The State Qualifiers arrived suddenly - I thought they were this weekend, and I see some interesting Schroeder performances.
Valerie was awesome in the 600m, grabbing 4th place. Not bad at all for an 8th grader.
Dustin was in the 300m finals, but apparently had a false start, in his eagerness to shave off the few tenths of a second that would have earned him a trip to the State Meet.
AJ ran 1:29 (again) to earn 5th place in the 600m run, but the highlight of the meet must have been the relays. The 4x400m final was decided by just 0.41 seconds, with Aquinas edging out the good guys for the State Meet berth. The 4x800 wasn't quite as exciting, but the 8:27 time was quite good and the team finished less than 3 seconds behind Rush-Henrietta (although McQuaid's 8:10 shows that we still have plenty of work to do).
On an almost relate note (R-H will be mentioned again), the Schroeder girls basketball team pulled off the upset of the Sectional playoffs with their 44-42 win over Wilson last night. While it's true that the girls city teams are always seeded too high for Sectionals, any time the last (10th) seed can knock off the 2nd seed, it's a big deal. Next up they face Rush-Henrietta, who I would list as a 27 point favorite, despite the lack of MoMo, who is tearing things up for Miami U (leading team in just about every category). The game may actually be at the Blue Cross Arena, if they are scheduled like the boys' games.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
First Orienteering Meeting
I sent the following note to the XC team DL. I hope some of you can attend!
All Schroeder XC Runners,
Some of you have expressed interest in orienteering, either recreationally, or as part of the Webster team that will go to West Point in April, to compete in the US Interscholastic Championships.
This Saturday, February 28th, I will host the first meeting of the “Webster Orienteering Club”. It will be at our house from 8:30 (sharp)-10am. We will cover some basic orienteering techniques and get in a short run.
Since this is late notice, I ask that you help spread the word.
If you can’t make this meeting, but are interested in orienteering, send me a note and I’ll be sure to include you in future sessions.
And to all of you, I hope you are looking forward to the start of Outdoor Track as much as I am!
All Schroeder XC Runners,
Some of you have expressed interest in orienteering, either recreationally, or as part of the Webster team that will go to West Point in April, to compete in the US Interscholastic Championships.
This Saturday, February 28th, I will host the first meeting of the “Webster Orienteering Club”. It will be at our house from 8:30 (sharp)-10am. We will cover some basic orienteering techniques and get in a short run.
Since this is late notice, I ask that you help spread the word.
If you can’t make this meeting, but are interested in orienteering, send me a note and I’ll be sure to include you in future sessions.
And to all of you, I hope you are looking forward to the start of Outdoor Track as much as I am!
Monday, February 23, 2009
President's Week
So, I did a fair amount of driving during President's Week (to Boston and back and to Lake Placid and back), so no time to post.
The Lake Placid trip was for the Empire State Games Ski-O race. Nate took home the silver medal, losing to Will Freilinghaus from Queensbury, a member of their State Championship Nordic Ski Team last year, who will be in Rochester this week, to help his team defend their state title. He's a real skier, having beaten all but one HF-L competitors at last year's state meet.
The Lake Placid trip was for the Empire State Games Ski-O race. Nate took home the silver medal, losing to Will Freilinghaus from Queensbury, a member of their State Championship Nordic Ski Team last year, who will be in Rochester this week, to help his team defend their state title. He's a real skier, having beaten all but one HF-L competitors at last year's state meet.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Indoor Track Sectionals
I'm going to take a quick look at the results from the indoor track Sectional meet. But first, swimming:
Wade made the finals in both the 200 (1:51.12 in the trials) and 500 (5:08.37 in the finals), and was on the 5th place 200 free relay with a 23.53 split. Very nice swimming Wade! Full results can be found here.
The track meet had some ups and downs. In the 3200, Kenny's fever was down from its high of 104, but he was in no condition to run, and Chris was only 11:09.
The 1000 featured 3 Schroeder runners. Vanzo led the way in 2:43 - it looks like he was unable to stay with the leaders in 2:39 and finished a solid 3rd. Nico and Whitty finished 8-9, in 2:49 and 2:50, respectively.
AJ was a surprising point-winner in the 600, by turning in an awesome 1:27.8 and placing 5th.
The 4x800 was almost huge. Schroeder placed 3rd in 8:42, and were within striking distance of the win, which was captured by RH, just 4.35 seconds ahead.
