loaded-field-set-for-usa-mens-marathon-championship Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:50:00 -0500 VERSUS TO TELEVISE NCAA DIVISION I CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS LIVE By NCAA News [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1505-versus-to-televise-ncaa-division-i-cross-country-championships-live INDIANAPOLIS – The 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will be broadcast live on VERSUS, marking the third consecutive year the championships will be seen on live television, and the first with VERSUS. A live web stream of the championships will also be available on NCAA.com.   The championships will be held at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center and hosted by Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind., on Monday, Nov. 23. The men’s race will start at approximately noon Eastern, with the women’s race to follow. The 2009 championships will be hosted by Indiana State University for the sixth-straight year.   “We are pleased that the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships will be broadcast live for the third consecutive year,” said Greg Shaheen, NCAA senior vice president for basketball and business strategies. “Through coordinated efforts with our network partner CBS, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Productions and VERSUS, we are excited that these two premiere NCAA fall championships will be televised in high definition. VERSUS brings great exposure and distribution to this event as it marks the first live NCAA championship that will air on the network.”   “The entire cross community has enjoyed watching the event live on television and the internet, and everyone will be pleased they have the ability to do that again this year on VERSUS,” said David Beauchem, chair of the Division I Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championship Committee and head cross country and women’s track and field coach at Bradley University. “It is important that we continue to obtain the best exposure for the sport of cross country.”   VERSUS is a nationally renowned sports network that is distributed to over 75 million U.S. households.   The University of Oregon is the two-time defending men’s team champion, while the University of Washington will defend its title on the women’s side. NCAA News http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1505-versus-to-televise-ncaa-division-i-cross-country-championships-live Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:53:00 -0500 DII Conference Review 2009 Ed. By Cara Hawkins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1502-dii-conference-review-2009-ed For many runners the conference championship meet has been circled on their calendar since pre-season. This past weekend was what all those miles of training led to and runners showed their post-season form.  Conference does not determine rather a team or individual moves on to the Regional meet. PSAC and Pacific West did not run their championships this weekend but will run them next weekend. As usual, I encourage readers to supplement my article by contributing their knowledge about various individuals, teams, and conferences. It is never too early to start talking about Regionals and how these conference championships will affect them. CCAA- Chico State’s Jimmy Elam led his team to their eighth conference title with winning the individual title in a time of 24:50.3 over the 8k course. He was followed by teammate Brent Handa (24:57.2) and Cal Poly Pomano’s Jersain Torres (25:01). Chico took the team title with 20 points placing six in the top 10. Cal Poly Pomano was second with 53 points and Humboldt State was third with 75 points. Cal St. La’s Vivien Wadeck took the women’s title with a time of 21:52.6 over the 6k course.  UC San Diego’s Bre Schofield was second (22:13.5) and Chico’s Julie Shaw was third (22:21.6). Chico took the women’s title with 33 points. UC San Diego was second with 84 points and Cal Poly Pomano was third with 91 points. CACC-  Holy Family College’s Fred Tuwei won the 8k race won the race in 26:57.48 over Philadelphia’s Shawn Andrea (27:29.77) and Wilmington’s Bill Steele (27:48.56). Philadelphia won with 32 points followed by Wilmington with 43 points and Felician with 73 points. In the women’s race, Wilmington’s Danielle Burcham won the 5k race in 19:52.68. Philadelphia’s Sarah Simonetti was second with a time of 20:18.61 and Georgian Court’s Justine Berger was third in 20:20.15. Philadelphia took the conference title with 31 points followed by Georgian Court with 61 points and Dominican was third with 122 points. CIAA-In the men’s race, Saint Augustine’s Johnny Shuping won the 8k in 24:59.3 over Virginia Union’s Geoffrey Langat (25:37.9) and Saint Augustine teammate George Smith (26:23.2). Despite placing three in the top six, Saint Augustine was second with 67 points behind Bowie State with 42 points. Virginia State was third with 83 points. Saint Augustine’s Barbara Pierre won the women’s 5k race in 20:10.6. Livingstone’s Winnie Chepchumba was second in 20:31.1 and Bowie State’s Shamika Patton was third in 20:47.2. Saint Augustine and Bowie State tied for first with 44 points. If the tie-breaker was put in place Saint Augustine would be in first. Virginia State was second with 59 points.                          Conference Carolinas- Even without their frontrunner, Michael Crouch, Queen’s men’s team perfect scored to win the title. Oscar Ogwaro won the 8k race in 24:18. He was followed by five of his teammates (Futsum Mebrahtu-24:21, Simon Stuetzel-25:03, Nelson Mwangi-25:19 and Matthew Rowell-25:39). Lees Mcrae was second with 79 points and Anderson was third with 114 points. Anderson’s Whitney Bishoff defended her conference title winning the 5k race in 18:00. Queen’s Jessica Neville was second with a time of 18:28 followed by teammate, Maraya Slatter with time of 18:36. Queen’s claimed their first title with 50 points edging out Lees-Mcrae by 2 points. Limestone was third with 103 points. East Coast Conference-In the men’s race it was NYIT’s Nicholas Koiyet who took the individual title with a time of 27:11.8. He was followed closely by freshman teammate, Daniel Rono (27:13.2). C.W. Post’s Christian Alaturmura was third in a time of 27:53.4. C.W. Post took the team title with 44 points followed by Molloy with 75 points and NYIT with 87 points. NYIT took the first three places with Jeptui Cherutich garnering the title with a 5k time of 18:42.0. She was followed by Jackline Toek (19:29.5) and Yvonne Boinett (19:41.3). Queens and NYIT shared the conference title both scoring 50 points. C.W. Post was next with 63 points. GLIAC- The Grand Valley State University men's and women's cross country teams each claimed the conference title. In the men’s race, Grand Valley’s Tyler Emmorey won the individual title in the time of 24:38.6 over the 8k course. He was followed by teammate, Ross Faassee (24:42.2) and Saginaw Valley’s Steve Genther (24:47.5). Grand Valley placed their top six in the top 10 and scored 21 points. Saginaw valley was second with 53 points and Hillsdale was third with 90 points. In the women’s race, Ferris State’s Tina Muir took the individual title covering the 6k course in 21:20.2. Grand Valley State duo of Megan Maceratini (21:33.1) and Katherine McCarthy (21:42.8) were second and third. Grand Valley placed seven in the top eight to take the team title with 20 points. Ferris State was second with 67 points. Hillsdale was third with 85 points. GLVC- Both of University of Southern Indiana’s men’s and women’s team took home the conference title. In the men’s race, Drury’s Jaime Villa Zapatero was the first to cross the line in the time of 25:00.93 over the 8k course.  He was followed by Northern Kentucky’s Drew Harris (25:10.69) and Southern Indiana’s Brendan Devine (25:16.29). Southern Indiana took first with 36 points followed by Drury (65) and Bellarmine (90). University of Southern Indiana’s Mary Ballinger took the women’s individual title with a time of 21:46.29 over the 6k course. The Lewis duo of Amanda Porter (22:39.26) and Kathryn Hague (22:46.57) were second and third. University of Southern Indiana took the team title with 24 points and placing five in the top ten. Bellarmine was second with 75 points. Northern Kentucky University was third with 83 points.GNAC- Alaska Anchorage’s Marko Cheseto won his second individual title with a time of 24:50 over the 8k course. He was followed by the Western Washington duo of Bennett Grimes (25:05) and Jordan Welling (25:08). Western Washington took the team with 33 points. Alaska Anchorage was second with 70 points and Western Oregon was third with 74 points. Defending DII Cross Country champion, Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler won her fourth straight GNAC Cross Country title with a time of 21:03 over the 6k course. Western Washington’s Sarah Porter was only ten seconds behind with a time of 21:13. Alaska Anchorage’s Miriam Kipngeno rounded out the top three with the time 22:02. Alaska Anchorage took the team title with 25 points and only a 16 second difference between their first and fifth runner. Seattle Pacific was second with 48 points and Western Washington was third with 64 points. Gulf South Conference- Harding’s Daniel Kirwa led his team to the title, taking first in a time of 25:47. His teammate Philip Biwott finished second (25:55), followed by UAH's Josh Moshier (26:17). Harding finished first with 31 points. University of West Georgia was second with 68 points and University of Alabama-Huntsville was third with 73 points. Harding’s Katy Grant took first by two seconds (18:40) over Arkansas Tech’s Bailee Miller (18:42) over the 5k course. Harding won the team competition with 20 points. University of West Florida was second with 85 points and Arkansas Tech was third with 109 points. Heartland Conference- University of Incarnate Word scored a low 26 to take home the men’s team title. Newman took home second place scoring 53 points, and Dallas Baptist followed in third scoring 80 team points. UIW’s Shayn Weidner ran across the 8k course in 25:53 to claim the individual title. Newman’s  Chris Taylor from and Incarnate Word’s  Howard Gill from Incarnate Word battled it out behind Weidner for second place with Taylor edging out Gill by only they finished in a time of 26:29. In the women’s race, Dallas Baptist’s Hannah Steffan took home the individual title with a time of 22:40 over the 6k course. She was followed by teammate, Laura Mucho (23:04) and Newman’s Melissa Ortiz (23:15). Dallas Baptist took home their second consecutive Championship as they finished with six runners in the top ten to score a season low 21 points.  Incarnate Word followed in second place with 78 points, and Newman University scored 86 points for third.Lone Star Conference- In the men’s race it was Abilene Christian’s Amos Sang who took the individual title with a time of 24:44 over the 8k course. His teammate, Cleophaus Tanui was second in 25:21 and Cameron’s Julius Korir was 25:47. Abilene Christian took home the team title with 33 points followed by Tarelton State with 75 points. On the women’s side, Midwestern State’s Sydney Cole won the women’s title in 23:02 over the 6k course. Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Erica Alvarado was second in 23:36.9. West Texas A&M Aries Bazaldua was third in 23:46.4.  Midwestern State claimed first with 70 points. Angelo State was not far behind with 73 points and East Central was third with 92 point. MIAA- Missouri Southern took home both the men’s and women’s conference title. In the men’s team title race they won over 47-53 Pittsburg State. Southwest Baptist’s Michael Pierce took the individual title with a time of 24:35.23 over an 8k course. Central Missouri’s Laban Sialo was second (24:44.46) and Missouri Southern’s Brennon Benkert was third (24:52.81). Missouri Southern’s Kimi Shank won her second straight individual championship to lead Missouri Southern to a dominating team win. Shank covered the 6k course in 21:01.07. She was followed closely by teammate Ashley Siler (21:19.57) and Truman’s Dani Dell’Ocro (21:34.91). Missouri Southern took the team title with 18 points placing their top eight within the top seven. Truman was second with 57 points and Pittsburg State was third with 68 points.Northeast-10 Conference-  Stonehill’s men’s and women’s teams took the team title. American International freshman Glarius Rop cruised to victory, finishing in a meet-record 24:22.2 winning by 42 seconds over Stonehill junior Kevin Gill (25:04.5) over the 8k distance. UMass Lowell’s Timothy Guerin was third in 25:05.2. Stonehill scored 36 points to claim the team title over UMass Lowell (45 points). In the women’s race, Southern Connecticut’s Laura Brustolon won the individual title covering the 5k distance in 18:03.8.  Stonehill’s Erin Carmone was second in 18:23.2. UMass Lowell’s Lyra Clark was third in 18:47.6. Stonehill won with 37 points followed by UMass Lowell with 53 points and Southern Connecticut with 127 points.Northern Sun Conference- Augustana won both the men’s and women’s team title. Augustana finished with 36 points, beating Minnesota State Mankato who came in with 68 points and MSU Moorhead who had 86 points. Minnesota State Mankato’s James Krajsa took the individual title covering the 8k course in 25:33. Augustana’s Tom Karbo was second in 25:45.8 and Minnesota State Moorhead’s Kyle Eckhoff was third in 25:48.8. Augustana’s women finished in first place with 38 points. Minnesota Duluth was the next closest competitor with 57 points while U-Mary came in third with 81 points. Minnesota-Duluth’s Morgan Place was first covering the 6k distance in 21:48.6. A little less than a minute later, Augustana’s Molly Clark crossed the line in 22:30 followed by Minnesota State Mankato’s  Ali Paul in 22:33.9. Peach Belt- In the men’s race, Columbus State’s Meshack Koyiaki took the individual title with a time of 24:38.02 over the 8k distance to help his team to the team title. University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP)’s Pardon Ndhlovu was second in 24:57.00. Columbus State’s Nicholas Kerring was third in 25:44.12. Columbus State took the team title with 24 points. Clayton State was second with 49 points and UNCP was third with 72 points. Columbus State’s Naomi Tanui won the individual title covering the 6k course in 22:26.71. Her teammate Brittney Skiles was second in 23:01.28. and Clayton State’s Chelsea Ellis was third in 23:04.37. Columbus State took the team title with 37 points. Georgia College and State was second with 87 points. University of Montevallo was third with 91 point. RMAC-  Adams State took the first three spots to win the Conference title with 20 points. Reuben Mwei was the first to cross the line in 24:42 over the 8k course. Aaron Braun was next with a time of 24:48. Brian Medigovich was third in 25:07.  Western State was second with 47 points. Colorado school of Mines was third with 100 points. Adams State’s Kristen Mc Glynn took the individual title in 22:25 over the 6k course. Mesa State’s Alexis Skarda was second in 22:38. Adams State’s Alicia Nelson was third in 23:00. Adams State placed five in the top fifteen to take the team title with 29 points. Western State was second with 78 points and Mesa State was third with 83 points. SAC- Tusculum College’s Simon Holzapfel took the men’s individual title with a time of 25:53.96 over the 6k course. Mars Hill had the next three finishers that included: Kit Powell (26:13.78), Justin Gragg (26:30.01) and Trey McCain (26:39.60). Mars Hill finished with the team title with 27 points. Lenoir Rhyne was second with 66 points and Wingate was third with 75 points. Kate Griewisch easily took the women’s individual title with a time of 18:27.12 over the 5k course. Lincoln Memorial’s Sofia Lopez Mimendi was second in 20:15.37 and Carson Newman’s Meredith Nix was third in 20:22.15. Lenoir Rhyne took the team title with 37 points. Carson Newman was second with 47 points. Wingate was third with 85 points. Sunshine State- . Florida Southern took the first three spots to claim the team title with 26 points. Ben Martucci took the individual title with a time of 25:01.88 over the 8k course. He was followed by teammates, Eric Larson (25:20.69) and Drew Matucci (25:45.52). Nova Southeastern was second with 50 points and Florida Tech was third with 53 points. Florida Tech’s Sara Trane won the individual title with a time of 21:10.32 over the 6k course. She was followed by University of Tampa’s Jessica Butler (21:31.65) and Heather Nicolosi (21:55.12).  Tampa took the team title with 21 points and placing their top seven in the top ten. Florida Southern was second with 69 points. Florida Tech was third with 71 points. WVIAC-  Seton Hill freshman, Dom Damasso took the individual title covering the men’s 8k course in 28:45.11. He was followed by West Virginia Wesleyan’s Nate Edwards (28:52.12) and Skyler McCoy (29:22.92). Seton Hill and West Virginia Wesleyan shared the conference title with 51 points. Concord University was next with 68 points. Alderson Broaddus’s Sherry Borsos took the individual title in a time of 25:35.53 (the results say 5k course but times look like for a 6k course). West Virginia Wesleyan’s Jenna Brock was second in 26:19.25. Wheeling Jesuit’s Megan Truelove was third in 26:23.05. West Virginia Wesleyan took the team title with 69 points. Seton Hill was second with 75 points. Concord University was third with 76 points.         Cara Hawkins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1502-dii-conference-review-2009-ed Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:20:00 -0500 Tyson David KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1492-tyson-david-kwik-e  Alabama's Tyson David, a senior originally from Kitui, Kenya, started his college career at Central Arizona Community College. After David arrived at Alabama he made his presence felt immediately, being named the 2008 Southeastern Conference Cross Country Runner of the Year after winning the team title at SECs and then with a 63rd-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 30 minutes, 34.9 seconds over the 10,000-meter course. David's got current PRs of 7:57.07, 13:36.76 and 28:20.22. Let's see how he does in his pursuit of a top-five team finish and top-six individual finish at the 2009 NCAA Championships! Were you happy with your individual finish at Pre-Nats? Not really. We had a very hard workout before the meet. That's why we did not run good. We know we are going to do well, it's just not that part of the season. What was the workout? They were 400s on the track. We did them in 62-63...20 of them. It was Tuesday and with my teammate Andrew Kirwa. How seriously was Alabama taking the meet if you were doing a workout before? The men's team and our training is direct towards winning the conference title. We want to defend our conference title and our Regional title. Maybe we can push towards Nationals and get top-five. That would be good for us. What about individually? Do you have a place you would like to finish at Nationals? If I can get in the top six that would be good for me. Your top-six runners this year have been consistently Kenyan runners. Did you know any of your teammates from back in Kenya? No, I did not know any of those guys back in Kenya. I knew them first when I came for a visit to Alabama. I knew that this team had a bunch of Kenyans. I started in a junior college in Arizona called Central Arizona College. What brought you to the University of Alabama? The coaches recruit guys from our team, guys from Kenya. That was a good thing for me to go to Alabama. What are your track goals? Actually, I don't have any outdoor left. I'm almost done. I've only got one more indoor season left. And what are your goals once your eligibility is up? I want to run road races. I'm going to run the 10K, the 15K and the 21K. I'm going to have a degree in earth science. I might pursue that after my running career. What are some of your hobbies? What do you guys do for fun down there in Alabama? We like to go swimming and we make Kenyan food. Mostly we make ugali because it's easy. It doesn't take a lot of time. Can you give me your ugali recipe? You need corn flour and then you need water (laughs). You just need to boil water to a boil and then you slowly add the corn flour. It's kind of like cake. It's very easy. What kind of music do you listen to? I like music. I like Lingala music. Do you know Lingala music? I don't think so. Is it Kenyan? (Laughs) Originally it's from Central Africa in the Congo. It's Conglolese. What about American music? Yeah! Akon and Lil' Wayne (laughs). Is that stuff on your Ipod? I love my Ipod. I use one. I don't use one when I run. You're from Kenya, then you went to school in Arizona and now you're at Alabama. How do you race when you get to the colder climates? It's real difficult. I think the my body reacts differently. It's kind of hard to breathe in the cold. You go out on a warm up and get warm. I have to make them longer. What about your mileage and your training? Can you talk about that? I think I hit about 100 every week. That's with a lot of doubles. We can go for a one-hour run in the morning and then in evening you can go for 30 minutes. I run with all the other Kenyans in training. Can you share a crazy running-related story? There is one story from when I was at Central Arizona College. I started a race when I was late. I went to the bathroom and before I got back, the race had already started. I followed the guys and ended up getting second. How late were you? They were like 300 meters away! How close were you to winning the race? I was real close to winning it!   Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1492-tyson-david-kwik-e Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:00:00 -0500 NCAA DI Women's Weekly Roundup Week 3 By David Williams [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1496-ncaa-di-womens-weekly-roundup-week-3  1. (-) Washington   Weekend Performance- The Washington women looked great on Saturday winning the White race at Pre-Nationals scoring 59 points. The Huskies were lead by Kendra Schaaf (2nd), Katie Follett (4th), and Christine Babcock (5th). Washington’s depth was highlighted by great finishes from Kailey Campbell (15th), and Allison Linnell (33rd). Campbell finished 36 places higher than last year at Pre-Nats, and Linnell made her debut on the championship course.   Analysis- UW proved once again that they are comfortable running in Terre Haute with a great win over a quality field. With the return of Mel Lawrence and Lauren Saylor, look for Washington to keep improving over the next few weeks.   2. (-) Villanova   Weekend Performance- Villanova won the UVA Panorama Farms Invitational Saturday in dominant fashion. The Wildcats, led by junior Sheila Reid, finished 1-2-3-4-7 respectively. The top four runners for Villanova all broke the previous course record set by Florida State’s Susan Kuijken.   Analysis- It looks as if any team has the depth and front-runners needed to take down Washington, it may be Villanova. The Wildcats have already had two great wins this season, but have a challenging road ahead. In the Big East Conference Championships next weekend, they will face West Virginia (4), Georgetown (9), Syracuse (10), Providence (24), and Notre Dame (30).   3. (19) Colorado   Weekend Performance- The Buffs made a huge jump in the rankings this week with a great win in the White race at Pre-Nationals. Senior Jenny Barringer easily blew away the competition winning in 19:50. True freshman Allie McLaughlin also had a great day finishing 10th overall. Colorado proved they belonged in the top 10 by defeating four top ranked teams.   Analysis- This could be Colorado’s strongest team in the last few years. Barringer is basically a lock for a top 3 finish at NCAA’s and McLaughlin looks like a solid top 20 pick at nationals. If the Buffaloes’ 3-5 runners continue to run well, Colorado should be a podium team at nationals.   4. (3) West Virginia   Weekend Performance- West Virginia must have been happy picking up some points for defeating Providence (24) at Penn State, but they may have retained their spot at #3 had they raced at Pre-Nationals. Either way, the Mountaineers looked great in their 27-point victory over Penn State (18). Seniors Keri Bland, Marie-Louise Asselin, and Clara Grandt, lead the team finishing 1st, 3rd, and 4th respectively.     Analysis- Next week will be a great matchup between West Virginia and Villanova at the Big East Conference Championship. The results of that meet will show us how strong each team really is.    5. (9) Florida   Weekend Performance- Florida picked up some major points at Pre-Nats while beating Princeton (7), Syracuse (10), and Illinois (13). All five of Florida’s scorers were in the top-30 as Stacey Johnson (8th) and Rebecca Lowe (9th) lead the charge.   Analysis- The Gators must be thrilled with their performance last weekend. They had the third best team time of the day, barely edging rival Florida State. These two teams have basically locked up the spots in the South region as the only ranked teams.   6. (11) Florida State   Weekend Performance- After a rough outing at Notre Dame a few weeks ago, FSU has clawed back into the top-10 with a 2nd place finish in the Blue race at Pre-Nats. Susan Kuijken (2nd), Pasca Cheruiyot (7th), and Pilar McShine (20th) all ran very well.   Analysis- The Seminoles will need a strong performance out of their 4th and 5th runners if they want to crack the top four at Nationals. Florida State is strong up front, but they know as well as anyone that your 3-5 runners need to have great days to do well at nationals.   7. (5) Princeton   Weekend Performance- Princeton finished 3rd in the White race while defeating five ranked teams. Liz Costello was 6th overall, and the Tigers had a nice pack with runners 2-5 running within 23 seconds of each other.   Analysis- Princeton looks like they deserve to be in the seven spot since they were 6th overall with their team time at Pre-Nats. The Tigers are clearly the class of the Ivy League, but will face tough competition in the Mid-Atlantic Region. I’m sure they were happy to grab some points for defeating Syracuse (10), Illinois (13), and Minnesota (15).   8. (4) Oregon   Weekend Performance- The Ducks dropped down in the rankings once again due to a disappointing performance at Pre-Nats. Jordan Hasay showed that she’s still improving after having perhaps the best high school running career in U.S. history. Hasay was fairly quiet at the Dellinger meet running a controlled race but looked like she pushed a little harder this week at Pre-Nats finishing 3rd overall. Nicole Blood and Alex Kosinski were the only two on the team that had run the course, so overall, I’m sure it was a good learning experience for the Ducks.   Analysis- It will be interesting to see how the Ducks fair this year against the Huskies. Washington had a perfect score last year in the meet, but I can guarantee the Ducks won’t let that happen again.   9. (13) Georgetown   Weekend Performance- The Hoyas moved up to #9 by finishing 3rd in the Blue race at Pre-Nats. They were lead by sophomore Emily Infeld (9th) and Emily Jones (22nd). Georgetown also barely edged Stanford by six points, which helped them tremendously.   Analysis- On paper, Georgetown is only the 4th best team in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Grabbing a point for beating Stanford and Iowa State this weekend was huge step toward the Hoyas’ run to the national championship.   10. (15) Syracuse   Weekend Performance- Syracuse had a great day finishing 4th in White race, narrowly defeating Illinois (13) and Minnesota (15). The orange displayed great pack running as all seven of their runners finished within 36 seconds of each other.   Analysis- Syracuse looks like the dominant team in the Northeast Region as Providence continues to slip. The Big East meet will obviously be competitive, but otherwise, Syracuse should look forward to smooth sailing on the way to nationals.     David Williams http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1496-ncaa-di-womens-weekly-roundup-week-3 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:06:00 -0500 NCAA DI Men's Weekly Roundup Week 3 By David Williams [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1494-ncaa-di-mens-weekly-roundup-week-3    1. (-) Stanford   Weekend Performance- Stanford solidified their spot as the top team in the country with an impressive 47 point victory at Pre-Nats Saturday. Sophomore Chris Derrick surprised NCAA runner-up Sam Chelanga by patiently moving through the field to overtake Chelanga in the final kilometers. Elliott Heath also stepped up on the big stage finishing 3rd overall in 23:39.   Analysis- There was some doubt early on as to how legit the Cardinal would be this season, but they should have silenced most of their critics after their dominating performance this weekend. Stanford of course needs to get through Oregon at the Pac-10 meet, but they should remain in the top spot until regionals.   2. (7) Oregon   Weekend Performance- After a poor race at the Dellinger Invite, Oregon climbed back up the ladder to the number two spot with a nice win in the Blue race at Pre-Nationals. Luke Puskedra returned to last season’s form with a convincing win in 23:40.  Danny Mercado and Kenny Klotz bounced back by finishing 6th and 11th respectively.   Analysis- I mentioned in my last article not to give up on Oregon, and they proved this weekend that they’re still a contender. Many wanted to jump ship after a 3rd place finish at Dellinger, but the Ducks look like a solid podium team this year.   3. (4) Oklahoma State   Weekend Performance- Oklahoma State decided to avoid the drama in Indiana and instead raced at the Chile Pepper Invite. The Cowboys came away with a 21-52 victory over in state rival Oklahoma. German Fernandez was pretty quiet finishing 7th as teammates Colby Lowe, John Kosgei, and Ryan Vail went 1-2-3.   Analysis- Oklahoma State is essentially a lock in the Midwest as their only real competition at the Regional meet will be Oklahoma who they beat easily at Chile Pepper. It will be interesting however to see who wins the Big-12 Conference meet this year between OK State and red hot Colorado.   4. (-) Colorado   Weekend Performance- Colorado was second in the white race to Stanford. Christian Thompson was the top finisher for the Buffs finishing 14th in 24:04.  Kenyon Neuman who won the Rocky Mountain Shootout may have had an off day finishing fourth for the Buffs. Colorado was 83 points behind winner Stanford however they were without Matt Tebo who DNF’d.   Analysis- Colorado may be the most dangerous team in the country this year. They had an unbelievable 18-second spread between their 1st and 5th runners. With that type of packing, CU could slip into the top three if any team ranked above them has an off day at Nationals.   5. (2) Northern Arizona   Weekend Performance- NAU dropped down a few spots after a third place finish in the Blue race at Pre-Nats. Junior College transfer Jordan Chimpanga was once again their top finisher placing third overall in 23:47. Diego Estrada also had a great race finishing fourth. Part of the Lumberjack’s struggles was due to a poor performance by All American David McNeill who finished 61st.   Analysis- McNeill obviously had a bad day, however this was his first race of the season. Assuming he takes over as one of NAU’s top two runners, the team should be fine going into Regionals.   6. (3) Alabama   Weekend Performance- Alabama also experienced a drop in the rankings after finishing second to Oregon in the Blue race. Moses Kiptoo and Julius Bor lead the charge finishing 13th and 15th. The Crimson Tide probably expected a higher team result with the return of Emmanuel Bor, however Bor looked a little flat finishing 96th.   Analysis- Once again, Alabama struggled a bit in the cold wet conditions at Terre Haute. They’re going to need to figure out a way to run well in less than ideal conditions if they are going to be a podium team.   7. (6) BYU   Weekend Performance- BYU ran well on Saturday finishing third in the White race. The Cougars had a good pack up front with Miles Batty, Thomas Gruenewald, and Rich Nelson all running within 12 seconds of each other.   Analysis- I’m sure BYU was pleased after picking up a few much needed points this weekend. There are no guarantees in the Mountain region with NAU and Colorado.   8. (-) Portland   Weekend Performance- The Pilots came into last weekend hoping to pick up some points over teams like Florida State and Iona and they did just that. All American Alfred Kipchumba lead the Pilots finishing 8th in 23:53. He was followed by freshman Joash Osoro, Tommy Betterbed, and Trevor Dunbar.   Analysis- Portland’s 1-4 can compete with any team in the country right now. They had a large drop off to their 5th runner last weekend by more than 100 spots. If the Pilots 5th man has a good race, Portland is an instant contender.   9. (-) William & Mary   Weekend Performance- William & Mary remain in the ninth spot after a solid fourth place finish in the Blue race. They were only 14 points behind Alabama, which means William & Mary could have seen a huge jump this week had they picked off some more runners.   Analysis- William & Mary should be an automatic qualifier along with Virginia from the Southeast. I’m sure they will be pretty quiet until Regionals.   10. (-) Georgetown   Weekend Performance- Did not race.   Analysis- The Hoyas won’t race again until the Big East conference meet on October 31st.     David Williams http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1494-ncaa-di-mens-weekly-roundup-week-3 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:35:00 -0500 KOLAS Calculator #2, Oct 20th - Women By Ryan From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1490-kolas-calculator-2-oct-20th-women Nationals Qualifiers by Round QUALIFIER #1 is SYRACUSE (#1 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is VILLANOVA (#1 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is VIRGINIA (#1 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is MICHIGAN (#1 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is ILLIONIS (#1 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is BAYLOR (#1 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is COLORADO (#1 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is WASHINGTON (#1 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is FLORIDA STATE (#1 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is PROVIDENCE (#2 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is WEST VIRGINIA (#2 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is DUKE (#2 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is MICHIGAN STATE (#2 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is MINNESOTA (#2 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is ARKANSAS (#2 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is TEXAS TECH (#2 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is OREGON (#2 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is FLORIDA (#2 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #19 is PRINCETON (#3 Md-At) (Entered on 7 wins) Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA (NOTRE DAME INVITE) FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) SYRACUSE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) ILLIONIS (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) MINNESOTA (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #20 is GEORGETOWN (#4 Md-At) (*Pushed in by PENN STATE) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #20 is PENN STATE (#5 Md-At) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (PENN STATE NATIONAL) QUALIFIER #22 is BYU (#3 Mtn) (*Pushed in by NEW MEXICO) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: MICHIGAN (WISCONSIN INVITE) ARKANSAS (WISCONSIN INVITE) ARKANSAS (CHILE PEPPER INVITE) QUALIFIER #22 is NEW MEXICO (#4 Mtn) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #24 is STANFORD (#3 West) (*Pushed in by ARIZONA STATE) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #24 is ARIZONA STATE (#4 West) (Entered on 4 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NEW MEXICO (NOTRE DAME INVITE) FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #26 is IOWA STATE (#3 Mid-W) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: MINNESOTA (ROY GRIAK) MICHIGAN STATE (ROY GRIAK) MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #27 is NORTE DAME (#3 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 2 wins) *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against NORTH CAROLINA *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against IOWA Wins against qualified listed: ARIZONA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #27 is ARIZONA (#5 West) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: IOWA STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #29 is SOUTHERN METHODIST (#3 S-Cen) (Entered on 3 wins) *SOUTHERN METHODIST wins head-to-head against NORTH CAROLINA Wins against qualified listed: PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) NORTE DAME (NOTRE DAME INVITE) ARIZONA (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #30 is NORTH CAROLINA (#3 SE) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NORTE DAME (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) ARIZONA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #31 is IOWA (#4 Mid-W) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: ARKANSAS (WISCONSIN INVITE) MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #32 is OHIO STATE (#4 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 1 wins) *OHIO STATE wins head-to-head against WILLIAM AND MARY *OHIO STATE wins head-to-head against TEXAS *OHIO STATE wins head-to-head against NORTHERN ARIZONA *OHIO STATE wins head-to-head against CALIFORNIA *OHIO STATE wins head-to-head against GEORGIA Wins against qualified listed: BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #33 is TEXAS (#4 S-Cen) (Entered on 1 wins) *TEXAS wins head-to-head against WILLIAM AND MARY *TEXAS wins head-to-head against TEXAS *TEXAS wins head-to-head against NORTHERN ARIZONA *TEXAS wins head-to-head against CALIFORNIA *TEXAS wins head-to-head against GEORGIA Wins against qualified listed: BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #34 is CALIFORNIA (#6 West) (Entered on 1 wins) *CALIFORNIA wins head-to-head against WILLIAM AND MARY *CALIFORNIA wins head-to-head against NORTHERN ARIZONA *CALIFORNIA wins head-to-head against CALIFORNIA *CALIFORNIA wins head-to-head against GEORGIA Wins against qualified listed: BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #35 is NC STATE (#4 SE) (*Pushed in by WILLIAM AND MARY) (Entered on 0 wins) *NC STATE wins head-to-head against WILLIAM AND MARY *NC STATE wins head-to-head against NORTHERN ARIZONA *NC STATE wins head-to-head against GEORGIA QUALIFIER #35 is WILLIAM AND MARY (#5 SE) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #35 is NORTHERN ARIZONA (#5 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #38 is UTEP (#6 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: MICHIGAN STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) QUALIFIER #39 is COLORADO STATE (#7 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #40 is TENNESSEE (#3 South) (*Pushed in by GEORGIA) (Entered on 0 wins) QUALIFIER #40 is GEORGIA (#4 South) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #42 is SOUTHERN UTAH (#8 Mtn) (Entered on 0 wins) QUALIFIER #43 is NEBRASKA (#5 Mid-W) (Entered on 0 wins) *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against HARVARD *NEBRASKA wins head-to-head against TOLEDO QUALIFIER #44 is HARVARD (#3 NE) (Entered on 1 wins) *HARVARD wins head-to-head against TOLEDO *HARVARD wins head-to-head against KANSAS STATE *HARVARD wins head-to-head against MISSOURI QUALIFIER #45 is KANSAS STATE (#6 Mid-W) (Entered on 0 wins) QUALIFIER #46 is MISSOURI (#7 Mid-W) (*Pushed in by WICHITA STATE) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: SOUTHERN METHODIST (CHILE PEPPER INVITE) QUALIFIER #46 is WICHITA STATE (#8 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #48 is KANSAS (#9 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: BAYLOR (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) QUALIFIER #49 is INDIANA (#5 Gr-Lk) (*Pushed in by TOLEDO) (Entered on 0 wins) QUALIFIER #49 is TOLEDO (#6 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 0 wins) Ryan From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1490-kolas-calculator-2-oct-20th-women Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:04:00 -0500 KOLAS Calculator #2, Oct 20th - Men By Ryan From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1489-kolas-calculator-2-oct-20th-men Nationals Qualifiers by Round     QUALIFIER #1 is PROVIDENCE (#1 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is GEORGETOWN (#1 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is WILLIAM AND MARY (#1 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is WISONSIN (#1 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is OK STATE (#1 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is ARKANSAS (#1 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is NORTHERN ARIZONA (#1 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is STANFORD (#1 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is ALABAMA (#1 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is IONA (#2 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is VILLANOVA (#2 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is VIRGINIA (#2 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is INDIANA (#2 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is OKLAHOMA (#2 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is TEXAS AM (#2 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is COLORADO (#2 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is OREGON (#2 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)   QUALIFIER #1 is FLORIDA STATE (#2 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS)     QUALIFIER #19 is SYRACUSE (#3 NE) (Entered on 6 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: GEORGETOWN (WISCONSIN INVITE) WISONSIN (WISCONSIN INVITE) ARKANSAS (WISCONSIN INVITE) TEXAS AM (WISCONSIN INVITE) VILLANOVA (UVA PANORAMA FARMS) TEXAS AM (UVA PANORAMA FARMS)     QUALIFIER #20 is BYU (#3 Mtn) (Entered on 4 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: OREGON (BILL DELLINGER) VILLANOVA (BILL DELLINGER) IONA (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) FLORIDA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE)     QUALIFIER #21 is PORTLAND (#3 West) (Entered on 3 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: VILLANOVA (BILL DELLINGER) IONA (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) FLORIDA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE)     QUALIFIER #22 is WASHINGTON (#4 West) (Entered on 2 wins)   *WASHINGTON wins head-to-head against NEW MEXICO   Wins against qualified listed: PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE)       QUALIFIER #23 is ARIZONA STATE (#5 West) (Entered on 2 wins)   *ARIZONA STATE wins head-to-head against NEW MEXICO   Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE)       QUALIFIER #24 is NEW MEXICO (#4 Mtn) (Entered on 2 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE) FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE)     QUALIFIER #25 is IOWA STATE (#3 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: OKLAHOMA (ROY GRIAK)     QUALIFIER #26 is BUTLER (#3 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 1 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE)     QUALIFIER #27 is CAL POLY (#6 West) (*Pushed in by WASHINGTON STATE) (Entered on 1 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE)       QUALIFIER #27 is WASHINGTON STATE (#7 West) (Entered on 1 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE)     QUALIFIER #29 is AUBURN (#3 South) (Entered on 2 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: WASHINGTON STATE (PRE NATIONALS BLUE) BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE)     QUALIFIER #30 is TULSA (#4 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins)   *TULSA wins head-to-head against LOUISVILLE *TULSA wins head-to-head against NC STATE *TULSA wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *TULSA wins head-to-head against MINNESOTA *TULSA wins head-to-head against LAMAR *TULSA wins head-to-head against UTAH STATE *TULSA wins head-to-head against AIR FORCE   Wins against qualified listed: BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE)       QUALIFIER #31 is LOUISVILLE (#3 SE) (Entered on 1 wins)   *LOUISVILLE wins head-to-head against NC STATE *LOUISVILLE wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *LOUISVILLE wins head-to-head against UTAH STATE *LOUISVILLE wins head-to-head against MINNESOTA   Wins against qualified listed: IOWA STATE (PRE NATIONALS WHITE)       QUALIFIER #32 is NC STATE (#4 SE) (*Pushed in by DUKE) (Entered on 1 wins)   *NC STATE wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *NC STATE wins head-to-head against LAMAR *NC STATE wins head-to-head against UTAH STATE *NC STATE wins head-to-head against AIR FORCE   Wins against qualified listed: BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE)       QUALIFIER #32 is DUKE (#5 SE) (Entered on 2 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: WASHINGTON STATE (ROY GRIAK) TEXAS AM (UVA PANORAMA FARMS)       QUALIFIER #34 is MINNESOTA (#5 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins)   *MINNESOTA wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *MINNESOTA wins head-to-head against LAMAR *MINNESOTA wins head-to-head against UTAH STATE *MINNESOTA wins head-to-head against AIR FORCE   Wins against qualified listed: WASHINGTON STATE (ROY GRIAK)       QUALIFIER #35 is SOUTHERN ILLIONIS (#6 Mid-W) (*Pushed in by IOWA) (Entered on 0 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS     QUALIFIER #35 is IOWA (#7 Mid-W) (Entered on 2 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: TEXAS AM (WISCONSIN INVITE) AUBURN (WISCONSIN INVITE)     QUALIFIER #37 is UTAH STATE (#5 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE)     QUALIFIER #38 is AIR FORCE (#6 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: BUTLER (PRE NATIONALS BLUE)     QUALIFIER #39 is TEXAS (#3 S-Cen) (*Pushed in by LAMAR) (Entered on 0 wins)   *TEXAS wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *TEXAS wins head-to-head against FLORIDA     QUALIFIER #39 is LAMAR (#4 S-Cen) (Entered on 1 wins)   Wins against qualified listed: AUBURN (WISCONSIN INVITE)     QUALIFIER #39 is UTEP (#7 Mtn) (Entered on 0 wins)     QUALIFIER #42 is COLUMBIA (#4 NE) (Entered on 0 wins)   *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against DARTMOUTH *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against NORTE DAME *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against UC SANTA BARBRA *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against FLORIDA     QUALIFIER #43 is MICHIGAN (#4 Gr-Lk) (*Pushed in by NORTE DAME) (Entered on 0 wins)   *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against DARTMOUTH *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against FLORIDA     QUALIFIER #43 is NORTE DAME (#5 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 0 wins)     QUALIFIER #43 is UC SANTA BARBRA (#8 West) (Entered on 0 wins)     QUALIFIER #46 is DAYTON (#6 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 0 wins)     QUALIFIER #47 is PRINCETON (#3 Md-At) (Entered on 0 wins)   *PRINCETON wins common-opponent against DARTMOUTH *PRINCETON wins common-opponent against DARTMOUTH *PRINCETON wins common-opponent against DARTMOUTH *PRINCETON wins common-opponent against DARTMOUTH *PRINCETON wins common-opponent against DARTMOUTH *PRINCETON wins common-opponent against DARTMOUTH     QUALIFIER #48 is DARTMOUTH (#5 NE) (Entered on 0 wins)     QUALIFIER #49 is FLORIDA (#4 South) (Entered on 0 wins)   *FLORIDA wins head-to-head against NAVY *FLORIDA wins head-to-head against CALIFORNIA     QUALIFIER #50 is CALIFORNIA (#9 West) (Entered on 0 wins)   *CALIFORNIA wins common-opponent against NAVY *CALIFORNIA wins common-opponent against NAVY *CALIFORNIA wins common-opponent against NAVY *CALIFORNIA wins common-opponent against NAVY *CALIFORNIA wins common-opponent against NAVY *CALIFORNIA wins common-opponent against NAVY   Ryan From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1489-kolas-calculator-2-oct-20th-men Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0500 DII Conference Preview By Cara Hawkins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1483-dii-conference-preview Rivalries will be at their fiercest this coming Conference weekend. The weekly polls are due for some movement and this weekend is where the upsets might happen. I have given the results of last year’s races and done my best to research the top runners in each conference. If I have missed a runner or if you have an opinion on who will win this year leave a comment. After all, Flotrack is a community. CCAA-The Chico State men’s and women’s both captured the conference team titles last year. On the men’s side, the Wildcats scored 17 points, followed by UC San Diego (72) and Cal Poly Pomona (84). Scott Bauhs won the men’s title but has since graduated. Look for Chico’s Jimmy Elam, Michael Wickman, and Cal Poly Pomona’s Jersain Torres to be in the hunt for the title. Last year, Chico State women scored a low 30 points, their top six runners taking 4th through 9th place. Chico State was followed by Cal State LA (52) and UC San Diego (76). Cal State LA’s Vivien Wadeck is back to defend her title. Also look for UC San Diego’s Bre Schofield, and Chico State’s Alia Gray and Kara Lubreniecki to challenge for the title. CACC- Last year, Felician College men’s team won with 34 points and was followed by University of the Sciences (55) and Philadelphia University (71). Last year’s champion Felician’s James Vander Welle will be back to defend his title. Look for Felician’s Rob Albano and Philadelphia’s Shawn D’Andrea to challenge for the title. Last year’s Philadelphia University’s women took the team title with 47 points followed by Georgian Court (61) and Felician (90). Look for Philadephia’s Sarah Simonetti to make a run for in the individual title. CIAA-Virginia State won the men's championship and tied Saint Augustine's for the women's title at the 2008 CIAA Cross Country Championships. In the men's race, Virginia State scored 42 points to top Bowie State, which placed second with 58, while Shaw finished third with 91 points. Saint Augustine’s Johnny Shupig will be looking to repeat. In the women’s race last year, Saint Augustine's and Virginia State both scored 39 points, and thus the race was declared a tie. Bowie State’s Shamika Patton and Livingstone’s Winnie Chepchumba will be in the hunt for the individual title. Conference Carolinas- Last year with Queen’s absent, St. Andrews’ men won the conference title with 43 points. Lees-McRae was a close second with 48 points, followed by Erskine with 78 points. But this year, Queen’s is set to host the conference meet so expect them to win the title.  