Athlete of the Week - Heather Parks

The AotW for April 27th- May 3rd is Heather Parks. Heather ran the Boston Marathon last Monday and finished 35th in a time of 2:52:45. Mrs. Parks graduated from WVU in the 90s and now resides in Preston County. Heather qualified for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials in the Steeplechase and the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials in the Marathon. Since then, Heather has given birth to a son, gotten back into shape and continued to be one of the driving forces behind the Flyer's program in Morgantown. Best of luck to Heather as she rests those weary legs.

Athlete of the Week - Josie Crouch

The AotW for April 20th-26th is Josie Crouch of Hurricane High School. Ms. Crouch ran a 2:15.97 800m over the past weekend at the Bulldog Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky. That is, I believe, a new personal record of Josie and the fastest WV 800m high school time of the year. She is the defending AAA 400m and 800m champion, and is looking to be a strong candidate to repeat in 2009. She was also the anchor on Hurricane's 4x800m team this weekend, where they ran 9:44.

Special mention to a slew of other great performers this weekend: Levi Grandt 30:39 10000m, Amber Riley 4:25, Kaylyn Christopher 4:27 and Zach Tennant 4:18.

(Photo courtesy: tristaterunnur.com)

New Interview!

Hey guys just wanted to let you know that we have a fantastic new INTERVIEW with WVU superstar Clara Grandt that you can check out HERE! We've decided to bring back the interview section so keep checking back in as we have some coming with some of the best runners in the state including; North Marion runner and 4:18 miler Zach Tennant. Hurricane phenom Alex Dent who's got the fastest 2 mile in high school this year, and RIT standout Micheal Hardbarger who is the best male runner from this state this year!! Should be fun!

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Athlete of the Week - Jacob Burcham

The Athlete of the Week for April 13th-19th is Jacob Burcham of Barboursville Middle School. Mr. Burcham is an 8th grade student who ran 4:38.10 for 1600m last week. That should end up being one of the fastest times in the nation for an 8th grader in 2009. Jacob is coached by Pat Riley at BMS, who is leading one of the premier middle school programs in the state. Just missing out on this week's AotW were Amber Riley (Auburn), Alison Spiker (WVU) and Karly Hamric (WVU) who ran 10:38, 10:44 and 4:28 respectively.

Athlete of the Week - Amber Riley

The AotW for April 6th-12th is Amber Riley of Auburn University. Amber earns her AotW award for running a 4:29.09 1500m during the past weekend. Ms. Riley is a 2007 graduate of University High School. During high school Amber had a storied running career, winning the 2006 AAA Cross Country title. She's now coached by "Pistol" Pete Watson at Auburn. Amber is now less than 2 seconds from the Outdoor Regional mark. Congratulations on a new personal record and best of luck during the rest of the season.

(Apologies for the picture, it was all I could find. If anyone has an action shot of Ms. Riley running at Auburn, feel free to email it to me.)