A bit of a tear in my eyes...

This is one of the best group of people I've had the pleasure of working with over the years--the 2003 Team USA junior squad that competed in Lausanne at the world cross country championships! From left to right are Clara Horowitz, Laura Hodgson, Amy Hastings, Rebecca Walter, Julia Lucas and Angela Homan.


Watching the NCAA track & field championships last week brought back some memories of previous junior national cross country teams that I've worked on.

In the women's steeple, there was Kassi Andersen from Brigham Young (2002), back from a biking accident and a Mormon mission, along with defending champ Jenny Barringer from Colorado (2004-05).

In the women's 5000, you had a bit of the old and new, with Julia Lucas from NC State (2003), Nicole Blood from Oregon (2006), and Maddie McKeever from Duke (2006).

In the women's 10k was one of my favorite runners over the years, Amy Hastings from Arizona State (center), who finished fourth in Sacramento in her final collegiate race.

From a media and a personal standpoint, she's always been one of the best athletes to deal with, always willing to talk in good times and bad. I've been fortunate to call a couple of her races whenever she's competed in Seattle.

I got into a conversation with someone in Sacramento, and was asked which team was the best to deal with, and without hesitation I said the 2003 junior team in Lausanne, comprised of Hastings, Lucas, Rebecca Walter from Michigan, Clara Horowitz from Duke, Laura Hodgson from Washington, and Angela Homan from Auburn!