When Frances Koons lists her reasons for running the 2012 Rothman 8K race on Saturday, she points out the same attributes that draw almost every other runner in the Philadelphia area. "It's close,... (via Philly.com)

www.legacy.com/mcall/Obituaries.aspTeacher and ex-legislator John Pressmann dies on hike. Allentown Central Catholic educator was in the Sierras for charity. He held state House seat for six years.

Coming through the 800 in 2:12, Villanova\'s Frances Koons, a former PA XC state champ, Foot Locker Finalist and 1600 state champ, set an Armory record, winning the Gotham Cup Games 1000m in 2:47.08. (Photo courtesy of www.wingedfootfotos.com)

They\'re always there at the end of the season. Despite bumps, major or minor, you can pretty much count on Allentown Central Catholic to be ready for the post-season. They are, and they advance, along with the Easton girls. In boys AAA, it\'s Parkland and Liberty. And in AA, it was Alexa Griffiths and Isaac Dunkelberger leading their Tamaqua teams to District 11 titles.

Easton takes the individual titles, but it\'s Allentown Central Catholic\'s girls and the Parkland boys who win the Lehigh Valley Conference titles.

Conestoga\'s Liz Costello was 3rd in 17:59. Pre-Season NE#10 Allentown Central Catholic was 4th behind Warwick Valley NY, Colts Neck NJ, and Warwick Valley NY. Northeast #9 West Chester East suffered a 2-point upset loss to Cumberland Valley, 131-133 at the Paul Short Run. The race was won by junior Craig Forys of Colts Neck NJ in 15:14. East\'s Duriel Hardy was 2nd just two seconds back, following at 15:22 by Cumberland Valley #1 Curtis Bixler.

Allentown Central Catholic continued their winning, taking their second consecutive invitational after the bump in the road of Week #1. Exeter won a ten-point battle over Emmaus in the boys\' race as Tamaqua\'s Isaac Dunkelberger took home individual honors.

With a win at Abington 9/10 over previous NE#5 Coatesville, West Chester East has moved into the Northeast US Nike Team Nationals rankings. Coatesville has dropped out of the top ten. Manheim Township remains in the upper part of the rankings. For the girls, Allentown Central Catholic, following their opening loss at the Northampton Invitational, has also been replaced by another team in the top ten.

While the Boys Varsity Group 1 race overshadowed the meet, they weren\'t the only stellar performances on a perfect day for racing.

The #10 team in the Northeast in the pre-season NTN rankings, Allentown Central Catholic, was upset at the 9/3 Northampton Invitational by Easton. As one coach observed, \"Price changes XC in AAA in PA.\"...

In the pre-seaon Nike Team Nationals (NTN) poll released this week, three Pennsylvania teams have cracked the top ten in the Northeast. Congrats to Manheim Township\'s and Coatesville\'s boys, and the Allentown Central Catholic girls.

Ten PA athletes record top 8 finishes in individual finals at the 2005 NCAA Division I Championships behind 3rd place sup-4 pace 1500 by Cardinal O\'Hara\'s Sean Duffy.

Lindsay Regan ties the US Junior class record and secures her second state record in the Pole Vault. Fast girls\' 800, 1600, 3200, 300 Hurdles and 4x800 (Photo courtesy of Mike Lawryk).

Dave Mock, Frances Koons rebound for successful close to frosh XC campaigns - and are thrilled by their college choices. They talk about their inaugural seasons, their setbacks, and their successful finishes at XC Junior Nationals.

Former PA XC AAA state champs Dave Mock (Westmont Hilltop) and Frances Koons (Allentown Central Catholic) finished with the elite of the USATF XC juniors. Mock captured 8th in 25:59.8 for the 8km Junior Men\'s race, while Koons was 13th in the Junior Women\'s 6km race at the USATF Cross Country Championships, running 22:58. Former Haverford runner and Olympian Shayne Culpepper was 2nd in the Open Women\'s 4km in 13:27.0, while former Great Valley star Mark Stallings was 26th in the Open Men\'s 12km race in 39:15.7.

PA HS grads ran very well in the collegiate portion.