Brett Johnson

Marco Bertolotti spread his arms wide when the crossed he finish line. It was a meek celebration for a spectacular victory. The Port Washington junior could have just as easily been spreading his arms to hug the first person that would have him.

BOYS FIRST TEAM   Tyler Udland Millburn / Jr. Credentials: 1st @ MOC (15:40) Foot Locker Finalist (2nd Place) Group 3 Champion Holmdel Seasonal Best: 15:36 (Groups)           Joe Rosa West Windsor-Plainsboro No. / So. Credentials: Runner Up @ MOC 1st Place @ NXN NE Regional Holmdel Seasonal Best: 15:38 (Shore Coaches)               Sean Pohorence Morris Hills / Sr. Credentials: 3rd Place @ MOC NXN Individual Qualifier 16th Place (15:38) @ NXN Championship Holmdel Seasonal Best: 15:51 (MOC)              *To View Balance of 1st Team, 2nd Team and Group Teams,  Click on Headline * !st & 2nd Teams Selected by NJRunners Ranking Panel * To View Athlete Profiles, Click on Name  

If cold weather bothers Solomon Haile, it didn't appear to affect him yesterday in New York City and should bode well for his chances in San Diego.

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?

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.

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.

With the track and field season coming to an end, and teams across the land getting coming into the heart of their summer cross country training, we take a look forward towards the fall and what lies ahead. To kick-off our 2008-2009 cross country coverage we take a look at the top ten male returnees, which includes a trio of Colorado athletes, all of whom are Foot Locker National returnees as well. While athletes like German Fernandez, Mike Fout, Chris Derrick, Colby Lowe and Luke Puskedra have all moved on, a new class of distance talent is ready to take over and create their own legacy. (Pictured left: Colorado's Bobby Nicolls is the top Foot Locker returnee)

**Christine Babcock (Woodbridge, CA) Runs 4:16.42 to Break Prep 1500m Record!!! Full Results **Rob Finnerty (Burnsville, MN) Runs Mile in 4:01.09 at Midwest Distance Gala, U.S. #7 A-T!!! Full Results **Jeff Demps (South Lake, FL) Blazes 10.03w for 100m!!! The New York State T&F Championships lead the way in this weekend's highlight section. The last state meet of the year kicked off Friday with some excellent results. In the girls 400m hurdles, Dalilah Muhammad (Benjamin Cardoza, NY) bested Elizabeth Mott (New Rochelle, NY) over the final hurdle to beat Mott with a new U.S. #1 time of 57.81. Mott's time of 58.01 earned her the U.S. #2 spot. More results and highlights inside and coming throughout the weekend. Top Boys Weekend Highlights - Rob Finnerty (MN) 4:01.09 mile at the MDG Results / Video / Splits - Jeff Demps (FL) runs a 10.03 (2.2 wind) against elite competition - Ryan Fleck (OH) clears 7-02 HJ at Midwest Meet of Champs., U.S.#2 - John Guagenti (OH) blazes 46.95 for 400m at Midwest MOC - Walter Luttrell (OH) breaks nine for 3200m in 8:59.81 effort at MMOC - David Slovenski (ME) soars 16-09 in boys pole vault at NE Champs. - Brett Johnson (NJ) runs 4:08.51 mile, breaking NJ jr. class record - Albert Johnson (NY) NY State victories of 48-07.50 TJ, 23-02.75 LJ Top Girls Weekend Highlights - Christine Babcock (CA) 4:16.42 1500m, U.S.#1 all-time Results - Becky O'Brien (ME) U.S.#1 shot put in 51-06.50 at NE Champs. - Meshawn Graham (OH) runs 53.56 for 400m at Midwest MOC - Candyce McGrone (IN) 11.78 100m, 23.65 200m at MMOC - Dalilah Muhammad (NY) blazes 57.81 in 400mH at NY State, U.S.#1 - Elizabeth Mott (NY) second in 400mH with 58.01 effort, U.S.#2 - Emily Lipari (NY) wins 3k at NY State in 9:37.53, 1500m in 4:30.58 Top Meets of the Weekend: Midwest Distance Gala / Midwest Meet of Champions / New England T&F Championships / NY State T&F Championships / Caribbean Scholastic Invitational

What a fantastic weekend it's been. Big championship style invitationals (Golden South, Golden West, Great Southwest) state meets (Ohio, Minnesota, New Hampshire, etc.) and the prestigous Prefontaine Classic hosted great high school competition all weekend long. A handful of U.S. top ten all-time performances took place, including Ryann Krais' (pictured left by Alan Versaw) U.S. #2 all-time heptathlon. **Chanelle Price (PA) runs 2:01.61 in Pre Classic 800m, U.S. #2 All-Time!!! **Laura Roesler (ND) runs 2:03.08 for 800m in California, U.S. #8 All-Time!!! **Jacquelyn Coward (TN) blazes 13.00 100m hurdles at Great Southwest, U.S. #2 All-Time!!! **Ryann Krais (PA) scores 5522 points at Great Southwest in heptathlon, U.S. #2 All-Time!!! Top Boys Weekend Highlights - Luke Puskedra (UT) runs 8:46.41 in Prefontaine Classic two-mile - D'Angelo Cherry (GA) blazes 10.16w in 100m at Golden West - Trotwood-Madison (OH) runs 1:25.44 4x2, 3:13.46 4x4 at OH State - Zach Wills (OH), only a freshman, wins OH State 3200m in 9:15.34 - Zachary Mellon (MN) runs 1:49.69 800m at MN State, U.S.#3 - Apple Valley (MN) wins 4x800 at MN State in U.S.#4 of 7:45.31 - Curtis Beach (NM) wins Great SW decathlon with 7262 points - Nick Vena (NJ) beats Mike Alleman (NJ) with 65-03.50 SP in NJ - Brett Johnson (NJ) runs 56.5 last lap to win NJ 1600m in 4:09.03 Top Girls Weekend Highlights - Alitta Boyd (CA) leaps 42-00 TJ, 19-06.25 LJ at Golden West - Ebony Eutsey (FL) blazes U.S.#1 400m in 53.23 at Golden West - Ryann Krais (PA) wins 300mH in 41.20 at Great Southwest - Hannah Carson (AZ) throws 160-11 javelin at Great Southwest - Three Texas high jumpers clear 6-00 at Great Southwest - Meshawn Graham (OH) runs U.S.#2 400m at OH State in 53.30 - Aareon Payne (OH) blazes 11.78 100m, 23.88 200m at OH State - Jillian Smith (NJ) runs U.S.#3 800m of 2:05.26 in NJ, U.S.#3 - Melanie Thompson (NJ) wins NJ MOC 3200m in 10:17.18, U.S.#5 Meet Pages & Results: Great Southwest T&F Classic - NJ Meet of Champions