The individual title is Queen’s Michael Crouch’s to lose. Last year, Lees - McRae’s women claimed the women’s conference title with 48 points and were followed by Converse (78) and Anderson (94). Queen’s will be set to challenge for title and it should be a battle between them and Lees-McRae. Anderson’s Whitney Bishoff is back to defend her title. Look for Queen’s Jessica Neville to challenge for the individual title. East Coast Conference- Last year, the Adelphi University Panthers claimed both the men's and women's cross country titles. The men’s team captured the team title with 30 total points. NYIT took second with 48 points and were followed by St. Thomas Aquinas (84). NYIT’s Amos Kipkosgei should be back to defend his title. Also look for his teammate, Daniel Rono and C.W. Post’s Vicent Giambanco to challenge for the title. Last year, Adelphi women took home the team title with 20 points with their top five runners finishing in the top seven. The C.W. Post Pioneers came in second overall with 81 points and Dowling was third with 84 points. Look for NYIT’s Jeptui Cherutich and Adelphi’s Kristen Wojtuniak to make a run for the title.GLIAC- Last year, Grand Valley State’s men and women claimed both team titles Saturday. The men’s team captured the title with 31 points. Wayne State was second (69) and Ashland was third (90). Grand Valley’s Tyler Emmorey is the favorite for the individual title. Last year, Grand Valley’s women finished with a total of 25 points to win the team title. Wayne State (66) was second and Ferris State (121) was third. Look for Grand Valley’s Megan Maceratini and Ferris State’s Tina Muir to battle for the title.GLVC- Last year, University of Southern Indiana claimed both the men’s and women’s cross country titles. In the men’s team title competition they scored 26 points and were followed by Northern Kentucky (63) and Drury University (66). Drury’s Jaime Villa Zapatero will be back to defend his title. Look for Northern Kentucky’s Drew Harris challenge for the title. Last year, University of Southern Indiana’s women scored 39 points to take the team title and were followed by UW Parkside (64) and Northern Kentucky (80). Southern Indiana’s Mary Ballinger is the favorite for the individual title but also look for Lewis’s Kathryn Hague to challenge. GNAC- In the men’s race last year, it was Alaska Anchorage that took home the men’s title. They were followed by Western Washington (53) and Western Oregon (78). Alaska Anchorage’s Mark Chesto is back to defend his title. Look for teammate, Micah Chelimo, Western Washington’s Jordan Welling to challenge for the title. Last year, Seattle Pacific edged out University of Alaska Anchorage 48 to 52 to win its fourth consecutive women's team title. Western Washington was third (75). Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler is the strong favorite being the 2008 cross country champion.  Her closer challenger will be Western Washingon’s Sarah Porter. Gulf South Conference-Last year, Harding University’s men’s team turned in a perfect team score of 15 to claim their eighth Gulf South Conference Cross Country Championship in the past nine years. University of Alabama Huntsville (64) was second, followed by West Georgia (92). Harding’s Daniel Kirwa is a favorite to repeat. Last year, Harding claimed the top three individual spots for a 22 total points. Alabama-Huntsville finished second in the fifteen team event with 65 points. Arkansas Tech was the only other school in the double-figures with 76 points. Look for Arkansas Tech’s Bailee Miller, Harding’s Katy Grant and West Flordia’s Baliee Hedstrom to challenge for the title. Heartland Conference- Last year, The Cardinals from the University of the Incarnate Word ran to a dominating win, with six men finishing in the top ten and scoring 29 points. Dallas Baptist finished 2nd with 61 points. Look for Incarnate Word’s Shayn Weidner and Newman’s Austin Hunt to challenge for the win. Dallas Baptist’s women’s team took home the team title with 23 points, followed by Newman with 63 points. Look for Dallas Baptist’s Hannah Steffan to repeat. Lone Star Conference- Last year, Abilene Christian prevailed in the men's 7,700-meter race for the 18th straight year, securing the team title with 17 points. Tarleton State University came out on top in a close race for second place with 77 points and Texas A&M-Commerce was third with 78 points. Look for Tarleton’s Jared McNeil, Gerzain Valenzulea and Abilene Christian’s Amos Sang to challenge for the title. Last year, Midwestern State placed five runners in the top twenty to score 58 points. West Texas A&M narrowly held off East Central University for second place, 84 to 94. Look for Midwestern’s Sydnee Cole, Southwestern Oklahoma’s Chelsey Dillion and Texas A&M-Kingsville’s Erica Alvarado to challenge for the title.MIAA-Last year, Southwest Baptist was first with 63 points. They were followed by Pittsburg State (84) and Missouri Southern (86). Look for Southwest Baptist’s Michael Pierce and Pittsburg State’s Mujahid to push the pace for the individual title. The Missouri Southern Lions claimed a 30-point victory over runner-up Pittsburg State, 42 to 72. Southwest Baptist was third with 83 points. Missouri Southern’s Kimi Shank and Ashely Siler to be leading the pack.Northeast-10 Conference-  Last year, the University of Massachusetts Lowell claimed both the men's and women's team championship titles. UMass Lowell men claimed their third straight Northeast-10 Team Championship with 31 points. Stonehill finished second with 52 and Southern Connecticut State University took third place with 64 points. Look for Le Moyne’s Jake McAndrews, American International’s Glarius Rop, Stonhill’s Pat Fullerton and UMass Lowell’s Angus MacDonald to challenge for the title. Last year, UMass Lowell edged out Stonehill by a slight margin (46-51) to claim the team championship. Saint Rose took third place with 98 point. Look for American International’s Julie Collignon, Adelphi’s Danielle Matteo and Stonehill’s Kristen Veit to challenge for the title.  Northern Sun Conference- Last year, the Minnesota State men’s team placed five individuals in the top ten finishers to claim to the 2008 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship with 22 points.  Augustana College was second with 74 points and Wayne State College was third with 108 points. Look for MSU’s James Krajsa to be in front along with Augustana’s Tom Karbo and Matt Braithwaite and NSU’s John Rawerts. Augustana women's cross country team placed five runners in the top ten to win the conference title with 32 points.  They were followed by University of Minnesota-Duluth (56) and Minnesota State University (105). Look for UMD’s Morgan Place, MSUM’s Anna VanWechel, and Augustana’s Leah Hansen to be challenging for the individual title. PSAC- Last year, Edinboro totaled 56 points to edge out runner-up Slippery Rock, which came in with 65 points. Lock Haven placed third among the 16 teams with 85 points. Look for Shippensburg’s Bryan Beegle, Edinboro’s Ben Hahn, Lock Haven’s Nick Hilton and Stone Hill’s Pat Fullerton to be in the front. Last year, Shippensburg registered 70 points to narrowly defeat Slippery Rock, which totaled 73. Kutztown was third with 115 points. The individual women’s title will be Shippensburg’s Neely Spence’s to lose.Pacific West-Last year, Hawaii Pacific came away with the men’s team title scoring 26 points followed by BYU-Hawaii with 49 points and UH-Hilo with 56 points. Look for BYU-Hawaii’s Spencer Deavila and Academy of the Art’s Amos Maru to challenge for the title.  The Brigham Young University Hawaii's women's cross country team took the team title with 29 points. Taking second and third place respectively were Hawaii Pacific with 36 points and UH-Hilo with 59. Look for BYU Hawaii’s Lacey Krout and Hawaii Pacific’s Quinn Horochuk to challenge for the title. Peach Belt-Last year, the Columbus State men’s and women’s cross country teams won the Peach Belt Conference Championship. Columbus State’s men scored 26 points. Look for Columbus State’s Meshack Koyiaki and UNC Pembroke’s Pardon Ndhlovu to battle for the title. The Columbus State women won their fourth straight PBC title with 33 points. Augusta State finished second with 54, while North Georgia was third with 110. Look for Columbus State’s Brittney Skiles and Montevallo’s Haley Evans to challenge for the title.RMAC- Last year, Adams State took both the men’s and women’s championship. The men scored 20 points by placing their top five runners in the top eight. Western State was second with 49 points followed by Colorado School of the Mines with 81 points. Adams State’s Aaron Braun will be back to defend his title. Don’t count his teammates Brian Medigovich and Reuben Mwei out. The Adams State’s women's team won the 6K race with 29 points, followed by Western State (47) and Mesa State (108). Look for Adams State’s Kristen McGlynn and Mesa State’s Alexis Skarda to challenge for the title. SAC-Last year, Mars Hills scored 31 points to beat runner-up Wingate University (50 points). Lenoir Rhyne was third with 84 points in the men’s competition. Look for a win by Tusculum’s Simon Holzaphel to take the title with possible challenges by Catawba’s Christian Crifasi and Mars Hill’s Kit Powell. Lenoir Rhyne took the women’s team title. Wingate was second with 63 points, followed by Carson-Newman with 88 points. Look for Lenoir Rhyne’s Kate Griewisch to take the title.SIAC- Last year, Benedict College men’s team took the conference title. Morehouse finished in second and Fort Valley State and Kentucky State tied for third place. Look for Morehouse’s Abraham Kiprotich and Tuskegee’s Jame Holly to challenge. Clark Atlanta finished in second while Fort Valley State finished in third. Look for Clark-Atlanta’s Phyllis Shelman-Ford and Tuskegee’s Mallory Johnson to challenge.Sunshine State- Last year; FSC took their 12th straight title with 29 points and were followed by Tampa (51) and Nova Southeastern (60). Look for Nova Southeastern’s Brendan Chwalek and Florida Southern’s Ben Martucci to challenge for the title. Last year, Tampa’s women won the meet for the second consecutive year with 21 points. They were followed by Florida Southern (76) and Nova Southeastern (77). Look for Florida Tech’s Sara Trane and Tampa’s Jess Butler to challenge for the title. WVIAC-Last year, West Virginia Wesleyan’s men scored 40 points and were followed by Wheeling Jesuit (78) and Concord (96). Look for WJU’s Ryan Beabout, WVWC’s Nate Edwards and SHU’s Domin Camasso to challenge for the title. The West Virginia Wesleyan’s women scored 41 points over Alderson-Broaddus (48). Wheeling Jesuit was third (75). Look for Alderson-Broaddus’s Ashley Teets, WJU Sarah Campanelli and WL’s Kallen Weaver to challenge for the title.   Cara Hawkins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1483-dii-conference-preview Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:01:00 -0500 Maggie Vessey On FloNetwork By Pat Hitchins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1480-maggie-vessey-on-flonetwork Maggie Vessey is debuting on the FloNetwork with her fast new site Maggiekicks.com. This past summer Maggie had a breakout season in which she set a PR of 1:57.84 in the 800, made it on the world team, and signed with New Balance. Check out here site for some sassy interviews and the latest on Maggie and her kickin'. MaggieKicks.com FloNetwork     Maggie after coming back from Worlds.   Visit maggiekicks.com for more Videos Pat Hitchins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1480-maggie-vessey-on-flonetwork Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:52:00 -0500 Ben Massam KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1474-ben-massam-kwik-e  William and Mary senior Ben Massam and his Tribe are heading back to NCAA Cross Country Championships. Last year, they placed 16th overall as Massam took 124th over the 10,000-meter course. As the Tribe is currently ranked ninth in the country, Massam continues to add huge weeks of mileage under his belt and really feels things “clicking” with his harrier squad. Let's see how they do! You're just coming home from a team barbecue, do you guys do that often? This past weekend we had Fall Break, with Monday and Tuesday off...so, it's a way to make people not have to go out and buy food. It was a special occasion. If it's not the team barbecue this year, then what's making your team do so well? It's the group of guys, man. A lot of people haven't really heard of us and we have a pretty even group of guys. There's no one person ahead of us and that's what makes us work together. We're around each other a lot and that helps. You beat some pretty impressive teams early on in the season. I guess we're kind of known for...I don't want to say “stinking it up” in the beginning of the year, but we don't usually come out with our “guns-a-blazing”. In the past, we've had our home meet, so it was a little more laid back. But this year, we got invited out to Oklahoma State and I think we just wanted to set a benchmark to see where we were at this time of the year. Luckily, it turned out pretty well and we were happy with the result. We know we still have a way to go. Your team hasn't been doing anything different this year? Why are things clicking right now? The training has been more or less the same. We haven't really gotten into the intense stuff yet, maybe a couple of intervals, but really long stuff and fartleks. I think it's just that we have a good group of guys who are all around the same ability level and are able to work. Everyone wants to beat each other, but everyone also wants to see each other do well. I think it's a pretty competitive group that works together well. How tight is that front pack? Really last spring was when we figured it out. There was one weekend where—Patterson Wilhelm and I redshirted—but Jon Grey and Colin Leak were in form and at two meets on the same night, we all ran 14:06 or under in the 5k. It was like a three-second spread. It was pretty crazy that all of us were running around the same time. I think we train together well and the results show. So, you have on strong front pack to train with? The great thing is we have guys from different backgrounds. You have guys who...well, intervals are really their thing. Then you have guys who like the longer stuff with the extended effort. I know I eat up the tempo runs and the base runs because I'm pretty high mileage...then we start doing intervals and stuff and in our top five...I peaked at 130 miles and we have Lewis Woodard—my roommate and our fifth man—he averages like 50 miles a week. We have a pretty wide spread. I feel like with special teams, there's someone who will pull other people along, no matter what the workout is. Oh, sorry. I think my phone just messed up. I thought you just said that you run 130-mile weeks. (Laughs) Yeah. Yeah, I said that. I was pretty high mileage in high school, but that's the highest on the team. Like I said, some people on the team are running 50 miles a week. Some run seven days a week and others will run five days a week. There's a wide range of training on the team. I can handle it—knock on wood—I don't get injured. I was at 130 this week. What were you running in high school for mileage? I got up to 100 before my senior year in August. I didn't know what I was doing in high school. Can you break down this past week of mileage? The way we like to do it is having an up week and a down week. I'd go up to 130 miles a week then down to 100-110. This week, I'm actually at 100 and I'll go back up some. I've been at 130 miles on my high weeks since...maybe early August. That's with six doubles? That's without the long run or the...we call it the second long run. The second longest day of the week. Even on workout days I'll get up and do a short run or a shake out. Has your team talked about team goals? I think part of it is that we didn't want to look at an exact number. Last year, we were 16th and weren't really satisfied with it. We had higher expectations, given the people we had. I think this year, it's pretty much understood that we would like to go under the top 10, which I think we can and is a pretty good possibility. I think that would be great for a smaller school like ours to be able to do something like that. Everyone would have to be on their A-game that day, but I think it's possible. What about an individual goal? A place where you'd like to finish? I've been at Nationals two times and both times it's kind of sucked. I didn't figure it out very well. My sophomore year, I was out too fast and last year I was too conservative. I think I took 124th last year. On a good day, top 60 is realistic and what's expected of me. If it was a really good day, then maybe I'll take a run at that top 40. With the higher mileage that you run, you haven't ran into many injuries? I don't really get injured. I've had some soft tissue stuff, but my bones handle it pretty well. Freshman year, I had a bit of an iron deficiency thing and I've always got to keep an eye on that. After freshman year, I said down with Gibby, our coach, and we talked about it and figured it out. I think that's where we came up with the up week and down week thing. I like a little bit of break from the mileage and try to schedule an easy day so my legs can recover and everything. What's the hardest workout you've ever done? I guess there was one last spring that we did when we found out that were all in pretty good shape. The whole group of us did 10 by 1,000 on the track. We started in the low 2:50s and got down to running a few 2:41s in a row. It was a real good distance effort. It was when everyone realized that we could work together and pull everyone along. It was a great workout. You didn't blow chunks or anything? No. (Laughs) I was really close. I don't know about blowing chunks, but I was walking around not really knowing where I was on the track. Luckily we didn't have a race for another few weeks. A little delirious, but those ones pay off in the long run. Yeah. You've got to love those. Especially when you don't have a race for a while and you can really go after it. I bet you slept well that night. Yeah. It can have one effect or the other. You can go right to sleep or your legs can be swelling and you can't get to sleep. What are you studying at William and Mary? I'm majoring in history. I guess it's all around you down here and you'll see some pretty interesting stuff. We run down Duke of Gloucester Street, which is Colonial Williamsburg and you see people churning butter and people dressed up as Thomas Jefferson. It's a pretty interesting environment to run in. You don't take part in the reenactments or anything like that? Even though I'm majoring in history and people always ask, “are you studying to be on of those colonial reenactors or historical interpreters?” But, no, I could never see myself doing something like that. Studying history, does that mean you're looking to go into teaching or with your 130-mile weeks, are you looking to pursue a career in running and maybe marathons? I would love to give running a try after college. I've talk to Gibby about it a little, but we obviously don't want to get ahead ourselves with all the eligibility I have left. I would love to try that. The few road races I've done—including a half marathon my freshman when I was redshirting—I really loved it. I'm thinking about going into law school right now. I haven't decided for sure and I'm staying for five years, so I have a little bit of time to decide. This is your last cross country season but what else do have left? I'm out of cross country, but I'm coming back next year for track season. Just the longer stuff for you. The five and the 10? Yeah, we joke about that. I'm one of the people on the team with the worst leg speed...so, it's always amusing when I get thrown into an indoor mile. People are licking their chops to see me in there with them. What are we talking? What can you run for a quarter? Man, I don't know. That's always been something I've been interested in. Maybe like a 55, at best...maybe 54. I'm pretty slow when it comes to that. I never broke two in the 800 in high school. Luckily in college the races get longer...because I was running out of real estate there. Do you get nervous or not look forward to the indoor season when it comes around? No way. When I get in a mile or something, I love it. I get my chance. If someone loses to me, it's kind of embarrassing. Indoor track was never my thing because of the turns and me being a taller guy. I look forward to it because I can train through it. We don't take it—I won't say not seriously—but we train through it pretty hard to get through it and onto the outdoor season. What are your hobbies? Everyone thinks this is really weird, but I'm a really big fan of horse racing. I'm not saying I have a gambling problem, but I like to follow that. I love sports. People would say that we have a pretty boring team. We sit around and watch TV. I love watching football with the cross country team. We go out to eat at this place called Pierce's Barbecue. We go there after workouts. That stuff is really great. Back to your gambling problem, what sports teams do you follow and bet on? (Laughs) I'm from Northern New Jersey, so I've got the Yankees and the Devils. Yeah, Yankees! You're a Yankee's fan too! I'm looking forward to the ALCS starting on Friday. In football, I don't mind the Giants or the Jets, but ever since I was little, I liked the Bears. I don't know why. Maybe because my dad was a Vikings fan and I wanted to make him mad. Can you do the Superbowl Shuffle? No, that was a little before my time. But I can go back and watch the video. You don't play poker or anything like that? No, just horse racing. It's been like a family thing. Everyone is interested in it and it just got going. I could probably name every horse that runs on a regular basis in New Jersey. People are pretty amazed by that...but, hey, it's something I do. It's one of those things where you can enjoy it, but you've got to control yourself. I'm a college student and it's not like I have a lot of money to throw around. Can you give me a crazy running-related story? Anything wild ever happen to you on one of your runs? One that stands out a little is one that happened on a run down here. I was telling you that we have that Duke of Gloucester Street that we run down through the reenactors and stuff. The track is pretty close to that, so we warm up through colonial Williamsburg in track season. I guess they have this thing called the Revolutionary City or something like that. They reenact and shoot off cannons and all that. We unknowingly ran through it and this guy, who was dressed as a British soldier in a Red Coat outfit, he was yelling at us with a stick or a plastic sword. He was really getting mad. It was like something that was scripted. They were looking at us like we were nuts. We sprinted through there and everyone there had their mouths wide open. It was interesting to have our running meet the 1700s. You went through a time machine apparently. I don't know if they thought the Indians were attacking or something. Your Tribe was attacking? Yeah, there you go! That was it.   Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1474-ben-massam-kwik-e Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:00:00 -0500 Nationally Ranked Foes To Penn State National Meet By Ryan From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1477-nationally-ranked-foes-to-penn-state-national-meet From Jess Riden at Penn State: Cross Country Welcomes Conference Rivals; Nationally Ranked Foes to Penn State National Nittany Lion women ranked No. 16 nationally; men looking for breakout performance   UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: October 14, 2009 – In its final tune up prior to the Big Ten Cross Country Championships, the Nittany Lions are set to host the Penn State National, Friday at the Blue/White Golf Course.  Typically one of the top competitions of the fall, the Penn State National will feature top programs from around the country, including third-ranked West Virginia, and Big Ten foe and No. 23 Michigan in the women’s race, along with 10th-ranked Georgetown headlining the men’s field.  The Nittany Lion women have been running at full steam already this fall, entering the weekend at No. 16 in the nationally rankings with seniors Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) and Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas) leading the pack. The Penn State men, who finished 25thnationally last season, are also poised for a big performance on their home course, led by sophomores Vince McNally (Smoketown, Pa.) and Kyle Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.).   Meet: The Penn State National Where: Blue/White Golf Course (University Park, Pa.) Race Times: Men – 10 a.m.; Women – 11 a.m. Race Distances: Men – 5.2 Miles; Women – 6,000-Meters   Men’s Race Preview Once again the Penn State National has attracted a competitive field, spanning over several of the NCAA’s nine cross country regions.  From the Mid-Atlantic Region, the field features 10th-ranked Georgetown, which took top honors at the meet last year, led by individual winner Andrew Bumbalough.  Bumbalough finished the 5.2-mile course in 25 minutes, 10 seconds - the fifth-fastest time ever run on the Blue/White Golf Course.  Elsewhere, the Nittany Lions will welcome out of region foes Kentucky, George Mason, Marist, and Binghamton, along with in-state rivals La Salle, Bucknell, Duquesne and Pennsylvania.  So far this season, the Nittany Lions competed at the Spiked Shoe Invitational, UMES Cappy Anderson Invitational and Notre Dame Invitational, led by sophomore Vince McNally (Smoketown, Pa.) and freshman Danny Pawola (Naperville, Ill.).  Also looking for a top finish at the Penn State National is sophomore Kyle Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.).  Dawson placed fifth at the competition last year, and went on to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.   Women’s Race Preview The Penn State National has featured some of the top competition of the cross country season over the past decade and will not disappoint in 2009, as the field is set to include two-time defending National Invitational champions, and No. 3-ranked West Virginia.  Also slated to attend the event is Big Ten rival and No. 23 Michigan, as well as No. 25 Providence from the Northeast Region.  Individually, the race will likely feature three of the top five finishers from last year’s meet in Lion senior Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), and Mountaineers Keri Bland and Clara Grandt.  Also set to race is 2008 NCAA Division II runner-up Neely Spence of Shippensburg.  The Nittany Lion women, entering the competition as 16th-ranked team in the country, had a banner performance at the Notre Dame Invitational, scoring victories over several perennial powerhouses, including then third-ranked Florida State. Franek led the charge with a seventh-place finish overall, while classmate Cheryl Spring turned in an impressive 13th-place effort.  The Lions have been on a roll throughout the fall, with Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.), Spring, and Franek each earning Big Ten Runner of the Week accolades.   Competing Teams:   Men (USTFCCCA Ranking; Region, Rank) Akron Binghamton (Northeast, No. 9) Bucknell (Mid-Atlantic, No. 10) Cornell (Northeast, No. 7) Cortland State (D-III, No. 2) Duquesne (Mid-Atlantic, No. 11) East Carolina East Stroudsburg George Mason George Washington Georgetown (USTFCCCA No. 10; Mid-Atlantic, No. 1) Georgia State Indiana (Pa.) Kent State (Great Lakes, No. 10) Kentucky (Southeast, No. 8) La Salle (Mid-Atlantic, No. 5) Lehigh Lock Haven (D-II, No. 17) Marist (Northeast, No. 12) Mount St. Mary’s Penn State (Mid-Atlantic, No. 7) Pennsylvania (Mid-Atlantic, No. 9) Rider Slippery Rock St. Francis (Pa.) Yale (Northeast, No. 10)   Women (USTFCCCA Ranking; Region, Rank) Boston College (ORV; Northeast, No. 3) Bucknell (Mid-Atlantic, No. 9) Connecticut (Northeast; No. 10) Cornell (Northeast; No. 6) Cortland State (D-III, No. 35) Duquesne (Mid-Atlantic, No. 11) East Carolina East Stroudsburg George Washington (Mid-Atlantic, No. 12) Georgia State Indiana (Pa.) Kent State (Great Lakes, No. 14) Kentucky (Southeast, No. 6) La Salle (Mid-Atlantic, No. 10) Lehigh (Mid-Atlantic, No. 15) Lock Haven Michigan (USTFCCCA No. 23; Great Lakes, No. 1) Mount St. Mary’s Penn State (USTFCCCA No. 16; Mid-Atlantic, No. 4) Pennsylvania (Mid-Atlantic, No. 6) Providence (USTFCCCA No. 25; Northeast, No. 2) Rider Shippensburg (D-II, No. 6) Slippery Rock (D-II, No. 18) St. Francis (Pa.) Stony Brook (ORV; Northeast, No. 4) VCU West Virginia (USTFCCCA No. 3; Mid-Atlantic, No. 2) Yale   ORV – Others Receiving Votes in National Poll   Results: Full results and complete Nittany Lion recaps will be available at www.GoPSUsports.com at the conclusion of the races.  Results will also be posted at www.RunHigh.com. Ryan From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1477-nationally-ranked-foes-to-penn-state-national-meet Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:55:00 -0500 ISU Pre-National Invitational Race Assignments By Ryan From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1476-isu-pre-national-invitational-race-assignments ISU Pre-National Invitational Sponsored by Brooks and the Terre Haute Visitor / Convention Bureau Saturday, October 17, 2009     RACE ASSIGNMENTS 11:00 am - Men Blue (35 Teams) Air Force, Alabama, Arizona, Auburn, Brown, Butler, Cal-Berkeley, Cal-Poly, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Illinois State, Indiana State, Iowa, IUPUI, Kansas, Loyola (MD), Marquette, Miami (OH), Michigan State, Montana, Montana State, NC State, Northern Arizona, Oregon, Toledo, Tulsa, UNC-Charlotte, Utah State, UTEP, Washington, Washington State, Western Kentucky, William & Mary   11:40 am - Men White (35 Teams) Arizona State, BYU, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Colorado, Colorado State, Columbia, Dartmouth, Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, Florida State, Illinois, Iona, Iowa State, Lamar, Liberty, Louisville, Loyola (IL), Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio University, Portland, South Alabama, Southern Illinois, Southern Utah, Stanford, UC-Davis, UCLA, UC-Santa Barbara   12:20 pm - Women Blue (37 Teams) Air Force, Arizona, Auburn, Butler, Central Michigan, Colorado, Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, Florida State, Georgetown, Harvard, Iona, Iowa, Iowa State, James Madison, Kansas State, Liberty, Louisville, Loyola (IL), Marquette, Miami (OH), Michigan State, Mississippi, Nebraska, NC State, Ohio University, Oregon, Oregon State, Rice, Southern Utah, Stanford, Toledo, Tulsa, UC-Davis, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky,   12:55 pm - Women White (37 Teams) Akron, Alabama, Arizona State, Baylor, Brown, Cal-Berkeley, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Columbia, Eastern Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Illinois State, Jacksonville, Kansas, Loyola (MD), Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Northern Arizona, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Princeton, Syracuse, Texas, UC-Santa Barbara, UNC-Charlotte, Utah State, Wake Forest, Washington, Washington State, Western Michigan, Wichita State, William & Mary   1:30 pm - Open Men (3 Teams +) Kansas State, Vanderbilt, Wichita State   2:10 pm - Open Women (3 Teams +) IUPUI, Lamar, Montana State   Ryan From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1476-isu-pre-national-invitational-race-assignments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:17:00 -0500 Reebok Racing Club Joins The FloNetwork By Pat Hitchins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1469-reebok-racing-club-joins-the-flonetwork Reebok athletes have been hanging out and sharing their story on Flotrack since the beginning. With Reebok athletes representing all corners of the globe and walks of life, it only made sense for them to get them all in one place. Stay up to date with Kiwi Nick Willis, go kangaroo hunting with Steve Hooker, surfing with JAMO, and who could forget our times Kim Smith, Jorge Torres, Katie McGregor, Aries Merritt, or Nate Brannen. There are too many good folks to mention.   Besides athletes, Reebok sponsors some of the best events in running. From the dusty hills of Mt. SAC, to the Frosty Boston Indoor Games, Reebok is an active supporter of the best there is in running. While you are on the site check out some of Reebok's new gear which has undergone some serious changes. If you are interested in joining the FloNetwork, email us (flonetwork@flocasts.org)   Reebok Racing Club     FloNetwork Here is my personal favorite RRC video!   Visit ReebokRacingClub.org for more Videos Pat Hitchins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1469-reebok-racing-club-joins-the-flonetwork Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:32:00 -0500 DII Weekend Interview With Mary Ballinger & Review Oct.9-Oct.10 By Cara Hawkins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1464-dii-weekend-interview-with-mary-ballinger-review-oct9-oct10 Southern Indiana’s Mary Ballinger most recently won the GLVC/MIAA challenge and finished 14th at the Greater Louisville Invitational. She is an All American in cross country and the 2009 3,000 meter steeplechase champion. DII Review caught up with her after her win. DII Review : This is your senior year; you are coming back after finishing 10 last year at XC Nationals and winning the steeplechase outdoors last year.  What are your goals and how does this affect your goals for the season? Mary Ballinger: I have a few goals for this season. One would be for our team to qualify for nationals and place in the top 5. Individually, I want to have fun and enjoy my last college cross season and improve on my placing from last year. I would like to compete with the top girls for the title. Since winning nationals in the steeple, a few things have changed for me. I am very confident with my training and other parts of life now. Our Assistant coach Tristan Mannix has been very influential in that aspect. It also helped me realize that patience does payoff. A national title had been one of my goals for a long time and it was nice that it finally worked out!   DIIR: How do you gear up for the fall cross country season-what is your summer training like?MB: To gear up for cross country I did mostly base mileage this summer. It was a bit different because I wasn't working for once; I was traveling around the country, so I was always running somewhere new. I was in over 20 states so I got to explore the scenery and really got back to basics with my running. It was a truly enjoyable experience...I guess you could say I fell in love with running again. I stayed around 60 miles a week for most of the summer. I ran a great 10k at the end of July and really surprised myself for not having done any hard running yet.  My coach didn't have me doing any specific workouts until August. I just ran on feel. He has done a wonderful job at making sure I don't run myself into the ground with workouts and mileage. Longevity is key.     DIIR: What is a typical training cycle or week for you?MB: A typical training week would include an interval session (400s, 800s, or 1200s) or hills on Tuesday, Wednesdays are our medium long days, Friday/Saturday could be a long progressive tempo (usually 4 miles) or a race.  Sundays are always long runs. The rest of the days are easy runs. We incorporate a lot of drills and core work on certain days of the week. DIIR: Are you excited about your school hosting Nationals?MB: I am very excited that USI is hosting nationals, I think we all are. It is a tough course, but I think people really like it because it is scenic, muddy most of the time and not just a fast golf course. We run on some part of the course about every day. We did hill repeats last week on the main hills of the course. That is a great advantage for us. It is amusing to me that DI and DII nationals are less than 2 hours away from each other. That is pretty neat.   DIIR:Would you prefer to run steeplechase or cross country?MB: Both cross country and the steeplechase are two of my favorite things, so I would say that I love whichever one is in season at the time more.   DIIR:How do you transition from cross country into the track season?MB: The transition from cross country to track can be interesting because weather affects much of my running during that time of the year. I try to avoid the treadmill if at all possible, so I learned that slip on spikes for my running shoes are invaluable to me. My house is right on Lake Michigan so there is a lot of lake effect snow/ice/wind. I remember this run over Christmas break last year where it was like -20 some degrees and just ice everywhere. You couldn't really drive but I was out there on the road running with these spikes and layers of clothes just thinking how ridiculous it was. Thankfully it's not like that all the time.  For workouts, Coach Hillyard usually had me do a lot of short fartlek work. Tempo runs were in there weekly.   DIIR: How did you start steeplechasing?MB: The story of how I got into the steeplechase is kind of wierd. My freshman year I ran at a DI school and we were at Florida State for our first outdoor meet. My coach told me I was running the steeplechase the next day and I was excited, except for the fact that I had never seen it or knew what it was! I saw my first barrier that night and learned how to jump over one in the grass. I ran it the next day and fell twice in the water (last time I have fallen though) and to this day that is still the hardest race I have ever run. I finished it bloody and soaked, but I was hooked. The steeple is so much fun.   DIIR: Do you have any crazy steeplechase stories involving the barriers or waterpit?MB: Other than the above story I haven't had anything too crazy happen with the steeple, but I have a story from last cross country season. I was on an easy run with one of the boys on my team, David DeLong.  We were finishing up our run and ran past the baseball field.  David and I were busy talking about something and didn't hear the yells of "heads up" coming from the field. So I get pegged in the inside of my right thigh by this foul ball. It hit me so hard I fell to the ground screaming because of pain, but mostly of shock.  The ball hit hard. It would have been nice if it would of come through the air maybe a millisecond beforehand and hit the ground, but I am just glad it didn't hit bone, because it would've broken one of those pretty easily. I had a bruise for about a month that took up my entire thigh. It kind of ruined that week. It's funny to me now, but you could say that I am not exactly friends with that baseball player.   DIIR:What is the best piece of running advice anyone has ever given you?MB: The best advice always comes from my mom. She has driven to so many of my meets and always tells me to "have fun." She's been telling me that since 6th grade. It's a good reminder to simply run the race, enjoy it and not think too much beyond that.  Conference is less than two weeks away and marks the start of post-season racing.  This past weekend, many teams raced their last race of their regular season to test their strength and see if they can improve their weaknesses in time for the conference championships. This week, I have decided to structure the DII Review a little differently and I am taking a page out of David Williams’ book who writes the DI weekly round-up. I am going to take the top ten teams on both the men’s and women’s side based on the rankings the week before and see how they perform the weekend after. As usual, I like thoughtful critique, so suggestions are welcomed just leave a comment. Please tell me if this new format works for you. Men’s teams (Rankings as of October 7, 2009) 1.      (1)  Adams StateWeekend performance: Did not raceAnalysis: After a strong race two weekends ago, finishing third at the Cowboy Jamboree, Adams State is off until the RMAC championships. 2.      (2)  Western StateWeekend performance: Did not raceAnalysis: Western State finished fifth at the Cowboy Jamboree two weekends ago and will race again at the RMAC championships 3.      (4) Chico StateWeekend performance: Chico sent a team of their usual non-scorers to the San Francisco State Invitational. This team finished fourth overall with 108 points behind Alaska Anchorage (52), Western Oregon (56) and Humbolt State (58)Analysis:  Chico showed that they had depth by racing a five man squad. They showed plenty of strength winning the Williamette Invite two weekends ago. They will race again at CCAA championships. 4.      (3) Grand Valley StateWeekend performance:  Grand Valley(55 points) finished second at the Michigan Intercollegiates behind Michigan (32 points).  Analysis: Sophomore Tyler Emmorey had a very strong race finishing second and covering the 8k course in 25:09. Grand Valley is the favorite heading into GLIAC Championships were they will be racing next. 5.      (5) QueensWeekend performance:  Did not race this weekend. Analysis: At the Greater Louisville Classic, Queen’s showed that their ranking was not a fluke, placing seventh among some great competition. Queens' next race will be October 16th at Appalachian State University for the Blue Ridge Open 6.      (6) Abilene ChristianWeekend performance: Abilene Christian raced at their home meet-Results have yet to be postedAnalysis: 7.      (7) Colorado School of the MinesWeekend performance: The team finished first at the Fort Haynes Tiger Open with 21 points. Ben Zywicki finished second with the time of 24:18.45Analysis:  CSM have yet to lose a meet this year but this will most likely come to an end when they race at the RMAC championships against Western and Adams State. 8.      (8)  Western WashingtonWeekend performance: Western Washington won their home meet with 23 point at this low key meet. Jordan Welling won the 10k race in 31:41.Analysis:  Western Washington place well two weekends ago at the Sundodger Invite coming in second with 84 points and defeated Alaska Anchorage. They appear to be the favorites for GNAC Championships. 9.      (9)  StonehillWeekend performance: Stonehill (235 points) took 5th at the New England Championships. 12 ranked UMass-Lowell took the team title with 93 points that will surely move them up this week’s poll.Analysis: Stonehill had a very good performance at Pre-Nats earlier this season but seemed to have faltered this week against UMass-Lowell. Their next race will be at their conference championships. 