Nov 3: A little twilight zone to the Boyertown back-to-back in AAA | Central Cambria won a title. But they took home so much more. | Coatesville doen't rebuild. They reload. | Cross country rings true in Wellsboro. | Experienced coach, expert spotters, and soccer lead North East to 9th state title. Oct 27: PODCASTS: Wellsboro and Shikellamy surprised and Lewisburg delivered in D4. Dallas' boys competed well in D2. Liberty swept individual titles and advanced two teams to states, Emmaus was Emmaus in D11. Henderson's Chris Aldrich and Carly Hamond caputured individual crowns and St. Basil held off Christopher Dock in D1. Oct 20: Winning streaks were preserved at the big Tri-State Coaches Association meet on October 28th at Cooper's Lake in Slippery Rock. Baldwin senior David Adley won his 6th invitational of the season, while Latrobe junior Natalie Bower captured her third straight Tri-States. Video interviews with both chams. Oct 13: Three videos, including the post- Manhattan interviews with Central Cambria's Carly Seymour, who set the 2.5 mile Van Cortlandt Park record of 13:56; her coach, Randy Wilson; and North Penn coach Ron Jaros after his boys' team ran the best team average of the day, 12:57.1, which happens to be the 2nd best of all time. Oct 6: There is something different this year about Vince McNally. He's hungrier than ever. Most of last year's U.S. champs are in college. But Coatesville is still Coatesville. Winners. (Posted Wednesday AM. Coming Thurs: McNally's plan). If running is mental, then confidence is currency. Just ask Heather Giovagnoli. Sept 29: Ignore North Penn at your own risk this year. A track power excels at cross, too. And it's good to get your #1 runners back. Just ask Unionville & Cardinal O'Hara. Sept 22: Holy Ghost Prep is a very small AAA school. And Central Cambria, Lewisburg and North East are AA. All four are using the pack to attack their large school competition, and winning. Plus, North East coach Ted Miller is going for his ninth state tltle. Sept 15: Carly Seymour is more fit, more rested and more confident than last year when she was 9th at Foot Lockers. But her team is right with her with big goals. Germantown Friends made some noise on the national scene with a near upset of the U.S. #1 team. They are both little schools with some big talent. Sept 8: Kara Millhouse breakthrough – Cumberland Valley is back – Chanelle Price uses cross for the 800 (but she has goals this season too) – Podcast interview with Vince McNally. Sept 1: Baldwin distance stars David Adley and T.J. Hobart – Meghan Lutz of Nazareth Academy – Mark Dennin of Boyertown.
Coverage
Photo Galleries by Don Rich, Timothy O'Dowd and Megan Clugh of the four races @ the 2007 PIAA State Championships on 11/3 @ Hershey Parkview
Map and Photo Gallery of the complete Hershey Parkview 5K course, including Mile One revisions
Photos from 2007 state championship meets from around the U.S.
After years of watching other states offer an opportunity to race on the state championship course prior to the state meet, the PIAA has orchestrated the inaugural Hershey Cross Country Invitational at the once-raced Hershey Parkview course. According to PIAA Associate Executive Director Robert Lombardi, the meet is set for the 4th Saturday of September, the 22nd to be exact. There will be four races, and a limit on the number of teams per race. The entry form is now posted on the meet page, or download it by clicking here or from the PIAA site.
In AA, Central Cambria has some quality freshmen joining a Carly Seymour- led team that has major experience. Seymour took 2nd in 2006 to returning Kacey Gibson of Neshannock, but then went on to earn all-American at Foot Lockers. In AAA, Emmaus returns the top six from their 2006 runner-up squad, and have their eyes on some big goals. And defending champ Neely Spence of Shippensburg, who joined Seymour in San Diego for Foot Lockers, also earning all-American status, is back, and a clear favorite. The 2007 AA and AAA Girls preview... Includes top returning individuals and teams with elite performances in 2006 POSTED TUE: Emmaus Girls, THUR: AA & AAA BOYS PREVIEW, FRI: North Allegheny Boys
"Bulldog was a big wake-up call for us as a team." When Christina Faust – one of the increasingly well known Faust triplets of Emmaus High School – recently made that observation, she was referring to her team's reaction to a surprising 37-second compression and 19 points at the 2006 Bulldog Invitational at Northern Lehigh. The revelation? "Wow, we're really good!" But while Christina and her teammates were realizing they had a potential state medalist team, observers of the sport were coming to the same realization. 'Wow, they're good.'
