Benjamin True of North Yarmouth, Maine, and Nicole Blood of Gansevoort, N.Y., won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships Northeast Regional at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y., today.
The boys' race was led by a loose pack of six runners who stayed together for most of the race. The group hit the two-mile mark at 10:10, when True took the lead, holding it for a Regional Championship finish of 15:22.
    He was closely followed by the remaining qualifiers, including Victor Gras of Belmont, Mass., who placed second in 15:25, and Gavin Coombs of Griswold, Conn., who placed third in 15:27.
True and Gras both qualified for the 2002 National Championships. True, a senior at Greely High School, placed fifth at last year's Northeast Regional and ninth at the National Finals. Gras, a senior at Belmont High School, placed eighth at last year's Northeast Regional.
   In the girls' race, a pack of 15 runners led until the two-mile mark, when Blood made her move to claim the first place position, finishing with a 32-second lead in 17:44. Blood, a sophomore at Saratoga High School, is a returning finalist, placing second at the 2002 Northeast Regional and ninth at the National Finals.
The rest of the group finished in a tight pack with Brittany Sedberry, a sophomore from Beesley's Point, N.J., placing second in 18:16, followed by Aislinn Ryan, a sophomore from Bellvale, N.Y., who placed third in 18:21.
   Course conditions were good, with cloudy skies, blustery winds and a temperature of 43 degrees.
The top eight boys and the top eight girls of the seeded races qualified to compete against runners from the three other regional meets in the 25th annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals, which takes place Saturday, Dec. 13, 2003 at Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif. The Foot Locker Cross Country Championships is supported by presenting sponsor Nike.