17th October 2001, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - The Mid Penn Conference Cross Country Championship is an ironic affair. It is almost a dress rehearsal minus a few teams for the upcoming District III meet where you qualify for State but this meet has no official team score. One coach shrugging his head, anonymously said, "We preach team, team, team all season to the kids and then we tell them today, 'It doesn't matter.' While the scoring or lack thereof may be a bit unusual, it was a quintessential fall, cross country kind of day. Blue skies with white wispy clouds along with a howling wind constantly reminded athletes and onlookers alike what the phenomenon of wind chill was all about.

At first glance the 3.1-mile course appeared to be nothing more than a few loops around Gettysburg High School that is apart from a grand kilometre where you escape the suburban environs. Gettysburg coach Jack Harbaugh was forced to come up with a course after the new high school opened and rather than viewing it as an arduous chore, he embraced it as opportunity. It was a challenge and an opportunity to preserve the memory of the late, great Steve Prefontaine. A man Harbaugh not only admires but also shares a birthday with and an uncanny resemblance to. Just 400 metres into the race, the runners are greeted by the first of two near life-size metal silhouettes of Prefontaine blazed in Oregon green with messages for the harriers. The first one reads, "Some people create with words or music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run that before.' It's more than just a race, it's style. It's doing something better than anyone else, it's being creative."

Girls AAA Race - 11.30 am

From the gun, there was little doubt about the winner of the Girls AAA race. Armed with a ten-month hunger from placing 10th at the 2000 Footlocker Regionals, Hershey's Angie Saterstad had a determined yet lonely romp through the 5-kilometre course. Angie Saterstad broke her own course record winning in 18.21.83. The only thing left to chance was who was going to capture the unofficial, yet they do indeed keep score team title. Cumberland Valley's (CV) ladies edged perennial powerhouse Chambersburg High with 54 points (2-3-15-16-18) to Chambersburg's 73. Finishing a distance second, some 70+ seconds behind Saterstad was Jennifer Gray who danced in with dirty flats in 19.41.45.

After the race Dyestat PA caught up with the winner. On the course, "The first time I ran this course at the Invitational, I didn't really like it much - it was too flat. I kind of liked it better this time except for the little swamp part. I wanted to run a good race and get a good time so I'd felt better good about going into Districts. Looking ahead to Districts, she said, "Districts will be a time to get a chance to feel the course out and to know the tangents. On her goals, "I really want to go to Nationals [Footlocker Finals in Orlando], I really want that bad. And, I really want to get first in state - I want to be State Champion!"

Boys AAA Race - 12.15 pm

With the confidence of being nationally ranked Ken Roseberry's Cedar Cliff Colts went about the business of not only winning the phantom team title, they sent a message to their District III rivals that second place was open for those who want to strive for it. The Colts went 1-3-4-6-11 for their 25 points, 67 less than second place Red Land (92) and Cumberland Valley in third with 97 points. Cedar Cliff passed the 1,500 -metre mark with four runners in the top 6 and never relinquished that strangle hold.

Winner John Butler took the course record albeit temporarily when he won in 16.03.59. An exhuberant Butler thought of team first and not his individual triumph saying, "When we were stretching together as a team before the race, we said, 'Let's have fun today.' With no real team score, it's a chance to see where you're at and what's going on with the rest of the conference." On today's individual race he said, "It's a wonderful feeling to win. I give all the credit in the world to Mark Turner {Cumberland Valley]. He took it over at the mile and dropped two of our three guys. It was just me and him. I just had to hang on and tell myself that he was going to get tired, too." On his rivals Saturday next at Districts, "Mark Turner is always going to be there looking to win." On his potentially short-lived course record and rival Ryan Blood, "We raced here [Gettysburg Invitational] and he won going away. If he can break it, more power to him." On the prospect of winning the team title at the State Meet, "We are ranked 18th in the nation. No other team in Pennsylvania is ranked so if we don't win, it's kind of like a slap in the face. I have all the belief in my team. We've got two more weeks to hold on. I'll probably end up running Footlocker [Regionals]. But this year it's nice to have a team.

Girls AA Race - 1.00 pm

The girl's AA race was quite similar to AAA race just a bit slower. Playing the role of the dominant leader was Boiling Springs soph Kyleigh Millhouse. She had a comfortable lead of more than 50 metres when she passed the second Prefontaine figure just 600 metres into the competition. She crested the hill at the mile, took a peek from the peak and attacked the remainder of the course with a comfortable margin between herself and second place runner, Katie Kosola from Greencastle-Antrim. Millhouse crossed the line in 19.37.0 more than a half-minute clear of Kosola's 20.08.81.

The bubbly Bubbler had the second fastest time on the day told reporters, "I wanted to be Mid-Penn champ and have a good time, and I'm happy with the time that I got. It's good to see where I'm at with my training for districts. District III is real good competition. I just want to go there and do my best and hopefully come out near the top."

If you're keeping score and remember no one was, Bishop McDevitt won the team title with 44 points (4-6-7-12-15) with East Pennsboro scoring 66 points for second.

Boys AA Race - 1.45 pm

East Pennsboro's Ryan Blood has eyes on winning State but this afternoon his eyes, tearing from the wind saw nothing but open space in front of him during his tour de Gettysburg. With little more than a quest to reclaim his course record, Blood burst to the lead and he had a 10 metre lead at the 20 metre mark, a gap that grew exponentially as he past checkpoints. He effortlessly ran the first mile in 4.53 but that was the easy part because of his fresh legs and woods protected him from the wind. At the crown of a small hill with one-third of the course completed blustery weather was his companion and adversary.

The few folks remaining cheered for the lonely lad traversing the school grounds at record pace. Among those cheering, his Da, his Mum and the girls AAA winner Angie Saterstad who hoped he'd get the record so they could share that as well as a recent homecoming dance experience. The finish line crew, which was weary from the cold and three prior races, were taken by surprise when the East Pennsboro junior appeared in the final straightaway. He crossed the line in a blistering 15.49.2 eclipsing Butler's mark by 14 ticks.

After the race Ryan Blood calmly spoke about the record and his goals. "I had the course record, he broke it and I just wanted to get it back. It's what kept me going. I want to win Districts and take it as easy as I can to rest up for States. Hopefully I can win, if I can stay up with Andy [Weilacher from Eisenhower - 2000 AA State Champ]. If your keeping score Bishop McDevitt won the team title with 44 points with Blood's team scoring 66 points for second.