More Photos of USA XC Championships

Photos were taken by Alison Wade

All Men's Photos (Junior, Open, and Masters races)
Ian Mclaren
Finishing the 4k

Junior Team
Collin and Anthony at the start
Rick concluding loop 1
Matt concluding loop 1
Alex and Dan concluding loop 1
Rick on loop 2
Matt on loop 2
Rick finishing strong

Ryan Sheehan
Ryan on loop 1
Ryan on loop 2
Ryan out of the woods on loop 4
Ryan on loop 5
Ryan with a strong finish

All Women's Photos (Junior, Open, and Masters races)
Rebecca Donaghue
Concluding Loop 1
Charging hard to the line
Finishing in 8th Place
Award Stand

USA Indoors Results

Well the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships are happening this weekend in Boston at the Reggie Lewis Center. What an amazing track that is. So far during the first day there have been some good competitions. Rebecca Donaghue finished in 8th place in the 1500, with a time of 4:21.79. The race was won by Treniere Clement in 4:08.13. Tiffany McWilliams was 2nd in 4:09.17. The top two finishers qualify for the World Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Adam Goucher won the 3000m in 7:49.78. He said that he will compete at the World Indoor Track and Field and World Cross Country Championships. Jon Riley was second in 7:51.88.

In the men's 1500, Chris Lukezic (3:41.84) and Jason Lunn (3:41.98) finished first and second respectively.

Carrie Tollefson (9:05.80) continued her winning ways as she captured the women's 3000m title over Sara Hall (9:06.33).

The meet concludes today with the sprint finals and more field events. For a schedule and results, visit USATF.org. Best of luck to all the athletes competing today.

PA Indoor States

The Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association (PTFCA) held its annual indoor state championship yesterday. There were several outstanding performances. North Penn (boys) and West Catholic (girls) won the team titles at the meet. Don Rich, PenntrackXC.com's editor, covered the meet.

Boys' Highlights:
Manheim Twp SR Craig Miller US#1 8:22.65, Ellwood City SR Jake Walker, US#3 8:30.35
Chichester SR Carrington Queen US#2 7.89 60H
Simon Gratz SR Kenneth Talley, US#3 21.96 200m
Simon Gratz wins 4x200 in 1:29.79 and now owns the top three 4x200's in US this season
North Penn wins 4x800 in US#4 7:53.73 (Wissahickon US#4 7:54.53
Bensalem SR Reggie Carter, US#5 48.36
Harrisburg US#6 3:20.92 in 4x400
Red Land SR Aaron Kaffman wins the 800 from the next-to-last heat in 1:55.34!

Girls' Highlights:
West Catholic SR Latavia Thomas, US#1 800m 2:09.70, (Easton SO Chanelle Price, US#2 2:10.57)
Laurel Highlands JR Breehana Jacobs, 7.46 60m - PA State Meet Record
West Catholic SR Kneshia Sheard, US#3 54.88 400m
Chambersburg JR Sarah Morrison, 4:54.05, Conestoga SR Liz Costello, 4:57.24 Mile + 10:17.26 3000m win (Diana Filtz, Penn-Trafford 10:17.92)
Methacton SO Ryann Krais, 8.71 60H, 19-03.75 LJ
Bradford SR Erin Hannon, 5-06 HJ, 38-08.50 TJ, 18-03.25 LJ (2nd)
Easton SR Lindsay Regan, 12-06.00 PV (3rd straight indoor title)

Notable local performances:
800: Zach Epple (Altoona), 1:, 12th
Mile: Josh Gainer (State College), 4:32.89, 15th
Boys 4x200 (State College), 1:35.47, 19th
Boys 4x800 (State College), 8:01.5, 7th
800: Rachel Belinda (State College), 2:19.59, 11th;Lauren Schmidt (State College), 2:22.09, 19th
Mile: Katherine Ward (State College), 5:12.17, 6th
3000m: Edel Crowe (State College), 10:40.93, 12th
Girls 4x800 (State College), 9:36.15, 6th

The girls shot put and boys 3000m lived up to their billing, as did Carrington Queen who blazed down the track to time of 7.89 in the 60m hurdles. It was a great meet. Congratulations to all the athletes on a job well done.

