Recruiting Target Brent Kennedy Makes Foot Locker Nationals
Western Pennsylvania's Brent Kennedy (New Kensington's Kiski Area high school) is squarely in Villanova's recruiting cross hairs. Villanova is competing against Syracuse, Notre Dame, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, all of whom are keen to land a commitment from Kennedy. We at Villanova Running showcased Kennedy recently HERE, at which point in time Kennedy had made campus recruiting visits to both Villanova and Syracuse. Since that post, which highlighted his runner-up performance at the Pennsylvania state cross country meet, Kennedy -- only a junior with another prep year remaining -- has gone on to qualify for Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego (see the top results of last weekend's Footlocker Northeast Regional below) by finishing 9th of 169 competitors at Van Cortlandt Park on November 24th. Commenting on the race, Kennedy admitted that "I thought if I went out too fast, things definitely wouldn't work out for me. I went out through the mile pretty far back and really wasn't feeling great, but people started to come back (to me) through the Back Hills. I pulled up into about 15th place at the two-mile (mark) and was able to get those last six spots."
Foot Locker Northeast Regional -- Top 10: Nationals Qualifiers
1.  Cheserek, Edward  12   Newark          NJ   15:21.8
2.  Green, Jonathan   12   Berlin          MA   15:36.8
3.  Wilson, Shawn     12   Marlton         NJ   15:42.5
4.  Shearn, Brendan   12   Frackville      PA   15:45.5
5.  Kroon, Kyle       11   Toms River      NJ   15:46.0
6.  Crawley, Trevor   12   Cumberland      RI   15:47.3
7.  Norris, Max       12   Narberth        PA   15:48.3
8.  Alvarado, Chris   11   Fairfield       CT   15:49.1
9.  Kennedy, Brent    11   New Kensington  PA   15:50.9
10.  Pondel, Austin    12   Columbus        PA   15:51.0
Today, Kennedy posted his first journal entry as he leads up to the national championship race on Saturday, December 8th.
What a season. I am truly honored to be part of such a historic year in PA cross country. I know the purpose of this journal is to share my training and race experiences and things like that, but I could not begin without thanking my family and coaches, Mr. Berzonsky and Mr. Arabia, for their complete dedication to maximizing my success as a person and a runner. Of course, a big thank you goes to my teammates for making running such a fun and enjoyable part of my life.
Our team set our sights on making it back to the state meet for the second year in a row. Though we came up short, it would be impossible to view the year as a failure. Our personal successes reflect the hard work from everyone top to bottom on the squad. I was lucky enough to have a legitimate shot at winning every race I was in, losing to Vinny Todaro and Dan Jaskowak in some exciting races. My friends Tyler Snider and Patrick Miller did come up big (like always) at WPIALs and joined me for states. I carried my WPIAL win into Hershey with some confidence before having my hopes squandered by a CR from Tony Russell, a great guy by the way. The finish was a bit of a letdown and I am for sure being hard on myself, but I do feel like there are a hundred other kids that deserve to be second in the state and I am not going to look past that accomplishment.
I headed into Foot Locker with some feelings of uncertainty. A new course, new competition, even new socks (lost the racing socks). Physically, after a long championship season, I felt sort of run-down. But you don’t want to hear me complain and it wasn’t all negative, believe it or not. I felt like I had a pretty good chance of making top ten with a smart race; my plan was to hang back through the flat first mile, then stay consistent through the woods.
A few minutes before the race, Conner Quinn welcomed me to a spot on the line next to a swarm of fellow Pennsylvania runners, and I heard Brendan Shearn screaming his head off at the other end of the line, “PA don’t play!” That really got me going and I was finally ready to run. The race played out for me like I had hoped. I went through the mile at 5 flat, moved my way into the top 20 by the two mile point, and then hammered the down hills to finish with Austin Pondell. I made that sound pretty easy I guess, but I am looking forward to the yearlong break before hitting the hills at Van Cortlandt again.
Running for a team, in my opinion, is the most inspirational part of any cross country race. Representing Pennsylvania at Regionals was an aspect of the race I hadn’t really thought about before. It is so cool that I get to run for my state and the Northeast Region in San Diego next week. I can’t wait to get these couple weeks of training going and see how I match up against 39 of the top runners in the country.
Posted by BC at 9:49 PM No comments:
Wilmington Tatnall's Julie Williams Commits to Villanova
On November 10th of this year Julie Williams of Wilmington, Delaware's Tatnall High School committed to run for Gina Procaccio's Villanova women's team. Williams committed after finishing second at the Delaware state cross country meet, where she ran 19:12.54 over the 5000 meter course. To date, Williams has found most success over 800, 1600, and 5000 meters.
Last weekend Williams finished 18th (for the second straight year) at the Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional in Cary, NC. At the race, she improved her time from 2011 (18:31.40) to 18:15.50, a new PR. In 2011 Williams qualified for Nike Cross Nationals, where she finished 120th. In late September of this year, she came 23rd at the Great American Cross Country Festival, also in Cary, NC, running 18:22.40.
On the track, Williams finished third at the 2012 Delaware State meets (both indoor and outdoor) in both the 800 meters and 1600 meters.
Julie's Mile Split page can be seen HERE. She presently boasts PRs of:
2:16.00 (800 meters)
4:55.07 (1600 meters)
10:27.47 (3000 meters
11:12.00 (3200 meters)
November 28th a Good Day for Villanova Track:
Happy Birthday to Sonia O'Sullivan & Bobby Curtis
Two of Villanova's all-time track heroes share November 28th as a birthday.
On this day in 1969 three-time world champion Sonia O'Sullivan was born in Cobh, Country Cork, Ireland. After winning two NCAA cross country individual titles (1991, 1992) as well as two NCAA 3000 meter titles (both indoors and outdoors in 1990) on the track for Villanova, O'Sullivan represented her native Ireland at four consecutive Olympic Games (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004). She won a silver medal over 5000 meters at the 2000 Games in Sydney, where she ran a blistering PR of 14:41.02. She won two world cross country titles (executing a rare short- and long-course double in 1998) as well as the 1995 world title in the 5000 meters on the track. She won a silver medal over 1500 meters as well at the 1993 World Championships. O'Sullivan was a three-time European Champion (over 3000, 5000, and 10,000 meters) and set World Records over 2000 meters (5:25.36 in July 1994), 2 miles (9:19.56 in June 1998), and 5000i meters (15:17.28 in January 1991). She is by virtually all accounts the greatest runner ever produced by the country of Ireland.
November 28th is also the birthday of Villanova's most recent male individual NCAA champion. The new 28 year old won the NCAA 5000 meter title in 2008 and his time of 13:33.93 was the 10th fastest time ever run by a US collegiate athlete over that distance. He was Villanova's first NCAA outdoor male champion since 1981. Curtis had been the 5000 meter runner-up at the 2007 NCAA championships. Curtis was a 2-time Big East cross country champion (2004, 2007), won the 2007 NCAA Mid-Atlantic cross country regional, and finished as high as 4th (2007) at cross country nationals. He was a 2-time All-American in cross country. After graduating from Villanova, Bobby Curtis has developed into an international-class 10,000 meter runner and his 27:24.67 PR is the 7th fastest time ever run by a native-born American.
Posted by BC at 8:42 AM No comments:
Koons & Beamish Post Top-5 Finishes at Rothman 8K
Hugo Beamish
Over 1800 competitors contested the Rothman 8K on the streets of Philadelphia on Saturday, and two former Villanova stars finished in the top five of their respective races. Former Rothman 8K race champion (2009 in 26:34) Frances Koons finished third, covering the 8K distance in 26:29, 47 seconds behind race winner Misiker Demassie of Ethiopia. On the men's side, Hugo Beamish, the former Big East 5000 meter champion, was one of 4 men to break Marcus O'Sullivan's 15 year old course record (23:03). Beamish came 4th in 23:02, 33 seconds behind Kenya's Isaac Korir. Former Villanova trackman Brandon Eck was 63rd in 28:41.
Rothman 8K -- Men
1.  Isaac Korir       KEN   22:29  CR
2.  Samuel Ndereba    KEN   22:47
3.  Scott Smith       USA   22:47
4.  Hugo Beamish      NZL   23:02
5.  Mengistu Nebsi    ETH   23:03
Frances Koons
Rothman 8K -- Women
1.  Misiker Demessie  ETH   25:46
2.  Amy Van Alstine   USA   25:59
3.  Frances Koons     USA   26:29
4.  Helen Jemutai     KEN   26:51
5.  Erin Koch         USA   27:18
Full searchable results from the race are HERE.
Posted by BC at 12:08 AM No comments:
Villanova Back in the Pack at NCAA Cross Nationals
Women Come 20th, Men 27th
Lipari earns All-American status with her 25th place finish
The Villanova men and women finished close to their national rankings at the NCAA cross country nationals yesterday: the #25 men finished in 27th place, while the #22 women came 20th. Neither team ran its best race of the year. For the men, the team's usual top two finishers (Sam McEntee and Jordy Williamsz) were the team's 3rd and 4th finishers. Topping the men's finishers were seniors Mathew Mildenhall (108th individually) and Matt Kane (145th individually). McEntee (150th) and Williamsz (161st) were next, and Rob Denault (166th) rounded out the top five. Alex Tully, on whose effort the Villanova men finished 2nd at Mid-Atlantic regionals, was unable to catch lightning in a bottle a second time. He came 198th, followed by Brian Basili in 234th place. As has been the case throughout the season, the men ran is a tight cluster, with a mere 26.7 seconds from 1-5. The good news for the men is that several key runners will return next year.
The full men's results are HERE.
