2002 XC MEET SUMMARY PAGE LINKS

* Foot Locker Meets (Foot Lockers NE & Nationals) Results Page
* November Weeks 1-4 (States | PCL | Public | Mid East) Results Page |States Page
* October Week 4 (Districts) Results Page | Districts Page
* October Week 3 (Conferences) Results Page
* October Weeks 1+2 Results Page
* September 2002 XC Results Page

2002 XC Meet Results by Month Page

NOVEMBER STATES, PCL,
PUBLIC, MID EAST
2002 XC

Championship Weeks 4-5 (Nov 5-Nov 17) Saturday, November 9: Mid-Atlantic USATF XC Championships @ Belmont Plateau, Philadelphia - Allentown Central Catholic junior Frances Koons ran alone to a strong 19:04.0 on the tough Belmont Plateau course as a tune-up for the Foot Lockers. Results courtest of Mid-Atlantic USATF. | Sunday , November 10: Philadelphia Catholic League Championships @ Belmont Plateau (St. Hubert's upsets O'Hara, but Lions' boys win third straight) | Thursday, November 14: Public League Championships @ Belmont Plateau, Philly (Central sweeps boys and girls behind Syrnick's 16:37 and frosh Carodine's 20:50) | Saturday, November 16: Mid East Regional Championships @ Kittering, Ohio (Nastase leads PA girls to 2nd, just 2pts behind Indiana. PA boys 5th behind Pastore in 11th) | Let's Get Dirty 5K @ Slippery Rock University (Soder and Egan clean up the sloppiest, slipperyest race west of the Susquehanna) | 58th Jesuit Championships @ Van Cortlandt Park, NYC (St. Joe's Prep misses championships by a single point to Gonzaga, going 2-5-8-9-10 for 34 points behind C. Barlow's 14:02.9 3rd place) Full Results on Armorytrack.com. | Sunday, November 17: Region 2 USATF XC Championships @ Slippery Rock University. Full Results on USATF Site. |

Saturday, November 16, 2002: Mid East Regional Championships @ Kittering, Ohio - The Pennsylvania Girls came up big and nearly beat a very good Indiana team, losing by just two points, 42-44. Leading PA to top ten finishes were Leanna Nastase of Forest Hills (right), 4th in 18:34.86, Emily Kruger of Lampeter-Strasburg, 5th in 18:35.69, and AAA State Champ Christine Taranto, West Allegheny, 7th in 18:45.77. Rounding out the scoring for PA were AA State Champ Heather Wilmoth of Eisenhower, 13th in 18:54.81, and Liberty's Molly Lare, 15th in 18:58.75. Indiana's Tiffany Redlarczyk, took the girls' title in 18:05.79. The girls' effort contributed to a combined score with the boys of 165, placing the PA contingent 4th overall. Indiana won the combined team championship with 101. The highest finisher for the PA boys was Scranton Prep's Jon Pastore, 11th in 16:01.42. Also scoring for the PA guys were Ryan Blood, East Pennsboro, 21st in 16:08.92, Eric Fleming, Bishop Shanahan, 25th in 16:12.70, Chris Robson, Red Land, 31st in 16:16.91, and Adam Breisch, Quakertown, 33rd in 16:19.49. The boys were 5th as a team with 121 points, Indiana's Nef Araia won the race in 15:13.97. Gwynedd-Mercy's Meghan Bishop did not compete. Results courtesy of Mid East Regional XC.

Saturday, November 16, 2002 - Let's Get Dirty 5K @ Slippery Rock University - It's a celebration of cross country. A tough course. Slippery Rock. Mix in a lot of mud and a ton of cheering from the more timid spectators, and you've got the "Let's Get Dirty" 5K. It's mostly high school kids in this open race, so you'd expect to see Brian Soder of Harbor Creek mixing it up. But he also knows a bit about winning, which he did in 19:30. The first girl was Amy Egan of Greensburg, 37th in 24:47. But the biggest surprise of the race was the 'culture clash' that occurred as runners were retiring to the Field House to get cleaned up a bit after the race. They were sharing the space with a group of martial arts athletes who were trying to suit up in their pristine white uniforms. They apparently didn't laugh when they saw the approaching hoard of muddy runners. Yeah, we're different. Results courtesy of RunHigh.com.