USA Indoor Championships

Rebecca Donaghue will be competing in the 1500 at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She is ranked 7th going into the meet. Rebecca finished in 8th place in the Open 4k at the USA XC Championships last weekend. Her 8th place finish qualified her for NACAC Championships. Rebecca was the only non-sponsored athlete to finish in the top 10. Another interesting fact is that while most of her competitors are training in Boulder or Gunnison, CO, Mammoth Lakes, CA, Portland, OR, or West Roxbury, MA, near her hometown, she trains here in good old State College, PA. Always nice to see a local athlete doing very well.

The top two athletes in each event will qualify for the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Moscow, Russia, provided they have achieved the qualifying standard. For Rebecca, she will have to run 4:16.0. I feel that is within her grasp after watching her dominant performance at Bucknell a few weeks ago and last weekend in New York. So let's all cheer her on to a great race in Boston this weekend. I'll have an update after the race. Who knows maybe we can entice her to an interview as well. We will see.

On a side note, Happy Birthday Rebecca! It is February 24th for those who are wondering.

PA Indoor States

Well the end of February is almost here, and that means high school indoor states meets are in abundance. Pennsylvania has their meet on Saturday at Penn State. The athletes receive the benefit of racing on the Horace Ashenfelter Indoor Track in the Multi-Sports Building. It should be a great meet. The great thing about the meet is there is no AA or AAA, just the whole state going in there guns-a-blazing, trying to figure out who the best in the state is. It eliminates all the controversy and conversations that we will hear in outdoor, about if runner x was AAA they would have run faster, and so forth. So we will know who is top dog by the end of Saturday.

It looks like the two best events of the day will be the boys 3000m and the girls shot put. The race includes Craig Miller, who just ran 8:38 on the same track this weekend, Jake Walker, the indoor 3k record holder, Lucas Zarzeczny, who has run 8:40 this year for the 2nd fastest time in the state, Curtis Bixler, 2005 PIAA outdoor 3200m champ, and add Keith Capecci, 2005 PIAA XC and 3200m Runner-up and Foot Locker Qualifier, and you have an amazing race.

Here is the PennTrackXC.com preview of the boys 3000m.

"The field in the 3000 Meter Run is one of the deepest and fastest ever. There is the defending state champ and current state record holder Jake Walker of Ellwood City; two Foot Locker finalists in Manheim Township's Craig Miller and Council Rock North's Keith Capecci; plus eight other guys who have broken 9 minutes this season. Miller, coming back from the collapsed lung that cut short his XC season just before the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals, ran alone to an 8:38.65 at last week's Penn State Invitational, within a whisker of the state record. He's been swimming and setting PRs. He has upped his mileage to 60 mpw. So he is more than ready. A fast early pace won't be a problem, because Walker and others will see to that. So expect the state record to be lowered again. Could the high 8:20's be a possibility? Key challengers to Miller, Walker and Capecci will include Northgate's Lucas Zarzeczny with the 2nd fastest seed time, Brian Cullin, East Stroudsburg South, and state 3200 AAA champ Curtis Bixler of Cumberland Valley. As you may notice, three of the top six 3000 runners in the state have opted for the Mile - Paul Springer, Josh Hibbs, and Max Brown."

Here is the PennTrackXC.com preview of the girls shot put. I am pulling for Samantha Fetter, because she attends my high school.

"One of the best events of the entire meet will be the girls' Shot Put. For those of you who keep their eyes glued to the track and infield, just glance to the right on occasion. When you see the girls warming up behind the protective net, you may want to start paying more attention. This is a big-time year in PA, with seven girls over 40', and three ranked in the top six in the country... including 2005 outdoor AA champ Allyn Laughlin of Center at 47-06.50, defending indoor and AAA outdoor state champ Karen Shump of Penncrest at 46-05.25, and outdoor AAA runner-up Samantha Fetter of the western PA Hempfield, at 45-02. Just two weeks ago, Laughlin and Shump went head-to-head, and the competition was fierce. This is bigger... so the throws should be bigger."

I enjoyed the previews on PennTrackXC.com, but I thought they would at least mention the State College kids. I think the 4x8s, Josh Gainer, Edel Crowe, and Katherine Ward all have an excellent shot of earning a medal. I think they all will shock a lot of people on Saturday and make them take notice. They just need to run smart and execute.

