Jen Rhines & Bobby Curtis to run Mt Sac Elite 5000

On Friday in Walnut, California ex-NCAA 5000 champions for Villanova Jen Rhines and Bobby Curtis will compete in the elite invitational 5000 meter races at the Mt. Sac Relays. Both the men's and women's races are stacked with talent and, if history is repeated, the races will produce some fast times. Curtis has a 5000 meter PR of 13:25.66 (2008), and Rhines PR'd in 2006 in 14:54.29.

Men's Performance Lists to Date

Here is where the men sit currently on the NCAA descending order lists. There is not much to show since very few of the top men have run at their competitive distances.

400 meter hurdles national leader = 49.52
52. Stefan Goodridge 52.37


Here are the top Villanova marks by event:

100m: Lynch, Michael SR-4 10.99
200m: Lynch, Michael SR-4 21.70
400m: Bowers, Carlton FR-1 48.62
800m: Apwah, Jason JR-3 1:53.43
1,500m: Harper, Cody JR-3 3:53.12
5,000m: Long, Brian JR-3 14:29.39
400m H: Goodridge, Stefan JR-3 52.37
3,000m Steeple: Lewis, Daniel SR-4 8:56.00
4 x 400m: Relay: Kroner, Hines, Kearney, Bowers 3:12.67
High Jump: Darling, Albert FR-1 2.01m
Long Jump: Tiant, Lazaro FR-1 6.46m
Triple Jump: Sainvil, Robert JR-3 14.52m
Shot Put: Anuszewski, Frank SO-2 13.85m
Discus Throw: Ratigan, Matt SR-4 37.80m
Hammer Throw: Anuszewski, Frank SO-2 45.78m
Javelin: Anuszewski, Frank SO-2 46.27m

Women's Performance Lists to Date

Here is where the Villanova women stand today on the NCAA outdoor descending order lists:

100 meter hurdles national leader = 12.65
17. Shericka Ward 13:39

200 meters national leader = 22.92
28. Shericka Ward 23.74

400 meter hurdles national leader = 56:06
71. Kristen Mahon 1:00.84

1500 meters national leader = 4:12.80
22. Sheila Reid 4:20.68
45. Bogdana Mimic 4:24.36
53. Ariann Neutts 4:25.36
54. Nicole Schappert 4:25.44
61. Brooke Simpson 4:26.01
93. Ali Smith 4:28.70

3000 meters national leader = 9:18.29
17. Amanda Marino 9:45.08
43. Kaitlyn Tallman 9:57.20

3000 meter steeple national leader = 10:03.81
21. Ali Smith 10:34.34

5000 meters national leader = 15:51.56
14. Bogdana Mimic 16:22.81


Here are the top women's marks per event:

100m: Ray, Leah FR-1 12.57
200m: Ward, Shericka SO-2 23.74
400m: Verdier, Christie SO-2 55.97
800m: Reid, Sheila SO-2 2:10.89
1,500m: Reid, Sheila SO-2 4:20.68
3,000m: Marino, Amanda JR-3 9:45.08
5,000m: Mimic, Bogdana FR-1 16:22.81
100m H: Ward, Shericka SO-2 13.39
400m H: Mahon, Kristen JR-3 1:00.84
3,000m Steeple: Smith, Alison JR-3 10:34.34
4 x 400m Relay: Mahon, Verdier, Browne, Dunbar 3:49.56
High Jump: Gariepy-Bogui, Audrey JR-3 1.72m
Pole Vault: Llerandi, Ashlyn JR-3 4.00m
Long Jump: Reijula, Erica JR-3 5.60m
Triple Jump: Minasi, Marie FR-1 11.29m
Hammer Throw: Arduini, Julia SO-2 34.00m
Javelin: Arduini, Julia SO-2 42.33m

Penn Relays Looming

DMR World Record 1976

On February 7, 1976 the Villanova DMR team of Mark Belger, Glenn Bogue, Phil "Tiny" Kane, and Eamonn Coghlan set a world record in the distance medley relay, running 9:38.4 at the Mason-Dixon Games in Louisville, Kentucky. The main competition in the race came from the Florida Track Club quartet of Steve Foster, Reggie Clark, Jim Redd, and Byron Dyce. The photo above is from the 1977 Mason-Dixon Games program and shows Dyce and Coghlan starting their mile leg (the race was competed in yards, not meters) in a virtual tie. Despite getting beaten by the Villanova squad, the FTC team also dipped under the existing world record.
At the NCAA indoor meet that year, Coghlan would win his second national indoor title in the mile and Mark Belger would win over 1000 yards. Belger would take the 880 yards titles in both 1977 and 1978.

New Baby Rejuvenates Carrie Tollefson

Pregnancy Rejuvenates Olympian Carrie Tollefson
By: Kristine Smith, Running USA wire

Three-time national champion eyes 2012 Olympics as a new mother

After frustrating injuries, and her first drop from a race in 2009, Olympian Carrie Tollefson and her husband Charlie Peterson decided the "off year" was the right time for her body to take on a new challenge. They are expecting their first baby in early April [editor's note: daughter Ruby Anne Peterson was born Thursday, April 1], and Tollefson said of her pregnancy "My body has never felt better, my mind is rejuvenated, and we have the most wonderful thing happening to us."

Tollefson said in a recent interview her pace on the roads is slower, but her work on the underwater treadmill, the increased rest and land training that includes lifting two to three times per week, agility training and 3-6 mile "jogs" on a regular treadmill are keeping her pregnancy healthy, and building her fitness as she works toward her goal to make the 2012 Olympic team.

"I know this [baby] is going to change my life in a big way, but it doesn't change my passion for the sport. I have always been one who loves the challenge and think having this addition in my life will only make me focus and appreciate it more," she said. "I run probably four days a week in addition to my other workouts. I am very in tune with my heart rate and, most importantly, my body temperature. From everyone [medical and training experts] that I have talked with, and who has studied training during pregnancy, the most important thing is not to overheat."



The new mom already spends time with kids each summer. The Carrie Tollefson Training Camp is a running camp geared toward 7-12th grade students, held at St. Catherine University, in St. Paul, Minnesota, July 8-11.

Post-delivery, Tollefson, 33, says she will figure out the balance it takes to be a great parent and an athlete. "If that means running at 5:00am and 7:00pm, I will do it. I am so inspired by all of the runners that get it done while having kids...one can never give up and we have to 'get after it' both on the track and off. That is what I am going to do again now after the baby...enjoy every minute of becoming a mom and I have every intention of getting back on top of my game."

In 1999, Tollefson was named NCAA Indoor track athlete of the year and was the first person in NCAA history to win both the 3000 and 5000 meters in the same year. Now an Olympian and three-time national champion, she lives and trains in her home state of Minnesota, where she and husband Charlie look forward to raising their first baby.

Curtis Photos from World Cross in Poland

Colonial Relays @ William & Mary

At the Colonial Relays hosted by the College of William & Mary, several Wildcats posted impressive times. Bogdana Mimic (pictured above) won the 5000 meters by 33 seconds in 16:22.81, the 9th fastest time in the NCAA so far this outdoor season. Her teammate Ariann Neutts pictured below), known primarily as an 800 meter specialist, moved up to 1500 and won in an impressive 4:25.36, the 12th best outdoor time in the NCAA.

Two Villanova women set meet and stadium records. Ali Smith won the 3000 meter steeple in 10:34.34, placing hert 12th on the NCAA performance list. Vaulter Ashlyn Llerandi, VU's school record holder, got over a 4.00 meter bar and won the event.
Other noteworthy results: Brooke Simpson was 4th in the 1500 in 4:2.75, Sarah Morrison, Kaitlin O'Sullivan, and Meaghan Smith went 5-9-10 in the 3000 meter steeple. The 4 x 800 teams of Browne-Mimic-Simpson-Neutts came second narrowly.
On th e men's side, Dan Lewis was second in the 3000 steeple, in 8:56.00.

