College signings are always interesting to see, but everybody wonders why one athlete chose one schol and why another athlete chose a different school.  Inside you will find out why certain athletes chose the school that they did in their own words. 

A gallery of my favorite photos from NXN 2010.

This Saturday in frigid Wisconsin 10 boys and girls will look to qualify for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championship in San Diego. Missouri MileSplit's David Everett takes a look at the top contenders starting with the boys.

What a week for prep cross country!  The top-10 boys are super-tight and should make the end of the season very interesting.  A shake-up at the top occurred with Lukas Verzbicas taking the #1 spot with an impressive run at the IL state meet.  Lukas blasted a solo-13:54 3 mile run to come a mere 4 seconds from breaking Craig Virgin's state record mark of 13:50.  Lukas is clearly in the best shape of his life heading into the most important part of the season.

   "Wills Captures #3", "Brajdic Sets New Boys Course Record", "Peninsula Woodridge Wins its Fifth Straight D2 Team Title", "Berger Repeats as D3 Girl's Champion", "Minster Wins its Third-Straight D3 Title", "Magnificat Girls' Win Third-Straight D1 Championship", Independence Repeats as boys D3 Champions"  It would be difficult to choose a headline for yesterdays 2010 State Cross Country Championships.  It was a day when a crowd of over 13,000 came to watch five of the six team state champions repeat, an individual win his third state championship and see a 23 year old course record broken.

Five individual state champions are returning to defend their titles, led by Zach Wills who is going for his third straight D1 championship. All six divisional teams are returning to defend their titles with D1 Magnificat going for an unprecedented 4th straight title, and Woodridge boys will be going for their fifth straight title.

Mason High Schools cross country and track standout, senior Zach Wills, announced on Wednesday that he has made a verbal commitment to attend Oklahoma State University in the fall of 2011.  Wills, considered by many as one of the most prolific runners in OHSAA history, had four other high profile collegiate running programs on his radar screen. They included Stanford, Oregon, Colorado and Georgetown.   "The people, coaching staff and team at Oklahoma State really impressed me," said Wills.  "They've had great succes and will continue to be a rising program in the coming years.  They are loaded with talent."  The Wills family also has relatives living in the vicinity of the school; another factor in Zach's final choice of OSU.   Oklahoma State is the defending 2009 NCAA Division I Cross Country National Champion.  The Cowboys have the potential to repeat this fall with only one senior on the team.    The campus is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma and is a member of the prestigious Big 12 Conference.  (via www.masoncomets.org)

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

October starts with a bang in Ohio this weekend as the 5th running of the Midwest Meet of Champions takes place in Hilliard, Ohio. Zach Wills (Mason, OH) will look to make this a three-peat on the boys' side, while Emma Brink (Sacred Heart, KY) and Waverly Neer (Culver Academies, IN) headline the girls' race.

The 2010 Midwest Meet of Champions is loaded with many of the top teams and individuals throughout Ohio and surrounding states!  Each of the past 2 years the team champions at the MMOC have gone on to win big school state titles. Magnificat and St Ignatius won titles in 2009 and are back this year to challenge for the title.  The MMOC course is flat and very spectator friendly and we could see some blazing times on October 2nd at Hilliard Darby High School!

 

Photo by Tracy Rollins - Ohio started its High School Cross Country championships 82 years ago in 1928.  Only an elite group, composed of five individuals, has won three individual titles.  The last was Vincent Fries from Div. III Attica Seneca East in 1994-95 and 1997.  The last Div. I, three-time individual, champion was 22 years ago when George Nicholas of Dayton Meadowdale set his marks from 1978-80.  This year, Zach Wills of  Mason has the rare opportunity to join this elite club of runners.  He is the two-time defending Div. I State Champion.

Take a look inside to see how some of Ohio's top athletes performed at the New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina

The first stop on the road to the State Meet has been recorded. Check out all of the great times from this weekend inside the Week In Review. Congratulations to all athletes that moved on to the Regional Meets.

