LaTavia Thomas

West Catholic\'s 4:06.70 SMR is a new US #2, while their 3:51.54 4x400, behind a 53.5 anchor by Nicole Leach, is a new US#3. Leach was the lead-off on the SMR, followed by Erica Ferguson, Ciarra Lawson and anchor Latavia Thomas. Bonner won the 4x800 in 8:04.77 (Dave McGuire 2:00.1/Rich Touey 2:03.8/Luke Henderson 2:00.9/Mark Simpson 1:59.7), a new US#4 (in photo by Dan Nelson), while the Hatboro-Horsham girls took their race in 9:17.46, new US#2. And O\'Hara\'s Steve Hallinan, who took a brief lead at 3/4\'s in 3:10.8, solidified his place in the Millrose Mile field with his 5th place 4:12.72. West Chester Henderson made the finals of the 4x200, but a runner fell on a slippery spot, knocking them out of contention. They went 1:30.73 in the Trial, a new US#7, then 1:33.26 in the Finals. O\'Hara went 1:33.18, all @ the New Balance Games @ the NY Armory.

Nicole Leach went after the short race, and ran away with a 7.2 win in the 55 Dash. Her West Catholic team also captured the 4x400 in 4:09.2. Other notable performances included West Catholic sophomore Latavia Thomas (left), taking the 400 in 60.6; McDevitt\'s Shannon Prescott winning the 55 Hurdles in 8.8; and Dougherty;s Eunice Despot winning the Shot Put with a throw of 36-01.75.

Amy Kelly, Frances Koons, and Steve Hallinan made their cases for invitations to the prestigious Millrose Mile with top finishes in the Invitational Miles. West Catholic\'s Latavia Thomas posted the top US time in the 800. Teammate Nicole Leach was 2nd in the 400 in 54.35. Angela Wells, of Simon Gratz also set a meet record in the Long Jump and helped her team to a wire-to-wire win in the 4x200. And after a close call in 2003, William Reed\'s Indoor US 400 record finally fell. (Photo: Michael Wray, Central, in a fast 55 Hurdles. Photo by Dyestat)

West Catholic\'s Nicole Leach (left with fellow Athlete of the Meet Steve Hallinan, and Olympian Jon Drummond), beat Wissahickon star Krista Simkins twice, setting two meet records by taking the 200 in 25.00 and the 400 in 55.43. Steve Hallinan, Cardinal O\'hara, ran virtually alone (and several laps in lane three passing a crowd), going 8:47.49 in the 3000. , a meet record. Central hurdler Michael Wray went 8.18 (a meet record) in the Trials of the 60 hurdles, taking the finals in 8.30. Also setting meet records were Easton senior Courtney Regan, 11-00 in the Pole Vault; and Adrienne Beltz, Hamburg, in 10:22.16 for 3000 meters; Latavia Thomas, West Catholic, 2:18.83 800; North Penn\'s boys\' 4x800 in 8:12.35, and the Haverford girls 4x800 in 9:57.14. Haverford also captured the SMR in 4:21.63 and the 4x400 in 4:13.83.

West Catholic junior Nicole Leach posted a top ten all-time 600m time of 1:31.58 at the Bishop Loughlin Games today at the New York Armory. Hickory\'s Andy Rademacher opened his senior campaign with a 15-0 Pole Vault win, a meet record, and was named Most Outstanding Field Performer. Other top PA performances included Leach\'s teammate Latavia Thomas, who won the 1000m in 2:58.12. Nazareth\'s Jordan Teuber went 35-08 to win the Triple Jump. St. Hubert\'s Amy Kelly was 2nd in the mile in 5:01.87; Sarah Roberts, Perkiomen Valley, 5th in 5:16.25. In the Two-Mile, Archbishop Carroll senior Mike Tilger was 2nd in a state-leading 9:26.89.

St. Hubert senior Amy Kelly found out quickly just how strong she is after a solid XC season, pulling away and powering to a 10:12.1 3000 meter win. Coatesville junior Tayvon Gray upped her season best by over 8\" in the Shot Put, winning with a throw of 38-05.25. The two hottest relays were the 4x800, where Hatboro-Horsham, with a 2:15 split from Caitlin Klaas, went 9:36.2 for a very quick early season win; and West Catholic cruised to a 4:01.3 victory in the 4x400 (left: Leach + Lawson).

Nicole Leach, Latavia Thomas, Krista Simkins - the names are well-known and not one of the three stars is yet a senior. Our good fortune, as the three got off to fast starts with the 2004 indoor season at Lehigh University.