Aberdeen Roncalli punched a couple of more tickets to the state track and field meet next month during the Whetstone Valley Invitational on Tuesday. (via aberdeennews.com)

In the third episode of The Fit Runner our host is Dr. Giddeon J. Lewis, foot and ankle specialist, and Chairman of the MileSplit Medical Advisory Board. Joining Dr. Lewis to talk about "Heel Pain" are professional triathletes Jarrod Shoemaker and Alicia Kaye, along with University of Central Florida athletic trainer Jennifer Perez. The group will discuss causes of heel pain as well as preventative tips. This is the latest episode in our series on being a fit runner.

In this second episode of The Fit Runner our host is Tara Gidus, aka the "Diet Diva" and nutritionist to the Orlando Magic. She gives us some solid meal and hydration ideas for before, after, and during a run. This is the latest episode in our series on being a fit runner.

The boys race at Foot Locker Nationals has the potential to be a very special event.  The course record of 14:36 at Balboa Park has been held by Reuben Reina since 1985.  This record is in serious jeopardy as both Edward Cheserek (NJ) and Futsum Zenasellassie (IN) have been consistently under 15 minutes this year.  Photos by Victah Sailor/Photorun.net.  Center Photo by Don Rich.

Written by Sam Hurst for MileSplit SD and Inside Dakota Sports With the temperature dropping, and the wind howling, South Dakota high school cross-country champion Tony Smoragiewicz quietly repeated as the Nike Heartland Regional champion Sunday afternoon at the Yankton Trails course in Sioux Falls that he describes as his favorite cross country venue in the country. His time of 15:19 was seven seconds faster than North Dakota prep champion Jake Leingang of Bismarck, and secured Smoragiewicz a place in the Nike X High School National championship in Portland next month, where he will run against the best high school runners for the second time in two years. Last year’s 9th place finish in the Nike X Nationals was Tony’s coming out party as one of the country’s elite high school runners.  more

Click on the “Nike Cross National Qualifiers, from Heartland Regional” title for more.    

Futsum Zeinasellassie is in at NXN, now to qualify at Foot Locker before beginning the quest to win both titles. (Photo by Paul Everett)

US#1 Julie Macedo and US#8 Haley Pierce battled each other relentlessly in Delaware this past weekend, with Haley collapsing and Julie finishing 2nd after staggering close to the finish.  US#4 Grace Tinkey is back and won a state title with the only sub-18 time on the day.  US#6 Erin Finn won her state title in MI and looks poised for a great championship season ahead.  US#7 Katie Knight blasted a 17:10 5k in WA to win a state title and run the fastest time in the state by far.  Full updates on each athletes recent accomplishments are below.  Be sure to click on each athletes name to see times, articles, photos and interviews of each athlete if available.  

Click on the “Charting the NXN Heartland Regionals, 11/13” title for more.

Mt. SAC was this past weekend and Sarah Baxter (Simi Valley CA) proved herself in a big way, entering the rankings at #12 after winning the Team Sweeps race with a time of 16:59, the fastest on the day.  Erin Finn (West Bloomfield MI) ran an impressive 17:43 to win by a huge margin at her league meet.  Kelsey Braithwaite (Box Elder UT) moved up to #17 after winning a state title and breaking a 12 year old record with a time of 17:36.4.  Full updates on each athletes recent accomplishments are below.  Mary Cain (Bronxville NY) moved to #19 with her top-10 all-time finish at Bowdoin Park with a 18:05.96 clocking.  And Abbey Leonardi (Kennebunk ME) ran 18:05.59 to set the course record at her Regional meet despite muddy conditions, moving up one spot to #9.  Be sure to click on each athletes name to see times, articles, photos and interviews of each athlete if available.

Many athletes were idle, but there were a few big changes in the rankings this week.  US#1 Julie Macedo (DE) continues to assert her dominance as she won the Joe O'Neill Invite by 42 seconds over US#9 Haley Pierce (DE) with a time of 16:55.26.  US#19 Kelsey Braithwaite (UT) moves into the rankings with her course record setting performance to win the 4A title in 17:36.4.  Also in the rankings for the first time is US#20 Amanda Fox (IL) who ran 16:35.8 for 3 miles at her conference meet.  A lot is going on this weekend with 5 state championships taking place and the big Mt. Sac Invite in CA.  Full updates on each athletes recent accomplishments are below.  Be sure to click on each athletes name to see times, articles, photos and interviews of each athlete if available.