Thursday November 14, 2002 - Public League Championships @ Belmont Plateau, Philadelphia (w/pix pages) (PennTrack Onsite Coverage) - Freshman Tya Carodine, who had only won a single race all season, picked the biggest meet of the year to run first for Public League Champ Central High, going 20:50 to hold off teammate Evan Vance by five seconds. The budding star has extensive club experience racing for Cambria TC, and used that experience to maintain contact with Vance coming out of the woods after two miles, before using the hill and flats to her advantage. Central went 1-2-5-7-8 for just 23 points. In the boys' race, Central's Mike Syrnick had to reel in teammate Jon Cartwright over the tough second mile before pulling away to win in 16:37. Cartwright was 25 seconds back. Central went 1-2-3-5-6 for just 17 points. The perfect score was broken up by David Sarrahima of Northeast, who was 4th in a PR of 17:53. Results courtesy of Fred Rosenfeld, Central. Includes PIX pages.

Sunday, November 10, 2002 - Philadelphia Catholic League Championships @ Belmont Pleteau (w/pix pages)- (PennTrack Onsite Coverage) St. Hubert's girls (left) won their first-ever PCL Championship with an unexpected upset of Harrier Northeast US#6, and defending champ, Cardinal O'Hara behind the 1-2 finish of junior Amy Kelly and senior Rachel Papin. Kelly and Papin exited the woods alone, with Kelly taking control over the final half mile to win in 19:37. Papin was 2nd, four seconds back. Archbishop Prendergast senior Nicole O'Dea was the only other runner under 20:00, going 19:43. O'Hara had five runners across before St. Hubert's 5th, but it was that performance by senior Erica Morrin, getting 18th, just one spot later, that sealed the win, as she made up all those points over the tough final mile. The final was 38-43. St. Hubert's other two scorers were Katie Mehaffey, 7th in 20:35, and Megan Neary, 10th in 21:02. O'Hara was led by senior Danielle Schopf, 4th in 20:01. In the boys' race, Cardinal O'Hara had seemed vulnerable at Divisions the previous week, but pulled off their best team race of the season to dominate a strong field to win their third straight PCL title (1-3-5-8-12) 29-58 (LaSalle). As with the girls, it was a powerful 1-3 finish at the front to set the tone, as junior Steve Hallinan and Vince Gravelle went 16:19 and 16:36, respectively. And again, it was a clutch performance by the 5th scorer as junior Jack Braconnier finished 12th in 17:29 to secure the title. LaSalle junior Joe Fedorowicz was 2nd in 16:26. Results courtesy of The PCL and Archbishop Wood. Includes race pix.

Saturday, November 9, 2002: Mid-Atlantic USATF XC Championships @ Belmont Plateau, Philadelphia - Allentown Central Catholic junior Frances Koons ran alone to a strong 19:04.0 on the tough Belmont Plateau course as a tune-up for the Foot Lockers. Results courtest of Mid-Atlantic USATF.

Championship Week #3 (Oct 28-Nov 4) Wednesday, October 30: Keystone Conference Championships @ Plumstead Christian (Jacob Childs, Phil-Mont 18:28. Church Farm on 6th man over Phil-Mont Christian) | Penn-Jersey League Championships (Mercy Catholic 46, Solebury School 58, Akiba Hebrew 69) | Thursday, October 31: Girls' Inter-Ac League Championships @ Rose Tree Park (Elisa Payne, Shipley, 20:30. Germantown Academy 44) | Saturday, November 2: PIAA State Championships @ Hersheypark (US#10 Wyomissing four-peats in AA girls. US#11 Henderson boys in AAA over tough Council Rock-North pack. Hatboro-Horsham girls in AAA. Scranton Prep boys three-peat. Heather Wilmoth 18:57 AA. Christine Taranto 18:57 AAA. Chris Spooner, Lewisburg 16:01 AA. Ian Gottesfeld, Henderson, 16:03.4 AAA) | Monday, November 4: Philadelphia Catholic League Division Championships @ Belmont Plateau (O'Hara boys, girls. O'Neill 16:07. Schopf 19:39 in Southern. Ryan boys over LaSalle by a point with Fedorowicz 16:26. St. Hubert's girls behind Amy Kelly's 19:17. |