10.  (11)  Southern IndianaWeekend performance: Southern Indiana took fourth place at the GLVC-MIAA challenge resting sixth of their top eight runners. Missouri Southern took the top spot with 53 points.Analysis: After two successful weeks of racing placing second at Pre Nationals and 11th at the Greater Louisville classic, Southern Indiana took this week to have their top runners fully rested for GLVC championships. Other Notes: Harding’s Daniel Kirwa won his home meet covering the 8k course in 26:24.17 with little competition.   Women’s team 1.      (3) Chico StateWeekend performance: Chico sent a team absent of their top ten runners to the San Francisco State Invitational. The Wildcats finished second with 81 points behind Alaska Anchorage who perfect scored to win the meet with 15 points.Analysis:  Chico was smart resting their top ten runners and only showed their depth by racing the rest of the squad. If they had race their top runners it surely would have been a closer race for the team title against Alaska Anchorage.    2.      (2) Grand Valley StateWeekend performance: Grand Valley took home a first-place finish at the Michigan Intercollegiates with 16 points.Analysis: Megan Maceranti won the individual title with a time of 17:58 over the 5k course. Grand Valley is looking to be a very strong squad though not racing anyone of any significance this past weekend. They will be racing next at the GLIAC championships. 3.      (7) Missouri Southern StateWeekend performance: Missouri Southern State placed first with 23 points at the GLVC-MIAA challenge over Southern Indiana (50 points) and Truman State (68 points). Senior Kimi Shank was second in 17:42.1 behind Southern Indiana’s Mary Ballenger (17:33.3) in the 5k race.Analysis: Missouri Southern keeps running well after placing 5th at the Cowboy Jamboree two weeks ago and place higher to Adams State. They will race next at the MIAA championships. 4.      (1) Adams StateWeekend performance: Did not raceAnalysis: They dropped out of the top spot last week after finishing sixth at the Cowboy Jamboree behind Missouri Southern State. Adams State’s next race will be the RMAC championships. 5.      (5) Alaska AnchorageWeekend performance: Alaska Anchorage perfect scored at the San Francisco State Invitational against a second string Chico State team.Analysis: Alaska Anchorage showed that they are ready to make a run for the GLIAC conference title but will have to compete against a full strength Chico State team. 6.      (4) ShippensburgWeekend performance: Did not race this week. Analysis: Their number one, Neely Spence won the Paul Short Invite last week but the team only finished 23rd.  They will compete next at the Gettysburg Invite. 7.      (8) Western WashingtonWeekend performance: They won the collegiate title with 39 points at their home meet. Sarah Porter won the 6k race in 21:10. Analysis: Earlier in the season, Western Washington defeated Seattle Pacific who placed 5th last year at DII Nationals at the Sundodger Invitational. 8.      (9) TampaWeekend performance: Tampa took third at the FSU Invite with 76 points behind Stephen F. Austin (40 points)  and Florida State “b” ( 50 points)Analysis: Tampa has not place lower then 3rd at any meet this season. They took top honors at Pre Nationals. They will next compete at the Sunshine Conference Championships. 9.      (10) Augustana (South Dakota)Weekend performance: Augustana placed second at the Central Pre-Regional meet behind University of Mary with 57 points.Analysis: Augustana has had a very solid season placing third at the Roy Griak Invitational and second at the Willamette Invitational. They will next compete at the NSIC championships. 10.  (15) Mesa State Weekend performance:  Did not compete as a team.Analysis: Mesa State has been silently rising through the ranks by taking first at Western State open and then coming in as the first non-DI team at the Rocky Mountain Shoot-out. They will compete next at the RMAC Championships. Other Notes: Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler and Jane Larson ran to a 1-2 finish at the San Francisco State Invitational. Pixler covered the 6k course in 20:36. Cara Hawkins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1464-dii-weekend-interview-with-mary-ballinger-review-oct9-oct10 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:21:00 -0500 Royal Victoria Marathon. By Christopher Kelsall [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1465-royal-victoria-marathon &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:0 2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Times;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;   &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:0 2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; © Copyright – Christopher Kelsall - 2009   Royal Victoria Marathon Course Record set in the Half Marathon            (Victoria, BC – Sunday October 11, 2009) Brilliant sunny skies and a windless morning greeted athletes taking in today’s 30th Annual Royal Victoria Marathon – a record for the event in its anniversary year.   A new course record of 1:15:39 was set in the Women’s Half Marathon by 41-year-old master, Marilyn Arsenault. Marilyn from Victoria, British Columbia is coached by 3 time Olympian Jon Brown – who also won the Men's Half Marathon in a time of 64:57.   Consecutive three-time Marathon winner Steve Osaduik finished second overall. Langley-based Osaduik – the course record holder from 2006 with a 2:16:49 had competition this year from Kenyan, Hillary Cheruiyot. Osaduik ran a strong second half, but wasn’t able to catch the eventual winner Cheruiyot, after running patiently and as far back as 5th position past the half-way point of the race. Cheruiyot won in 2:19:26. Osaduik’s time was 2:22:42, and third place went to Kenyan, Lameth Mosoti in 2:24:43. *See the video.   From the early stages of the marathon four Kenyans, strung out the field, running their individual races with 3rd place finisher Lameth Mosoti in the lead for most of the race. It was at the 20 mile mark where Cheruiyot, previously out of the picture, appeared and hunted Mosoti down within the following kilometre - coming from 30 seconds back to pass Mosoti over a 5-block-stretch. Cheruiyot then took the lead for good. The half-way splt for Lameth was 66:42 and 68:01 for Cheruiyot, Osaduik ran the first half in 70:43.   The much anticipated women’s marathon race was won by the 2008 winner Victoria’s Cheryl Murphy in 2:44:01. She put in a strong performance but couldn’t catch the 20-year course record of 2:42:32. Katherine Moore of Vancouver, also coached by Jon Brown took second, bettering her third place finish last year, in 2:47:29. Three-time Royal Victoria Marathon winner Suzanne Evans from New Westminster, British Columbia finished third in 2:48:20. Murphy also captured the Master's title, while Danny Gonzalez from Lake Oswego, Oregon, won the men’s Masters title in 2:33:45.   The Half Marathon saw Lucy Smith’s 2007 women’s course record broken by Victoria’s Marilyn Arsenault in a time of 1:15:39. The 41-year-old opera singer, who also won the Masters title, dominated the race coming in six minutes ahead of last year’s winner Lindsay McLaren from Calgary. McLaren finished in 1:21:59, and Vancouver’s Stephanie Hamilton came third in 1:22:06. For being the top Canadian and breaking the course record Arsenault was awarded a $1,000 bonus in addition to her first place award of $1,000.   It was a one-two-three win for Victoria’s athletes in the men’s race , after Brown, second was Jim Finlayson in 1:07:57, and third was Kristopher Swanson, yet another Brown-coached athlete in 1:09:11. Master men’s winner was Norm Tinkham in 1:11:53.  Brown owns the current half marathon course record with his 62:32.   In the 8K Road Race, Matt Clout, from Victoria came first in 24:52. Coached by Jon Brown, this was an excellent result for Clout who came third in the British Columbia, 5k Road Race Championships in June this year. University of Victoria varsity athlete Logan Burke finished second in 25:28, and Michael MacDiarmada from Dublin came third in 25:58.   The top Masters winner was Kevin McGinnis from Ravensdale, WA who finished in 27:04. Rachel Ruus from Richmond won the women’s race in 28:32, Amy Schneeberg from Vancouver was second in 28:55 and Meghan McCollum, also from Vancouver was third in 29:24. The women’s Masters was won by Nancy Tinari from Coquitlam, BC in 31:23.   For full results from the 30th Royal Victoria Marathon go to: http://www.raceheadquarters.com Photo Credit: Tony Awesome         Contact Chris: chriskelsall@flocasts.org   Christopher Kelsall http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1465-royal-victoria-marathon Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:00:00 -0500 Team USA Set For World Half Marathon Championships By USATF Press [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1462-team-usa-set-for-world-half-marathon-championships INDIANAPOLIS - 2008 Olympians Dathan Ritzenhein (Portland, Ore.) and Amy Yoder Begley (Portland, Ore.) will lead a strong U.S. contingent at the 18th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Sunday, in Birmingham, UK.    The men's team will also include recent USA 20 km champion Brett Gotcher (Flagstaff, Ariz.).  Ritzenhein and Gotcher will team with Andrew Carlson (Flagstaff, Ariz.); Scott Bauhs (Chico, Calif.), and James Carney (Boulder, Colo.).   Joining on the women's team withBegley will be Serena Burla (Baldwin, Mo.), Amy Hastings (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.),Elva Dryer (Gunnison, Colo.), and Heidi Westerling (Acworth, N.H.), who replaces Desiree Davila (Rochester Hills, Mich.).   The IAAF World Half Marathon Championships will air on Universalsports.com on Sunday at 4:00 a.m. ET. A total of 47 IAAF Member Federations are set to compete this coming weekend, the highest number since 2004.  A total of $245,000 will be offered in prize money, with $30,000 going to the individual champions and $15,000 to the respective men's and women's team champions.  The top finish for a U.S. team at this event came last year in Rio de Janeiro where the Team USA women finished fourth.  The best team finish for a U.S. men's team was sixth in both 2005 and 2006.   For more information on Team USA at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, visit www.usatf.org.   USATF Press http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1462-team-usa-set-for-world-half-marathon-championships Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:45:00 -0500 Four Days Left In The Jesse Owens Award Fan Vote By USATF Press [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1461-four-days-left-in-the-jesse-owens-award-fan-vote INDIANAPOLIS - There are only four days left for track and field fans to help select the 2009 Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year, presented by Nike. The honors going to the sport's top athletes of the year is selected by a vote of the media; this year, an online fan ballot will account for 10 percent of the vote.  Cast your vote by 3 p.m. Eastern Time on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13. BE SURE TO CHOOSE ONE MALE AND ONE FEMALE WINNER. Thousands have cast their vote thus far. The nominees for the 2009 Jesse Owens Awards are: Men - Christian Cantwell, Kerron Clement, Tyson Gay, Trey Hardee, Bernard Lagat, LaShawn Merritt and Dwight Phillips.  Women - Jenny Barringer, Allyson Felix, Carmelita Jeter, Brittney Reese and Sanya Richards. Be sure to go to http://www.usatf.org/promotions/JesseOwensAwardVote/index.asp and cast your vote! This year's awards will be presented December 5 at the Jesse Owens Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held in conjunction with USA Track & Field's 2009 Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, December 2-6.  The Jesse Owens Award was established in 1981 as a tribute to the man whose accomplishments are forever enshrined in sports history. It is USA Track & Field's highest accolade, and is presented annually to the individuals selected through a nominating and voting procedure as the outstanding American performers of the year in Athletics.  PRIZES:  Two lucky fans who participate in the voting will be chosen at random to receive the ultimate apparel gift package, including autographed gear. Four more fans chosen at random receive USA Track & Field/Nike merchandise. Read the official rules of the contest. For more information on the candidates and to vote for your favorite, visit http://www.usatf.org/promotions/JesseOwensAwardVote/index.asp.  USATF Press http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1461-four-days-left-in-the-jesse-owens-award-fan-vote Fri, 09 Oct 2009 23:45:00 -0500 Lara Crofford KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1456-lara-crofford-kwik-e  Nebraska junior Lara Crofford opened up her 2009 cross country season with a victory at the Nebraska Woody Greeno Invitational on September 19. Crofford placed 45th at last years NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, covering the 6,000-meter course in 20 minutes, 45.4 seconds. With another year of training under her belt and a quick outdoor season, we'll see how well Crofford and her Husker teammates can do this year. She provided her answers to Flotrack via email. How did you spend most of your time this summer?It was a relaxing summer for the most part. I spent the first couple weeks in Lincoln. I was going to take a summer course but didn’t after I was going to miss a whole week for nationals. Then I went back to Pennsylvania for the rest of it. We have llamas, goats, dogs, cats, rabbits, ducks, chickens, and turkeys. So, I spent a lot of my days helping out on our small farm. I also ran with friends from my club team in high school. It’s really nice having them so close by. I also worked at cross country camp for a week at Shippensburg University, which is about a fifteen minute drive from my house. That was a lot of fun! Can you explain how your running went this summer? Any fun, local races or anything like that? It was a really different summer with an increase in mileage. It got tiring at times, but you always know you are there for a reason. Overall, I ran base mileage with a couple of local races here and there. I did a five-miler, a couple 5ks and the Harrisburg Mile. The mile was a change of pace, especially for the middle of the summer, but it was fun running a fast race. After coming into the 2009 cross country season, how's your team shaping up and what are your team goals? We are really excited for this season. The team is shaping up very well. The workouts are going well. The conference is going to be tough this year. We finished third last year, so it would be great to equal or better that performance. We hope to be running well at Regionals, so we can make a repeat showing at NCAAs, and better our top-25 finish. It would be the first time in 10 years to make back-to-back trips for our school.What about your individual goals? Mainly just improving from year to year is a big goal. I hope to lead the team to another national appearance. I was really close to All-American last year, so getting that this year would be great. Also, I would like to finish high in the conference and region. I have also been trying to develop my speed. Who are some runners around the league that you like to "key" off of OR do you not do that sort of thing? The Big 12 has a lot of amazing runners. I don’t base my performance on any certain individuals, but there are many runners that I respect: Sally Kipyego, Lisa Koll and Jenny Barringer are all accomplished runners in the league, and I would hope to someday reach their level. How is the team chemistry at Nebraska? This year our team is closer than ever, in part because there are only nine of us. This makes it easier to do things together, so we are pretty tight-knit. Almost the whole team lives in this apartment complex just north of campus, so we spend a lot of time together outside of running as well. We also are very close with the guys’ team, so it’s more like one big team, rather than two separate. Do you frequent the football games and is it pretty wild?Yeah, I try to make it to all the home games on the weekends when I’m actually in Lincoln and not racing. The games are always wild. When it comes to football, there is no place like Nebraska! Just getting into the stadium takes a while. It’s amazing though, especially seeing the Sea of Red from the 80,000+ fans at every game. The last game was the 300th consecutive sellout!Why did you choose Nebraska in the first place, being from PA? It was a tough decision when it came to choosing a college. In the end it came down to Nebraska and Penn State. Ultimately, I wanted to expand my horizons and go somewhere a bit out of my comfort zone and away from home. After visiting, I loved everything Nebraska had to offer; the support, both academically and athletically, as well as the facilities, really impressed me. I also really liked the team. At the time when I visited I was really quiet, so it may not have seemed that way to them. But I’m always really quiet until I get to know people, then I’m a totally different person. Can you explain a typical week of training for you? Mileage/Workouts and such? We usually run on a two-week cycle, generally with two workouts a week; one is usually interval-based, and the other a lactate threshold workout. We have a medium-long run in the middle of the week, and a long run on the weekends. The rest of the days are easy runs which include drills and some core work. On the weeks that we have meets, we only do one workout and have our long run on Sunday. My typical weekly mileage ranges from 70-75 miles/week. I also lift twice a week. What's the hardest workout you've ever done? I’ve had many tough workouts over the years, but if I would have to choose just one it would be one from this season. It was a four by mile workout. On paper it didn’t look so bad, but the conditions and location proved otherwise. We were dropped off on gravel roads for the warmup. When we reached the vans where coach was, there was a long stretch of hilly, muddy roads (it had just rained prior to the workout by the way). We ran our repeats on this road back and forth, slipping and sliding the entire time, all while climbing up hills with shoes completely caked with mud. If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? It would definitely have to be something my mom makes. She’s a really good cook. Two of my favorite things she makes are chicken stir-fry and a curry dish, both over brown rice. Can you give me a crazy running-related story? My craziest running-related story happened to me in high school actually. It was a home cross country meet. The course was between the middle school and high school. I was a mile into the 5k race and I was running down this hill towards the middle school. During this part of the race, I had to cross a stretch of road that exits the middle school. There was a car stopped at an intersection watching the runners go by. Right as I was crossing the road, the lady parked at the intersection decides to pull out right as I am running by. She hits me, I land on the hood, and do a little flip. It took me about a minute to realize what happened. I decide to keep running, and it was slightly painful for the next five minutes, but then I just forgot about it. I ended up winning the race and setting the course record. Afterwards, I couldn’t run for a couple days, but needless to say, they have crossing guards now.   Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1456-lara-crofford-kwik-e Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:00:00 -0500 NCAA D1 Women's Weekly Roundup Week 2 By David Williams [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1458-ncaa-d1-womens-weekly-roundup-week-2  1. (-) Washington   Weekend Performance- Washington picked up right where they left off in 2008. The Huskies dominated the Notre Dame Invitational this weekend by taking spots 1-4 overall while finishing with an impressive 33 points.   Analysis- Expect Washington to stay ranked #1 throughout the season unless there is a major shake up at Pre-Nationals or West Regionals. Washington is clearly the team to beat in the NCAA right now.   2. (5) Villanova   Weekend Performance- There was no indication of jet lag for the women of Villanova as they dominated the field out west at Dellinger on Friday. The Wildcats had all five scorers in the top ten. Nova’s dominance was evident in the fact that even their 6th runner who was 20th could’ve replaced their 5th and still won.   Analysis- If Villanova continues to run this well they are going to be a force to reckon with at Nationals. The Wildcat’s will be hungry for a podium spot in ’09.   3. (4) West Virginia   Weekend Performance- The Mountaineers easily won the Paul Short Invitational on Saturday.   Analysis- West Virginia moved up in the rankings due to the fact that Oregon dropped down, otherwise they would most likely stay at #3 due to a lack of ranked teams at Paul Short.   4. (2) Oregon   Weekend Performance- Oregon struggled this weekend at their home Invite placing second behind Villanova. It wasn’t a terrible day for the Ducks who scored 41 points, but Villanova put five runners in the top ten. Nicole Blood had a rare off day finishing 15th, but freshman Jordan Hasay looked good in her college debut placing 6th.   Analysis- Oregon shouldn’t be too worried this early in the season. I’m sure they will still finish in the top 3 at NCAA’s, and this defeat may just give them some more motivation.   5. (6) Princeton   Weekend Performance- Princeton also had an impressive showing at the Notre Dame Invitational.  The Tigers placed 2nd overall and joined Washington as the only other team to score under 100 points (68). Junior Liz Costello led the team with a 5th place finish.   Analysis- The Mid-Atlantic region looks tough this year on the women’s side with 3 teams ranked in the top 5 nationally. Princeton looks like they are ready to battle for the #1 spot in that region with West Virginia and Villanova.   6. (7) Stanford            Weekend Performance- Did not race.               Analysis- Stanford’s next meet will be Pre-Nationals on the 17th.   7. (8) Iowa State            Weekend Performance- Did not race.               Analysis- Iowa State’s next meet will be Pre-Nationals on the 17th.   8. (9) Minnesota            Weekend Performance- Did not race               Analysis- Minnesota will race next at Pre-Nationals on the 17th.   9. (15) Florida   Weekend Performance- The Gators made a huge jump in the rankings by finishing 3rd at Notre Dame. Juniors Stacey Johnson and Charlotte Browning led the charge by finishing 6th and 9th.   Analysis- It looks like Florida is the top team in the South as of this week due to Florida State’s disappointing 7th place finish.   10. (19) Virginia   Weekend Performance- Virginia moved up nine spots after a thrilling one point victory over (11) Georgetown at The George Mason invitational on Saturday.               Analysis- UVA and Duke look like the class of the Southeast region this year.              David Williams http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1458-ncaa-d1-womens-weekly-roundup-week-2 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:08:00 -0500 NCAA DI Men's Weekly Roundup Week 2 By David Williams [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1452-ncaa-di-mens-weekly-roundup-week-2 Well another weekend of races has concluded, which resulted in a lot of movement in this week's rankings. Most of the top teams last weekend either ran at Dellinger, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, or Paul Short. It wasn't a good weekend for Oklahoma State or Oregon, but teams like Washington, BYU, and Alabama made big jumps. Let's get on with the rankings!  1.   (3) Stanford   Weekend Performance- Did not race.   Analysis- Clearly the voters liked what they saw two weeks ago at the Stanford Invitational. However, Stanford hasn’t really beaten anyone of significant importance yet unless you include an unranked Cal ‘B’ team. Stanford is a great team and I’m sure will be one of the top teams at NCAA’s this year, but I think a team should have to earn a #1 ranking.   2.   (5) Northern Arizona   Weekend Performance- NAU was perhaps the most underrated team coming into NCAA’s this year. Sure they are a consistent top-10 team, but other than David McNeill and Diego Estrada, it is easy to overlook NAU. The Lumberjacks dispelled all of those myths this weekend by winning the Oklahoma State Jamboree without #1 runner David McNeill. NAU’s top finisher was actually junior college transfer Jordan Chipangama who won the race in 23:44.   Analysis- I believe NAU deserved to be ranked #1 this week after beating then #2 Ok. State, William & Mary, and DII Adams State. NAU had to work for this ranking, and despite not having their top runner showed up big time at the Jamboree. With the addition of Chipangama, NAU looks to be an early podium pick at NCAA’s.   3.   (9) Alabama   Weekend Performance- The Crimson Tide sure put on a show out west Friday at the Dellinger Invitational. The Tide finished 1-2 in route to an 18-point victory over #1 Oregon. Alabama sat out their #2 runner Emmanuel Bor but still easily handled the Ducks.   Analysis- Alabama looks good early on and proved they can compete with the best of the best. However, I’m not completely sold on Alabama. They finished 10th last year after going into NCAA’s ranked #5 so I would like to see if they can keep it up for another month. It will be interesting to see how they do against another quality field at Pre Nationals in two weeks.   4.   (6) Colorado   Weekend Performance- The Buffaloes, lead by senior Kenyon Neuman, easily won the Rocky Mountain Shootout on Saturday.   Analysis- I am assuming Colorado moved up in the rankings this week just because Oregon and Oklahoma State moved down. I figured Oregon or BYU would be in this spot. CU ran well on Saturday, but what team wouldn’t when you’re racing Wyoming, Northern Colorado, and Air Force?   4.   (2) Oklahoma State   Weekend Performance- The Cowboys had a rough showing at their home meet Saturday, losing to NAU, William & Mary, and DII Adams State. Coach Dave smith apparently thought the Cowboys would easily win the meet even without their top two, Vail and Fernandez.   Analysis- Sure this isn’t where Oklahoma State wanted to be in the rankings, but 7 weeks from now when it really matters, they’ll be fine. Assuming Vail and Fernandez finished anywhere in the top 10, the Cowboys would have easily won the Jamboree. I’m sure it was a better idea to rest those guys at this point in the season.   6.  (12) BYU   Weekend Performance- The Cougars ran very well at the Dellinger Invitational while taking down Oregon and Portland for a second place finish. Sophomore Miles Batty looked strong finishing third overall as BYU’s 2-5 runners were split up by only 11 seconds.   Analysis- BYU was able to jump six spots in the rankings after this weekend. It seemed as though they were at full strength, but this team looks like it has a lot of upside as three of the top five runners were sophomores. The Cougars should easily breeze through the Mountain Region en route to nationals, so they don’t have much to prove at Pre-Nationals.   7.  (1) Oregon   Weekend Performance- The Ducks had a chance to win their third straight Dellinger Invitational on Friday but fell short losing to Alabama, BYU, and beating Portland by just two points. Oregon had a rare off day as Luke Puskedra faded over the last mile to finish in 11th, while A.J. Acosta and Diego Mercado were 23rd and 25th.   Analysis- With the loss of Galen Rupp and Shadrack Kiptoo, some drop off for the Ducks was expected this year, but no one would have called them getting third at Dellinger. Although the Ducks look vulnerable right now, they shouldn’t be counted out. They’re such a deep and talented team that’s always ready to roll once nationals comes around. That being said, we may see Oregon at the Pre-Nationals this year just to pick up some points for insurance purposes.   8.  (-) Portland   Weekend Performance- The Portland Pilots finished in a heartbreaking fourth place at Dellinger just two points behind Oregon. Although the Pilots lost to their neighbors to the south, the performance was quite good considering the circumstances. All American Alfred Kipchumba lead the race early on, only to fall twice in the final mile, which dropped him back to 6th. Portland’s two other returners from NCAA’s last year also didn’t have great races, Tommy Betterbed (20th) and Matt Frerker (51st). Luckily the true freshman Joash Osoro (9th) and Trevor Dunbar (10th) ran great well.   Analysis- The Pilots should be pleased with where they’re at right now. Kipchumba is one of the top returners in the country this year, while Betterbed and Frerker are both reliable when nationals roll around. If Osoro and Dunbar continue to improve, Portland may see their best ever finish in school history this year.   9.  (13)William & Mary   Weekend Performance- Tiny but mighty William & Mary shocked a lot of people this week with their great run at the Jamboree. The Tribe had five runners in the top 20 and only lost to NAU by 7 points 52-59.   Analysis- William & Mary, like BYU shouldn’t have much trouble at regionals except with UVA or NC State, so expect them to run well at Pre-Nationals, but other than that they will be resting up for the Big Dance.   10. (-) Georgetown   Weekend Performance- Andrew Bumbalough lead the Hoyas to a 2nd place finish at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational Saturday. Georgetown finished behind Big East rival Syracuse.   Analysis- Georgetown as probably thrilled with beating Wisconsin on their home course but not too pleased with losing to Syracuse. The Hoyas will be at Penn State instead of Pre-Nationals so they are unlikely to race against the top teams again until regionals.   Notes- Teams are listed in accordance with their rankings ccording to the USATFCCA Poll. The number directly to the left of the team is the previous week's ranking for that team. I did not include "Next Weekend" section because most of these teams will rest this week.            David Williams http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1452-ncaa-di-mens-weekly-roundup-week-2 Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:31:00 -0500 2009 Kolas Calculator, Installment 1 Of 4 - MEN By Ryan From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1450-2009-kolas-calculator-installment-1-of-4-men Nationals Qualifiers by Round QUALIFIER #1 is PROVIDENCE (#1 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is GEORGETOWN (#1 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is WILLIAM AND MARY (#1 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is WISONSIN (#1 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is OK STATE (#1 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is ARKANSAS (#1 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is NORTHERN ARIZONA (#1 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is STANFORD (#1 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is ALABAMA (#1 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is SYRACUSE (#2 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is VILLANOVA (#2 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is VIRGINIA (#2 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is INDIANA (#2 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is IOWA STATE (#2 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is TEXAS AM (#2 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is COLORADO (#2 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is OREGON (#2 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is FLORIDA STATE (#2 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #19 is BYU (#3 Mtn) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: OREGON (BILL DELLINGER) VILLANOVA (BILL DELLINGER) QUALIFIER #19 is PORTLAND (#3 West) (*Pushed in by WASHINGTON) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: VILLANOVA (BILL DELLINGER) QUALIFIER #19 is WASHINGTON (#4 West) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #22 is NEW MEXICO (#4 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins) *NEW MEXICO wins head-to-head against BUTLER *NEW MEXICO wins head-to-head against ARIZONA STATE Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #23 is BUTLER (#3 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 1 wins) *BUTLER wins head-to-head against ARIZONA STATE Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #24 is ARIZONA STATE (#5 West) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #25 is IONA (#3 NE) (Entered on 0 wins) *IONA wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *IONA wins head-to-head against PRINCETON *IONA wins head-to-head against NAVY *IONA wins head-to-head against NC STATE *IONA wins head-to-head against DUKE *IONA wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *IONA wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *IONA wins head-to-head against TULSA *IONA wins head-to-head against LAMAR *IONA wins head-to-head against TEXAS *IONA wins head-to-head against UTEP *IONA wins head-to-head against COLORADO STATE *IONA wins head-to-head against TENNESSEE *IONA wins head-to-head against SOUTH ALABAMA Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #25 is TULSA (#3 Mid-W) (*Pushed in by OKLAHOMA) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #25 is OKLAHOMA (#4 Mid-W) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #25 is CAL POLY (#6 West) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #29 is NC STATE (#3 SE) (Entered on 0 wins) *NC STATE wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *NC STATE wins head-to-head against DARTMOUTH *NC STATE wins head-to-head against PRINCETON *NC STATE wins head-to-head against NAVY *NC STATE wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *NC STATE wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *NC STATE wins head-to-head against MINNESOTA *NC STATE wins head-to-head against LAMAR *NC STATE wins head-to-head against TEXAS *NC STATE wins head-to-head against UTEP *NC STATE wins head-to-head against COLORADO STATE *NC STATE wins head-to-head against UCLA *NC STATE wins head-to-head against TENNESSEE *NC STATE wins head-to-head against SOUTH ALABAMA Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #30 is DUKE (#4 SE) (Entered on 0 wins) *DUKE wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *DUKE wins head-to-head against DARTMOUTH *DUKE wins head-to-head against PRINCETON *DUKE wins head-to-head against NAVY *DUKE wins head-to-head against VIRGINIA TECH *DUKE wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *DUKE wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *DUKE wins head-to-head against MINNESOTA *DUKE wins head-to-head against LAMAR *DUKE wins head-to-head against TEXAS *DUKE wins head-to-head against UTEP *DUKE wins head-to-head against COLORADO STATE *DUKE wins head-to-head against UCLA *DUKE wins head-to-head against TENNESSEE *DUKE wins head-to-head against SOUTH ALABAMA Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #31 is PRINCETON (#3 Md-At) (Entered on 0 wins) *PRINCETON wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *PRINCETON wins head-to-head against VIRGINIA TECH *PRINCETON wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *PRINCETON wins head-to-head against MINNESOTA *PRINCETON wins head-to-head against UTEP *PRINCETON wins head-to-head against UCLA *PRINCETON wins head-to-head against TENNESSEE Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #31 is LAMAR (#3 S-Cen) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #33 is NAVY (#4 Md-At) (Entered on 0 wins) *NAVY wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *NAVY wins head-to-head against DARTMOUTH *NAVY wins head-to-head against LA SALLE *NAVY wins head-to-head against VIRGINIA TECH *NAVY wins head-to-head against LOUISVILLE *NAVY wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *NAVY wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *NAVY wins head-to-head against MINNESOTA *NAVY wins head-to-head against TEXAS *NAVY wins head-to-head against STEPHEN F AUSTIN *NAVY wins head-to-head against UTEP *NAVY wins head-to-head against COLORADO STATE *NAVY wins head-to-head against UCLA *NAVY wins head-to-head against TENNESSEE *NAVY wins head-to-head against SOUTH ALABAMA Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #34 is MINNESOTA (#5 Mid-W) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #35 is SOUTHERN ILLIONIS (#6 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: PRINCETON (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #36 is IOWA (#7 Mid-W) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: TEXAS AM (WISCONSIN INVITE) LAMAR (WISCONSIN INVITE) QUALIFIER #37 is ILLIONIS (#8 Mid-W) (Entered on 2 wins) Wins against qualified listed: TEXAS AM (WISCONSIN INVITE) LAMAR (WISCONSIN INVITE) QUALIFIER #38 is COLUMBIA (#4 NE) (*Pushed in by DARTMOUTH) (Entered on 0 wins) *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against COLUMBIA *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against LA SALLE *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against ST JOES *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against VIRGINIA TECH *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against LOUISVILLE *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against KANSAS *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against TEXAS *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against STEPHEN F AUSTIN *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against UTEP *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against COLORADO STATE *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against UCLA *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against TENNESSEE *COLUMBIA wins head-to-head against SOUTH ALABAMA Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #38 is DARTMOUTH (#5 NE) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #40 is LA SALLE (#5 Md-At) (Entered on 0 wins) *LA SALLE wins head-to-head against HARVARD *LA SALLE wins head-to-head against ST JOES *LA SALLE wins head-to-head against VIRGINIA TECH *LA SALLE wins head-to-head against MICHIGAN *LA SALLE wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *LA SALLE wins head-to-head against TEXAS *LA SALLE wins head-to-head against STEPHEN F AUSTIN *LA SALLE wins head-to-head against COLORADO STATE *LA SALLE wins head-to-head against UCLA *LA SALLE wins head-to-head against TENNESSEE *LA SALLE wins head-to-head against SOUTH ALABAMA Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #40 is VIRGINIA TECH (#5 SE) (*Pushed in by LOUISVILLE) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #40 is LOUISVILLE (#6 SE) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #40 is KANSAS (#9 Mid-W) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #40 is UTEP (#5 Mtn) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #45 is COLORADO STATE (#6 Mtn) (*Pushed in by UTAH STATE) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #45 is UTAH STATE (#7 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: PRINCETON (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #47 is AIR FORCE (#8 Mtn) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #48 is MICHIGAN (#4 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 0 wins) *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against HARVARD *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against ST JOES *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against PENN STATE *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against RICHMOND *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against NEBRASKA *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against TEXAS *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against STEPHEN F AUSTIN *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against MONTANA STATE *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against TENNESSEE *MICHIGAN wins head-to-head against SOUTH ALABAMA Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #48 is UCLA (#7 West) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #50 is OHIO STATE (#5 Gr-Lk) (*Pushed in by MICHIGAN STATE) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #50 is MICHIGAN STATE (#6 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS Ryan From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1450-2009-kolas-calculator-installment-1-of-4-men Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:46:00 -0500 2009 Kolas Calculator, Installment 1 Of 4 - WOMEN By Ryan From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1449-2009-kolas-calculator-installment-1-of-4-women Nationals Qualifiers by Round QUALIFIER #1 is SYRACUSE (#1 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is VILLANOVA (#1 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is VIRGINIA (#1 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is MICHIGAN (#1 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is IOWA STATE (#1 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is BAYLOR (#1 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is TEXAS TECH (#1 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is WASHINGTON (#1 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is FLORIDA STATE (#1 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is PROVIDENCE (#2 NE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is WEST VIRGINIA (#2 Md-At) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is DUKE (#2 SE) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is MICHIGAN STATE (#2 Gr-Lk) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is MINNESOTA (#2 Mid-W) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is SOUTHERN METHODIST (#2 S-Cen) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is COLORADO (#2 Mtn) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is OREGON (#2 West) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #1 is FLORIDA (#2 South) (PLACED TOP 2 AT REGIONALS) QUALIFIER #19 is GEORGETOWN (#3 Md-At) (*Pushed in by PRINCETON) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #19 is PRINCETON (#4 Md-At) (Entered on 4 wins) Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA (NOTRE DAME INVITE) FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) SOUTHERN METHODIST (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #21 is PENN STATE (#5 Md-At) (Entered on 3 wins) *PENN STATE wins head-to-head against ARIZONA STATE Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) SOUTHERN METHODIST (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #22 is STANFORD (#3 West) (*Pushed in by ARIZONA STATE) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #22 is ARIZONA STATE (#4 West) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) SOUTHERN METHODIST (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #24 is ILLIONIS (#3 Mid-W) (Entered on 1 wins) *ILLIONIS wins head-to-head against BYU Wins against qualified listed: MICHIGAN (WISCONSIN INVITE) QUALIFIER #25 is BYU (#3 Mtn) (Entered on 1 wins) Wins against qualified listed: MICHIGAN (WISCONSIN INVITE) QUALIFIER #26 is NORTHERN ARIZONA (#4 Mtn) (*Pushed in by NEW MEXICO) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #26 is NEW MEXICO (#5 Mtn) (Entered on 3 wins) Wins against qualified listed: FLORIDA STATE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) SOUTHERN METHODIST (NOTRE DAME INVITE) PROVIDENCE (NOTRE DAME INVITE) QUALIFIER #28 is NORTE DAME (#3 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 0 wins) *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against BOSTON COLLEGE *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against STONY BROOK *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against PENN *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against NC STATE *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against NORTH CAROLINA *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against TOLEDO *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against KANSAS *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against ARKANSAS *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against TEXAS *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against UTEP *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against ARIZONA *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against ALABAMA *NORTE DAME wins head-to-head against AUBURN Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #28 is IOWA (#4 Mid-W) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #30 is TOLEDO (#4 Gr-Lk) (*Pushed in by INDIANA) (Entered on 0 wins) *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against BOSTON COLLEGE *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against STONY BROOK *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against PENN *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against NC STATE *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against NORTH CAROLINA *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against TOLEDO *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against KANSAS *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against NEBRASKA *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against TEXAS *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against UTEP *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against ARIZONA *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against ALABAMA *TOLEDO wins head-to-head against AUBURN Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #30 is INDIANA (#5 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #30 is ARKANSAS (#3 S-Cen) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #33 is ARIZONA (#5 West) (Entered on 0 wins) *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against BOSTON COLLEGE *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against STONY BROOK *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against PENN *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against NC STATE *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against NORTH CAROLINA *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against KANSAS *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against NEBRASKA *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against TEXAS *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against RICE *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against UTEP *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against ALABAMA *ARIZONA wins head-to-head against AUBURN Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #34 is NC STATE (#3 SE) (*Pushed in by NORTH CAROLINA) (Entered on 0 wins) *NC STATE wins head-to-head against BOSTON COLLEGE *NC STATE wins head-to-head against STONY BROOK *NC STATE wins head-to-head against PENN *NC STATE wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *NC STATE wins head-to-head against TEXAS *NC STATE wins head-to-head against RICE *NC STATE wins head-to-head against UTEP *NC STATE wins head-to-head against CALIFORNIA *NC STATE wins head-to-head against ALABAMA *NC STATE wins head-to-head against AUBURN Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #34 is NORTH CAROLINA (#4 SE) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #34 is KANSAS (#5 Mid-W) (*Pushed in by NEBRASKA) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #34 is NEBRASKA (#6 Mid-W) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #38 is WILLIAM AND MARY (#5 SE) (Entered on 0 wins) *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against BOSTON COLLEGE *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against STONY BROOK *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against PENN *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against OHIO STATE *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against KANSAS STATE *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against TEXAS *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against RICE *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against UTEP *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against CALIFORNIA *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against ALABAMA *WILLIAM AND MARY wins head-to-head against AUBURN Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is BOSTON COLLEGE (#3 NE) (*Pushed in by STONY BROOK) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is STONY BROOK (#4 NE) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is PENN (#6 Md-At) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is KENTUCKY (#6 SE) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is OHIO STATE (#6 Gr-Lk) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is KANSAS STATE (#7 Mid-W) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is TEXAS (#4 S-Cen) (*Pushed in by RICE) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is RICE (#5 S-Cen) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is UTEP (#6 Mtn) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is CALIFORNIA (#6 West) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is ALABAMA (#3 South) (*Pushed in by AUBURN) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS QUALIFIER #39 is AUBURN (#4 South) (Entered on 0 wins) Wins against qualified listed: NO WINS Ryan From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1449-2009-kolas-calculator-installment-1-of-4-women Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:35:00 -0500 DII Weekend Review Oct.2-Oct.4 By Cara Hawkins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1446-dii-weekend-review-oct2-oct4 Only three or so weeks remain till conference championships and this weekend many teams tested themselves against some quality DI competition. As usual, I have done my best to review some of the better races on both the men’s and women’s side but if I have missed anything let me know. If you have any ideas for future columns, people to interview etc., let me know. Brooks-Paul Short Run- Shippensburg’s Neely Spence won the gold race covering the 6k in 19:58. The team finished 23rd overall with 581 points. Meanwhile, in the brown race it was Edinboro’s Tina Yi who took top honors winning the race in 21:05. Kutztown’s Kristin Cupido was 5th in 21:38. Kutztown University took the team title with 111 points. Bloomsburg was second with 215 points. In the men's gold race there was numerous DII runners under 25:00 including; Edinboro's Ben Hahn (24:35) and Scott Anderson (24:54), Shippensburgs' Stephen Schelander (24:51) and Sean Stetler (24:56), Lockhaven's Nick Hilton (24:28) and Brandon Pomerantz (24:51), and Plattsburg's Mike Heymann (24:12). In the men’s brown race Bloomsburg’s Bobby Furman was fifth over the 8k course in 25:16. Wayne State won the team competition with 184 points followed by Adelphi (190). Colorado Rocky Mountain Shoot-out- Mesa State’s Alexis Skarda was eighth overall in the women’s 5.8k race clocking a time of 21:43. Metro State’s Danielle Kehoe was 12th in 21:59. Mesa State won the Non-Division 1 team competition with 33 points followed by Metro State (62) and Black Hills State (79). Metro State’s Brandon Johnson was the first DII finisher coming in 16th with a time of 26:30 over the 8k course. Metro was second in the Non-Division 1 competition with 37 points. Greater Louisville Cross Country Classic- Queens decided to test their legs against the DI competition. Crouch was able to finish fourth overall clocking a 23:55.14 over the 8k course. Two other DII runners broke the top 20; Queen's Oscar Ogwaro (24:27) and  Northern Kentucky's Drew Harris (24:34). Queen's finished seventh overall with 260 points. Southern Indiana was llth with 345 points. In the women's race, Southern Indiana's Mary Ballinger finished 14th overall in 17:45.80 over the 5k course. She was the only DII runner to break the top 20. Her team finished 10th with 295 points. Notre Dame Cross Country Invite- Grand Valley’s Megan Maceratini was second overall in the gold race covering the 5k course in 17:40. Grand Valley took the team title with 48 points. In the men’s gold race, Grand Valley’s Tyler Emmorey was third over the 8k course in 24:44.  