December 16, 2002 -
"I have what it takes to compete here." - Ian Gottesfeld after his first Foot Locker finals in San Diego, 12/14. The story.

 

BOB BURDETTE MEMORIAL

12/4/02 - From Walt Murphy's News Service: A Celebration of Life in honor of Bob Burdette (who was the Penn Relays High School Chairman) will be held on Thursday evening, Dec. 19, at 7:00 p.m., in the Donaldson Room of Weightman Hall (33rd and Spruce Sts., Philadelphia). The Donaldson Room overlooks Franklin Field. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Bob Burdette Memorial Fund of the Track and Field Coaches Association of Greater Philadelphia. Checks may be made payable to TFCAGP, and sent to TFCAGP, 49 Carriage Drive, Doylestown, PA 18901

 

December 4, 2002 - The Philadelphia Public League will be joining the PIAA, while the Philadelphia Catholic and Inter-Academic leagues will discuss the possibility next week. 2003-2004 would be transitional, with the league following PIAA rules, but not participating in post-season competition. 2004-2005 would be the first full year of participation. The issues to be worked out include seasons starting earlier, physical eligibility requirements, scholastic eligibility requirements, and student transfers. The Public League would be known as District 12. The latest in the December 4 Philadelphia Inquirer. E-mail your thoughts to PennTrack.

 

December 3, 2002 - Not only is the Philadelphia Public League looking into joing the PIAA, but its consideration has now prompted the Philadelphia Catholic League and Inter-Academic League to also consider the possibility. The latest in the December 3 Philadelphia Inquirer. The second update December 1. The original story from October 17. What do you think?

December 1 - 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

 

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 dropped 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.

 

November 17 - PA's Dyestat Elite are complete through Mid East 11/16. There are 81 performances by the girls, and 67 by the boys: Boys / Girls

 

November 14 - FINALLY, PA's Dyestat Elite are complete through States. There are 76 performances by the girls, and 66 by the boys: Boys / Girls

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

November 10 - Mid East Regional PA Senior All-Star Team named to compete November 16 in Kettering, Ohio against top harriers from Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and West Virginia. Mid East PAGE with 2000 + 2001 Results.

October 24, 2002 - West Chester Henderson has vaulted to #11 in the US and #1 in the Northeast in the most recent Harrier ranking (4th of the year). Council Rock-North is #6 in the Northeast, while two PA girls's teams have cracked the top 5 in the Northeast, with Wyomissing at #14US, #2NE and Cardinal O'Hara at #25US, #3NE. Check Dyestat for the US Rankings. Check the Harrier site for more info or to subscribe.

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

October 14 - Southeastern PA Coaches' Poll #4

October 14, 2002 - West Chester Henderson has vaulted to #1 in the Northeast in the most recent Harrier ranking (3rd of the year), while two PA girls's teams have cracked the top 5 in the Northeast, with Wyomissing at #2 and Cardinal O'Hara at #3. Check Dyestat for the US Rankings. Check the Harrier site for more info or to subscribe.

October 11 - The Philadelphia Inquirer has now joined the coverage of the case of Angie Saterstad (left, 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.







October 11 - Due to the events in the Washington D.C. area, the Glory Days Grill Invitational in Bull Run Regional Park, Manassas, Virgina, was cancelled. The meet was scheduled for Sat. Oct. 12. Several PA teams were planning to attend.

October 7 - Southeastern PA Coaches' Poll #3

October 5 - Cumberland Valley PA jr Brian Fuller 16:00 5k, in his first season of cross country, beat the Miller twins and Ryan Blood at Carlisle Inv.; Greenville PA sr Jesi Christiansen 17:58 3m added another victory at Sharpsville Inv.; and Red Lion PA jr Kate Papenberg 18:38 5k winning the Carlisle Inv. all make Honorable Mention in the Dyestat Nike Athlete of the Week for Week #4. Complete list.

October 3 - West Chester Henderson and Council Rock-North boys have joined the national elite by making the October 3rd Harrier Polls. Henderson is 6th in the Northeast and 25th nationally, while Rock-North is 9th in the Northeast. Check the Harrier site for more info or to subscribe.

September 30- Southeastern PA Coaches' Poll #2

September 23 - Southeastern PA Coaches' Poll #1

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.

September 20 - Red Lion PA's Kate Papenberg 18:46 5k winning the DeSales Inv.; and East Pennsboro sr Ryan Blood 15:28 5k winning the Mountain River Run make Honorable Mention in the Dyestat Nike Athlete of the Week for Week #2. Complete list.

September 13, 2002 - Emily Kruger, Lampeter-Strasburg, makes Honorable Mention in the Dyestat Nike Athlete of the Week for Week #1 September 13 for her 18:38 5K win @ Gettysburg Invitational. Complete list.

Septemer 6, 2002 - Check out the Foot Locker favorites as reported by DyeStat. There are quite a few PA runners (of course). National / Northeast

September 1, 2002 - Tom Anderson, LM '57, outstanding track man at Lower Merion 1954-7, died of cancer this past week.