Monday, November 4, 2002 - Philadelphia Catholic League Division Championships @ Belmont Pleteau - Tim O'Neill, the St. Joseph's Prep junior, picked a great time to run a PR at Belmont Plateau, coming within just three seconds of the PCL course record held by Bonner's Brenden Benner. His 16:07 was 12 seconds better than Cardinal O'Hara's Steve Hallinan. O'Hara placed placed four in the top five to garner 34 points, 12 better than the Prep to get the Southern Division
Championship. O'Hara's girls also took the Southern Division title with an identical 34 points to hold off Archbishop Carroll by 13 points. Danielle Schopf, O'Hara, posted the win with her 19:39 to hold off Prendie's Nicole O'Dea by ten seconds. In the Northern Division, Archbishop Ryan was a point better than LaSalle, 27-28. LaSalle's Joe Fedorowicz went 16:26 for the win. St. Hubert's tallied just 24 points with Amy Kelly going 19:17, as her teammates took six of the top ten spots. Results.

Saturday, November 2, 2002 - PIAA State Championships (November 2) @ Hersheypark, White Field (PennTrack Onsite Coverage) - AA Girls: "One for the thumb in 03" doesn't rhyme, but it's gotta work for Wyomissing, one of the top teams in the US (#14). The squad simply took their 4th straight AA girls championship behind the Twins Huss, Debbie in 19:21 for 4th and Amy in 19:25 for 5th. Their point total of 37 was 84 better than 2nd place Gwynedd Mercy. Heather Wilmoth, the District 10 Champ from Eisenhower, which produced last year's AA boys' champ Andy Weilacher, won in 18:57, a very fast time on the windy, rolling course. Wilmoth "wanted to beat Jesi (Christiansen, 2000-2001 State Champ) once." She did at the District 10 meet last week, and once that happened, "I got a lot of confidence." Leanna Nastase, Forest Hills, was 2nd in 19:05, while early leader Kristen Groff, Lancaster Mennonite, was 3rd in 19:17. AA Boys: "My coach told me to go for the win, or to control the race. When I came through the mile in front, I said 'let's see what I can do'" And all Lewisburg's Chris Spooner did was win in the day's fastest time, 16:01. East Pennsboro senior Ryan Blood took the lead as they started the final stretch, but was unable to hold off Spooner over the final 400 meters. Blood had sustained a minor hip injury on the States course the week before at Districts. Blood was eight seconds back. Scranton Prep captured their third straight AA championship with 80 points, just 13 better than Harbor Creek, which was led by brothers Brian Soder (4th in 16:16.2) and Eric (8th in 16:26.3), was 2nd. AAA Girls: Janine Ricci of Hatboro-Horsham believed her team had the talent to contend for the state championship. And she was right. Ricci did her part, finishing 12th in 19:34. Their 87 points were 100 better than Governor Mifflin. Christine Taranto, the West Allegheny senior, ran a very strong 18:57 to hold off Red Lion junior Kate Papenberg, who was 15 seconds back. Taranto took a little extra rest last summer, and with two weeks under her feet, was 42 seconds back of Gettysburg Invite winner Emily Kruger, Lampter-Strasburg, who would finish 4th today. Taranto used the season to get into shape, and "went for it, never looking back" approaching two miles. AAA Boys: West Chester Henderson has been close to a state championship a few times in the past several years, but the last one was in 1996. They finished 2nd in 2000 with underclassmen, and dedicated themselves to making it happen in 2002. But Council Rock-North, despite splitting into two schools, made their journey interesting, winning the District One Championship by five over the US#11 team last week. This week, Henderson wouldn't be denied. Literally. Winning 83-95. As State Champ Ian Gottesfeld was crossing the line in 1st in 16:04, his friend and constant #2 runner on the team Greg Williams, was struggling to finish. Williams had shared the lead with Gottesfeld and Bishop Shanahan's Eric Fleming through 2.5 miles. But at that point, he began to feel ill. When it happened, he "thought about the team" because he knew if he went with Gottesfeld and Fleming, he may not be be able to finish. Ten meters from the line, he collapsed. "I knew I couldn't walk. So to give the team a chance, I knew I had to crawl across." First year coach Kevin Kelly echoed his team's sentiments. "He showed a lot of heart getting 4th for us today. It's why we won." Gottesfeld wanted to run wire to wire for the first time this season, and he did, using everything he had to take Fleming over the final 400 meters. As for next year, Kelly says "with the addition of couple of soccer players, we will be even better." It helps to start with Gottesfeld-Williams in front. States Main Page.