Sean Tully has Olympic Dreams

Sean Tully: Back on Track and Hungry for The Olympics
former Syosset High track star has found balance, and with that, success

By Josh Stewart
March 31, 2010

Villanova taught Sean Tully how to be an engineer, but his greatest lesson on structural wear and tear didn't take place in a classroom.

The former Syosset High School track star can look back now and see where he went wrong. But a professional career that could culminate at the 2012 Olympic Games almost ended before it started, until he realized that even for the most dedicated among us, sometimes less is more.

"I ran really, really well my sophomore year, [surpassed personal records] by a lot and all of a sudden I thought, 'I'm going to be going places,'" Tully says of his time with the Wildcats.

When a person turns getting cut from the high school basketball team as a sophomore into teaming to set a national record in the 4x800 relay as a senior, why not aim high? (The mammoth 2005 Penn Relays plaque and accompanying photo of Tully, his twin brother Dan, Adam Lampert, Chris Howell and Coach Bart Sessa is the highlight of the Syosset High trophy display.)

"I got way too excited about it," Tully says of the early college success, drawing out the "way" for a couple of seconds to make a point. "And that summer in my base training, I basically was just destroying myself running way too hard on all of my runs."

He couldn't stop running, even as he was running himself into the ground. Tully even competed in a couple of cross country meets for Villanova, which he now understands doesn't translate into track success.

"Running under six-minute miles on a 12-mile run on what's supposed to be an easy day, that's going to come back to get you," Tully says with a chuckle.

The result was a wasted junior year and a totally different strategy as a senior, which included more chilling and less charging during the summer. A sixth-placed finish in the '09 NCAA Championships in the 800m followed by a 12th at the U.S. Nationals confirmed that he was literally back on track. Emboldened by that performance and curious where he would have been had he not lost so much momentum his junior year, he has put aside his engineering career to go the route of a fledging professional runner.

He doesn't make Usain Bolt money, but is sponsored by the New York Athletic Club. And he admits he's lucky to be able to work a few months a year for his dad and uncles' company, Tully Construction, before going back to Villanova to work out with his college coach, Marcus O'Sullivan. ("There's not many jobs you can come to in September and say, 'Hey, I'm going to up and leave in January.'")

Nothing's getting him down right now--not even the meet trip to Nigeria where the athletes had their passports collected, and their promised visas hadn't shown up nearly three days later.

"If someone wanted to ask for my papers, I didn't know what would have happened," Tully says.

Maybe in a few years his face will be a little more recognizable.

Footage from World Cross

No pun intended. Curtis visible in first portion.

Muncan to Contest BAA Mile

Men’s and Women’s Elite Milers Return to
B.A.A. Invitational Mile on Marathon Weekend

Boston, MA – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today that some of the fastest milers in the world will be taking part in the second-annual B.A.A. Invitational Mile races on Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. on Boylston Street in Boston, at the finish line of the 114th Boston Marathon. The professional athletes will compete for a prize purse of $14,500, including $3,000 to the top male and female finisher.

Women’s Elite Field*
Name (Age, Residence) Personal Best (Location)

Erin Donahue (26, United States)......4:26.48 (Rieti, ITA, 2008)
Sarah Hall (27, United States)..........4:32.24 (Falmouth, MA, 2009)
Roisin McGettigan (29, Ireland).......4:35.55 (Philadelphia, PA, 2004)
Marina Muncan (27, Serbia)............4:33.16 (Toronto, ONT, 2009)
Morgan Uceny (25, United States)......4:31.70 (Falmouth, MA, 2009)

The Training Philosophy of Marcus O'Sullivan

The Villanova coach discusses the training lessons he's embraced after his long professional career that sent him to four Olympic Games, a world record at 15000i and three world championships.

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

Bobby Curtis 48th at World Cross

In Bydgoszcz, Poland, 135 men competed in the 12 kilometer World Cross Country championships. Team USA finished in 9th place, with 182 points. Former Villanova all-american and national champion Bobby Curtis was representing the USA for the second year in a row (he finished 37th in 2009), and finished 48th. "I got a little cramp in the middle of the race, lost a few spots, and struggled," said Curtis after the race. "It was tough out there. I think everyone on the team thought they were capable of a top 40 finish, and Patrick was the only one who did that." Curtis finished 2:08 behind the individual winner, Joseph Ebuya of Kenya.

9 United States 182
36 288 Patrick Smyth 36
45 289 Ryan Vail 45
48 281 Robert Curtis 48
53 278 Scott Bauhs 53
67 285 Robert Mack 67
80 279 Ben Bruce 80



