Mindy, Nico is Truly Sorry

An unfortunate stretching accident didn't stop Mindy Sawnor from scoring wins in the 400 and 800 yesterday in our meet vs. her Greece Athena team. Our girls had no problem overcoming those points with a 90-51 victory, and the boys were reported as 113-38 winners in the paper, but that is an impossible score - perhaps 103-38. The distance runners were on the plus side as well (24-8 for the girls; 19-13 for the boys).

The 1600 was controlled by Nico, who planned to go out behind the Athena kids, to see what they had. The first 800 was a pedestrian 2:40, but Nico came back in 2:19 for the win, going away. Chris had a shot at third, but couldn't quite hang on. AJ lost focus on the third lap, falling 10 seconds behind Chris, but came back within 3 seconds at the finish. Joe Freshman and Afro Thunder destroyed the 6-minute barrier, as they continue to learn how to race on the track. Splits:

Nico 76 84 81 78 4:59
Chris 77 83 75 80 5:15
AJ 79 84 82 73 5:18
John 82 87 93 86 5:48
Joe 81 88 91 89 5:49

Megan owned the 1500 from start to finish, while Alaina gamely went after second place before settling for third. Clare couldn't quite hang on to the pack, and Karin went out a little too quick, which made the last 800 tougher than it had to be. Splits:

Megan 88 91 88 61 5:28
Alaina 89 93 92 65 5:39
Clare 89 97 96 68 5:50
Karin 90 101 123 81 6:35

In the 800, Nico took a different strategy after Alex got off the line quickly. He carried the leaders through in 64, then Alex took over with about 250m to go and go the win in 2:09. Nico easily held on to second with a 2:13. AJ held off Karl in the battle for the 4th spot on the 4x800 and JP showed signs of breaking out of his usual race pace, and brought the youngster along with him. Splits:
Alex 65 2:09
Nico 64 2:13
AJ 70 2:22
Karl 70 2:23
JP 76 2:36
Joe 76 2:40
John 77 2:42

The girls race was exciting, featuring Mindy Sawnor, fresh off her 2:16 on Friday night. She let Megan lead the first 500m, so Megan took her time, coming thru the 200 in 39 and the 400 in 79, with Chelsea also on her tail. On the backstretch, Mindy made a strong move, but then, in the surprise of the day, Chelsea zipped by into the lead before the final turn. They came off the top of the stretch just about even and Mindy's speed was just a bit too much for Chelsea, but Chelsea had turned in a 72 for the second lap, with most of the time drop from the first lap coming in the last 275m. Clare helped Katie to a decent time as well. Splits:

Chelsea 79 2:31
Megan 79 2:38
Clare 84 2:53
Katie 85 2:53

Our guys in the 3200 showed that we are just about ready to become contenders. The three of them, Kenny, Chris and Nate, took turns leading for the first mile, while the Athena kids just sat back. With the cold and wind, the first mile was only 5:37. Then the Athena kids tried to take off. Our guys gamely answered the first surge, but then it became apparent that it was too strong a move for Chris and Nate. Kenny was the last hope. He gave it a good shot, but had to settle for third. Splits:

Kenny 84 246 412 537 658 822 945 1106
Chris 84 247 412 537 701 829 955 1114
Nate 84 246 412 537 702 830 1003 1138

Kenny 84 82 86 85 81 84 83 81
Chris 84 83 85 85 84 88 86 79
Nate 84 82 86 85 85 88 93 95

I didn't really see the 3000, as I was sorting out 4x800 relay combinations, but I believe it was a Webster sweep (no Athena entrants).

Unfortunately, the 4x800 went from being a friendly competition for the varsity points to being a joke. Ryan, Nico and Alex had a decent race on the opening leg, and JP and Johnny worked hard on the second leg, while Kevin got a late start and wasn't used to 800m. Kenny, Nate and Chris put out a decent effort, back from the 3200, but the anchors were an embarrassment. Shriner runs? Another performance like that will result in 800m repeats after the meet, until I am happy again. There are times for fun, but not when the fans are standing in the cold, trying to cheer the teams on.