STATES MAIN PAGE | LINKS BELOW

RACE PIX PAGE LINKS:		AA GIRLS	AAA GIRLS	AA BOYS	AAA BOYS
XTRA PIX PAGE LINKS:	PRE-RACE	AA GIRLS	AAA GIRLS	AA BOYS	AAA BOYS	AWARDS
QUOTES PAGE LINKS:		AA GIRLS	AAA GIRLS	AA BOYS	AAA BOYS
RESULTS PAGE LINKS:	SPLITS PAGE	AA GIRLS	AAA GIRLS	AA BOYS	AAA BOYS

The Henderson Win That Almost Wasn't - Feature


Henderson was 3-across @ 1.25 miles. "It was a big boost" according to AAA champ Ian Gottesfeld of the 2002 State Champs.

Lots of stuff, so here's the posting plan:
Winners' Table - NOW ON
Complete Results - NOW ON (courtesy PIAA/RunHigh.com)
Highlight Pix - NOW ON (Pix Pages-links below)
Race Summaries (on results pages) - NOW ON
The Henderson Win That Almost Wasn't - NOW ON
Athlete | Coach Quotes - NOW ON
(All 4 champs + Blood, Fleming and Henderson coach Kevin Kelly)

2002 PIAA XC Championships @ Hersheypark
WINNERS' TABLE

10:00: Girls AA Team: Wyomissing, 37 (four-peat) Gwynedd Mercy, 121	Girls AA Individual: Heather Wilmoth, Eisenhower, 18:57 Leanna Nastase, Forest Hills, 19:05 Kristen Groff, Lancaster Mennonite, 19:17 Debbie Huss, Wyomissing, 19:21 Amy Huss, Wyomissing, 19:25
10:45: Girls AAA Team: Hatboro Horsham, 87 Governor Mifflin 187	Girls AAA Individual: Christine Taranto, West Allegheny, 18:57 Kate Papenberg, Red Lion, 19:12 Frances Koons, Allentown Central Catholic, 19:12 Emily Kruger, Lampeter-Strasburg, 19:13 Sammy Colvin, Williamsport, 19:25
11:15: Boys AA Team: Scranton Prep, 80 (three-peat) Harbor Creek, 93 West Middlesex, 143	Boys AA Individual: Chris Spooner, Lewisburg, 16:01.0 Ryan Blood, East Pennsboro, 16:09.9 David Mock, Westmont Hilltop, 16:11.0 Brian Soder, Harbor Creek, 16:16.2 Jed Christiansen, Greenville, 16:19.6
12:30: Boys AAA Team: Henderson, 83 Council Rock North, 95	Boys AAA Individual: Ian Gottesfeld, Henderson, 16:03.4 Eric Fleming, Bishop Shanahan, 16:05.6 Ian Fitzgerald, North Hills, 16:22.3 Brian Fuller, Cumberland Valley, 16:26.9 Craig Miller, Manheim Township, 16:26.9

Thursday, October 31, 2002 - Girls' Inter-Ac League Championships @ Rose Tree Park - Shipley junior Elisa Payne out-kicked Christy MacGregor of Agnes Irwin by .2, going 20:30 for the individual title. Germantown Academy had the best team depth to tally just 44 points, placing three runners in the top eight, behind the 6th place 21:15 of Jenna Washabauugh. Results.