USA XC Photos Day 2

Here is link to the New York Road Runers photo gallery.

Here is a link to a photo gallery of pictures Frank Dougherty took on Day 2.

USA XC More Coverage

Well we returned from the Bronx with some hardware, bronze medals for their third place team effort. It was a job well done. The ground was frozen so it made for a fast course, and the guys responded by getting out hard. It was a great race, and as can be seen in the results, the college freshman dominated the high schoolers as a whole. Ian shot the video for the race, and after the guys saw it, he was informed he will be removed from future filming opportunities. I will include photos in another entry.

Here is a link to the New York Road Runners coverage of Day 2. They did a fabulous job organizing everything. Also, here is Dyestat's Day 2 coverage as well. Everyone had world class treatment.

I think the experience opened up their eyes that there is more out there for them to challenge themselves with and to overcome.

Rebecca ran phenomenally again as well. She finished in 8th place. If two people opt-out she will make the World Championships team, and if not she will be on the NACAC team. Rebecca threw herself in it from the gun, and let a little gap form just after 2k. She was 10th heading into the woods, and 8th coming out. So did some serious work on the trails. The video shows her race, and her on the awards stand.

Ryan Sheehan finished in 24th in the 12k. He was about 20th after 6k, then a few of his Hanson's teammates caught up to him, and he wound up four spots back. Ryan Hall, the winner of 12k, ran an amazing race. He pulled away from the field at about 6k or so, and just kept increasing his lead. It was a very impressive victory. He beat Jorge Torres by 27 or 28 seconds. The video shows his dominance over the field. Max King shocked a few people, but not himself or his teammates with his third place finish.

USA XC Championships Day 2

Brief Update
We were 3rd in the team competition.

Rick Koubek, 16, Port Matilda, PA 27:26
Matthew Kisenwether, 17, State College, PA 27:53
Alexander Krichels, 15, Boalsburg, PA 30:17
Daniel Dougherty, 18, State College, PA 30:26
Collin Love, 15, Boalsburg, PA 31:29
Anthony Coglianese, 16, State College, PA 33:24

Rebecca Donaghue was 8th in the Women's 4k. Her effort will qualify her to represent the USA in either Japan or Florida.

More updates when we return to Trencthtown.

USA XC Photos

These are the pictures taken by Frank Dougherty at the meet today.

Finishing up our preview of the course.

The hare leaping over the tortoise at the finish line.

Team Deep Six Racing pauses for a photo.

Stretching while we wait to board the shuttle back to the hotel.

Last minute questions about the course before we leave.

Boarding the shuttle, as we prepare for the pasta dinner.

Ian heading out on his 2nd of two loops in the 4k.

Ian with a strong finish.

Finish line and chute.

The athlete's village at the park.

The whole team using the famous Dan Dougherty pose.

The team leaving the course after finishing up their drills

More last minute instructions and tips while we wait to board the bus.

Penn State High School Invitational

State College continued their fine indoor season as they defended their "home" track, the Horace Ashenfelter track, at the Multi-Sports Building. Josh Gainer got them off to a great start by establishing new mile pr, and breaking 4:30 for the first time with a clocking of 4:28.28. Next up was the 4x800 team, as they kept their undefeated streak alive, and won with a time of 8:09.17. A great effort that will land them in the fast heat of this weekend's state meet. On the girl's side, Katherine Ward, Lauren Schmidt, and Edel Crowe lead the way. As Ward won the mile in 5:12.43, Schmidt was second in the 800 in 2:19.91, and Crowe ran 10:44.1 for third. Then they all came back, and added Rachel Belinda to run a 9:50.11 in the 4x800 relay, which was good enough for third place. Coach Donaghue has her girls running well and prepared to launch an assault at Indoor States. I wish both the boys and girls team good luck at indoor states. They will perform well. Here is a link to the CDT article about the meet. It was good to see people get credit where the credit is due. Here is a link to results as well.

The most dominating performance of the day was Craig Miller's 8:38.65. The big questions will be will he be able to get close the Kenny Klotz's list leading 8:23.33 and/or the PA record of 8:35.xx (I think this is correct) at the state meet. All eyes will be on him.