Villanova Men 587 places
108/84    Mathew Mildenhall     30:50.0
145/116   Matthew Kane          31:04.6
150/120   Sam McEntee           31:06.6
161/131   Jordy Williamsz       31:12.8
166/137   Rob Denault           31:16.7
198/(153) Alex Tully            31:39.6
234/(197) Brian Basili          32:36.8
2000     3215     4950     6910     5 mi     10K
Mildenhall     5:49     9:24     14:47    20:56    24:35    30:50.0
Kane           5:57     9:38     15:08    21:12    24:57    31:04.6
McEntee        5:51     9:29     14:54    20:58    24:52    31:06.6
Williamsz      5:46     9:23     14:51    21:00    24:55    31:12.8
Denault        5:56     9:41     15:11    21:15    25:03    31:16.7
Tully          5:56     9:38     15:12    21:26    25:21    31:39.6
Basili         6:00     9:48     15:28    21:47    25:50    32:36.8
On the women's side, Emily Lipari put in the best performance of the day for either team, as she finished 25th overall, good for All American status. Lipari finished in 20:05.6, about 38 seconds off race winner Betsy Saina of Iowa State. Nicky Akande, who won the NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional a week ago, struggled on the day, finishing well back in 95th place overall, some 41 seconds behind Lipari. As she has done all year, Summer Cook was Villanova's no. 3 finisher, just 5 seconds in arrears of Akande. The women's 1-5 split was 1:13.6.
The full women's results are HERE.
Villanova Women 475 places
25/18    Emily Lipari          20:05.6
95/68    Nicky Akande          20:46.5
110/82    Summer Cook           20:51.7
173/136   Stephanie Schappert   21:19.2
209/171   Sydney Harris         21:34.1
219/(181) Megan Venables        21:40.9
240/(202) Courtney Chapman      22:04.5
2000     3022     6K
Lipari        6:27     9:53     20:05.6
Akande        6:34    10:06     20:46.5
Cook          6:39    10:12     20:51.7
Schappert     6:45    10:22     21:19.2
Harris        6:58    10:41     21:34.1
Venables      6:57    10:40     21:40.9
Chapman       6:49    10:37     22:04.5
Back in Philly, Koons Looks to Make a Mark
Villanova graduate Frances Koons looks forward to Rothman 8K
Jen A. Miller, For The Inquirer
When Frances Koons lists her reasons for running the 2012 Rothman 8K race on Saturday, she points out the same attributes that draw almost every other runner in the Philadelphia area.
"It's close, so we don't need to wake up early and drive somewhere," said Koons, 26, who lives in Ardmore, which is just shy of five miles away from Center City. "It's a nice, flat course."
What Koons leaves out is that she won the women's race in 2009 in 26 minutes, 34 seconds and that this will be her first return to the distance in three years.
Koons, an Allentown native, ran track at Allentown Central Catholic High School and then for Villanova. While at 'Nova, she was named an all-American eight times and racked up a first-place Big East finish in the 1,500 meters in 2006 and the 1,000 and mile indoor titles in 2007, along with first-place finishes in the distance-medley relay and the 4x800 relay.
"She's a very determined individual," said her coach, Marcus O'Sullivan, the director of Villanova's track and field program who still holds the course record for the Rothman 8K. He set the mark in 1997 at 23 minutes, 3 seconds.
Koons winning Ryan Shay Mile
"She's incredibly tough and very ambitious," he said.
O'Sullivan added that Koons is also "remarkably positive."
Case in point: When talking about injuries that have hampered her running career, Koons references plantar fasciitis, which is the thickening of tissue on the bottom of the foot followed by a stress fracture, not a 2007 bout with clear-cell renal carcinoma.
A golf-ball-size tumor was removed from her kidney in the summer of 2007. She took six weeks off and was back in running shape in time for the 2008 U.S. Olympic track and field trials.
After graduating in 2009, Koons went right into a master's degree program at Villanova for applied statistics. And she kept running, winning the Rothman 8K in 2009 and the Penn Relays 5K in 2010. She set two personal bests in 2011: a 4:31 mile and a 15:29 5K.
She took time off from her degree to train with the New Jersey-New York Track Club, an elite group of runners based at Rutgers in New Brunswick, N.J. It's the first track club of its kind on the East Coast and it sent one runner to the Olympics this summer.
But, earlier this year, Koons decided to come back to Pennsylvania to finish her master's while also working as an assistant coach to the men's cross-country team. She also wanted to be coached by O'Sullivan.
This year has been a struggle because of the foot injury, but O'Sullivan said the Rothman 8K has been an excellent training goal for Koons, who considers it a "season opener" for the forthcoming indoor and outdoor track seasons.
"I'd like to someday get into longer races," she said when asked about moving up to the half-marathon or marathon distance. "But for now, the aim next spring will be the 5K again."
That's after Koons crosses another Rothman 8K off her race list.
Box Draws for NCAA Cross Country Nationals
Here are the box draws for teams and at-large individuals for this Saturday's cross country nationals. The Villanova men are in box 22, about the exact center of the race start. The Villanova women are in box 9, about one-quarter of the way off the edge. The boxes are assigned randomly, by computer allocation.
Xc 12 National Box Draw
Nicky Akande is Mid-Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year
Akande Rolling to Regional Win
Villanova junior Nicky Akande has been named NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Cross Country Athlete of the Year. A Villanova women has now won this award for the 5th straight year (after Frances Koons in 2008, and Sheila Reid in 2009, 2010, 2011). Akande has enjoyed a great fall campaign. She finished 2nd at the Main Line Invitational at Haverford, 8th at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh, 26th at Pre-Nationals in Louisville, and 3rd at the Big East championships at Van Cortlandt Park in New York. She capped those performances by winning the NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional at Penn State.
The release from the USTFCCCA is HERE.
Here is the official news release from Villanova:
Nicky Akande Named Mid-Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year
Villanova junior won individual title at NCAA regional meet last week
NEW ORLEANS--For the fifth consecutive season a Villanova runner has been chosen as the Mid-Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Junior Nicky Akande (Lawrenceville, Ga.) was announced as this year's winner on Tuesday night after winning the individual title at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional last week.
Akande made great strides as a sophomore last season to emerge as one of the Wildcats most dependable runners and this year she has become a fixture at the top of the team's lineup. At the NCAA regional last Friday she cruised to a nine-second margin of victory and registered a career-best time of 20:14 on a 6,000 meter course.
This is the second straight year that Akande has earned All-Mid Atlantic Region honors for a top 25 finish at the regional meet. She also earned All-BIG EAST accolades for the second straight year after coming in third at the conference meet last month.
Led by Akande, fellow junior Emily Lipari (Greenvale, N.Y.) - the BIG EAST individual champion - and senior Summer Cook (Thornton, Colo.) the Wildcats have earned a team berth to the NCAA Championships for the fifth straight year. Villanova was selected as one of 13 at-large bids to the field of 31 teams that will compete in the national championship meet this coming Saturday afternoon.
In four scored meets this season Akande has been the top Villanova finisher two times and has been the team's second runner in the other two races. Prior to the first two postseason meets she led the Wildcats with an eighth place finish at the Paul Short Run and also came in 26th at the Pre-NCAA Meet.
The NCAA Championships are being held at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville and the women's race begins on Saturday at Noon.
NOTES: Villanova has produced the Mid-Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year in cross country every year since 2008 ... That year Frances Koons was the winner, while most recently Sheila Reid was a three-time recipient of the award from 2009-11.
Posted by BC at 12:55 PM No comments:
Overview of Villanova Cross Country in the NCAA Championships
Villanova Women's Cross Country
NCAA Team Championships: 9
NCAA Individual Champions: 9
Vicki Huber (1989)
Sonia O'Sullivan (1990, 1991)
Carole Zajac (1992, 1993)
Jen Rhines (1994)
Carrie Tollefson (1997)
Sheila Reid (2010, 2011)
Team Finishes
Year Place Score
2011     3      181
Villanova Men's Cross Country
Vic Zwolak (1963)
2011    13      352
Vic Zwolak: Villanova's Only Individual Male XC Champion
Despite NCAA team titles in 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1970, to say nothing of numerous team top-ten finishes and dozens of All-Americans since then, only one Villanova male harrier has ever won the NCAA cross country individual title. Vic Zwolak won that title in 1963, a year when the Villanova men finished 9th in the team competition (going 1-23-57-59-87-(112)-(117)). Zwolak led the 4-mile race from start to finish: he was in first place at 1 mile (4:34), 2 miles (9:39), and 3 miles (14:46), before ultimately winning the race in 19:35. Zwolak also won two NCAA titles (1963 and 1964) in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
Villanova Running highlighted Zwolak previously HERE.
Here are the top finishers in that 1963 cross country national championship race:
Twenty-fifth Annual National Collegiate Athletic Association University Division
Cross Country Championships held at Michigan State University, East Lansing, on
Tuesday, November 26, 1963, at 11:30 a.m.
l.  Victor Zwolak            Villanova          19:35
2.  John Camien              Kansas State       19:38
3.  Jeffrey M. Fishback      San Jose State     19:48
4.  Geoff Walker             Houston            19:53
5.  Danny  L . Murphy        San Jose State     19:56
6.  G. Douglas Brown         Montana State      19:59
7.  Richard A. Schramm       Miami              20:04
8.  Ben F. Tucker            San Jose State     20:06
9.  Arthur Scott             Idaho State        20:07
10.  Richard Sharkey          Michigan State     20:08
11.  Clayton Steinke          Oregon             20:09
12.  Walter Hewlett           Harvard            20:10
13.  Bill Clark               Notre Dame         20:11
l4.  Ken Moore                Oregon             20:14
15.  David  Highton           Colorado           20:16
16.  Frank Carver             Notre Dame         20:19
l7.  Jack Bacheler            Miami              20:20
18.  Herman E. Gurule         San Jose State     20:21
19.  Ralph A. Lingle          Missouri           20:23
20.  William J. Straub        Army               20:25
Villanova Women Receive At-Large Invite to XC Nationals
Invite is 5th Straight & 25th Overall for the 9-Time Champs
Here is the press release from Villanova's official athletic website, announcing that the Villanova women have received an at-large bid to cross country nationals. The Villanova women were the next-to-last at-large team invited to the national meet. They will join the Villanova men who received at automatic bid to nationals based on their second-place finish at the Mid-Atlantic Regional. The women finished third at the regional and thus were forced to rely on a non-automatic selection.