The team finished second overall with 52 points. OSU Cowboy Jamboree- Adams State’s Vanessa Roy was fifth overall in 17:34.10 over the 5k course. Missouri Southern’s Kimi Shank was 13th in 17:47.80. Missouri Southern finished fifth overall in the team competition with 141 points. They were followed closely in sixth by Adams State with 147 points. Western State was 13th with 361 points. Adams State’s Brian Medigovich finished second overall in 23:51.70 over the 8k course. His teammate Aaron Braun was sixth in 23:59.00. Western State put two in the top 15 with Iain Donnan was 11th in 24:17.50 and Tyler Pennel was 15th in 24:26.90. Adams State was third overall with 69 points and Western State was fifth with 126 points. Missouri Southern was solid tenth with 317 points. Willamette University Invitational- Chico State’s Kara Lubieniecki was second overall with a time of 17:47.90 and was followed closely by teammates Alia Gray (17:47.97) and Tori Tyler (17:49.39).  Chico took the team title with 43 points followed by Augustana (S.D) with 114 points.  On the men’s side, Chico’s Michael Wickman won the race covering the 8k course in 24:08.06 followed by teammate Jimmy Elam (24:12.46). Chico won the team competition with 45 points. Cara Hawkins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1446-dii-weekend-review-oct2-oct4 Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:03:00 -0500 Lindsey Ferguson KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1437-lindsey-ferguson-kwik-e  Notre Dame senior Lindsey Ferguson opened up her final cross country season with a win at the National Catholic Championships, covering the 5,000-meter course in 17 minutes, 33.1 seconds for her second straight title. The former high school national record holder in the 2,000-meter steeplechase is looking to go out in style while hopefully leading the Fighting Irish to the NCAA National Championships this year. After opening up with a win this year, have you set your ultimate individual goals for this season? Yes. I guess individually, I'd like to do well, obviously at Big East and Regionals. My big goal is for our team to make it to nationals and for me to get All-American. That would be awesome. How did you spend your time this past summer? Did you have a job or anything? I did. We have this thing called a "Summer Service Learning Program". It's through Notre Dame and you get to pick where you want to go. They set you up with alumni and you (interview interrupted by my barking dog, Maddy)...do some type of service, wherever you are for eight weeks. I chose to go to Denver, Colorado. I got to work with children who were in the impoverished areas in Denver. I'd do reading with them and help them with technology and all that sort of stuff. It was really cool. Plus I got to train at altitude. It was a pretty cool summer. What kind of mileage would you hit at altitude? I was doing in the 70s. How much different was it for you to run your miles at altitude? It was different. The first couple of weeks where I was building up my miles, that was kind of tough. I've never been up that high before. It was weird. Running just felt a lot different. It wasn't anything like hard, it just felt different. The last week coming back to New York, I felt like I was flying. The only bad thing about going back to New York was that it was so humid. I felt good, but I felt so hot and humid. Miserable conditions. Did you run by yourself or did you have people who would run with you? I did run by myself...all alone in Denver. That was kind of the down part of it. We have a team email and are always talking with our teammates and encouraging and motivating, so that was helpful. Does Notre Dame have a lot of team bonding stuff? Dinner and all that? We all eat dinner at the dining hall...every night with the guys team. Tuesdays we have, “Team Tuesdays” and we make sure everyone attends. Sometimes on the weekends, we have a brunch after a hard, long run. We have it at our house—because I live off campus. Me and my roommate Molly, who's also a senior, we had all the girls come over and we made omelets and French toast and muffins and everything. We have really good team unity. Can you explain a typical week of training for you? Yeah. I'm keeping my miles at 65-70. Usually Mondays are regular runs, just going out for about 60 minutes, then strides and drills. Tuesday is usually a workout. I'll shake out in the morning and I think we usually do some sort of fartlek, sometimes a fartlek where there are some hills. Sometimes we do it on the flat stuff. Wednesday is our recovery day. We don't have practice that day. Some people swim. I run because I come from a high school program where I'm used to running seven days a week. I do another hour run...but it's more relaxed. Thursday is another regular run. Friday is usually some sort of interval workout, like mile repeats or "ks" or eights or something like that. Saturday is another recovery run and Sunday is our long run which is usually another hard day. We usually have to drive to go find hills...which is hard, because Indiana doesn't really have hills. We don't have too many hills around here. You said you're use to running seven days a week. How often do you take days off? I don't take many days off. In the season, it's usually close to none. There are obviously days where I'll have a ton of miles and my legs feel like...dead. My coach will tell me to go in the pool and I'll do just that. In high school, even between seasons, my coaches were against taking time off. I was used to just...running. Taking time off, I don't usually do that. You were part of the what's considered to be the greatest high school distance team ever, Saratoga Springs, how was the transition to a different program at Notre Dame? High school was like...we'd dominate wherever we went. But then my freshman year, we had a pretty good team, with some pretty good girls, but we didn't even make it to Nationals. That was kind of a tough transition because I was used to going to all the big meets and running there. It was one of those things where I had to focus more on motivating myself in other ways, I guess. It's also a lot different, because in high school, I was always way in the front at most of my meets. Then you get to college and everyone was the top of their high schools and way in the front. You have to adjust to the new competition. It's kind of rough and tough on your confidence, but now that I'm a senior and have been able to get all the experience in and been able to help teammates who are freshman and going through tough times like that who come from really good programs but struggle a little bit at first. I feel I'm more knowledgeable about that. What about the differences of coaching styles? Were the Kraniks, from Saratoga, a lot different from the coaches you have now? Not so much with training. We always did a lot of intervals of "ks" and miles and stuff like that. With the coaching style, it was just different. In high school you have those girls on the team who are just there for social reasons. They were always pushing us and pushing us. We never went out and did runs, we would always do two-mile loops that were timed and in college...it's more of you motivating yourself. I kind of like that. It's not like people pushing you and pushing you and you're like, “well, maybe I don't want to do that.” It was a different transition, but it was easy. There wasn't like anything hard. Well, workouts were harder in college, but there's wasn't anything that was completely different or anything like that. You were the national record holder in the 2,000 steeplechase in high school and still run a lot of steeplechase races. Do you considered yourself a pure steeplechaser? Umm, I don't know. (Laughs) I have a love/hate relationship with the steeplechase. Obviously, high school was really awesome, being able to have a national record. In college it was a bit different, again with the competition. I was used to running a steeple and having no one around me ever. It was just me running. That was a lot easier. No one in your way, you don't have to stutter step to a barrier, you can just run fast and go over everything. I moved to the 3k steeple and that was bit harder mentally...knowing that I had to go another “k” and having all of that competition. I've also had some great times falling in the steeple. (Laughs) At Regionals my sophomore year, I completely fell on the last water jump and that was kind of awful. Then right before Big Easts this past season, I was practicing and stepped funny on the barrier and rammed my shin into the barrier and I probably should have gotten stitches because I have the grossest scar right now. Big Easts were in like two days and I thought, “whatever, I'll be fine!” I had the trainers look at it and it was just bulging out. It looked like you could see my bone because it was just white. I was freaking out. They bandaged it up and I took a day off and ran at Big Easts. It didn't go as well as I wanted it to. I wouldn't say I'm just a steepler. (Laughs) If I'm not mistaken, there's an AWESOME picture of your fall at Regionals. Are you a fan of that picture or do you hate looking at it? I remember falling into the water and getting up and running and thinking that it was awful. Even my teammates after the race didn't know how to react. I'm the type of person who can just shake it off and laugh about it. Obviously there's nothing you can do...it happened. Then I saw the pictures and was like, “Oh, my God! That is hilarious!” I don't even know how I did that...how it was possible, but they're funny. It's one of those bad-ass events where stuff like that happens and that's what makes it cool. Yeah, I would much rather run a steeplechase than running a 5k around a track. It really mixes it up and makes it more of a challenge. What do you do when you get free time? We really don't get that much free time. Well, there are football games here on the weekends. That's always fun in the Fall. I definitely take tons of naps. I'm usually just hanging out or going shopping sometimes. South Bend is not the type of place where you'll just hang out. On campus there's always something to do. I usually just spend my time around there. If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? That's a tough one. It would probably be by my mom. She makes really good salmon. It would be salmon, brown rice and a sweet potato. Can you explain the “almost getting abducted after track practice” story that happened to you in high school? It was on Halloween and it was right after practice. It was dark, around 6 o'clock. The sun had set and I was walking out to my car with my two teammates. We were obviously discussing what we were going to do for Halloween and we parted our ways. I was walking to my car. There was another car that was parked kind of close to it. I saw someone in it and thought, “oh, it must be someone's dad.” I was putting my bag into my car and I hear the van door slide open. I'm thinking, “oh, they're probably trying to go get their kid.” I scooted a little closer to my car so they could get around me and all of a sudden, he grabbed me and tried to force me into his car. My initial reaction was just to scream. It's kind of funny—well, it's NOT kind of funny—at the time I was thinking, “maybe this is a joke” and then, “there's no way!” I was just screaming and there were a lot of people in the parking lot at the time, scattered around their cars. Once I started screaming, my high school coach started walking over toward me and the guy who grabbed me kind of freaked out and pushed me. I ended falling into the front seat of my car and kicked him away to push him back. He said something to me and I don't really remember what it was, but it was like, “don't tell anyone about this!” or something really weird. Then he ran back into his car and someone was getting his license plate and someone was on the phone with the police. Then my high school coach jumped into his car and pulled over to where I was and was asking what happened and if I was all right. At this point, I'm realizing that someone just tried to abduct me and I was crying and was like, “I don't know!” My coach drove and followed the van and ended up pulling the van over by beeping his horn and flashing his lights. He pulled over and my coach was on the phone with the police when he was following the car. The police came and arrested him and I had to do a drive-by and make sure that that was him. And...now he's in jail. He's still in jail? He's in jail for...12 years. That's insane! I know! It's funny because people are like, “ I can't believe that happened!” It was actually on Dateline last week. They were playing it at our student center. I don't know why they were playing NBC's Dateline (Dateline Interview about Lindsey and the crazy dude) anyway. A lot of my teammates didn't know about it. It's not something that I would say like, “oh, guess what happened to me?” They can't believe it happened to me. It's really fine...it happened a long time ago. You thought it was a Halloween prank at first? Yeah! Thinking about it now, I think, “why would I think that?” I don't know...your initial reaction is that something like that wouldn't happen to you. The fact that someone was trying to pull me into their car. I wasn't even going to scream at the time. I thought it was maybe my boyfriend. He wasn't wearing a “Scream Mask” or anything like that? No, but I saw him when I was walking to my car. I remember everything I thought, thinking it was somebody's parents. He was an older guy...in his late 40s...like someone's dad. A regular looking guy. It seemed pretty stupid to me because there were people all over the parking lot. People now are like, “what if he had a weapon?” And it's like, “I didn't even think of that! I didn't even think of it at the time. Maybe he has something that could hurt me!” Do you do Tae-Bo now or anything like that? No, but my parents wanted me to go to counseling to make sure things were OK and after two sessions, I was like, “I really am fine.” She was pulling at things that weren't even worth trying...I was fine. I'm definitely more aware of things. Even when I pass people who look a little sketchy, I'm like, “what if they...” and then mind my own business and walk away fast. (Laughs)   Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1437-lindsey-ferguson-kwik-e Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:00:00 -0500 NCAA DI Women's Weekly Roundup By David Williams [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1442-ncaa-di-womens-weekly-roundup  1. Washington     Weekend Performance- Did not race.   Next Race- The Huskies travel to South Bend, IN on Saturday to compete at the Notre Dame Invitational. Notre Dame will play host to Washington (1), Florida State (3), Princeton (6), Providence (12), Arizona State (13), Florida (15), Penn State (22), Notre Dame (24), New Mexico (25), and Rice (27). With ten ranked teams and PAC-10 rivals Arizona and UCLA, Washington will be tested for the first time this season. This weekend we will see Christine Babcock, Katie Follett, and Kailey Campbell in action for the first time this season.     2. Oregon     Weekend Performance- Did not race.   Next Race- The Ducks play host to a diverse group of teams at the Dellinger Invitational on Friday. Villanova (5) from Pennsylvania, Baylor (14) from Texas, Colorado State, Hawaii, and Weber State. All-Americans Nicole Blood and Alex Kosinski lead the Ducks into Dellinger with the nation’s top freshman recruit Jordan Hasay making her college debut.       3. Florida State     Weekend Performance- Did not race.     Next Race- The Seminoles will head north to the Notre Dame Invitational and try to play spoiler against the Huskies. The Florida State squad returns five from their 3rd place team at NCAA’s last year including this years favorite for the individual title, Susan Kuijken.       4. West Virginia     Weekend Performance- Did not race.     Next Race- The Mountaineers travel to the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, PA on Friday. West Virginia’s Marie-Louise Asselin set the course record here last year covering the 6,000-meter course in 19:38. West Virginia is a very experienced team who returns all seven runners from their podium team at NCAA’s last year.     5. Villanova     Weekend Performance- Dominated the Main Line Invitational over the weekend with a perfect fifteen points. The Wildcat’s put four women under 16:25 for the 5k in an impressive performance.   Next Race- Will try to challenge Oregon (2) at the Dellinger Invitational. This young team will be interesting to watch over the next few weeks.     6. Princeton     Weekend Performance- Did not race.   Next Race- The Tigers look like they will have squads at both the Paul Short Invitational and the Notre Dame Invitational this weekend. The Notre Dame Invitational will be a good chance for Princeton to compete against teams outside their region that they may see next month at Nationals.     7. Stanford     Weekend Performance- The Cardinal easily won their home Invitational scoring a cool 24 points. Kathy Kroeger led the team with a second place showing, running 20:35 for the 6,000-meter course.   Next Race- Stanford runs a “B” squad this weekend at the UC Davis Doc Adams Invitational.     8. Iowa State     Weekend Performance- Perhaps the most impressive performance of the weekend was the Iowa State women at the Roy Griak Invitational. The Cyclones scored 31 points in a meet winning performance where they took down Minnesota (9) and Michigan State (18). The Cyclones jumped 20 spots from their #28 preseason ranking. This can be attributed to the return of NCAA 10,000 meter record holder Lisa Koll who has been injured.     Next Race- Iowa State wont race until the Bradley Classic Friday, October 16 in Peoria, IL.     Roy Griak Flotrack Coverage- http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235653/202266     9. Minnesota     Weekend Performance- Minnesota dropped one spot in the rankings due to a loss at Roy Griak this weekend. The Gophers still looked strong while putting five runners in the top 20 including the individual title won by Megan Duwell.   Next Race- Expect Minnesota to rest their top runners this weekend as they travel to the UW Eau Claire Invitational.     10. Illinois     Weekend Performance- Did not race.   Next Race- The Illini head to the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational. The Badgers play host to a great field this weekend that includes favorites Illinois (10), Georgetown (11), Michigan (17), Syracuse (21), BYU (23), Wisconsin (26), Arkansas (28), and Duke (29).     Notes: Women's rankings can be found on the Flotrack home page.   David Williams http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1442-ncaa-di-womens-weekly-roundup Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:19:00 -0500 Keep Justin Running - Candle Light Walk By Mark From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1439-keep-justin-running-candle-light-walk Calling all Austinites,   On Sept 15th, a friend and colleague, Justin Gabriel, had a serious accident that put him into a coma. Justin ran at Adams State and works in my town of Austin at Runtex. He also filmed for the Austin Distance Challenge Website. He is a great guy and a lot of fun. Justin is staying at Cambridge Hospital in Austin, Tx for a couple more days and then the plan is to move him to a rehab center. You can check up on Justin and how he is doing here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/justingabriel   Runtex, Justin's friends, and the City of Austin are gathering together at Runtex tomorrow for a "Keep Justin Running" candle light walk. If you are in Austin come on down to the Runtex by the 0.0 mark on Town Lake at 8PM. There will be a 2 mile walk and some music afterword. If you are in town you should come check it out.  We are all keeping Justin in our thoughts and prayers, Mark Mark From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1439-keep-justin-running-candle-light-walk Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:25:00 -0500 DII Review Sept.26th-27th By Cara Hawkins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1430-dii-review-sept26th-27th The first day of fall was officially this past weekend, but this did not mean for cooler temperatures or falling leaves. Instead, many runners were met with adverse weather conditions. There were plenty of key match-ups this past weekend including Pre-Nationals. As usual, I urge you the reader to comment on anything I missed and anything you would like to see in future columns. Citadel Invitational- Lenoir-Rhyne’s Kate Griewisch was third overall and first scorer in the DII division with a time of 18:51.88 over the 5k course. She was followed by the Lees-McRae trio of Kira Shoemaker (19:46.37), Hannah Henderson (20:23.19) and April Harris (20:46.83). Lees-McRae took the team title with 25 points followed by Lenoir-Rhyne (49) and Converse (81). In the men’s race, it was Lees-McRae’s Craig Simpkins who took top DII honors with a 26:53.91 over the 8k course. He was followed by teammate, Michael Davis (26:59.12) and Lenior-Rhyne’s Jakob Maidens (27:29.28). Lees-McRae took first with 25 points followed by Lenoir-Rhyne (47) and Newberry (112). Pre-National Invitational- On an extremely muddy and rain soaked course it was Ferris State’s Tina Muir that took top honor with a time of 21:48.22 over the 6k course. Southern Indiana’s Mary Ballinger was second in 22:09.21 and Tampa’s Jessica Butler was third in 22:35.21. In the team title, Tampa took first place with 29 points followed by Southern Indiana (56) and Ferris State (82). After having to alter the course earlier in the week due to weather, the men got an 8k peek at the National course. After the first 2k lap, it was Harding’s Daniel Kirwa and Philip Biwott and Abilene Christian’s Amos Sang and Cleophas Tanui who had separated themselves from the rest of the field. Coming through the 5k mark, Kirwa and Sang had dropped their teammates. Neither could drop the other even after the final climb. It came down to a sprint around the hairpin turn with Harding’s Daniel Kirwa taking first with a time of 24:35.53 followed by Amos Sang in 24:38.43. Biwott was third in 24:54.41. Stonehill took the team title with a score of 42 points and with their top 5 in the top 15. They were followed by Southern Indiana (69), Harding (98) and Abilene Christian (106). Roy Griak Invitational- Minnesota-Duluth’s Morgan Place won the DII Maroon Race covering the 6k in 21:55.3. She was followed by Grand View’s Obsie Birru (22:09.0) and Minnesota State Mankato’s Ali Paul (22:10.9). Minnesota-Duluth took the team title with 78 points followed by Manitoba (83) and Augustana (85). Southwest Baptist’s Michael Piece won the DII Maroon Race in 25:22.2 over the 8k course. Minnesota State Mankato’s James Krajsa was second with a time of 25:40.0 followed by Regina’s Wyatt Baiton (25:47.0). Southwest Baptist took the men’s title with 61 points followed by Concordia Nebraska (86) and Augustana (97). Stanford Invite- Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler was the first attached runner to cross the line in the time of 20:21 over the 6k course. Chico State was the first DII school coming in fifth with 187 points. Seattle Pacific was 12th with 334 points. Chico’s Jimmy Elam was the first DII finisher coming in tenth with a time of 24:30 over the 8k course in the men’s race. Chico was fourth overall with 158 points. Western Mountaineer Open- With Adams State not sending their A-team, Mesa State took the title with 26 points. It was Mesa State’s Alexis Skarda who took the individual title running the 5k course in 18:43.63. Adams State’s heavy hitters were also missing in the men’s race. Western’s Iain Donnan won the 7.4 k race in 24:03.31. Western took the team title with 19 points followed by Adams State with 38 points. Cara Hawkins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1430-dii-review-sept26th-27th Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:22:00 -0500 NCAA DI Weekly Roundup (Sept 26th Weekend) By David Williams [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1431-ncaa-di-weekly-roundup-sept-26th-weekend NCAA Weekly Roundup   Whenever the casual fan looks at the NCAA weekly rankings compiled by the USTFCCCA, they usually just see a school next to a number. My goal with the weekly roundup is to bring a brief analysis of the past weekends results, and upcoming competitions for the teams ranked in NCAA Division I XC. This will be done by looking at the movement within the rankings of certain teams, and looking at which teams may have dropped out or moved into the rankings. In the first edition I have only gone off of the pre-season rankings, and only looked at the top 10 teams on the men's side (we'll try to get women next week). Next week we'll look to expand the list and see which ranked teams will be pitted against each other as we move throughout the season.   Please send any feedback, ideas, or interest in contributing to dwilliams@flotrack.org     1. Oregon   Weekend Performance- Did not race.   Previous Meets- Oregon’s only meet so far was the Pre’s Trail Run when they handily beat Portland State in the dual meet.   Next Week- The men of Oregon host the Dellinger Invitational which should be one of the most competitive meets of the month. Expect the Ducks to bring out their top dogs, as six teams in the top 30 will be at Dellinger: Oregon (1), Portland (8), Alabama (10), BYU (12), Cal poly (21), Villanova (30), and UTEP (NR*)   2. Oklahoma State   Weekend Performance- Did not race.   Next Week- The Cowboys host the 73rd annual Cowboy Jamboree. Northern Arizona (5), Tulsa (11), and New Mexico State (26) will all be in attendance.   Cowboy Jamboree Coverage- http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view/234566-2009-brooks-cowboy-jamboree   3. Stanford   Weekend Performance- The Cardinal had quite an impressive showing at their home invitational Saturday, finishing the championship race with a 15-point beat down over neighbors Cal (NR*), UC Davis, and Chico State. Despite rumors of the course being short, Stanford looked good in their season opener with four of the top five runners finishing together in 23:54.   Next Week- Stanford travels north to compete at the UC Davis Doc Adams Invitational.   4. Wisconsin   Weekend Performance- Did not race   Previous Meets- The Badgers were 2nd at the Iona Meet of Champions (Sep 19), and 1st at the UW Cross Country Classic (Sep 4).   Next Week- Expect the full squad to show up at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on Saturday when the Badgers host Georgetown (9), BYU (12), Auburn (13), Arkansas (18), Michigan (22), Syracuse (NR*), Lamar (NR*), and Duke (NR*).   5. Northern Arizona University   Weekend Performance - Did not race.   Previous Meets- NAU ran B squads at both the Aztec Invitational (Sep 19) and their home opener, The George Kyte Classic (Sep 5). Diego Estrada who was NAU’s 4th man at NCAA’s last year won the Aztec Invite easily in 24:57.   Next Week- The Lumber jacks will most likely be running a B squad at the ASU Invitational on Friday while the top runners will be at the Cowboy Jamboree on Saturday.   6. Colorado   Weekend Performance - Did not race.   Previous Meets- CU had a time trial on September 5 at their home course but doesn’t open up true team competition until this weekend.   Next Week- Colorado hosts the Rocky Mountain Shootout on Saturday, which usually consists of Colorado schools like Adams, Western, and CSU. It will be interesting to see when CU will display their full squad which returns 5 guys from their 12th place finish at NCAA’s last year.   7. Iona   Weekend Performance - Did not race.   Previous Meets- The Gaels have not been at full strength yet this season while running in two low key meets, The Seawolves Invitational (Sep 5), and the Meet of Champions (Sep 19).   Next Week- Iona heads to the Brooks Paul Short Run where they will take on Villanova (30), and Princeton (NR*).   Brooks Paul Short Coverage- http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view/234568-2009-brooks-paul-short-run   8. Portland   Weekend Performance - Did not race.   Previous Meets- UP hosted the West Coast Preview at Pier Park on Sep. 11, but ran a mixed squad that didn’t include any of their top returners from NCAA’s.   Next Week- The Pilots head south to take on in state rivals Oregon at the Dellinger Invitational on Friday.   9. Georgetown   Weekend Performance – Did not race.   Previous Meets- Georgetown opened up their season on Sep. 12 at the James Madison Invitational in Virginia. They ran a mixed squad and placed 2nd out of 9 teams.   Next Week- The Hoyas take a trip to Madison on Saturday to challenge the Badgers at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational.   10. Alabama   Weekend Performance - Alabama was set to compete at the Pre-SEC Invitational in Mississippi, but the meet was cancelled due to poor weather.   Next Week- The Crimson Tide will roll into Eugene on Friday to mix it up with fellow top 10 teams Oregon (1) and Portland (8).     Notes:   NR*- Not Ranked, but received preseason top 30 votes.   Preseason Rankings- http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-i-rankings   This coming weekend (Oct 2-3) Flotrack coverage continues as we head to Stillwater, Oklahoma and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree and Lehigh's Paul Short Run.   Brooks OSU Cowboy Jamboree: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view/234566-2009-brooks-cowboy-jamboree   Brooks Paul Short Run: http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view/234568-2009-brooks-paul-short-run    David Williams http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1431-ncaa-di-weekly-roundup-sept-26th-weekend Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:23:00 -0500 Lauren Holesh KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1416-lauren-holesh-kwik-e  University of North Carolina senior Lauren Holesh and her Tar Heels are looking for another appearance at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in November. Holesh took 30th place last year and is looking for a significant individual improvement with the help of new head coach Peter Watson. How did your summer go? How did you spend most of your time? Summer went really well. I took summer school for the first session. And Carolina is actually in pretty early. I got done with my first session of summer school in early June and then I worked at the campus center at UNC Hospital for a month or so. Then I headed out to Colorado to work a running camp out there for the rest of the summer. It was fun and mostly involved with running. My family and friends and boss were all pretty flexible with my running schedule. It was good. What was a typical week of summer running for you? We went through a coaching change this year, so typically I would pound out the mileage, increasing each week. This year, Coach (Peter) Watson from Auburn, he walks in and is our new coach. He sent out a new training program after nationals in June and it had a couple of progression runs and a couple of interval workouts—really long interval workouts, probably seven minutes on, three minutes off kind of thing. I did the progression run on Tuesday, interval on Friday, then just a really long run on Sunday. In between was just however I felt. What kind of mileage will you typically hit? I've hit 85 miles a week for the last month or so. I was just building up all summer long, increasing by about five miles each week. It got to be a lot in July. June wasn't too bad. I'm doubling right now...pretty much every day except obviously my long run day. To do morning practice then afternoon practice, it helps out. How is your team shaping up? Do you have team goals set? It's kind of funny because all the girls are so young. I'm the only senior. Then we have probably only two juniors and three sophomores...then 10 freshman. As far as team goals go, they don't even know how to get to the national meet. It's hard to explain to them that regionals is where it counts, but we really want to do well at ACC's, but then Florida State is in our conference, so it's hard to win the whole thing. But as far as team goals go, this could be a good team. In my past three years at North Carolina, I had felt that our team wasn't as close as it could have been. Right now we do team dinners and stuff. I think the goal is to get back to nationals. If that happens while I'm here then great. But, if it happens next year when I've graduated...that's great too! It would be great to get back on the national scene. We've kind of taken a detour from that recently. Being the lone senior, are you taking the bull by the horns and forcing that team chemistry? It's been a group effort. Everyone wants to do something. It's funny how you'll throw out and idea and think, “no, no one will want to do that.” After practice one day I was like, “you know I've really craving sushi lately. Would anyone be up for dinner tomorrow night at Sushi Thai?” People said that they would love that and next thing you know, you've got a table full of 12 girls on a Wednesday night. And that's pretty hard when you've got labs, classes and practice. As far as taking the bull by the horns...I'm old and I feel really old with these girls, but it's easy for me because I have a car on campus and I live off campus and I can have more people over to my house. I guess you would say I'm taking the bull by the horns, but everyone else is helping so much. Other upperclassmen are helping out, offering their cars like, “hey, I can pick people up if you need help.” It's been a group effort and it's been great. 30th last year. What are your individual goals this year? I would love to repeat as All-American. My real goal is to break the top 20. I'm hesitant in saying that because I've got higher goals. Top 20 would be awesome to be with such an elite group of girls. I would love to be a part of that. What do you do when you get free time? What are your hobbies? That's a funny question because I haven't had much recently. I love to go to the beach. My parent's were down this past weekend. If I have a free day where practice is really early in the morning and I won't have practice until the afternoon the next day, I'll bolt down to the beach and spend the day there...just reading and getting away. It's so much fun and it's my favorite place in the world. I bet it's not hard getting your teammates to join you there for some team bonding. Not at all. I kind of threw the idea out there thinking that no one would want to do that this summer and everyone was like, “YES, when can we go?” You're from North Carolina. Why did you decide to stay in state for college? My dad went to Carolina and I grew up a Tar Heel. I had the little cheerleader outfit when I was like two years old. My picture books when I was little were Carolina picture books. It just the legacy. Chapel Hill is far enough where my parents are like, “do you mind if we pick you up and go to dinner?” It's close enough where if I needed anything, I can be home in heartbeat. It's a great school. I want to go to pharmacy school and Carolina has a great pharmacy school and a great pre-pharmacy program. Like I said though, I went out to Colorado this summer and I've never been out that far west...so maybe graduate school will bring me somewhere else, but for now, I couldn't ask for a better location with family and the beach. What kind of year has it been for you as a basketball fan at UNC? It's been absolutely incredible. I never thought that they would win a national title while I was here, like Murphy's Law and it wouldn't happen while I was here. They put it together this past season and it was awesome. I'm sure you've seen pictures of Franklin Street. Craziness! Classes were canceled the next day, which is unheard of. We had classes in snow and snow is unheard of in North Carolina as well. To trek into class in four inches of snow and have it canceled the day after a national title is just awesome. The whole program here and the basketball history is incredible. Does any one workout you've ever done stand out as the hardest you've ever done? Because I run the 10k, I have to do two-mile repeats on the track. I was thinking that it would be a tempo two miles and then I'll do another. But they were pretty quick. I wasn't an all star in high school, so I was pretty much breaking my two-mile PR with each interval. While you're doing it, you're like, “wow, this is hard!” You see the final time and say, “what did I just do?” Recently, not this past Friday, but the Friday before, I did this workout with Brie Felnagle—she doesn't have anymore cross country eligibility, but still has track and is still training in Chapel Hill—and Shalane Flanagan, who has been helping our team out a lot. We were out on the American Tobacco Trail, which is completely flat. It was one of those interval workouts where it was like three minutes on then a short break. We did nine intervals of it...which is a lot of intervals if you think about it. I thought that was the workout and thought, “nine intervals, I can get through this.” Then he was like “two-mile tempo to start it off.” Wait a minute...it was a harder workout because when you're training with people with that talent you think that you need to perform. It was awesome when it was done and I never felt more accomplished. Working out with Shalane Flanagan...that's really cool! Isn't it? I can't believe it. Shalane has been amazing with the freshman girls on our team and motivating us. She is the one who lead our 6 a.m. practice. You're getting up and thinking it's horrible but then you're like, “wait a minute, there's a bronze medalist getting up just like me.” It certainly helps. You touched on it a little bit, but how hard is it to adapt to changing coaches and different coaching styles? At first I was so nervous and didn't know what to expect. I love Coach Whitt (Whittlesey). He was great and everything, but Coach Watson is so much younger and he is just so easy to talk to and I can tell him anything. Watson has been great about getting us motivated and getting us excited. He has been so positive. He wants us surrounded by positive people. Anything that has been negative about the program in the past has been totally cut out. I don't know how he's done it, but people are sticking around and showing up at the 6 a.m. practices and Sunday long runs at 6:30 a.m. There's drama with everything, but I think we nipped that in the bud in the first week. He was very open. He was like, “if you have a problem, come and talk to me about it and we'll fix it.” There's a method behind everything he does and he's very open about it. He's got a plan and he'll share it with you. I'm excited about the season. And where do you open up? In less than two weeks, up in Notre Dame. If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? I am such a weird eater. I would say my mom's salmon, everyone knows salmon is my favorite food. Whenever I'm home, my aunts and uncles are like, “oh, we made salmon for you!” I feel like it's overdone. I get it one night and the next night it's the same thing. I would have salmon—made by my mom—tabouli, made by my Aunt Mary Ellen and as a huge fan of ice cream...any sort of ice cream cake, specifically my Aunt Mary Ellen's Pie. It's Oreo, chocolate fudge and vanilla ice cream. Can you give some sort of crazy running-related story?  My teammates and I took a day trip down to Wrightsville Beach. We left early in the morning and were planning on running at UNC-Wilmington once we got there. It was hot, humid, and we were all tired from the early morning and two-hour drive. My coach was with us and he started out the run at a quicker-than-anticipated pace. We were running through these trails on the campus when one of my teammates started to complain about how something was biting her. Mosquitoes were biting and flies were following us so everyone was uncomfortable...we kind of just figured that my friend Justine was voicing what everybody was experiencing. This was a longer run so her complaining must have lasted at least half an hour. We were about a 200 meters away from our car, in the middle of a huge field with cars driving by all around us, when all the sudden Justine starts screaming. I look behind me to see her ripping off her shorts, throwing them on the ground, and running (in her little g-string) away. Cars driving by lay on the horn and give the thumbs up while my coach yells for her to put her pants on. She refuses and says that there is a hornet in them. This proceeded for about two minutes until we got Justine into the car and calmed down. Turns out a hornet had been biting her most of the run and she didn't realize it was stuck in her shorts until the end of the run. We all felt bad, but the image of her stripping in the middle of the field while my coach tried to get her to put her shorts back on....priceless :).     Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1416-lauren-holesh-kwik-e Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0500 NZRUN Joins The FloNetwork By Mark From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1419-nzrun-joins-the-flonetwork Rees and the boys at NZRUN just went live with their new platform at NZRUN.com. NZRUN is the place to go for New Zealand running info. Now that they are on the Flonetwork they will be able to upload and share videos easier, so look for more videos from the Kiwis coming soon!   