THE LATEST
2010 USATF Junior Olympics Track & Field Program Information
The Granite State Flash Junior Olympics Track & Field Program is back again this year! This program is for new or existing Flash runners (ages 7-18) who are interested in learning and/or competing in track and field events, or would like to participate in a structured program to continue running through an off-season. Led by Coach Jan and other experienced coaches, the program is scheduled to begin Tuesday April 6, 2010. Find out more information and how to sign up.
Also, Coach Jim has found the following information on a clinic being held in March by UNH coahces. This could be good preparation for an upcoming school or USATF outdoor T&F season.
FLASH SUCCESS AT NASHUA'S 'FREEZE YOUR BUNS’ SERIES
A group of Flash runners participated in the Gate City Striders’ Freeze Your Buns series, a five race 5K series run in Nashua that wrapped up March 7th. On the boys side, Andrew Davy took 1st place overall in the Male 13-16 category. In the Female 1-10 category, Jessica Ewing finished first overall, with Mollie Simpson coming in a close second. In the 11-12 category, Hannah Gillis earned 1st place overall, with Natalie Howes finishing in second place. And in the 13-16 category, Meghan Gillis took 1st followed by Gabby Richardson’s 2nd place finish. Congratulations to all our Flash runners!
As an additional highlight, of the 192 runners that competed in the series, Hannah finished as the series’ overall points leader- male or female- with 4,440 points. She was followed closely by the runner-up points leader- her sister Meghan!- with 4,292 points. A maximum of 5000 total points is possible based on finish order and number of races run.
See all the series results at http://coolrunning.com/results/10/nh/Mar7_Freeze_set4.shtml
Videos from 2009 Cross Country Season Available Online
2009 GSF Junior Olympic XC Compilation Video Part 1
2009 GSF Junior Olympic XC Compilation Video Part 2
2009 GSF Junior Olympic XC Compilation Video Part 3
2009 GSF XC - Regional Meet - Bantam and Girls Midget Races- thanks to Colum Creed
Selected Optional Race Calendar
(click on race for details)
Be sure to wear your singlet to the race!
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Flash Results at the Nationals in Reno
Congratulations to all of our athletes and coaches on another very successful year of cross-country running. Of the 97 runners that entered 9 of the 10 age categories in Amherst's Association race, 8 teams and 5 individuals qualified for the Regional meet. At the Regionals in Maine, Flash qualified 6 teams and 5 individuals for the National meet in Reno, Nevada.

In total, 35 runners made the trip to Reno to compete in 8 age categories. It was cold in Reno, with at least six inches of old snow on the ground before the races even started, with fresh snow falling by late morning and continuing all day long. The start of the races were delayed by an hour as most people weren’t able to even drive to the course.

Despite the course conditions, weather, and high elevation (4600 ft at the course) all our runners made their families, their coaches, Granite State Flash and the New England region very proud. In addition to the strong team and individual results, we had 1 runner make All-American status (top 25 finisher). Congratulations to Gwenyth, who finished in 5th place for the Midget Girls.

Complete results and event pictures and videos can be found at the USATF website or our Results page. Check back here for pictures from Flash photographers and families. Thanks go to all the families that supported the Flash runners all season!
Pictures Needed!
If anyone took good pictures during the 2009 XC season that they would like to share, please email them to Justin or send via mail by 1/3/10. In particular, I need the team pictures that were taken at the Association meet in Amherst. If mailing, send to:
Justin Platt
15 Pettingale Road
Amherst, NH 03031
Other items
- The Flash year-end banquet is being scheduled for a Sunday in late January to mid-February, from about 6-8:30pm. More information to follow.
- Coach Jan will bring any “lost and found” items to the Millennium Mile race as well as the banquet for anyone to claim.
2005-2008 Season Videos Now on YouTube
See links on Pictures page.
11/22/09 Regional Meet
Augusta, ME



Mark ran half his race after losing his left shoe, and still managed to medal. At the halfway point he got his shoe back on, and moved up from 38th place to finish 16th!
11/8/09 Preliminary Race
Amherst, NH










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Congratulations to all the middle and high school runners that competed over the last few days, and best of luck to those still competing for your schools over the next few weeks. You make your families, teams, communities and coaches very proud, and never fail in giving us all some very exciting races to cheer for!
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Some pictures from the last few weeks

Patrick wins Tri-County Boys "A" Race
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2009 USATF Junior Olympics XC Signups and Schedules
Signups for the 2009 Flash Cross Country will be held Sunday, October 25 from Noon-4pm along the track at Livingston Park in Manchester. The Competition and Practice schedules are available- please follow the included links for dates and locations.
NOTE- All registration forms are now available online at http://granitestateflash.com/forms.htm. Please print all registration forms, fill them out, and bring with you on Sunday to registration. If you are unable to make Sunday’s registration in person you need to email Coach Jan to coordinate. It is important that all runners attend registration Sunday in person, so the coaches have time to talk with the runners and review the completed forms. All forms- including race and USATF forms- should be reviewed by your coach or Jan Platt. Note that the membership fee includes the entry fee for all races. Please bring a COPY of your birth certificate for registration. This will be provided to USATF for age verification, and will then be kept on file in case needed in the season.
Coaching Assignment Changes
Please review the Coaches Page for 2009 coaching assignments. Among the many changes, we are please to announce that we have added a dedicated Intermediate teams coach (runners born 1993-1994) to the Flash staff. Kurt Schulz joins us from Manchester Memorial, where he has been the girl’s varsity XC coach, and will be the Head Coach for the Flash Intermediate Girls and Intermediate Boys teams.
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Final XC school season races coming up for Flash runners
Best of luck to all our Flash runners that are participating in the middle school state meet this weekend, as well as the high school runners competing over the next few weeks.
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Alum Alex getting muddy at the
Mt Epic Challenge
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More school season pictures Please forward to Justin any school pictures you'd like to share on this site - jsplatt@comcast.net


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2009 USATF Junior Olympics XC Signups and Schedules
The 2009 Flash Cross Country Competition and Practice schedules are now available. More detail, including additional links to meet websites, will be updated once available. Also note that the practice schedule may be updated to
accommodate additional preliminary meets.
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Flash Runner Presented Award at USATF NE Annual Meeting
On September 17th, Jack Collopy was recognized as the November 2008 Athlete of the Month at the USATF New England annual meeting. Family, friends, and Flash athletes and coaches were in attendance to celebrate the presentation. Here is a link to the USATF write-up.
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XC school seasons begin for Flash runners!











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