Chariho High School set a lofty standard for the week when their 4x800m relay team cruised past the Rhode Island state record of 8:04.09 set in 2009 by South Kingstown.  The team of Drew Turner (2:02.4), Dan Kilcoyne (15:58.7), Bryce Kelley (1:58.6), and Mike Marsella (1:54.6) combined for a US#2 time of 7:54.3 to win the Charles Sweeney Last Chance meet.  They are the only team in New England to break the 8 minute barrier this season, but a slew of teams from the region have already run under 8:10.

Redman, who guided the Manchester boys track and field team to its first state title since World War II, will be honored at the 71st annual Gold Key Dinner on April 29 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.'  (via Manchester Patch')

David Oliver trains at ESPN Wide World of Sports at Disney World in Orlando with famed coach Brooks Johnson. He focuses on the fundamentals while looking toward the London Olympic Games. (via MileSplit United States)

New  York NY - The mile is a classic distance.  About 8 meters longer than the now standard 1600m, the mile recently has seen a movement encouraging its' return.  There is even a website dedicated to this very thing, petitioning high school sports to return to the classic distance.  And if there ever was any indication that the mile was still alive, the fields for the mile at the upcoming US Open and Millrose would be it.  See if your favorite made the cut. (via MileSplit New York)

Meet directors of the New Balance Grand Prix announced the high school fields on Wednesday afternoon, with the boys and girls mile races highlighting the prep action.  In years past, the race has focused on athletes from New England and the New York Metro area, but this year’s field has expanded to include athletes from as far away as North Carolina. 

Bloomfield boys indoor track and field coach Garfield White doesn't like taking anybody from the sport they love.That's not his job.  But the championship winning track coach does make sure to remind those athletes of one thing......(via Courant.com)

Show stopping relays were the order of the week with the Yale Track Classic and the Massachusetts Division meets providing ample competition to tear apart the rankings.  Some teams, like Marshfield (MA), had the luxury of doing both.  They participated in the MSTCA Division 2 Relays last weekend, and then traveled to Yale Friday where they unleashed a US#1 DMR time of 10:17.40.  That group was anchored by Joel Hubbard who split 4:14 for his mile leg.

CHICAGO (January 23, 2012) — In its 27th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade  Company, in collaboration with ESPNHS, today announced Connor Rog of Fairfield College Preparatory School as its  2011-12 Gatorade Connecticut Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.  Rog is the first Gatorade Connecticut Boys  Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Fairfield College Preparatory School.  

  Connor Rog of Fairfield Prep was recognized as one of the best distance runners on the East Coast today when it was announced today that he has qualified for the Millrose Mile.  The prestigious event will take place on February 11th at the Armory in New York and MileSplit will have full coverage of all the action.

The Mile holds a special place in Track & Field and beyond. No running distance, or field event for that matter, has the history, the appeal, the “magic” of the Mile. The first sub-4 minute mile by Great Britain’s Roger Bannister in 1954 is regarded as the greatest individual athletic achievement of the 20th century, and no other event has produced an equivalent of the sub-4 minute mile standard in the sport, in the media and in the public’s mind.

The DMR was king on Friday with eight teams entering the US top ten.  The Tatnall (DE) girls posted a US#2 time of 11:44.02 to lead a very talented field of challengers, and the Marshfield boys are now US#1 with their winning time of 10:17.40.

Women's track and field freshman Lindsay Crevoiserat (Glastonbury, Conn.) has been named the BIG EAST Track Athlete of the Week as announced by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon. (via www.uconnhuskies.com)

 It was a self-proclaimed breakout year for Amity senior Clark Shurtleff during the 2010-11 indoor track season. Shurtleff placed second in the 1,600 meters at both the Class LL state championship meet and at the State Open, earning him Register All-Area honors in the process.  (via Connecticut weekly)

  Jake Feinstein burst onto the scene last spring when he posted a 4:18.79 at the Danbury Dream Mile.  The time catapulted the Newton sophomore into the national rankings, and by the end of the year, he would rank 20th in the country for his class.  2012 appears to be just as promising.  Feinstein opened the season with a solid showing at the Millrose Games Trials and then posted an impressive double at the SCC Coaches Invitational. 

If it seems like Precious Holmes is mentioned in the New England rankings each week, you are right.  The Hillhouse (CT) junior continued her increasingly impressive streak with a US#2 time in the 300m (39.09), and a US#1 time in the 600m (1:32.61) at the SCC Coaches Invitational.  Both marks are also new state records.