Go to www.nzrun.com for your Kiwi running fix!     Mark From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1419-nzrun-joins-the-flonetwork Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:21:00 -0500 Ritzenhein, Begley Lead Team USA For World Half Marathon Championships By USATF Press [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1422-ritzenhein-begley-lead-team-usa-for-world-half-marathon-championships INDIANAPOLIS - 2008 Olympians Dathan Ritzenhein (Portland, Ore.) and Amy Yoder Begley(Portland, Ore.) will lead a strong U.S. contingent at the 18th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships on October 11, in Birmingham, UK.   Ritzenhein and Begley are both coming off of an impressive track season which saw Ritzenhein finish sixth at the World Championships 10,000 meters, eleven days before going on to set a new American record of 12:56.27 for 5,000 meters.  Begley, the 2009 USA champion at 10,000 meters went on to finish sixth in the women's 10,000 at the Berlin World Championships and won last weekend's USA 5 km Championships in Providence, R.I.   The U.S. squad for Birmingham will also include several of the top up and coming American distance runners, giving Team USA an outstanding chance for a team medal in both the men's and women's events.   The men's team will also include recent USA 20 km champion Brett Gotcher (Flagstaff, Ariz.).  Gotcher has competed for Team USA on several occasions, including in 2003 when he won the gold medal in the 10,000 meters at the Pan American Junior Championships.   Ritzenhein and Gotcher will join forces with 2008 USA 15 km champion Andrew Carlson (Flagstaff, Ariz.); Scott Bauhs (Chico, Calif.), a multiple NCAA Division II Track & Cross Country All-American at Chico State who finished fifth at the 20 km championships; and James Carney (Boulder, Colo.), a past U.S. champion at 20 km and the half marathon.   Joining Begley will be Desiree Davila (Rochester Hills, Mich.), who has had an outstanding summer of her own, running a personal best 2:27:53 to finish 11th in the World Championships marathon last month.  Rounding out the team will be Serena Burla (Baldwin, Mo.), the runner-up at the recent USA 20 km Championships; along with Amy Hastings (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) and Elva Dryer (Gunnison, Colo.), who finished fifth and seventh respectively at the 20 km Championships to earn their berths on the team.   A total of $245,000 will be offered in prize money, with $30,000 going to the individual champions and $15,000 to the respective men's and women's team champions.  The top finish for a U.S. team at this event came last year in Rio de Janeiro where the Team USA women finished fourth.  The best team finish for a U.S. men's team was sixth in both 2005 and 2006.   For more information on Team USA at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, visitwww.usatf.org. About USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.  For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org USATF Press http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1422-ritzenhein-begley-lead-team-usa-for-world-half-marathon-championships Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:49:00 -0500 DII Weeked Review September 18-20 By Cara Hawkins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1407-dii-weeked-review-september-18-20 Conference meets are drawing nearer and before we know it November will be here. Till then most teams are racing across the nation, testing themselves against competitors and eagerly waiting for the weekly poll results. The Pre National DII meet is set for next Saturday in Evansville, Ind. and should be a good look at the course. As usual, I urge my readers to chime in with opinions and anything I have missed. Colorado State Invitational-Adams State’s Kristen McGlynn led her team to a first place finish with 26 points and covering the 5k course in 18:21.8. She also took the individual title. Metro State was third with 98 points. Adams State’s men perfect scored the meet with 15 points. Reuben Mwei took first with a time of 19:07.9 over the 4 mile course. Metro State came in third with 107 points. Missouri Southern Stampede-Missouri Southern’s Kimi Shank was third overall behind two University of Arkansas runners. She covered the 5k course in 17:36.65. Her teammates, Ashley Siler( 17:42.14) and Ashley Bunch (17:49.94) were the next two DII finishers coming in fifth and eighth.  Missouri Southern was second overall with 45 points. Finishing third was Dallas Baptist with 136 points. Pittsburg State was the next DII finisher in fourth with 154 points, followed by Harding with 159 points. On the men’s side, Harding’s Daniel Kirwa ran away from the field finishing the 8k course in 23:11.07. The next DII finisher was his teammate, Philip Biwott in ninth (24:21.49).  Drury's Jamie Villa Zapetero was ninth in 24:05. 35. Pittsburg State’s Tim Testa (24:31.14) and Mujahid Hassaballa (24:34.43) were twelfth and thirteen overall. Pittsburg State was second overall with 131 points. Missouri Southern was fourth in 146 points, Drury was sixth with 181 points and Harding was seventh with 240 points. Mountaineer Open-Queens’ Holly Annas led her team to a fifth place finish over Lees-McRae. Lees –McRae was ranked first in the Southeast region. Annas ran a 19:09.00 over the 5k course. In the men’s race, Queens’ Michael Crouch (interview below) won the race over Ohio State’s Jeff See. Crouch covered the course in 19:41.29. This helped place his team in second with 41 points. (Crouch Interview included) Sundodger-In the women’s invitational race, Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler came in third behind Washington Duo of Kendra Schaaf and Marie Lawrence. Pixler was the first DII finisher covering the 6k course in 20:26.07. Western Washington’s Sarah Porter was fourth in 20:37.13. Western Washington was third overall behind DI schools, Washington and Oregon State, with 83 points. Seattle Pacific finished fifth with 111 points. In the open race, Alaska Anchorage’s Ruth Keino was second over the 6k course in a time of 21:41.16. Alaska Anchorage won the team title with 22 points. In the men’s invitational race, Alaska Anchorage’s Micah Chelimo took second over the 8k course in 24:03.33. His teammate, Marko Cheseto was fifth in the time of 24:14.92. Western Washington’s Jordan Welling was twelfth in 24:38.20. He led his team to a second place finish with 82 points as the first DII School. Alaska Anchorage was fourth with 97 points. Woody Greeno/Nebraska Cross Country Invitational- Colorado School of the Mine’s Sydney Laws was the first DII finisher over the 3.58 mile course finishing 8th overall in a time of 21:16.1. CSM finished seventh in the team competition with 216 points. Central Missouri was ninth with 259 points. On the men’s side, CSM’s Aaron Swift took second and was first DII finisher overall covering the 8k course in 24:48.7. His teammate, Ben Zywicki was 5th with a 25:05.9. These two strong finishes led the team to win with meet with 42 points. Central Missouri was second with 97 points. Cara Hawkins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1407-dii-weeked-review-september-18-20 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:00:00 -0500 Levi Miller KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1390-levi-miller-kwik-e  Georgetown's Levi Miller was 35th at last year's NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships behind teammate Andrew Bumbalough, in 11th place. Miller and the Hoyas have their eyes set on the Big East title then a podium spot at the national championships. Did you get your long run in today? We had that meet at JMU (James Madison University) yesterday. This weekend we stayed out at Shenandoah National Park in a little mountain lodge and did a long run on the Appalachian Trail. We had a good one this morning. It was pretty chilly up in the mountains, but this year we planned it a little better. The last few years we kind of made a guess on how far the distance was. We've had some pretty long long runs the past couple of years. We took it pretty conservative this year and it took us about 90 minutes...with some people adding on. Last year, people were coming in around two hours, 15 minutes. It was really cool. A nice place. Can you talk about your training? What's a typical week like right now? Right now I'm running between 75-80 miles a week. This section of training is pretty close to late summer, I guess, with hills once a week. I'm doing some tempo runs right now, but nothing really race paced. We're still keeping our mileage up pretty good for the group. It's taken me a while where I can consistently run 80 a week. This summer I got up close to 90. The training, for me, has been really consistent this summer and so far this fall. I'm very pleased with it. You didn't run your “big guns” yesterday, but how is your team shaping up? We did take 10th last year, which I guess looking back means it's good that we were tenth and pretty disappointed with that. In past years I think we could have gotten pretty excited about placing in the top-10. Coming back we return our top five and some of the younger guys are rounding out well. We raced our younger guys yesterday, none of our “big guns” raced. Mark Dennin won at JMU and looked really good. He got the course record and beat my time from last year by about 20 seconds. He could be a big addition to round out our scoring. Andrew Bumbalough is coming back. He's going to be out front. Sandy Roberts redshirted last year and is running really well. Mike Krisch is a guy who's run around 28:50. Ayalew Taye is in great shape and I feel like I'm going to be able to improve on my finish from last year. Everyone here on the team is really excited. We were 10th last year and we thought with that squad we could have been in the fifth or sixth area on a good day. Now we're looking to do better. We think we could crack the podium if we have a good day. What are your individual goals? I was 35th last year and I was really happy with that, that was a really big step for me. Now I feel like I understand how to race longer cross country distances. Coming through 5k last year, I was probably in the 70s or something like that. It was a real negative split kind of race. This year, I feel like I can put myself out there a little bit more and really try to improve. I'm looking to improve on my finish. Top-25 would be great. I'm trying be consistent and stay healthy throughout the whole fall. Has staying healthy been a problem for you? For the past few years I've had my ups and downs with some injuries. Last year in particular, right after cross country, I had some issues with my SI joint in my back. I had some overcompensation which lead to some knee stuff. That took me out for a huge chunk of winter. In the long run, that hurt my spring pretty bad. I really race well off of consistent, consistent training. I don't need to be doing ridiculous amounts of mileage or crazy workouts. I just really respond well to being consistent. That's the goal for me and the team for this fall. Maybe train at 90% of what we're capable of, but just stay healthy and good things will come. How did you spend your summer? Since things didn't go all that well in track, I didn't really end up racing really late. I had an opportunity to roadtrip out to the Colorado area and do some running. It was early on, so I did a lot of backpacking and hiking and mountain biking. I'm really into outdoor sports. It was a good time to get out there and hike around and see the West. I planned on going up through Wyoming and Montana, but my engine ceased in my car and I had to sell it for parts and buy a plane ticket back to Maine. That was an experience. Other than that, I was back in Maine. I live in Belfast, which is pretty close to Arcadia National Park. I spent some time up there training and it's a great place in the summer time with great weather. I was based out of Maine for most of the summer, just training and spending most of the time with my family. I also trained with Will Ahern, who ran for Texas last year. He left and is taking a semester off. It was a real good summer up there. I'll have some Maine questions for you after, but what kind of car died on you and what happened? It was a 1995 Saab 9000. I had it since my sophomore year of high school. I was creeping up on 200,000 miles and the engine just ceased up and supposedly some indicator lights weren't working and I may have had some oil leaks going on...paired with a lot of other stuff. It was sad to leave that car at the junkyard out in Colorado and leave with $200 in my pocket. I was very pleased with it. Everyone on the team had their own jokes about the doors that wouldn't open or windows that wouldn't go down, lights were sporadic. It was my first car, so I had an attachment to it. Now you wait until you go pro and get a Ferrari like Usain Bolt? We'll see about a Ferrari, but right now I'm driving a pretty sweet 2008 Vespa scooter. I'm still riding in style...just not with a roof over my head. It's going to get cold pretty soon. What are you going to do then? I've got some good flannel, some running tights and a good wool hat. True New England style! Yeah. Winter down here is nothing like it is in Maine. I can handle it. You spend your fall seasons down in Washington, D.C. Don't you miss those New England autumn runs through the woods? I miss that so much. Especially because I'm home for a bit in the summer. I get a chunk of that perfect, clean, crisp air with an ocean breeze. I miss the fall there a lot. This year has been sweet down here. We haven't been hit by any really bad humidity. Usually for the first month we have to do all of our runs at like 6:30 a.m. We've been able to practice the afternoon and it's been really nice. No complaints this year. I think he's got a year on you, but did you have and wild, epic battles with Ben True back in high school? (Laughs) Yeah...actually, I got runner-up to Ben True seven times. He was a year older than me, so I was pretty happy when he headed off. He's such a talented runner that there is no shame in that for me. I knew how good he was. We did have some good races together, but I was happy when he headed off to Dartmouth and I was able to grab a handful of state championships for myself. I had to make up for it, tripling up in the state meet so I could get my chunk. If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? Wow. That's a good question! I'm from Maine and pretty partial to some seafood, but there's a small restaurant in Maine that makes the best lobster ravioli with a cream sauce over it. It's Thomaston Cafe (http://www.thomastoncafe.com/menu.htm) and that's probably my favorite dish. I'd have to go with that. Can you give me a crazy running-related story? I said that I was into hiking and backpacking and so are a few guys on my team. Andrew Bumbalough, Mike Krisch and I were up in British Columbia in the Canadian Rockies. We were doing some hiking up there with some friends and we were in town for dinner. We were getting into the flow of training. It was around dusk and we were eating with our friend's relative and the aunt was telling me that if I was going to go for a run that night, that I had to bring bear spray because the bears were all over the place there and the mountain lions were out. She was talking about the black bears, not really concerned with the grizzlies. I've seen black bears in my day and thought, “they're not that big, I'm not really worried about it.” I was going on a 12-mile run and didn't want to carry a big bear canister, a huge can of pepper spray. I tell her not to worry about it and head out for a run with Bumbi. We got about six to eight miles together and I go off and do my own thing, adding on. We go through these trails through the woods and I'm getting a little nervous. I see a lot of animals moving around and feel like it's a good idea to head back towards town. I'm coming back down these switchbacks and I'm looking around, enjoying nature, bouncing along and I come around the last switchback and see this enormous, biggest mother black bear I've ever seen in my life and she's standing in the middle of the trail and there's nowhere I can go. She's probably only 25 feet in front of me. I'm going through all the episodes of Man Vs. Wild I've seen and I have all these preconceptions of what I'm supposed to do. I stop my run and stand there. The bear just stares at me as I'm making myself look big and talking to her. She's just staring at me. We make eye contact and just stand there for about 20 seconds. I was pretty convinced that because she didn't run off that she was going to tear me to shreds. I continue my run and I get on the run another minute before I see these mountain bikers and they say, “have you seen any bears?!” and I say, “yeah, I just saw a mother black bear and was pretty freaked out by it!” They said that I was lucky, because I was north of her on the trail and her cubs just came along. I was really lucky that I wasn't 30 seconds faster on my run, because I would have been in between the mother and her cubs and would have gotten...filleted.   Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1390-levi-miller-kwik-e Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:00:00 -0500 Olympians Lead Fields At USA 5 Km Championships By USATF Press [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1395-olympians-lead-fields-at-usa-5-km-championships INDIANAPOLIS - U.S. Olympians Anthony Famiglietti (Knoxville, Tenn.), Matt Tegenkamp (Portland, Ore.) and Amy Yoder Begley (Beaverton, Ore.) will headline the entries for the 2009 USA 5 km Championships Sunday in Providence, R.I. Defending men's champion Famiglietti will be going for his second U.S. road title of 2009, but will face fierce competition from Tegenkamp who just became the fourth American ever to break 13 minutes for 5,000 meters. Also in the mix for the title will be 2004 Olympian Jonathan Riley (Portland, Ore.) and Bolota Asmerom (Oakland, Calif.), the fourth-place finisher at this year's USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships 5,000 meters. Begley, the 2009 USA Outdoor 10,000 meter champion, leads the women's field that also includes local favorite Molly Huddle (Providence, R.I.), the 2009 champion at 7 and 10 miles. Also in the mix for the title will be Renee Metivier-Baillie (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Katie McGregor (St. Louis Park, Minn.). About the USARC The USA 5 km Championships is the eighth stop on the 2009 USA Running Circuit (USARC) and will pay $30,000 in U.S. prize money with $5,000 going to the respective champions. The 2009 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series featuring USA Championships from one mile to the marathon, which attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The 2009 USARC has ten events each for men and women. Magdalena Lewy Boulet currently leads the women's standings with 49 points, while Anthony Famiglietti leads the men with 39 points. The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled. The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners. For more information on the 2009 USA 5 km Championships visit www.usatf.org. USATF Press http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1395-olympians-lead-fields-at-usa-5-km-championships Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:10:00 -0500 African Runners Versus Caucasians By Danny Mackey M.S. By Danny Mackey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1389-african-runners-versus-caucasians-by-danny-mackey-ms African Runners Versus Caucasians By Danny Mackey M.S.             Other than a few meets outside of Europe, the track season is over.  Between Flotrack and my cable network getting the Universal Sports channel, I have lost interest of my losing Chicago Cubs and been able to watch the best athletes in the world fight it out on a regular basis.  Unlike past track seasons, U.S. distance running fans were excited to cheer on top finishes in major Golden League IAAF meets and championships. America had a number of finalists and top 8 finishes in the Men’s and Women’s 800, 1500, 5k and 10k in both the World Championships and World Athletics Final.  Just 10 years ago the US was lucky to have one athlete in either of these events.  But even with the improvement, watch any Golden League 5,000 and it is evident there is a strong dominance from one part of the globe.  This is why one of the questions I heard from my buddies while watching these meets is “why do the Africans still just dominant”?  One argument is East Africans are tougher, train harder and are more disciplined.  Does that mean that Bekele can handle more pain and trains harder the Ritz?  Maybe.  Another argument is environment.  Growing up at an altitude of 7,000 feet and running 10km to school everyday versus growing up in Chicago and driving everywhere is very good point.  Studies have shown that even short-term exposure at altitude can affect aerobic energy metabolism and fat oxidization activity.  This ties in closely with the last argument, genetics. What we are born with regardless of toughness and environment.  (The reason I say “closely” is because genetic expression levels can be directly influenced by your environment).  Though, why is it that despite comparable VO2 max levels, slow-twitch/fast-twitch fiber proportions, fiber cross sectional area (predictor of maximum force production) and capillarization (more capillaries help oxygen transfer within muscles) the East Africians have raced substantially faster then Caucasians?  I am more curious about the genetic differences, if there are any.  (Or maybe I want to make an excuse for my weak minded, lazy self that even though I’m trying to qualify again for the US marathon Olympic trials that I would not even make a middle school team in Kenya).  In Kenny Moore’s Best Efforts: The Long Green Line, he talks about traveling to Kenya after finishing 4th in the Olympics.  While on a run one day, Kenny writes about thinking that only 3 guys are better than him in the world, yet he is not able to keep up with the Kenyan kids as they run to school.             A study by Dr. Coetzer talks about traits that African runners have over Caucasians that can directly improve performance.  A common genetic indicator that can be measured in a lab is VO2 max because it provides a quantitative measure of an athlete’s capacity for aerobic ATP resynthesis.  Note the word capacity here, as it just provides a ceiling.  In a distance race, our goal is to increase our time to fatigue.  We can achieve this by having a lower accumulation of metabolites for a given pace or tempo.  Furthermore, if our plasma lactate concentration is lower at a similar percentage of VO2 max utilization, this should infer greater time to fatigue.  Plasma lactate can be lowered by a few methods.  First, simply a decreased rate of lactate formation during hard effort running.  Second could be an increased rate of lactate clearance.  The last possibility is a combination of the two.  African distance runners with a similar VO2 max to Caucasians have shown a lower accumulation of metabolites and plasma lactate levels.              In this study, trained 32 min 10,000 meter Caucasian and African runners with equal VO2 max levels were run in a lab to maximum intensity.  They found, African runners ran 21% longer then the Caucasian runners.  Yet RER (respiratory exchange ratio which looks at substrate utilization, a decent indicator of relative effort), VO2, and max heart rate were the same.   Though plasma lactate was significantly lower in the Africans and citrate synthase activity was significantly higher (aerobic enzyme that begins the Krebs cycle). This supports the thought that having a high skeletal muscle oxidative capacity is important for optimizing an athlete’s performance.  In a 10,000 meter race Africans can nearly run 1,200 meters longer at 98% of their max heart rate.  Applying these numbers.....remember the fast sustained effort Bekele and Tadesse used to close the last 5,000 meters of the 10,000M in the world championships?  That was Tadesse’s season best in the 5,000M and only 12 seconds off Bekele’s season best, thing about that for a minute!              I am sure there are other possible factors, and half the fun of watching a great race is talking about it and “why” with your friends.  But, the Africans simply being tougher may not be the case. Danny Mackey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1389-african-runners-versus-caucasians-by-danny-mackey-ms Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:53:00 -0500 Flonetwork Takes Root In Ireland By Pat Hitchins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1387-flonetwork-takes-root-in-ireland The FloNetwork just got a little international flavor today! The current and past Irish running history is also quite tasty. Current stars on the world scene include Alistair Cragg, Mary Cullen, Thomas Chamney, Martin Fagan, David Gillick, Paul Hession, and Derval O’Rourke. Former Irish miler Ray Flynn, is also among Ireland’s elite running history and currently serves as an Agent for many of USA and Ireland’s best (See Flynn’s FloNetwork site). David Bradshaw, a Flo Fan in Ireland, came to us with a dream to give Ireland a chance to experience Track and Field like US fans have with Flotrack. David is 30 and loves running (even though he says he’s no good at it), is a coach, and works with Ireland’s virtual running club, Boards AC. Check out the new Irish Running site, and help David out with a name. There might be a t-shirt in it for the winner too, so post below! If you are an international Flotrack fan, or even just a fan in the US that has a dream to give the world more access to T&F give us a holler about getting a site on the FloNetwork (flonetwork@flocasts.org).    Irish Running  (Help David come up with a name!) FloNetwork         Pat Hitchins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1387-flonetwork-takes-root-in-ireland Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:07:00 -0500 Washington Opens 2009 Season As Top Women’s Division I XC Program By USTFCCCA [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1392-washington-opens-2009-season-as-top-womens-division-i-xc-program NEW ORLEANS (September 15, 2009) – The Washington Huskies are perched at the top of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Women's Cross Country Top 30 Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the USTFCCCA announced Tuesday. The Huskies received all 12 first-place votes and earned 360 total points in the preseason poll.   Washington, last year’s NCAA Division I Cross Country National Champions, return five of their top seven runners from last year’s championship team, four of which were USTFCCCA Cross Country All-Americans. The Huskies open their 2009 season at home this weekend in the Sundodger Invitational.   Oregon comes in at No. 2 in the women’s preseason poll having earned 344 total points. The Ducks, last year’s runner-up at the NCAA Division I Cross Country National Championships, return two USTFCCCA All-Americans in Nicole Blood and Alex Kosinski. The Ducks will be in action on October 2 at the Bill Dellinger Invitational.   Florida State is ranked third followed by West Virginia at No. 4. Florida State returns five of their top seven runners from last year’s squad that finished third overall in the team standings at the national meet. The Seminoles are led by senior standout Susan Kuijken who finished second in the individual standings at the national meet in 2008.   West Virginia finished fourth in the team standings at the national meet in 2008 but return all seven runners from last year’s team including USTFCCCA Cross Country All-American Keri Bland who finished tenth overall in the individual standings at the ’08 national meet.   Rounding out the women’s preseason top 30 at No. 5 is Villanova, the 2008 Big East Conference Cross Country Champions. Villanova loses only one senior from last year’s team (Francis Koons) that finished sixth overall at the NCAA cross country championships.   To view the complete 2009 USTFCCCA Division I Women’s Cross Country Preseason Top 30, click here. USTFCCCA http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1392-washington-opens-2009-season-as-top-womens-division-i-xc-program Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:13:00 -0500 Oregon Opens ‘09 As The Top Division I Men’s Cross Country Team By USTFCCCA [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1391-oregon-opens-09-as-the-top-division-i-mens-cross-country-team   NEW ORLEANS (September 15, 2009) – Oregon, last year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country National Champions, begins the 2009 season as the No. 1 team in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Men's Cross Country Top 30 Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the USTFCCCA announced Tuesday. The Ducks received nine first-place votes and earned 357 total points in the preseason poll.   Oregon will have plenty of ground to make up if they are to repeat as the men’s champions in 2009 as they lose two USTFCCCA All-Americans in Galen Rupp (last year’s NCAA Individual Champion) and Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott. The Ducks do return sophomore Luke Puskedra who finished fifth overall as a freshman. Oregon opened their season with the Pre’s Trail Run and will next be in action on October 2 in the Bill Dellinger Invite hosted by the Ducks.   Coming in at No. 2 this week is Oklahoma State. Last year the Cowboys finished eighth in the men’s team standings at the NCAA cross country championships but return all seven runners from last year’s squad. The Cowboys host the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree on October 3.   Stanford follows the Cowboys at No. 3 in the men’s preseason rankings with Wisconsin coming in at No. 4. Stanford, third at the NCAA meet a year ago, opened its season at the Nevada Twilight on September 4 and will next be in action in two weeks as the Cardinal hosts the Stanford Invitational on September 26. Wisconsin was fourth overall in the team standings in ’08 and returns four of their top seven runners from that NCAA team. The Badgers will be looking for their eighth straight Great Lakes Region title as well.   Completing the men’s top five is Northern Arizona. NAU is led by two-time USTFCCCA Cross Country All-American David McNeill who will be looking to improve upon his individual finish a year ago (15th) at the NCAA meet. NAU will be back in action this weekend as the Lumberjacks travel West to San Diego for the San Diego State Aztec Invitational.   To view the complete 2009 USTFCCCA Division I Men’s Cross Country Preseason Top 30, clickhere. USTFCCCA http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1391-oregon-opens-09-as-the-top-division-i-mens-cross-country-team Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:12:00 -0500 DII Weekend Review Interview-Ben Zywicki By Cara Hawkins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1384-dii-weekend-review-interview-ben-zywicki Colorado School of the Mine’s Ben Zywicki most recently won UCCS Rust Buster Invite. He finished 22nd last year at XC Nationals on a team that finished 9th overall. He was a member of the indoor distance medley relay team that took first place at Indoor Nationals. He was an All American in the 10k this past spring. DII Weekend Review caught up with after last week’s win.   DII Weekend Review : You had a strong season last year with a 22nd place finish at XC nations and finished high at both the indoor and outdoor track nationals. What was your training like this summer so that you can keep this up? Ben Zywicki:  My training was very similar to years past. I focused on building my mileage up pretty high and keeping the mileage at a solid pace. Most of the runs are based on feel, so some runs end up turning into tempo runs. Some hilly days in there too. That’s really it. DIIWR:What are your goals heading into this season? BZ:I would like to continue building upon the successes I’ve had over the past year. The main goal is to stay consistent throughout the season in everything I do. That encompasses sleeping and eating too.   DIIWR:You are in what some would argue the hardest conference, the RMAC, in DII. How does this affect your training and your mindset? BZ:To be honest, it doesn’t affect my training or mindset in the least. The goal is always to run well at nationals and to do my best on the way there.  Nationals is the race that matters. That being said though, I try and treat Nationals no different mentally than any other race.   DIIWR: There has been a lot of talk on some running boards that Colorado School of the Mines might be one of the most overlooked teams. Do you feel this at all? Is it nice being considered the underdog? BZ:You know, every team has high goals and expectations so to say I don’t feel we’re overlooked would be a lie. However, rankings and chat on message boards don’t make any difference come Nationals time. As far as being the underdog any team that didn’t get a trophy last fall is an underdog. I guess it’s nice but we’re certainly not alone.   DIIWR: Can you give us an example of a typical week of training? BZ: Well it depends on what part of the season we’re in but typically we have a hills day, either repeats or a long sustained hill, and either a long tempo or intervals each week. We run a long run at least once a week.   DIIWR: Last year’s XC Nationals had some crazy weather; did your team have to do anything to adjust to the weather? BZ: Well the nice thing about living in Colorado was that we had already had a couple of those days. Regionals was incredibly cold and windy too. So the only major adjustments we had were to put ½ inch spikes in.   DIIWR: CSM has finished in the top ten the last two years; does this make the team hungry to finish higher? BZ: Of course it does. Our highest place finish as a team was four years ago. We would like to continue to build on that.   DIIWR: You were on the team that won the National DII distance medley relay title, what was that experience like? BZ: That was a great experience for us. To share that with some of my best friends is something I’ll cherish forever because you never know when you’ll get an opportunity like that again. The best part about winning a relay championship is that all members must perform on that given day and as most people know, that’s something to be said for.   DIIWR:What is the best piece of running advice you were ever given? BZ:  Probably two things that go hand in hand. My high school coach, Greg Mitchell, told me one day, and it’s always stuck, is the best thing for running is running. You can be a plyometrics God but if you aren’t out there pounding out some miles, you’re gonna have a tough time. The other advice I’ve been given was from my coach, Art Siemers, who has told me, on numerous occasions, that no matter the training, you have to believe in what you’re doing and at that point you have to get out there and run. Long story short, keep it simple. Cara Hawkins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1384-dii-weekend-review-interview-ben-zywicki Tue, 15 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0500 Kevin Sullivan By Christopher Kelsall [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1380-kevin-sullivan © Copyright – 2009 – Christopher Kelsall Three time Olympian, Kevin (Sully) Sullivan has run 32, sub-4 minute miles. He currently holds the NCAA indoor championship record of 3:55’33. During his varsity career at the University of Michigan he accomplished 14 All-American honours and currently holds the Canadian records for the mile and 1500m distances. Sully was very close to medalling in the Sydney Olympic Games, finishing 5th in the 1500m final. He has competed in at least 10 IAAF World Cross-Country Championships, Commonwealth Games and many other international competitions. At age 35 Kevin, as you will read below, continues to be committed to his athletics career. Meanwhile he is a volunteer coach at Florida State University where his wife Karen Harvey is the women’s Athletics head coach. She too enjoys a winning record. She had a distinguished athletics career including once owning the Canadian 3000m Steeple Chase record of 10:14’27 and a world number 1 ranking in 1998. Karen’s alma mater is also the University of Michigan. Kevin’s Personal bests: 800m    1:47.061500m   3:31.71Mile        3:50.263000m   7:41.615000m  13:19.27 Kevin grew up in Brantford, Ontario, a small hockey town, that produces a high level of quality athletes form a variety of sports. The interview Christopher Kelsall: At what age did you begin to seriously focus on athletics? Kevin Sullivan: I first got involved in my local track club at age 12, but it wasn’t until I was about 14-15 that I started to get serious about athletics. CK: You ran a 2:15, 800m at the age of 12 and 1:53 two years later. Those must be close to world age-group records. Are you aware of how those times stand up? KS: I have no idea how the 2:15 stacks up, but at the time the 1:53 was a world record for 14 year olds. (editor’s note: in 1978, Kent Whilmhurst of Victoria, BC may have had the 12 year-old record with a 2:18). CK: Running Heroes? KS: Sebastian Coe. CK: You have been involved with Athletics Canada as an Athlete Representative.Now that you are in the latter years of your track career, are you considering moving into coaching or perhaps sport administration? KS: I’ve considered both career avenues, but it is still somewhat difficult to gauge how realistic either one of those career avenues are given my wife’s current coaching situation. I’ve been an athlete rep with Athletics Canada for the past 8 years, which also gives me a seat on the Board of Directors, so I have been very fortunate to be able to see and experience some of the administrative side of sport. That could be another possible avenue, but, to be honest I would much rather be directly involved in developing and mentoring athletes rather than being in an administrative role. Being an administrator can be a very thankless job and our administrators deserve a lot more respect than what they are given. CK: When you say that the administrators do not get the respect they deserve, how for example is that manifested? KS: I see it all the time with Athletics Canada. Being an athlete rep and board member I have two distinct and sometimes-conflicting roles. But what I see more is that Athletics Canada administrators in particular are berated in the media and other public forums to no end. However, in dealing with those said administrators I think they do very much with not a whole lot in terms of resources, both manpower and financial. While I don't agree with every decision that is made, those administrators are looking for the same thing the rest of the Athletics public is: increased participation, improved results, and ultimately more resources going directly to athletes and coaches. And it seems that those who shout the loudest just shout about how AC is ruining the sport, without really providing feasible options for solving some of the problems or understanding the reasoning behind the decision, or without stepping up themselves to fill positions for athlete rep or other important committees within the governance structure of Athletics Canada. CK: Being as you are involved in coaching, are you getting a good taste of life as a coach now and the highs and lows that go with coaching others?KS: Yes, I am a volunteer coach here at Florida State University, and before that filled the same role at Illinois and Michigan. I also have a small group of four post collegiate athletes that I am coaching at the moment. So I do have a taste for coaching. The highs and lows are completely different. No matter how confident you are in how you prepare your athletes, at the end of the day, when they step to the line it is on them to compete and replicate what they have been producing in practice. It is difficult to stand on the sideline and know that you have no control over the way athletes are going to react once they get into the heat of the competition. CK: Interesting comment in the latter part of your answer. It is often said that great athletes do not always make great coaches partly because it is believed they cannot always relate to the athlete’s inability to create the same magic they did, during their own heyday. Do you find you have to remind yourself on occasion of your own level of talent versus theirs – or is it even necessary in the individualistic sport of athletics? KS: Sure, it can be difficult at times when you watch an athlete race or even do a workout and they don’t react the way you might react if you were in the same situation. It’s important as a coach to really try to put yourself in your athlete’s shoes and recognize that each individual athlete has different strengths and weaknesses than you may have had as an athlete and learn how to adapt workouts and race planning to suit the individual’s needs, not your own. I don’t think you necessarily have to remind yourself as to the talent differences. That really should be obvious already and taken into account when setting up individual training plans.  CK: What about your civil engineering degree, are you going to be able to make use of it? KS: I would love to be able to answer yes to that question, but in all likelihood I will not make use of the degree in the sense of being employed in the civil engineering field per se. Having been out of school now for 11 years without working in the field is going to mean a lot of re-education if I go that route. I’m not ruling it out, but it is not my first choice of a post-running career. That being said, so many of the skills that were required in pursuing that degree transfer over into so many other fields that I feel very comfortable if I choose not to go in the engineering direction when I am done competing.   On Brantford, Ontario CK: Who is the greatest athlete to ever come out of Brantford, Ontario? KS: Wayne Gretzky. Unfortunately for me, he is also the greatest athlete to come out of my elementary school, Greenbier Elementary!  CK: That is humbling. You came along way from 2nd best in the school, to 5th in the Olympic 1500m final. OK second best, then! KS: Brantford and Brant County has a pretty impressive list of sportsmen/women including: Syl Apps (hockey)Todd Brooker (downhill ski)Tom Fergus (hockey)Juli Howard (swimming)Doug Jarvis (hockey)Keith Jones (hockey)Nick Kaczur (football)Angela Kelly (soccer)Tom Longboat (running)John Muckler (hockey coach/GM)Gaylord Powless (lacrosse)Ross Powless (lacrosse)Greg Stephan (hockey)John, Gary, & Terry Summerhays (boxing) I probably belong somewhere in that list as well, but maybe not even at second best. CK: I didn’t know the list from Brant County was that extensive. Some of those names are legendary. I suggest you are number 2 or 3, but that’s up to the masses to debate. Tom Longboat would be pretty difficult to unseat given the worldwide competitiveness of running compared to the big team sports. Gretzky was very good at several sports, such as lacrosse, track and field, and baseball. It seems great athletes tend to excel at several sports, for instance Steve Nash is an excellent soccer player. When do you think is an ideal age to begin moving kids into sports that they appear to excel at? KS: I don’t think there is an “ideal” age to start moving into specific sports, but it takes a pretty physically and mentally mature kid to get too specific about any sport. At the very least, specialization should not happen until sometime during high school.   CK: Did you play a lot of hockey and lacrosse growing up in Brantford? KS: I played a lot of hockey, but I never played any lacrosse. I was always active growing up though. I was on the ice in the winter, played soccer and golf in the summer and flag football in the fall. CK: Favourite position in hockey? KS: Defense CK: Did your brothers Colin and Darren get into running? KS: Darren not so much. He ran a couple of years in high school but nothing very serious. He was more into snowboarding at the time and eventually moved out to Banff and started working as a snowboard instructor. Colin was a very good runner in high school and also balanced that with a lot of hockey. He was drafted by the Barrie Colts of the OHL, and ended up playing some Jr. B in Brantford. But he did run 1:53 as a 16 year-old, but battled a lot of injuries. He ended up going to UT-Chattanooga on a track scholarship and is still down there working on his masters degree in Education. He has again been battling injuries the past couple of years but did run 3:46 for 1500m. CK: Are you going to seriously run a marathon while still young enough to run standard? KS: I've run two road 10kms. As for a marathon, I don't know. I will run one someday, but how seriously is another question. Somehow I think I probably will run one at least "semi-seriously" just because it is not in my competitive nature to not take a competition seriously. CK: Thoughts on Let's Run message board? KS: Great resource if you can sift through the B.S. to find the good information. CK: You have gone to school and coached in Michigan, Illinois and Florida, but you are from Ontario. I am going to hazard a guess that you are a big Detroit Red Wings fan. KS: NO! I am most definitely not a Red Wings fan. I grew up an Edmonton (Oilers) and Montreal (Canadiens) fan, and have slowly gravitated towards being a Toronto fan (I know, how can you be a Toronto and Montreal fan? It makes no sense). Really though, when it comes down to it, I am a fan of Canadian based teams. I certainly am not a hard-core fan of any one team, more just a fan of the sport in general.  CK: Are you following the drama between the NHL, or perhaps more accurately Commissioner Bettman, and Blackberry owner Jim Balsillie in his attempts to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes? If so, what are your thoughts on Jim wanting to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario and Mr. Bettman going as far as bidding for the team so it can be run by the league to keep them in Phoenix? KS: I really haven’t followed the drama too closely. My dad keeps me updated whenever we talk. I would love to see a team in Hamilton. There is certainly a big enough market to handle having a team in Hamilton and Toronto. Will it happen? Probably not. I certainly don’t understand the logic of keeping the team in Phoenix. How much money does a franchise have to lose before it becomes apparent that hockey is not going to take in Phoenix the way it has in L.A., Dallas, and Tampa? The Tragically Hip CK: No kidding. Let’s talk about one of my favourite musical subjects, The Tragically Hip. You’re a fan. What do you think of their latest two releases, World Container and We are the Same versus their classics, Road Apples and Fully Completely? KS: Road Apples and Fully Completely are very different from World Container and We are the Same. I like all four albums, but I have found that it has taken longer for the latter two albums to grow on me. Road Apples and Fully Completely were instant hits with me and many of my favourite Hip songs are from those two albums.  