Foot Locker Northeast Regional 2007

Every year the Northeast puts out some incredible distance talent, but this fall may be the greatest collection of distance talent seen in some time. Between Doug Smith, Brett Johnson and Solomon Haile, the boys have strong front runners, while the girls follow the lead of Foot Locker veterans Emily Lipari, Emily Jones and Shelby Greany. Come late-November and early-December the Northeast may be looking at national champions at Nike Cross Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals.

 FLNE Girls race winner Neely Spence (PA)The best of the best in Northeast came together at Van Cortland Park two weeks ago at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional.  The top ten boys and the top ten girls each qualified for Foot Locker Nationals this coming weekend in San Diego.  See who qualified and what they have accomplished.

Race Videos FLNE Boys Seeded FLNE Girls Seeded NTN Boys NY NTN Girls NE NTN Boys NE NY Girls Video (Quicktime) FLNE Interviews Pat Dupont Josh McDougal Zach Rivers Mary Kate Champagne Donn Cabral Neely Spence Articles NTN Girls - Christopher Hunt NTN Boys - Christopher Hunt FLNE - The Back Hills - Geoff Decker FLNE - Surge and Survive - Aaron Rich FLNE - Meet Summary - Geoff Decker Weekend Highlights - Tim Fulton Photo Galleries NTN - Boys NY - Girls NY - Boys NE - Girls NE FLNE - Boys Seeded - Girls Seeded

Mike Fout (IN) wins the FL Midwest boys raceThe best of the best congregated at the Foot Locker Midwest, Northeast and South Regional courses Saturday to prove just who belongs in San Diego in two weeks time for nationals.  Each region showed talent, and a few surprises took place.  Check out our full coverage inside of each region. TONS of videos and pictures of FL South and FL Northeast.Race WinnersMidwest: Mike Fout (IN) & Claire Durkin (OH)Northeast: Donn Cabral (CT) & Neely Spence (PA)South: Colby Lowe (TX) & Kathy Kroeger (TN) 

On a cold but calm morning at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York seniors Donn Cabral, of Glastonbury, Conn., and Neely Spence, of Shippensburg, Pa., won the Northeast regional qualifier and earned invitations to the prestigious Footlocker National Cross Country Championships in San Diego on December 9th. The Pennsylvania girls win the team title, with the New York boys dominant in that race.

Northeast Foot Locker & NTN CoverageNTN NE LINKS Story: Maybe next year for the PA state champs from Emmaus - by Don RichRace Video: Boys Northeast (by Craig Lowthert) | Girls Northeast (by Craig Lowthert)  Race Video: Boys Northeast | Girls Northeast  Photo Gallery: PA athletes at NTN Northeast NTN Highlights: Performances by PA teams   Foot Locker NE LINKSStory: The Back Hills - by Geoff Decker Story: Surge and Survive - by Aaron Rich Story: Meet Summary by - Geoff Decker   Video interviews: Neely Spence - Carly Seymour, Mark Dennin, Chris Aldrich Video Podcasts: Vince McNally - Kacey Gibson Race Video: Seeded Girls | Seeded Boys Photo Gallery: Seeded Races on ArmoryTrackPhoto Gallery: Seeded Races - PA OnlyFL Highlights: PA Runners in top 21 of Class RacesFL Highlights: Seeded Races Top Ten Below: FLNE #1 PA Team (Hamond, Cygan, Gibson, Seymour, Spence)   Northeast Meet Summary On a cold but calm morning at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York seniors Donn Cabral, of Glastonbury, Conn., and Neely Spence, of Shippensburg, Pa., won the Northeast regional qualifier and earned invitations to the prestigious Footlocker National Cross Country Championships in San Diego on December 9th... The Back Hillsat Vanny Van Cortlandt Park’s famed back hills are somewhat of a mystery to spectators. Few, if any people witness the action on the isolated loop at VCP because they will likely miss the rest of the race in its entirety. Yet it is where the most crucial moves are made. It is where races are won…and lost. One thing is for sure: rarely is the order of the race heading into the back hills the same coming out...Surge and Survivein the girls' seeded race Anticipation and adrenaline filled the air as the elite girls began their quest for a nationals berth.  The excitement led to a very fast opening 800 meters of 2:33.  As the pace began to relax, Pennsylvania's Carly Seymour began a surge to break the race open over the first series of hills.Maybe next year for the PA state champs from Emmaus It wasn't just the fact that they're high school kids. It wasn't that they weren't disappointed they had not earned one of the automatic bids to the 2007 Nike Team Nationals. And it wasn't the fact that they aren't experienced in the sport. After all, in two years together, they had a state runner-up trophy and a state championship trophy in the PIAA AAA state cross country championships. What it was, according to their coach, was a recognition that they had had a great year; that they will all be back next year for another try; and that getting 5th in the Northeast NTN Regional on Saturday November 24th was a pretty cool accomplishment after all. 