This first episode covers core training techniques. These workouts will apply to you whether you are already on an elite level or just the beginning. For beginners they may serve as an intense workout to build your core muscles. If you're already in shape they are crucial for you to maintain and sharpen that core strength and to prevent injury by helping you stabilize your movement.

In the next few weeks we will be highlighting the top cross country athletes in each state starting with South Dakota. On left, sophomore Tamara Gorman from Stevens HS and senior Tony Smoraglewicz (right) from Central HS.

Central High School star Tony Smoragiewicz is the reigning AA cross country state champion. Last year, he finished third at Foot Locker Nationals and ninth at Nike Nationals. MileSplit's Todd Grasley catches up with Smoragiewicz to talk about summer training, his Nike and Foot Locker experience, and his goals for his senior season.

Tyler Schultz is used to competition having participated in basketball, football, and track and field his first two years at Custer High School.  In his junior year he decided to switch things up and focus solely on track; a move that has paid dividends for Schultz.

1972 Olympic gold medalist Frank Shorter will be in Rapid City to answer questions and sign autographs on Friday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Runner’s Shop.  Shorter is also scheduled to participate in the 5th annual Dublin Dash 5k run to benefit the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Shorter is the only American athlete to win two medals in the Olympic marathon event – Gold in 1972 and Silver in 1976. Shorter was recently interviewed by South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s Paul Guggenheimer. To listen to the interview visit http://www.sdpb.org/tv/shows.aspx?MediaID=59298&Parmtype=RADIO&ParmAccessLevel=sdpb-all To register for the Dublin Dash visit http://aiche.sdsmt.edu/dublin-dash.htm

Tony Smoragiewicz, 16, a junior from Rapid City Central, finished third overall and first for the USA in the North American Junior Triathlon Championships in Clermont, Florida.  Representing the USA, Smoragiewicz finished the 750 meter swim, 20k bike, and 5k run in a time of 54:14, behind Octavio Oliveros of Mexico who finished first in a time of 53:36, and Marc-Antoine Christin of Canada who finished second in 53:43. Smoragiewicz recorded the fastest run split, finishing the run portion of the race in 14:51.   Visit the http://www.milesplit.com/meets/88221  for results, photos, and video from the USA Triathlon Sprint National Championships     Z3 Head Coach and Founder, Jenny Weber reported “I was really impressed with the athletes that represented the Z3 team today. They were strong and confident early in the season and I was proud they were able to execute their races professionally and with a lot of guts.  They encountered tough competition including new juniors who aged up from the youth ranks, so I wasn’t sure how the dynamics would play out on the field.”   I was very proud of Tony for racing smart and running himself into third place overall.  It’s just a great joy and pride to coach Z3 athletes. I am honored that our team represented the first American finishers. Now we are on to Edmonton [for Pan American Championships] and the rest of the season.” added Coach Weber. “The future looks very bright for this fine group of athletes. What impressed me too, is that our athletes are so professional on and off the field, they are just good people!” Fans saw similar results for the Junior Female race, where Smoragiewicz’s Z3 teammate, Tanelle Berard finished third overall and first for the USA in a time of 1:00.57 behind Mexican Andriana Bazzara who finished first in 1:00.23 and Canadian Gabrielle Edwards who finished second in a time of 1:00.37. Smoragiewicz, like national record holder Lukas Verzbicas, is among a select group of elite runners who have achieved success through cross training and a multisport lifestyle. Verzbicas made a cameo appearance in Clermont where he cheered on his Chicago based MulitSport Madness teammates, but sat out of the race in order to prepare for New Balance Indoor Nationals track meet scheduled for March 11-13 in New York City.   Smoragiewicz will take a hiatis from triathlon to focus on the South Dakota track season.  He i scheduled to make a return to triathlon on June 25 in Monroe, Washington for the first race in the USA Triathlon Junior Elite Cup Series.   More information about the North American Junior Champions is available online at http://www.draftlegalchallenge.com/ Complete results are available at  http://altavistasports.com/results/2011results/clermontJuniorelite03052011.htm To learn more about triathlon and the Youth and Junior Elite development programs visit USA Triathlon athttp://www.usatriathlon.org/resources/for-athletes/junior-junior-elite