CK: Well said. Being situated in the US, are you not as exposed to the Hip as you were when you were in Brantford? Perhaps this has something to do with the time it takes their newer releases to grow on you? KS: I think it is more just the artistic differences between the earlier albums and the last couple. I still love their work, but if I were forced to choose, it would definitely be from some earlier Hip albums. Ever have a chance to seem them live? KS: I’ve seen them live four times: Cayuga Speedway, Toledo Zoo Amphitheatre, Air Canada Centre on New Year’s Eve 1999, and The Rivieria in Chicago.  CK: So have you converted Karen, to a Hip fan? KS: She's come to a couple of concerts with me, but not sure I would call her a true "fan". Back on Track CK: Was it important for the sport for Usain Bolt to come along to inject interest in Track & Field? Seeing that he transcends the sport. KS: Sure, but we can't rely on Bolt to save the sport beyond his time in it. Now that the IAAF has the world's attention on the sport they need to capitalize on this opportunity to hold interest when the day comes when Usain Bolt is no longer running mind-boggling times. CK: When you say that the IAAF need to capitalize on the attention Track & Field is getting now to hold interest in the sport. What could they do to create more loyal fans? Also, would better performances (which is starting to happen now), be enough to bring the public back?  KS: I don't think it is necessarily all about better performances. Sure, Usain Bolt is going to electrify the fans when he steps on the track, but we need to make the entire event interesting to the fans. Just in Canada, we had the public paying $250 to watch Bolt run in Toronto, which was more expensive than any Golden League ticket (or the final of the World Championships for that matter) and the stands were packed. Yet our own National Championships were sparsely attended again. CK: Do you think the public is justifiably jaded when excellent performances happen? PEDs seem to garner the big media headlines nearly as much as Bolt’s incredible performances. How do we get around that obstacle? KS: I think the public is jaded when any athlete in any sport has excellent performances, and rightly so. I don't think we will ever get around that obstacle, unless there ever comes a day where we have a drug testing program that can guarantee every athlete lining up in their respective sports are clean. As a track fan, I have to believe that those performances are clean until they are proven otherwise, for the sake of the sport. But as a realist I understand that greed, ego, and jealously, are entirely human traits that are going to lead some down the path of PEDs. I can only hope that testing continues to get better and more athletes decide to compete with honour, integrity, and only with their God given abilities and hard work as their performance enhancer's. CK: Can you take us through your 5th place finish from the 2000 Olympics? I remember watching the race and thinking that for sure, you were in the hunt. El Gerrouj took off and it seems you looked like you could go, was it all in the timing when coming out into the straight? KS: I remember being very calm going into that final. At that point the hard work was done. I had a wonderful season up to that point with 2 Canadian records and strong runs in both the heats and semis at the Olympics so I really wasn’t feeling much in the way of pressure or nerves. I also knew exactly how the race was going to go. With Yousef Baba being in the final we knew that he was going to rabbit El Gerrouj.  I was lined second on the line with El Gerrouj on the inside up against the rail. Just before they brought us out from the tunnel onto the track, El Gerrouj turned to me and said, “First one hundred metres, no pushing, ok?”  At that point I really didn’t know how to react. I just smiled and nodded my head, but in the back of my mind I was thinking that if I needed the spot I was going shove him off the track!  My goal going into that race was to run for a medal. And based on the semi-finals I really thought there were five guys running for the three medals. After each round Wynn Gmitroski and myself would go to the video library in the village and watch each heat and semi. Based on what we saw in those races we felt the guys who looked the best were El Gerrouj, Ngeny, Lagat, Baala, and myself. As it turned out those were the first 5 guys with Ngeny pulling one of the great upsets of those Games.  The race itself went pretty much how we expected. Baba took out the pace and things strung out very early. But he slowed to a 60 second lap on the second lap and the whole field bunched up again. El Gerrouj went to the front with about 600m to go and the field was strung out once again. At that point I made my one mistake of the Games. I allowed Andres Diaz to get by me with 600m to go, and as El Gerrouj ramped up the over the next 100m I lost contact with Baala who was in fourth. I was able to maintain my composure and get myself back to 5th, but at that point there was too much room to make up to really make a run at a medal. CK: We talked a little about possible post-athlete career; I would guess you still have some unfinished business to tend to internationally as an athlete? Any specific goals you would like to tackle in the next few years? KS: Firstly, I need to get healthy. But beyond that I am really looking at Commonwealth Games next year (2010). I really feel like had the 2006 Commonwealth Games been in July/Aug, instead of March, I would have been standing on the podium. My coach and I probably didn’t do enough real specific work going into that championship and it showed on the final lap of the race. Just based on my 3:32 and 3:33 from later that summer, I feel like I had a legitimate shot at challenging for the win. But, I was also only with my coach for less than 6 months at that point and we were still figuring a lot of things out. And on top of that my father was having surgery for kidney cancer the day before the 1500m, so my mind was probably not 100% on the competition.  CK: When you say your coach and you did not do enough specific work as evident by your better times later that summer, can you elaborate on the specificity? Was it anaerobic work or neuro-muscular speed? KS: We didn't focus much on specific 1500m repetition pace work in our build-up towards Melbourne. In hindsight, I was much more prepared to run a great 5k (as evidenced by my short course WXC finish the following week) than I was to run a 1500m. I think we underestimated how much pace work I needed in the build-up to really feel comfortable racing a championship type 1500m race. CK: How about racing going-forward? KS: Beyond next year I cannot make a commitment at this point. When I was younger it was certainly easier to plan on 4-year cycles culminating with an Olympic Games, but at 35 I don’t know that it is fair to make that commitment. Certainly, with missing out on this year’s World Champs after having competed in every Championship since 1993, I would love to be back and competing for a spot on the team in 2011, but that is a decision I will make at the end of the year next year.  So for now I can confirm that I am committed fully to the 2010 season and beyond that, much will depend on how well I compete next summer as well as my desire and commitment to train at the level needed to compete with the best in the world.          Contact Chris: chriskelsall@flocasts.org   Christopher Kelsall http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1380-kevin-sullivan Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:06:00 -0500 John Beattie KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1375-john-beattie-kwik-e  Tulsa's John Beattie, a senior originally from Southampton, United Kingdom, has an impressive distance running resume. At last fall's NCAA Cross Country Championship, Beattie finished in 29th place as his Hurricanes finished 13th. This past spring, he ran 28 minutes, 46.27 seconds in the 10,000-meter run at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational. After training at altitude, with Kenyans this summer, we'll see what he can accomplish this fall. What kind of running did you do this summer? I did the NCAAs in June. After that I took three weeks of complete rest. I basically just relaxed in Tulsa. I didn't go back, I stayed in the States. I got back into it for a couple of weeks, but building up. My friend from England came over to visit and we went to El Paso, where I know a few guys. He used to run for UTEP. We stayed down there for 10 days or so. I think the altitude down there is about 4,000 feet. Then we went from there to Flagstaff, Arizona, which was absolutely superb. We were there for two weeks, up at 7,000 feet. Then we came back to Tulsa on the 17th of August. I've been back here ever since. You did an altitude tour? Yeah. You could put it that way. How did you body handle that? It seems to be handling it quite well. The only thing with Flagstaff is there isn't really any heat or humidity there. It wasn't too bad and I got a couple good weeks of training in there. I feel fine now! Were there any of the “typical” world-class athletes training in Flagstaff when you were there? There were a few of them. We met Abdi (Abdirahman), which was fun. I had coffee and cake with him. We were training with Andrew Ledwith, who ran pretty well at NCAAs last year. Did you do any races or was it all training? No, I haven't done any races since nationals. I figured the NCAA season was long enough for me. With the possibility of what I might be doing next summer...this might be a good reason to have a complete break so I can let the body refresh before training. After taking those three weeks off completely, what was that first week back like? I started with like 35 minutes a day for the first week back and then added five minutes more per day. 35, 40, 45 and so on. I don't really tend to count my mileage that much, just took more time to run. It was certainly very easy for the first couple of weeks. And where are you right now for mileage? It's probably between 100-110ish. Like I said, I don't keep a precise count on it, but it's somewhere around there. That's with how many doubles? Probably Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday...so, four. Have you talked with your coaches and teammates about goals for this cross country season? I was 29th there last year. I think probably half the people who beat me last year were seniors. That would probably leave me well. I know I've been improving, so top-15 would be a decent target. The depth is obviously incredible there, so we'll see. It's quite hard to predict. Same with our team. We were 13th last year and that was the best the school has ever done. I think we're better this year, but we certainly have no illusions, because last year nobody had any injuries. Everyone seemed OK. We're not under any false pretenses that we'll automatically do better than before. Trying to beat last year's finish would be positive for the school. Can you talk about the process that you went through that brought you to Tulsa? It was kind of random. I was at Southampton and did a law degree. Out of the blue one day, I got a message on Facebook from the assistant coach here, Andy Maloney. It was a general message that he sent out, saying, “would you be interested in looking at some post-graduate opportunities? Come out and run on a scholarship.” I was semi-interested in it and he called me that day and he was sounding more and more convincing on what he had to offer. At that point I would check out races and see that everyone was racing fast. I was looking at the Stanford meet and we obviously don't have anything like that back at home in England. He recruited me more. I had no specific bounds at home and thought, “whynot give it a go?” And here I am. Be honest: what brought you here? Was it another degree or the running? I think it's a combination of everything really. Unless you're in that top percent at home where you're going to get everything looked after or whatever, this is the place to be running wise. And the degree, well, that's always going to help. I'm doing an MBA here, which they're always telling me how valued that is to getting jobs and stuff. Then, just the lifestyle thing, where I have an opportunity to come and see the stage and run at places like California or Texas or places I've never even heard or thought about before...well, now I'm getting a chance to see these places. I get to meet people from all over the world. What kind of international race experience do you have? I ran the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh last year. December last year, two weeks after NCAAs, I ran the European Cross Country Championships in Belgium. I've done a few. Which international races do you have coming up? I'm definitely not doing the British Trials for the European Cross Country Championships. It's probably unlikely that I'll get picked for the senior team. I'll be running at the NCAAs and it would be unfair to the guys to be picked after not showing up for the trials. I'm not really thinking about that too much. If it comes up, then I might consider it. So, outside of the NCAA, which races do you have your sights on? I've got some very specific sights this year. We have the Commonwealth Games, which is pretty much the British Empire and former-British Empire countries. It's kind of a watered-down version of the Olympics. They have all the sports ant everything. It's in Delhi, India. That would be pretty cool to compete in. That's next in 2010. We also have the European Championships on the track. That's in August next year. Making either of those in the 10k would be great for me. How difficult are the standards? They're not too bad. They're kind of developmental competitions for people looking to the make Olympics and World Championships in the future. I think the 10k is like 28:30ish, give or take five seconds. I think that's certainly achievable. There's not a huge amount of depth back home, so it's almost the case where if you hit the time, you're going to go. It's not like you have 10-15 guys having the time that you do, compared to the US Championships. What do you do when you get free time? I like playing golf. I was hugely into golf before I got into running. That was my sport before running. I played with the coach here at Tulsa a few times. How are the courses over here comparing to the golf courses back home? They're nice. We have Southern Hills in Tulsa, where they just had a US amateur. I haven't been able to get on there yet. You'd probably need $300 per round there. They can't pull any strings for one of their top distance runners? I don't think so. It's one of those types of places where you have to be in the right place and know the right people. It's one of those conservative, southern, traditional clubs. Even our coach hasn't played there and that's pretty surprising. What's the hardest workout you've ever done? I love to do the really big 10k track preparation sessions. One of the ones that I did last year, building up to Stanford. It was 3k on the track at 10k pace, then it was five 400s quicker, then a two-mile tempo on the grass, then... Can I start over and change this? I've got a better one! I did it with—have you heard of a guy called Kyle King? Zap Fitness guy? Yes, I have! He's based in Tulsa and he's got this workout called the Mongetti. It's a fartlek session on the track, where you do two by 90 seconds on, 90 seconds off, four by 60 seconds on, 60 seconds off. Four by 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off and then four by 15 on, 15 off. The aim of it is to keep your recovery going at really solid pace without ever really letting up. We did that in about 19:35-19:40ish. Straight off of that we do two by mile, where you do a hard 1500 and then rest for five minutes. Do you realize that you started this off with, “I love to do the really big 10k preparations”? I hate the killer lactic sessions where we do four or five by 400 hard. Those aren't for me, but the big, big 10k sessions...I love them! That's what I train for. 100-mile weeks and workouts like that and I'm expecting big things from you this season. (Laughs) Yeah, we'll see. What's your longest run ever? Longest? I'd say two hours, 10 minutes. We were going to do two hours but got lost and ended up doing 10 minutes more. If you could have any meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? I lived with the Kenyans this summer and they were cooking all sorts of Kenyan food for me. I (really liked) chapati. It's a really floury-type pancake. They make that and ugali as well. They live off this stuff and they tell me I'll run fast if I eat that and beef stew. It needs to be cooked by Kenyan girls. If they guys make it...they're not in the same league as the Kenyan women. Is it crazier to go to soccer game in England or a Tulsa football game? There's no comparison. Absolutely no comparison! The passion and everything back home is just so much more intense. It's life or death for people back home. I've seen some pretty nasty things back home. The games here are fun, but they're soft compared to the abuse and the shouting and the riots. Can you give me a crazy running-related story? We were doing a run at a park, trying to explore it and go out to new areas that we hadn't been. We ended up in these farmer's fields. We weren't quite sure where we were going. All of a sudden, a truck comes out of nowhere and starts following us. The guy in it starts shouting at us. I think it was along the lines of, “get off my land!” We decided not to because we wanted to keep on going and didn't want to go back. Then we ended up running through this river to get away and climbed over a few barbwire fences, thinking we were clear. We got to the edge of a highway. The guy turns around and doubles back and pulls up along side of us, gets out of his truck and he shouts, “if you ever come on my land again, I'm going to kill you and shoot you with my gun!” It was classic! We started sprinting. You don't want to mess with these people. You don't know what they're capable of or what they're carrying.       Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1375-john-beattie-kwik-e Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:00:00 -0500 DII Weekend Review-Labor Day 2009 By Cara Hawkins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1371-dii-weekend-review-labor-day-2009 An old fashion rule is that one is not suppose to wear white after Labor Day and after this past weekend not many DII runners will have to worry about their spikes being white. Many teams took part in their first race of the 2009 season and hope to bust the rust of their legs. There were quite a few meet across the nation though many were merely dual or alumni meets. I will highlight a few of the more heated match-ups.  If there are any results that you think should be highlighted or discussed leave a comment below. I am always open to suggestions, after all Flotrack is a community. Joe I.Vigil Open-The Adams State meet was the first meeting between perhaps the most heated rivalry in DII running between Adams State and Western State. In the women’s race, it was Adams State’s Kristen McGlynn who took the individual win running the 5k course in 17:53. Mesa State’s Alexis Skarda was not far behind in 17:59. Adams State’s Alicia Nelson rounded out the top three with 18:09. Adams State took the team win with 26 points followed by Mesa State with 56 points and Western State with 75 points. In the men’s race the top five spots were taken by Adams States runners. Reuben Mwei won the 8k race in 24:27 followed by Brian Medigovich (24:30) and Ryan McNiff (24:40). The first Western State runner was Tyler Pennel in 6th with a 25:15. Adams State scored a perfect 15 points to win the team race followed by Western State (48 points) and Fort Lewis (80 points). Brooks Memphis Twilight- In both the women’s and men’s races, Harding had a very good showing. Harding’s Esther Kosgei was the first DII finisher finishing the 5k course in 18:48.41 and was fifth overall. Harding was the first DII School and second overall in the team race with 91 points. Harding’s Daniel Kirwa was the runner-up in the men’s race covering the 4 mile course in 19:12.91. The team finished sixth with 208 points. UCCS Rust Buster- In the women’s race Colorado School of the Mines’s Sydney Laws won the 4k race in the time of 14:53.72. She was followed by Metro State’s Danielle Kehoe (15:09.16) and Laws’s teammate Marie Patton (15:16.33). Colorado School of the Mines was the first DII School with 53 points for second place. Metro State was third with 54 points. University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was fourth with 89 points. In the men’s race, Colorado School of the Mine’s Ben Zywicki won the 6k race in the time of 19:08.36.  The next DII finisher was Metro State’s Anthony Luna who finished fourth with a 19:18.22. Colorado School of the Mine’s won the team competition with 37 points. Metro State was third with 62 points. Colorado at Colorado Springs was fifth with 143 points. UNCP XC Invitational-Augusta State’s Holly Keeper was the first DII runner through the line for second place running 24:17.44 for the 6k course. She was followed by her teammates Angela Woodward in fourth (24:45.66) and Savannah Sutton in fifth (24:57.13). Augusta State won the women’s team competition with 25 points over Pfeiffer University (69 points) and Wingate University (106 points). University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s Pardon Ndhlovu won the men’s 8k race with a time of 25:26.33. The next DII runner was Wingate’s David Sanctis who was fifth in the time of 27:33.59. University of North Carolina at Pembroke won the team competition with 40 points. Wingate was third with 61 points and Francis Marion was fourth with 123 points. Cara Hawkins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1371-dii-weekend-review-labor-day-2009 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:04:00 -0500 Cameron Levins By Christopher Kelsall [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1369-cameron-levins © Copyright – 2009 – Christopher Kelsall   On June 16th, Black Creek’s Cam Levins finished 2nd over-all in the British Columbia Provincial 5k Road Race Championships on a challenging and hilly, double-looped course. He finished in the time of 14:53. Friday, August 14th he won a local 5000m event in 14:09 - The Black Press 5000. Interestingly, he ran faster during his summer build-up than he did at the end of his NCAA Division 1 track season. Following that August 14th performance in Victoria, B.C. he flew to the other end of the country to Prince Edward Island where he took in the Canada Summer Games 5000m and won in 14:23.   He is on a roll. He even has his own official Cam Levins thread at the Comox Valley Road Runners site.   Cam doesn’t seem the type to question what works for him. When I asked him specific questions about his training, he said, “honestly, I don't know a lot about different training philosophies. I've just put my trust in Coach Houle and the program, and so far it has worked out pretty well. I do around 100 miles-a-week and I run every day.”   From the Southern Utah Thunderbirds Athletics site:   Thirty-three time conference and 1999 NCAA Mountain Regional Coach of the Year Eric Houle is in his 18th season as head track and field and cross-country coach at Southern Utah University. Since his arrival at SUU in 1992, the Thunderbirds have won 36 conference championships, including four Summit League titles, 31 Mid-Con titles combined in track and cross-country, an American West title and one NCAA Mountain Regional cross-country championship.   Cam is now back at Southern Utah getting ready for the looming cross-country season.   CK: How easy of a decision was it for you to choose Southern Utah?   CL: Choosing Southern Utah was actually a pretty easy decision. I had scholarship offers from a lot of Div 2 schools, and I had Div 1 Universities interested in me, but I wasn't being offered enough to go to them. Then one of the coaches at Southern Utah contacted me, and it just seemed to be exactly the kind of school I was looking for. Division 1, small school (I like small class sizes and being able to walk from one class to another easily), but still a very good track and cross-country program, and they were offering me a good enough scholarship for me to afford to go.   My planned major is Exercise Science. However, I'm not exactly sure what job I want use it for post-college, but I like the subject.   CK: 2007/2008 was your first season in Division 1. How was your introduction to this new level of competition?   CL: Entering the NCAA was one of best decisions of my running career. I saw pretty drastic personal bests with the new training regiment at Southern Utah and facing a greater level competition throughout the NCAA.   CK: Can you elaborate on the new training regime? CL: My coach probably wouldn’t like me to give away too many of our program’s ‘secrets’ but I think the main changes from my high school to collegiate training have been an increase in both weekly mileage and pace I run my recovery days at, and a larger variety of workouts.    CK: What are some examples of ‘drastic personal bests’?  CL: First, here are a couple of my best times from high school: 1:58.1 and 4:00.7 in the 800m and 1500m respectively. By the end of freshman year I had run a 1:53.8 and 3:50.01.  CK: You ran a 1 mile road race near your home town of Black Creek in downtown Courtenay, you managed to nip under 4:00 minutes, but the course turned out to be short. Were you suspect with your ‘sub 4’ or did you have any idea about the length discrepancy?   CL: A mile under 4:00 minutes has been a dream for so many years that when I saw the finishing time ‘3:59.86’ I was ecstatic and extremely happy. It was a feeling of great satisfaction to accomplish a long-term goal like that. I actually didn’t find out until a couple weeks later that the course was short. I was obviously disappointed when I did. It was hard to have what I thought was my first time running ‘sub 4’ taken away from me. However, I got over it and I’m confident it’s just a matter of time until I do it legitimately.   CK: Do you know how short the mile was? What is your mile personal best?   CL: I’m not sure of the exact distance but I was told that, from the pace I was running, it would account for about an extra 2.5 seconds. But my mile personal best is 4:04.66 (indoor) on the track so I was still happy to have run faster than that.    Of Black Creek, Vancouver Island  CK: Growing up in Black Creek on Vancouver Island you certainly had your choice of a variety of sports. What other sports did you play?  Were you always a runner?   CL: I actually did many different sports such as soccer, basketball and volleyball, but was always a runner. I started racing cross-country in grade 2 and the following year I joined track & field, but it wasn’t until grade 7 that I started legitimately training for competition. I continued playing other sports along with running, but I started dropping other sports when I entered high school in grade 9.   Even though I live near the ocean, I have never really taken advantage of it. I don't really like swimming, fishing, or water-sports.   Probably the first sport I did was soccer. I also did some skiing and snowboarding.   CK: I recently asked you about running into bears while training at home. You replied that you haven’t actually ever seen a bear. This isn’t the answer I was looking for, at least Geoff Martinson during our recent interview admitted to running away, flailing his arms, when scared of some Black Bears (wrong thing to do). You know there are now Grizzlies on the island. So how about cougars or wolves, seen any of those?   CL: The only wildlife I ever run into seem to be deer and rabbits. I mostly stick to the road when running so I rarely come across much wildlife. I don’t think there are many wolves, cougars, or bears in the particular area I live.    CK: Maybe I should have asked Geoff: “Why did the chicken cross the road?” And he could answer, “because I saw a bear.”   Deer are highly dangerous, especially the big bucks in the spring, do you take any precautionary measures when running by them?   CL: I have never had problems with them being dangerous. However, they always scare the crap out of me whenever a big one jumps out of the woods right in front of me. I often wonder which one of us is more surprised though. Back to running  CK: Black Press 5000 – you ran 14:09 August 14th for a personal best. Your splits were as follows:   70.1  67.4  67.2  68.1  68.1  68.2  67.4 67.7  67.7  69.2  68.3  65.1 (14:09.)   This looks like a solid set of splits, slower start, steady and even in the middle and then laying the hammer down in the final 400m. Was this the plan from the start? It seemed to work as you created a nice gap between yourself and 2nd place finisher Richard Mosley.   CL: When I first arrived at the track I was actually looking to break 14:00 minutes, but as I warmed up for the race, the wind began picking up, so I talked to Richard and we decided to share laps going about 68 seconds per lap. However, about 6 laps in Richard couldn’t quite hold the pace so I ended up leading the rest of the way.     Richard’s splits:   70.1 67.9 67.2  67.5  68.1  68.9  69.1 69.6  69.8  69.9  70.4  66.9 (14:19.)   CK: Was the matter of not breaking 14:00 due to the wind or lack of someone to push you?   CL: I don’t want to make any more excuses for my time. I ran as well as I could on the day and, as much as I would’ve liked to run under 14:00 minutes, I’m still very happy about the personal best.   CK: Have you had a chance to watch Dathan Ritzenhein’s 12:56 performance yet? He was dead last and appeared nearly out of reach at one point, mid-race, what are your thoughts on him running that time, finishing in 3rd position when stepping down from the marathon?   CL: I have watched his race and it was very impressive. There was at least one moment I thought he may beat Kenenisa Bekele. I’m glad to see an excellent marathoner like Ritzenhein being able to step down to a lower distance and still see such success.   CK: During your spare time, are you a rabble-rouser?   CL: I haven't had a lot of time to relax now that school has started back up. It sometimes feels like passing out on the couch is what I do during my spare time [laughing]. Seriously though, if I'm not running I'm usually enjoying myself playing some other sport recreationally.   CK: What goals have you set for the 2009/10 season?   CL: During track season I would like to run under a few different minute barriers such as 4:00 minutes in the mile, 8:00 minutes in the 3000m and 14:00 minutes in the 5000m.   I’m not overly concerned about my times in cross-country because each course can be so different, but I am certainly looking to qualify for NCAA nationals this year and compete for All-American status. Contact Chris: chriskelsall@flocasts.org Christopher Kelsall http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1369-cameron-levins Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:15:00 -0500 John Martinez KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1367-john-martinez-kwik-e  North Carolina State senior John Martinez is a steeplechaser at heart. The Stony Point, New York native ran 9 minutes, 6.6 seconds in high school over the hurdled 3,000-meter distance. Martinez has lowered his steeple personal-best time to 8:44.92. Heading into his last cross country season, Martinez looks to better his 49th-place finish from last year. You're back at NC State, right? Yes, sir. Have your classes started again? Yup, class started two weeks ago from tomorrow. I've been here for nearly a month. How did you spend most of your time this summer? Most of my time was spent working, I guess. I was a lifeguard this past summer with both my brothers. My brother is my manager, so it was pretty cool...being able to make my own hours. I scheduled my work around my running. I would wake up early, get my running in an do everything I had to do then spend my day working. This past summer is the first that I didn't really do as much as I normally would. I'd normally hang out with my friends. I did a lot of work on my car this summer...with my friends. Working on a hot rod or something? I have a Mustang. It's a new one, but I made a lot of modifications. I put rims on it, exhaust and intake. I was working in the driveway with my friends and stepdad. Did you put in runs after you finished working on your car? Or no doubles for you? Over the summer, I didn't double too many times. Once I got to school, that's when I really started doing my double runs. I doubled today and doubled three times last week...just to get the mileage up. I started slow with my mileage this summer because I was injured all of last spring. My summer was a little more of a building period, more than high mileage. I didn't double much over the summer. Where did you start for mileage this summer and where are you now? I started around maybe 35 miles a week, on about four days. Then went up to 50. Now I'm up to 90. The progression has been pretty good and I'm feeling a lot better now. It's high mileage now. High last week, high this week then it will kind of be a down week. Is 90 the highest you'll go? Will you hit triple digits? No, no triple digits. I think I've only done that maybe once...and that was two years ago when we had a really long workout followed by a really long long run. No fun races or anything like that? Nope. Nothing like that. Coach really doesn't want us to race over the summer. He really doesn't even like us doing workouts over the summer. I pretty much did a few runs with friends...other than that, it was all on my own. That's why I came down to school as early as I did. I wanted to come down here and be able to run with a few guys, rather than running by myself every day. Are you doing a lot of your miles on trails, or is it on pavement? Most of it is on pavement and roads. We do two runs at a state park, about ten minutes from campus. It's 100 miles of trails. We go out there for two of our longer runs. We stay on the trails, a softer surface...there's lots of shade, so we get out of the heat. It's pretty busy there on the weekend with recreational runners, bikers and walkers. You still do most of your miles on roads with those trails available? Yes, only because it's off campus. It would be a hassle to get the whole team out there every day. We'd have to get into vans and drive out there and probably have to start practice a little earlier than we normally would. Most of the runs, we meet in the locker room then meet at the track or whatever. Twice a week we go off campus to that park and run. What are your goals for this cross country season? I've been thinking about it, of course. I obviously want the team to win the conference title. We haven't won since 2006. Get NC State back to the top of the ACC is my main goal. That being said, I would also like to win the individual crown. The team is more important, so if I have to finish second, third or fourth and trade that for a team victory, I would. Regionals, as long as our team makes it to nationals. It doesn't seem all that important to me...as long as we make it to nationals. At nationals, our team wants to improve on the places we've been finishing the past few years for our program. We've had the personnel, we've had the team to be able to run well at nationals, but for some reason when we get there...it doesn't work out for us and it's disappointing. I'd like to be All-American. I was 49th last year and just missed it. Top-30 would be real nice for me this year. You've been with your team for a few weeks this year, do you have the team to win the ACC title and go on to do well at nationals? Yeah, I do. Our team looks good. Obviously we have a few holes to fill on the back end of the rotation. We're really young and the guys are really excited to get to work and earn their spot. The ACC has gotten really tough in the past few years. This year, I expect it to be one of the more challenging years. Florida State just got a new transfer from Michigan that's going to help them out a lot. Virginia has been hot the past few years and even Virginia Tech has improved dramatically in the past few years. I think it's going to be a real dogfight in the conference this year. Some of the freshman and redshirt freshman will be ready to step up then. Why did you redshirt in 2005? Was there an injury? No, there wasn't an injury. Coming out of high school, I wasn't used to the mileage, I wasn't used to the pacing. The transition was really difficult for me. In high school, I ran 30 mile weeks at close to eight-minute pace, really relaxed. Getting to college and having to run 70-mile weeks around six-minute pace...was something I wasn't ready for physically or mentally. It didn't work out. I think coach could have inserted me into the lineup. It would have been tough...to be a six or a seven guy...wouldn't have been worth it. He just sat me out and let me get some experience before lining up. Would you prefer running a steeplechase on the track or do you prefer running cross country? I prefer track only because it's 3,000 meters. I know who's in the race, I know what they've done. It's pretty constant. I feel I'm a little bit better in track than I am in cross country. There's something about the cross country atmosphere...the whole thing: the team aspect, everybody counts. In track, you can just worry about yourself and not what other people on the team are doing. In cross country, you make sure everyone is on the same page, doing the right thing. The weather starts changing, it's the fall, which is really amazing to run in. Everyone is one race, running the same distance at the same time. I prefer track, but cross country is something that is also very special. You've developed pretty consistently as a steeplechaser—running low nines in high school. I ran 9:06 at Junior Nationals, then redshirted freshman year. I think I ran 8:52. Then 8:44 my redshirt sophomore year. Then I didn't run last year. I've been really excited. Not being able to race this spring was disappointing. I thought I could have gone low 8:30s. The NCAA meet was harder to watch. Other than Kyle Perry, I don't think anyone ran particularly well. It seemed like a down year for the steeple. It was disappointing to see those results, knowing I could have been up there in the mix for the top three or something like that. What do you do when you get free time? You're a Yankees fan? Oh, my God. Yeah. Down here in North Carolina we don't have the YES Network and I called up Time Warner Cable and it's only like six extra bucks a month to get the YES Network. I've got like seven Yankee hats, Yankee posters all over my room, my phone cover is the Yankees, my ring tone is the Yankees! I love the Yankees! Non-sports related, what do you do for fun when you get time? I watch a lot of TV, hang out with the guys on the team. We play a lot of Halo or FIFA. We're really competitive with the team. There's a lot of kids from the South—North Carolina, Virginia...there's a lot of kids from North too—New York and Ohio area. We have a lot of North vs. South competitions. Ultimate Frisbee, swimming races, volleyball...things like that. I like to interact with the guys on the team. There's a mini-Civil War? North vs. South sort of thing? Pretty much. Every year we play a series of games. We just started playing basketball last year...but that's after the season ends. We keep score and see who's winning what. Surprisingly with the North being outnumbered as badly as we are, we always seem to win these games. That's history. There's nothing you can do about that. It's in the textbooks. Exactly. If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? It would probably be something cooked by my mother or my father. It would be something that I'm used to eating. Thanksgiving, Christmas and summers are the only times that I'm there. While I'm there, I usually eat the same things when I'm with them. Rice, beans, platanos—usually yellow ones. Some sort of meat...the meat will change...anything from beef, to chicken, to pork, to fish. Can you give me a crazy running-related story? On a long run at the state park I was telling you about earlier, one of the older kids on the team named Tibor was like, “hey, I've got this loop, do you want to do it?” We said, “sure” and were running on trails and it didn't seem like anything different from any other runs. Well, all of a sudden, he veers off and starts running through all these trees and bushes. It was just running through the woods. We didn't know where the hell he was going. We end up in this field that has grass taller than us. He veers off again into more woods. We don't know how he found this—he's done it a few times—but we got through spider webs and get to this stream and there's no way around it. We all jump in and start swimming across the stream. We get out, run another quarter mile, run into the stream again and start swimming. Well, one of the kids on the team, Jeff, starts getting out and falls back in. I think his leg cramped, so he starts to scare me and flail his arms and is coughing. We jump back in and grab him. He's freaking out, so we grab him by the neck and make the situation worse. Eventually we get him out of the water. We continue our run, jumping over fallen trees and avoiding snakes. Everyone hates them and we always seem to run into about 10 of them. We hit the end of the trail with two kids who almost drowned and we're cut and bleeding and itchy from God-Knows-What...and we look at our watches and it only took us 40 minutes to do this. We have another hour of running. The next hour of running...there was blood rolling down our legs, we had wet shoes, itchy backs and legs...it was kind of miserable.   Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1367-john-martinez-kwik-e Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:00:00 -0500 Dathan Ritzenhein Teleconference Excerpts After American Record 5k By USATF Press [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1366-dathan-ritzenhein-teleconference-excerpts-after-american-record-5k Dathan Ritzenhein teleconference excerpts INDIANAPOlIS - USA Track & Field on Tuesday hosted a media teleconference featuring Dathan Ritzenhein, who set a new American record in the men's 5,000 meters when he crossed the finish line in 12 minutes, 56.27 seconds at last week's Weltklasse meet in Zurich. Ritzenhein's performance bettered the 13-year old standard of 12:58.21 set by Bob Kennedy, and made him the third American ever to break the 13-minute barrier at 5,000 meters. Ritzenhein is coming off of the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany, where he finished the 10,000 meters in a personal best time of 27 minutes 22.28 seconds, which is the best time ever by an American at a World Championships.  His sixth-place finish in that event is the highest ever by an American at Worlds. Excerpts from today teleconference follow: Opening Statement by Bob Kennedy:  Dathan, I know we had a chance to talk for a couple minutes right after your race, but it was a little broken up. I wanted to take this opportunity to say congratulations. I had an opportunity to watch the race and it was a helluva performance, gutsy and disciplined, and congratulations on your record. I'm very proud of you. Dathan Ritzenhein: Thanks so much, Bob. It was an awesome feeling. As you know the atmosphere in Zurich was just amazing and you just kind of get into your own world there almost. It felt so awesome that finally after 13 years to see that amazing record come within the grasp of American distance runners. Questions for Ritzenhein: Q: As a young runner, what did you think about Bob's record, and how does it feel to be the person to break a record that has been there so long? A: When I first started getting interested in distance running and started really getting good at it, I was at that age when Bob was in his real prime when he ran that time, and that was an inspiring moment for me. I remember watching the Atlanta Olympics and he was an idol of mine for so many years and he still is. That was a pinnacle moment for my interest in running, when Bob ran that record. The record has lasted for 13 years and it's a testament to how difficult that record is, and there's been some great runners to go through and have not approached that yet. For me to be the person to finally make the big jump and actually get it, I'm so thrilled to be able to have that. In the future, should I hopefully continue to improve and have great races, and maybe run faster than that, this will be one that will always stick in my mind because it's a turning point, I think. Q:  Was there a point in Friday's race in Zurich when you thought that you could get Bob's record? A: Yeah. I was nervous going into the race because they had talked about a very fast pace, and they did the pace they said they were going to. For me I had to hold on for dear life because Alberto (coach Alberto Salazar) told me beforehand, he said, 'You can't go out in 4:02 or 4:03 the first mile, but you can't get dropped either, because if you get dropped, you can't run fast."  So I just had to hold on to the back, and it was so fast that I had to really stay focused and bring it back slowly and try to run a fairly even pace. That was really difficult for me at first because it was so fast that I felt awkward through the first half of the race, but through the middle part of the race I started to catch people and feel good, and then with about four laps to go I realized that I had a very good shot at breaking Bob's record because I felt great at that time and I had been running an even pace and hadn't fallen off at all. I knew I was going to break it with 200 meters to go because I saw the clock and knew that I would have to really, really fade (to not break the record). I think I  was at 12:25, and I knew that I would have to run 33 seconds the last 200, and I was still feeling good enough at that point that I knew I could hold it. Q: Was it sobering to run that fast and not win? (Ritzenhein finished third in the race) A: No. I was so ecstatic at that point because I was really just thinking about competing as much as possible and when I got into the later stages in the race especially, I saw Bekele close enough to me. The greatest runner in history was not that far ahead and I was closing on him, so I know I ran as good as I could and ran an awesome race. Of course I didn't win the race, but that doesn't happen that often with as strong and deep as distance running is, so it would be really greedy for me to say that I was disappointed at all because I didn't win the race. I think I ran an amazing race, and even if I didn't break Bob's record I still was able to get in there and compete and that's really the step in the direction we're trying to take.  