The Big Ten Indoor Championships will feature a combined men's and women's meet for the first time in history this weekend, as the conference descends on Lincoln, Neb., where the Nebraska Cornhuskers will host their first Big Ten Championship in any sport. The meet kicks off the championship schedule for IU Track and Field. Big Ten Network will broadcast the meet via tape delay at Noon on Saturday, March 10. (via iuhoosiers.cstv.com)

A report of the top collegiate performances from around the country of former Indiana high school stars from February 13, 2012 - February 19, 2012.

NEW ORLEANS – The latest USTFCCCA National Computer Team Rankings for Division I show a few changes from the previous week. The top four men’s teams stayed in the same spot, spurred by No. 1 Arkansas. Oregon still is the No. 1 team on the women’s side as LSU and Clemson switched positions, now standing at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

Once home to some of the biggest names in U.S. sports, track and field is struggling to produce a new generation of heroes. (via MarketWatch)

We haven't played one-on-one basketball against each other in a while," says Mark Derrick, a senior at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Ill. "I used to lose to him all the time just because he was bigger than me, but now that I've grown, it should be a pretty even game." (via Running Times)

PORTLAND -- When Jay County senior Katie Simmons made her college visits, the track and field recruit seemed to hear the same line from every coach. They'd see her 5-foot-9 frame and broad upper body, and all suggest she add an event to her repertoire: The steeplechase. (via The Star Press)

  A report of the top collegiate performances from around the country of former Indiana high school stars from February 06, 2012 - February 12, 2012.

Martinsville alum Jace Lowery recently won the USA Cross Country Championships Junior Division in St. Louis, Missouri. 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The men's distance medley relay invitational was anticipated as the most exciting race on day one at the Hoosier Hills Invitational, and it did not disappoint, as Indiana's group of De'Sean Turner, Chris Vaughn, Daniel Stockberger and Andy Bayer ran the fifth-fastest time ever recorded indoors. Competition also began at the SPIRE NCAA DI Invitational in Ohio on Friday. (via iuhoosiers.cstv.com)

BLOOMINGTON -- Parents looking to keep their children healthy and active can choose from among many youth sports to help them do so. Three-time Olympian Craig Virgin recommends track. (via pantagraph.com)  

The Notre Dame cross country and track and field program recently announced five signees that will join the team for the fall of 2012, including 2011-12 Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year Molly Seidel. (via www.und.com)

On a day where student-athletes were putting up blistering times and marks, Notre Dame junior Jeremy Rae shined bright as he went under four minutes in the elite Meyo Mile for the second year in a row as the 25th annual Meyo Invitational came to an end on Saturday at the Loftus Sports Center. (via www.und.com)

INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI Athletics Department and Head Cross Country and Track Coach Chuck Koeppen has announced the signing of four in-state preps to National Letters of Intent to join the Jaguars, beginning in Fall 2012.  (via www.iupuijags.com)

The Notre Dame cross country and track and field program recently announced five signees that will join the team for the fall of 2012, including 2011-12 Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year Molly Seidel.

A report of the top collegiate performances from around the country of former Indiana high school stars.

  We added a new feature that allows anyone (must be logged in) the ability to submit videos to us. Once you do so, they are instantly posted on the meet page. This allows you to help us supplement our coverage by shooting some video at the meets you attend, show off your creativity, and share your videos with the flrunners.com community.

Distance standouts Allison Jacobsen and Renee Wellman spent the past four years as teammates for North Central High School. Now the duo will spend another four years together when they head to Evanston, Illinois to run for Northwestern University.

Purdue nabbed one of the top distance runners in the state of Indiana when Jonnie Guy committed to the Boilermakers. Guy finished third at Brown County Semi-State before finishing 14th at the Indiana State Cross Country Meet. He finished his cross country campaign with a 28th place showing at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional in a time of 15:43.00.  

In its 27th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPNHS, today announced Futsum Zeinasellassie of North Central HS as its 2011-12 Gatorade Indiana Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.  Zeinasellassie is the first Gatorade Indiana Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from North Central HS.  