The conference week has come and gone with many outstanding performances.  On deck are the district meets - where you can buy yourself a week with a top 4 finish.  Good luck to everyone at their district meet.

The final tune-up before the "Real" season is now in the books and teams are gearing up for conference and league meets before the post season tournament starts with Districts Meets next week.

This year’s Wayne Invitational will bring out some of the best talent statewide in track and field.  Individual state champions as well as former team champions are recognizable when you see the teams competing.

A little after the decade, but none the less interesting, the OHRunners Boys Cross Country All-Decade list is finally completed.  Check back next week for the OHRunners Girls Cross Country All-Decade team.

 Sherod Hardt (Sr., Queen Creek) finished 6th at the Nike XC Team Nationals in Oregon last weekend.  (Photo by Matt Shatkus, NJ Milesplit)

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.  

For the girls Magnificat, running as Rocky River XC Club, finished fifth overall, with Madeline Chambers taking 8th indvidually.  North Royalton's Hannah Neczypor finished 11th overall and on the boys side, Zach Wills of Mason finished 5th overall.

  Photo by PFFlyer                  

Ohio dominates the NXN Midwest Regional Championship by going 1 through 3 in the girls individual race, winning the girls team race and advancing two individuals on the boys side.  Nice Job Ohio!

  Photo courtesy: John Olson, South Carolina Runner's  

The 2009 State Meet is now in the books and it made for some memorable performances (Like it always does!) Lets take a look at the individual and team winners from this past weekend. 

Photo by Ben Hovis                

A look at the teams and individuals that qualifeid for the OHSAA State Championship, plus top four teams and ten individuals to watch for each division.

  The nation's premier individual national rankings releases the third edition of the Milesplit Sweet 16 National Rankings.

We just wrapped up the start of the most exciting 22 days in Ohio High School Cross Country.  Let's take a look back at the conference meets.  Also check out which boys team wore pink to race in this weekend.

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

The 2009 version of the MMOC has all the key ingredients for a great day of elite team and individual cross country competition.  The MMOC has a festive atmosphere with loud music, top ranked teams, great depth, top individuals from several states and a fan friendly course that has yielded some blazing times in years past. 

Another weekend of cross country and excitement is in the books.  This week saw Zach Wills dipping under 15 minutes for the first time in his career at the Culver Academis Invitational.  St. Ignatius and Magnificat both won their respective Championship races at the All Ohio Catholic Championship in Kettering, Ohio.

A big weekend of races in the books and some fast times to show for it.  Zach Wills opens the season blazing a 15:17 on his tough home course to take the lead in the state, while up north at the Tiffin Carnival, Magnificat scorches the field by scoring 52 points, over a 100 points ahead of second place, to win the Girs Division 1 Varsity-A race.

Trying to figure out who is the best team is nearly impossible without running any races, but OHRunners has tried to do just that (solely based on last year's results and returning runners). Over the next few days we will take a look at the top returning teams for both genders in all divisions. Today we take a stab at the Preseason Division 1 Boys.

Two Ohioans, Zach Wills (left, photo courtesy of www.nationalscholastic.org) and Quincy Downing (right, photo provided by Victor Sailor of PhotoRun.net) represented the USA at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Bressanone, Italy.  The meet started on Wednesday July 8th and runs through Sunday. 

INDIANAPOLIS - USA Track & Field announced Friday the Team USA roster for the 6th IAAF World Youth Championships,  July 8-12, in Bressanone, Italy.   A total of 55 athletes, 27 girls and 28 boys, will be part of the U.S. delegation for the World Youth Championships. At the 2007 IAAF World Youth Championships, the U.S. finished atop the medal table with 14, including an all-time high of seven golds. Team USA looks to continue its excellent record in Bressanone.