28 March 2010 - 14:10
Position Bib Athlete Country Mark Difference

1 152 Joseph Ebuya KEN 33:00 +0:00
2 63 Teklemariam Medhin ERI 33:06 +0:06
3 273 Moses Ndiema Kipsiro UGA 33:10 +0:10
4 155 Leonard Patrick Komon KEN 33:10 +0:10
5 68 Samuel Tsegay ERI 33:27 +0:27
6 38 Hasan Mahboob BRN 33:28 +0:28
7 159 Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong KEN 33:29 +0:29
8 162 Paul Kipngetich Tanui KEN 33:30 +0:30
9 158 Hosea Mwok Macharinyang KEN 33:31 +0:31
10 89 Gebregziabher Gebremariam ETH 33:35 +0:35
11 219 Ahmad Hassan Abdullah QAT 33:36 +0:36
12 173 Chakir Boujattaoui MAR 33:42 +0:42
13 42 Simon Bairu CAN 33:44 +0:44
14 69 Alemayehu Bezabeh ESP 33:47 +0:47
15 66 Kidane Tadasse ERI 33:50 +0:50
16 274 Geofrey Kusuro UGA 33:54 +0:54
17 91 Abera Kuma ETH 33:55 +0:55
18 182 Anis Selmouni MAR 33:58 +0:58
19 161 Lucas Kimeli Rotich KEN 33:58 +0:58
20 93 Hunegnaw Mesfin ETH 34:01 +1:01
21 108 Mohammed Farah GBR 34:09 +1:09
22 87 Azmeraw Bekele ETH 34:21 +1:21
23 232 Stephen Mokoka RSA 34:23 +1:23
24 65 Kiflom Sium ERI 34:24 +1:24
25 84 Ayele Abshero ETH 34:27 +1:27
26 92 Feyisa Lilesa ETH 34:27 +1:27
27 99 Driss El Himer FRA 34:27 +1:27
28 269 Dickson Huru UGA 34:35 +1:35
29 170 Ahmed Baday MAR 34:36 +1:36
30 175 El Houssaine Dham MAR 34:37 +1:37
31 254 Fabiano Joseph Naasi TAN 34:38 +1:38
32 34 Alemu Bekele BRN 34:39 +1:39
33 71 Carles Castillejo ESP 34:40 +1:40
34 255 Gitimi Shamba TAN 34:41 +1:41
35 64 Tesfayohannes Mesfin ERI 34:48 +1:48
36 288 Patrick Smyth USA 34:51 +1:51
37 176 Abderrahim El Asri MAR 34:54 +1:54
38 9 Liam Adams AUS 34:55 +1:55
39 60 Tewelde Estifanos ERI 34:57 +1:57
40 105 Abdellatif Meftah FRA 35:00 +2:00
41 256 Martin Hhaway Sulle TAN 35:01 +2:01
42 211 Yousef El Kalai POR 35:02 +2:02
43 275 Ben Siwa UGA 35:03 +2:03
44 116 Andrew Vernon GBR 35:03 +2:03
45 289 Ryan Vail USA 35:04 +2:04
46 135 Kaddour Slimani ITA 35:04 +2:04
47 7 Miguel Barzola ARG 35:06 +2:06
48 281 Robert Curtis USA 35:08 +2:08
49 40 Bilisuma Shugi BRN 35:10 +2:10
50 222 Felix Kikwai Kibore QAT 35:11 +2:11
51 75 Ayad Lamdassem ESP 35:12 +2:12
52 230 Lungisa Mdedelwa RSA 35:12 +2:12
53 278 Scott Bauhs USA 35:14 +2:14
54 224 Gamal Belal Salem QAT 35:14 +2:14
55 102 Hassan Hirt FRA 35:14 +2:14
56 76 Alberto Lozano ESP 35:18 +2:18
57 253 Marco Joseph TAN 35:20 +2:20
58 218 Fernando Silva POR 35:21 +2:21
59 270 James Kibet UGA 35:24 +2:24
60 214 Licinio Pimentel POR 35:26 +2:26
61 233 Sibabalwe Mzazi RSA 35:26 +2:26
62 236 Kgosi Tsosane RSA 35:28 +2:28
63 185 Juan Luis Barrios MEX 35:29 +2:29
64 96 Saïd Berioui FRA 35:31 +2:31
65 114 Michael Skinner GBR 35:31 +2:31
66 104 Denis Mayaud FRA 35:34 +2:34
67 285 Robert Mack USA 35:36 +2:36
68 74 Antonio David Jiménez ESP 35:38 +2:38
69 210 Manuel Damião POR 35:39 +2:39
70 14 Clinton Perrett AUS 35:39 +2:39
71 237 Xolisa Tyali RSA 35:40 +2:40
72 250 Stéphane Joly SUI 35:41 +2:41
73 223 Essa Ismail Rashed QAT 35:44 +2:44
74 31 Gilberto Lopes BRA 35:44 +2:44
75 213 Hélder Ornelas POR 35:48 +2:48
76 149 Tetsuya Yoroizaka JPN 35:48 +2:48
77 199 Arkadiusz Gardzielewski POL 35:48 +2:48
78 148 Hiroyoshi Umegae JPN 35:51 +2:51
79 276 Martin Toroitich UGA 35:52 +2:52
80 279 Ben Bruce USA 35:56 +2:56
81 73 Javier Guerra ESP 35:57 +2:57
82 145 Takuya Noguchi JPN 36:02 +3:02
83 126 Tasama Moogas ISR 36:07 +3:07
84 11 Collis Birmingham AUS 36:09 +3:09
85 39 Dejene Regassa BRN 36:09 +3:09
86 29 Joilson da Silva BRA 36:11 +3:11
87 192 Edwin Henshaw NZL 36:12 +3:12
88 169 Ramolefi Motsieloa LES 36:14 +3:14
89 27 Kaelo Mosalagae BOT 36:15 +3:15
90 205 Kamil Poczwardowski POL 36:16 +3:16
91 130 Martin Dematteis ITA 36:16 +3:16
92 191 Andrew Davidson NZL 36:19 +3:19
93 139 Tsubasa Hayakawa JPN 36:19 +3:19
94 103 Stéphane Lefrand FRA 36:21 +3:21
95 24 Atelaw Yeshetela BEL 36:22 +3:22
96 138 Kazuya Deguchi JPN 36:23 +3:23
97 265 Atef Saad TUN 36:29 +3:29
98 194 Shaun Krawitz NZL 36:30 +3:30
99 30 Sérgio da Silva BRA 36:35 +3:35
100 13 Jeff Hunt AUS 36:37 +3:37
101 146 Minato Oishi JPN 36:46 +3:46
102 262 El Akhdar Hachani TUN 36:46 +3:46
103 187 Juan Carlos Carera MEX 36:51 +3:51
104 137 Methkal Abu Drais JOR 36:58 +3:58
105 197 Blazej Brzezinski POL 37:03 +4:03
106 188 Josafat Gonzaléz MEX 37:08 +4:08
107 117 James Wilkinson GBR 37:10 +4:10
108 207 Krystian Zalewski POL 37:11 +4:11
109 198 Jaroslaw Cichocki POL 37:14 +4:14
110 18 Tilahun Aliyev AZE 37:17 +4:17
111 193 Kim Hogarth NZL 37:19 +4:19
112 28 Ramoseka Raobine BOT 37:36 +4:36
113 263 Wissem Hosni TUN 37:41 +4:41
114 26 Rapula Diphoko BOT 37:45 +4:45
115 150 Takhir Mamashayev KAZ 37:50 +4:50
116 208 Tadeusz Zblewski POL 38:10 +5:10
117 82 Vjatseslav Koselev EST 38:14 +5:14
118 234 Siyabonga Nkonde RSA 38:21 +5:21
119 33 Leonardo Vieira Guedes BRA 39:17 +6:17
120 257 Sotyvoldy Khaitov TJK 39:19 +6:19
121 244 Gaylord Silly SEY 39:45 +6:45
122 122 Mahmood Alrashedi IRQ 39:46 +6:46
123 189 Pablo Olmedo MEX 39:47 +6:47
124 123 Sadeq Jaafar Lafta IRQ 40:43 +7:43
125 124 Hussein Mohammed Subaihawi IRQ 40:45 +7:45
126 121 Noori Al-Darraji IRQ 41:29 +8:29
127 118 Richard Blagg GIB 46:24 +13:24
. 8 Javier Carriqueo ARG DNF .
. 17 Duer Yoa AUS DNF .
. 32 Gilmar Lopes BRA DNF .
. 171 Hicham Bellani MAR DNF .
. 217 José Rocha POR DNF .
. 220 Mohammed Abduh Bakhet QAT DNF .
. 242 Sylvain Rukundo RWA DNF .
. 245 Mohamed Isak SOM DNF .
. 225 Ali Dawoud Sedam QAT DNS

Catching Up with Sonia O'Sullivan

Sonia O'Sullivan is passing her experience onto a new generation for London 2012

Thursday, 25 March 2010
By Mike Rowbottom

There is just a little suggestion of poacher-turned-gamekeeper about the overall team coach/manager for the Australian team at this weekend’s IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz.

Twelve years ago, this team manager went directly against team orders in going for the double at the World Cross Country Championships in Marrakesh - and won both her events.

Among those advising Sonia O’Sullivan - for it was she - not to go for the short course title after outsprinting Paula Radcliffe to win the long course gold was her own coach, Alan Storey.

In the wake of that audacious double she chuckled as she recalled their disagreement. "Everybody was telling me not to run again," she said. "But in the end I went with my gut feeling."

The young lady from Cobh, County Cork, had "previous" in this regard.

As a talented 17-year-old, O’Sullivan had defied the instruction of her coach at the time, Sean Kennedy, that she should miss the Irish Junior Championships in order to produce a fast time in the Cork City event two days later.

"I argued with him," she admitted. "I said if I was capable of winning an all-Ireland medal it wasn’t right to throw the chance away."

She went to the Junior Championships, winning the gold. She then returned to Cork and reduced her 3,000 metres personal best from 9min 38sec to 9:01.

"It was one of the most important decisions I ever made," she maintained. "I said to Sean: 'It didn’t make any difference, did it?' He said: 'Maybe you would have run faster.'"

So the obvious questions for O’Sullivan, whom Ireland have already bagged as team Chef de Mission for the 2012 Olympics even though she took Australian citizenship in 2006, are: As a team chief, would you have recommended going for the double in 1998? And how would you deal now with a "determined" athlete who was going against your advice?

"Looking back, that’s is an easy question to answer," she says. "Of course I would have allowed my self to run - in fact I did take the decision myself, though I did have the backing of my manager, Kim McDonald, so I wasn’t alone in the perceived madness. I felt that there was nothing to lose and everything to gain.

"So in a similar situation with a determined athlete I would have to weigh up the positive and negative and come to a decision that would have a positive outcome no matter what.

"When an athlete takes a risk then they are trying to achieve greatness and it isn’t always a good idea to put road blocks in the way of such an athlete. I think a coach or team management will have an instinct of what each athlete is capable of and if the athlete is determined and has belief in their ability and what they want to try to achieve then they will be strong enough to get this message across."

