Utah is one of the top distance states in the nation. Starting today, MileSplit will be actively tracking high school cross country and track and field for the state of Utah. Photo by Alan Versaw.

As of today, MileSplit Utah is transitioning from inactive to active status.

What does that mean?

It means that, instead of seeing mostly articles of broad appeal with only very occasional articles of local interest, the site shifts from being focused on high school track and field/cross country for the state of Utah. That doesn't happen overnight, of course, but the train is now fired up and moving forward.

You can expect to see meet results from all across Utah posted regularly to the site. Those results will be archived for easy retrieval at a later date. This means the rankings (both local and national) with be filled with more Utah results. The analysis tools that MileSplit provides will be more useful. Team and athlete pages will be constantly updated with new information.

But, a MileSplit state site is always a team effort. Having results to post means taking care to see that results from your meets get forwarded to me for posting. For those handy with a camera who like to share photos, there will be numerous opportunities to see your photos displayed as cover images for articles. More ambitious photographers can post entire albums to meet pages. At this point, there are very limited resources for paying writers, but if you like track and field/cross country, have some decent writing skills, can meet deadlines, and want to do a little resume building, we should talk.

There will be challenges this spring as we bring MileSplit Utah up to full speed, but the rewards are worth it. You can expect to see a minimum of two articles per week, one a summary of the high school action from the preceding week, and the other a summary of the performances of New Mexico's high school alumni who are continuing their careers in the college ranks. In many weeks, you will see more than these two articles appearing, but you should be able to count on at least these two.

For meet directors, MileSplit offers very competitively priced online registration for the meets you are hosting. In addition to favorable pricing, MileSplit online registration has more options for seeding and meet management than any of the competition.

Registration (see the blue Register link in the upper right corner of the page) is not required to use the site, but registration does open up some options on the site. Participation in the forum requires registration. Modifying your personal page (for athletes), including adding photos, requires registration. Making a useful tool out of your team page (for coaches) requires registration. But, if you prefer to lurk in silence, that option is wide open for you as well.

You'll learn much about the capabilities of the site as you visit and explore. The site is ideally suited for those who learn by doing. Talk to your friends, find out what they've discovered. I think you'll find the site taking your appreciation for the sports of cross country and track and field to an entirely new level.

If you have questions, suggestions, or criticisms, please know that you're welcome to contact me at the e-mail address in the lower left corner of this page.