BOSTON (Jan 17) – Distance star Galen Rupp and high hurdler David Oliver, both American Record-Holders, have confirmed their participation in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on February 4th, organizers announced today.

77 MileSplit National Elite marks were established at the very competitive SCC Coaches Invitational on Saturday.  Sarah Gillespie, Precious Holmes, and the Bloomfield 4x400 meter relay team continued their assault on the national rankings, posting top ten marks.

Joseph Velez of Classical High School continues his national dominance in the weight throw.  He was joined in the national rankings by fellow Rhode Island star Dakota Daily-Harrris of La Salle Academy who cleard 5'8" in the high jump for the second time this season.

Ryan Bak, a Suffield native and 2003 Trinity College graduate who lives in Bend, Oregon, will run in the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials Saturday (8 a.m.) in Houston. He is one of three runners from Connecticut to compete — Shannon McHale, 40, of Simsbury will run in the women's race; and Lucas Meyer, 28, of Ridgefield, will line up with Bak. (via Courant.com)  

CHICAGO (January 12, 2012) — In its 27th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN HS, today announced Reid Watson of Glastonbury High School as its 2011-12 Gatorade Connecticut Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.  Watson is the first Gatorade Connecticut Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Glastonbury High School. 

Florida’s men and Oregon’s women, both two-time defending NCAA Division I indoor track & field national champions, begin the 2012 season in familiar territory – as the nation’s No. 1 teams. The preseason national team computer rankings as calculated by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) projects the Gators and Ducks as the early paper favorites based largely on performance bests from returners. (via USTFCCCA)

When Carla Forbes enters the New England rankings she does it with a splash.  The Newton North junior was launching huge jumps at the Dartmouth Relays this past weekend, and her stellar performances that day resulted in a NE#1 ranking in both the long jump (19’4”) and the triple jump (40’10”).  Nationally, she is now ranked US#1 in the triple jump and US#3 in the long jump.  A key component to her success is runway speed, and Forbes demonstrated her aptitude with a NE#3 time of 7.31; finishing as the top American at Dartmouth.

For sixteen years, New England track fans have come to expect the world’s best middle distance and distance runners to go head-to-head on the oval at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.  This year those same fans will get an added treat.  On Feb. 4, the world’s top long sprinter, Kirani James, will take to the track at 400m at the 2012New Balance Indoor Grand Prix , organizers announced today.

Defending State Open and Class S champion in the 300 meters. … Ran 40.85 in the 300 meters as a junior after running track for just two seasons. … Ran anchor leg for Bloomfield's State Open winning 4x400 relay team last season. Team also earned All-America status after finishing fourth at Nationals, where it set a Connecticut record.  (via Courant.com)  

Jacob Edwards, originally of North Stonington, competed in the Philadelphia Marathon on Nov. 20 and finished 38th of 10,315 finishers in 2 hours, 38 minutes, 10 seconds. Edwards is the grandson of late former Boston Marathon champ Johnny Kelley of Mystic.

  The Dartmouth Relays is traditionally the first major invitational with regional implications. Teams from all six New England states are slated to participate, in addition to teams from New York and Canada.  MileSplit will follow all the action from the two day event, updating this page with the most recent performances.

Peter Rufo has made another impressive contribution to MileSplitMass and uploaded hundreds of photos from the MSTCA Holiday Challenge.  The photos from the meet can be found on the meet page, and you can purchase prints without the watermark at photos.peterrufo.com. They make great presents.

Two weeks ago we launched a New England rankings feature that allows fans to consolidate the stats from all six regional states.  Now, the same can be done for the meet calendar.  Both features are part of our expanded coverage of the region and can be accessed from any of the New England state sites. 

It was a big week for athletes from New England as an elevated level of competition at several major invitationals catapulted many to the top of the national rankings. 

Although there are exceptions, collegiate athletes generally have five years to get in four seasons of cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. Stretching an athlete's college career to five years can be beneficial for both the program and the runner--no matter if it's an NCAA contender or a hardworking up-and-comer--but there are plenty of variables to consider, including age, history of wellness, finances and even gender. (via Running Times)

Cheverus senior distance standout Emily Durgin has decided to continue her running career at the University of Connecticut. Durgin who is one of the finest high school distance runner ever to run in the state, had a great 4 career that saw her finish as the Class A state runner-up 3x in XC, as well as winning 2 New England XC titles, and never finishing lower than 3rd. Emily was also a 2009 Footlocker National finalist. (via MaineTrackXC)