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

Robert Burdette Indoor Classic Sidelight Pix

Robert Burdette Indoor Classic Boys\' Race Pix

Robert Burdette Indoor Classic Girls\' Race Pix

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

PA @ Metropolitan Athletic Congress Holiday Classic @ New York Armory, courtest of Mister Mann Frisby. The most impressive performance was from Khalif

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

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

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

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

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

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

PCL star Tim O'Neill, St. Joseph's Prep will be heading to Princeton. North Penn's Haiibo Lu is headed to Harvard. And Inter-Ac XC Champ Elisa Payne of Shipley is going to Colgate.

PCL Champion LaSalle passed two-time PIAA AAA State Champions West Chester Henderson in the final poll by the Harrier Magazine. LaSalle is ranked 5th in the Northeast. Henderson is 6th in the Northeast, while North Hills is 9th. Two-time AAA Girls State Champs Hatboro Horsham are ranked 4th in the Northeast and 22nd nationally in the final Harrier poll.

The Photo Galleries from the DVGTCA (12/12), TFCAGP Divison 1&2 (12/13)and the PCL Boys (12/17), are now on.

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

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

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

12/12 DVGTCA Indoor Meet #3 Photo Gallery

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The AAU and USATF have thriving youth programs during all seasons, and XC is no exception. The Philadelphia CYO and Emery TC showed well at the AAU Nationals on December 6th in Kettering, Ohio on the same course as the Mid-East Regional Championships. Bensalem\'s Ashley Kelly was 7th in the Young Women\'s race. And at the USATF Nationals on December 13th in Albuquerque, New Mexico, PA\'s Erin Kearney finished 5th in the Midget Girls race. Philly CYO\'s Mary Ellen Malloy reported on the conditions and some of the AAU athletes who will be helping high school programs in the years to come.

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

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

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

Family Foot Locker Fotos By Fred Koons

PCL Boys Indoor Meet #1 @ Haverford College Photos

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

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

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

It\'s a banner week for the Ivy League as seven of PA\'s top runners have signed with Dartmouth, Cornell, Penn and Princeton. The top two members of this year\'s AA State Championship Eisenhower boys team, Grant Allen and Greg Haines, will be joining 2002 State AA XC Champ and Foot Locker Finalist Ian Gottesfeld of West Chester Henderson at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in 2004. All-State and Slippery Rock XC course record-holder James O\'Toole will be studying and running for Princeton. Great Valley\'s Katy Andersen will also compete for Princeton. Betsy Sensenig of Ephrata, the Lancaster Lebanon League X-C

We\'re missing results for the following races from the 2003 PA XC Season: 8/29-Gateway Invitational 8/30-McAlprin Invitational 9/6-St. Basil Academy Invitational 9/20-Conrad Weiser Invitational 9/27-Cochranton Invitational 10/4-Lion Classic Linesville Invitational 10/11-Central Columbia (have boys results) 10/15-Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference @ University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown (have girls results) 10/17-Del-Val League 10/18-French Creek Valley Conference 10/25-PIAA Districts 5/6 Championships (need complete girls AA, and boys AA/AAA)

Thanks to Connie Oshersky, we now have the complete results of the boys & girls races at the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference Championships on Oct 15, plus the District 5/6 Boys + Girls AA Varsity and much of the JV results

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

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

TFCAGP D2 Indoor Meet #2 Race Pix

TFCAGP D1 Indoor Meet #2 Race Pix

DVGTCA Indoor Meet #3 Race Pix

The United Stars\' Lavaughn Jones goes 5:26.68 @ Seton Hall Open #2.

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

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

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

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

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

Kameesha Worthington and other United Stars kicked off their indoor season with a trip to South Orange, NJ and the Seton Hall Open.

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

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

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

12/5-As of 1:30pm, the DVGTCA Meet @ Ursinus is STILL ON. Visit www.dvgt.com for updates

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

PennTrackXC Elite 2004 Indoor Standards now on

PennTrackXC Elite 2004 Indoor Standards - Please submit elegible performances to penntrack@carpedrm.com. Include the meet, date, event, performance, and link to results or meet management/coach email or phone # for confirmation.

Northeast Foot Lockers Non-Seeded Race Pix

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

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