Earlier this year, Alex Waddell, Sioux Falls Washington junior, and Tony Smoragieiwcz, Rapid City Central junior, were among a select group of prep athletes to receive Golden Tickets to attend Brooks PR Invitational. The two will compete later today at the Dempsey Indoor Track on the University of Washington campus in Seattle. Waddell will be among 11 runners to compete in the 800 meter at 3:40 PM MT / 4:40 PM CT. Waddell’s 1:53.56 at the Midwest Distance Gala in 2010 placed him on the South Dakota All Time Top Ten List.  Waddell also won the 2010 South Dakota State Track Meet in the 800 with a time of 1:53.94. Tony Smoragiewicz will run the 2 mile in a field of 14 scheduled for 2:30 PM MT / 3:30 PM CT.  Smoragiewicz won the 3200 in 9:26.44 at the 2011 Black Hills State Invitational.  Today he will face off with many of the same athletes he race at NXN and Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships where he finished ninth and third respectively. The meet is scheduled for today, Sunday, February 27 from 1 to 4 p.m. PT and will available live via webcast. For more information visit Brooks Running   MileSplit will have official results and photo coverage following the meet.     .

  Tamara Gorman and Tony Smoragiewicz were honored as South Dakota Cross Country Gatorade Athletes of the Year.  Gorman, a freshman from Rapid City Stevens won the Girls AA 2010 Cross Country Championship in a time of 14:40.22. Smoragiewicz, a junior from Rapid City Central High School clocked a 15:43.07 to win the Boys AA 2010 Cross Country Championship. More . . .   

Seattle-based Brooks Sports announced it will host the inaugural Brooks PR Invitational on Sunday, February 27 from 1 – 4 p.m. in Seattle, Washington. Brooks mailed ‘Golden Tickets’ on December 17, to the high schools of those athletes who automatically qualified. more . . .

  Lukas Verzbicas, IL, has clearly established himself as the best high school XC harrier of 2010 with an impressive Nike XC Nationals win in the mud and a dominating win in the sun at the Foot Locker Nationals.  Lukas became the first harrier to win both the NXN and Foot Locker titles in the same year and just the 3rd harrier ever to win 2 Foot Locker titles.  These stats should establish a foundation for considering him as one of the best high school harriers of all-time.  

On a day when ‘mud’ was the name of the game, ankle-deep in some places on the course, Tamara Gorman, Rapid City Stevens freshman and Tony Smoragiewicz, Rapid City Central junior managed to maneuver the manmade and natural obstacles on the course to finish well.  More . . . 

Participate and vote in our polls on who will win the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals individual and team titles this weekend at Portland Meadows in Oregon. The Fayetteville-Manlius girls are heavy favorites, while American Fork boys appear to be a very slight favorite in most pre-meet predictions and rankings. Meanwhile, Foot Locker Midwest and NXN Midwest champions Lukas Verzbicas (IL) and Allie Woodward (WI) are the top ranked individuals heading into Saturday's national championship race.   NXN Boys Team Poll NXN Girls Team Poll NXN Boys Individual Poll NXN Girls Individual Poll

A virtual meet preview of the championship girls' race for the 2010 Nike Cross Nationals based on current season best 5K performances in the MileSplit database. No individual qualifiers are included in this virtual meet preview and only runners on the 22 team qualifiers. Any corrections or missing times, please email to bmiles@milesplit.us.

 The 10th release of the MileSplit XC Super 50 rankings comes amidst the thick of the post-season.  The NXN Nationals are held this weekend in Portland, Oregon and the Foot Locker West Championships are held in Walnut, California.  The following weekend in San Diego the best individual harriers take to the historic stage of the Foot Locker National Championships to crown a new girls and boys champion.  We are getting ever closer to seeing who the best harriers truly are, the only way possible, through head-to-head racing!

Despite cold and windy conditions, South Dakota harriers represented their home state well at the Midwest Foot Locker Regional Championship meet on Saturday, November 27 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  Three athletes earned top 50 times on the Boys Seeded Race. more . . .

The story of the week was New Jersey's Megan Venables (#2), who won her NJ Group 3 state title with an earth-shattering time of 17:27.9 to erase a 27 year old course record.  The previous record, set by Janet Smith in 1983, is 17:35.5.  Megan races the course again this weekend at the NJ MOC, this time with some heat behind her!

  Tamara Gorman, Rapid City Stevens High School freshman and Tony Smoragiewicz, Rapid City Central High School junior will advance to Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, December 4 after their performances at the Nike Heartland Cross Regional XC Championship Meet held on November 14 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  Several other South Dakota athletes make notable performances.

