Please read this important article on how to submit results and make sure your athletes get properly recognized! It's fairly long, but please try to read the whole thing. It has some very important information that you may not know or realize.

Starting with the 2010-11 school year, student athletes participating in NDHSAA sanctioned sports programs will be required to file a pre-participation health history screening and physical examination with their school office prior to their participation on a yearly basis.

The UK HS Invite and the Simplot Games will feature talent from all over the country.  Stay tuned for previews!

The nerves usually don’t kick in too much for Lizzie Powell.

The senior from Patrick Henry High in Virginia, and a nationally-ranked pole-vaulter, does get a little nervous. She does get that excited anticipation that one normally experiences before competition.

This time, though, it was different.

(Lizzie and her sister Annie, a vaulter for UNC Wilmington)

NEW YORK – It seemed perfect. Bernard Lagat sat exactly where he needed to be with Asbel Kiprop of Kenya taking on all the work while he drafted and Great Britian’s Andy Baddeley kept him honest from behind. (Photo by Mary DiBiase Blaich/wingedfootfotos.com)

Photo courtesy of ArmoryTrack.com

Photos courtesy of PhotoRun.net

I love how a race can be a profound metaphor for life in a broader sense.  And just like a good Biblical parable, it can teach you a lot about yourself, others, and the way to be successful and happy.  I decided to pick out a few anecdotes that some of the girls that I covered this weekend taught me. 

Photos by Paul Everett and Vitctah Sailor, PhotoRun.net

This year’s Foot Locker Nationals will still crown the best cross country runner in the country and continue its rich 30 year tradition on Saturday as two champions will face off in Craig Lutz from Texas and Lukas Verzbicas from Illinois. Lutz is fresh off his win last weekend at Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon, while Verzbicas earlier this fall won the World Dualthon junior title. Along with battling it out with each other for the win, both Lutz and Verzbicas will be racing against history as the South region has not had a Foot Locker champion since 1985 (Lutz), while an underclassmen has never won the boys race at Foot Locker Nationals (Verzbicas).

The first of the two national high school cross country championship races were held this past weekend in Portland, Oregon with the Nike Cross Nationals. The boys' race certainly featured many of the nation's best battling it out to the wire, while the girls' race was missing the unofficial "Big 3" in Megan Goethals (MI), Chelsey Sveinsson (TX), and Aisling Cuffe (NY) but stellar depth was found in both races as Foot Locker finalists, All-Americans, and state champions were found deep into the field.

Photo by Ben Hovis

Photo by Jesspassingby

Check out these four links if you need help with Claiming your team, Editing your team roster or with entering your team Online.  If this is the first time that you are using the MileSplit online entry system, please view all three help files.  You will need to be a registered user in order to claim a team, so please register with MileSplit on the right hand side of the gray bar at the top of every page.

The second edition of the Milesplit Sweet 16 Individual National Rankings features new faces and familiar names

Photo by Margot Kelly, AZtrackXC.com

Joe Rosa ran a new CR time of 15:04, 12 seconds over Forys.  Jim Rosa's 15:16 is 3rd AT @ Holmdel.

 Foot Locker announced today, that Saucony, Inc., has become the official sponsor for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships (FLCCC), the nation’s premier high school championships for cross country runners.

What questions can you ask to learn about the coach you will be working under when you enter a collegiate program?

Ferris leader Adam Thorne led the US#6 Saxons over US#12 North Central and US#15 Kamiakin at the Tracy Walters Invitational. Also, US#15 Shadle Park girls in action.

Jay Johnson and Alan Versaw continue their series on the college recruiting process with a look into some questions that recruited athletes may want to be asking.

Check out 2009 Irish National XC champion & 2000 NCAA champion Keith Kelly speaks about his introduction to running in high school, the transition to training in college, his experiences at Providence training under coach Ray Tracey, battling injuries & being a professional athlete at the recent Maine XC Athlete & Coaches Clinic. Thanks to the Maine Running company for being the main sponsor of the clinic and for Jorma Kurry for creating the videos.