Photos from the Seeded Races at the 2007 Foot Locker Northeast Regionals @ Van Cortlandt Park, New York City

Hanover's Georgia Griffin leads the way for her squadWith many teams in the Northeast opting to not run Nike Team National Regionals Saturday in New York, the fields are quite small when compared to some other regions.  The Northeast and New York Regionals are combined, which makes the day seem a little bit brighter.  The race of the day comes in the New York girls championship race where three U.S. Power Rankings ranked teams are entered, led by U.S. #1 Fayetteville-Manlius.  See who else is competing!

This is the big weekend for athletes and teams from Pennsylvania hoping to advance to Foot Locker Nationals December 8th in San Diego, and to Nike Team Nationals on December 1st in Portland, Oregon. There are two returning Foot Locker finalists, and a few girls who have been close, and this year have a great chance of advancing. And in the first year of the regional race for Nike Team Nationals, the top two PA boys teams and top-ranked girls team are aiming for the 4th NTN. As always, our previews are merely a guide, and NOT predictions. Our sister site ArmoryTrack.com of the MileSplit Network will be providing complete coverage of the NTN regional at Wappinger Falls, NY, while the PennTrackXC.com team will cover the Foot Locker regional at Van Cortlandt Park in da Bronx.

 Where do journeys begin? How do they begin? The answer is different for everyone. But for the Road to San Diego we are not concerning ourselves with everyone. We are focusing on the top PA talent in cross country, as they continue their trek to qualify for the Footlocker National Championships in San Diego, CA. They have one shot to make it...

 Neely Spence of Pennsylvania is the top girls returneeThe stars align at Van Cortland Park Saturday in New York.  The field is set with top talent going head to head, with only ten national berths in the boys and girls races up for grabs.  A lot of senior talent leads the way in both races, with a wealth of Foot Locker finalist talent in the girls race.

While most of the nation competed over the past few weeks, the Northeast starts a little slower.  With only one or two meets under each athletes belt, the Northeast rankings did not jump around as much this week.  The Pennsylvania girls, Neely Spence and Carly Seymour, are still 1-2, while Brandon Jarrett continues to lead the way on the boys side. 

 Always tough, the Northeast girls should perform well at Foot Locker once again.  With half the team from last year returning, and a pack of much improved runners from around the region, the Northeast should rise to the challenge once again in San Diego. 

With many of the top runners in the region graduating, the Northeast boys field is wide open.  A few experienced seniors lead the charge, such as: Sintayehu Taye, Brandon Jarrett and Donn Cabral.  After those three, there are no less than a dozen others that could finish as high up as fourth at Foot Locker Regionals in November.  It's a new year in the Northeast, so let the fun begin!

Nothing is more prestigious for a distance runner than qualifying for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.  The best of the best have annually competed in this event, making it the showcase of post-season competition.  This year, MileSplit.us will be ranking the top individuals in each region!

Photos by Don Rich, Geoff Decker and Aaron Rich from the Seeded Races at the 2007 Foot Locker Northeast Regional Championships @ Van Cortlandt Park, New York City