On the girls side, Valarie came close to scoring in the 600, with a very nice 1:43. Annelise was not far from points with a 3:22 in the 1000. And Becka scored in the walk.
Keep your eyes open for the Nordic Ski State Meet results, as it's being hosted by Section V and Brimmer is representing Webster.
Wade made the finals in both the 200 (1:51.12 in the trials) and 500 (5:08.37 in the finals), and was on the 5th place 200 free relay with a 23.53 split. Very nice swimming Wade! Full results can be found here.
The track meet had some ups and downs. In the 3200, Kenny's fever was down from its high of 104, but he was in no condition to run, and Chris was only 11:09.
The 1000 featured 3 Schroeder runners. Vanzo led the way in 2:43 - it looks like he was unable to stay with the leaders in 2:39 and finished a solid 3rd. Nico and Whitty finished 8-9, in 2:49 and 2:50, respectively.
AJ was a surprising point-winner in the 600, by turning in an awesome 1:27.8 and placing 5th.
The 4x800 was almost huge. Schroeder placed 3rd in 8:42, and were within striking distance of the win, which was captured by RH, just 4.35 seconds ahead.
On the girls side, Valarie came close to scoring in the 600, with a very nice 1:43. Annelise was not far from points with a 3:22 in the 1000. And Becka scored in the walk.
Keep your eyes open for the Nordic Ski State Meet results, as it's being hosted by Section V and Brimmer is representing Webster.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Winter Sports Update
Well, the XC Ski Sectional meet, a two-day affair (Saturday and Monday) has come and gone, and Webster performed quite well. The complete results are available here. The boys team finished 3rd, behind HFL and Mendon, on both days. In the Individual Classic race on Saturday, Brimmer led the way with an 8th place finish, which earned him a spot at the State meet (which is being hosted by Section V next week). Nate was 22nd and Eric Mallery (isn't it time to turn him into a runner?) placed 25th. Brian Charland of Thomas was the other scorer, in 16th. The Sprint Relay on Monday was exciting. After Brian and Eric had the team in 6th, Nate came from over 30 seconds down to pass Sutherland, comfortably. And Alex B (not ours, the other one) made up about 40 seconds on Mendon's B team and cruised into 4th place. On the girls side, Hannah was unavailable for Sectionals, so Sarah was the only WDR representative. She placed 39th in the Classic and helped the B Sprint Relay to a 9th place finish.
In swimming, it appears that Wade may have been hacking the Section V Swimming computers, because he is listed as the 8th and 11th seed in the 200 and 500 Freestyle, respectively, with seed times of 1:54 and 5:19. If he drops those any lower, he'll be a real swimmer! Webster's swim team is ranked 2nd in Section V, ahead of Fairport.
On the wrestling mats, Eric Krawiec competed in the Monroe County Championships a week and a half ago, and had a rough outing. He was seeded 16th, but lost in the opening round to the 17th seed, then lost a major decision in the consolation bracket, to the 15th seed.
And let's not forget about some of our alumni. Unfortunately, Chelsea's indoor season came to a premature end with a sudden IT Band problem that will force her to miss the last regular season meet this coming weekend, and prevents her from qualifying for post-season play. Down at RIT, there was the Empire 8 Championships (results) on February 1st. Marc just missed scoring in the 800m, being edged out by his teammate in 2:02. He was on the 2nd place DMR, apparently running the 800m leg.
The latest indoor track results are available here. The good news is that Kenny and Chris went 1-2 in the 3200; the bad news is that Chris was unable to stay with Kenny and record a Sectional qualifying time.
Finally, Chelsea will be sad to hear that the Schroeder Girls Basketball team finished the regular season at 1-16, with a 61-32 loss at home to Fairport. There 16 losses were by an average of 22 points. Ouch!
In swimming, it appears that Wade may have been hacking the Section V Swimming computers, because he is listed as the 8th and 11th seed in the 200 and 500 Freestyle, respectively, with seed times of 1:54 and 5:19. If he drops those any lower, he'll be a real swimmer! Webster's swim team is ranked 2nd in Section V, ahead of Fairport.
On the wrestling mats, Eric Krawiec competed in the Monroe County Championships a week and a half ago, and had a rough outing. He was seeded 16th, but lost in the opening round to the 17th seed, then lost a major decision in the consolation bracket, to the 15th seed.