YPSILANTI, Mich. - Elaeanor Fulton, Ryan Crouser, Zachary Wills and Ashton Purvis all won their second events of the competition Wednesday at the 2009 World Youth Track & Field Trials at Eastern Michigan's Rynearson Stadium.

This year’s Endurance Sports Wayne Invitational may go down as one of the best ever, and that’s saying a lot, considering who has set foot on this track in the past.  Names like Piqua’s Brandon Saine

National meets and the last in-state qualifier for the OATCCC Ohio Indoor State Championship Meet are in store for this edition of the weekend wrap up.  Ohio seemed to have a minimal amount of entries in the national meets, but there were still some top notch athletes trying to make their mark on the national scene.

With one month to go until the OATCCC Indoor State meet, many student athletes put up some great times and marks.  A total of 30 new Ohio #1 marks were set this weekend, with 25 of those marks being OATCCC Indoor State Meet events.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field.  The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.   

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez. Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents.

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez. Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents.

Coming off back-to-back record-setting perfermances, Kodiak, Alaska senior Trevor Dunbar jumps to the top spot in the West. With a showdown at Mt. SAC looming, the question is: can he stay there?

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez. Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents.

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents.

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents.

Highlights and Results from: NB Ocean State Inv. (RI), McDonald's XC Festival (VA), McQuaid Inv. (NY), Roy Griak Inv. (MN), Stanford Inv. (CA), Carlisle Inv. (PA), Jim Danner Inv. (OR), Culver Inv. (IN), Palatine Inv. (IL), LoboCat Inv. (CO), Albuquerque Academy Inv. (NM) & Midwest Meet of Champs. (OH) The best weekend yet.  That's an easy way to describe this weekend's national cross country action.  Most of the top teams in the land took part in an invitational, with some teams coming up very big.  US#5 York (IL) kicked off their season by winning the Palatine Invitational, one of the big highlights of the weekend thus far.

Zach Wills ran an amzing race today, and had a shot at going sub 15:00, but had to settle for an impressive 15:02.36 and a new course record.  Wills had formidable competition in the Race of Champions as it included Kevin Yarnell, Travis Hawes, Yoshi Shimizu, Tsehaye Hiluf, and Eric Schmidt

The Midwest Meet of Champions showcases many of the top teams and individuals in Ohio and is the premier cross country meet in the Midwest. Inside you will find a meet preview, Girls and Boys Virtual Meets and a copy of the course map.

The All Ohio Catholic Championship provided for some great feats in the Championship Races.  Magnificat posted a perfect 15 team score, while Kevin Yarnell (pictured left, from St. Johns Jesuit) and Marty Coolidge (pictured next to Yarnell, from Elyria Catholic) provided excitement in the boys race as both boys ran 15:17, with Yarnell just edging out Coolidge at the line.

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez

Please excuse the delay in the posting of the Weekend Wrap Up (and the abreviated nature of it), but it is difficult to update a website without having power. 

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents  

With the second full week of the cross country season complete and in the books, many of the top athletes around the country have now had a chance to compete in some sort of competition. Each week we'll rank the top 12 athletes in each region, and now things start to get exciting as the big meets start to crank up with the season swinging into full gear.

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.

Trying to figure out who is the best team is nearly impossible without running any races, but OHRunners has tried to do just that (solely based on last year's results and returning runners). Over the next few days we will take a look at the top returning teams for both genders in all divisions. Today we take a stab at the Preseason Division 1 Top 10 Boys Teams.

While the national post season track and field meets are winding down, one can only wonder what will happen next year during the Cross Country season. Take a look at who's returning, what teams have a good shot at making the post season and the best by grade level for both boys and girls in Ohio Cross Country.   Boys Returning Runners Team Scores Girls Returning Runners Team Scores Returning Boys Runners Returning Girls Runners Top Returners Class of 2009 Top Returners Class of 2009 Top Returners Class of 2010 Top Returners Class of 2010 Top Returners Class of 2011 Top Returners Class of 2011