O’Sullivan has spent much of the last few years dealing with the challenge of determined young things - not least from her two daughters, Ciara and Sophie, whom she has had with her Australian husband Nic Bideau.

As well as managing the Australian cross country team for the last three years, she also acted as Deputy Chef de Mission for the Irish team at last year’s European Youth Olympics Festival.


After helping Australia’s senior women beat the United States to the team bronze at the 2008 World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Benita Johnson (now Willis) paid tribute to the experience and influence of the team manager. "Sonia's a fantastic inspiration for any team and most countries would give their eye teeth for that," she said.

Those sentiments were endorsed in January this year by another talented young runner, Ireland’s European Indoor 3,000m bronze medallist Mary Cullen, after her runaway win in the Antrim International IAAF Cross Country event, which did much to banish her disappointment at only finishing 12th in the previous month’s European Cross Country Championships in Dublin.

Cullen attributed her motivation in the race to a talk she had had with O’Sullivan, who drew a parallel with how she had underperformed at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, partly through the pressure of feeling she had to deliver.

"I wanted it so badly in Dublin that I think I might just have stepped it too far thinking that more, more, more instead of thinking less is more maybe." Cullen said. "I just couldn't get my head around what happened. I was searching for answers and talking to people and sometimes you just don't have an answer.

"But then I talked to Sonia and she explained about the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and how it went for her. You have to be just feisty going into a race and I just felt going into Dublin that I was almost tired and a little bit drained going in and you aren't going to get your best out then unfortunately."

O’Sullivan is glad to be in a position where she can positively influence runners who can benefit from her experience.

"I feel that my role as the Australian cross country team manager in 2008 demonstrated the ability to transfer my belief and positive energy to a team that I was sure could challenge for a bronze medal," she says.

"I knew we had the talent and four quality athletes that could achieve success if they believed in it. I was able to transfer that positive energy to the girls without any added pressure that might have created last minute nerves and poor performance.

"The challenge is to get the athletes to deliver a top performance on the day. So many athletes arrive at the Olympic Games in the best shape of their lives but are unable to allow themselves to run to the level they should.

"This is the area where I feel I can get Irish athletes to perform on the day when it is obvious that they have arrived at the Games in good condition. I will be honest and I will expect athletes to rise to the challenge and not rest easy once they have achieved the initial goal of making the team for London 2012.

"The recent European Youth Olympics Festival (EYOF) was definitely a tester for me on a small scale. It gave me the opportunity to see what is involved with preparing the team for departure and ensuring a positive team spirit throughout the festival and dealing with success and disappointment within the team but ensuring that the positive momentum remained throughout the week.

"Ireland won at least one medal each day at the EYOF, so it was a most successful team to be a part of in what was my first outing in Olympic management.

"I think that I will be able to provide a closer bridge of communication and understanding to the athletes in 2012. I am not so far away from my time as an Olympic athlete so I believe that I still have a close understanding of the needs of the athletes as they get closer to the Olympic Games."

In the meantime O’Sullivan has had to do a little work on bolstering her own image with her eldest daughter, Ciara, whose favourite athlete is Kelly Holmes, the 800 and 1500m champion of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"I told Ciara I used to beat Kelly regularly when I was running, but she didn’t believe me," O’Sullivan said. "So I had to show her videos of some of the races.

"It was definitely a surprise when Kelly won the double, but it was a message to all talented young athletes out there to never ever give up on your dreams because every now and then opportunities come your way and unless you are in a position to take the opportunities then they will pass you by.

"Kelly had so many problems in the years before Athens that she could easily have thrown it all away. But she persisted and did everything to try and get back on track every time she was derailed with injury."

O’Sullivan well knows the heady experience of achieving her highest ambitions on the track. Some years ago she said that running in championship track races, when really fit and ready, was "just a different feeling that takes over your whole body and a different energy system. You start to feel like you can do anything. It’s not always easy to get yourself to that level, but when you do, it’s the greatest feeling."

She readily recalls the quote, adding: "This is exactly the message that I will be trying to communicate to Irish athletes, this is the final message that an athlete needs to understand and believe to achieve success on the greatest sporting stage. You can only try to deliver the message. The athlete must believe in themselves and put the final pieces in the jigsaw puzzle by themselves during the competition."

So does she believe anything can match that high in an athlete’s subsequent experience?

"Occasionally you achieve something in your life after sport that gives you a buzz or a lift," she reflects. "But nothing compares to the elation and joy of crossing the line first at the end of a race.

"It was more relief than anything in Gothenburg when I won the 1995 world 5,000m title as so much was expected of me by myself and so many others. At the Sydney [Olympic] Games [in 2000], even though I didn’t win the 5,000m, I had the joy and elation of knowing that I gave it everything on the night and I walked away content with an Olympic silver medal. That was my third Olympics so to achieve some success was enough for me to be happy and for me on that Monday night in Sydney, silver was as good as gold."

While O’Sullivan has had an illustrious and successful career, it is generally recognised that she might have had more medals, or maybe medals in some cases of a different hue, if she had not been racing against opponents who had either failed dope tests subsequently, or fallen under grave suspicion.

Does she still believe, as she said some years ago, that doping cheats "are really only cheating themselves?"

"Ultimately yes," she replies. "But when athletes get away with cheating of course they are also cheating the athletes that they are competing against who can never be compensated retrospectively as even if medals get taken away or re-distributed that moment in time when crossing the line first, the elation and joy mentioned before has been stolen and can never be replaced.

"I do feel now that drug testing is not very far behind the cheats, but I will never understand or accept the mindset of athletes who cheat and justify to themselves that it is OK to cheat and get away with it.

"An athlete who cheats to achieve success doesn’t know the real meaning of sport and the feeling you get from achieving your dreams and goals. They will never understand the journey to an Olympic Games that tells the story whether you win or lose."

So which of the Irish team does O’Sullivan think we should watch out for in 2012?

"At this stage I am only familiar with athletics, so can only pinpoint the obvious athletes to watch for based on the great performances at the most recent World Championships in Berlin," she says.

"Derval O’Rourke [in the 100m hurdles] is a championship runner and showed her ability to rise to the occasion by finishing fourth in Berlin.

"She knows how close she is now and just needs to get a clean run in the lead up to London without any time out due to injury. Derval has the belief and the desire to win. She is also from Cork!

"Olive Loughnane [in the 20km walk] showed she belongs in the Olympic race with her silver medal in Berlin. Olive knows that London is her best opportunity of Olympic success.

"You should look out for Joanne Cuddihy, if she returns from injury this year, Paul Hession and David Gillick,. New faces will also appear - Ciara Mageean is a very talented athlete with huge potential and it will be interesting to see how she develops in the build-up to London 2012.

"One very interesting athlete from boxing is Katie Taylor, the current world women’s boxing champion. She will be expected to get a medal with the introduction of women’s boxing in London."

For many years, O’Sullivan has been a wandering spirit as she has travelled between her native Ireland and adopted Australia. You wonder if she still feels Irish…

"I have never not felt Irish, even though I have lived in the UK, Australia and USA," she responds. "Ireland is the one place that I feel like I belong and this is a feeling that you don’t have when you live in another country. Whilst I enjoy living in Australia and my children go to school here I definitely miss the sense of belonging that I get whenever I set foot in Ireland.

"If anything I have felt more Irish since retiring as I appreciate my achievements more and have met so many people who like to tell me how much joy and happiness I brought to their lives when they cheered for me throughout the 90’s into the Noughties!!


"I have felt the other side of being Irish when I have attended sporting events, I remember running into the stadium in Melbourne during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, as I got to my seat everyone was standing up as the Irish national anthem was being played, it was a warm evening as I could feel goose bumps and hair standing on back of my neck as I could feel the nervous energy in the stadium and could understand what was about to happen from an athletes point of view and at the same time about to experience from a supporters side. The anticipation and nervousness and the positive energy you tried to force onto the field of play made me believe that being Irish is very special as the supporters know their sport and they will cheer till the death to try and get the winning result even when all is obviously lost.