The Villanova women won the NCAA team title in 2009 and 2010, and finished 3rd last year (see photo above). They have won 9 NCAA titles overall.
Women's Cross Country Receives At-Large Bid to NCAA Championships
Wildcats earn fifth straight team berth in national meet after strong regional showing
VILLANOVA, Pa. - One day after a strong performance at the regional championships the Villanova women's cross country team learned on Saturday that it had received a team berth to the NCAA Championships, which take place at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville next weekend. This is the fifth consecutive year that the Wildcats have earned a team bid to the 31-team NCAA field. Villanova was one of 13 teams chosen for as an at-large selection.
The berth in the NCAA Championships comes on the heels of strong performances by the Wildcats in their last two meets. Villanova came in fourth at the BIG EAST Championships on October 26 and more recently finished third in a close race at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on Friday afternoon. Leading into the regional meet the Wildcats had been ranked second or third in the region in every poll this season, including holding down the No. 2 spot in the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region poll for the first month of the season.
Villanova has fire power at the top of its lineup with the junior duo of Nicky Akande (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Emily Lipari (Greenvale, N.Y.), who have combined for top-three finishes in each of their last two races. Akande captured the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region individual title by a nine-second margin on Friday and Lipari placed third in a reversal of their finishes at the BIG EAST meet two weeks earlier. Lipari was the BIG EAST individual champion and Akande finished third in that race.
Senior Summer Cook (Thornton, Colo.) has solidified herself in the Wildcats lineup this season and joined Akande and Lipari in earning both All-Mid Atlantic Region and All-BIG EAST accolades. All three runners were among the Villanova top-seven at the NCAA Championships last season.
The women's national championship race begins at Noon on Saturday and the Wildcats will be returning to E.P. Tom Sawyer Park, where they registered a seventh place finish at the Pre-NCAA Meet last month. The site was also host to the BIG EAST Championships last season.
Each of the top five teams in the BIG EAST received a berth to the NCAA Championships, including three automatic bids and two at-large selections. Connecticut, Georgetown and Providence all finished first or second at their respective regional championships to earn an automatic bid, while Villanova and Notre Dame were at-large picks.
This will be the 25th appearance at the NCAA Championships for the Wildcats, whose nine titles all-time are four more than any other women's program has. Over the years Villanova has crowned nine individual champions and also has the distinction of having won the most consecutive team titles with six in a row from 1989-1994.
Nova Men Qualify for Cross Nationals with 2nd at XC Regional
McEntee & Williamsz come 2nd and 4th
Villanova's men ran a strong race today at Penn State's Blue & White course at the Mid-Atlantic Regional. The team (57 places) finished second, a mere 1 place behind Georgetown (56). Princeton was beaten into third, with 61 places. The hero of the day award goes to Alex Tully who ran the race of his life, finishing 14th overall, in 30:49. In a race where the top three teams were separated by a mere 5 places, Tully's dynamic run was critical in getting Villanova to nationals.
The Villanova men were in a strong position at the half-way mark, when they led the team competition with 33 places, ahead of Penn State (77), Georgetown (93), and regional #1 Princeton (95). Princeton moved up after 3 miles and with a mile to go crept within 45 to 60, with Georgetown at 65 and Penn State at 123. Ultimately, Georgetown was able to inch ahead, but Villanova held off Princeton to guarantee its place in Louisville. The Villanova men finished with an impressive 20 second 1-5 spread.
Full results are HERE.
2.  Sam McEntee         30:34
4.  Jordy Williamsz     30:36
14.  Alex Tully          30:49
18.  Mathew Mildenhall   30:53
19.  Rob Denault         30:54
43.  Brian Basili        31:30
50.  Matt Kane           31:42
1.  Georgetown      8-9-11-13-15-(17)-(65)      56
2.  Villanova       2-4-14-18-19-(43)-(50)      57
3.  Princeton       3-5-6-21-26-(29)-(32)       61
4.  American        7-16-22-49-51              145
5.  Penn State      12-25-28-40-42-(46)-(94)   147
Villanova's Nicky Akande Takes NCAA Regional Crown
Third Place Women on Bubble for Nationals
Villanova's top 5 marking LaSalle's Meghan McGlinchey
Today at Penn State's Blue & White course, Villanova's Nicky Akande won the individual NCAA Mid-Atlantic regional title, with Emily Lipari in third, but the women faded a bit over the finals kilometers and came third in the team standing. They are now clearly in jeopardy of not gaining an invite to the national meet. The women dropped from the team lead at one mile, and the second spot at three miles, to finish third behind winner Penn State (61) and Georgetown (63). Villanova finished with 95 places, and Princeton was fourth with 101. Since only the top two teams at regionals are awarded an automatic berth at cross country nationals in Louisville, the Villanova women will have to hope for an at-large bid. Should that bid not be forthcoming, Nicky Akande (as regional winner) and Emily Lipari (who won the Big East individual title two weeks ago and who was 7th at Pre-Nationals) would likely be invited as at-large individual competitors.
Here's how the Villanova women finished:
1.  Nicky Akande           20:14
3.  Emily Lipari           20:27
14.  Summer Cook            20:52
33.  Courtney Chapman       21:42
45.  Megan Venables         21:58
51.  Sydney Harris          22:06
52.  Stephanie Schappert    22:06
Here's how the top five teams fared (places are individual, not team, places):
1.  Penn State    4-6-10-20-21     61
2.  Georgetown    5-11-13-16-18    63
3.  Villanova     1-3-14-33-45     95
4.  Princeton     8-12-17-28-36   101
5.  W. Virginia   7-22-24-27-33   111
PA State XC Runner-Up Brent Kennedy Eyeing Villanova
Here's an article on Brent Kennedy of Kiski Area high school from today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kennedy, a junior, was class AAA runner-up at last week's Pennsylvania state cross country championships. He has already visited Villanova and Syracuse on recruiting trips, and is also interested in Notre Dame, Virginia, and Virginia Tech.
Kennedy's Mile Split page is HERE.
PIAA Cross Country: Kiski's Kennedy a silver streak in Hershey
By Cara De Carlo / Tri-State Sports & News Service
Kiski Area junior Brent Kennedy bolted to a 15:52 finish at last Saturday's PIAA Class AAA cross country championship meet in Hershey.
He placed second to West Chester Henderson's Tony Russell, earning a silver medal.
The race actually began as though the runners were in a can of sardines.
"We were all packed together through at least the first half of the race," Kennedy said. "It's a downhill start for the first mile so everyone goes out really hard."
Kennedy kept his pace as the course went into the "Aloha Hills" -- a series of dips and U-turns in which the spectators wave hello and goodbye to their favorite runners. The disruptive terrain was stirring Kennedy's pack but he kept his sights on Russell. At 2 miles in, Russell's pace intensified to take a seven-second lead on Kennedy.
"[Russell] was about that far ahead of me for the last mile of the race," Kennedy recalled.
He said that didn't intimidate him, though.
The path continued up the course's last hill -- a 100-meter quad-drainer known as "Poop Out Hill." It was on that hill that Kennedy stayed strong and separated himself from the 217 remaining finishers.
Kennedy's second place finish was definitive -- four seconds ahead of Corry Area's Austin Pondel. But Kennedy had had his eye on a victory.
"I just didn't have enough for the win at states," Kennedy said. "Tony Russell is a great runner and he deserves it. I can't be too unhappy."
Saturday's state meet wasn't Kennedy's first race against Russell.
"I raced him this year at the Carlisle Invitational," Kennedy said. "I knew he'd be up there [in front at states]."
Kennedy had actually beaten Russell in the 1,600-meter event at the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg last May. The two made it to the finals, where Kennedy finished eighth and Russell finished less than one second behind him.
As Russell and Kennedy finished their runs on Saturday, the two were happy for each other.
"We're all pretty good friends," said Kennedy, referring to himself and many of his cross country opponents. "We're all doing the same type of thing."
Two days after Hershey, Kennedy was at Villanova University on a college visit that included a meeting with the cross country coach. The next day, Kennedy was scheduled to visit Syracuse.
"I'm just trying to check out all my options," Kennedy said. "The list is getting bigger, I guess."
Kennedy is a junior and does not intend to make a final college decision until his senior year. Nonetheless, he attended track/cross country camps at Notre Dame and at the University of Virginia last summer. Since that time, Virginia Tech has also joined Kennedy's list of potential schools.
Before Kennedy can don spikes for the right college or university, he's got a lot of running still to do for Kiski Area. Kennedy said he's looking forward to running track this spring, especially if the competition includes Russell.
"I'm looking forward to getting the chance to race [Russell] again" said Kennedy. "There'll be some fast times and good competition there."
Reid, Koons in Elite Field for Rothman Institute 8K
Sheila Reid will make her Nike pro debut a week from Saturday at the Rothman Institute 8K. Her scheduled debut as a Nike-sponsored runner (The Dash to the Finish Line 5K in New York City, as part of the NYC marathon weekend) was cancelled duo to the recent storm. Reid will be joined by a former Villanova teammate and All-American Frances Koons. Koons won this race in 2009. Here is the press release for the event. As noted below, Villanova's own Marcus O'Sullivan still holds the Rothman Institute 8K course record -- an uber-quick 23:03 that has stood for 15 years.
Athletics: Rothman Institute 8K Elite Field Announced
PHILADELPHIA - The 2012 Rothman Institute 8K announces an impressive field of elite runners this year led by Philadelphia-area standouts Samuel Ndereba, Sheila Reid, Frances Koons, Samantha McNally, Cecily Tynan, Chris Heisey, John Itati and Matt Sadercock.
The Rothman Institute 8K (4.97 miles) -- held on Saturday, November 17 on Philadelphia Marathon Race Weekend -- is a great way to take part in Race Weekend. Runners will start on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, near the Philadelphia Museum of Art -- looking out upon City Hall -- before taking a turn on the scenic banks of the Schuylkill River and Kelly Drive.
