Aisling Cuffe

In May of 2010, two runners ran step-for-step for 7 1/2 laps with a mad dash to a finish that separated them by two tenths of a second. One would go on to become a top UNC Tarheel and the other would launch herself on a course that would make her a junior world champion in July 2014. It's Elastic Girl versus the Flipper, revisited, and the tale of the big decisions they battled over.

With 200 meters to go, nobody was going to catch Aisling Cuffe. Photo by Alan Versaw.

Forget about North Carolina-Duke basketball. Forget about Ohio State-Michigan football. Forget about Army-Navy anything. PAC-12 Cross Country trumps them all.

There are few opportunities in sports for high school-aged athletes to run in the same venues as the professionals. Massachusetts basketball players  revel in the fact that they play their sectional finals at the TD Garden, the same parquet on which the Celtics compete. But, imagine that those kids played their high school games right after the Celtics finished. Or, better yet, at halftime. Well, the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix goes a step farther, not only allowing athletes to compete in the same meet as the pros,  but allowing one athlete to even compete against them.

(Jake Leingang  71 & Jacob Thomson 64 will represent the US)   Foot Locker Runners Will head to Scotland to represent the US plus a few other late season odd and ends including Jake Riley 's victory in Kentucky and new York State Awards.

New York - It may only be the first weekend for most high schoolers, but the harriers have officially been at it since August 20th.  While most teams will have their first meet in the books next week, several teams elected to not wait out the week.  Check out below for only some of the highlights from the area.

XC's not over! Former HS star and current Stanford runner Aisling Cuffe finished 2nd in the womens 4km junior race with a time of 15:09 while Foot Locker champion Molly Seidel was 3rd with a time of 15:16.

Darren Fahy (Sr., La Costa Canyon, CA) and Amy Eloise Neale (Jr., Glacier Peak) won the seeded races at the Stanford Invitational.

Three of New York's best are named to the prestigious team

  Wesley Frazier stole the show, plus NC brings home BOTH team national champions!

Harvard-Westlake (CA) ran an earth-shattering 11:22.23 for the DMR National Record!  (Photo by Pat Montferrat)

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The last individual race that Aisling Cuffe will run as a high school athlete told everything about who she is as a runner.

(Photo by Jeff Sides)  Blacksburg set the DMR national record last year.  Who has the best chance to enter the books this year?

Mary Cain set a national freshman record while winning the 1,500 state federation championship in 4:17.84. The time is the seventh-fastest in the United States all-time and led the greatest 1,500-meter race in New York State history. Aisling Cuffe finished second in 4:19.83 while Courtney Chapman of Fayetteville-Manilus third in 4:23.01 – all faster than Cain’s previous state record of 4:23.1.

CALEDONIA – There is a picture of Aisling Cuffe running her first state meet as a freshman. She was in the unseeded section while Emily Lipari, a former star at Roslyn, in the background as she prepared for the faster heat.

Another weekend of exciting track and field.........The adidas grand prix dream mile and dream 100 dash.....The Golden West Invite.......The New England Championships............NY Federation.........NJ Meet of Champions!  

MIDDLETOWN – For the first time, Cornwall’s Aisling Cuffe could become a double state champion at the New York State Championships next week. If she choosing to.

In a story posted last night, I wrote that Cornwall senior Aisling Cuffe broke a New York State record when she won the 1,600 at the Loucks Games Saturday in 4:40.56. The time, when converted to a full mile, would equate to 4:42.19, which is faster than the mark set by Saratoga Springs' Nicole Blood (4:42.40) in 2004. However, that information is incorrect. Record-keepers do not accept such converted times since the 1,600 is about nine meters short of a full mile.