"Irish people are passionate and love their sports heroes and heroines. It is this passion that brings out the best in Irish people everywhere around the world that allows the fans to connect with the athletes.

"There are more Irish people outside Ireland than in Ireland and not a week goes by that I don’t meet at least one Irish person in the street. Irish sport is huge and when Irish athletes are successful, there is no better place you can be to see the pure elation and uplifting spirits that people get from seeing their own people be successful."

That said, O’Sullivan’s favourite moment from the 2008 Beijing Olympics was provided by a lanky and charismatic sprinter from Jamaica…

"Usain Bolt brought athletics into everyone’s living room in Beijing and came back for an encore in Berlin last summer," O’Sullivan says.

"For the men’s 100m Final, I was in a shopping centre in Dublin - I was working for RTE but this was the one day off I had so shopping had to be done. I joined a huge crowd in a TV shop to watch Bolt as this was an event I had to to see live.

"It was a great atmosphere a million miles from Beijing - but you could feel the energy and buzz of the world record run ripple through the crowd. Everyone went back to their shopping with a spring in their step…"

Now that she has stopped providing such life-enhancing experiences for the Irish public herself, it is good for O’Sullivan to know that the same effect can be produced by a new generation of athletes…

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the last five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames

Some Shots from the Deep Vault

As we await the start of the outdoor season, here are some photos from the bottom of the archive.

Don Paige batles Steve Scott, with Ray Flynn and Jim Spivey trailing

Sydney Maree leads the 1984 Olympic Trials 1500 meters

Marcus O'Sullivan wins his 3rd world title in Toronto, 1993

Larry James, the Mighty Burner, at Penn

Eamonn Coghlan and Sydney Maree battle Steve Scott, John Walker and Ray Flynn at the Pepsi Mile

Eamonn in a good mood after winning the Prefontaine Classic mile

Dick Buerkle leads Steve McChesney at the 1980 Olympic Trials 5000

Mark Belger at the Penn Relays

Donal Walsh, John Hartnett and Marty Liquori at the 1971 IC4A Cross championship

.

Quick Track Tour of Villanova

Here is a 4-minute video tour of Villanova, led by tracksters Kaitlin O'Sullivan, Sarah Morrison, and Callie Hogan.

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

Lipari Dominates Mile Field at Nike Indoor Nationals | #4 All-Time USA Prep

The jewel of Gina Procaccio's incoming 2010 freshman class, Emily Lipari, set a meet record in winning the NIN Girls mile, in 4:42.64. In 6th place at 1500 meters, she used a blistering last lap to win by 4 seconds. Lipari, from Long Island, NY, is the national leader in the mile and is now #4 on the all-time USA prep mile list.

Notice, as well, that the 12th place finisher overall, is Nicole Schappert's younger sister, Stephanie, a junior at Pope John Paul II high school, and (like Nicole before her) a two-time Florida state cross country individual champion.

2010 Nike Indoor Nationals - 3/12/2010 to 3/14/2010
Reggie Lewis Sports and Athletic Center
Boston, MA

Event 10 Girls 1 Mile Run
========================================================
Sections 1 and 2 on March 14 at 11:25am
Sections 3 and 4 on March 14 at 2:02pm
National: N 4:38.50 3/17/1972 Debbie Heald, Neff, La Mira
Meet: M 4:45.18 3/11/2007 Alex Kosinski, Oak Ridge, E
Freshman: ( 4:40.10 1973 Mary Decker, Orange, CA
Sophomore: R 4:46.13 3/14/2004 Nicole Blood, Saratoga, NY
Junior: J 4:38.50 3/17/1972 Debbie Heald, Neff, La Mira
Senior: $ 4:39.00 1978 Lynn Jennings, Bromfield, H
Name Year School Finals (1500m)
=========================================================
Finals
1 Lipari, Emily 10 Una-Ny-Green 4:42.64M (4:31.72)
2 McGee, Cory 10 Pass Christian TC 4:46.63 (4:26.19)
3 Fulton, Eleanor 11 Una-Co-Lone_ 4:48.10 (4:29.58)
4 Stevens, Joanna 10 Blacksburg TC 4:49.68 (4:29.15)
5 Meyers, Madeleine 12 Una-Wa-Seatt 4:51.05 (4:31.18)
6 Stevens, Kathleen 10 Blacksburg TC 4:51.63 (4:31.50)
7 Vailas, Arianna 10 Manchester C 4:52.18 (4:32.26)
8 Brink, Emma 11 Una-Ky-Louis 4:53.40 (4:35.18)
9 Adler, Monica 10 Beverly TC 4:53.66 (4:35.24)
10 DiSomma, Claudia 13 Sparta TC 4:54.81 (4:35.59)
11 O'Keefe, Katherine 11 Newton Centr 4:55.14 (4:35.76)
12 Schappert, Stephanie 11 Una-Fl-Delra 4:55.86 (4:36.23)
13 Schmidt, Colleen 11 Holy Trinity TC 4:56.20 (4:36.23)
14 Hollowood, Keelin 12 Kinetic RC 4:56.27 (4:37.08)
15 Fineman, Melanie 10 Newton Centr 4:57.00 (4:37.05)
16 Sargent, Sara 13 Una-Pa-Yardl 4:57.80 (4:39.09)
17 Coogan, Katrina 11 Phillips Exeter TC 4:58.29 (4:37.64)
18 Amaral, Joelle 11 Randolph Tc-Nj 4:58.40 (4:37.81)
19 Patrignelli, Megan 10 Wilson Memor 4:58.66 (4:40.57)
20 Lautzenheiser, Kathleen 10 Midlothian TC 4:59.33 (4:38.38)
21 Neer, Waverly 11 Culver TC 4:59.99 (4:40.95)
22 Poretta, Alanna 10 Pentucket Reg TC 5:00.05 (4:41.18)
23 Beattie, Kayla 11 Woodstock Tc-Il 5:01.89 (4:42.27)
24 Niblock, Katie 10 Una-Ny-Tonaw 5:03.30 (4:43.43)
25 O'Brien, Dena 10 Una-Al-Pelha 5:04.35 (4:42.69)
26 Bellon, Brianne 10 Kinetic RC 5:05.26 (4:42.20)
27 Nerud, Brianna 12 North Shore RC 5:05.81 (4:46.07)
28 Brown, Hannah 12 Blacksburg TC 5:05.85 (4:46.82)
29 Kerr, Lindsay 10 Northwestern 5:06.88 (4:46.94)
30 Fitchett, Leah 10 Blacksburg TC 5:08.09 (4:47.29)
31 Walker, Katherine 10 Brooke Point-Gir 5:08.15 (4:47.34)
32 Barry, Sarah 10 Una-Ri-Barri 5:08.23 (4:48.84)
33 Dulac, Madeline 11 McDonogh TC 5:10.14 (4:50.78)
34 Dent, Alexandria 10 Una-Wv-Scott 5:10.40 (4:50.24)
35 Harrington, Sophia 10 Conard TC 5:10.68 (4:51.05)
36 Davis, Kaitlyn 10 Mountain View TC 5:11.67 (4:50.97)
37 Rehn, Katherin 10 Una-Il-Weste 5:11.85 (4:50.33)
38 Dorrell, Sarah 11 Blacksburg TC 5:13.08 (4:52.04)
39 Hoevet, Katherine 12 Ann Arbor Ytc 5:20.85 (4:59.69)
40 Sanders, Mary Katherine 10 Western Branch TC 5:25.35 (5:02.64)
-- Maher, Sophie 12 Carmel TC DNF
-- Rowe, Hannah 10 St. Johnsbur DNS
-- Strasser, Stephanie 12 Una-Fl-Ferna DNS
-- Walsh, Lindsay 10 Swampscott TC DNS
-- Kvartunas, Paige 10 West Springfield TC DNS
-- Cuffe, Aisling 11 Una-Ny-Cornw DNS