USA XC Championships Day 1 Coverage

Well the first day is done of the 2006 USA XC Championships. There were several great races. The day got started of with Master's Men's and Women's 8k races. They were two great races. It just illustrates how the competitive spirit never dies. I think though we should get the Juggernaut's Parents to enter a team next year. No reason why the kids should have all the fun.

Here is the New York Road Runners' story and photo gallery of the meet.

Next up was the Junior Women's 6k race. It would Nicole Blood's last race as a native New Yorker, as she moved to California shortly after the race. And she didn't disappoint in with her performance. She was victorious in her efforts, and lead three other high schoolers on Team USA for the World Championships in Japan. It was a tight race, and Blood won with a great kick.

Next up was the Open Men's 4k. There was a nice pack through the first lap, but back in the woods Adam Goucher and Daniel Lincoln broke free, and had a thrilling run down the stretch. Goucher gave himself a nice birthday present, by winning and earning a spot on Team USA for the World Championships. Ian competing in his first USA Championship finished 65th in a time of 13:20. He ran a very smart race, and was able to pick some people off on the second lap. He thought the surface conditions were very suitable, and was pleased with his efforts. Also to note, Ian was the youngest competitor in the field. As you can see in the video, it was a great race down to the wire for those top six spots.

Then the Women's 8k race too center stage. It was a great race to see. Blake Russell lead the whole way and was trailed by defending champion Collen De Reuck. Coming out of the woods for the last time, they were neck and neck, but Russell was able to pull ahead in the final 100m to win her first USA XC title. The top 6 spots had some juggling all the way, and some powerful finishing kicks secured a few spots.

Congratulations to all the qualifiers for the World and NACAC XC Championships.

Tomorrow's schedule has the Junior Men's 8k, Open Women 4k, and Open Men's 12k. Be sure to cheer on Deep Six Racing, Rebecca Donaghue, and Ryan Sheehan, as they will all be vying for medals in the Bronx.

USA XC Championships

Well the 2006 USA XC Championships will be upon us this weekend. There was a record snowfall of 27 inches in New York City. There is "Herculean Effort" going on now as I type to ready the course for this weekend.

The race is being held at the famed Van Cortlandt Park located in the Bronx aka, the 'BX'.

Carl Krauser giving his 'BX' Salute

Bucknell Winter Classic

Well the Bucknell Winter Classic was a great meet and with great performances. The meet saw several new prs established and a facility record broken. Everyone seemed mentally and physically ready to roll this time.

I will start with Rebecca Donaghue breaking the facility record in the mile. In the video you can see her go straight to the front and just push the pace. It was an impressive race. She clocked 4:42.13, which qualified her for USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. It was mostly a solo effort, but it grabbed the whole facility's attention. It was great to see her race, I have seen her workout, but never race. It was truly a great experience. She will compete next week at the USA XC Championships in the 4k race.

In the men's mile, Rick Koubek (4:40.25), Alex Krichels (5:03.68), and Collin Love (5:23.70) all established new prs. The guys did a great job, and raced well. They got caught in no man's land a bit, but they kept attacking the whole time. In the video you can see we had a few bad laps, and that was the difference from good race and a great race. Rick established a 12 second pr, while it was Collin's and Alex's first time really running the mile. If Rick gets out with the leaders, he would have run low 4:30s. Alex and Collin got out fast, but did a great job battling the whole way. In a more controlled race, they run a lot faster, and they realize they can do it, so that is half the battle. But it was big confidence booster, it let them know they can go out faster in the 3k.

In the 1000m, Ian and Anthony ran very tough. Ian finished second in his heat. The video shows his epic battle with a kid from Muhlenberg the whole race, then with a lap to go he dropped the hammer on him. Anthony did a better job of staying consistent throughout. He continued to press the whole way. He needs to do a better of keeping contact and racing with pain, but it is coming along quickly.

The 3000m saw D-Doc's 2006 debut and Matt improve his attacking ability. D-Doc was able to get the rest off in his first race since early December. He has been doing an excellent job balancing skiing and running for the last few months, but now that skiing is over, he will keep seeing continued improvement. Matt did a better job of attacking. He is beginning to channel his aggressiveness he displays in XC to the track. In the video you see him get out with the leaders and press throughout. But with about three laps to go he needed to get to the front of the pack and make a break for it. Instead he was in 4th, and the leader made the break, he was the last one to know and the gap started to form. Eliminating those bad laps would have given him an even bigger pr.