And let's not forget about some of our alumni. Unfortunately, Chelsea's indoor season came to a premature end with a sudden IT Band problem that will force her to miss the last regular season meet this coming weekend, and prevents her from qualifying for post-season play. Down at RIT, there was the Empire 8 Championships (results) on February 1st. Marc just missed scoring in the 800m, being edged out by his teammate in 2:02. He was on the 2nd place DMR, apparently running the 800m leg.
The latest indoor track results are available here. The good news is that Kenny and Chris went 1-2 in the 3200; the bad news is that Chris was unable to stay with Kenny and record a Sectional qualifying time.
Finally, Chelsea will be sad to hear that the Schroeder Girls Basketball team finished the regular season at 1-16, with a 61-32 loss at home to Fairport. There 16 losses were by an average of 22 points. Ouch!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Don't Be Like Mike!
OK, I'm sure you've all seen the bad news about Michael Phelps.
I don't want to get all preachy, but I think it's important to take this opportunity to discuss illegal drug use. And for those under the age of 21, for now, alcohol falls in that category.
First, let me point you to the Webster School District's Chemical Abuse Prevention page. WAIT, DON'T GO THERE QUITE YET!
There are a bunch of articles that I find interesting at that web site; however, one of the most interesting facts is never presented at a web site like this: prevention programs don't seem to work. And this blog entry won't either. But I have to try, and so do the folks (like those that maintain the CAP web site) that mean well, and truly have the best interest of kids in their hearts, even if none of us can turn that into effective communication.
But here is a great example. One very poor decision by Michael Phelps - a decision that he had to make in perhaps a few seconds as the bong was passed his way - and he literally lost millions of dollars in endorsement money. Perception is reality, and in that moment he went from being this kind of geeky, but "American as apple pie" young man to just another pothead. Decisions like that need to be made in advance, without the various undue influences that can lead to a decision that one may regret.
I've personally seen a wide range of negative consequences for student-athletes in high school and college: everything from being too hung-over to practice, to being forced to leave school. On the other end of the spectrum, I have never seen anyone's performance (school or athletic) be enhanced thru drug or alcohol use (I have been fortunate to have never been around users of steroids, etc., but if you want to hear some sobering stories in that area, talk to Coach Buffum some time - there was serious pressure in some track events to keep up with the Jones's, so to speak - bonus points to you, if you caught the pun).
Anyway, I know that Cross Country tends to attract the best of kids, and I hope that you all have enough respect for yourselves, your teammates and your family to avoid illegal drugs.
OK, enough of that. Tomorrow: back to winter sports commentary.
I don't want to get all preachy, but I think it's important to take this opportunity to discuss illegal drug use. And for those under the age of 21, for now, alcohol falls in that category.
First, let me point you to the Webster School District's Chemical Abuse Prevention page. WAIT, DON'T GO THERE QUITE YET!
There are a bunch of articles that I find interesting at that web site; however, one of the most interesting facts is never presented at a web site like this: prevention programs don't seem to work. And this blog entry won't either. But I have to try, and so do the folks (like those that maintain the CAP web site) that mean well, and truly have the best interest of kids in their hearts, even if none of us can turn that into effective communication.
But here is a great example. One very poor decision by Michael Phelps - a decision that he had to make in perhaps a few seconds as the bong was passed his way - and he literally lost millions of dollars in endorsement money. Perception is reality, and in that moment he went from being this kind of geeky, but "American as apple pie" young man to just another pothead. Decisions like that need to be made in advance, without the various undue influences that can lead to a decision that one may regret.
I've personally seen a wide range of negative consequences for student-athletes in high school and college: everything from being too hung-over to practice, to being forced to leave school. On the other end of the spectrum, I have never seen anyone's performance (school or athletic) be enhanced thru drug or alcohol use (I have been fortunate to have never been around users of steroids, etc., but if you want to hear some sobering stories in that area, talk to Coach Buffum some time - there was serious pressure in some track events to keep up with the Jones's, so to speak - bonus points to you, if you caught the pun).
Anyway, I know that Cross Country tends to attract the best of kids, and I hope that you all have enough respect for yourselves, your teammates and your family to avoid illegal drugs.
OK, enough of that. Tomorrow: back to winter sports commentary.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Sectionals Are Here!
