The Kansas Cross Country and Track & Field Coaches Association announced the 2010 Academic All-State Cross-Country Team.  A student/athlete is eligible for this honor if they meet the following criteria: Must must be a junior or senior. Must have a unweighted GPA of 3.75 or higher. Must have placed in the top 30 at this year's state cross country meet. Must have been nominated by their high school coach by November 12, 2010.

BOSTON, MA, December 8, 2010 – Global athletic leader New Balance is pleased to announce an official multi-year partnership with the National Scholastic Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in New York City in the New Balance Indoor Nationals. The event will bring together the best indoor track and field high school athletes from across the country for a weekend of intense competition.  

I heard about Joshua Gracia's story recently and knew that I wanted to do a feature on it immediately. In my opinion, too many kids get sucked into the D1 tunnel-vision. Nothing against big schools, but the spots at these large universities--especially the top programs--are so limited and so many athletes are going out for it. To me, a graduate of a small college (Florida Southern) myself, there are a lot of kids who should entertain the idea of smaller schools. There they would have a better chance to contribute while furthering their athletic careers, have a great experience, and perhaps even get to compete at national championship meets. Joshua Gracia is a great example of a mid-level distance athlete who was able to excel at the JuCo level. He improved tremendously, won two national championships, and will now sign with Division 1 University of Oklahoma in February.