Video of Keith Kelly: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

MileSplit.us will be taking a new approach to our national coverage beginning with this fall's cross country season. If you are in a state that does not yet have a MileSplit webmaster, you now have a specific person to send information to from your state - including results.

Coaches, athletes, parents, and fans of high school cross country. In an effort to improve the MileSplit national coverage and rankings, we are are going to provide at least minimal coverage in the states that do not yet have a full-time webmaster.

We are a stats driven site, so we need results! You can submit results a couple of ways.  One by emailing the results to jparks or by copying and pasting them to the link provided on the meet's page.  

Coaches: you have free team pages where you can post your rosters, schedules, and other information.  This will also help us provide better coverage for your teams and your state.  

XC Legacy hits full stride with part three of our eight segment series on the lost years of prep cross country rankings...

Part Two of our eight segment series on the lost years of prep cross country rankings shows the dominance of Indiana and Illinois teams and the recognition of one of the true national powerhouses out of Oregon.

There is a better way than hand-typing results into Word or Excel... I promise! And it's actually easier, will save you time and frustration, and will produce results that are so much more rewarding and professional. Plus you'll be getting them in a format that saves us time in posting them and allows us to get all of the athletes statistics entered.

Watch this video!!!

This article concludes the series on college recruiting with a wrap-up on the topic of transitioning from high school to college training.

What changes in training lie ahead for the high school athlete who wants to train to compete at the college level?

With this segment, we wrap up the topic of the role of the high school coach. At the bottom of this installment, you will find links to all other pieces of the series and to a valuable resource that Coach Micah Porter (D'Evelyn High School, Lakewood, CO) has made available.

How should the high school coach approach the recruiting process? Is it best to stay clear of the entire affair or is it the time to step in and lend some aid? If so, what form should that take?

In this installment, we try to put some closure on the issue of the amount of athletic scholarship awards for track and field/cross country.

Few issues for the college-bound student-athlete and his or her parents generate as much interest and angst as the amount of the scholarship offered.

In this feature, coaches Jay Johnson and Alan Versaw exchange information and perspectives on the college track and field/cross country recruiting process.

Gatorade State XC POY: Trevor Dunbar (AK),  Joash Osoro (ND) and Evan Appel (CO), pictured left to right, are three of the Gatorade State Boys Cross Country Runners of the Year.

Gatorade State XC POY: Lindsay Flanagan (IL), Melanie Thompson (NJ) and Jordan Hasay (CA), pictured left to right, are three of the Gatorade State Girls Cross Country Runners of the Year announced today.

Hear what the participants had to say about their Foot Locker CC Championships experience. More than 40 athlete interviews are available, including 28 of the 31 FL All-Americans. Also, full boys and girls race videos are available on demand.

WATCH LIVE ON MILESPLIT!!! Coming to you from the course Milesplit's own Jason Byrne, Don Rich, Fran McLaughlin, and Margot Kelly bring unparallelled live onsite coverage.

MileSplit US #1 North Central boys, competing as North Spokane XC Club, used a late surge to capture the Nike Cross Nationals. Reed Connor raced to a course record 15:15 for the individual crown.

NXN Girls Team Previews: Thumbnail sketches and analysis of all 22 girls teams.

NXN Boys Team Previews: Thumbnail sketches and analysis of all 22 boys teams

NXN Midwest: Kroy (York, IL), led by Steve Sulkin, avenged its loss to Naperville North at the IHSA Champs a week ago. Geneva (IL) XC and Stephanie Morgan (OH) are winners. (Photos by Tracy Rollins)

With the recent passing of his best friend weighing heavily on his mind, Knoxville West star Matthew Sonnenfeldt persevered to capture the most meaningful of state titles.

Each week here at MileSplit we will be giving you a quick look at four of the nation's best runners. Featured this week are Matthew Sonnenfeldt (TN), Becca Addison (MI), Jimmy Tarsnane (PA) and Jessica Tonn (AZ).

The polls are closed here in the East, and at least as far as the MileSplit team rankings are concerned, there are very few changes. The top eight teams on the boys' side, and the top five girls' teams remain intact.

