Photo Gallery of the 12/30 Robert J. Burdette HS Classic @ Lehigh University

The Simon Gratz boys and West Catholic girls were traveling out-of-state and in-state looking for competition and wins this week. They found both. At the Burdette Classic, soph Ryann Krais and senior Carrington Queen post some remarkable early-season times in the 60 hurdles. But they each took the 200 as well. Three other records were set as well, including the Pole Vault.

Although I have the big picture in mind, the small steps to get to my final goal are important.

I keep raising the topic of transition because so many things changed for me as soon as I graduated from college and then moved over here...

The holidays were a chance for some to get some rest and get ready for the busy January and February indoor challenges. For others, it was a chance to experiment with relay combos. Or, it was an opportunity to get that state qualifying performance out of the way. But for the West Catholic team, it was an opportunity to help a teammate cope with a family tragedy. There were five meets, including the first two Philadelphia Catholic League offerings, and three in the boys/girls coaches associations in the Philly region. (PICTURED: Diandra Witherspoon takes the baton from teammate Christiana Taylor)

Photo Gallery of the 12/23 DVGTCA Indoor Meet #4 @ Ursinus College

The National Scholastic Sports Foundation\'s Great American Cross Country Festival will have a new home for 2006.

Williams Sub-11 translates into $10,000 for charity

The 2005 Foot Locker X-Country Championships will be shown on Fox SportsNet on Wednesday, Dec.21, from 3-4pm (EST). Check your local listings for the time in your area... TV GUIDEAlso, check COMCAST.NET for possible broadcast on your cable system. For example, it is on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia in the Eastern Delaware County area on Channel 36 on 12/21 at 2pm, and a Midnight on 12/22.

There doesn\'t seem to be a shortage of good throws in the early going of the boy\'s shot put. The girls are getting some incredible December performances into the books. Full coverage of two TFCAGP meets, the DVGTCA meet, Dickinson College (minus school names), Hill School Invitational, and the Bishop Loughlin Games, and the Franklin & Marshall HS Inv.

Former Chester HS star Kia Davis enters her first season as a volunteer coach for the UNLV women\'s track and field team...

It was a long, but rewarding cross country season. I was privileged to attend my second NTN in Portland (come on PA, I know we have teams that can compete at that level!)... and my first Foot Locker Finals and to enjoy the company of our three representatives and their coaches. But after all that traveling, I am taking this weekend for some R&R...not to mention it\'s my wedding anniversary. (I used up all my points the last two weekends). I\'ll be posting results and providing coverage of the weekend\'s meets as results are received. Thanks for your support and see you around the track.

Looking for a new, fast, exciting invitational in which to compete a few weeks before the district championships?

For those elite PA high school preps and their respective coaches who\'d like to qualify for the prestigious Millrose Games high school mile races. The selection committees for the race recently released their list of Millrose mile qualifying meets for the 2005-2006 indoor season.

It\'s an all-time SE PA record for West Catholic senior Latavia Thomas. Karen Shump, Penncrest is throwing well. And Ryann Krais and Carrington Queen are tearing through the short (distance, not height) hurdles for this early in the season.

I decided to go explore some trails today since I have basically been running the same routes since I\'ve been here!

Photo Gallery from the races by Keith Capecci, Josh Hibbs and Liz Costello at the 12/10/05 Foot Locker Championships

NOTE:COMING THIS WEEK: The season training plans for the three from their coaches, Dave Marrington (Keith Capecci), Bob Ayton (Josh Hibbs), and Mark Tirone and Ryan Comstock (Liz Costello) -- all of whom were enjoying the festivities and races in San Diego. Pennsylvania\'s three qualifiers in this year\'s version of cross-country\'s race of stars had envisioned better finishes -- but each came away with much more than they had ever hoped. Council Rock North\'s Keith Capecci has a growing confidence he hopes will take him to an individual state title. Hatboro-Horsham\'s Josh Hibbs never thought he was this good. Those days are over. And Conestoga\'s Liz Costello is no longer intimidated by the aura surrounding other quality runners.

I have always enjoyed running, but I feel like moving over here to Switzerland has kind of renewed my passion for this thing, this distance running thing.

Pitt\'s Women\'s Track and Field Signs Five for 2006-07 Season

Stello

A really funny person in college, before my races would say, \"Josi... \"Boawwlss to the Woawwllls!\"

Lauryn Williams, who attended Rochester H.S. (PA) before moving on to the University of Miami, is one of the leaders of the \"youth movement\" in U.S. track and field. From the Walt Murphy. By the IAAF News Service.

LaSalle freshman Philip Wood captured the Youth Boys national title in the AAU Cross Country Championships December 3rd in Rock Hill, South Carolina. 8th-grader Michael Mahoney, the younger brother of former Council Rock North star John Mahoney, was 6th the race. In the Intermediate Boys 5k, Nick Hilton of Exeter was 4th. More...

Reduce sugar intake!!!!!!!!

After tomorrow, I will know more about exactly what races I am running, what times I have to run to qualify for the official National Team etc

The NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships are on Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia on Monday, December 5th at 11am. It will also be on FoxSportsNet this afternoon at 3, on Comcast Mid-Atlantic on Saturday 12/10 at Noon, and on Comcast Mid-Atlantic Thursday, 12/15 at 1:30am.

The 2005 Pennsylvania Foot Locker Finalists needed some workouts, and they also needed some qualifying times for the Indoor season. Lucky for them there were some meets with good competition the week between the regional and the finals. And several top performances from 2005 outdoor are back in action right where they left off... (pictured: Now soph Karen Shump, Penncreast, at the 2005 PTFCA Indoor State Champs.)

So the news I have been waiting for stood in my e mail account this morning, but the results were as I expected