1. Ritzenhein is Ready for Chicago: With the Bank of America Chicago Marathon a mere three weeks away, Dathan Ritzenhein decided to test himself against a strong field at the Philadelphia Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon Sunday. A blazing first 5k of 14:10 immediately put stress on Ritzenhein and the rest of the top contenders, while the second 5k of the race was nearly as fast (14:28 for Ritz).

Front-runner Stanley Biwott pulled away from the field early on and never looked back, crossing the line in 1:00:02, while fellow Kenyan Paul Lonyangata finished second in 1:00:42. Behind them, Ritzenhein finished off his strong tune-up race, running 1:00:56. While the time was nearly a minute off his PR in the event, it did signal that he’s fit and ready to take on the streets of Chicago.

No one has ever questioned Ritzenhein’s strength or tough-as-nails attitude; however, the question lingering is if he can fix his late marathon issues of cramping and running out of fuel. Regardless, Sunday’s race was an encouraging one.

Philadelphia Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon Results

2. American Fork (UT) is Very Good: In nearly every pre-season national high school cross country poll, Utah rivals American Fork and Davis were ranked in top ten in the country. The two squads squared off on Friday at the BYU Autumn Classic, with American Fork showing they are going to be a force to be reckoned with all season.

American Fork put four runners in the top nine, winning convincingly by a 36-63 margin over Davis. Connor McMillan led the way, finishing in 15:20.3, leading a strong 35-second split. Davis, who is battling some early season injury and illness issues and running without their number two runner Preston Johnson, were led y Brayden Cromar, who ran 15:28.9, while leading Davis to a 37-second 1-5 split.

While the season is still very young, these early results show American Fork will be one to watch all fall, and don’t forget that these two teams were third (Davis) and sixth (American Fork) respectively at Nike Cross Nationals last fall.

BYU Autumn Classic Results

3. Ben True’s Future is Bright: Admitting earlier in the week that he wasn’t in peak form, True took to the U.S. 5k Championships with a vengeance, outlasting a very tough field and outkicked standout Andrew Bumbalough to win his second consecutive U.S. 5k championship title.

Earlier this summer, True was diagnosed with Lyme disease, which basically squashed any shot he had to make the U.S. Olympic Team. While he still finished 6^th in the 5k at the Trials (and 12^th in the 10k), True knew he had much more to give. Currently training on his own in New Hampshire, the former Dartmouth standout proved once again Sunday that his brightest days as a professional lie ahead of him.

U.S. 5k Championship Results / U.S. 5k Championship Website

4. Molly Huddle Owns the Roads of Providence: Entering the U.S. 5k Championships Sunday, Molly Huddle was the easy favorite on paper to win. She’s a 5k standout on the track, a 2012 Olympian, won the 5k championship two years ago and was the crowd favorite, as she currently lives in Providence, RI. With all that said, it was no surprise with the final outcome of Sunday’s race.

Huddle sat behind Liz Maloy for much for the first two miles of the race, then started to take charge from there, showing her strength and speed simply couldn’t be matched. She ran with runner-up Neely Spence until the final stages of the race, when she shifted into another gear and pulled away for victory.

Huddle finished up her season on a very high note, as she eyes an even bigger 2013-racing season. Don’t be surprised to see Huddle jump back to her U.S. 5k record shape next summer.

U.S. 5k Championship Results / U.S. 5k Championship Website

5. Julia Bos (MI) is a Star on the Rise, Beats Erin Finn: One of the two pre-season favorites heading into this fall, Erin Finn (Sr., West Bloomfield, MI), who was runner-up at the 2011 Foot Locker National Championships, took on in-state rival Julia Bos (Sr., Grand Rapids Christian, MI) at the Nike/Playmaker Spartan Invitational. Bos showed she’ll be one to watch all fall, besting Finn for the individual title, 17:20-17:35 over the 5k course.

Obviously the season is still young., but consider this…Finn won this meet in 2011 in 17:16 and Bos seems as determined and focused as ever on having an amazing 2012 season.

Nike/Playmaker Spartan Invitational Results

6. The Battle of the Jacobs Was Wildly Entertaining: At the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational (KY) this weekend, two of the best distance runners in the country squared off, as Jacob Burcham (Sr., Cabell Midland, WV) and Jacob Thomson (Sr., Holy Cross, KY) went head-to-head in an early season test.

On this day, Thomson proved he was the better of the two, as he pulled away over the final mile to win 14:52.64-15:04.42

Both Jacobs have been extremely successful on the track, while both are still looking to take their cross country success to another level. Burcham, who won finished second in the adidas Grand Prix mile in an incredible 4:02.73, then followed up with a NBON mile victory, is looking to show his strength is as impressive as his speed.

Similarly, Thomson is showing that he’s getting stronger. Early on in Thomson’s high school career, he was shown as more of a middle-distance standout. However, his growth in the longer races, including a runner-up 5,000m effort at NBON, shows he’s primed and ready for a strong senior cross country campaign.

Both of these talented athletes have been standouts in their home states since their freshman seasons. Both have matured as runners and are now at the true pinnacle of the high school distance running scene and both are expecting big performances this fall in national-level competition.

Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational Results

7. Amy-Eloise Neal (WA) May Be the Fastest Prep in the US (Part I): Whoa! If you were checking out results this weekend and came across the Sundodger Invitational (WA), you might have thought the timer messed up the winning time in the girls varsity race…first place, Amy-Eloise Neal, winning in 16:31.12, nearly a minute ahead of second.

While the course was about 75 meters short of 5,000m according to a couple different sources, Neal’s mark shows she has to be considered among the very top talent in the nation this fall.

With her fifth place effort at Nike Cross Nationals last fall, along with her 4:43.82 mile performance at the adidas Grand Prix, Neal seems poised to take another big leap in her racing.

Sundodger Invitational Results

8. Alli Cash (KS) May Be the Fastest Prep in the US (Part II): Cash (Sr., Shawnee Mission West, KS) won the Baldwin Invitational by nearly two minutes, as she clocked 13:16.00 over the 4,000m course. Her mark is simply incredible and shows that the senior standout is primed and ready for a huge fall campaign.

Showing a comparison, in 2011, Cash won the same meet in 14:15.64, winning by just over a minute.

Cash ran a breakout performance at the adidas Grand Prix in June, where she ran 4:39.98 to finish third overall. Her confidence level is at an all-time high, and while she won’t be challenged much until the post-season national meets, an eye needs to be kept on the fields of Kansas, as she continues to showcase the progress she’s made.

Baldwin Invitational Results