In the 800m, Zach Epple ran a good race, but his positioning is what held him back. He had too much concern of being on the inside of lane 1, instead of being in position to attack. Watch in the video and see how heading into the last lap, he tried to pass on the inside, and got boxed, bringing himself to a halt, and he tried again on the bend, and the same thing happened, and he regrouped down the backstretch and charged hard the last 150m to finish 3rd on his heat. If he is in better position, he probably wins, and runs 1:58 low/1:57 high. It was good race, but had the potential to be great. I am sure he will take the lessons learned and have a great race at the Penn State High School Invitational.

Front Row (l-r): Alex Krichels, Collin Love, Anthony Coglianese Back Row (l-r): Ian McLaren, Rick Koubek, Dan Dougherty Missing: Matt Kisenwether

Steelers Super Sunday

Well the Steelers got the one for the thumb. They beat the Seahawks 21-10 in Super Bowl XL which was held in Detroit. Hines Ward was named MVP and received a 2007 Cadillac Escalade. Jerome Bettis officially announced his retirement.

There were some questionable calls, as there were all season, especially in the playoffs. But in the end the Steelers came out on top. The thing is, while I was watching it, I knew they would win. I have been watching Steelers football for 29 years now, and I have never once thought they would lose. But this Super Sunday was different. Even with their slow start, it just seemed that the outcome never hung in the balance. As if the outcome was just know, as if destiny turned on the radio. Even though the "outcome was known" it was still exciting to see how the victory would take place.

Ladies and Gentlemen these are your Super Steelers!

Bison Open Videos

Below is the video from the Bison Open at Bucknell University on January 28th. Dan Dougherty and Anthony Coglianese filmed the events. There is footage focusing on each athlete. We are getting close. The next meet is the Bucknell Winter Classic this weekend.

Anthony Coglianese - 5:44.69 Mile
Collin Love - 10:54.84 3k
Alex Krichels - 10:29.05 3k
Ian McLaren - 9:50.68 3k
Matt Kisenwether - 9:37.63 3k
Rick Koubek - 9:20.00 3k

Deep Six Racing Uniforms

Well the uniforms for the Deep Six Racing Club have arrived. The design was created by Alex Vandenbergh. He did an excellent job. The uniforms will be on display next Saturday in Lewisburg, PA when we travel to Bucknell for the 18th Annual Bucknell Winter Classic. Then we will be traveling to New York on for the USA Cross Country Championships in Van Cortlandt Park. Then we will have a little down time before we go to Nike Indoor Nationals in Landover, MD.

Deep Six Racing's Uniform Design by Alex Vandenbergh

European XC

On January 29th, Ryan Sheehan completed his second race with the Hansons Olympic Development Program. (His first race was 3k at Eastern Michigan on 1/14/06. He won the race in the 8:24.)It was an cross country race in Belgium. He finished in 11th place with a time of 34:46 over the 11.65k course. He averaged 4:45/mile pace for the course. He went through 10k at 29:30. He was the first American. The race featured, Mike Kigen, Kenya, who won and is there top runner right now and their hopeful to beat Kenenisa Bekele from Ethiopia.

His description of the course is not what we are used to in America. He said, "There was no hills but the whole course was either extremely rutty or muddy. It was muddy on the turns and rutty on the straights. There was not a turn on the course less than 90 degrees. There was one hairpin turn that we did 5 times."

When asked if the course looped several times or one big loop, he replied, "It kind of looped, we did 2x750 meter loops to start off then we did 5x2k loops and finished with a 150 m inner loop that went around a soccer field with 4x90 degree turns so it was tough to kick."

Ryan also added, "That race over in Europe was a definite confidence booster and a big help to get in cross country mode." Ryan is gearing up for the 12k at the 2006 USA Cross Country Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City, NY.

He will then race a 5k at the Notre Dame Last Chance meet to attempt to break 14 minutes. We wish Ryan the best of luck in his upcoming races and training.