A Busy Week

Well, with the Penfield meet rescheduled for this Thursday, the meet at home against Athena tomorrow and the exciting His & Hers Invitational in Victor on Saturday, we have a very full week. Here is the scouting report for tomorrow's meet - it looks like we may match up quite well (remember, Athena beat our boys, 27-29 on a one-second differential and they beat our girls, 21-32, before our girls realized they could run - they only got us by 7 points at Counties):

Athena had one entrant at the Webster Invitational. Nick Walker ran 12:31 in the Steeplechase. On the girls side, Mindy Sawnor ran 2:16 for the 800 in the "main event" on Friday night at the Brighton Relays. Also this spring, Jenni Fasciano and Carly Maggio have run the 1500 in 5:24 and 5:42, respectively.

Indoors, the following results are available for Athena:
1000
Christopher Williams 3:19.69
James Sincebaugh 3:26.84
Christopher Ward 3:27.01

1500
Mindy Sawnor 5:04.92
Jennifer Fasciano 5:23.43
Erica Leicht 5:43.77
Caitlin O'Leary 6:16.95
Caitlin Lashbrook 6:17.49
Samantha Fasciano 6:33.85
Lindsay Federation 6:50.66

1600
Bryan Houle 5:27.01
Kyle Lemcke 6:00.78
Joseph Landry 6:03.34

Boys 4x800 Relay 10:26.18
Girls 4x800 Relay 11:19.47

And looking back to XC Season, Sectional results:
Boys
Nate Wallenhorst-11 17:13.0
Tyler Johnson-11 18:22.4
Kevin Richards-11 18:45.2
Lucas Maiolo-12 19:06.0
Nick Coirazza-11 19:22.5
Nate Wind-9 19:53.2
Bryan Houle-11 21:14.0

Girls
Melinda Sawnor-11 20:00.2
Jennifer Fasciano-12 21:51.0
Erica Leicht-9 22:32.2
Elizabeth Carbone-10 22:39.7
Caitlin O'Leary-9 24:22.8
Lisa Muldowney-9 24:41.5
Caitlyn Lashbrook-9 26:04.2

Hail Yes, That Was a Storm

So, our Webster Invitational got washed out before most of the Distance Runners had a chance to compete. Rebecca ran an outstanding 8:23 Steeplechase and Chelsea coasted to an 8:47. Rebecca returned for the 3000 with Alaina, and they both performed well. No boys were entered in the Steeplechase or 3200, with Nate's sore heel and Kenny and Chris at Disney World.

The first delay of about 90 minutes, with no rain really falling, meant that there was no time to get the 1500/1600 and 800 completed before the real storm came through about an hour later. My poor car was pelted with hail for much of the drive home. At least I didn't have to run through the rain and hail, since the boys didn't have to stay for a team meeting while the storm began to peak.

3 x Top 3

The Boys made the trip to the Brighton Relays a successful one last night. After the hurdlers (many of them running the wrong way) got off the track, it was time for the 4x1600m. Nate got things off to a good start, running a PR of 5:20. Nico ran 4:54 to put the team solidly in 3rd. Alex broke the 6-minute barrier in a big way, running 5:47 (no way was he going to allow a girl to unlap us), and AJ blazed thru the final 400 in 74 to finish in 5:32.
Splits:

Nate	74	2:33	3:57	5:20
Nico	72	2:27	3:43	4:54
Alex	77	2:47	4:18	5:47
AJ	81	2:50	4:18	5:32

The Distance Medley Relay team also did well, grabbing 2nd place behind Brighton, as their strong anchor was too much for Nate, despite his 2nd PR in the mile in as many hours. Here are the splits:
Nico 69 2:21 3:32
Stewey 54
Karl 67 2:17
Nate 74 2:32 3:55 5:15

And in the final real event, the 4x800, the boys locked up 3rd place early, in large part to guest Distance Man, Ryan Vanzo, running a very strong leadoff leg, allowing Nico to coast thru the anchor leg. Splits:
Vanzo 66.9 2:11.3
AJ 66.7 2:16.9
JP 78.9 2:39.6
Nico 66.3 2:20.9

Nico also tossed in a 2:08.5 as the anchor of the Sprint Medley.

