Tony's Take: NXN Diaries- The 2014 Experience Tony Jones Dec 10, 2014

Arguably the best time of the year for cross country is December. December is the month of which some of the best individuals and teams in the nation were rewarded for the hard efforts and dedication to the sport. NIKE of course went out of their way in making sure each kid had the weekend of their running lives…

Tony's Take: The Post-Season Is Officially Here Tony Jones Oct 24, 2014

One way to tell when the official post-season is upon us is by watching the leaves on trees falling in rapid succession. This is also a time when things begin to get real with the beginning of conference meets and then the state series…

Tony's Take 14: Summer Fling Tony Jones Jul 09, 2014

A Summer Fling is simply a relationship over the summer that is free of hassle and drama (in most cases)… I am not a relationship counselor so I will not go into detail of what thoughts that some of you may have about the wording that could be a correlation somewhere else.

Tony's Take #12: Summer Relaxion, Summer Track Tony Jones Jun 25, 2014

It is officially the summer solstice and that means down time for many high school teachers/teachers. It is time for them to catch up with their family and friends- much of their precious time was consumed in the classrooms and on the athletic fields during the course of nine or ten months out of the calendar year.

Tony's Take #11: New Balance Outdoor Nationals Last Time Tony Jones Jun 18, 2014

From Interstate inside of Illinois to Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, and finally the promise land known as Greensboro, North Carolina. The pretty sight was like scoring an NFL touchdown inside the massive University of North Carolina A & T Aggie Stadium.  The 2014 New Balance Outdoor Nationals was the site of the national championships and what a good meet it would be.

Tony's Take: Edition Six Is Here Tony Jones Apr 30, 2014

It seems like I always lead my column off with a comment regarding the weather. Well guess what? I’m going to do it again. It has been a solid spring so far compared to last year and the climes have been more than adequate for the coaches who stand and coach in the elements. Well don’t let me jinx things…

Tony's Take: Arcadia Invitational Opens Big Outdoor Season For IL Preps Tony Jones Apr 11, 2014

The outdoor season is here and so is the weather.  It is now time to put up or shut up for those who have continually complained about how the indoor season is not as important as the outdoor season. It is also time for those that say it’s too cold to perform well to hush it up and get it going.  With all of that being said I am extremely excited for the 2014 outdoor campaign!  Good luck and good vibes to everyone out there!

Tony's Take: The Transition Tony Jones Apr 05, 2014

As we begin the transition from the indoor to the outdoor season I would like to look at several things from the past and see where we are going for the remainder of the season.

Tony's Take: Spring Is Here Somewhere Tony Jones Mar 26, 2014

Two weeks ago at this time I was celebrating the fact that the snow was melting and perhaps spring was around the corner.  Boy was I ever wrong… snow on my car and snow on the ground once again as the week opened with artic March cold.

Tony's Take: Thoughts Going On In My Head Tony Jones Mar 18, 2014

I heard the birds chirping a bit last Monday afternoon as I was finishing up my run coming back from the Evanston lakefront.  I also didn’t mind running through the pockets of melting snow as it was a welcoming sight that spring is finally coming one way or another.

Tony's Take: First Edition Is In The Books Folks Tony Jones Mar 05, 2014

The moment of truth finally arrived and I feel that it has arrived at the right time for me to expound on a few things.  I wanted to debut my personal feelings on the state of affairs in our beautiful state of Illinois. I wanted to do it last week but my conscious was in a bad spot and I knew I could not put out a product that wasn’t me. Ahh, what a difference a week makes...