Friday, May 30, 2008

Sectionals

Be Prepared!

That's a good motto for tomorrow's Sectional meet. From what I can tell, the various weather flakes don't agree on how much rain and lightning will be around tomorrow, but they do agree there will be some. This means you need to ensure you can stay warm and dry, and you need to be mentally and physically prepared for the possibility of a long day, if weather delays occur. So, conserve energy, but be sure to get in a proper warm-up before your event(s).

For your consideration (this year, or next year, as appropriate), here are some key times from last year's meet (six places score):
800
1st G - 2:19.66 (I'm pretty sure it will be faster this year)
6th G - 2:24.64 (yeah Megan)
12th G - 2:33.12
1st B - 1:55.73
6th B - 2:01.63 (Marc)
12th B - 2:09.86

1500/1600
1st G - 4:46.79
6th G - 5:06.13
10th G - 5:21.73
1st B - 4:23.97
6th B - 4:44.76
9th B - 5:02.45

3000/3200
1st G - 10:21.99
6th G - 11:16.60
12th G - 12:08.45
1st B - 9:26.45
6th B - 10:03.53
12th B - 10:17.04

Steeplechase
1st G - 7:09.50
6th G - 7:51.18
9th G - 8:40.25
1st B - 9:54.31
6th B - 10:32.24
12th B - 11:12.87

4x400 Relay
1st G - 4:03.26
4th G - 4:08.02 (Schroeder)
5th G - 4:12.25
1st B - 3:26.29
6th B - 3:40.46
9th B - 3:47.22 (10th was 4:32)

4x800 Relay
1st G - 9:42.03
5th G - 10:25.38 (Penfield)
6th G - 10:25.39 (Schroeder)
7th G - 10:50.69
1st B - 8:08.29
6th B - 8:26.69
9th B - 8:54.67 (10th was 9:11)

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Rush and Youngsters

I didn't get a report on the Frosh/Soph meet that I missed (and Nate did not bring splits home, as planned), so I had to look up the results.

800
2. Nico 2:13.37
7. Whitty 2:24.61

4. AJ 2:18.16
9. John 2:35.73
10. Joe 2:37.45

1600
1. Nico 4:58.91
3. Chris 5:09.19

23. John 5:48.69

4x800
1. Soph 9:14.11 (not bad for a bunch of youngsters running alone)

2. Frosh 9:40.00 (very respectable)

Unfortunately, the R-H meet was rescheduled between Counties and Sectionals, and on the day of the Frosh/Soph meet, so the distance ranks were depleted and limited in duty.

R-H swept the girls 400, with Chelsea running just under 64.

Our only 1600 entry was Mark, doing some Pent training:
Mark 73 2:31 3:54 5:09

The 1500 went much better, and the girls put up some fine times:
Alaina 87 2:57 4:23 5:34 (gave the R-H girls a nice scare for 1200m)
Clare 88 3:01 ~4:36 5:42
Becka 89 3:03 ~4:40 5:45

Ryan pulled off the win in the 800 (I missed his final time; he was out in 61). JP was 79 2:39. The girls couldn't quite get under 2:40.
Alaina 77 2:41
Becka 80 2:41
Clare 86 2:52

The slow heat of the girls 200 actually turned out to be the fast heat for Webster, as the distance runners showed the sprinters how it's done. Chelsea took the heat in 28.9 and Megan (coming off the hurdles) ran 29.1.

Kenny was alone against a boatload of R-H kids in the 3200 (seemed like last year). He ran a smart race, using the R-H 3-5 runners for the first mile, before walking down the 2nd runner, passing him for good with a strong move with 250m to go.
Kenny 78 2:40 4:05 5:31 6:56 8:24 9:50 11:06

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Quandary

I was without an Internet connection for the 4-day weekend, so I haven't been able to get the JV County Meet splits up. Maybe tonight or tomorrow.

Speaking of tonight, I have a tough decision to make. Most of the varsity will be competing in our final dual meet of the year, against strong Rush-Henrietta teams. Meanwhile, the boys frosh/soph squad will be at their own meet at Aquinas. That leaves me with an agonizing decision. It's a shame that the varsity teams felt the need to reschedule the meet for the Tuesday between Counties and Sectionals - we really don't want to overwork the distance team today.

And just a quick word about the JV County Meet: awesome. Winning the 4x800m relay was quite an accomplishment, rounding out a day of very strong performances.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Boys and Girls Win!

Well, the Spencerport meet turned out to be fairly exciting, with the outcome still not certain as the relays started. The meet held close to form for the Distance Runners, with a few exciting exceptions.

The first surprise was Chelsea taking the victory in the 400 in 63.8.

The next surprise came in the 1600m, where Chris managed to grab 3rd place:
Nico 68 2:20 3:39 5:01
Chris 71 2:30 3:52 5:06
John 76 2:45 --- 5:48
Joe 75 2:45 --- 5:55

Megan ran a smart race to grab 2nd in the 1500, ahead of a whole bunch of fine performances:
Megan R 78 2:47 4:18 5:19
Alaina 84 2:56 4:30 5:36
Clare 88 3:02 4:37 5:43
Becka 88 3:04 4:39 5:44
Chelsea K 91 ~3:09 ~4:51 6:05
Megan 90 ~3:09 ~4:50 6:06

Spencerport had their top 2 runners in the 800, so Nico had to settle for 3rd, after making a solid attempt at 2nd. AJ and Steve also went out quite hard in an attempt to stay in the mix. Afro Johnny continues to drop his time:
Nico 62 2:16
AJ 63 2:17
Whitty 64 2:24
John 75 2:33
Joe 75 2:40