Wednesday, October 30, 2002 - Keystone Conference Championships - Church Farm School used their 6th man to get the tie-breaker after finishing with a 46-all tie against Phil-Mont Christian. Church Farm placed three in the top ten, with Steve Westerman going 19:05 for 5th. Phil-Mont's Jacob Childes won the race in 18:28. Results.

Wednesday, October 30, 2002 - Penn-Jersey League Championships @ Plumstead Christian - DeLaSalle's Amir Porter went 20:01 for a four-second win over Solebury School's Matt Trongone. Mercy Catholic, behind the 3rd place finish of Mike Davis, won the team title. Results.

 

Just in time for the holidays, PennTrackXC announces the opening of its PIXstore. Select any photo taken after April 13, 2002, tell us the page and the shot, and it can be yours in high resolution on a CD. We're adding PayPal soon, but until then, send a check made out to PennTrackXC to: PennTrackXC 18 East Eagle Rd., Havertown, PA 19083. Cost includes CD and shipping. 1-4: $10.00 each 5-9: $8.00 each 10+: Call 610-853-0710 for price E-mail ?'s to Don Rich

 

Wyomissing US #9!

November 24 - In the 5th Harrier ranking of high school XC teams, the four-time AA State Champion Wyomissing girls' squad is now #9 in the US, and #2 in the Northeast. West Chester Hendeson guys are #1 in the Northeast, while Council Rock-North is #5 in the Northeast. Henderson drops from US#11 to #13. Check Dyestat for the US Rankings. Check the Harrier site for more info or to subscribe.

2003 Indoor Schedule Now On: Please send any additions and/or corrections to dyestatpa@carpedrm.com


Jessica Cickay to regroup for 2003-2004 seasons, missing Foot Lockers after going to nationals in 2001. The story.

EARLY SIGNING PERIOD 11/13-20

Early Signing Ended 11/20 The Early Signing Period for high school seniors to make college choices began 11/13 and ended 11/20. So far: Eric Fleming, (right) Bishop Shanahan, to U. of Pittsburgh | Meghan Bishop, Gwynedd Mercy, to William & Mary | Cassie Buckwalter, Wilmington, to Connecticut | Maris Reutzel, Meadville, to Wagner College | Ganne Way, Warwick, to Kentucky | Complete List.

Each season contains News and Feature stories.
Check News Archives, Feature Archives,
Season Archives, for past seasons.

* December Meets (Foot Lockers)
* November Weeks 1-4 (States | PCL | Public | Mid East) Results Page |States Page
* October Week 4 (Districts)
Results Page | Districts Page
* October Week 3 (Conferences) Results Page
* October Weeks 1+2 Results Page
* September 2002 XC Results Page

RECENT RANKINGS | PA ALL-TIME

November 24 - In the 5th Harrier ranking of high school XC teams, the four-time AA State Champion Wyomissing girls' squad is now #9 in the US, and #2 in the Northeast. West Chester Hendeson guys are #1 in the Northeast, while Council Rock-North is #5 in the Northeast. Henderson drops from US#11 to #13. Check Dyestat for the US Rankings. Check the Harrier site for more info or to subscribe.

November 21 - 2002 Pennsylvania All-State Cross Country Team Announced 11/21. Courtesy PTFCA.

PA's Dyestat Elite are complete through Northeast Foot Locker Regionals 11/30. There are 85 performances by the girls, and 70 by the boys: Boys / Girls

Did you know that 3 PA records are also National Prep Records? Check these lists for Girls / Boys

RECRUITING INFORMATION

Campus Champs.com - CampusChamps.com is a reference tool for the high school student athlete that contains information on playing high school sports and preparing for college. It is a one-stop resource for their college planning and financial aid needs altogether online in a friendly, sports-based community.

DyeStat's Donna Dye has created an excellent Recruiting Guide with information for everything from rules to getting scholarships.

RESULTS STILL NEEDED

WE NEED RESULTS FOR:
From 10/5: Pittsburgh Central Catholic Inv | From 9/28: Northern Inv @ Fox Chapel | A.J. Everhart | Mercersburg | From 9/21: Altoona | Conrad Weiser | From 9/14: Wellsboro | From 8/31: McDowell Girls'

HEARD AROUND THE TRACK (COURSE)

November, 2002 - Track & Field News unveiled their 2002 High School All-American team in their November issue, and it includes quite a few Pennsylvania athletes. Coughlin's Justn Ryncavage in Javelin and Merion Mercy's Tiffany Abney are only US#1's. Story.