Female Runners to Watch
Reid repeats in 2011
The fastest entrant in the field is Sheila Reid, a 2012 Olympian (5,000 Meters, Canada) and an NCAA All-American from Villanova. Frances Koons, the 2009 Rothman Institute 8K champion and an NCAA All-American from Villanova, is trying to reclaim the title.
A few women will be doubling, running both the 8K and the Philadelphia Half Marathon on Sunday including Hirsute Madero (Flagstaff, AZ) -- the 2010 8K runner-up and the 2010 Philadelphia Half Marathon winner -- and Kenya's Helen Jemutai, who won the Tufts 10K in Chicago in October.
Other notables are: Samantha McNally (Doylestown, PA), who qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials while running in the 2011 Philadelphia Marathon; Amy Van Alstine (Midland Park, NJ) who boasts a 15:43 5K PR; American University standout Erin Koch (Chevy Chase, MD); and Marissa Ryan who enters with a 33:36 10K PR.
Koons takes Ryan Shay Mile
The 2011 Masters Champion and local favorite, Cecily Tynan (Media, PA), will be back to defend her title in the Masters Division.
Male Runners to Watch
Kenya's Samuel Ndereba (Philadelphia, PA), the 2011 Rothman 8K winner, is back to defend his title. Ndereba also will be competing in the Philadelphia Half Marathon, and should be a contender in that race as well; he is just coming off of a victory at the Des Moines Half Marathon on Sunday, October 21.
Looking to stand in the way of a repeat victory for Ndereba are some speedy international runners including 2011's second-place finisher Ethiopian John Itati (Royersford, PA); Kenya's Emmanuel Bor, a University of Alabama graduate with a 23:18 8K PR (Bor will also be running the Half Marathon on Sunday), and Harbert Okuti (New Paltz, NY) is Uganda's 5K record-holder.
Scott Smith (Flagstaff, AZ), with a 28:33 10K PR, is the top American prospect in the men's field. Other Americans to keep an eye on include Chris Pannone (Gardiner, NY) with a 2:18 Boston Marathon time this year; University of Pennsylvania alumni Phillip Kawkwell; Jonny Wilson (Flagstaff, AZ) and Temple Podiatry student Chris Heisey (Philadelphia, PA).
Going for a three-peat in the Masters Division is two-time winner Matt Sandercock (Exton, PA), the 2010 and 2011 masters Rothman 8K winner.
Registration for the Rothman Institute 8K is available at PhiladelphiaMarathon.com, costs $45 and closes on November 11, 2012.
Rothman Institute 8K Records
Men: Marcus O'Sullivan, Time: 23:03 (1997)
Women: Svetlana Zakharova, Time: 25:37 (2001)
John Kellogg Handicaps the Mid-Atlantic XC Regional
Here's the perspective of John Kellogg of the running website LetsRun.com. He sees the Villanova teams on the bubble in their quest to qualify for the NCAA cross country national meet. Each team is sitting at #3 in the region, with only the top two team finishers getting an automatic slot at Nationals.
2012 NCAA Regional Formchart – Mid-Atlantic Region
by John Kellogg
LetsRun.com Editor's note: LetsRun's coaching/stat guru John Kellogg has done what basically no one else in the world would have the expertise/patience to do – predict what his going to happen at Friday’s NCAA D1 cross country regionals. The top two teams in each region and top four individuals not on a team that qualifies will make it to NCAAs. Then 13 at large teams will be added in and two at large individuals. If someone wants to take the time to tell us who the at-large teams teams and individuals will be based on these previews, then please email us as we’d love to put that up later in the week. We imagine even the great John Kellogg is bound to have missed someone in these predictions, so if you have corrections, please email them to us.
Mr. Kellogg seemingly comes out of hibernation every few months to make predictions in the running world. He did Regional previews in 2011 and 2008 and in the spring of 2010, he said it wouldn’t surprise him if someone ran faster than 2:03:59 in Boston and then Geoffrey Mutai ran 2:03:02 and after the race everyone (except us) was saying the unthinkable had happened.
Mr. Kelllogg has scoured the season’s results – with the most weight given to recent (conference meet) performances – to take a guess at who should be the top 25 individuals and few teams in each of the nine regions. A lot of runners were considered for the top 25 and he’ll undoubtedly get quite a few wrong – someone just outside his top 25 has just as good a chance as someone who just made it – and there are always a couple of huge surprises. Team scores are generally based on the strengths of the top teams relative to each other (discounting many of the runners outside the top 25 or so from non-contending teams) and will probably end up being higher than he’s listed them due to displacement from those individuals. In short, this is a pretty good general idea of who should be in the hunt, but it’s still bound to get a bunch of it completely wrong. So basically this is all for S&Gs. We hop you enjoy them. For more on the logic behind the picks, please see last year’s instructions.
Blue And White Golf Course, University Park, Pennsylvania
Georgetown’s Mark Dennin finished 6th in this region a year ago and would be the top returner, but he hasn’t raced since winning at Paul Short over a month ago. Directly behind him in 7th at last year’s Regional was teammate Andrew Springer, who has run well of late and came in 6th at Big East to lead the Hoyas. He should be challenged by Princeton’s recently-crowned HEPS champion Chris Bendtsen. Bendtsen has been running second for Princeton throughout most of the season, but his last effort made him a conference champion, so he gets the top spot in the formchart. Tiger teammate Alejandro Arroyo-Yamin has actually had the best overall season of anyone in the field, including a 31st place at Wisconsin, best of the region’s runners in that massive race. Duquesne’s Jim Spisak was on fire until recently, with 3rd at Paul Short and 13th at Pre-Nationals, but then slipped back to 22nd at Atlantic 10. That conference meet was won by 8:36.10 steepler and 1st team All-American Travis Mahoney (Temple) ahead of LaSalle’s Alfredo Santana, who has put up some pretty impressive results of his own this fall. Santana was 14th in the region last year and is the 3rd returner (minus Dennin).
Chris Bendtsen (Princeton)
Andrew Springer (Georgetown)
Alejandro Arroyo-Yamin (Princeton)
Travis Mahoney (Temple)
Ben Furcht (Georgetown)
Tyler Udland (Princeton)
Alfredo Santana (LaSalle)
Darren Fahy (Georgetown)
Sam McEntee (Villanova)
Jim Spisak (Duquesne)
Jonathan Vitez (Princeton)
Mathew Mildenhall (Villanova)
Eddie Owens (Princeton)
Mark Allen (American)
Miles Schoedler (Georgetown)
Robert Denault (Villanova)
Logan Mohn (St. Joseph’s)
Tyler Mueller (Lehigh)
Matt McDonald (Princeton)
Jordy Williamsz (Villanova)
John Dugan (Bucknell)
Ryan Mahalsky (Lehigh)
Jonathan Mazzio (St. Joseph’s)
Robby Creese (Penn State)
John Murray (Georgetown)
Princeton, surprised big-time by a monster race from conference rivals Columbia at Wisconsin, went into the Ivy League meet as underdogs for the first time in a long time, but galloped to the top two individual spots and placed 4 in the top 7 on their home course to emerge with a convincing 26-58 victory over the Lions. Princeton also beat Georgetown head-to-head very early in the season. Though early September meets don’t matter in November, the 13th-ranked Tigers should still be the favorites here if they run on a par with their HEPS race. Villanova got the best of Georgetown at Pre-Nationals by a scant 13 points and one team spot, but the Wildcats were relegated to 5th at Big East, where the Hoyas came up for second. Ergo, the pre-meet edge goes to Georgetown for the 2nd auto spot.
Big East champ Emily Lipari (Villanova) gets the nod as the favorite in the region, also having the most impressive regular season result of any of the field’s runners – a 7th place at Pre-Nationals. Meghan McGlinchey of LaSalle raced to 33rd at Wisconsin and a runner-up finish at Atlantic 10. Assuming she runs up to expectations here, there’s a small chance she could be the only individual NCAA qualifier to finish in the top 10 in the meet. Most of the other top spots stand to be occupied by runners from the four currently ranked or formerly ranked teams in the region. One spot behind McGlinchey at Wisco was Penn State’s Rebekka Simko, who continued her strong running with 5th place at Big Ten. West Virginia has been without injured XC All-American Kaitlyn Gillespie all season, but the Mountaineers regained 2011 10k All-American Sarah-Anne Brault just in time for the Big 12 meet. Brault is actually the top returner in the region (not counting Gillespie) and raced to 10th at Big 12 – perhaps not strong enough to win the Regional but an impressive rust buster nonetheless, with the likes of Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Texas in the conference.
Emily Lipari (Villanova)
Meghan McGlinchey (LaSalle)
Rebekka Simko (Penn State)
Nicky Akande (Villanova)
Madeline Chambers (Georgetown)
Katrina Coogan (Georgetown)
Sarah-Anne Brault (West Virginia)
Tori Perri (Penn State)
Annamarie Maag (Georgetown)
Brooklyne Ridder (Penn State)
Summer Cook (Villanova)
Greta Feldman (Princeton)
Kelly Williams (West Virginia)
Samantha Nadel (Georgetown)
Kirsten Kasper (Georgetown)
Annie-Norah Beveridge (Navy)
Emily Jones (Georgetown)
Sarah Martinelli (West Virginia)
Rachael Schneider (Georgetown)
Abby Levene (Princeton)
Jordan Hamric (West Virginia)
Jackie Nicholas (Princeton)
Brigid Byrne (Navy)
Megan Venables (Villanova)
Natalie Bower (Penn State)
Last fall, Georgetown pulled off a minor upset over a few teams to win the national championship, with Villanova in 3rd, West Virginia 8th and Penn State 13th. This made the Mid-Atlantic, geographically the smallest region, the strongest one in the country on race day. It’s a competitive region for sure. G’Town is currently ranked 9th in the coaches poll and, having won their conference, the Hoyas do look to be the top team in the region, but winning it won’t be a gimme. Villanova is extremely good at 1 & 2 and still quite formidable through 3, but lack of depth prevented the Wildcats from rising higher than 4th at Big East, and they may face the same scenario here. Penn State and West Virginia may be behind ‘Nova after four runners are scored but have a chance to make up the gap by the time all five come in. The qualifying scenario is too complicated to figure until results from all the regions are in, but Villanova and West Virginia had better be aiming for top two. PSU almost certainly makes Nationals with a 3rd place team result, but there’s a chance they don’t if they’re any lower in the standings.