VU Signee FitzSimons goes 1:51.94 and 4:07.6 at Nike Indoor Nationals

Villanova signee Chris FitzSimons owned the USA high school #1 times at 600 meters and 1000 meters this indoor season. Splitting the difference, Chris ran the 800 meters at the Nike Indoor Nationals this weekend. His 1:51.94 was good for third, as the top three preps finished within one second. Also, FitzSimons anchored the USA #1 Hamden High School DMR team to a victory at the NIN meet. He took the baton in 6th place and proceeded to run a 4:07.6 1600 split for the win. Overall an excellent weekend. Here are the results:


2010 Nike Indoor Nationals - 3/12/2010 to 3/14/2010
Reggie Lewis Sports and Athletic Center
Boston, MA

Event 7 Boys 800 Meter Run
======================================================
Sections 1 through 8 on March 14 at 8:45am
Sections 9 and 10 on March 14 at 2:51pm
National: N 1:49.21 3/15/2009 Robby Andrews, Manalapan, N
Meet: M 1:51.63 3/11/2007 Alex Mostrag, Fork Union M.
Freshman: ( 1:55.45 2005 Andrew Perkins, Watertown,
Sophomore: R 1:51.11 1994 Michael Granville, Bell Gar

Junior: J 1:50.55 3/12/1995 Michael Granville, Bell Gar
Senior: $ 1:49.21 3/15/2009 Robby Andrews, Manalapan, N
Name Year School Finals
======================================================
Finals

1 Kostelac, Anthony 10 Albemarle 5 Guys 1:50.96R
2 Kaiser, Nick 11 Mule Pack TC 1:51.34M
3 FitzSimons, Chris 10 Hamden TC 1:51.94(
4 Mallon, Tom 10 Chalfont-War 1:53.04(
5 Quercia, Michael 10 Marcellus TC 1:53.16(
6 Jones, Byron 10 Una-Ma-Westb 1:53.85(
7 Ledder, Bill 10 Una-Va-Falls 1:54.13(
8 Endress, Wade 11 Altoona Area TC 1:54.21(
9 Bell, Ford 10 Una-Tn-Brent 1:54.38(
10 Gornall, Jordan 11 Una-In-Helto 1:54.52(
11 Stevens-Carty, Henry 10 Una-Ga-Kenne 1:54.58(
12 Watkins, Zavon 12 Liverpool Tc-Boys 1:54.65(
13 Jiak, Bumkoth 10 Jamesville-D 1:54.70(
14 Byrne, Kevin 11 Runner's High RC 1:54.80(
15 Gunnerson, David 10 Grafton Runners 1:55.21(
16 Peterson, Pat 10 Gloversville TC 1:55.37(
17 Farag, Hamer 10 Una-Nj-Morri 1:55.71
18 O'Connor, Ryan 11 Una-Md-Owing 1:56.08
19 Magna, Brian 10 Canton Tc-Ct 1:56.11
20 Gisore, Antoine 10 Concord Tc-Nh 1:57.18
21 Tallerico, Thomas 11 Our Lady of 1:57.20
22 Decker, Luke 11 Jserra Tc-Ca 1:57.37
23 Bolinger, Charles 11 Blazin' Raid-Boy 1:57.56
24 Moran, Kyle 11 Glenside TC 1:57.72
25 Gorwitz, Brian 10 Grafton Runners 1:57.75





2010 Nike Indoor Nationals - 3/12/2010 to 3/14/2010
Reggie Lewis Sports and Athletic Center
Boston, MA

Event 29 Boys Distance Medley
======================================================
National: N 9:59.94 3/10/2000 Gloucester, Gloucester, MA
Meet: M 10:02.13 3/14/2009 Albemarle, Charlottesville
School Finals
======================================================
Finals

1 Hamden TC 10:07.58
1) Saba, Nick 10 2) Moye, Tevin 10
3) Whiting, Isiah 10 4) FitzSimons, Chris 10

2 Warwick TC 10:08.50
1) Paez, Daniel 11 2) Armand, Pierre 10
3) Ramirez, Daniel 10 4) Luthin, Timothy 11

3 Liverpool Tc-Boys 10:08.52
1) Clemons, Christopher 10 2) Savage, Colin 10
3) Watkins, Zavon 12 4) Wilke, Alex 10

4 Western Branch TC 10:09.06
1) Matais, George 10 2) Smith, Keenan 10
3) Cipcic, Cameron 11 4) Theroux, Blake 10

5 Breen TC 10:09.20
1) Yau, James 10 2) Murphy, Brian 10
3) Pienta, Brad 10 4) Atchoo, Michael 10

6 Deluge XC 10:09.25
1) Maughan, Scott 10 2) Taylor, David 10
3) Fernandez, Chris 10 4) Ubriaco, Otis 11

7 Grafton Runners 10:09.40
1) Gorwitz, Brian 10 2) Wallace, Joseph 12
3) King, Kyle 11 4) Gunnerson, David 10

8 Shenendehowa TC 10:16.14
1) Kimmey, Sam 10 2) Hildenbrandt, Zack 10
3) Jacobs, Adam 10 4) Harris, Dan 10

9 Kern TC 10:23.20
1) Kern, Nicholas 10 2) Cutler, Evan 11
3) Kern, Adam 10 4) Karr, Nathan 10

10 Toms River North Tc-Boys 10:23.49
1) Leskow, Aaron 10 2) Botti, Rob 10
3) MacNab, Brian 10 4) Kotran, Joe 10

11 Our Lady of Good Counsel 10:23.70
1) Colbert, Stephon 13 2) Graves, Kyle 10
3) Shokunbi, Fola 11 4) Tallerico, Thomas 11

12 Reservoir TC 10:24.51
1) Carrion, Jeff 10 2) Jackson, Ryan 10
3) Peterson, Jimmy 10 4) Schuler, Eric 11

13 Hoover HS 10:24.91
1) Taylor, Austin 10 2) Humphrey, Maudrecus 10
3) Marshall, Will 10 4) Propst, Bryan 11

14 Glastonbury Tc-Boys 10:26.63
1) Watson, Beecher 10 2) Holmes, Malcolm 11
3) Goff, Cameron 10 4) Pajor, Ryan 11

15 Union Catholic TC 10:27.26
1) Gingrich, Evan 11 2) Veiksans, Michael 11
3) Eke, Allen 12 4) Thornton, DJ 10

NCAA 3000: Reid a Valiant 3rd as Bizzarri takes Title

At the NCAA indoor championship meet, the women's 3000 meters turned out to be a great race. National leader Lisa Koll of Iowa State, who captured the 5k in dominant fashion, was looking to get her 2nd title in Arkansas. However, it was clear from the start that this victory was never going to come as easy as the 10-plus second romp in the 5k came for Koll on Friday. For starters, 3k is a little short for Koll, who runs the 10k outdoors. Secondly, Koll was facing much stiffer competition in a fresh Angela Bizzarri (Illinois), who of course was the NCAA cross-country champion last fall.

The expected duel between Bizzarri and Koll more than lived up the billing. Villanova's Sheila Reid also gamely tried to join the fight but fell off before the victory was decided over the last lap.

The pace was hot throughout the race, as Koll didn't want it to come down to a sprint. Clearly, she had right to believe she was the fittest runner in the race and she wanted to slowly grind the will out of her opponents. But Reid and Bizzarri didn't go quietly and with just over 200 to go, Bizzarri went to the lead. Was it over? No. Koll chased after and put on a game fight and tried to come back on Bizzarri after they came off the final turn, but Koll's surge came too late and Bizzarri had completed her own personal triple crown of having won three straight NCAA titles in three straight NCAA meets (5k outdoors 2009, cross-country 2009, indoor 3k).

In the process of winning her first NCAA indoor title, Bizzarri had run a huge PR, as her time of 8:57.40 smashed her previous best of 9:10.16. Koll ran well also, as her 8:57.52 was very close to her 8:56.09 PR and collegiate leader.

