Friday Round-Up: Finnerty, Robertz, Polls

Happy Friday!

We've collected the week's miscellaneous and sundry items in a "round-up" posting today:

Finnerty on MileSplit.com ... Rob Finnerty, who's been the #1-ranked Class AA boy harrier all season in Minnesota, was interviewed this week by MileSplit.com. In the wide-ranging Q/A, Finnerty seems determined to quell a persistent rumor about former Golden Gopher star Antonia Vega being his personal assistant coach:

"I know some people out there, in Minnesota, think that Antonio was hired just to be my training partner and personal coach," Finnerty says. "In reality, this isn't true because he helps the rest of the team equally. They can believe what they want though. I, along with anybody that matter to me, know what the truth of the situation really is. Anybody who thinks differently is irrelevant"

The Star-Tribune story that put the idea out there is HERE.

Catching Up with Janet Robertz ... DtB contributor Chad Austin has posted a comprehensive interview with masters distance running phenomenon Janet Robertz, HERE, on his Running Minnesota blog. Robertz, who moved to Boca Raton, Florida earlier this year has had her running slowed by hypothyroidism.

"It really affected my metabolism and energy level," the 2004 USA Masters Marathon champion told Austin. "I was exhausted all the time even though I got 9+ hours sleep. It took over a year for the doctor to get my meds adjusted and even now I just don’t have the energy level that I once had. It has been really depressing. I keep hoping that I can run another marathon but realistically, it just may not be in the cards. I can run for an hour without too much trouble but anything beyond that has become a struggle. So, a few years back a 70-80 mile week was average. Today, 45-55 is average. My high mileage week is 55 miles. The longest I have run recently is 9.5 miles."

The Latest in College Cross Country Polling ... The small college cross country rankings have undergone some additional tweaks this week -- prior to, we'll predict, the wilder swings that will likely come after the conference championships this weekend and next.

In NCAA Division II, Minnesota State - Mankato holds the #12 spot in the ratings, down from #11 last week. NCC rivals -- and conference meet hosts -- Minnesota-Duluth is ranked #15, up a slot from last week. The NCC's Augustana is #25. In women's rankings, the NSIC's Moorhead State holds the #25 position in the polls heading into their conference championship in Winona tomorrow. The University of North Dakota women, ranked #16, are the favorites in the NCC for women.

In Division III, St. John's dropped a few more places -- to #9-- from their high-water mark of #5 earlier in the season. Carleton is ranked #24, up two spots from a week ago. The MIAC holds its championship next weekend. The St. Olaf woman are ranked #15 -- up from #17 last week, followed by MIAC rivals St. Thomas and Gustavus Adolphus at #22 and #35, respectively.