Running Times: Who Gets in at NCAA Cross Nationals?
For the first times in several years, Villanova's cross country teams have a lot to worry about as we approach the NCAA cross country regional weekend. Both the women's (#25) and men's (#35) teams are ranked well off the top end of the national polls and sit outside the top two teams in the Mid-Atlantic region. There is real doubt on the question of whether or not each will make it to the NCAA national meet in Louisville. Here is an excellent article from the folks at Running Times that describes the process of filling the list of teams (and at-large individuals) that will be invited to the national meet. Villanova's squads have some real work in front of them on Friday as Penn State hosts the regional.
NCAA Nationals: Who Gets In?
Understanding the selection process for cross country’s premier event
By John A. Kissane
As featured in the Web Only issue of Running Times Magazine
On Nov. 17, a total of 255 men and 255 women will compete in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships at E. P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. The breakdown goes like this: 31 seven-person teams (217 athletes) plus 38 individuals who are not members of any of those 31 teams.
So which teams make up that field? The easiest to understand is the automatic qualifying. The week before nationals, on Nov. 9, nine regional meets — the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Mountain, Northeast, South, South Central, Southeast and West — are held around the country. Each region automatically advances the top two teams (seven runners apiece), as well as the top four individual finishers not on qualifying teams. If you’re doing the math, you’ll see that 162 runners automatically make it to nationals based on the results of the regionals.
That’s the easy part, because there’s no analysis or decision-making involved. But filling out the fields with 13 more teams and two additional individuals is where things get dicey. This task falls to members of the NCAA Division I Track and Field Subcommittee, who will announce their selections the Sunday following regionals (i.e., Nov. 11) after they've analyzed regular season, conference and regional results and applied selection criteria to determine the at-large qualifiers.
“It’s a really fair system, without any backroom politicking,” says Dartmouth men’s coach Barry Harwick, who also serves as President of the NCAA Division I Cross Country Executive Committee. “We’ll run our meet on Friday and the guys will be getting results from the other regions on the trip home, and by the time we get back we’ll pretty much know who the 13 at-large qualifiers are, before they’re announced. That shows the transparency of the system.”
The selection process is somewhat complicated, but here is a brief overview of how it works:
• The subcommittee begins its work by placing the third- and fourth-place teams from each of the nine regions onto a board. Then they review the season performances of those 18 teams, to determine “wins” they might have against the 18 automatic qualifiers during a maximum of seven competition opportunities. The first at-large berth is awarded to the team with the highest win total. The subcommittee is required to review no fewer than 18 teams at all times during the selection process, so with the selection of each at-large team, the subcommittee immediately moves the next team from that same region (based on regional finish place) onto the board of 18 teams and again evaluates all 18 together. Each time an at-large selection is made, remaining teams having beaten the newly selected team are awarded a “win” to add to their point totals.
• Teams must be considered for at-large berths in the order of their regional finish, and a fourth-place team may not be selected for an at-large berth ahead of a third-place team from the same region. Lower-finishing teams may be selected ahead of higher-finishing teams from different regions. (For instance, a team finishing fourth in the West region can get in ahead of a team finishing third in the Great Lakes region.)
But what happens if the fourth-place team from one region (say, team X) has more wins than the third-place team from the same region (team Y)? That’s where the so-called “push process” comes in. The subcommittee is obligated to extend at-large bids to both teams X and Y, so in effect team Y “pushes” team X into the national championship meet. Also, points (wins) will not be awarded to teams having defeated any team advancing into the championships by virtue of the push process.
If any two teams under consideration tied for total wins, the committee will look at head-to-head results. If head-to-head wins and losses are equal (e.g., each of the two teams has a record of 2-2 against the other), the committee may give greater consideration to the most recent competition. Furthermore, wins can only be accumulated against an opponent’s “A” team, which is considered to consist of four or more individuals who competed at the regional meet.
Regular-season scheduling — and a team’s travel budget — can help a team that’s on the qualifying bubble. “Teams with the ability to travel outside their regions have some advantage, in that they’re able to compete against more of the highly ranked teams to get wins,” Harwick says. “So teams without the financial wherewithal to travel are stuck if they finish outside the top two at regionals.”
In addition to selecting 13 at-large teams, the subcommittee will also select two at-large individuals. These will be the two highest-finishing nonautomatic qualifiers from the nine regional meets. For instance, in 2011, Lauren Sara of Connecticut, who finished sixth at the Northeast regional, and Duke’s Madeline Morgan, sixth at the Southeast regional, received the women’s at-large individual bids.
Here are the top four ranked teams in each regional, as of Nov. 5:
Men                                Women
Great Lakes                               Great Lakes
1. Wisconsin (6)                          1. Michigan (6)
2. Michigan (12)                          2. Michigan State (11)
3. Indiana (20)                           3. Toledo (18)
4. Notre Dame (28)                        4. Notre Dame (23)
Mid-Atlantic                              Mid-Atlantic
1. Princeton (13)                         1. Georgetown (9)
2. Georgetown (24)                        2. Penn State (15)
3. Villanova (NR)                         3. Villanova (25)
4. Penn State (NR)                        4. West Virginia (NR)
Midwest                                   Midwest
1. Oklahoma State (1)                     1. Iowa State (2)
2. Oklahoma (8)                           2. Oklahhoma State (21)
3. Tulsa (19)                             3. Minnesota (28)
4. Illinois (NR)                          4. Tulsa (NR)
Mountain                                  Mountain
1. Colorado (2)                           1. Weber State (13)
2. BYU (7)                                2. New Mexico (17)
3. New Mexico (16)                        3. Colorado (24)
4. Northern Arizona (18)                  4. Colorado State (NR)
Northeast                                 Northeast
1. Iona (4)                               1. Cornell (8)
2. Syracuse (14)                          2. Connecticut (16)
3. Columbia (22)                          3. Providence (20)
4. Providence (NR)                        4. Boston College (27)
South                                     South
1. Florida State (23)                     1. Florida State (1)
2. Georgia (26)                           2. Florida (14)
3. Florida (NR)                           3. Vanderbilt (NR)
4. E. Tennessee State (NR)                4. Mississippi (NR)
South Central                            South Central
1. Texas (5)                             1. Arkansas (12)
2. Arkansas (10)                         2. Texas (22)
3. Texas A&M (29)                        3. SMU (NR)
4. McNeese State (NR)                    4. LSU (NR)
Southeast                                Southeast
1. Eastern Kentucky (15)                 1. Duke (10)
2. Virginia Tech (17)                    2. William & Mary (19)
3. Virginia (21)                         3. NC State (30)
4. NC State (NR)                         4. Kentucky (NR)
West                                     West
1. Stanford (3)                          1. Oregon (3)
2. Portland (9)                          2. Ariziona (4)
3. Oregon (11)                           3. Stanford (5)
4. Arizona State (25)                    4. Washington (7)
NCAA Cross Country Mid-Atlantic Regional: Villanova Entries
Here are the Villanova harriers who will compete at this weekend's cross country Mid-Atlantic regional. The top two team finishers in the Regionals are ensured a spot at the national meet, with several at-large teams selected after the automatic slots are filled. Twelve men and eleven women will compete at Penn State's University Park course. Only three of the twenty-three Wildcats are seniors.
The complete list of competitors for all teams is HERE.
Villanova Men
Basili, Brian          549   SO
Denault, Robert        550   FR
Kane, Matthew          551   SR
McEntee, Sam           552   SO
Mildenhall, Mathew     553   SR
Morrin, Greg           554   JR
O'Sullivan, Chris      555   SO
Pickhaver, John        556   JR
Solis, Dusty           557   SO
Trainer, Thomas        558   FR
Tully, Alex            559   JR
Williamsz, Jordy       560   FR
Villanova Women
Akande, Nicky          277   JR
Bungo, Caitlin         278   FR
Chapman, Courtney      279   SO
Cook, Summer           280   JR
Harris, Sydney         281   FR
Lipari, Emily          282   JR
Margey, Kelsey         283   FR
Schappert, Stephanie   284   SO
Smith, Meghan          285   SR
Tucker, Leanne         286   FR
Venables, Megan        287   SO
Adrian Blincoe Leaving Villanova for Kiwi Coaching Position
Fond Farewell & Best Wishes in New Zealand
All the best to Adrian Blincoe as he returns to his homeland in New Zealand. He is to assume a new position in Auckland with Sport New Zealand as a high performance ambassador and mentor. We're sure that he will provide athletes there with the level of excellence he displayed at Villanova since his arrival over a decade ago. His 13 year stay at Villanova witnessed glory as both an athlete (he won 3 NCAA championships, set a school record, and was a 7-time All American) and as a coach (he recruited doggedly in Australia and New Zealand, helping bring several top-notch runners to Villanova -- think Gibney, Mildenhall, Mackenzie, Beamish, McEntee, Williamsz, Guest, Jenkin, and so on). We at Villanova Running selected him the Villanova male runner of the decade for the 2000s (click HERE to re-visit that selection). In doing so, we highlighted his tremendous accomplishments as a student-athlete at Villanova:
Adrian Blincoe was a three-time NCAA champion and seven-time All American. He was the 2002 NCAA indoor champion at 3000 meters, and was NCAA runner-up at that distance in 2003. He also anchored two NCAA champion DMR teams (in 2002 and 2003). Blincoe also holds two school records: his 7:47.50 3000 meter time, achieved in Boston on January 27, 2002, erased Sydney Maree's previous mark. Moreover, Blincoe anchored the Villanova school record DMR team. While at Villanova he broke the 4:00 mile with his 3:58.19 indoors at the Armory on February 9, 2002. His other honors include anchoring the 2001 Penn Relays DMR Championship of America winner, 8 Big East titles, and a top-10 finish at the NCAA cross country nationals in 2000. In 2002 Blincoe was an NCAA finalist at 1500 meters outdoors (finishing 5th). In cross, Blincoe was the 2001 NCAA regional champion, finished 2nd in 2002, and was 3rd in 2000. He was runner-up at the 2001 Paul Short Invitational.