Q: In addition to your record-setting performance in Zurich, you set a 10,000m personal best at the World Championships in Berlin. To what do you credit all your recent success? A:  I started the year off slow, but I seemed to improve at the right time. For me the biggest change for me after the London Marathon, where I was disappointed with my finish there when I thought I was really ready and it was a big blow for me, and so that's when I had to make a hard decision, and it's always difficult to break out of your comfort zone and I think that was the biggest thing in making that one step across the line. So, when I went to work with Alberto it really breathed a new fresh life into me. Alberto has been able to get me excited about racing again, excited about running, and he got me believing that I can run with the best guys in the world, and that's something that I kind of lacked over the last few years. Q: What's next for you, and do you plan to run a fast 10,000m race anytime soon? A: Next up for me is the World Half-Marathon Championships (October 11, 2009 in Birmingham, England). The thought behind that is coming off from this season we still feel that I'm the best fitted over the longer distances. Ultimately that means the marathon and that's really what I love to do, although I've gotta say that I really have enjoyed track this summer. Alberto wanted to avoid, though, getting into the actual full on, big training of the marathon because we really wanted to take this next year, year and a half, to get efficient again and get fast and work on my form and technique.  To do that we needed not to do a fall marathon, which was a hard decision, but at the same time we didn't want to go for so long without doing the long, hard effort close to that. There was originally a thought of doing a half-marathon, but he said after the 10K that 'you're one of the best runners in the world and you need to race the best runners in the world.' The World Half-Marathon Championship field is going to be so deep and so strong that it's going to be something where we can really mix it up, and that will give me the confidence the next time I step on the line in the marathon. As far as running a fast 10,000, I just don't see it happening anytime soon. Q: Are you back in Eugene now, and where are you in terms of your living transition from Eugene to Portland? A: Right now I'm in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I stopped back here for a few days to say hi to the family, and we really didn't know what I was going to do after the track season. I'm coming back to Portland at the end of the week, or the early part of next week. To tell you the truth, as far as the transition, I feel like a nomad. I don't think I've been home in three months and I've been all over the place. We have a house for sale in Eugene and as soon as the Half-Marathon Championships are over we're going to find a place in Portland and try to really settle into a full on routine. Q: When will you run your next marathon? A: I have no idea really. I want to do one more full track season and give it a real good go at running some fast times again. Things always seem day to day with Alberto, especially. I'm just enjoying this right now and enjoying racing again. In all likelihood, I'd like to do it sooner than later because I'd like to concentrate on that for the 2012 Olympics, so I'll have to get back to it, but at the same time I want to give it as good a shot as possible to run fast this summer. Q: Are you also looking to someday own the American 10,000m record? A: Definitely. I think that I never really was someone to shoot for records so much. I always liked to compete more and the hardest thing about 10k's is that there's not a whole lot of them. But at the same time, I think sometimes it doesn't work to go out and try to break a record. Sometimes it has to just happen in a race. So if it happens it happens, and if it doesn't maybe it'll have to wait for another year. For me to go out and say I'm going to break it at this race, I don't think it's good to put that kind of pressure on myself. I know after these last couple races that I'm capable of it, but I just have to get in a race and when it happens it'll happen.  About USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.  For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org USATF Press http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1366-dathan-ritzenhein-teleconference-excerpts-after-american-record-5k Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:53:00 -0500 Austin Distance Challenge On The FloNetwork By Pat Hitchins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1365-austin-distance-challenge-on-the-flonetwork The FloNetwork keeps rolling. The Austin Distance Challenge is an Austin-based race series comprised of seven events and powered by local Running Store, Runtex. The series is sponsored by local Austin Businesses, Non-Profits, and Charities. By joining the FloNetwork, the race organizers will be able to promote and film the races using Flotrack's custom video platform, to a National Audience. If you are a race organizer contact us (flonetwork@flocasts.org) about how we can get your event on the FloNetwork.    Austin Distance Challenge FloNetwork     The Races: Silicon Labs Marathon Relay IBM 10K Gazelle Foundation Run for the Water 10 Miler Austin Runners Club Decker Challenge RunTex 20 Miler 3M Half Marathon Austin Marathon & Half-Marathon         Pat Hitchins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1365-austin-distance-challenge-on-the-flonetwork Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:49:00 -0500 DII Review: National And Regional Rankings By Cara Hawkins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1364-dii-review-national-and-regional-rankings U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released last week their regional preseason rankings and later their National Rankings. I believe this would be a good jumping off point for some discussion. I will give the top three in each region for both men and women and last year’s National qualifiers. What I would like is if you agree or disagree and why. There were very few meets this past weekend but if you believe there were any worth noting let me know by leaving a comment below about the meet. If there is anything you would like to see for future columns let me know. AtlanticMen1.Edinboro2. Lockhaven3.Shippensburg Last year, Lock Haven won the team title with 51 points, followed by Edinboro (71). Women1.Shippensburg2.Slippery Rock3.EdinboroShippensburg took home the team title with 62 points and advanced along with Slippery Rock (97). CentralMen1.Adams State2.Western State3.Colorado School of the Mines Last year, Adams State took home the team title with 33 points and advanced to Nationals. Western State (52) and Minn. St. Mankato (108) rounded out the top three.Women1. Adams State2. Augustana (South Dakota)3. Western StateAdams State took home the team title with 30 points, placing their top five in the top fifteen places. They were followed by Augustana (81) and Western State (83).EastMen1.Stonehill2.UMass Lowell3.Southern Connecticut StateUMass Lowell won the team title with 43 points and advanced along with second place finisher Stonehill (54 points).Women1.Stonehill2.Adelphi3.Southern Connecticut StateUMass Lowell won the regional title with 46 points. Second place finisher was Stonehill (56 points).MidwestMen1.Grand Valley State2. Southern Indiana3.Wayne State Grand Valley State totaled 45 points, earning the men's overall title. Wayne State and Southern Indiana tied for second place (102) last year. Women1.Grand Valley State2.Southern Indiana3.Ferris StateGrand Valley (35) took the title last year over Wayne State (90) and Ferris State (111) Wayne State drops out of the top three with the lost of their top runner, Rachelle Malette.SouthMen1.Harding2.UAH3.Flordia SouthernHarding took the team title with 15 points last year and was followed in second by UAH (92).Women1.Tampa2.Harding3.UAHTampa won the team title with 28 points was followed by Harding (47 points).South CentralMen1.Abilene Christian2.Southwest Baptist3.Missouri Southern StateAbilene Christian grabbed the top six places on their way to win with 31 points over Missouri Southern (105 points) and Pittsburg State (149 points).Women1.Missouri Southern State2.Midwestern State3.Dallas BaptistMissouri Southern took the team title with 88 points followed by Midwestern State (94) and Pittsburg State (105).SoutheastMen1. Queens of Charlotte2.Columbus State3.Clayton StateQueen’s took the team title with 19 points and were followed by Columbus State (87).Women 1. Lees-McRae2.Columbus State3. Augusta StateLee-McRae was the winner of team title (85 points) and second place was Augusta State (110).WestMen1.Chico State2.Western Washington3. Alaska AnchorageChico State garnered 28 points to easily earn the team crown, while second place Alaska Anchorage tallied 67. Western Washington’s 103 were good enough for third.Women1.Seattle Pacific2.Chico State3.Alaska AnchorageChico State took the team title with 60 points. They were followed by Seattle Pacific (92), Alaska Anchorage (104), Cal St. Los Angeles (114), and Western Washington (141). National Men1.Adams State2.Western State3. Chico State4.Abiliene Christian5. Grand Valley State Last year, Adams States took home top honors with 67 points, besting their rival Western (88).  The top five was rounded out by Chico (120), last year’s winner, Abilene Christian (128), and Grand Valley (190). So basically, the USTFCCA did not change the rankings from the places that the first five finished last year. Women1.Adams State2.Grand Valley State3.Seattle Pacific4.Shippensburg5.Augustana (SD) Last year, Adams State took their 6th team title with 79 points. They were followed by Grand Valley (102), Western State (183), Seattle Pacific (194), and Augustana (203). In the coaching poll, Western dropped out of the top five and Seattle Pacific moved up. Also, my team is heading to DII Pre-Nats this year, I would like to provide some type of coverage but I am racing. So if anyone is going to be there that thinks they could help message me. Cara Hawkins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1364-dii-review-national-and-regional-rankings Tue, 01 Sep 2009 04:00:00 -0500 Listing Of Archived Video From Universal Sports For All 2009 Summer Action! By Ryan From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1362-listing-of-archived-video-from-universal-sports-for-all-2009-summer-action Relive the all the action from the 2009 Summer, including the IAAF World Championships, with archived race videos from Universal Sports: IAAF World Championships | Flo Coverage (8/15-23) US Championships (6/25-29  Flo Coverage)   Brussels Golden League (9/4) Zurich Golden League | Flo Coverage (8/28) Stockholm Super Grand Prix (7/31) Monaco Super Grand Prix (7/28) | Flo Coverage London Grand Prix Day 1 - Day 2 (7/24-7/25) | Flo Coverage Paris Golden League (7/17) | Flo Coverage Rome Golden League (7/10) | Flo Coverage Lausanne Super Grand Prix (7/7) | Flo Coverage Oslo Golden League (7/3) | Flo Coverage Berlin Golden League (6/14) Prefontaine Classic (6/8) | Flo Coverage Reebok Grand Prix (5/30) | Flo Coverage Ryan From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1362-listing-of-archived-video-from-universal-sports-for-all-2009-summer-action Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:00:00 -0500 Ritzenhein Smashes Kennedy's 5,000m AR By USATF Press [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1360-ritzenhein-smashes-kennedys-5000m-ar INDIANAPOLIS - Dathan Ritzenhein set an American record in the men's 5,000 meters and Sanya Richards continued her quest to win her third Golden League crown Friday at the Weltklasse Zurich, the fifth leg of the AF Golden League 2009. Thirteen years after Bob Kennedy set the American record of 12:58.21 in the 5,000 meters at the Weltklasse Zurich meeting , 2008 Olympic marathoner Dathan Ritzenhein smashed that record by almost 2 seconds finishing third in 12 minutes 56.27 seconds. It was an almost 20 second personal best for Ritzenhein, which makes him the second-fastest non-African in history and only the third American ever to run under 13 minutes.   2009 world champion Sanya Richards won the women's 400m in a world-leading 48.94. Even with three-time world 200m champion Allyson Felix coming after her off the turn, Richards sped away down the final straight to run her third-fastest time ever. Felix finished a distant second in 49.83. Richards is now five-for- five in Golden League meetings this season. The women's 100m was a rematch from last week's world championships featuring seven of the eight Berlin finalists in the race. Two-time world bronze medalist Carmelita Jeter shot out of the blocks when the gun went off and powered to the finish for the win in 10.86. Jeter was the only woman to break 11 seconds. Reigning Olympic and World champion Shelly-Ann Fraser (JAM) was fourth in 11.10 and Berlin silver medalist Kerron Stewart (JAM) was once again the runner-up in 11.04. Anna Willard became the fifth American woman ever to break the four-minute barrier in the women's 1,500m with her runner-up finish in 3:59.38. Before this year, only two Americans had ever broken that barrier. Berlin bronze medalist Shannon Rowbury was fourth in 4:00.81, and Christin Wurth-Thomas was fifth in 4:01.01.  2008 Olympic gold medalist Dawn Harper finished as the runner-up in the women's 100m hurdles, running 12.48 to reigning world champion Brigette Foster-Hylton's 12.46. Two-time USA Outdoor champion Ginnie Powell finished fifth in 12.70 and Lolo Jones was eighth in 13.06. On the men's side, three-time world silver medalist Terrence Trammell once again took runner-up honors, crossing the line in 13.17. Two-time world bronze medalist David Payne was fourth in 13.32 and Beijing bronze medalist David Oliver was fifth in 13.33.  The men's 400m finish was a mirror image of the podium at the Berlin World Championships. Reigning Olympic and World Outdoor champion LaShawn Merritt pulled away from '04 Olympic and two-time world champion Jeremy Wariner coming down the final stretch to win in 44.21. Wariner finished second in 44.62 and bronze medalist Renny Quow was third in 44.77.  For more information and complete results from the Weltklasse Zurich Golden League meeting, visit www.iaaf.org.  USATF Press http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1360-ritzenhein-smashes-kennedys-5000m-ar Fri, 28 Aug 2009 16:40:00 -0500 Astrid Leutert KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1358-astrid-leutert-kwik-e Northern Arizona University junior Astrid Leutert, a Switzerland native, made a huge improvement at the NCAA Division I Cross Country meet last year, taking 43rd compared to her previous year's 149th -place finish over the 6,000-meter course. She improved her time from 21 minutes, 53.4 seconds to 20:44.6 . Let's see how she and her Lumberjacks do this season! How was your 2008-2009 season? It was an up and down year. The cross season went really well for me and I had been healthy and stayed injury-free through the fall. I improved a lot compared to the previous year and I just barely missed the honor of becoming an All-American (43rd). I was disappointed about that since I was so closed to it, but at the same time I was quite happy since I moved up from 149th, the previous year, to 43rd. My indoor season was short but still successful for me. I run a huge PR in the 3k (9:23) at the Husky Meet and training was still going really well. Then there suddenly came a turnover at the end of March and I was feeling very tired, physically and mentally. So, I decided to take a little break from running. After that I slowly got back into training and racing and it seemed that I started to feel better again. Unfortunately, I got injured in a steeplechase race in April, which I was running just for fun without any serious training. This injury affected my entire outdoor season since I ended up having more than one stress fracture in my left foot. So, my season was pretty much over after that. The outdoor season has been really frustrating. What are your goals for the upcoming 2009 cross country season? Well, my first goal is to stay healthy and injury-free since I am quite injury prone and have been injured and was sick a lot in recent years. Individually, I definitely want to become an All-American at NCAAs. As a team, I believe we can do great things this year, since we will have a pretty strong group of girls. We want to qualify for NCAAs and we should definitely be able to improve on last year`s 23rd place. I also want to qualify again for the U-23 European Cross Country Championships, which will be held in Dublin in the middle of December. There my goal will be top 20. What are you doing for running/training this summer? After taking two weeks completely off, I got back into training at the end of July. I have just been running easy for awhile and have started now with some runs at threshold pace. I haven't done any hard workouts yet. I will still focus on running mileage and building a good base in the next weeks.Any races? After my injury, I was still hoping to be able to do some races in Europe since I didn't really have an outdoor season in the U.S. Training was going quite well again, so I decided to run another 5k at a meet in Switzerland. After missing a lot of training due to injury, I completely didn't have the strength anymore to run a fast 5k, so I ended up dropping out. After that my motivation was totally gone, so I took a break. What are your non-running summer plans? How are you spending all your time? I went back to Switzerland for the summer and I was having a fantastic time here. I enjoyed being around my family and also had the chance to hang out with some of my best friends. I relaxed a lot in the beautiful Swiss Mountains and was biking and hiking there. I also made a short trip to Italy and Germany, was shopping, swimming and just relaxing. I also took two online classes which kept me busy for awhile and I worked for a bit. What do you do for fun aside for running? Coffee drinking (a lot) with teammates and friends at Macy`s in Flagstaff—the best coffee place I have ever been—relaxing, reading, watching TV, traveling and doing outdoor activities as much as I can (for example cliff jumping in Winslow, AZ).If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? Since I am not talented in cooking at all and also don't like spending lots of time in the kitchen, I always appreciate the good homemade meals prepared by my mum in Switzerland. I am not a big fan of the Swiss kitchen and prefer more the kind of food from Southern Europe, therefore I would probably ask my mum to cook me a good and fat piece of fresh salmon with grilled Mediterranean vegetables and some kind of potatoes. For dessert, I would go for the chocolate cake made with original Swiss chocolate. Can you explain your training a little bit? On the build up to racing season for cross country, I am running probably at 70 miles a week. In a typical training week, I am doing usually some kind of threshold run, some intervals (1,200m repeats) and a long progression run. I respond really well to the threshold runs, so they are a very important part of my training. Aside that, I am just running at an easy pace, do strides and core. It's absolutely great to do all the running on the beautiful and soft trails in Flagstaff.Can you explain the running scene in Switzerland as best you can? It is very different to the US. We don't have a college system with associated sports, so everyone is basically just running for a club where a coach is responsible for the athletes. Switzerland is a very small country, therefore we have not so many good runners here. Running is not as popular as other sports like alpine skiing, therefore there is not so much support. Though, in Switzerland, road races held mostly in fall and winter season are very popular among the entire population. How hard is it to make an international team in Switzerland? For international competitions we don't have to run trials or anything similar to that, we basically just have to hit the standards given by the IAAF and EAA. It is pretty tough to get the standards and to qualify for Europeans, Worlds and the Olympics. In cross country, it is definitely a lot easier to qualify for international championships. There are no standards and the national coach will just decide who can make a team. How did you find the Northern Arizona University in the first place? I was always planning on going to the U.S. for studying and running since I liked the idea of combining school with sports. With the help of a friend from the U.S., I started to contact some universities by myself and at the same time I got contacted by schools. At the European Cross-Country Championships in 2006, I met Coach Hayes who was the head coach at that time at NAU. We had a good talk and stayed in contact over the next months. At the end I had to choose between three schools. Since Flagstaff was known to be one of the best places to run, the school was located at altitude and there was a great group of girls, I decided to go to NAU. What are some things that you like about training in the U.S.? The best thing is that I have girls to run with every day. It makes training so much more fun and I also think it is essential to have other people around that can push you in workouts. In Switzerland, I had to run a lot by myself, even in workouts, which I didn't like. I also like running with a team and competing together at competitions. It is so much fun and motivating.What are some things that you don't like about training in the U.S.? It is not actually about the training, it is more something about the racing. I am not a big fan of doubling and tripling up at some track races here, but I guess I got used to it now(laughs). I just try to see it in a different (positive) way, maybe as a workout. I was not used to doing that before I came to the U.S. What's the hardest workout you've ever done? Not an easy question! But I think in cross country, the 1200m repeats (usually six times) at Fort Tuthill, located a little bit outside of Flagstaff, have always felt really hard and I have been struggling there a lot in the past. The loop is pretty tough since there are no long, flat parts. If you are already tired and are having bad legs before the workout, it is going to hurt a lot. Can you give me a crazy running-related story? It actually just happened this summer when I was home in Switzerland. One day I have been going on a long road bike trip with my dad. We were riding up a famous mountain in Switzerland and we were both happy when we finally reached the top. After lunch, I had the idea that we could now run from that mountain to another one, which was quite the distance. My dad didn't find the idea as great as I did and he didn't want to come. After I didn't stop persuading him how great it could be, he made a deal. He said that he was going to come with me, but only if I would carry the road bike on my shoulders while running, so I would have it harder and he could keep up with me. He hoped I would say that I wouldn't do that. But I wanted to prove him wrong and was up for it. So, that was the deal. All right, we started first running up, me having the road bike on the shoulders. I was struggling but I didn't show it. People hiking there were looking pretty weird at me and they were wondering what the heck I was doing with a road bike on the shoulders and that all on a dirt path where a ton of stones and rocks were. It definitely was tough and my shoulders started to hurt. Somehow I managed to get to the top of the other mountain, but I was definitely exhausted and felt like dead after I got there. It was fun though, but really stupid as well.     Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1358-astrid-leutert-kwik-e Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:00:00 -0500 DII 2009 XC Preview By Cara Hawkins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1354-dii-2009-xc-preview The World Championships are over and the international track season is drawing to a close. As quickly as Usain Bolt runs 100 meters the cross country season is upon us. Summer training has ended and many miles have been run. So now it is time for the racing to begin but let’s look back at what happened last year before looking forwards at what might happen in Evansville, Indiana. Last year’s DII XC Nationals was raced in Slippery Rock, Penn. The temperatures were freezing and there was slow on the ground. These conditions made for a slick course that a few competitors spun out on. On the men’s side, Chico State’s Scott Bauhs was the winner in the time of 30:23 over Adam’s State’s Aaron Braun (30:36) over the 10k course. In the team competition it was Adams States taking home top honors with 67 points over their rival Western (88) followed by Chico (120). In the women’s race, Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler(20:59) took her second National title over the freshman phenom, Shippensburg’s Neely Spence (21:27). Adams State took their 6th team title with 79 points. They were followed by Grand Valley (102), and Western State (183). Past performances can be indictor for future performances. I am going to highlight a few teams to keep an eye on this season that will make an impact at Nationals. Though history does not always repeat itself and I am sure there will be plenty of surprises this 2009 XC season. Men’s teamsAdams State- Last year’s winners are looking for a repeat performance this season. They return their one-two punch in Aaron Braun and Brian Medigovich who both finished in the top 5. Braun was runner-up last year at XC Nationals and is coming off a very strong track season. Braun and Medigovich both competed at USA Nationals this past summer. They will open with Joe I Vigil Invitation on Sept.5. Western State- The ever constant rival with Adams State is looking to have a strong season. They will return their top runner Ian Donnan who was fourth last year at XC Nationals. Some notable recruits include David Flynn and Glen Watts. They will meet up with Adams State at the Joe I Vigil on Sept. 5. Harding- Daniel Kirwa returns and could possibility run better in warmer conditions. They return the majority of their top seven from last year’s sixth place squad. They will open on August 28th at the Arkansas State tech meet. Queens- Last year’s surprise seventh place team returns their top runner, Michael Crouch. Will their coach, Scott Simmons be able to work his magic and have them finish higher? They open on Sept.5 at Appalachian State. Colorado School of the Mines- This teams has the buzz on the letsrun boards as the dark horses in DII this season. With a large roster and talent they might be able to do it. They open on Sept. 4 at the UCCS Rust Buster.Others: Minnesota State-Mankato, Abilene Christian, Grand Valley State and Western Washington. Women’s TeamsAdams State-They lose one of their top runners in Heather Wood. They will return the rest of their squad including Lavenna Mullenbach. They have won six straight titles and will be looking to continue this trend. They will open with Joe I Vigil Invitation on Sept.5th Grand Valley State- Led by Megan Macertini, they placed six runners in the top 30 at last year’s National championships. They will lose Kelly Gibbons but will return the rest of their top seven. They will open up at Hope Vanderbilt Invite on Sept. 5th. Western State- They will lose Lisa Thomas who was instrumental in last year’s third place but will return the rest of the squad and are looking to finish in the top five. They will open up with the Joe I Vigil invitational on Sept. 5. Seattle Pacific-They have created their own one-two punch with Jessica Pixler and Jane Larson and the gap between them is looking to become even closer. Jessica Pixler the National champion is back and will continue to lead her team. They will return all of their top seven. They will open up on Sept. 5.Shippensburg- Neely Spence led her team to a very successful 2008 XC season last year. They return the rest of the squad and with the rapid success they have accomplished in the past two years from being 12 in the PSAC to being in the top ten at the National Championships, they are looking to improve yet again. They open up on Sept. 5th at their alumni meet. Other teams- Chico State, Augustana (SD), Minnesota-Duluth, and Alaska Anchorage Pre Nationals will be run on September 26 in Evansville, Indiana and is hosted by University of Southern Indiana. Teams that will be there include: Brescia, Indiana Tech, Lock Haven, UC-San Diego, Abilene Christian, Harding, Stone Hill, Carson Newman, Southern Indiana, Ferris State, Clayton State and Wisconsin Parkside. Cara Hawkins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1354-dii-2009-xc-preview Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:41:00 -0500 Bogdana Mimic KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1348-bogdana-mimic-kwik-e   Villanova Wildcat sophomore Bogdana Mimic, a Serbian native, took 67th last year individually at the NCAA Cross Country Championships as her team took sixth. She ran 20 minutes, 57 seconds over the 6,000-meter course. Bodgana hooked us up with her answers via email (from Serbia). Check it out and follow closely on Flotrack this cross country season to see how she and her teammates do. How was your 2008-2009 season? 2008-2009 was my first season for Villanova. My cross country season went well, but I expected to do better on NCAA meet. I was 68th and I was hoping to be in the top 40. I guess I gave my best before that race. After the cross country season we started to prepare for indoors. I had a couple of really good workouts and had one race ( Penn state) in the 4 x 800 relay. In that relay I split 2:10, which was good for my first indoor race. After that I got injured (had stress fracture in my back) and had to take off six weeks. This was my first injury and it was really difficult to handle all that, just to think that I won't be able to run for six weeks was too much for me. I had to redshirt indoors and outdoors as well (we were thinking about running outdoors, but i didn't have enough time to prepare, I had already missed too much). I also decided not to run University Games and European Championship U23, so that I can have enough time to prepare for the upcoming cross country season.What are your goals for the upcoming 2009 XC season? After the long break I'm really excited for upcoming cross country season. This year my main goal is to be top-40 in the NCAA meet. Last year our team was sixth and it was good experience. We had a young team. Most of us ran the NCAA Cross Country Meet for the first time, so I was surprised how good we ran as a team. I think our goal this year should be top three.What are you doing for running/training this summer? This summer I basically just ran without workouts. I'm doing 50 miles a week, 3 times a week I have to run twice a day. I'm also doing a lot of exercises for my back including lots of core. My main goal this summer is to get stronger and to have enough miles of running. Any races? This summer I didn't have any races planned. As I said, I was hoping to run University Games in Serbia and the European Championships. I am hoping to run them in two years. What are your non-running summer plans? I didn't really have any special plans for this summer, I came back home to spend some time with my family and to see all my friends. I also went to Croatia for couple of days to relax and enjoy the beach. I spent lot of time with my sisters, one of them was running University Games 3000m steeplechase, so I went to cheer for her and for Marina Muncan, my friend from the running club. The rest of the time I spent in reading the book in English, I thought this would be the best way not to forget English. Right now I'm watching the World Championship and preparing to come back in America.What do you do for fun aside for running? Aside for running I like to play tennis and volleyball when I'm not tired from running. Before I started to run, I played tennis for three years, and now I really enjoy playing and I also like to watch tennis on TV (I'm hoping to watch U.S. Open when I come back to America). I like to go shopping with my friends. In America whenever we have time we go to the mall or to the cinema. When I'm tired from running, I usually like to watch TV or to read a book. I really like to spend time with my friends, it's always lots of fun for me.If you could have one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? If I could have one meal that would be shrimp with lots of vegetables and rice, prepared by my mother.Can you explain your training a little bit? My training in America is very similar to the one in Serbia. We have workouts twice a week. Tuesday we usually do mile repeats and Friday is always reserved for a tempo run. Saturday we have off. Sunday is a long run (10 miles). Other days are just 7-8 miles with a couple of strides and core.Can you explain the running scene in Serbia as best you can? Running in Serbia is not so developed as in America. People don't invest much in this sport. We have only five cities with running track, some cities even don't have any stadium. It is hard to stay in this sport, because you have to give a lot and you get little. In Serbia, most of the children do too much of running for their age, and they are good while they are young but when they become seniors they quit or just they don't run good as they used to. The other problem is that in Serbia you can't run while you are in college. College in Serbia demands lots of work and time, so you have to decide between running and college.How hard is it to make an international team in Serbia? I think that we don't have a lot of runners but there are couple of them who are really good. Usually all good athletes are middle distance runners, while short distances and field events are not so good (we don't have conditions for that). When I was younger it was easier to make national time, now I'm senior and standards are much higher, but I know if I give my best it shouldn't be difficult.How did you find the University of Villanova in the first place? I have to admit that at the beginning it wasn't easy. It was my first time in America and first time to be far from home for so long. I didn't know what to expect and was afraid how the team will accept me. After coupe of weeks I got used to everything. The team and the coaches were so nice and friendly. They all helped me a lot with school and running. One thing that I really like—and that was the reason because I came here—is that you can have time for running and for school ( back at home I couldn't leave running, but I also knew that school is very important). School is very good, I chose to study Chemical Engineering. When I came everybody told me that it will be to hard for me, they didn't believed that I can study Engineering with English as my second language. After first semester I knew that I can do that and that it is what I want.What are some things that you like about training in the U.S.? One of the things that I like about training in the U.S. is running with the team. It makes running so much easier and interesting. In Serbia I used to do most of my runs alone. Training is not so intense, there are days when its hard but when we have easy runs I try to relax and go easy. There are so many nice places to run. We usually go to Valley Forge and Valley Green. It's never boring. I can say that there isn't anything that I don't like about training in the U.S. I'm really enjoying (it).What's the hardest workout you've ever done? The hardest workout I have ever done is 4 by 1000m uphill. It was winter and very cold. I don't like hills. Where I live it's all flat.Can you give me a crazy running-related story? Last year while running in Valley Green I almost stepped on a snake. It was scary and I was screaming. After that I has shaking the whole run. From now on I'm trying to be very careful and to watch where I'm stepping.         Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1348-bogdana-mimic-kwik-e Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:00:00 -0500 Want A Flotrack T-Shirt, Come Over To Austin To Be A Web Developer By Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1346-want-a-flotrack-t-shirt-come-over-to-austin-to-be-a-web-developer Love running? how about some coding, and Accept it, you know you want a Flotrack T-shirt, think you are a Web developer Super Hero come down to austin, where the real magic happens. Flotrack is looking for a talented UI Designer, someone that lives and breathes PHP, AJAX, CSS and Javascript.  We expect you to be good at MVC Frameworks like Yii or Codeignitor, strong OOP skills, J-Query and some serious knowledge of MYSQL, and a willingness to learn new stuff.  and yeah, you will be working on a small team because you know how good you are.  Please send a cover letter with your resume to support@flocasts.org  p.s this ain't a normal cookie cutter job but you will have a blast. Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1346-want-a-flotrack-t-shirt-come-over-to-austin-to-be-a-web-developer Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:09:00 -0500 Ryan Hall By Christopher Kelsall [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1347-ryan-hall © Copyright – 2009 – Christopher Kelsall I remember watching Ryan Hall race the 2008 Beijing Olympic Marathon and thinking to myself that he seemed to be putting in a great effort and really just hanging on to the pace. He was not demonstrating that mystique he exuded in past races, like during his previous efforts in the New York and London marathons. He went out hard that day in Beijing, in very warm conditions – the type of race that apparently does not suit him.He recently told Peter Gambaccini during his Runner’s World online interview:“It wasn't the most enjoyable marathon I've ever run, going out that hard in those conditions that I'm not particularly good in, and just how the race played out. It was just a huge mental battle, more than anything, to try and stay positive and keep myself in the race and tell myself I'm doing well.”Ryan also said, “But I believe that it's the very best thing that could have happened for me. I believe I've learned from that and moved on from that and I'm excited for the future...”Of Ryan’s next half marathon, the ING Philadelphia Distance Run, which takes place September 20th, are we going to see the Ryan Hall who has cruised to seemingly effortless brilliance? This past Sunday, August 16th, he ran a 63-minute half marathon in the New York Half-Marathon, finishing third, which was slow by his standards. Although during the pre-race press conference, he did say that he didn’t know what his fitness level was going to show at this time. He also indicated that he was tapering only ‘a little’ for this race.Mr. Hall, I am sure, will be quick to remind you that there are examples of marathon runners who have run very well in advance of their goal marathon and failed on the big day, as well as those who have trained through their half marathons, raced to a slow result only to have stellar performances on the big day, during their goal marathon event. Perhaps we can view the New York Half-Marathon as an indicator of greater things to come.Ryan’s half marathon personal best is an American Record, 59:43 which he ran at the Aramco, Houston Half-Marathon. His marathon best is 2:06:17, which he ran at the 2008 London Marathon.There have been some great performances in Philly, and perhaps Ryan, the only American to ever dip below the 60:00 barrier, will be double dipping, at the Philadelphia Distance Run.The interviewCK: Ryan, I got the impression from some of your earlier interviews back in 2005 and before when you were at Stanford, you liked racing and taking chances in a race, you even said you admire guys who are willing to push while in the lead. Of course we are talking about 1500m then 5000m and cross-country, not the marathon. However, I notice you mentioned before the Olympic trials in New York you were more nervous having to compete for a spot, where in London for example, you were pacing sub 5-minute miles for 20 miles, then you would let the race unfold.  You ran an amazing race in New York, was the performance a product of having those nerves?  RH: Yeah, it is always hard to tell exactly what contributes to a good race. There are usually many factors. Nerves are certainly a good thing to have before races, so I always welcome them. There were so many things that went into the trials clicking as they did for me it would be hard to single anything out. All I know is that I experienced God out there. It was the easiest race I have ever run. CK: Perhaps it was a sign of the perfect peak, being absolutely ready. I mean how many times do you hear someone say that his or her lifetime performance or pb seemed to be the easiest race? RH: Yeah, it happens a lot where guys say they felt like they could have run much faster, like Jim Ryun when he set the world record in the mile all by himself.    CK: Jim Ryun was a mentor of sorts to you when you were younger, yes?    RH: Yeah, Jim has always been a hero of mine. Growing up in high school I read his books and watched his videos over and over again. Before I made my big breakthrough (from 4:22 as a sophomore to 3:45 for 1500 as a junior) I went to his running camp (that is still going to this day), met his family, and had a great time learning how my faith could be played out in all areas of my life, including running. It was one of the most life-changing weeks for me. I got to know the Ryun's really well, especially Drew Ryun, who was finishing out his last couple of years as a professional runner. My senior year he came out and lived with me and my family, all in pursuit of giving the sport one really good last shot. During that time he played a big influence in my life. He introduced me to my wife to be and influenced me to check out Stanford and even introduced me to the coach there, helping me make my first contact. We still keep in touch to this day and were in each other’s weddings. Drew is one of my best friends and his whole family has shown me the love of Christ over the years. CK: Being married to Sara, also an elite athlete, it's obvious the two of you can understand each other's professional ebb and flow and appreciate the details of the daily toil. Now being a Christian, do you feel the pull and the paradox of Christian selflessness in your continued, single-minded pursuit of physical greatness?     RH: Yeah, we struggled some with the selfish nature of our sport for the first couple of years out of college, but now, through getting involved with organizations like Team World Vision we have seen how we can better serve the needy through our running than we otherwise could. We have seen first hand the clean water that kids in Zambia had because thousands of team world vision athletes raised at various races throughout the country. It is an honor and exciting to be a part of something like that. Ryan wrote in his New York Road Runners Journal entry, November 6, 2008: “After our first run in Zambia I was convinced that the trip was already worth it. Children ran alongside of us laughing and smiling for miles and miles as we ran along the main road going through town. The people were contagiously joyful.”And…“The other image from Africa that is burned into my head is being on the starting line of a 15K road race that this small village put on for us as a way of showing their appreciation for all our efforts and seeing 150 pairs of feet ranging from barefoot, to flip-flops to knee-high plastic farming boots. I ran the entire race in 90 degree temperatures on black pavement straight up hill next to two guys: one that had a pair of flip flops on and the other was running barefoot. I realized then that I have no idea what it means to be tough. “       Switching gearsCK: Are you getting in much fly-fishing these days?         RH: Not as much as I would like to. Once I get in that three-month window before the marathon I usually don’t have a lot of energy for anything physical besides training. I did get in a couple good sessions before August hit and hooked into some nice browns. I love it up here in Mammoth.CK: Any chance you have Steelhead at the lakes?RH: No, we don't have Steelhead up here.  I wish.        CK: Would you suggest fishing is a great form of therapy? Not too many better things than that first tug-of-play on the end of the line-that first bite?    RH: Yeah, fishing is great not only mentally but physically as well. I like to take out my float tube to gently kick for some hydrotherapy in cool waters. My legs usually feel much better afterwards, but maybe not my shoulder. I guess it is good thing we run with our legs and not our arms.CK: Apparently Haile has a little crook in his arm from carrying books to school everyday. Are you working hard on your crook?    RH: I don’t think I have one ha ha. I wore a backpack, but Haile is a huge inspiration to me of what the human body is capable of.       CK: Your father attended a couple of Arthur Lydiard seminars. As I understand it you built up a good aerobic base with your dad when you were young while getting in some steady running around Big Bear Lake. Does your training now resemble Lydiard’s?RH: My dad has always been a big Lydiard fan, and I am glad to have his influence in my training at a young age. My dad’s coaching, through his influence, prepared me well for the marathon. I am not sure how much of my training is taken from the Lydiard perspective now, my coach (Terrence Mahon) would be able to answer that question better than myself.  I believe that my coach is one of the best marathon coaches in the world.       CK: Can you describe your base phase or a typical base week versus a later specific quality week? RH: Well, the thing about marathon training is that it is pretty much all base so it doesn't change too much throughout the buildup. The tempo runs get longer and the long runs longer and that is about it.  Terrence Mahon has said that his biggest coaching influence is Joe Vigil.         CK: Have your preparations for NY differed much from your Beijing training?   