October 17 - The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Philadelphia Public League is again considering joining the PIAA.

October 11 - The Philadelphia Inquirer has now joined the coverage of the case of Angie Saterstad (above on the sidelines at the Carlisle Invitational 9/28) vs. Hershey High School. It's a fairly complete compilation of the public facts, and appropriately titled, "Running into an ugly mess." Read the story.

September 20 - Walt Murphy's News and Results Service reports that Princeton University, citing facility and financial constraints, will no longer host the high school portion of the "Princeton Relays", a popular event on the Eastern indoor prep circuit.

July 11 - From Walt Murphy's News and Reporting Service, Foot Locker nationals are returning to San Diego, CA for 2002. Read the release.

PIAA INFO & NEWS

November 13 - Once again, the PIAA will televise the State Championships. For a cable system list of PCN affiliates, click here. The schedule is: Sat Nov 23: 5:30pm for AA, 6:30pm for AAA; Sun Nov 24: 3pm for AA, 4pm for AAA; Fri Nov 29: 9am for AA, 10am for AAA

For videotapes of PIAA T&F/XC Championships, contact Beth Ann McCoy: PA Cable Network 717-730-6000. There are six tapes of each T&F championship and onefor each XC championship. $29.95/ea. incl. tax&shipping. Tell them PennTrackXC sent you.

FEATURES

November 21, 2002 - Jessica Cickay to regroup for 2003-2004 seasons, missing Foot Lockers after going to nationals in 2001. The story.

November 3, 2002 - Philadelphia Inquirer XC writer Ira Josephs contributes a great piece on our sport in the November 3rd Sunday Inquirer - "For runners, the hills of Belmont are hallowed ground."


November 2, 2002 - The Henderson Win That Almost Wasn't - in Features

October 12, 2002 - VA's Thomas Jefferson HS (US#9) was glad to be out of DC area for a day.
Thomas Jefferson High School, Alexandria, Virginia, made the trip to the William Tennent Invitational because they had no place to race in their home state. Held in the grip of fear generated by an unknown sniper who had attacked ten times in ten days, area activities had been cancelled. They searched, and found a welcoming meet in PA. The story from three parents who made the a short trip that seemed like lightyears from home.

October 5, 2002 - Council Rock-North (NE US#9) nearly beat favored West Chester Henderson (US #25, NE#6) at the Steel City Invitational by placing five runners 13-21. See the race within the race, and the finishes in this photo essay and commentary.

Who won the boys' PA 800 in 1951? It was a Lowthert. A family you can get to know from PA T&F history, in Features.

WELCOME TO THE WEB

July 28 - New Site for Open & Masters' Cross Country race schedules in PA, NY, NJ, DE - Chuck's Cross Country Calendar

MEMORIAL/SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS

Memorial contributions for Kim Gallagher can be sent to the Jessica Smith Trust Fund, 1037 N. 67th St. Philadelphia, PA 19151.

The Kevin Dare Pole Vaulting Scholarship Fund

TRAINING TIPS

Study. Hydrate. Stretch. Sleep. Study.
Run hard. Trust your training. Have fun.

The 2001-2002 Training Series from Pain Relief & Physical Therapy in Media

2002 OUTDOOR RESULTS STILL NEEDED

FROM OLDEST TO NEWEST, WE STILL NEED RESULTS FROM:
4/20-Towanda; 4/27-Mt. Carmel; 5/1-Last Chance Meet @ Liberty HS; 5/3-Schuylkill Ct. Relays; 5/7+8-Metro League @ McDowell; 5/9-Central League @ Lower Merion; 5/11-Saturday's Results for Mid-Penn @ Carlisle; 5/11-ChesMont League @ Coatesville; 5/11-Firing Meet @ Governor Mifflin - PLEASE EMAIL DON RICH. THANKS!