His accomplishments as a coach are obvious. During his 10-year tenure as assistant coach under Marcus O'Sullivan, Villanova produced a half dozen sub-4:00 milers, an NCAA individual champion over 5000 meters, a top-10 all-time NCAA 1500 meter man, a score of all-american certificates, numerous Penn Relay DMR wheels -- the list goes on. He brought glory to the Villanova program when he set a new New Zealand national record in the 5000 meters (13:10.19), when he represented his country on two Olympic teams, and multiple World Championship and Commonwealth Games squads.
Villanova gave back to Blincoe, as well. In addition to the first class education he received and the degree that he earned, Adrian met his future bride, Kelly Coyle, at Villanova. Together with their daughter Ella they make the trek to New Zealand, where Adrian will continue his professional running career and help develop the next generation of New Zealand athletes. Best wishes for continued professional success.
Here is the article detailing Blincoe's new responsibilities:
Athletics: Blincoe lured home to work with youth
Friday Nov 2, 2012
Olympian and New Zealand 5000m record holder Adrian Blincoe is helping identify and develop New Zealand's future talent in a new job at High Performance Sport New Zealand.
In his role as high performance athlete development advisor, Blincoe will work with targeted national sport organisations to put systems in place to identify and develop athletes so they can succeed at international level.
HPSNZ chief executive Alex Baumann said the overarching goal is to get more talented athletes into our high performance system so New Zealand can continue to succeed internationally.
"New Zealand has to compete on the world stage with much larger countries, whose sheer size means they will always have access to a number of top athletes," Baumann said. "As a smaller country, we need to take a more systematic approach to finding and developing our athletes, and Adrian's role will be crucial to that."
Blincoe has spent the past 12 years living in Philadelphia where he spent nine years running professionally for Team New Balance and seven years coaching at Villanova University.
He was assistant coach of track and field and cross country at Villanova University and focused on identifying and developing young talent.
Blincoe competed for New Zealand at Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and world championships and holds the national record in the 5000m (13:10.19). He was a finalist at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games, and competed in the 5000m at the Beijing Olympics. An ankle injury prevented him from competing at the London Olympics.
"I'm very passionate about helping athletes develop their potential, and I am excited about the opportunity to do this here in New Zealand," said Blincoe, who started work in the job on October 15. "I'll be working with targeted sports on both specific initiatives and their overall athlete development systems so we can find individuals who may one day stand on the podium for New Zealand."
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Ron Brown was born in Gary, Indiana, the first of eight children, to Marzette and Myra Brown on May 15, 1956. When he was a senior in high school, he became blind after he was shot on his way home from a basketball game. At the time he knew nothing about blindness and was overwhelmed by the feeling that his entire life had been radically changed in an instant. One of the first painful lessons he learned was that many of his friends could not deal with his blindness and stayed away from him. Luckily he began to make new friends, members of the National Federation of the Blind. They became inspiring role models for Ron, teaching him that it was respectable to be blind and that he could continue to strive for the goals he had set himself.
I have been an advocate for blind people for more than twenty-five years, and with every passing year my commitment to serving the blind of this nation increases. My life indeed changed the night I became blind, but with the perspective I now have, I must say that it was for the better.
Armed with this newfound freedom, Ron graduated from Ball State University with a bachelor of science degree in health science. He then went to work at Tradewinds Rehabilitation Center in Indiana, where he met his wife Jean, who was on the staff. Eventually he was offered a job in the Business Enterprise Program. He had always wanted to own his own business, and this gave him the opportunity to do so. He has now been in business for himself for twenty years.
Recently Ron returned to school and earned a master's degree in educational psychology with a certification in orientation and mobility from Louisiana Tech University. He now owns a second business, teaching cane travel to blind people in the state of Indiana.
As Ron Brown has developed and matured in his personal life, his commitment to and service in the National Federation of the Blind have deepened as well. In the early years he was a chapter president and was then elected to the NFB of Indiana's board of directors. He was first elected president of the affiliate in 1996 and has been reelected every two years since. In 2001 he was elected to serve on the NFB board of directors.
Looking back, Ron Brown says, "Becoming a member of the national board is the fulfillment of a life dream. I have been an advocate for blind people for more than twenty-five years, and with every passing year my commitment to serving the blind of this nation increases. My life indeed changed the night I became blind, but with the perspective I now have, I must say that it was for the better."


Kawasaki set for a KO
Kawasaki are on the verge of pulling out of the World MotoGP Championship.
By Dave Fern / Published 2nd January 2009
Kawasaki pit girls
I heard that it is all up in the air whether they run or not, but nothing has been confirmed
The Japanese concern are understood to have told their two contracted riders John Hopkins and Marco Melandri of their intentions.
The team was tight-lipped last night, but a statement regarding their future in the sport’s elite series is expected next week.
Hopkins – currently recovering from surgery to remove plates from an injured leg – says that he has had phone calls from team management highlighting the problem.
“I heard that it is all up in the air whether they run or not, but nothing has been confirmed,” said the 25-year-old American who finished 16th in last season’s rankings.
Kawasaki had begun their preparations for the 2009 campaign with an intensive test session in Australia in November as part of a determined effort to restore fortunes after a tough time.
The team had finished fifth, and last, in last season’s constructors’ standings, with Hopkins having a best result of fifth in Portugal.
These poor results, coupled with the global economic downfall that has already seen Honda withdraw from F1 Grand Prix and both Suzuki and Subaru announce their decisions to quit the World Rally Championship, now look to have cost the MotoGP series one of its key teams.
If Kawasaki pull the plug, the MotoGP championship looks likely to go ahead with only 17 riders – though the saving grace for the series is the continued participation of six-times champion Valentino Rossi, riding Yamaha.


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Legal Resources | United States Code, Title 20 | 6383
Part B - Student Reading Skills Improvement Grants. Subpart 4 - Improving Literacy Through School Libraries. Improving literacy through school libraries.
(a) Purposes
The purpose of this subpart is to improve literacy skills and academic achievement of students by providing students with increased access to up-to-date school library materials, a well-equipped, technologically advanced school library media center, and well-trained, professionally certified school library media specialists.
(b) Reservation From the funds appropriated under section 6302(b)(4) of this title for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve -
(1) one-half of 1 percent to award assistance under this section to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to carry out activities consistent with the purpose of this subpart; and
(2) one-half of 1 percent to award assistance under this section to the outlying areas according to their respective needs for assistance under this subpart.
(c) Grants
(1) Competitive grants to eligible local educational agencies
If the amount of funds appropriated under section 6302(b)(4) of this title for a fiscal year is less than $100,000,000, then the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible local educational agencies under subsection (e) of this section.
(2) Formula grants to States
If the amount of funds appropriated under section 6302(b)(4) of this title for a fiscal year equals or exceeds $100,000,000, then the Secretary shall award grants to State educational agencies from allotments under subsection (d) of this section.
(3) Definition of eligible local educational agency
In this section the term "eligible local educational agency" means -
(A) in the case of a local educational agency receiving assistance made available under paragraph (1), a local educational agency in which 20 percent of the students served by the local educational agency are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and
(B) in the case of a local educational agency receiving assistance from State allocations made available under paragraph (2), a local educational agency in which -
(i) 15 percent of the students who are served by the local educational agency are from such families; or
(ii) the percentage of students from such families who are served by the local educational agency is greater than the statewide percentage of children from such families.
(d) State grants
(1) Allotments From funds made available under subsection (c)(2) of this section and not reserved under subsections (b) and (j) of this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each State educational agency having an application approved under subsection (f)(1) of this section an amount that bears the same relation to the funds as the amount the State educational agency received under part A of this subchapter for the preceding fiscal year bears to the amount all such State educational agencies received under part A of this subchapter for the preceding fiscal year, to increase literacy and reading skills by improving school libraries.
Each State educational agency receiving an allotment under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year -
(A) may reserve not more than 3 percent of the allotted funds to provide technical assistance, disseminate information about school library media programs that are effective and based on scientifically based research, and pay administrative costs related to activities under this section; and
(B) shall use the allotted funds that remain after making the reservation under subparagraph (A) to award grants, for a period of 1 year, on a competitive basis, to eligible local educational agencies in the State that have an application approved under subsection (f)(2) of this section for activities described in subsection (g) of this section.
(3) Reallotment
If a State educational agency does not apply for an allotment under this section for any fiscal year, or if the State educational agency's application is not approved, the Secretary shall reallot the amount of the State educational agency's allotment to the remaining State educational agencies in accordance with paragraph (1).
(e) Direct competitive grants to eligible local educational agencies
(1) In general From amounts made available under subsection (c)(1) of this section and not reserved under subsections (b) and (j) of this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible local educational agencies that have applications approved under subsection (f)(2) of this section for activities described in subsection (g) of this section.
(2) Duration
The Secretary shall award grants under this subsection for a period of 1 year.
(3) Distribution
The Secretary shall ensure that grants under this subsection are equitably distributed among the different geographic regions of the United States, and among local educational agencies serving urban and rural areas.
(f) Applications
(1) State educational agency
Each State educational agency desiring assistance under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary shall require. The application shall contain a description of -
(A) how the State educational agency will assist eligible local educational agencies in meeting the requirements of this section and in using scientifically based research to implement effective school library media programs; and
(B) the standards and techniques the State educational agency will use to evaluate the quality and impact of activities carried out under this section by eligible local educational agencies to determine the need for technical assistance and whether to continue to provide additional funding to the agencies under this section.