No, it's not yet time for indoor track Sectionals; however, tomorrow is the Section V Nordic Ski Championship Meet. For those of you unfamiliar with Nordic skiing, there are two styles, "classic" and "freestyle". New York State has a system where the individual championship is one style and the relay championship is the other style, and they flip-flop each year. This year the individual race (tomorrow) is classic and the relay race (Monday) is freestyle (most competitors use the "skating" technique in freestyle races).
Tomorrow's races will be at Harriet Hollister Park, the boys at 10am and the girls at 11:15. The relay will be on Monday at Bristol. I think Nate and Eric Mallery are the only Schroeder boys competing. I have not seen the girls roster, so I'm not sure whether Hannah and/or Sarah are competing, along with Vicki Alfieri, as Schroeder representatives.
Complete information about Section V Nordic skiing is available here.
Tomorrow's races will be at Harriet Hollister Park, the boys at 10am and the girls at 11:15. The relay will be on Monday at Bristol. I think Nate and Eric Mallery are the only Schroeder boys competing. I have not seen the girls roster, so I'm not sure whether Hannah and/or Sarah are competing, along with Vicki Alfieri, as Schroeder representatives.
Complete information about Section V Nordic skiing is available here.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Varsity (and JV?) Orienteering Team
So, the US Interscholastic Orienteering Championships are relatively close to us this year, as they will be hosted by West Point on April 18-19. I am hoping we can put together a Webster Schroeder team or two. Information about the meet is available here.
The annual West Point meet is one of my favorites. The cadets put forth a great deal of effort to make this a successful event.
Webster has been represented at the last three Interscholastic Champs: in 2006, Nate and Zach traveled to North Carolina and won the Middle School and Primary School championships, respectively; in 2007, it was off to Maryland, where Nate won the JV title and Zach placed 2nd in the Primary School category (behind a 7th grader?), while Chelsea made her A-Meet debut with a 10th place finish in the JV girls event; last year was down in Texas and Nate was the victim of an illegally placed flag and was forced to take a "sporting withdrawal", instead of finishing 4th in the Varsity race, and Zach was 9th in the Intermediate School competition as a 6th grader, behind mostly 9th graders. Nate and Zach will be looking to improve on last year's performances, and are looking for teammates.
This should be a fun, and relatively inexpensive, road trip. We can car pool, and you may stay in the barracks for just $6 per night. Also, if you join the Rochester Orienteering Club, they will pick up the entry fee, if you request it.
The plan would be to do some training in two phases: while the snow is around, we will do a couple of indoor educational sessions and armchair exercises, and when the snow starts to clear up, we will do some regular orienteering training sessions. The JV competitors compete on an Intermediate ("Orange") course. Anyone can be ready for Orange after 12-20 hours of experience. The Varsity competes on an Advanced ("Green") course - that would take a fair amount of work to prepare for.
Applications for spots on the Webster Orienteering Teams are now open! (just send an e-mail to me if you are interested)
The annual West Point meet is one of my favorites. The cadets put forth a great deal of effort to make this a successful event.
Webster has been represented at the last three Interscholastic Champs: in 2006, Nate and Zach traveled to North Carolina and won the Middle School and Primary School championships, respectively; in 2007, it was off to Maryland, where Nate won the JV title and Zach placed 2nd in the Primary School category (behind a 7th grader?), while Chelsea made her A-Meet debut with a 10th place finish in the JV girls event; last year was down in Texas and Nate was the victim of an illegally placed flag and was forced to take a "sporting withdrawal", instead of finishing 4th in the Varsity race, and Zach was 9th in the Intermediate School competition as a 6th grader, behind mostly 9th graders. Nate and Zach will be looking to improve on last year's performances, and are looking for teammates.
This should be a fun, and relatively inexpensive, road trip. We can car pool, and you may stay in the barracks for just $6 per night. Also, if you join the Rochester Orienteering Club, they will pick up the entry fee, if you request it.
The plan would be to do some training in two phases: while the snow is around, we will do a couple of indoor educational sessions and armchair exercises, and when the snow starts to clear up, we will do some regular orienteering training sessions. The JV competitors compete on an Intermediate ("Orange") course. Anyone can be ready for Orange after 12-20 hours of experience. The Varsity competes on an Advanced ("Green") course - that would take a fair amount of work to prepare for.