It's a Doubleheader

Most of the boys that are not musically-inclined, and headed for Disney World, get to compete at the Brighton Relays tonight, and then at our very own Webster Invitational on Saturday. The girls are skipping the Relays.

Last year's results from the Webster Invitational are here.

It's time to start thinking about making the Standards for the Monroe County meet.

The Addison girls coach sent a few photos, which are the subject of the newest poll. Here is photo A:


Here is photo B:


And here is photo C:

It's Not a Ghetto Track...

...that would be an insult to Ghetto tracks everywhere. For example, East High has a fantastic track.

As does Franklin.

But not Penfield!

So, a brief downpour was enough to cancel the meet yesterday. I ran on a cinder track in high school, and we were able to recover our track from worse conditions than that for a meet.

Making matters worse, I went for a run on the Thomas track after we left the meet, and it appears that not a drop of rain had fallen 5 miles north. Too bad it wasn't a home meet.

Take It Easy, Today

Well, the boys got in a very nice workout yesterday, and with the meet against Penfield tomorrow, today is a day to enjoy the weather and get in an easy run. Don't forget to finish up with some strides.

I was very pleased with the effort put forth on the track yesterday; most of the team seemed to be very close to their targets on the long intervals. And when "Coach Nate" took over, I hear the times dropped substantially.

Penfield was the Section V Class AA representative at state meet in Cross Country last fall, so they are good. Tyler Stachecki is one of the top runners in the area - indoors he ran: 9:36, 4:28, 2:35 for the 3200, 1600, 1000. Penfield is deep; they had 5 runners under 10:30 (7 under 10:45); 4 runners under 4:45 (7th man was 5:01) and 6 at 2:53 or better.

I'm looking forward to Penfield pulling us to some fast times tomorrow!

The Weekend

I heard some good things about Saturday's meet at Batavia. I haven't seen complete results, but for a bunch of rookies, I heard the performance was quite good. I will point out that I have no intention of starting a Webster Distance Walkers blog.

Here is the web site with the Olympic Trials results, so you can check them out. The REAL Boston Marathon starts at noon today, and it looks like it will be a warm one.

The Rochester Orienteering Club hosted the US Middle Distance Championships on Saturday at Letchworth State Park and the US Relay Championships on Sunday at Mendon Ponds Park. The results from those events are here. Rochester won eight medals on Saturday, 3 by Nate and his brothers.

Everyone's a Steeplechaser Today

Tomorrow's meet gives all of the distance runners a chance to participate in the Steeplechase. Some of the keys to the Steeple are to:

• hold yourself back a bit for the first 600m (it's too easy to get sucked out too fast, and you will pay the price later)
• minimize the energy spent getting over the barriers (but DO NOT lose any momentum at the barriers)
• be tough as nails in the last half of the race (this race, more than any other track race, is about mental toughness and overcoming the doubts that your brain tries to throw at you)

Good luck to all tomorrow! Sorry I can't be there, but I have "Meet Director" duties to perform at the US Orienteering Middle Championships at Letchworth (and the Relay Championships on Sunday at Mendon Ponds Park). Here is information about the meet.

Team Shows Early-Season Promise

A fun, early-season meet, with nearly perfect weather (we could have done without the wind), paved the way for some good performances by the distance squad at Hilton yesterday.

First off, Chelsea was the star, capturing 3rd place, with this finish:


Here's a link to the D&C article.

Nate opened the meet in the 3000m Steeplechase. He ran pretty steady for an 11:29, within shouting distance of the Sectional provisional time. I had time to go for a run before the 800, where Chelsea turned in a 2:32, with a tough finishing sprint that headed directly into the wind. On the boys side, Alex got trapped coming off the line (he'll use his quickness next time) and was never able to make up the ground, but had a respectable time; Whitty just missed going under 2:20 and Joe Freshman is learning how to race.

