FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Tim Yowpa

703-534-4600 x219 tim@bwfcom.com

Taye and Blood Capture First Place Titles in 27^th Annual

Foot Locker Cross Country Championships

Northeast Regional

NEW YORK, November 26, 2005 – Ayalew Taye of Ashburnham, Mass., and defending Northeast Regional Champion Nicole Blood of Ganesvoort, N.Y., won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships (FLCCC) Northeast Regional at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y., today.

A pack of runners set a hard and fast pace with the lead changing several times. After the one-mile mark, Sintayehu Taye, a sophomore at Cushing Academy, pushed to the head of the pack and held on for 200 meters before his brother, Ayalew Taye, a junior at Cushing Academy, took the lead finishing with a time of 15:20. Sintayehu finished in second with a time of 15:29, followed closely behind by Noel Bateman of Rochester, N.Y., in 15:31.

Most of the girls’ race was led by two former FLCCC National Finalists: 2004 National Champion Aislinn Ryan of Bellvale, N.Y., and 2004 National Finalist Nicole Blood of Gansevoort, N.Y., were neck-and-neck exchanging the lead throughout the race. At the last half-mile, Blood surged ahead to defend her regional title in 17:41. Ryan finished second in 17:50 and Caitlin Lane of Gansevoort, N.Y., placed third in 17:51.

Blood, a senior at Saratoga Springs High School, is a four-time FLCCC National Finalist, placing ninth in the 2002 Finals, seventh at the 2003 National Finals, and 21^st in 2004. Ryan, a senior at Warwick Valley High School, placed 12^th at the National Finals in 2003 and was National Champion in 2004.

The runners enjoyed temperatures in the mid-to-upper 30s with partly sunny skies. The course conditions were slightly muddy due to rain earlier in the week.

The top ten boys and the top ten girls of the seeded races qualified to compete against runners from the three other regional meets in the 27^th Annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals, which takes place Saturday, Dec. 10, 2005 at Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif.

2005 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships –Northeast Regional Results

Van Cortlandt Park – Bronx, NY

Boys

Place	Name	Hometown	High School	Time
1)	Ayalew Taye	Ashburnham, Mass.	Cushing Academy	15:20
2)	Sintayehu Taye	Ashburnham, Mass.	Cushing Academy	15:29
3)	Noel Bateman	Rochester, N.Y.	Aquinas High School	15:31
4)	Greg Kelsey	Saratoga Springs, N.Y.	Saratoga Springs High School	15:33
5)	Tradelle Ward	Griswold, Conn.	Griswold High School	15:34
6)	Brian Rhodes-Devey	Slingerlands, N.Y.	Guilderland High School	15:35
7)	Jeffrey Perrella	Westfield, N.J.	Westfield High School	15:37
8)	Jay Koloseus	Guilford, Conn.	Guilford High School	15:37
9)	Keith Capecci	New Hope, Pa.	Council Rock North H.S.	15:38
10)	Joshua Hibbs	Hatboro, Pa.	Hatboro Horsham High School	15:43

Girls

Place	Name	Hometown	High School	Time
1)	Nicole Blood	Ganesvoort, N.Y.	Saratoga Springs High School	17:41
2)	Aislinn Ryan	Bellvale, N.Y.	Warwick Valley High School	17:50
3)	Caitlin Lane	Ganesvoort, N.Y.	Saratoga Springs High School	17:51
4)	Lindsey Ferguson	Greenfield Ctr., N.Y.	Saratoga Springs High School	17:54
5)	Danielle Tauro	Manahawkin, N.J.	Southern Regional High School	17:54
6)	Liz Costello	Wayne, Pa.	Conestoga High School	18:00
7)	Briana Jackucewicz	Farmingdale, N.J.	Colts Neck High School	18:00
8)	Elisabeth Deir	Lima, N.Y.	Honeoye Falls Lima High School	18:01
9)	Hannah Davidson	Saratoga Springs, N.Y.	Saratoga Springs High School	18:07
10)	Shelby Greany	Suffern, N.Y.	Suffern High School	18:08

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