September 1, 2002 - Bishop Guilfoyle junior SONJA HINISH has made her first appearance at the international level of competition as she competed as a member of the United States Junior Team at the Summer Biathlon World Championships in the Czech Republic last weekend. In her first individual race, a 4 kilometer sprint on Thursday, the U.S. junior women shined. All three finished in the top
twenty to lead the United States contingent. CASSIE HUNT (the Indiana state champion at 1600 meters) captured Bronze. LINDSAY BURT of Idaho finished 12th. Finally, Hinish captured 20th with 40% shooting and impressive running. That showing set things up very well for the second stage of the competition on Friday. All three girls were within striking distance to move up in the rankings.
However, Friday saw Hunt drop from 3rd to 4th, Burt drop from 12th to 17th, and Hinish drop from 20th to 29th with a 27% shooting performance. Still, there was reason for optimism heading into the relay two days later. Hunt and Hinish were among the stronger runners in the field and Burt was consistent on the range and also a fierce competitor on the hillybrunning course. Team USA was expecting a very close competition.

On Sunday morning cold and rainy weather greeted competitors for the final day of competition. The conditions wreaked havoc on many of the teams’ shooting, especially the relatively inexperienced teams like the United States. For Hunt and Hinish, this was their first appearance in the World Championship. In fact, Hinish has only been competing in biathlon for a year. In the end, all of the U.S. juniors ran strong but struggled on the range. Hunt led off for Team USA with what would be the best shooting of the team...50%. She had averaged 68% shooting in her two individual races on Thursday and Friday. She handed off to Burt in 8th. Burt shot 44% and handed off in 8th again. Burt’s average range performance in the two earlier individual races was 72%. Hinish ran anchor for Team USA and she saved her best for last. Things started off well for her as she used only one extra round to clean her first stage of shooting. That moved the team up to seventh temporarily. But in her second stage of shooting she recorded four penalties standing and dropped back to eighth…a position that her strong running allowed her to hold onto. Her 43% shooting in the relay was a significant improvement over her 32% average from the individual races. Throughout the competition, the U.S. team as a whole was regarded as among the best pure runners in the field.

The relay was won by Belarus, who overtook the heavily favored Czech team on the last leg to win by 14 seconds. Ukraine took the bronze. The team from Belarus averaged 75% on the range, while the Czech and Ukraine teams averaged 64% and 80%, respectively. Team USA averaged 46%. The relay consisted of each leg running a 4 km (2.5 mile) race and shooting twice. Junior women’s results follow:

Place Team Shooting % Time
1 Belarus 75% 1:03:11
2 Czech Republic64% 1:03:25
3 Ukraine 80% 1:04:41
4 Poland 60% 1:05:05
5 Romania 83% 1:05:46
6 Russia 60% 1:08:31
7 Germany 64% 1:09:40
8 United States 46% 1:10:54
9 Uzbekistan 44% 1:17:23
For complete results of the the World Championships, go to www.summerbiathlon.cz. For more information regarding biathlon in the United States, go to www.usbiathlon.org. Summer Biathlon is sanctioned by the United States Biathlon Association, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Summer Biathlon is sponsored by Federal Ammunition, Moving Comfort, KK Air International, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

August 29, 2002 - Angie Saterstad, who was turned away by her high school team after failing to meet a new requirement to attend the first day of practice, will be running the Open College race Friday 9/27 at The Great American Cross Country Festival in North Carolina, along with Bria Wetsch, the Minnesota freshman not running with her high school team this year because of philosophical differences between coach and parent.

August 29, 2002 - Two-time PA 800 meter Outdoor champion Evelyn Dwyer, Merion Mercy, started this week at the University of Texas. Dwyer won this summer's USATF 800 and 1500 Championships in the Jr. Olympics.

August 27, 2002 - Cedar Cliff, who finished ranked 3rd in the Northeast in Harrier poll in 2001, is ranked #5 in the Northeast in this season's pre-season poll. More on The Harrier site. See who PennTrackXC highlighted in our season preview.

Two PA teams will run the Race of Champions at the Great American Cross Country Festival September 28th in North Carolina - PA 2001 AAA Boys' Runner-Up West Chester Henderson, and 3-time AA Girls State Champion Wyomissing have cracked the elite race at the Great American XC Festival. 2001 FootLocker Finalist Jessica Cickay of Council Rock North will make the trip to test her race conditioning against some of the country's elite. And defending AAA boys champs Cedar Cliff, which finished 10th in NC in 2001, will race in the Seeded Race this year, led by senior Pat Philbin. (If you know of other PA individuals/teams competing, please let us know.) Great American coverage on Dyestat.

August 22, 2002 - Could it be? There were voices of discontent after the PIAA announced a commitment of another three years to the site of last year's State Championship XC course in Hershey. (The original story on PennTrack). But now it looks like some good
news may be on the horizon. PennTrackXC has learned that a group of XC coaches toured the course with PIAA officials on Wednesday 8/21 and worked out plans to make the course more athlete-friendly, improving the start and fan viewing. No final decision from the PIAA, but we'll let you know when we know. Keep your spikes crossed!

August 21, 2002 - Speaking of Hershey! Angie Saterstad, who had a rather rough spring when her school challenged her eligibility (but who rebounded to win the USATF Jr. Olympics YW 3000 in late July), is reportedly off of her school's XC team during her final season in HS. She apparently missed the first few days of practice while on a family vacation, missing the announcement of a policy excluding late-joiners to the team who weren't there the first day (with the exception of those who move into the District during the summer). She'll run independently this fall, hoping to regain the form that got her a Foot Locker alternate spot in 2000 when she finished 10th at the Northeast Regionals.