Warren Central senior Terry Batemon is one of the top pole vaulters in Indiana and throughout the nation. Batemon placed seventh at last year's New Balance Indoor Nationals with a personal best vault of 15'9. This year he believes he can not only go above 16 feet, but possibly 17. See how he got started in the sport, what else he is looking forward to this season, and more.

Franklin Central senior Jason Crist has made his college decision and will stay in state for the next four years. Crist chose Indiana University over offers from Butler, NC, State and Purdue. He says in the end it was a special feeling that separated the Hoosiers from the rest.

A trio of Sunshine State track stars returned home to train for 2012 season and gear up for the Olympics in London. Bershawn "Batman" Jackson, Jamaal Torrance, and Moses Washington spent a couple of days at the National Training Center in Clermont working on their speed and strength. 

 In its 27th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN HS, today announced Ashley Erba of Warsaw Community High School as its 2011-12 Gatorade Indiana Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.  Erba is the first Gatorade Indiana Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year to be chosen from Warsaw Community High School.  

Purdue running back Akeem Hunt crouches down into his stance, ready to explode with a burst of speed and leave the competition behind him. But this time of year, it's in Lambert Fieldhouse rather than Ross-Ade Stadium. Hunt, along with five other football players, will be competing for the Purdue track and field team this spring. (via Purdue Exponent)

The first meet of the new year for the men’s and women’s track and field teams will be the Indiana Open on Saturday, which takes place at Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse on the Bloomington campus. (via Indiana Daily Student)

Indiana Tech track and field is proud to announce the signing of Quinton Jones (Ft. Wayne, IN/Leo HS). Quinton is a multiple-time state qualifier formally at Harding High School. (via WANE TV)

In this second episode of The Fit Runner our host is Tara Gidus, aka the "Diet Diva" and nutritionist to the Orlando Magic. She gives us some solid meal and hydration ideas for before, after, and during a run. This is the latest episode in our series on being a fit runner.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana Athletics Hall of Famer and legendary coach of track and field and cross country at Indiana, Sam Bell has been honored by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association with the George Dales Award. The award is presented for a lifetime commitment to the promotion of the sports. (via iuhoosiers.cstv.com)

According to reports, when legendary Swedish miler Gundar Hagg was 18, he suffered a bout of pneumonia so bad he was told to avoid all future exercise. (via Running Times)

Coach Chuck Koeppen landed a standout group of runners for his 2012 recruiting class.  The IUPUI  men's cross country team graduates only two harriers, but will bring in four of the top seven runner at the Indiana State Cross Country Meet. 

Few distance runners have dominated their sport like North Central's Futsum Zeinasellassie. A three-time state champion in the 3200-meter in track and field and a three-time individual state cross country champion, the senior is setting a new standard.

Cheserek held off a late charge by Zeinasellassie after a back and forth battle nearly the whole way.  Seidel was able to make a break with 300 to go after Finn led the race for close to 2.5 miles.  Great races all around from all the athletes!  (Photo by Don Rich)

The girls race at Foot Locker Nationals is a little more wide open than the boys race, but there are still a handful of girls at the top who will be difficult to beat.  The top 3 returners from last year have all had great seasons and have proven they can race well under the pressure at Balboa Park. 

The boys race at Foot Locker Nationals has the potential to be a very special event.  The course record of 14:36 at Balboa Park has been held by Reuben Reina since 1985.  This record is in serious jeopardy as both Edward Cheserek (NJ) and Futsum Zenasellassie (IN) have been consistently under 15 minutes this year.  Photos by Victah Sailor/Photorun.net.  Center Photo by Don Rich.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Senior Michael Sublette placed 41st Saturday (Dec. 3) to lead the Columbus Cross Country Club boys to a ninth-place finish in the Nike Cross Nationals. (via iHigh.com)

All eyes were meant to be on Futsum Zeinaselassie.  Previews had Zeinaselassie as the odds on favorite to win by a wide margin.  That all changed once the gun went off.  Nick Ryan of Fayetteville-Manlius took off quickly, as he tends to do during his races in his home state of New York.  Ryan's speed found him in the first position after the pack had converged, with about a 50 meter lead ahead of other national caliber athletes; Futsum included.

The Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) brings together the best teams in the country and pits them against each other on the most unique course available.  Portland Meadows will once again play host to the championship battle and the manufactured course that traverses the interior of a horse racing track will have all the traditional features of European style cross country racing; including plenty of mud.

Twenty-two of the nations' top teams and forty-five of the best individuals will make the trek to Portland, Oregon for Nike Cross Nationals. The teams are comprised of two winners from nine different regions and four “At-Large” berths, decided on by a team of Nike consultants. 

Kristina Galat's 17th place finish helped the Indiana girls high school All-Star team win Saturday's Mideast Cross Country Championships.Galat, a senior at Penn, clocked 19:37 on a 5,000-meter (via South Bend Tribune)

KENOSHA, Wis. -- Close, but no plane ticket. LaPorte senior Mitch Hubner missed a trip to the Foot Locker National High School cross country championships by 13 seconds.

The last three weeks sure have flown by!  It feels like State was just the other day and yet there’s only one week until Footlocker Midwest.

It's every high school cross-country runner's dream: being named an Indiana All-Star. For Tiffany Rauch, the honor was beyond her wildest dreams. (via www.news-sentinel.com)

The scenery at Indian Rifle Park has had many different looks over the years. The 95-acre park, located in Kettering, Ohio, is the site of the town’s ever-changing recreation complex, one that now includes a senior center, an ice arena, three swimming pools and a walking/running track among other things. (Photo by Robert Hollen)

Craig Martin recaps the Girls Action from the NXN Midwest Region

Craig Martin recpas the action on the boys side from NXN Midwest. 

LaPorte senior Mitch Hubner finished 30th at the Nike Midwest Regional Cross Country Championships. (via southbendtribune.com)

Futsum Zeinasellassie is in at NXN, now to qualify at Foot Locker before beginning the quest to win both titles. (Photo by Paul Everett)

State champion girls cross country runner Ashley Erba of Warsaw High School was named first-team and Runner of the Year for Class 5-A on the Indiana Athletic Track and Cross Country Coaches All-State girls team. (via southbendtribune.com)

At Calumet, he finished 18th in the 2002 IHSAA state cross country meet. He was named second-team all-state and academic all-state. He set Lake Athletic Conference records and school records in cross country. He was a Calumet Regional champ. (via nwitimes.com)

There is no time capsule that would allow the 2011 Carmel High School girls cross-country team to take on state champions of yesteryear. If there was, all those Greyhounds running simultaneously would make for a marvelous race. (via saxo.highschoolsports.net)

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Futsum Zeinasellassie wasn't running for victory as much as he was for posterity. He achieved both, even while wanting more. If he was disappointed with a third high school state cross-country title Saturday, he was as alone in that as he was in the race. (via The Indianapolis Star)

It was a fine day for a run if you were a Concordia Cadet. But it was an even finer day if your name was Ashley Erba. (via www.journalgazette.net)

Fort Bluff Camp is known for championship tournaments with many of the fall sports, but November 12th will mark the first ever NACA Cross Country Championship meet.

At the IHSAA State cross country meet. held in Terre Haute on October 29, 2011, Senior at Valparaiso High School, Ahmad Aljobeh was given the Mental Attitude Award. The 2011 Charles F. Maas Mental Attitude Award for boys cross country went to Ahmad Aljobeh based on scholarship, mental attitude, leadership and athletic ability. Ahmad is an outstanding example of all these requirements. (via ValpoLife.com)

State Champion. Wow that feels good to say. What an incredible end to a great season. This last week went very well for the Lady Tigers as we built up to our first State showing in twelve years.  Coming off of a solid performance at our Semi-State we headed into our final week of team training before our biggest meet of the year.  

