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2009 Weekly Update - Oct. 4, 2009
This Past Week
Tuesday Batch Meet
We had very sloppy conditions up in New Egypt on a short course - so we are not going to count any of the times for PR purposes. It was about 15 seconds faster than Saturday's Shootout race. So if you improved by more than 15 seconds, it was a good race for you and you improved from Saturday.
We went into this race after a long mileage day. Pretty much the worst day to run a race is after a long day. Your legs feel a bit tired. That was done on purpose - put some more "hay in the barn" and get used to pushing your body even when tired. When the JV tapers next week for Delsea, you will feel a lot better and run faster. When Varsity tapers for Nov. 7, you will be in better shape and feel a lot faster.
Special Mentions:
Weintraub. Great leadership. Stuck with the Cinnaminson guy as long as he could. 10 miles the day before and still rounding into shape - he will get that guy later in the year.
Rothenberger - Fantastic. Steady for a full 5K.
Samocki - 17:23. Hung very, very tough. Best race of his career. And he outlegged the New Egypt guy on the track. Actually, he buried him.
Szumski - 17:40. Sorry we can't count that as a PR, but first time under 18, and was worth a sub-18 on any course. He will crush that at Delsea.
Monaghan - 18:01. Again, this was a PR worthy effort.
And the lost boys of Moorestown - Matthews, Cody, Kalndindi, and Butler all followed some New Egypt guys off the course and got lost.
Thursday - Burlington County Frosh/Soph Championship.
Our freshman led off with a very nice showing, with Van Fossen getting 3rd overall and Ems, Siegel, Geaney, Klawunn and Orzechowicz all earning medals - NICE! You can see all of the freshman really gaining ground from where they started the season. Better conditioning, stronger legs, and more competitive in races.
Sheehan was the big story of the day though in the Sophomore race. He dropped nearly a minute off of his PR and won the race by a wide margin. This is a guy who does the base work - mileage on a year-round basis. Everyone on the team can learn something from his hard work. In addition, he is starting to sharpen his focus on racing - becoming more serious and more focused. He ran like he was in a trance - totally absorbed by the task at hand, keeping a steady even pace.
This class continues to represent the best group that has ever gone thru MXC at this stage. In addition to Sheehan, Nece, Lavery, Spirgel, Cain, Jenei, and Quien brought home medals. Nece and Quien both PR'd.
Saturday - Shore Coaches - Results
We made the trip up to the fabled Holmdel Park Cross Country Course to run with thousands of other runners across the state. This is the most difficult course in the state, and in spite of some very good races, we only had three PR's. And when you get a PR on this course, it is well deserved. O'Donnell broke his PR from last year after having battled with sickness and injury this season - it is great to see him back. Spirgel continues to ratchet his time down - only 5 seconds away from a Varsity letter - and if he continues to improve like this could be a threat next year for the Varsity 7 if he runs year-round. And probably the highlight of the day, Samocki running an 18:02. That was faster than 4 of our Varsity 7 runners even though he as in the JV race. Thankfully, we have a dual meet this Tuesday to help us decide who races in the top 7 next Saturday at Delsea.
The Freshman race was first. We finished 7th as a team, with Van Fossen again pacing our team in 26th place, earning him a coveted medal. While not as competitive as last year's freshmen, there are a number of guys on this team who could really emerge over the next couple of years if they put the mileage in.
The Varsity raced next in the B Division (second largest schools). This is the race where Joe Rosa of West Windsor North broke the course record with a 15:04. To put it in layman's terms - that is smoking fast. While our Varsity did not have a break-out race, I can say we are pretty pleased with where we are at. Greenwood emerged as the fastest runner, at least for the day. It is really cool to see him up top again and feeling strong and putting in such a strong effort. Weintraub was solid and it shows that he indeed starting to round back into shape after a 2 week layoff from injury. Horten ran a great first mile and third mile as our third man, and I believe he is actually starting to get a better feel for how to run an XC race. Rothenberger, Ems, Robinson and Inglis all ran in a pack the entire way - switching the lead and helping each other.
Our Varsity had the 6th fastest Group 3 average team time of the day. As testament to our depth, our 7th man (Inglis, who fall in the woods delayed his arrival) was the fastest 7th man of any Group 3 School in the state. This is encouraging for our prospects of qualifying for the State Meet (we need to finish top 5 in South Jersey Group 3), but makes it a stretch to qualify for Meet of Champions (top 3 in Group 3 States). We need to run about 20 seconds faster on average - a possibility, but will require some hard work, and luck...
Our JV team finished off the day in fine fashion. Just as we were getting ready to go out for our warm-up the sky open up and just dumped rain on us. Of course, this really makes a cross country course and day! I think I will always remember Quinn Butler leading 30 guys down the road singing "Eye of the Tiger". The rain stopped as we stretched back at the tent, and then opened up again as we got ready to head to the starting line. It was a very psyched team that toed the line...
Of mentioned above, Samocki was a stand-out, with 10th place overall. The team finished a very respectable 3rd - losing to two Group 4 schools and beating West Windsor North handily. Also coming home with medals were Klawunn and Schwartz. Sheehan, probably still feeling the effects of Thursday's run was one place out of the money in 31st. Also worthy of note was Matthews, who was only 5 seconds of his PR.
Trail Maintenance
Thanks to the Fitzsimons, Fowlers, Schlesingers and Lavery's for coming out today to help with trail maintenance to make sure the course is ready for the big home meet this coming tuesday!
This Coming Week
Tuesday - Home Batch Meet
This is our last Batch Meet of the season. Northern Burlington will be visiting and is our last obstacle to claiming the Liberty Division Title. It will be a tough race up top, as they have some very talented runners that will test our best guys.
Parents - if you can help out by monitoring the course, please attend a meeting on Monday at 3PM at the MAC to plan, or come at 3:15 on Tuesday. We need people at all the turns to make sure no one gets lost and in case there are any injuries. Please let me know by email if you can help if you have not already sent me your acknowledgement.
Saturday - South Jersey Open at Delsea.
This is the fastest, flattest course of the year, and a perfect opportunity to get some good PR's. The JV will be tapering for this race to try to get some very good times. The Varsity will continue to train hard since the big races are off in November for the top 7. |
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