(2) Eligible local educational agency
Each eligible local educational agency desiring assistance under this section shall submit to the Secretary or State educational agency, as appropriate, an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary or State educational agency, respectively, shall require. The application shall contain a description of -
(A) a needs assessment relating to the need for school library media improvement, based on the age and condition of school library media resources, including book collections, access of school library media centers to advanced technology, and the availability of well-trained, professionally certified school library media specialists, in schools served by the eligible local educational agency;
(B) the manner in which the eligible local educational agency will use the funds made available through the grant to carry out the activities described in subsection (g) of this section;
(C) how the eligible local educational agency will extensively involve school library media specialists, teachers, administrators, and parents in the activities assisted under this section, and the manner in which the eligible local educational agency will carry out the activities described in subsection (g) of this section using programs and materials that are grounded in scientifically based research;
(D) the manner in which the eligible local educational agency will effectively coordinate the funds and activities provided under this section with Federal, State, and local funds and activities under this subpart and other literacy, library, technology, and professional development funds and activities; and
(E) the manner in which the eligible local educational agency will collect and analyze data on the quality and impact of activities carried out under this section by schools served by the eligible local educational agency.
(g) Local activities Funds under this section may be used to -
(1) acquire up-to-date school library media resources, including books;
(2) acquire and use advanced technology, incorporated into the curricula of the school, to develop and enhance the information literacy, information retrieval, and critical thinking skills of students;
(3) facilitate Internet links and other resource-sharing networks among schools and school library media centers, and public and academic libraries, where possible;
(4) provide professional development described in section 6372(d)(2) of this title for school library media specialists, and activities that foster increased collaboration between school library media specialists, teachers, and administrators; and
(5) provide students with access to school libraries during nonschool hours, including the hours before and after school, during weekends, and during summer vacation periods.
(h) Accountability and reporting
(1) Local reports
Each eligible local educational agency that receives funds under this section for a fiscal year shall report to the Secretary or State educational agency, as appropriate, on how the funding was used and the extent to which the availability of, the access to, and the use of, up-to-date school library media resources in the elementary schools and secondary schools served by the eligible local educational agency was increased.
(2) State report
Each State educational agency that receives funds under this section shall compile the reports received under paragraph (1) and submit the compiled reports to the Secretary.
(i) Supplement, not supplant Funds made available under this section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, and local funds expended to carry out activities relating to library, technology, or professional development activities.
(j) National activities
(1) Evaluations From the funds appropriated under section 6302(b)(4) of this title for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve not more than 1 percent for annual, independent, national evaluations of the activities assisted under this section and their impact on improving the reading skills of students. The evaluations shall be conducted not later than 3 years after January 8, 2002, and biennially thereafter.
(2) Report to Congress
The Secretary shall transmit the State reports received under subsection (h)(2) of this section and the evaluations conducted under paragraph (1) to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives.
(Pub. L. 89-10, title I, Sec. 1251, as added Pub. L. 107-110, title I, Sec. 101, Jan. 8, 2002, 115 Stat. 1567.)


Radical Islamism and Jihad (08 Nov 2018 NewAgeIslam.Com)
200 Mass Graves in Iraq: A ‘Legacy of Terror’
By Falih Hassan and Rod Nordland
Over 200 mass graves holding as many as 12,000 bodies have been found in areas of Iraq once controlled by the Islamic State, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The findings were highlighted in a joint report released by the United Nations mission to Iraq and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which called the sites a “legacy of terror.”
Where Are The Graves, And What Are They Like?
Most are in the four provinces of northern and western Iraq where the Islamic State’s so-called caliphate acted as the government: Anbar, Kirkuk, Salahuddin and Nineveh, which includes Mosul, the largest city once controlled by the extremists. They range from small burial sites with eight bodies, to massive pits believed to hold thousands. The biggest is believed to be the Khasfa Sinkhole near Mosul.
“I can only say that the number of the victims of the mass graves is much bigger than the numbers in the report,” said Dhia Kareem, head of the Mass Graves Directorate in Iraq. He said eyewitnesses estimated there were 6,000 bodies in the Khasfa Sinkhole.
“ISIL’s horrific crimes in Iraq have left the headlines, but the trauma of the victims’ families endures, with thousands of women, men and children still unaccounted for,” Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations human rights commissioner, said, referring to the Islamic State. “These graves contain the remains of those mercilessly killed for not conforming to ISIL’s twisted ideology and rule.”
Why Is This Discovery Important?
While the extremists made no secret of their systematic violence, there has been little accountability for what they did. During its three-year rule, the Islamic State terrorized local residents, often releasing videos of executions of people targeted for government ties, sexual orientation and more. The militants also went after members of ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians and Yazidis.
In the Yazidi homeland of Sinjar, 69 mass graves have been identified, Iraqi officials said.
But so far, few criminal investigations have been conducted. The grave sites could provide valuable forensic evidence, but the scale of the job has made collections daunting. The deaths occurred in what the United Nations has labelled systematic and widespread violence, a campaign that “may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possible genocide.”
What about the Families of the Victims?
The United Nations said it was likely that more mass graves would be discovered, which will only worsen the situation, especially for families of victims. The Iraqi authorities have so far exhumed only 1,258 bodies from 28 sites, the United Nations said, because of a lack of government resources at the Mass Graves Directorate. The United Nations urged officials to identify the victims quickly and to return the bodies to relatives. But it also recognized that the Iraqi authorities need more resources to make that happen, while preserving evidence of crimes, and it urged the international community to help.
Fatin Al-Hilfi, a member of Iraq’s human rights commission, praised the United Nations report for recognizing “the negligence of the government toward the mass graves team and the lack of logistical support.”
The report also noted that Iraqi bureaucracy made it difficult for people to find missing relatives because information was not held in a centralized way. “Their families have the right to know what happened to their loved ones,” Ms. Bachelet said.
Investigators recommended setting up a nationwide databank, similar to those set up in Bosnia and Rwanda.
Do The Graves Add To What Is Known About The Scope Of ISIS Killings In Iraq?
It’s too early to say. The United Nations has estimated that 30,000 civilians were killed by the Islamic State from 2014 to 2017 — “a number that should be considered an absolute minimum.” But many of those victims were found and buried by their families. That so many thousands are in the 202 mass graves identified so far is shocking — and only 28 of those graves have been thoroughly exhumed.
Falih Hassan reported from Baghdad, and Rod Nordland from Kabul, Afghanistan.
Source: nytimes.com/2018/11/06/world/middleeast/iraq-isis-mass-graves.html?
URL: http://www.newageislam.com/radical-islamism-and-jihad/falih-hassan-and-rod-nordland/200-mass-graves-in-iraq--a-‘legacy-of-terror’/d/116822


Hornet City Guides
The Hornet Guide to Gay Beijing
Written by Charles Thompson-Wang on November 14, 2018
This post is also available in: Español Français Português ไทย Українська 繁體中文
China opened its doors to tourists in 1978 and finally decriminalized homosexuality in 1997. While China still needs to work on improving their human rights record, it’s quickly adopting modern ideas. The country’s been revitalized in the past two decades.
The capital city, Beijing, has over a thousand years of culture and history. But it’s not mired in its past — it’s a beautifully modern city. From famous sites to authentic Chinese cuisine and fantastic nightlife, there’s plenty to explore and do in gay Beijing!
Before your trip to gay Beijing
Chinese Embassy In Washington D.C.
Before you leave, you’ll need to get a travel visa. If your city has a Chinese Consulate, it’s really easy — you can get a visa in one day! If you don’t have a consulate near you, there are services online to help with the process, but they generally charge extra fees. The Chinese Embassy‘s website has additional details on how to get your travel visa hassle free — and remember, tourists need an “L” visa.
Be warned — China keeps a firm grip on its media outlets. A number of social media sites like Facebook are also blocked. So, if you use Facebook or another similar site to communicate with friends, you’ll need to get a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Basically, it’s a little bit of software that convinces websites you’re browsing from a different country. There are a number of options, so do a bit of research to see which VPN service is right for you.
Mandarin is the official language in China, and it’s the dialect regularly spoken in Beijing. The Hornet Mandarin Phrasebook is a handy guide to some commonly used Mandarin phrases, along with pronunciation guides.
The Ring Roads of Beijing
Beijing’s infrastructure is set up in a “Ring Road” system. Currently, there are six ring roads in the city; Ring Road One is the innermost district. There are a number of famous sites in this area, like Tiananmen Square, so you’ll definitely want to check this neighborhood out.
Ring Road Two consists of western hotels, fine dining and a thriving nightlife. The majority of gay Beijing bars in this neighborhood, so it’s easy to barhop. If you want the authentic Beijing experience, visit Ring Road Three and check out local shops and restaurants. And if you want to relive the 2008 Summer Olympics, head to Ring Road Five. That’s where the Olympic stadiums are, like the Aquatics Stadium (better known as the Water Cube).
How to get around in Beijing
Taxi cabs are everywhere in Beijing — and they’re surprisingly inexpensive. However, the drivers don’t speak English and typically only accept cash for fares, unless you have the WeChat Wallet app.
Uber’s also available in China — but not with you normal Uber app. You’ll need to download the Uber China app to get around. It’s only available in Mandarin, though, and you’ll need to sign up with WeChat Wallet or Alipay to pay for your rides.
Given the difficulty of Uber China for foreign visitors, we highly recommend you download the Didi Chuxing app instead. Didi Chuxing (or simply “Didi” if you’re local) works just like Uber. But thankfully, Didi also offers an English-language interface. It’s easy to communicate with your driver, thanks to built-in translation services. And, best of all, Didi accepts major international credit cards!
If you don’t want to travel by cab, Bejing’s public transportation system is very easy to use. There are a total of 19 Beijing subway lines, and it’s the most convenient way to get around during rush hour.