Tigers junior wins girls state meet in Terre Haute. (via WANE TV)

Call it the Futsum Factor. Futsum Zeinasellassie is not the sole reason Indiana high school running has undergone a resurgence. Yet there is widespread belief that the legacy of the North Central High School senior extends beyond his own achievements. (via The Indianapolis Star)

Ashley Erba could complete her comeback with a state championship. The Warsaw junior could make a lot of tough times in her high school career disappear with a first-place finish today at the state cross country meet in Terre Haute. (via www.journalgazette.net)

It has all been building to this. For some cross country runners and teams, this will be their only shot at state. For others, this is a rite of passage. Either way, it’s a chance to make history. (via www.thenewsdispatch.com)

North Harrison will chase the first state championship in school history during Saturday's Indiana High School Athletic Association boys' cross country state finals at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute. (via The Courier-Journal)

When Miguel Lozano started running as a fifth grader he would have never envisioned the road that would take him to where he is today. The Mishawaka senior played numerous sports in middle school including football and wrestling. It was as a grappler that Lozano experienced his first hurdle in life.

Indiana Native, Connor Martin, talks about the recruiting process and his experiences so far at Princeton. One of the top recruits out of the Hoosier State last year, Martin is in his freshman year at Princeton University. 

Bloomfield senior Julie Riggins ended her high school cross country career with a 20th place finish at Saturday's IHSAA Brown County Semistate at Eagle Park in Nashville, five spots short of qualifying for the state finals. Her time of 19 minutes, 51.6 seconds was a personal best for Riggins on the tough 3.1 mile course that winds through a heavily wooded and difficult path. (via Greene County Daily World)

For the record, Mike McKeighan will not measure the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course on Saturday and exclaim to his team: “It's 5,000 meters, just like the course back in South Whitley.” (via www.news-sentinel.com)

This last week started well, went great in the middle, and then ended with our team making it to the State Championships for only the second time in school history. Those are the kind of weeks I like.

Matt Orsag, of Highland, earned a Hoosier Heroes Scholarship.Orsag, son of Alex and Deana Orsag, was awarded one of 10, $2,000 scholarships at the Hoosier Heroes Celebration held in May at the Garrison Conference Center at Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis. (via nwtimes.com)  

North Harrison junior Jonathan Reynolds still runs with scars from an automobile accident that nearly cost him and his team a shot at the ultimate goal in the cross country state tournament. On Saturday morning at Brown County’s Eagle Park, Reynolds made amends for all the angst his crash caused as the No. 14 Cougars defended their title in the Indiana High School Athletic Association semistate.(via The Courier-Journal)

FORT WAYNE -- St. Joseph's Joey Zielinski won the battle, but it was Miguel Lozano and Mishawaka that won the war Saturday at the New Haven Semistate Cross Country Championships. (via southbendtribune.com)

Cross Country Semistate with the top 6 teams advance to state, Mishawaka was first, South Bend St. Joe second, followed by Carroll, Warsaw, Snider and Whitko. (via www.indianasnewscenter.com)

  There's strength in numbers in all sports, but maybe none more than cross country. Valparaiso's boys showed it in Saturday's New Prairie Semistate, piling all seven runners into the top 30 to emphatically defend its title. (via nwitimes.com)        

It's possible the Indiana High School Athletic Association will realign the cross-country postseason after this season, but it's not because some top-10 teams won't be advancing to the state meet today. (via The Indianapolis Star)

Caleb Kerr won the cross country semistate Saturday at Brown County to lead a strong showing by Evansville runners.  With the first semistate win by a local runner in recent memory, the North senior led the Huskies to a fourth-place team finish and their first state meet in more than 40 years.(via Evansville Courier & Press)

Jason Crist is one of the top distance runners in the hoosier state. The Franklin Central senior has a season best 5k time of 15:16.00 that he set at the Ben Davis Invitational. See what he has to say about the weeks leading up to the state championship, overcoming some obstacles along the way, and an acceptance letter from a local university in this series we like to call "In Their Own Words".