I was able to squeeze in another run before the 3200. A heel problem forced Nate to scratch, so Kenny had to make his 3200 debut on his own. He lost several seconds per lap at the start of the second mile, and wasn't able to get down to the 11-minute mark, but he'll break through that soon. Afro Thunder also put in a good performance, breaking 13 and his finishing speed indicates that time will drop substantially this season. Alaina and Rebecca ran the 3000 for the girls. They both went out way too quickly and made the race more uncomfortable than it needed to be early on. Rebecca had way too much left at the end, but as she gains experience, she'll know how to more evenly expend her energy.

Nico had a nice 1600, putting himself in contention for a top 3 finish, before the older boys went by him, despite his 72-second last lap. Chris lost some focus in the middle of the race, but just needs a little more fitness after his late start this spring and he'll be back in the mix. Alex N still needs some teammates around him in order to run a fast 3rd lap, but other than that, his race was solid.

The meet wrapped up with the 4x800 relay. The girls only had 3 distance runners, so were not able to field a team. The boys definitely showed signs of being in the sun for over six hours prior to this race, and AB, Steve, Kenny and Nico were all a few seconds off their goal times.

Most of the team is looking forward to the Steeplechase meet at Batavia on Saturday. Chelsea gets to run the Developmental race, how special. Nate will have to miss the meet, as he competes in the US Middle Distance Orienteering Championships at Letchworth, a meet that is being run by yours truly (panic is definitely setting in, as I think about all of the things that could go wrong). On Sunday, there is also a meet, including the US Relay Championships, at Mendon Ponds Park. There are recreational courses available, if any Distance Runners can make it.

A Break From Spring Break

Rise and shine! Early bus today for the trip over to Hilton for the Spring Breakout meet. The weather should be mighty fine for a day at the track - quite a bit better than last year's spring break weather.

What a Marathon!

No, Ryan Hall did not win in London on Sunday, but what a performance! See here for a generic write-up, and here for a story on Ryan Hall's performance.

Just a fraction of Hall's intensity could take a runner a long way. Of course, reeling off a whole sting of 4:45 miles takes some incredible talent and work.

Billygoat

Well, Nate spanked the old man at the 30th Annual Billygoat race down near NYC yesterday. Results are here.

Today should be some speedwork, ahead of Wednesday's meet at Hilton.

Enjoy your spring break! But, don't forget to Run Everyday (well, at least six days this week).

Meaghan's 5k

So, JP pumps everyone up for a 5K race on Saturday, and then pulls a no-show. Well, even without JP, who, rumor has it, was sick, the Webster Distance Runners put on a good showing. Nico coasted thru the first half of the race, then moved up to 3rd by the finish, Chris was 5th and Whitty was just outside the top 10. Ashley and Johnny P were also seen out on the race course. The biggest surprise was a potential future Webster Distance Runner, Jack, a young 6th-grader, who ran 24:04 in his 5K debut. Pretty much all of his training was done on the ice, since he plays on Zach's hockey team.

Record Turnout

After JP showed up, we had 13 boys Distance Runners at practice yesterday. I believe that is a record workout turnout. And what a workout! It had it all: strength work moving the barriers out of storage, endurance work with the 6x750m intervals and speed work in the gap where we left a barrier out. Nice job, everyone!

No practice today. Saturday's practice is at 8:45am at Holy Trinity Church on Ridge, just east of the village, with optional participation in the Cancer Fundraiser.

Steeplechase

We should be able to do some barrier practice during our interval workout today!

A Fine Start

The boys lost overall (as it turned out getting nipped in the 4x100m made the 4x800m relay moot), 80-61, but the Distance Team put in a nice performance. On the girls side, the Distance Team went above and beyond and victory was achieved!

In the 1600, Nico coasted thru the first 800 in 2:40 with two opponents, then posted a 74 to take the lead and won going away with a 68-second last 400. JP paced Alex and Joe pretty evenly and they finished right around 6. Megan, Chelsea (L) and Clare all received a pass on the 1500, since Gates had no entrant. Krista found she had a lot in the tank, running 71 for the last 300 to take the win, followed closely by Chelsea (K) and Khristyna.