The public bus is also an easy way to travel. However, there’s also an alternate bus line run by the Beijing Public Transport Holdings, Ltd. (“BPT”). BPT is the main bus and trolley operator in the city, with almost 28,000 buses. And there’s a third option from the Beijing Yuntong Bus Company. Yuntong buses have the prefix “运通” before the route number. Yuntong bus routes are different from BPT bus routes; Beijing Bus 110 and 运通110 won’t take you to the same place. However, the fares are the same for both Yuntong and BPT buses.
Places to shop in Beijing
Wangfujing Shopping District
If you like to haggle, Beijing has several great shopping areas. The HongQiao Pearl Market is a wholesale market in the Dongcheng District. While it’s famous for pearls and jewlery, this market has a vast selection of electronics, apparel and accessories. You can find designer knock-offs here — just make sure you haggle to get a reasonable price!
The Wangfujing Shopping Street is Beijing’s oldest shopping district. It’s got huge upscale shopping malls at each end of the street. The street itself is a shopper’s paradise with shops selling paintings and traditional Chinese art and crafts. There are also trendy boutiques and upscale chain stores. And if you get hungry, it’s a perfect place — you can find everything from western food to authentic Chinese cuisine.
Qianmen Street is another place to soak up the local experience. While there aren’t any significant shopping malls on Qianmen Street, there’s scores of little shops where you can find clothes, shoes, traditional food and more.
The Place, an over-the-top shopping mall in the Chaoyang District, is a fun place to window shop and people watch. And when you get sick of that, just look up — there’s a magnificent screen in the ceiling! This mall has high-end boutiques, local stores, fine dining and great entertainment. No wonder it attracts thousands of visitors daily.
Unique Beijing sites
World Park Beijing
There are tons of famous sites in and around Beijing, like the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall. But since you already know about those, here are a few unique sites you’ll want to make sure to visit. And since they’re relatively unknown, they won’t be packed with tourists — bonus!
The World Park, 10 miles from downtown Beijing and Tiananmen Square, gives visitors a chance to see more than 100 of the planet’s famous landmarks — including the Great Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, and the Statue of Liberty — all in miniature. You can explore the whole world in one place. The park’s monorail connects you to all five continents. Indeed, it’s a small world after all.
Watermelon Museum
Who doesn’t like watermelon? But if you really like watermelon, you’ll want to check out the China Watermelon Museum. The museum has plenty of fun facts and information about the mouthwatering fruit. Inside they have a variety of different wax melons on display, but outside, you can see actual melons growing!
The Dongyue Temple is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Visitors walk through seventy-six different departments of the afterlife — sort of a Chinese version of Dante’s Inferno. Each of the departments tells the story of ancient Chinese underworld folklore. From the “Unjust Death Department” to the “Department of Paying Back Evil with Evil,” each room depicts a torture scene with statues in different grotesque poses.
Central Perk Cafe
Are you a huge fan of the ’90s sitcom Friends? Du Xin, a Chinese entrepreneur, loves the show so much he opened his own version of Central Perk. Xin duplicated the whole interior decor from the show — the cozy orange coach, the red brick wall, the iconic logo. Come here to sip cheap coffee and watch Friends re-runs with your real friends.
Gay Beijing nightlife
Destination Club
Gay bars act as a safe place for guys to meet in China. While homosexuality is decriminalized, it’s still stigmatized and the LGBTQ community ends up being very discreet.
Gay Beijing does have a thriving nightlife, however. Destination Club, in a massive two-storey building, is one of the most popular gay spots. If you smoke, you can mingle on the front patio. Once you enter the building, there are several rooms to explore. And if you just want a quiet night chatting with friends, there are open bars for socializing. Destination Club also hosts massive dance parties with world-famous DJs spinning.
Kai Club in the Chaoyang District is a cozy spot. While it’s tiny and intimate, the drinks are cheap, making Kai Club a great place to start your night. On the other hand, if you prefer elegance, Alfa is a fun place to dance and chat. At Alfa, you can always expect an international and mixed crowd. It’s an excellent place to jumpstart your weekend fun.
Pop Up Beijing
Pop-Up Beijing is the new, hip spot. It recently opened, and it’s the perfect place for an evening of vintage cinema, wine tasting and other fun special events. Pop-Up Beijing is located in the heart of Sanlitun, a gay-owned store selling homeware and antiques. The onsite bar has an excellent wine menu; happy hour is from 5-7 p.m. On Thursday nights, Pop-Up Beijing hosts an LGBTQ family night.
Feature image by swissmediavision via iStockphoto.com
Asia China traveling tips


International Young Ambassador of the 21st Century:
Shane continues to pick up the Young Ambassador titles
By Mairead O'Shea
Young Oran man Shane O'Brien has won the prestigious title of Lions International Young Ambassador of the 21st Century.
The eighteen-year-old was representing Roscommon Leo Club in the final of the British Isles and Ireland category of the competition. Shane won the nationwide event in Ireland at the end of January and he went on to compete in England last week. He beat off stiff competition from eleven other finalists from England, Scotland and Wales to be crowned the overall winner. He will now go forward to the European stage of the Young Ambassador competition, which takes place in Bologna, Italy this November.
Shane received the honour for his work on the 4U youth magazine, the 4U radio show on Ros F.M. and a plethora of other community and civic projects. Interviews took place on Saturday and a gala ball took place on Saturday night in Birmingham with the presentations to winners on Sunday morning.
A Leaving Cert student at Roscommon CBS, Shane is a son of Michéal and Rita O'Brien from Oran. He has worked on the 4U magazine since 2007. The quarterly publication sees 3,000 copies distributed to secondary schools throughout the county.
Speaking to the Roscommon Herald, a clearly delighted Shane said: "I was fairly confident going into the competition because our magazine has been a great success, it's all about promoting positive mental health and suicide awareness amongst teenagers. I think our project probably had more room for expansion than some of the others as the 4U magazine circulates to thousands of young people and schools all over the county. We are also hoping to circulate it in Athlone IT; it was a pilot project for Roscommon but I think the judges saw the nationwide potential of the magazine and it was so unique and innovative."
Shane also picked up a cheque for £1,500 as part of his overall prize. He plans to use the bursary award to help finance further publications of the 4U youth magazine will donate part of his winnings to flood victims in the area.
A large crowd of family, friends and members of the Lions and Leo Club travelled to England at the weekend to support Shane. Scramogue natives, Lena O' Malley and Mick Lyons of the Roscommon Association in Birmingham also turned out in support. Shane was accompanied by his parents Michéal and Rita, friends, fellow Leo Club members, Leo Club leaders Eileen Hester, Kathleen Shanagher and Ciaran Mullooly and Lions Club President Gerry Finn.
Shane arrived into Dublin airport late on Sunday night but he was back in school in the CBS on Monday morning as he prepares for his Leaving Cert mocks later this week. A special gathering also took place in Gleeson's Townhouse in Roscommon town on Monday night for the homecoming celebrations.
FRONT PAGE ARTICLE WITH THANKS TO ROSCOMMON HERALD.
Coláiste Éamann Rís Callain
Give to the poor in handfuls.
Edmund Rice


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Brisbane Airport (BNE), located just 12km from Brisbane’s CBD, has direct connections to 28 international destinations and operates 24 hours a day. Airtrain connects the airport’s modern domestic and international terminals to the Brisbane CBD via a high-frequency rail service, while the new Airport Link tunnel connects BNE to the CBD by road, reducing travel time by up to 88 per cent in peak hour (Source: AirportlinkM7, 2014).
International and domestic passenger numbers through BNE increased by more than 480,000 in 2013-14 to exceed 21.8 million, representing a 2.2 per cent increase on the previous year. The fastest rate of growth in international numbers for several years was seen with an additional 267,700 international travellers translating to a 6 per cent increase on the previous year. Domestic passenger growth, while slower than in previous years, was still positive at 1.3 per cent, or more than 211,000 additional travellers (Source: Asia-Pacific Airports, 2014).
BNE is owned and operated by Brisbane Airport Corporation Limited (BAC), a consortium of major Australian and international organisations (including Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Port of Brisbane Corporation), and significant institutional investors. BAC’s close ties with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, one of the world’s most modern and efficient airports, helps ensure world-class standards in owning, developing and operating a global airport city of the future. In 2014, BNE was ranked 23rd out of the world’s top 100 airports (Source: Skytrax World Airport Awards, 2014).
It also retained its ranking of third for global airports servicing from 20-30 million passengers, airports in Australia/Pacific and airport staff Australia/Pacific. BNE has also been ranked first in Australia for quality of service 10 years in a row (Source: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Survey, 2014).
BNE is a major commercial and industrial district, consisting of nine integrated precincts that together provide a 970ha, 24-hour global trade and commerce centre. BNE also serves an important role as a freight transport hub and in 2013/14, total international air cargo exports through BNE increased by 12 per cent.
Covering 2700ha, BNE has the largest land area of any Australian capital city airport. With 1000ha of developable land, BNE offers significant future growth capacity. Under successive master plans, a vision is being realised to transform a city airport into an airport city, and to ensure that the significant growth this entails is achieved in a sustainable way.
The 2014 Master Plan has a 20-year planning horizon and will build on previous master plans to realise BAC’s vision of creating an employment and industry hub by structuring the airport’s significant land assets for a range of compatible uses.
Over the next 10 years, BAC is investing more than $2.5 billion in airport infrastructure, including a new runway, redevelopment of the international terminal, multiple airfield upgrades, access road upgrades, and a number of new commercial buildings and facilities (Source: BAC, 2014).
BAC recently opened the final piece of the domestic terminal upgrade, expanded the airport’s apron and taxiway network and started early works on the new parallel runway. All of this activity, along with numerous other developments, demonstrates that BNE is planning for the future, investing in Queensland, and contributing to one of Australia’s fastest-growing economies.
To discover more information, please visit the Brisbane Airport Corporation website, or contact the Investment Attraction Team.
Contact the Investment Attraction Team