The girls 800m was the most exciting race of the day. Chelsea got off the line and Megan and Katie Sanders from Spencerport were content to follow her thru the 200 in 38 and the 400 in 80. Then things started to heat up. Megan took the lead on the backstretch and they were both able to hold off Katie, who tucked back in for the final turn. The last 100 was a blazing sprint and I was unable to judge the order from nearly 50m away. But it turned out that Megan and Chelsea went 1-2 for 8 big points. Megan's last 400 was a 72:

Megan R 81 2:33
Chelsea 80 2:33
Alaina 85 2:46
Clare 86 2:52
Megan 86 3:00
Alana 87 3:01
Chelsea K 90 3:11
Alisha -- 3:38

In the 3200, Cyril Dunham was going to be unbeatable, but Chris led Nate and Kenny to early control of the next 3 spots, with Nate and Kenny then taking over with alternating leads each lap, and Nate's kick leaving him just shy of breaking the 11 minute barrier:
Nate 78 2:39 4:02 5:26 6:50 8:17 9:40 11:00
Kenny 79 2:39 4:02 5:26 6:50 8:17 9:42 11:04
Chris 78 2:38 4:09 5:40 7:10 ~8:45 ~10:16 11:32

3000 and Relays to come...

Monday, May 19, 2008

Spencerport Preview

It looks like Spencerport has one dominant runner on the girls' and boys' sides, and then a significant gap.

For the boys, Cyril Dunham has gone 4:23 and 9:52, so he's a lock to win the events he enters (well, maybe not the 800). They also have a Nick Cholewa who has gone 2:05 in the 800. The next best effort that I could find was a Steeplechaser that went about 11:15. They have put together a 9:17 4 x 800 relay this year.

For the girls, Katie Sanders is the only one on the radar, but she is good, having run 2:28, 5:03 and 11:37. Their 4 x 800 has only gone 11:16.

So, this should shape up to be quite a battle for the 2nd and 3rd place finishes, much like our close battles with Spencerport in XC (the boys won 27-28 and the girls lost 28-28 and we split with them at Counties/Sectionals).

Friday, May 16, 2008

Long Weekend

After three straight days of hard effort, the boys varsity distance runners have earned three easy days. While the JV runners head for a meet today, the varsity can get in an easy run. A slightly longer easy run is in store for Saturday, while Nate and I (and Luke) are orienteering in Ottawa. A Sunday run is optional, but with the meet on Monday, I would suggest an easy three-miler rather than nothing. After Monday's final home meet, it will be time to focus on the County Meet.

Yesterday's 4x400 workout went quite well. No one managed to challenge the 4-minute barrier, but I was pleasantly surprised by most of the times (and I hope the boys were as well). And everyone will be back next year to take a shot at 4 minutes (or even Marc's team record 3:50?).

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Fairport Splits

While we lost the war against Fairport, we won some excellent battles. And I guess our 3 studly boys 4 x 800m relays scared them right off the track.

Nico ran a very nice strategic race against the swarm of Fairport runners in the 1600 and Joe and Johnny put up decent times as well. We still need to be better in the middle of the race:
Nico 75 2:29 3:40 4:49
Mark 80 2:48 4:16 5:31
Joe 80 2:48 4:16 5:42
John 82 2:52 4:23 5:47
Alex 83 2:52 4:26 5:55
Kevin 87 3:06 4:52 6:41

The girls had some very nice performances behind Megan in the 1500, with Alaina really starting to show her stuff:
Megan 74 2:40 4:13 5:25
Alaina 85 2:55 4:27 5:29
Clare 89 3:07 4:44 5:51
Krysta 90 3:08 4:45 5:56
Megan 90 3:08 4:46 6:06
Karen 90 3:08 4:58 6:20
Alana 90 3:11 5:01 6:20

Nico came back to run the 400 Hurdles, finishing just behind AB's 61.8, with a 63.6.

The 800m run came with some surprisingly fast times. Ryan was tossed in at the last minute, and wound up winning the thing (I think, I missed the last few meters). Nate was promised he could skip the 3200 if he went under 2:15 and Whitty almost broke that barrier as well:
Ryan 59 2:03
Nate 64 2:12
Steve 65 2:16
AJ 68 2:18
Thunder 75 2:35
Joe 75 2:37

The girls race became exciting on the second lap. Chelsea and Megan followed the trio of Fairport girls for the first 200, then allowed them to open a bit of a lead. With 300 to go, Chelsea went to work, zipping by one Fairport girl, then smoked a second girl at the top of the final straight, to get a PR. Megan also got by one girl, with Alaina not far behind, once again:
Chelsea 74 2:27
Megan 75 2:35
Alaina 79 2:40
Clare 87 3:00
Megan 88 3:05
Alana - 3:13
Alisha - 3:42

The 3200 was probably even less friendly than the 1600. But Kenny maintained his cool and showed his finishing speed again, with a 74 last lap to squeak out the victory. Chris ran tough for 6+ laps before holding onto 3rd place:
Kenny 82 2:45 4:08 5:33 6:53 8:20 9:45 10:59
Chris 81 2:44 4:07 5:32 6:53 8:19 9:48 11:10

Becka was alone for the team in the 3000, and knocked quite a bit of time off her PR by hanging on after a quick early pace:
Becka 89 3:07 4:43 6:23 ~8:06 9:53 11:35 12:21

4 x 800m Splits
Nico 62 2:14
AB 67 2:20
Nate 66 2:18
Vanzo ~61 2:19

Kenny 70 2:28
Whitty 67 2:25
AJ 69 ~2:21
Chris ~74 ~2:27

JP 77 2:35
Johnny ~73 2:32
Joe 73 2:38
Alex 76 2:42

Chelsea 76 2:36
Megan ~74 2:34
Clare 88 2:57
Alaina - 2:42