Katie Gorman of James Madison ran away with the ECAC Championship at Van Cortlandt Park on Saturday, but the victory wasn't with constant angst as she raced the clock for the very last time. (via Armory Track)

Equity in Athletics, Inc. (“EIA”) announced today it has filed a lawsuit in United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia seeking to set aside the so-called “three-part test” utilized by the Department of Education (“DOE”) to determine compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The case is Civil Action No. 5:07-0028 before Judge Glen E. Conrad.

As reported elsewhere early in October, James Madison, citing a desire to comply with Title IX regulations, plans to drop men\'s indoor and outdoor track and x-country (as well as 4 other men\'s and 3 women\'s sports) at the end of the 2006-2007 school year. (And there is something you can do). Now the response includes a letter from the United States Olympic Committee - signed by the head of each of its sports which has been cut by JMU... along with an article in Sports Illustrated. If you haven\'t already emailed the AD at JMU...get to it ASAP!

In Virgina at our fellow MileSplit Network site, webmaster Brandon Miles has set up a front page ad to enable you to email the Athletic Director of JMU to share your feelings. But there is no need to visit MileStat, when you can simply CLICK HERE

The James Madison University men\'s cross country and track program was announced today to be eliminated effective of July 1st, 2007 thanks to Title IX as the school was forced to comply with NCAA regulations to match athletics particpation rates by gender in relation to the school\'s enrollment. Currently, females make up 50.7% of the athletes at JMU and 61% of the student population, while males make up 49.3% of JMU athletes and only 39% of the student population.

I will be attempting to do a weekly report of the college scene in the state of Virginia with a sprinkling of news on former Virginian high school preps competing in college outside of the Commonwealth. Feel free to contact me for any omissions of noteworthy performances, especially those of individuals who compete outside of Virginia collegiately, so we can get them the recognition they deserve. This week was the first week of the college indoor season with several in-state schools getting their feet wet in competition. At the Liberty Kickoff held at Liberty University\'s one-year old Toslma Track Center, the home team Liberty wasted no time in getting individuals qualified for possible NCAA Nationals competition with distance runner Josh McDougal and multi-event star Brandon Hoskins hitting NCAA provisional qualifying marks at their home meet.

James Madison senior Allen Carr (Yorktown, Va./York) placed 107th in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men

Senior Allen Carr (Yorktown, Va./York) and junior C.W. Moran (Potomac Falls, Va./Potomac) respectively finished fifth and ninth to lead James Madison to a fifth-place team finish in the 2005 NCAA Southeast Regional Men

The William & Mary men and women\'s cross country teams continued their streak of Colonial Athletic Association conference championships as the men won their sixth consecutive and the women their third consecutive in the conference championship held on the campus of UNC Wilmington. With top runner Christo Landry out due to a minor injury from a biking accident as well as having Adam Tenerowicz not racing, the Tribe\'s depth was still overpowering for the rest of the conference as they placed eight runners in the top 15 places to win by a 20 point margin over James Madison University. Tribe sophomore Ian Fitzgerald won the individual conference crown with a 24:31 clocking on the 8K course. Likewise, the William & Mary women showed their strength in their depth with 11 runners ahead of runner-up James Madison\'s fifth finisher. James Madison University senior Shannon Saunders successfully defended her conference title in a winning time of 21:04 on the 6K course after she got a strong challenge from Hofstra University freshmen Mary Sullivan.

James Madison University junior C.W. Moran (Potomac Falls, Va./Potomac) has been named the Colonial Athletic Association Men

Kicking off their season in small home opener on their home course at the New Market Battefield, the James Madison University men and women\'s cross country teams had impressive individual and team showings. In a field of five teams, the JMU men tallied 20 points to win the meet as they were led by race winner CW Moran as the Dukes junior covered the challenging 7.9 kilometer course in a time of 25:30.4. The Lady Dukes (26 pts) were able to take a close victory over 21st nationally ranked Georgetown (30 pts) as the Lady Hoyas sat out some of their top runners. In a field of five teams, the JMU women were led by senior Shannon Saunders who defended her victory in the home invite from a year ago as she finished in a time of 18:46.90 on the 5.1 kilometer course.

James Madison sophomore Adrienne Mayo (Reston, Va./South Lakes) nailed a career-best jump and placed third in the triple jump at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Women\'s Track and Field Championships Sunday at Princeton. Mayo\'s leap of 40 feet, 9 3/4 inches bettered her existing personal-best of 40\'5 1/2\" and also qualified her for the NCAA East Region Championships for the second year in a row.

James Madison junior Shannon Saunders (Forest, Va./Jefferson Forest) has been named Colonial Athletic Association Women

James Madison junior distance runners Shannon Saunders (Forest, Va./Jefferson Forest) and Nelly Anderson (Charlotte, N.C./Cordillera Academy) both qualified for postseason competition with personal-best performances at the Stanford Track and Field Invitational that concluded Saturday. Saunders took nearly 24 seconds off the school record and qualified for the NCAA National Championships in the 10,000 meters. She finished 15th overall and 14th among collegiate runners with a time of 33 minutes, 54.56 seconds. Anderson won her section of the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:34.17. She placed ninth overall and eighth among collegiate runners in the event, which was contested in two sections. Anderson qualified for the NCAA East Region for the second year in a row and for the ECAC meet for the third straight year.

James Madison senior Cindy Dunham\'s (Warren, Pa./Warren) 5,000m time of 17 minutes and 49.17 seconds earned her a first place finish at the Virginia Tech Classic in Blacksburg, which concluded on Saturday.

Sophomore Dave Baxter (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) and junior Paul Cawley (Mount Pleasant, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) each met qualifying standards for the 2005 IC4A Championships with their performances at the Virginia Tech Challenge over the weekend.

Sophomore Dave Baxter (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) placed fifth among a field of 30 in the 1,000-meter race and was one of three James Madison team members to qualify for the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America Men

The James Madison 3200-meter relay team took first place to highlight the Dukes

Juniors David Bolton (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) and Travis Lambert (Charlottesville, Va./Albemarle) each had third-place showings in the sections of their respective events at the Gulden Relays hosted by Bucknell University on Saturday. The meet was the first of the calendar year for the Dukes, who plan to compete each weekend leading up to the March 4-5 IC4A Indoor Championships in Boston.

James Madison sophomore Adrienne Mayo (Reston, Va./South Lakes) clinched first place in the triple jump at Bucknell

James Madison runner Shannon Saunders (Forest, Va./Jefferson Forest) and head JMU cross country coach Dave Rinker have been honored by the Colonial Athletic Association. Saunders, a junior, was selected as the 2004 CAA women

James Madion sophomore Adrienne Mayo (Reston, Va./South Lakes) won the triple jump and qualified for postseason competition at the Bison Opener track and field meet held at Bucknell Saturday. Mayo\'s winning jump of 38 feet, 7 1/2 inches, qualified her to compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships in Boston in March.

Senior Ted Herbert (Virginia Beach, Va./Cox) and the Dukes

As the collegiate athletes are just starting to return to their respective campuses this fall in Virginia, one can only be excited for the upcoming cross country season in store. Many schools and individuals have goals set for themselves this fall whether it be as meager as just trying to find five bodies to field a team or just to be able to make the team at the time trial in late August to as big as advancing a team to a NCAA national cross country meet or earning All-American honors individually.