In AA, it was a senior sweep of the top 10 in 2006, making Terrence Lee of Engineering & Science the top returner. West Middlesex will get some challenges along the way to a repeat AA title. In AAA, North Allegheny is strong on paper, AND they have the focus this year to finish the job in Hershey. Vince McNally of Conestoga Valley and Chris Aldrich of West Chester Henderson are the individual class of AAA. The 2007 AA and AAA Boys preview... Includes top returning individuals and teams with elite performances in 2006
Kacey Gibson won't be racing a ton this fall, meaning every race she does will be more than purposeful. The defending PIAA Class AA champion from Neshannock High is once again one of just a few runners representing her school. So because Gibson's school can't field a full team, coach Dave Antagoli races is crew of three in inviationals.Kacey Gibson during her 2006 PIAA AA state cross country race.
The Inaugural Hershey Cross Country Invitational is set for Saturday, September 22nd at the Hershey Parkview course. The PIAA has released the team lists for the four races, and it's quite a lineup, featuring about a dozen teams ranked in the PennTrackXC.com weekly ranking. The four races go off on the hour beginning at 10am with the Small School girls race. It's time for PA's first-ever Pre-States. On Tuesday, the PIAA released the map of the revised 2007 course and final instructions. We also have links to the starting lane assignments and directions. Enjoy.
A day of firsts for Central Cambria, Emmaus, North Penn and a day of repeats for Carly Seymour, Neely Spence, Boyertown and North East CLICK BELOW FOR POST-RACE FEATURES, VIDEO INTERVIEWS, PHOTO GALLERY AND RACE VIDEOS:Video Interviews: Neely Spence | Mark Dennin | Chris Aldrich | Emmaus Photo Gallery by Don Rich, Tim O'Dowd & Megan Clugh from nine spots on the course for each race - over 2000 pixRace Videos by Aaron Rich: AA Girls | AA Boys | AAA Girls | AAA Boys Post-Race FeaturesCentral Cambria won a title.But they took home so much more. Coatesville doesn't rebuild. They reload. Cross country rings true in Wellsboro. Experienced coach, expert spotters, and soccer lead North East to 9th state title. Carly Seymour reclaimed her state AA title (she had won as a sophomore) and led her team to the school's first-ever state title in any sport.Note from PIAA and RunHigh. Posted results replace any and all preliminary results that were posted or distributed at the meet. Top 25 medalists and team awards were correct as presented in Hershey. It was a day that went of form in many ways, but in others, it was a big surprise. The day of first s included team champs for the girls of Central Cambria in AA, Emmaus in AAA, and the boys of North Penn in AAA. AA North East boys captured their 9th between the boys and girls. In the individual races, Carly Seymour led her championship team with one point and a monster 17:49 for her 2nd state XC title. Neely Spence (in photo by Timothy O'Dowd, Irishrunner.com) took off at 3K to repeate. Joe Beveridge captured the AA crown, and Mark Dennin repeated for Boyertown in AAA. Favorite Vince McNally of Conestoga Valley simply had a bad day. See Side Note in inside coverage.
The 2007 All State Outdoor Cross Country Team was selected by a committee of the PTFCA on 11/12 taking into consideration honors won, quality and consistency of performance and head-to-head competition. Congratulations to all the new All-State athletes, Athletes of the Year, Carly Seymour, Central Cambria and Mark Dennin, Boyertown; and Coaches of the Year, Randy Wilson, Central Cambria for the girls; and Ron Jaros, North Penn for the boys.
The PCN broadcast of the 2007 PIAA Cross Cross Country Championships will be on Wednesday, November 21, Sunday November 25 and Tuesday November 27.