Olympian Lopez Lamong was the featured speaker at the Nike Heartland pasta dinner. Lamong was a 2008 Olympian and the US Flag bearer for the Opening Ceremony in Beijing. He humbly shared his heart-wrenching life story and graciously signed autographs for the high school athletes scheduled to compete at tomorrow’s Nike Heartland Regional cross country meet in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Thank you Lopez! more p http://www.facebook.com/pages/South-Dakota-MileSplit/157947039077?ref=ts

Dozens of South Dakota Harriers are entered in the Nike Heartland Regional meet on Sunday, November 14 at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for the chance to compete at Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) on December 7, in Portland, Ore.

The Rapid City Central Cobbler Cross Country Team will sponsor a Youth Sports Gear Sale on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010 from 8:00 a.m. until noon in the Rapid City Central High School Commons.

New harriers make rank, while the top of the guys rankings is as tight as ever!  Here comes the post-season!

Three years after hiring its first editor to provide weekly coverage from a national perspective, MileSplit.US–-the national portal of the 50-state MileSplit Network-–has received a long-overdue makeover.

Approximately 600 harriers from across South Dakota will converge on Huron’s Broadland Creek Golf Club on Saturday, October 23 for the final sanctioned meet of the 2010 season.  

A few changes and a few editions, but look for the action to heat up in the coming weeks!

Few changes as most are idle, but there are a handful of new editions to the national roster.

One of the most hotly debated discussions on any cross country discussion board (including our own) is the accuracy of courses.  This article will not attempt to dive into that debate or the exact method you should use to measure the course. We will debunk one thing and one thing only: why GPS readings have no place in the discussion.

What aspects are unique to the world of men's track and field scholarships?

  Participation in high school sports increased for the 21st consecutive school year in 2009-10, eclipsing the 7.6 million mark for the first time. Based on figures from the 50 state high school athletic/activity associations, plus the District of Columbia, that are members of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), participation for the 2009-10 school year reached a record-breaking total of 7,628,377 participants, according to the 2009-10 High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the NFHS.

 

What considerations are unique to the world of women's track and field scholarships?

... or several important facts you should know about the availability of college track and field scholarships.

In this installment, we take a look at a few questions to help you dig inside what the personality of your potential college coach is like.

An updated look at several issues the college-bound athlete wants to take into consideration.

 Photo Above:  Aron Taylor, left and David Taylor, right.  

MileSplit has a huge database of performances nationwide that numbers in the tens of millions.  We love to utilize this data to generate various rankings, virtual meets, and scoring systems.  Many people feel that time-based cross country rankings are worthless. I would disagree with those people and feel it is a valuable tool when used in context.  However, obviously is is hard to get an accurate picture by just looking at times with so many variations between courses.  We are in the process of deriving a scoring system, the first step of which is to design a statistically sound rating system of thousands of courses nationwide.

 

Kendall Baisden, MI, and Kamaria Brown, LA, set AAU National Records in the 400's.  (Photos by John Herzog, MileStat.com)

ArmoryTrack.com's Christopher Hunt and Tim Fulton went to Warwick, NY to sit in on The Hudson Valley Flying Circus Pole Vault Camp on July 21, 2010.

  Several of the 15 new rules changes approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Track and Field and Cross Country Rules Committee have more lenient penalties than in the past, including a team warning for the first jewelry violation when observed during competition. The changes, which were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors, will take effect with the 2010-11 school year.

Final Nike Elite story on Bryan Clay continues our Elite coverage as we get closer to the Nike Track Nationals on June 2nd.  One more video interview to go! (Photo by Vic Sailer, PhotoRun.net)

Kenny Krotzer, Auburn Riverside WA, has run 4:07 for the 1600 meters.  But he has plans for a much faster result by season's end.  Read on to learn more about this talented athlete...

In addition to the video interviews, Reese Hoffa kicks off a series of stories on Elite Nike athletes as we get closer to the Nike Track Nationals. (Photo by Vic Sailer, PhotoRun.net)

Galen Rupp and Chris Solinsky both went under the old US record with Solinsky the victor in 26:59.60.  (Photo by Andrew McLanahan, PhotoRun.net) 

4/28/10 Weekly Update

Enjoy our first installement in a series of interviews & stories leading up to the 2010 Nike Track Nationals in Eugene, OR on July 2nd. (Photo by Victah Sailor, PhotoRun.net)

4/21/10 Weekly Update

Gunnar Nixon, Sante Fe OK, won the boys decathlon with a US#2 A-T 7573 pts.  Jake Hurysz, Eastern Alamance NC, won the boys 3200 with a time of 8:49.76.  (Photos by Margot Kelly)

  Today Nike opened registration and announced details for the Nike Track Nationals competition, the first ever national championship competition to name the best high school track and field program in the United States.

       

 

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.