RH: Yeah, we never do things completely the same. It has a lot of the same elements but naturally there is more hill training. It is nice to not have to worry about training in the heat.CK: Are you going sub 59:43 in Philly, September 20th?RH: With God all things are possible. I am going to run my heart out, like I always do, and if the conditions are good, the course is fast, and everything comes together I would love to break 59 minutes one day; if not in Philly then perhaps somewhere else.   Contact Chris: chriskelsall@flocasts.org Christopher Kelsall http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1347-ryan-hall Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:27:00 -0500 Devil-Bound Beach Eying Long-Term Plan By Jordan Schilit [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1345-devil-bound-beach-eying-long-term-plan Nine years ago, a New Mexico native elementary school runner laced up a pair of Nike training shoes for his first cross country race in 3rd grade.  Throughout middle school, Coach Jim Ciccarello challenged the curly-brown-haired distance specialist to compete in every event from 100m to 3,000m.  And by 8th grade, Curtis Beach had found the decathlon. It was a dream come true for the Albuquerque Academy phenom to get the National High School Record in the decathlon, since he had planned to do so back when he was a freshman.  A master at wearing many hats, Beach not only ran, threw, and jumped to his 7909 lifetime best at the 2009 Arcadia Invitational, but also won gold at this year’s USATF Junior National Championship and the Pan-American Junior Championships.  And, his 5 individual gold medals at the New Mexico 4A State Championships helped Academy reclaim 1st place team honors.  “This was by far the best season I ever had,” Beach said.  “I ended on a win and accomplished nearly everything I wanted to as a senior.”  It sure was difficult to not hear about the 6’0” senior and his yellow “New Mexico” jersey.  His performances throughout the season in each event of the decathlon were so competitive alone that it was almost unfathomable to combine them together for a single high school athlete.  It was typical for Beach to run just below 4:10 for the 1500m, crushing his already distant competition by at least 20 seconds. But regardless or whether this season truly was “perfect” for Beach, his life of multi-event madness has only begun.  “There is a whole new level I can get to in the decathlon and it should be pretty exciting to see how high I could score after improving in all of my events.” As Beach prepares to enter his first semester at Duke University this fall, the 2009 Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year has already turned his focus towards the 2012 Olympic Games in London.  Under the Blue Devils’ Assistant Coach Shawn Wilbourn, Beach is confident that he will find the coaching for “long-term success” in Durham, and furthermore “not just success at the collegiate level.” Sure, the recent ESPY visitor has set the bar high (literally and figuratively) as a college freshman – a hopeful All-American finish at next spring’s NCAA National Championship – but this accolade among many is just one more stepping stone toward his lifetime plan.  “It will be really neat to move up the ranks in the ACC and at the national level, but the ultimate goal: be the best I can be at 26 or 27 years old.  I want to have a very successful post-collegiate career and hit plenty of great marks along the way.” Curtis Beach doesn’t picture himself leaving the headlines any time soon.  Not only does he aspire to reach the top ranks in track & field in general down the road, but also he hopes to raise the prestige of the decathlon itself.  “I want to be an icon for the sport.  People picture ‘Michael Jordan’ for basketball, ‘Tiger Woods’ for golf, or ‘Lance Armstrong’ for cycling.  I want to be a role model like them as people mention track & field.”   Jordan Schilit http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1345-devil-bound-beach-eying-long-term-plan Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:19:00 -0500 Alfred Kipchumba KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1328-alfred-kipchumba-kwik-e  Portland sophomore Alfred Kipchumba took 18th overall at last year's NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. He ran 13 minutes, 45.56 seconds in the 5,000-meter run this past track season off of running 20-30 miles a week and took 12th overall at the NCAA Championships. This summer he's bumping his mileage up. Let's see how that works out for him this cross country season! Overall, how was your 2008 cross country season? I was proud during the cross country season because I got such a great achievement. It was my first time racing a big race, racing against guys like Galen (Rupp) and (Sam) Chelanga. I was proud just to make it to the nationals too. I was proud for my team being seventh. 18th was a great thing for me, although I was hoping to be top-10. It was the cold. You're not yet used to running in the cold? Sure. I don't like running in the cold. It was the worst part of it for me. I didn't like it so much. What are your goals for this season? I'm excited for this cross country season, not like last track season when I was running only 20-30 miles a week. You were only running 20-30 a week? Why so few? Yeah. Only 20-30. During the indoor season, my achilles was not doing so good. After that I had to run so few miles. Do you have a number in mind where you'd like to finish this year at nationals? Actually, sure. I'm not exact, but I'm feeling great right now. I'm running like 50-60 miles a week right now. Which is not the same for me. Last cross country season, I was running 40 miles to 50 miles. This season, I'm running at least 50—sometimes 70 miles a week. I'll try this. Is your body responding well to you bumping up your mileage? Yeah. It's like it's responding so well. I'm excited. 70 is the highest you'll go this season? Oh, yeah. I'm proud of that. It's a big number for me. What are your team goals for this year? Oh, my God...that's a good question. My team right now, we're running to get top-five. We're going to do so well at nationals. Top five! What are your non-running plans this summer? What have you been doing? This summer, I've been taking classes actually. I have a job. It's good. I have to run after my job. I work for the school with the painting crew. I used to work in the gym. I usually work a little when school starts. With the World Championships starting this weekend, will you follow closely? Those are my favorite! I'm going to watch. Who are the runners that you'll follow? Any favorite runners? I'm excited to watch the guy from Ethiopia—Kenenisa Bekele. You're not solely a Kenyan running fan? I'm a big Kenyan running fan, but this guy just runs so well and it pumps me up. Are you allowed to say that with the big Kenya/Ethiopian rivalry? This is a free world. It's something I can say. Back in Kenya, did you get to train with any of those strong Kenyan runners? I train with some Kenyans. I'm missing them right now, training with them. Guys like Ezekiel Kemboi. I didn't exactly train with them, but Ezekiel would tell me to follow them for some time, as long as I could. He's a steeplechaser, but he used to train with the other guys. How did you end up going to the University of Portland? I have a friend who goes to the University of Portland. His name is Wesley. He came here in 2007. When he came here, he introduced me to the coach and that's what brought me to the University of Portland. I knew from high school, but we didn't go to the same high school. What do you for fun with your teammates? I like watching movies. I like action movies like Rambo. I like Bruce Lee so much. What's the hardest workout you've ever done? Have you ever thrown up or quit? I've never thrown up. But, the hardest ones I've done were during the track season this year. I wasn't training very much. The best workouts I did were like 12 or 16 400s. So, you ran 13:45 off of 20-30 miles a week? Yeah. Exactly. (Laughs). I can't even believe it! I wasn't even thinking about going to nationals. Those guys were running 50 miles to 80 miles. Since coming over to the States, what are some of your favorite foods to eat? I like Japanese curry. Curry is fun! I like a lot of Indian food too. Did you choose a major? I'm taking accounting classes. I like accounting. Before I ask you my last question, do you want to name your favorite Kenyan runner, so you don't get in any trouble for having Kenenisa Bekele as your favorite runner? All right. All right. (Laughs). My favorite runner is Paul Tergat. Back at home, I used to like Tergat even before I started running. I used to watch this guy running and thought, “how can he do this?” When he was setting world records, I would think, “can I do this?” This was back in grade school. Can you give me a crazy running-related story? (Laughs) That's a good question. What I'm going to say, I've never told anyone. One day I was running back in Kenya and I was with my best friend—whose name is Gilbert. I woke up at like 5 a.m. to go for a run. It was a Saturday and we usually go at 6 a.m. That day, I woke up and thought that I should go at like 5:30 a.m. When I woke up in the morning, I got prepared and took off at 5:30 a.m. and those guys could meet ahead. I was slow then and they were fast. I didn't want them to leave me behind. We were going for a long run. It was still dark when I took off. I was like, “ahh, can I make it?” I knew where we were going because we already agreed that we were going to go to those parts. I went ahead. When I was on my way, I met up with a donkey. There were a bunch of them in the road...I think it was like mating season (laughs). It was still dark. I went just by them. I realized that I was right next to those things and started screaming. They ran after me. They are so fast. I had to go so fast. Those guys were still behind me! And I had to go for another 60 minutes. They eventually just came up and passed me. I had to take a taxi back home. Did you have money on you? I just stopped the taxi and said, “hey, man, can I have a taxi? I was just running and I can pay you when we get there.” He says, “oh, well...sure.” In Kenya, if you stop a taxi, they can't deny you.   Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1328-alfred-kipchumba-kwik-e Fri, 14 Aug 2009 04:00:00 -0500 Berlin World Championship TV & Webcast Schedule By USATF Press [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1337-berlin-world-championship-tv-webcast-schedule Television & Webcast Schedule (from USATF and Universal Sports) Date Time Network Broadcast Type Aug. 15 4:05 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 15 11:35 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 15 1:00 p.m. ET NBC TV Aug. 16 4:05 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 16 12:05 p.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 16 2:00 p.m. ET NBC TV Aug. 17 11:45 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 17 1:00 p.m. ET Versus TV Aug. 18 4:05 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 18 11:45 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 18 1:00 p.m. ET Versus TV Aug. 19 4:05 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 19 12:05 p.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 19 1:30 p.m. ET Versus TV Aug. 20 3:55 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 20 11:45 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 20 1:30 p.m. ET Versus TV Aug. 21 3:10 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 21 10:55 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 21 1:30 p.m. ET Versus TV Aug. 22 5:35 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 22 11:45 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 22 1:00p.m. ET NBC TV Aug. 23 5:05 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 23 9:35 a.m. ET universalsports.com webcast Aug. 23 2:00 p.m. ET NBC TV Follow us USATF on Twitter for a reminder 15 minutes before each television show. USATF Press http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1337-berlin-world-championship-tv-webcast-schedule Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:38:00 -0500 Berlin World Champs: A Look Back At US Sprints By Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1333-berlin-world-champs-a-look-back-at-us-sprints At the end of June the US Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held in Eugene.  Athletes set their sights on a 9-day period in August, the World Championships.  Here's a look back at the US sprinters and what they did to get to Berlin: 100 metres With Tyson Gay only running one round, the show was left to Michael Rodgers.  Rodgers who had previously been known for his indoor races, came through this outdoor season with some of the best marks in the world running (best legal time of 9.94).  2008 Olympian Darvis Patton punched his ticket for the second year in a row finishing second behind Rodgers and Monzavous (Rae) Edwards rounded out the top 3.  For Edwards, it was the first US team he's made in his career.  Travis Padgett finished fourth in the race for the second straight year in a row just missing a spot on the team.  He should be in the relay pool for Berlin and the rest of the team will be joined by Tyson, the reigning World Champ and currently ranked #1 in the World (9.77, AR) while Usain Bolt sits #2 (9.79). Contenders in Berlin: Tyson Gay, Usain Bolt (JAM), Daniel Bailey (ANT), Churandy Martina (AHO), Asafa Powell (JAM), Rodgers Track and Field Videos on Flotrack Carmelita Jeter was the first woman out of the finals at the 2008 US trials, but in 2009 it was a different story.  Jeter came out to win the US Champs joining 2008 Olympians Muna Lee (the '08 US Champ) and Lauryn Williams.  Alexandria Anderson, a new comer to the US scene from University of Texas, finished in the fourth spot and Marshevet Hooker finished fifth (she just missed a spot in '08 when she finished fourth). Contenders in Berlin: Shelly-Ann Fraser (JAM), Kerron Stewart (JAM), Jeter, Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM), Kelly-Ann Baptiste (TRI), Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (BAH), Chandra Sturrup (BAH), Williams Track and Field Videos on Flotrack 200 metres The men's 200, just like the 100, was missing '07 World Champ Tyson Gay.  The door was opened for veteran and 2004 Olympic Champ Shawn Crawford.  Crawford ran his fastest time under any conditions with a wind-aided 19.73.  The 2009 NCAA Outdoor Champion and Florida State Seminole, Charles Clark ran strong for second to make his first US team (5th last year at the US Trials) and was followed by '08 Olympian Wallace Spearmon.  Wallace is no stranger to the World Championships as he earned the bronze in 2007 and the silver in 2005, both in the 200 meters.  Currently, Tyson ranks #1 (19.59) in front of Bolt's 19.59. Contenders in Berlin: Tyson Gay, Usain Bolt (JAM), Crawford, Spearmon, Alonso Edward (PAN) Track and Field Videos on Flotrack The women's 200 saw an identical finish to the 2008 Olympic Trials with the 2x reigning World Champ Allyson Felix taking the victory, Muna making the team in her second event (100), and Marshevet Hooker.  Felix may be the most decorated 200 meter runner in the world right now with her two gold medals from '07 and '05.  She also won sliver in both the '04 and '08 Olympic Games. Contenders in Berlin: Felix, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie (BAH), Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM), Kerron Stewart (JAM), LaVerne Jones-Ferrette (ISV), Shelly-Ann Fraser (JAM) Track and Field Videos on Flotrack 400 metres 2007 World Champ Jeremy Wariner opted to run the 200 at the US Championships which gave LaShawn Merritt an easy road to repeat as the US Champ.  The 2008 Olympic Champ will be joined by Texas Tech standout Gil Roberts.  The 2007 400H World Champ, Kerron Clement, finished 3rd.  With Kerron attempting to defend his hurdle title, the door has been opened for Lionel Larry.  Larry was a member of the 2007 US team in Osaka.  2008 Olympian David Neville finished in the fifth spot.  Contenders in Berlin: Merritt, Wariner, Latroy Williams (BAH), Chris Brown (BAH), Renny Quow (TRI) Track and Field Videos on Flotrack Sanya Richards repeated as the US Champion with no trouble as the 2009 year continues to be a great one for her.  Debbie Dunn had the best meet of her career at the time as she was runner-up behind Richards and set a PR by .32 running a 50.79.  Jessica Beard, the 2009 NCAA Champ and Texas A&M sophomore, continued a great year by making her first US team finishing third.  Beard who only started running 4 years ago, looks to have a great future ahead of her. Contenders in Berlin: Richards, Shericka Williams (JAM), Novlene William-Mills (JAM), Antonina Krivoshapka (RUS), Anastasiya Kapachinskaya (RUS) Track and Field Videos on Flotrack Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1333-berlin-world-champs-a-look-back-at-us-sprints Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:28:00 -0500 IAAF Adopts "no False Start" Rule Beginning In 2010 By USATF Press [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1331-iaaf-adopts-no-false-start-rule-beginning-in-2010  BERLIN - The IAAF Congress on Wednesday approved a new rule that will disqualify athletes the first time they false start in any given race. The rule will take effect January 1, 2010. The rule will replace the current false-start policy of the first false-start being charged to the entire field, with only subsequent false-starts resulting in disqualification. Implementation is set for 2010 in order to enable athletes to become accustomed to the rule well ahead of the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Speaking in support of the rule change, IAAF President Lamine Diack pointed to the NCAA's longstanding no false start rule as evidence that such a rule is practical and enforceable. He stated his belief that "the current rule gives sprinters the chance to play the system," he said, "to deliberately false start but not be punished for it."   The rule change was approved by a vote of 97 to 55, with six abstentions. The IAAF Congress on Wednesday also approved defining masters as age 40 and over for long-distance running and road racing. The IAAF Congress is being held in Berlin prior to the start of the 12th IAAF World Outdoor Championships, which begin Saturday and conclude August 23. For more information on the World Championships, visit www.usatf.org USATF Press http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1331-iaaf-adopts-no-false-start-rule-beginning-in-2010 Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:02:00 -0500 Scott Simpson By Christopher Kelsall [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1326-scott-simpson © Copyright – 2009 – Christopher Kelsall  As the saying goes, nice guys finish last. Twenty-nine year old Scott Simpson is an athlete and physiotherapist, plying both trades in Victoria, British Columbia. Originally from Sackville, New Brunswick, Simpson is one of the nice guys in our sport, but sometimes he finishes first. He is, at least on the outside, the epitome of sedate when flicking his ankles striding-out during his warm-up, in and out of the race corral. Thrice this year, I found myself warming-up, passing Scott back and forth. Moments before the gun sounds, I like to go up to the fellow runners and ask questions to see if there is a hint of self-deprecation emoting as a control mechanism against scrambling emotions swirling inside. For some, those moments cause staccato and incomprehensible bursts of weak humour, for others they want to talk about last night’s beer flavours, sampled at the local Irish pub. Scott calmy talks about whatever you want to talk about, as if you are standing in his clinic, I was going to ask him if my left Achilles is about to go, moments before the gun sounded, but my watch was ‘off,’ and the gun sounded sooner than expected; Scott disappeared into the lead. I should have shouted out my question. I am sure, after the turn-around, when heading back, he would yell out the answer as we pass, pro-bono - one of the nice guys in sport. I think the only time you can’t get a diagnosis from him is in the final 250 metres leading to the finish chute. This is where he morphs, for just a moment he becomes a ruthless killer on the road, hunting down his prey and is ripe for shredding his foes’ carcass. Case-in-point the photo of him, racing a road 5k and having to hand Olympic Gold and Silver medalist, Simon Whitfield a prescription for a kick. Take that! And call me in the morning. Actually they tied-a dead heat after an all-out sprint to the finish. They gave it up for a handshake. Many road running specialists have been handed their heads by triathlete, Whitfield. Tying here is victory and with it a new course record of 14:37. Some things are better left unsaid.“Scott, feel free to monologue, during the interview.” “Chris, come over for a beer, my hands are getting tired from typing.” THE INTERVIEW CK: 2006 Canadian 10, 000m championships in Abbotsford, BC you of course won the race and set a personal best - what happened on the day and leading up to that race?   SS: The race in Abbotsford was a good one. I had a decent build up to it and had run a 30:07 in the Sun Run that year. So my primary goal was to go sub - 30. Secondly, I wanted to win the National Championship. It was a good field with Steve Osaduik running great at the time, Jerry Ziak (he ran 13:56 for 5k that year), Mark Bomba and David Jackson were also in good form. I knew that to win I would have to kick off a fast pace. It ended up being very close with 29:51.04 for me, 29:51.66 for Bomba and 29:51.74 for Ziak. Quite amazing after twenty-five laps around the track and that the whole pack was together with a mile to go.   CK: What did that decent build up look like?   SS: Well, I think the key to running fast times is to build a solid base first and foremost. There were a few stressful things going on in my life, my mom had cancer, my grandfather passed away, I was working in an unsupportive work environment. So I ran more miles in my spare time to burn off the steam. As the 10000m approached I put in more quality work while cutting the mileage and working the other systems.   CK: In comparison you ran 1:20 slower in 2009, how were the conditions this year and your fitness in comparison.   SS: This year I was faced with a few challenges. The day after the race I was heading over to Serbia to be the Physio for Team Canada, so that was on my mind, and I spent a fair bit of time getting everything organized for this. Also it was very hot and humid in Toronto for the race and it is hard to prepare for this in Victoria. It was a good field and my goal in the race was to run 29:10 - this was reasonable because I had run 14:21 for 5k on the track and 14:27 on the roads in Vancouver. At the 5k point I was at 14:40ish (faster than the race in Abbotsford). After this point, maybe around 6k, I realized it wasn’t on. This is a terrible spot to be in when you are 6k into a 10k on the track! I hate not finishing races, so I sucked it up and cruised it in. These are the risks we take in the longer races of course and I would much prefer to burn out trying to run a fast time than not go for it.   CK: Sounds rather Neil Young-esque. How was your time in Serbia? Besides doing physio work on athletes, like you do every day, did you get a chance to check out the surroundings and play tourist?   SS: Serbia was a wonderful experience. To be honest, I did not expect to be representing Canada as a Physiotherapist this early in my career. It is an honour to help athletes reach towards their potential. I understand the many challenges that the athletes face having been there myself. I fully respect their efforts and will do whatever I can to help them achieve their goals. It was a great group of young athletes who are good people as well as athletes-and was the most successful Games in terms of medals since the 1980s for our Track and Field group.   CK: What are the some of the differences when dealing with athletes of varying disciplines?   SS: Every athlete is unique in their preparation and some require more attention than others. One of the aspects that I found quite interesting was if you we're to add up total race time and warm-up time for all athletes it was about the same. In other words sprinters had very long warm-ups and distance athletes had shorter warm-ups. Sprinters tend to have a more outgoing nature, whereas distance athletes are more intrinsically motivated. There is an element of psychology when working with all groups and it is truly enjoyable to help an athlete dial in to what drives them. Often times, injury and psychology are intricately related, and of course it is the Physio who puts the pieces together. Actually, I did my thesis on a similar topic.   Regarding seeing Serbia, I really did not have a chance to see very much. A typical day would involve getting up early and treating athletes in the Village. Then I would go to the warm-up track (either to cover workouts or prep the athletes for the races). Then off to the main stadium to make sure the athletes were ok during competition. Then I would treat athletes back at the village before going to bed.   As you can see this didn't leave a lot of time to check out the surroundings. Considering there was civil war in Serbia very recently and there has been lots of political upheaval (the July issue of National Geographic has an article on this), the contrasts are often very pronounced. For example, on one side of the street there is a huge communist era residential complex and on the other a pristine shopping centre that wouldn't be out of place anywhere in the World. The Serbians that I met were very considerate and helpful. Someday I would like to go back to that part of the world and explore in greater detail; certainly it is a wonderful country that is evolving quickly.   CK: Recently when we were talking at your clinic we discussed minimalism to some degree. In your professional experience, what have you seen from patients who are minimalists that differs in terms of injuries compared to those who wear the bigger cushioning shoes?   SS: As a Physio, I often see problems related to poor use of stabilizer muscles in the body, which is dependent on many variables. By testing these muscles I can essentially predict what injuries will arise given repetitive strain. With my own training I tend to run a lot on soft surfaces - so the surface can absorb the stress. For years, I have preferred wearing shoes that have minimal support, because it makes my ‘stability muscles’ work harder. Personally, I have not had a repetitive strain injury for years.   CK: When is cushioning a good idea?   SS: Considering that most runners have used supportive shoes for a long time, the progression to a more minimalist shoe should be gradual. The body always takes longer to adapt to things than we tend to think in general. The more we can reduce the impact stress of running, the better. Consider how cyclists or swimmers can train for hours on end. We simply cannot do that as runners due to the impact stress on the body. That being said, the human body is an incredible piece of engineering. The foot is made to dissipate stresses very well and when we put too many controlling features in shoes we alter its ability. That’s why I will always prefer running in minimalist shoes on soft surfaces, for example the cushioning is coming from the ground and not the shoe.   CK: There appears to be a small groundswell of concern developing about injuries being caused by overly cushioned footwear. What are your thoughts on the artificial or unnatural effect (rebound) of cushioned shoes?   SS:  I don't think the problem in necessarily cushioning. More so it is related to control features that are present in many shoes today. Things like heel cookies and roll bars for example. The foot should be able to move to take full advantage of its natural form. I do believe there is a place for support in shoes, but I think this must be customized to the individual and that our two feet are not always the same (but we always buy shoes in pairs).   CK: Let’s talk a little about training. Are you self coached? Are you more of a peaker, or do you try to stay race-fit as long as possible throughout the year?   SS: Yes at the present time I am self-coached, and I have been for the majority of my running career. Certainly I am very grateful for support I have received in the past. However, I find integrating the principles of training very interesting. In fact, I tend to train by myself almost 100% of the time because it is my me time. Everybody is unique and the training plans needs to be addressed considering this. It is the same idea when I am treating people at the clinic: different people respond to different treatments and I find it ridiculous when professionals treat everybody exactly the same way. I enjoy experiencing the stresses involved with training and trying to figure out the best, most efficient ways to manage them.   As for the peaking: At this stage of my running career I am more interested in running for the health of it and I am somewhat limited by the constraints of my work. However, I love to feel fit and truly enjoy training everyday - and I owe it to my patients to practice what I preach. As a result of this I can get into shape relatively quickly. But I would say that overall I just tend to stay fit all the time.   CK: Have you given any thought to the marathon?   SS: Yes, I have thought about the Marathon and many people have suggested I move up to this distance. But I am in no rush. To run a marathon at a similar performance level to my 10k would require more training. After winning the National 10000m, I was invited to run the National Half Champs. It was about a month afterwards and I did no specific training, but was able to finish about 20 seconds behind the best in Canada. I think with proper training I could go sub 2:20 for the Marathon, and possibly faster. You know the Canadian marathon record was set in 1975 by Jerome Drayton, that’s 35 years ago! I hope that someone in our generation can break this. Certainly there are some good groups working towards this and there are several talented distance runners in Canada right now.   CK: So 5 and 10k are your bread and butter events that for now you are going to stick with?   SS: I do enjoy running 5-10ks. It is a distance where you can outsmart someone by knowing your body and using the appropriate tactics considering your strengths and those of your opponents. I don't like running uni-pace races - I like throwing in surges and tactical awareness. An example of this was a race I had with Simon Whitfield at a 5k here in Victoria, it was a great tactical race. In all honesty the race was relatively meaningless, but we put on a good show for the spectators. Simon and I are both competitive by nature and I was thrilled by the duel, certainly it was nice to win in a kick finish. It was almost like the rush you feel when you step off a roller coaster! Typically as the distances get longer, its about who can hang on the longest, a sort of attrition process. I like races where the top athletes are separated only by seconds, because physiologically the athletes are very similar, but something intangible can make the difference between winning and say 5th place.   CK: You mentioned that you are more interested in “running for the health of it, “ did you find in Serbia that you were replacing the joys of competition by working with athletes, you know…when taking the time to consider who you are dealing with, as a physiotherapist?   SS: Yes. I think the fact that I have competed as an Athlete for Canada helps me to live the highs and lows of working with the athletes. There is no question that I still have tons of passion for running, but my work schedule limits my training time. I enjoy competing for sure, but at this stage of the game I am not going to be an international superstar as an athlete. Nowadays being a top athlete requires a full-time commitment. I grew up with people like Roger Bannister as my role models – Roger was a medical doctor as well as being the first to break the 4 min mile.   Being able to work with the National team unquestionably provides a great outlet for my energy. That being said I get tons of satisfaction working with local athletes and helping people embrace our sport.   CK: People now capable of taking Jerome Drayton’s 2:10 who come to my mind are Reid Coolsaet, Simon Bairu. Of course Jon Brown has done this representing the UK, twice. How about those three and Dylan Wykes and Ryan McKenzie? Do you see the Canadian record falling soon?  SS: I have had the good fortune to interact with all of the athletes you mention. I have a ton of respect for all of them, because they have achieved what they have with hard work. I know that Jon's PB is faster than the Canadian record, but I am not sure what his goals are. Simon and Dylan are a few years younger than Ryan and Reid. They are all very talented and work very hard, I think that this combination is what is required to run great times in the Marathon. I hope that somebody does break it and competition between these athletes as well as others can only help the future of running here. Photos by the incomparable, Tony Awesome.   Chris is a member of the Lydiard FoundationContact: chriskelsall@flocasts.org  Christopher Kelsall http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1326-scott-simpson Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:20:00 -0500 World Throws Center Working With Athletes' Preformance By Mark From Flotrack [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1323-world-throws-center-working-with-athletes-preformance This is a press release that I recieved from John Godina and I wanted to share it. This is some pretty exciting news for US throwers. For our sport to grow we need smart people to figure out creative ways to train and make a living. Check out the release below and congrats to John Godina and the World Throws Center!   The John Godina World Throws Center is proud to announce what we feel is the most important step forward for the world of throws training...ever.We are now working with Athletes' Performance to provide the greatest training and development environment ever created for athletes of all levels - from beginners to Olympians.  Please read on for details.  We are also excited about the addition of Three-Time National Coach of the Year Dave Dumble to our staff.  Dave represents the best our sport has to offer and will be contributing to athlete development for years to come. Announcing the NEWJohn GodinaWorld Throws Centerat Athletes' Performance - North Phoenix The John Godina World Throws Center has now joined forces with Athletes' Performance, the world's top sports performance training company. Athletes' Performance is known worldwide as the leader in Performance Training.  Athletes' Performance's athletes are a Who's Who list of All Stars in a variety of sports including NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS, International Soccer, Professional Tennis, PGA and more.  By partnering with the John Godina World Throws Center, Athletes' Performance has begun building a Track and Field training environment rivaling that of any Olympic Training Center.  In what amounts to the most significant advancement in the history of throws training, the WTC will begin operations in Athletes' Performance's sparkling new showplace facility in North Phoenix beginning September 1st.   Athletes' Performance Philosophy MISSION STATEMENTTo provide the finest methods, specialists and facilities seamlessly integrated to efficiently and ethically enhance our athletes' performance.ETHICSRemaining true to our athletes and mission, all training techniques, methods and nutritional supplementation are safe and ethical.METHODOLOGYAthletes' Performance applies a multi-faceted methodology that generates RESULTS. Mark Verstegen and his team of Specialists will provide you with the tools you need to perform at your highest level. Athletes' Performance is solely dedicated to helping you maximize your potential by:- Improving Performance >> Career Productivity- Decreasing Injury Potential >> Career Longevity- Motivating through Education >> Strategies for SuccessHelping you achieve your goals is our passion and only priority.Every Athletes' Performance program places a major emphasis on the educational components of training. Only by understanding our specific training methods and how each applies to your sport can you truly achieve greater success. Facility Overview The John Godina World Throws Center at Athletes' Performance North Phoenix facility - another in a line of architectural award-winning facilities for Athletes' Performance - has an incredible array of amenities and services at the athletes' disposal.  Amenities include:Full weight room with 12 Keiser power racks, 6 Olympic Lifting platforms and every piece of weightlifting equipment imagined or neededOn-site Shot Put Training area and long throws training just 3 miles from the facility4 Lane 50 Meter Sprint track60 Yard Field Turf FieldAgility and Bounding AreaThree lane 25 yard swimming poolMassive, in-ground, hot and cold recovery tubsMassage TherapyFull Training RoomCertified Athletic TrainersART SpecialistsPhysical TherapistsChiropracticOrthopedic SurgeonsMetabolic SpecialistsSports NutritionistsChef, staff and kitchen for preparing meals in line with the Athlete's nutrition planEAS supplementation for post workout nutrition in line with the Athlete's nutrition planMeeting and film study theatersAthlete lounge area for relaxation - video games, pool table, table tennis, TV, internet accessFully-equipped locker room facilities The state-of-the-art Athletes' Performance facility is accompanied by world-class throws coach John Godina. Also, our newest staff member Three-Time National Coach of the Year Dave Dumble of Arizona State University has begun work as the World Throws Center Hammer Throw Specialist.  This makes the John Godina World Throws Center the premier environment for athletes and coaches wishing to refine their skills and move to the next level.  The World Throws Center will also be unveiling a new menu of throws coaching services and a new schedule of events following the Grand Opening.  PleaseCONTACT US to be added to the World Throws Center e-mail list and receive the most up to date event information. Welcoming Our Newest Coach The John Godina World Throws Center welcomes our newest coach... Dave Dumble.Dave Dumble is one of the best throws coaches in the country  and quite possibly the world - as evidenced by his status as Three-Time National Coach of the Year. He has coached at the university level for 9 years and has developed 41 All-Americans and 8 National Champions. His positive and enthusiastic coaching creates a notably superior environment for learning and developing athletes to the next level. A few of his top throwers include Sarah Stevens (Shot Put - 18.40m, Hammer Throw - 66.52), Jessica Pressley (Shot Put - 18.79m, Hammer Throw - 68.31m), Ryan Whiting (Shot Put - 21.74m), Jason Lewis (Hammer Throw - 68.15m). Services at the World Throws Center  The World Throws Center offers a menu of services to fit any athlete's needs. With single technique sessions for beginners, internet video review service available anywhere in the world,  camps, clinics and lectures for athletes and coaches, and full-time Olympic-Level training groups, the WTC can accommodate any request under the sun.  The WTC has one mission - to make better throwers.  Also, the WTC is here for all throwers - without a school or club affiliation to tie us down.  We look forward to being your home for throws.CONTACT US. Intern Applications Now Being Taken The John Godina World Throws Center is currently taking applications for internships.  Interested in applying? Please CONTACT US. Facility Contact Information JOHN GODINA'S WORLD THROWS CENTER at ATHLETES' PERFORMANCE2620 E. Rose Garden Lane, Suite 1Phoenix, AZ 85050480-212-2387 Mark From Flotrack http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1323-world-throws-center-working-with-athletes-preformance Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:53:00 -0500 Hillary Bor KWIK-E By Tony Casey [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1316-hillary-bor-kwik-e  Iowa State's Hillary Bor, an Eldoret, Kenya native, has been ripping up the NCAA distance scene since his freshman year. This past outdoors season, Bor took second in the NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechase, running 8 minutes 35.12 seconds behind BYU's Kyle Perry. Last season he took fourth (8:36.84). He's also got a finish 56th-place finish in cross country. With another big cross country season ahead of us, let's see how Bor does. How much running are you doing right now? Right now I'm not doing very much running. Maybe 40 minutes in the morning and 40 minutes in the evening. Only about 40 miles a week. I'm starting my summer training later this year than last year. I think last year I started early though. I decided to start late this time. How happy were you with your runner-up finish in the steeplechase? I was very happy. At the beginning of the season, I was thinking about winning the race. But, then I got some problems, but kept trying my best. So, I was really happy with second place at nationals. What were those problems? After indoor, I had allergy problems...all the way up to the Cardinal Meet. But it got better. How much will your mileage build up as we head toward cross country season? I'll just increase by about 10 miles every week. I'm not a mileage guy. I'll work up to 70 for a while then concentrate on speed work to get to nationals. 70 miles a week is where you feel the most comfortable? Yeah, I feel the most comfortable at 70 miles a week. Last year I tried 80 miles and it felt good, but I paid for it. Like I said, 70 miles is good for me. Was that 80 miles in doubles? Most of it was singles in three days and then the rest doubles. How did you get into the sport of running the first place back in Kenya? Our family is kind of a running family. I would run with my uncle. He came to the United States in the 70s. He went to the University of Villanova. I used to call with them and follow them running around. But, for me, it was running to school. School is far away and we used to run there from home. We'd run going to school and coming back from school. Do you know how your uncle did at Villanova? He ran pretty well. I think 8:19 in the steeplechase. He ran well. Then (another uncle) Barnaba Korir (an Iowa State All-American) ran 3:39 in the 1,500. And you have family running here in the states right now? I have two brothers running here. Emmnuel transferred this fall and is at the University of Alabama. And Julius (Cloud County Community College) ran 3:58 in the mile with Leo Manzano last year. You'll race them a few times this season, I assume. What's that like for you? Last year we did, but I was not feeling good. I don't like cross country sometimes, but I'm excited to run him at nationals. You don't like cross country? I don't like it sometimes. That surprises me because you said the way you got into the sports was running cross-country style to and from school every day. Did you get sick of it and prefer the track? In Kenya I just ran to and from school. When I got there I'd play other sports. I would watch it and follow it. I did run 3:55 in the 1,500. I didn't train a lot. I like being on the track. When's the next time you'll be going back to Kenya? December. What are some of the huge changes for you to be going back and forth from an American university to going back to Kenya? Going back to Kenya is exciting to being back with my family and people I grew up with. I grew up in a difficult part. Maybe people treat me differently than they used to. That's a difficult thing when I go back to Kenya. People back in Kenya treat you differently for coming to America? Yeah. Yeah. They say things like they think I think I know more stuff than they do. What are you studying at Iowa State? Accounting and finance. That's what I want to do. Be an accountant. What do you do for fun with your teammates? Sometimes we play computer games like FIFA and basketball and other games like card games. Are you good at those games? Oh, yeah. I'm damn good! (Laughs). I really like it. Especially FIFA. What are your individual goals for this cross country season? I just want to be All-American and for the team to do better than they did last year. If you could eat one meal, prepared by anyone, what would you have and who would make it? I like ugali. It's made from corn flour. You boil it in hot water and make like a cake. It's really good. You like ugali more than greasy American foods like pizza and cheeseburgers? Oh, yeah. It's got more nutrition than those. It's a good food for running. What are your long term running goals? Or are you sure you want to be an accountant? I want to run professionally. That's my plan. Right now, I'm trying to finish my degree and probably my masters, then I would like to run professionally. Can you give you a crazy running-related story? I have one from back in Kenya. I was training with my brother Emmanuel. We used to run in the morning and train with the marathoners. Do you know Martin Lel? Yup. One morning he lied to us like, “we're going to go for a 60-minute run.” We were with some of those guys, so we were like, “if we're running 60 minutes with these guys, we'd better run fast!” The problem was we didn't know the distances. We thought we were going on a shorter route. We started running like 5:20-5:25 pace for the first few miles. We didn't stop on that shorter route...we had to go on the next one. We didn't know that the next route was going to take us another 40 minutes. As we were running, we kept pushing the pace and didn't know where we were. My brother was really tired and hadn't been training that well. He had to stop a car and ask for lift back to the training grounds. We ended up going two hours. The marathoners chose the plan.   Tony Casey http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1316-hillary-bor-kwik-e Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:00:00 -0500 Jet Horns On FloNetwork By Pat Hitchins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1314-jet-horns-on-flonetwork The FloNetwork just got funkier. Jet horns, based out of Stockholm Sweden, is the first band to join the FloNetwork. Jon Von Letscher leads the band, and was a former runner and teammate of Mark's at The University of Texas, class of '06. Jon started Jet horns with new members and old members from his former band Honey Claws, played frequently on Flotrack.   Jet horns FloNetwork   Pat Hitchins http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1314-jet-horns-on-flonetwork Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:02:00 -0500 Rogue Equipment On The FloNetwork By Pat Hitchins [Article] http://www.flotrack.org/articles/view/1312-rogue-equipment-on-the-flonetwork <