In the 800, Nico had another victory (2:13?) and Karl almost stole a point, running 2:18. The Js (JP, Johnny and Joe) ran pretty even to finish in just over 2:40. The girls went 1-2 against a very good runner, with Megan at 2:31 and Chelsea at 2:32. Clare was 4th, followed by 4 other Schroeder runners.

The 3200 and 3000 were run together. The girls meet was tight enough that Megan, Chelsea and Clare were all asked to come back from the 800. Megan went after the Gates girl for awhile, but the 800 had taken too much out, so she settled for 2nd. I think it was Krista that took 3rd. Meanwhile, Chris and Nate were running with the top 2 Gates kids, in what was clearly a tactical race, as they went thru the mile in just 5:41. Chris was the first to drop off the pace, then Will Craig of Gates made his move with about 800 to go and Nate couldn't match it, but he did run away from the other kid for 2nd.

They boys 4x800 was quite exciting. Karl made a nice effort, but fell back just a bit against the 2nd place 1600m runner. Alex and Nate were unable to close the gap. Nico caught Craig with just over 200 to go, but couldn't get by him, as the older boy's strength was too much of an advantage. The 9:11 time is well ahead of last year. The girls 4x800 was anti-climatic, and Chelsea toyed with the Gates girl with an 87 first lap, then ran 81 to open up a large lead. Clare opened the lead a bit more, then Gates ran out of runners and Brianna and Megan almost lapped them.

Opening Day at Gates-Chili

The Gates boys have 1 tough frontrunner (go get him Nico!), but we can be solid against the rest of their squad.

Scouting Report

Indoor Sectionals
1000: David Graves 3:00
1600: Will Craig 4:48 (Nico 4:46)
3200: Will Craig 10:05, Steve Schwalm 10:48
4x800: Gates-Chili 8:58

XC Sectionals (Gates 195, Schroeder 216)
Will Craig-12 17:15
Stephen Schwalm-9 18:07
Stephen Bowers-9 19:07
Joe Sampognaro-12 19:13
Zach Batz-12 19:15
Ben Young-12 19:34
Brandon McDonald-11 20:07

Nico 18:17, Kenny 18:40, Chris 18:48, Nate 19:04, Alex 19:29

XC Dual Meet (Gates 22, Schroeder 34 at Mendon West)
Craig, Will (12) 2 17:04
Schwalm, Steve (9) 7 17:51
Graves, David (12) 9 17:59
Young, Benjamin (12) 14 18:18
Sampognaro, Joe (12) 18 18:27
Bowers, Stephen (9) 19 18:32
Arnold, Tom (11) 21 18:56
Newcomb, Travis (12) 22 18:56

Nico 18:02, Nate 18:03, Chris 18:16, Kenny 18:21, AJ 19:06

And the Girls should have some hotly contested races today, too:

Indoor Sectionals
1000: Wassink, Melissa 3:15; Farrell, Lisa 3:20 (Megan 3:25)
3000: Schwartz, Stephanie 12:23; Farmer, Katy DNF
4x800: Gates-Chili 10:25 (Schroeder 11:21)

XC Sectionals (Gates 157, Schroeder 198)
16 Rachel Cannon-9 21:23.5
20 Katie Farmer-9 21:30.8
35 Angeleen Tauriello-11 22:30.9
40 Lisa Farrell-12 22:46.0
46 Stephanie Schwartz-12 23:01.5
52 Erin St.James-10 23:29.6
61 Ashley St.James-12 24:20.5

Megan 21:19, Chelsea 22:21, Ashley 22:47, Clare 23:35, Brianna 23:42, Alaina 24:14, Janelle 24:45

XC Dual Meet (Gates 27, Schroeder 28 at Mendon West)
Farmer, Katy (9) 1 20:56
Cannon, Rachel (9) 3 21:21
Tauriello, Angeleen (11) 8 22:34
Farrell, Lisa (12) 9 22:47
St. James, Ashley (12) 12 23:04
St. James, Erin (10) 15 23:26
Schwartz, Stephanie (12) 16 23:28

Megan 21:05, Chelsea 22:12, Ashley 22:32, Alaina 22:50, Clare 23:03, Janelle 23:08