Villanova had three other finalists: Nicole Schappert joined Sheila Reid as a 3000 meter all-american, thanks to her 6th place finish. Bogdana Mimic was 12th and Ali Smith was 16th.

Finals
1 Angela Bizzarri SR Illinois 8:57.40 10
2 Lisa Koll SR Iowa State 8:57.52 8
3 Sheila Reid JR Villanova 9:01.13 6
4 Jackie Areson SR Tennessee 9:10.09 5
5 Nicole Blood SR Oregon 9:11.23 4
6 Nicole Schappert SR Villanova 9:12.51 3
7 Bridget Franek SR Penn State 9:12.62 2
8 Emily Infeld SO Georgetown 9:13.22 1
9 Marie Lawrence SO Washington 9:14.53
10 Beverly Ramos SR Kansas State 9:16.23
11 Jessica O'Connell SO West Virginia 9:18.78
12 Bogdana Mimic FR Villanova 9:18.87
13 Janet Jesang SR Western Kentucky 9:20.60
14 Betzy Jimenez JR Texas 9:21.18
15 Alex Becker SR Tulsa 9:21.78
16 Alison Smith JR Villanova 9:25.22

Rhines 2nd at Gate River Run 15K

This race in Jacksonville, FL served as the USA 15K championship. The folks at LetsRun.com described it this way:

With this year's race once again featuring the Equalizer Bonus, the elite women's race started five minutes before the rest of the field. At the start, clear, cool conditions met more than 13,000 runners as McGregor and two-time champion Jen Rhines (Mammoth, Calif.), 2006 champion Blake Russell (Monterey, Calif.), 2008 Olympian Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.) and 2004 Olympian Colleen De Reuck (Boulder, Colo.) led more than 45 of the top U.S. women through the opening miles.

By five miles, McGregor and Rhines had pulled away from the field and were in a two woman race for the championship. Approaching six miles, McGregor made her move and began to pull away from Rhines.

As she made her way up the famous Hart Bridge, McGregor steadily extended her lead and cruised to the finish 36 seconds ahead of Rhines. Boulet held on to take third in 50:38 as De Reuck took fourth in 50:50 and Rebecca Donaghue (State College, Pa.) finished fifth in 51:12.

Here are the top 10 women finishers:

2010 - Gate River Run

Katie McGregor - Minneapolis, MN 29 49:51
Jen Rhines - Mammoth Lakes, CA 35 50:27
Magdalena Lewy-Boulet - Oakland, CA 36 50:39
Colleen De Reuck - Boulder, CO 45 50:51
Rebecca Donaghue - Happy Valley, PA 34 51:13
Renee Metivier-Baillie - Boulder, CO 28 51:37
Blake Russell - Pacific Grove, CA 34 51:46
Amy Hastings - Mammoth Lakes, CA 26 51:55
Lindsey Anderson - South Ogden, UT 24 51:56
Kelly Jaske - Portland, OR 33 51:58

Games Liquori Played

Here is an excert from Russ Ebbets' insiders book about the Villanova track program in the early-to-mid 1970s. Ebbets joined the track program during the halcyon days of Coghlan, Schappert and Hartnett, and his short book, Supernova (Off The Road Press, 1995) relates many interesting stories (some true, some merely legendary). This one about Liquori has been validated externally.

Belmont Plateau's exact distance was never known. It was dismissed as five miles but privately everyone felt that it was closer to 5.2. The course was generally a minute slower than Van Cortlandt. Marty Liquori and Donal Walsh ran 25:12 the same year they were running low 24s at Van Cortlandt. Therein lies the story that Jay Brown swore to me was true.

Fairmont Park is a long nine-mile drive down Montgomery Avenue from campus. There was a red light every block and it could easily take 30 minutes or more if your timing was off.

Villanova's fall cross country schedule began with several easy dual meets, the Big Five meet, the IC's and the NCAA's. The dual meets were against St. Joe's or Temple. We never lost. There never was much emphasis placed on these meets. They always seemed to be little more than a team time trial. The opponent usually had one good runner that cracked the top seven. The outcome was never in doubt.

Marty Liquori, by his senior year, was firmly established as one of the top distance runners in America, if not America's premier miler. His credentials were impressive. He was the last of three high school milers to break four minutes and made the Olympic team by beating Villanova great Dave Patrick. Liquori was an Olympic finalist at age 19 and the conqueror of Jim Ryun in two highly publicized duels.

Now imagine you are from St. Joe's or Temple or Penn and you are a good college distance runner. But this Saturday you are racing one of the best guys in the world. What do you tell your girl friend? What do you tell your friends? How do you feel going to the line?

This was not lost on Liquori. He figured that if his opponent was expecting a superhuman performance, the worst thing he could do was let him down. So he decided to play a joke.

The day Liquori ran 25:12 at Belmont he almost missed the race. He got one of his buddies to drive down Montgomery Avenue and drop him off about three miles from the park. The friend was then to drive to Belmont and tell a few people that Marty was jogging in from campus, a nine-mile warm up.

It got to be race time -- no Liquori. Both teams had their sweats off and were getting final race directions -- no Liquori. The Villanova guys are not so concerned; we had a cast of thousands. The St. Joe's guys seemed disappointed. Jumbo is about ready to lose his mind and coach Frier his job over -- no Liquori.

And then, with a flair for the dramatic, from over the first hill jogs Liquori, blue sweats, gold letters, racing shoes in hand, gliding down the hill with long graceful strides. All the while he had been jogging back and forth just out of view, waiting, waiting for the correct time to make his entrance.

They held the race up for several minutes. Jumbo delivered some stern looks. Frier said some prayers. And not being in on the joke, the team could not believe Liquori was going to run Belmont, the hardest cross country course there was, with a nine-mile warm up. But he did.

And he won and the time stands as one of the fastest times ever run on the course. His story done, Jay Brown would lean back his chair on two legs and state with great satisfaction, "It's the stuff of which legends are made."

NCAA Indoor Championship Qualifiers

The NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held on March 12-13 at the Randall Tyson Track Complex at the University of Arkansas. The list of accepted entries has been released by the NCAA and here are Villanova's national meet qualifiers:

Individual, Event & Seed

1. Sheila Reid................3000 meters #2
2. Bogdana Mimic ...........3000 meters #4
3. Nicole Schappert .........3000 meters #12
4. Ali Smith ..................3000 meters #16
6. Nicole Schappert .........Mile #4

Relays, Team Members & Seed

1. Men's DMR:
Carl Mackenzie, Garrett Kroner, Cody Harper, Mathew Mildenhall #8
2. Women's DMR:
Nicole Schappert, Christie Verdier, Ariann Neutts, Sheila Reid #2

VU Cross Women: Scholar Team of the Year

Villanova Named Division I Women’s Cross Country Scholar Team of the Year

Tom Lewis, USTFCCCA
March 5, 2010

NEW ORLEANS – Villanova University’s women’s cross country team is the 2009 NCAA Division I USTFCCCA Women’s Cross Country Scholar Team of the Year, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Friday. The Scholar Team of the Year distinction goes to the program that earned All-Academic Team honors and placed the highest among the field at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

Villanova won their eighth NCAA Women’s Cross Country title in November, defeating runner-up Florida State 86-133. Head Coach Gina Procaccio’s Wildcats also claimed the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region title and Big East crown in 2009. In addition, the squad members carried a 3.38 cumulative grade point average after the fall 2009 semester.

Alabama leads All-Academic Team honorees with a cumulative team GPA of 3.86. Missouri State is next on the list at a 3.81 GPA. A record total of 176 Division I women’s programs received USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors, up from 2008’s total of 162.

Nine of the top 10 and 18 of the top 20 teams at the NCAA Cross Country Championships earned the honor. In addition, regional champions from all nine NCAA regions claimed All-Academic honors.

The Big East led all conferences with 13 squads mentioned as All-Academic recipients. The SEC and Big Ten each scored 10 teams on the honor roll.