Ashley Brasovan, Bobby Nicolls, Doug Smith and Jordan Hasay are four of the best cross country runners in the country this fall, and they've each signed up to share their journey throughout the fall in our seasonal feature.

Each week here at MileSplit we will be giving you a quick look at four of the nation's best runners. Featured this week are Joash Osoro (ND), Alex Dunne (CA), Andrew Springer (RI) and Kaitlin Hanenburg (CO).

On the strength of its record-setting performance in winning the Sweepstakes race at the Mt. SAC Invitational, Saugus (CA) moves past Fayetteville-Manlius into the top spot in the team rankings.

Rocky Mountain Reunion: Evan Appel (pictured above, left) topped Bobby Nicolls (right), but Joseph Manilafasha runs best time of the day 15:08, while Allie McLaughlin posts a 17:04 at the Colorado State Meet, one of the many state championships contested this weekend.

With most of the top teams taking the week off or breezing through conference or regional meets, there are very few changes in the MileSplit team rankings for this week. The boys rankings are nearly identical, while three girls teams jumped a few spots based on strong performances.

All of the top girls teams remain intact in the latest NSSF XC Regional Rankings. On the boys side, Don Bosco Prep (Northeast) and Buchanan (CA) vault to #1 after impressive performances last weekend.

Several recent big meets, such as Nike South, Manhattan College and the Great American have helped to bring some clarity to the rankings. North Central boys and Fayetteville-Manlius girls hold the top spots.

Ashley Brasovan, Bobby Nicolls, Doug Smith and Jordan Hasay are four of the best cross country runners in the country this fall, and they've each signed up to share their journey throughout the fall in our seasonal feature.

Soloman Haile raced to a Vanny course record. Andrew Colley (pictured above) ran a close second in the Eastern States race. Ashley Brasovan outperformed a strong girls' field at the Great American XC Festival. Pictures, videos, results here.

Lots of movement and many newcomers highlight our individual rankings since they were last published, September 17. Ashley Brasovan takes over number one in the south after her electrifying 16:46 in the flrunners.com 9.

2007 showed a distinct disparity between the strength of the Midwest boys and girls at Foot Locker Nationals. While the Midwest boys dominated the team competition at Foot Locker Nationals, the girls finished in fourth. This year the boys look strong, led by the Colorado contingent of Evan Appel, Joseph Manilafasha and Bobby Nicolls (pictured left to right above by John Herzog), while the girls look to rebound and show they can compete with anyone.

Before the '07-'08 track season, North Dakota's Laura Roesler was already a growing legend in her home state. As a freshman Roesler won quadruple gold at her state track and field championships, winning the 100, 200, 400 and 800m dash events. Despite the success, Roesler wasn't as well known outside her state, but it seemed it was only a matter of time.

A strong fall led to an ever impressive spring, one that saw Roesler win four more state titles, but then go on a tear at 800m, lowering her time dramatically and reaching into U.S. top ten all-time status. The capping point on the season came at the Olympic Trials, an event that saw Roesler make the semi-finals and become one of the crowd favorites amongst a field of professional runners. This is the story of her season.

MileSplit US will be providing on-site coverage this week from the USATF National Junior Olympic T&F Championships being held in Greensboro, North Carolina from Tuesday, July 28th through Sunday, August 2nd. Expect plenty of race videos and photos from the meet on virtually all days of competition. Visit our meet coverage page throughout the week where videos, pictures, and stories will be added throughout the week. Our emphasis of coverage will be primarily on the high school aged athletes of the intermediate boys/girls and young men/women division, but will also include a good amount of video and photo from the younger age divisions.

Day 1 Highlights: Connor McCullough (CA) & Lauren Chambers (GA) shatter hammer throw records, steeple chase winners recover from bad falls, Gunnar Nixon (OK) & Nemean Wise (FL) out in front dominating multis in first day of competition.

Schedule & Live Results

Photo Gallery by Brandon Miles - Photos to be added throughout the first three days of competition. Day 1 highlight pics posted.

Race Videos - More videos from Tuesday's events being uploaded and processed.

USATF's Official Meet Site

Association & Regional Championship Meet Results