Applications for spots on the Webster Orienteering Teams are now open! (just send an e-mail to me if you are interested)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Varsity Season is Heating Up
Several Webster Distance Runners competed in the Tiger Invite on Saturday, as they try to nail down spots in the Sectional meet.
As you know, I am not a fan of the "race walk", but Becka put forth a nice effort to place 3rd in 8:08, behind just 2 R-H girls (one of whom placed 3rd at the XC Sectional meet last fall, leading R-H to the team title).
Speaking of R-H, what are they hearing? Would those be the footsteps of our 4 x 800m relay? Although the 8:40 was not our best time of the year, it is still fast enough to be 2nd in Class A in Section V. Only R-H, who have run 8:29 twice, have been faster. They will have to go much faster than that to win Sectionals!
Valarie ran a nice 600m to place 6th in 1:44 (again!). In the boys race, AJ edged out AB again, 1:29 to 1:30.
Whitty ran a 2:49 in the 1000m. That is an automatic Sectional time.
We didn't have anyone in the 1600/3200. I'm not sure who ran in the 4 x 800, but I saw no sign of Kenny, Nico, Chris, Ryan in the results. I hope everyone is healthy.
As you know, I am not a fan of the "race walk", but Becka put forth a nice effort to place 3rd in 8:08, behind just 2 R-H girls (one of whom placed 3rd at the XC Sectional meet last fall, leading R-H to the team title).
Speaking of R-H, what are they hearing? Would those be the footsteps of our 4 x 800m relay? Although the 8:40 was not our best time of the year, it is still fast enough to be 2nd in Class A in Section V. Only R-H, who have run 8:29 twice, have been faster. They will have to go much faster than that to win Sectionals!
Valarie ran a nice 600m to place 6th in 1:44 (again!). In the boys race, AJ edged out AB again, 1:29 to 1:30.
Whitty ran a 2:49 in the 1000m. That is an automatic Sectional time.
We didn't have anyone in the 1600/3200. I'm not sure who ran in the 4 x 800, but I saw no sign of Kenny, Nico, Chris, Ryan in the results. I hope everyone is healthy.
Monday, February 2, 2009
JV Season is Over
So, let's look at the JV results from the weekend, first.
On the girls side, there were some impressive performances. First, Annelise had a very nice double, placing 2nd in both the 1000m and 1500m runs. Her 1000m time was close to being an automatic Sectional time, and the 1500m time was just off the provisional time. And she was not alone. Samantha put up a nice PR in the 1000 and Katie just missed scoring in the 1500 with another PR. Finally, the 4x800 relay put forth a nice effort and scored 3 points.
For the boys, Justin picked up 2 points with a nice 600m run, and Will, Tristan and Alex all made PRs in the race. Joe led the way in the 1000m, with a PR, just a split-second off of Ethan's best, and Arik ran his best time of the year. It was almost PRs across the board in the 1600 as Ethan, JP, Adrian and Afro-Thunder got their bests and Joe came real close, returning from the 1000. The 4x800 relay picked up 4 points, and almost got the 10-minute barrier.
It was too bad that Zach L. was stuck playing hockey in Lake Placid. I was looking forward to seeing his year-end performance on a real track.
A look at the weekend's Tiger Invite will have to wait a bit. It appears that we had a fair number of no-shows [not] at that meet.
On the girls side, there were some impressive performances. First, Annelise had a very nice double, placing 2nd in both the 1000m and 1500m runs. Her 1000m time was close to being an automatic Sectional time, and the 1500m time was just off the provisional time. And she was not alone. Samantha put up a nice PR in the 1000 and Katie just missed scoring in the 1500 with another PR. Finally, the 4x800 relay put forth a nice effort and scored 3 points.
For the boys, Justin picked up 2 points with a nice 600m run, and Will, Tristan and Alex all made PRs in the race. Joe led the way in the 1000m, with a PR, just a split-second off of Ethan's best, and Arik ran his best time of the year. It was almost PRs across the board in the 1600 as Ethan, JP, Adrian and Afro-Thunder got their bests and Joe came real close, returning from the 1000. The 4x800 relay picked up 4 points, and almost got the 10-minute barrier.
It was too bad that Zach L. was stuck playing hockey in Lake Placid. I was looking forward to seeing his year-end performance on a real track.
A look at the weekend's Tiger Invite will have to wait a bit. It appears that we had a fair number of no-shows [not] at that meet.
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