For a team to be considered for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, they must have competed and compiled a team score at an NCAA Regional Championship and also have a minimum 3.00 team cumulative GPA.

Paul Drayton, RIP

March 3, 2010

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Former Villanova University track & field standout Otis Paul Drayton has passed away at the age of 70 after a battle with cancer.

A 1962 graduate of Villanova, Drayton ran track at Villanova from 1960-62. Drayton earned an Olympic gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Games when he ran a leg on the winning 400 meter relay squad. That relay team set a world record with a time of 39.0 He also garnered a silver medal at the 1964 Games with a second place finish in the 200 meter dash.

Drayton holds the second fastest time in Villanova history in both the 100 yard dash (9.2) and the 220 yard dash (20.1). On October 7, 1995, Drayton was part of the first class of track honorees to be inducted into the Villanova Wall of Fame.

Blincoe opens with 13:26.10 in Melbourne

Adrian Blincoe ran his first 5000 of the season today in Melbourne. It was also his first 5000 since the Beijing Olympics. Blincoe's 13:26.10 was good enough for third and represents a good start to 2010. As a Kiwi, Blincoe is aiming toward peaking in October, when the Commonwealth Games will be held. A post-race video is provided below, as well as the race results.

Visit nzrun.com for more Videos

Melbourne Track Classic

5000 Metres

1 Baddeley , Andrew GBR 13:20.85
2 Komen , Jonathan Kipkoech KEN 13:25.46
3 Blincoe , Adrian NZL 13:26.10
4 St.Lawrence , Ben AUS 13:26.91
5 Birmingham , Collis AUS 13:33.44
6 Adams , Liam AUS 13:45.73
7 Perrett , Clinton AUS 13:46.22
8 Draper , Mark GBR 13:55.03
9 Dessaix-Chin , Russell AUS 14:09.86
10 Craigie , Alan AUS 14:18.49
11 Page , Tim AUS 14:27.21
12 Engler , Dale AUS 14:31.33
13 Toomey , Benjamin AUS 14:33.65
14 Crowther , Samuel AUS 14:37.73
15 Krawitz , Shaaun NZL 14:52.45
16 Kelly , Stephen AUS 14:58.08
Woolhouse , Jason NZL DNF

Recruiting at Villanova: Interview with Marcus O'Sullivan

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

Jen Rhines 10th at World's Best 10K

Yesterday in San Juan, Puerto Rico Jen Rhines finished 10th in a loaded field for the World's Best 10K road race. Jen ran 33:26 and won $1,000 for her efforts. At 35 years of age, Rhines shows no real sign of slowing down -- she was at least 7 years older than the next two oldest runners ahead of her. When her career is over, she will go down as the second most accomplished female runner ever to have worn a Villanova singlet, behind only the incomparable Sonia O'Sullivan. Here's the top 15 female finishers, with their overall finish in the race. Jen was the first American female finisher.

1 (15) CHERUIYOT , VIVIAN KENYA, 26 5:01 31:07
2 (16) JEPKOSGEI KEITANY , MARY KENYA, 28 5:01 31:09
3 (18) TUNE , DIRE ETHIOPIA, 24 5:06 31:40
4 (20) ABEYLEGESSE , ELVAN TURKEY, 27 5:09 31:58
5 (22) JEPKOSGEI KIPTOO , JANE KENYA, 27 5:10 32:06
6 (23) CHEPTANUI KILEL , CAROLINE KENYA, 28 5:13 32:20
7 (27) FIKADU , BELAYNESH ETHIOPIA, 22 5:18 32:50
8 (31) ZEMEDKUN , BELAYNESH KENYA, 22 5:22 33:16
9 (32) WUDE AYALEW , YMER ETHIOPIA, 22 5:22 33:18
10 (34) RHINES , JENNIFER USA, 35 5:23 33:26
11 (36) TUFA , MESTAWET ETHIOPIA, 23 5:25 33:38
12 (41) MONTILLA HERNANDEZ , MARIA VENEZUELA, 31 5:35 34:38
13 (43) ALLEN , LINDSAY USA, 23 5:36 34:43
14 (50) ARMSTRONG , MEGHAN USA, 24 5:40 35:09
15 (55) ANDERSEN , KASSI USA, 26 5:44 35:32

Ex-Cat Curley wins Gasparilla Half Marathon

Recent Villanova graduate Steve Curley (class of 2009) yesterday won the Gasparilla Distance Classic Half Marathon in 1:11:47, finishing two minutes clear of the second-place finisher. Curely took the lead at the one mile mark and was never headed. Here are the top five male finishers, and the article from today's Tampa Tribune.

Steve Curley 01:11:47
Jason Drudge 01:13:38
Henry Melius 01:14:48
Chris Calkins 01:15:04
Justin Montgomery 01:15:10


Curley, Rejimbal win Half Marathon

By JEFFREY JONES
Tribune correspondent

Tampa Tribune
March 1, 2010

TAMPA - The winner of the Gasparilla men's half marathon, Steve Curley, lives in Orlando, but when it comes to running in cold weather, as was the case during Sunday's race, the temperature was not a factor.

"It was a little cold for Florida, but I'm used to it, because I ran at Villanova and at Philadelphia," Curley said. "This is a beautiful course, and the crowd out here and the runners are really supportive and encouraging the whole way."

Curley, 23, had no trouble with the bone-chilling wind as he crossed the finish line in 1:11:47, in his first attempt at the Gasparilla Half Marathon presented by Sports Authority.

And for Curley, not a lot of training went into Sunday's race which requires a lot of mileage from a runner, but success in the past during long-distance races made for an easy decision to enter the event.

"I've done a bunch of 5ks, 10ks, that's mainly it - that's about seven or eight races total in a six-month period," Curley said. "I saw this race coming up, I've always succeeded better in longer distance stuff, so I decided to try it out, and I had fun with it today. Hopefully I'll be back; I like it a lot."

During the race, Curley wasn't challenged much and found himself in the driver's seat early on.

"After the first mile I took the lead, trying to maintain a 5:20 pace, and I was able to do that," he said. "I started cramping up a little bit during the last three miles, started hurting a little bit, but I kind of expected that."

Born in Syracuse, N.Y., Curley moved to Orlando at 8, and during high school was a standout athlete for Trinity Prep in both cross country and track, winning a state title in the 4x100, and a runner-up in state cross country his senior year.
Curley attended Villanova and had success as long-distance runner, thanks mainly to great assistance from an experienced teacher.

"As a team we made nationals in cross country my senior year," Curley said. "My coach was Marcus O'Sullivan, he taught me a lot, and helped me understand how to train for races like this."

Henry Melius, 20, of Daytona Beach finished second in Sunday's race, while Chris Calkins, 29, of St. Augustine was third.

The top local man was Anthony Pavicic, 27, from Sterling Heights, placing 10th.

Terry Rejimbal, 41, of Tampa was the top female finisher and masters champion in the Gasparilla half marathon, and in doing so successfully defended her title from last year.

And unlike the marathon woman's champ, Melissa Gacek, who veered off the course unintentionally, Rejimbal realized right away that runners were going in the wrong direction, and quickly made amends.

"We realized we were off track, and then we got back on track and I realized I was still on pace," Rejimbal said. "I didn't lose really anything, but I don't know where the lead vehicle took (some runners) - but they were really upset.

"It's too bad that it happened, but its also the runner's responsibility to know the course."

Rejimbal used the incident as a motivator, and ended up with a PR time of 1:22:18, better than her previous year when she was also the champ.

"I'd rather be the underdog any day," Rejimbal said. "Defending your title is much more stressful."

Rejimbal, who has participated in the Gasparilla half marathon five times, won the Jamaica Marathon, PRing in that race with a time of 3:56.

Finishing second in Sunday's race was Jessica L. Crate, 24, of Melbourne in 1:23:06, and in third place was Lindsey Mills, 28, of Denver in 1:25:02.