  IN Runners has strengthened its database for this XC Season.  Just in time for Semi-States, you can now rank yourself and your team against others in your  sectional, regional, and semi-state.

Mitch Hubner doesn't even remember what place he got at the Indiana State Cross Country Championships his freshman year. All he knows is it was around 100th. Good guess. The LaPorte star crossed the line in 17:00. The past three seasons have been a different story. 

Tyler Byrne is a justice administration major at the University of Louisville and aspires to work someday for the FBI. If he ever pursues suspects in a footrace, the bad guys likely won't stand a chance. (via The Courier-Journal)

  It's an ill wind that blows no good. So it was at Saturday's New Prairie Regional. The brisk northerly breeze didn't faze LaPorte's Mitch Hubner. He rolled to a 16-second victory.    

Five local individuals, but no teams, finished high enough to advance at the IHSAA Cross Country Regional at Bedford North Lawrence on Saturday. Madison's Gabby Nay was the highest local finisher when she finished fifth in the girls race in 20:55.84. (via madisoncourier.com)

Conard had success in the classroom and in cross country. He had a very successful run as the Bulldogs' boys cross country coach and assistant track coach from 1969 to 1984. In cross country, Crown Point won 10 consecutive Lake Suburban Conference titles from 1974 to 1983.  (via nwitimes.com)  

What a great day for the Lady Tigers! We had our Regionals today at Oxbow Park in Elkhart and WON for the first time in Warsaw history!  It felt great coming back as a junior this year and getting to go up to claim our championship awards after it being just out of reach the past few years when we just barely missed winning.  But hey, sometimes that’s the best motivation.  So far this year, that has certainly been fueling us; we’ve won the NLC, Sectionals and Regionals in the past two weeks which is huge for us.  It feels great to see our team finally coming together and accomplishing great things.

ELKHART -- Miguel Lozano knows there are bigger races ahead. All of Mishawaka High School's cross country runners know that. (via southbendtribune.com)

North Central School senior Futsum Zeinasellassie is not just one of the top runners in the Hoosier state, but one of the best in the nation. Last year Zeinasellassie finished second at Foot Locker Nationals and with the graduation of Lukas Verzbicas has his eyes set on the title. See what else the star has in mind for 2011 including a goal of going under 14:30!

CONNERSVILLE, Ind. -- Make it two in a row for Hagerstown's girls cross country team. And three in a row for Union County's T.J. Schienbein. (via Palladium-Item)

  A season clouded in doubt is gaining clarity for Katelyn DeVries. The Valparaiso senior, whose year was put in limbo by a fractured foot in the summer, continued her march back to the top in Tuesday's Chesterton Sectional.    

SOUTH BEND -- Mishawaka's Miguel Lozano and Joey Zielinski of St. Joseph's have been chasing each other all year. (via southbendtribune.com)

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. -- When Guerin Catholic opened its doors in 2004, there weren't enough boys out for cross-country to assemble a full team. When the current seniors were freshmen, the roster numbered nine. (via The Indianapolis Star)

Tuesday's Harrison Sectional was supposed to be a cross country meet during which West Lafayette junior Bobbie Burgess paced herself in preparation for upcoming postseason races. (via Journal and Courier)

The New Albany girls’ cross country team’s successful 2011 season continued Tuesday afternoon. The Bulldogs had their top-five runners fi (via newsandtribune.com)

The boys and girls high school cross-country sectionals begin around the state today. Nowhere is the road to the Oct. 29 state championship tougher than coming out of Central Indiana. Here are four things to watch during the postseason: (via The Indianapolis Star)

NASHVILLE -- The North Clay cross country made the long trip back from Brown County a celebratory one as the Knights came home with a pair of Western Indiana Conference team championships and an individual title by Cam Trout. (via Brazil Times)