Eastwood XC- the tradition grows

It's been a bit since I last really wrote here (other than the little Dyestat blurb). Since then I made it out to watch the NCAA Midwest Regional in XC as well as the Pre Classic at Hayward Field, but I will pick back up where I left off. El Paso Eastwood Cross Country. Last season was a huge breakthrough as they returned to the State Meet for the first time since the 1986 season. 2011 was a season that resulted in a Region 1 2nd place, TX State 6th and NXN South 8th. Pretty impressive, coupling that with the bulk of the team coming back has raised expectations.
These young men have not disappointed. Ryan Saenz has stepped up to really take the reigns of this team. So far he is undefeated to any El Paso runner. Brian Casillas (the top El Pasoan at State last year) has been right there with him every step of the way giving Eastwood that potent 1-2 punch up front that any championship caliber team needs. Richard Mora and Steven Rios back them right up at a level that would put these two as the top two on most any other quality team. Returning State qualifier Caleb Buntyn, super soph Jose Silva and newcomer Steven Wallace round out what may be El Paso's best overall squad in many years. The team is currently undefeated with a big win over Del Rio in the Gold Seeded Race at the McNeil Invitational on the state course in Round Rock.
There are a couple factors that make this version of Eastwood Cross Country different than our State Bronze medalists squad of 1984. First and foremost, there is an overall culture change that extends to all levels of runners now. In the State ranked years of 1983-1987, we were always one injury or two from being in big trouble. Fortunately this never happened but outside of the top 7 each of those years there wasn't much depth. This year, Eastwoods JV is, in all reality, the 2nd best Varsity in the city! After winning the prestigious McNeil Invite in Round Rock, Coach McLain rested his top 7 for the El Paso City-Wide meet at the Chamizal. His JV, running as the varsity, defeated every El Paso team that day. The same JV also finished 3rd as a Varsity squad in the unseeded Varsity race at McNeil. Only a complete culture change could yield those type of results. In most other cities in Texas, they would compete week in and week out as Eastwood "B" in the varsity division as you see from perennial state powers like Southlake Carroll or The Woodlands. SLC's "B" or "Varsity 2" squad has run alongside the top 7 in such big meets as the Chile Pepper Invitational (Arkansas) and Marcus 1 (Lewisville,TX). The Athletic Director's office in the YISD (Ysleta Independent School District) will not allow this. Also, the top squads in the state travel more to compete. SLC has taken squads to Chile Pepper (AR), Nike South in Houston as well as meets in Kingsville, TX. All significant distances to travel to face competition. The YISD will only allow the programs in the district one out of town (requiring a stay) meet per year. Makes it quite a bit harder for the squad to face the level of competition they must to continue to grow. Ideally, Eastwood could use this to their advantage. Run McNeil or Nike South and then take advantage of El Paso's proximity to New Mexico and run one of the big Invites in Albuquerque against such national powerhouses like Rio Rancho Cleveland (NM) and Los Alamos (NM).Why this is, I don't know. Even if it comes down to dollars and cents I have been informed this even applies if the team funds their own way. Not the best decision by YISD and certainly not one that is good for the athletes. As I said last year, to be the best, you have to run and compete with the best.
Looking ahead to the Region 1 Meet in Lubbock the task will still not be easy. Southlake Carroll is fielding another "A" squad that will challenge CBA (NJ) and North Central (WA) for the National title.  Lewisville Hebron is relatively the same as last year, very potent at the very top but then a drop in their mid pack. Lewisville Flower Mound and Marcus are both much improved. Marcus is running with similar 1-5 splits as Eastwood. Flower Mound and Marcus both have top runners in Wesley Ward and Logan Hendrix but neither school matches the 1-2 of Saenz and Casillas. They key will be for EW to pack their top 2 close to each of these schools top guy. If that happens Eastwoods depth and a tight 1-5 split should get the Troopers a return trip to Round Rock. It is now time to ignore "Polls" and rankings. Respect must be earned over 3.1 miles starting in El Paso, Lubbock, Round Rock and NXN South. To the Varsity "B" ( a squad this good can't be referred to as JV) a good year awaits as you guys join Casillas and Silva to keep the dynasty growing and developing. Regardless of what happens here on out, you guys are worthy of being considered the best overall program the East side of El Paso has seen in some time. Go get em Troop!

In the coming weeks, IL XC awaits. I hope to get out to the Niles West Sectional (IL equivalent of Tx's Regional) to watch National Power Elmhurst York run as well as getting out to see the one and only Lukas Verzbicas speak on his recent life changing accident.
Lukas Verzbicas speaks

It is worth noting after my last entry that Dyestat has returned. They are now Dyetrack.com and have been re-added to my links bar.

Farewell Dyestat.

It was initially announced a couple months back that ESPN would be shutting it's HS operations this year. Unfortunately for all Prep HS Track and XC followers, that meant DyeStat would go with it. This is a HUGE loss to all fans of Track and XC at this level, and while it was speculated that DyeStat would return to a self run website as before, it appears that as of now DyeStat is gone.
DyeStat's meet central and TFX listings were by far the most comprehensive and thorough databases out  there. There was and will be no peer.
The timing could not be worse for XC fans as we head into another exciting season. I am going to give a few listings of other resources for info as DyeStat hopefully gathers up for a return .

Watchout who contributed National rankings to Dyestat has started his own blog. His list's are often very thorough and at season's end, he is usually right on the money.

http://watchoutxcrankings.blogspot.com/

Dyestat Cal (one of the 2 individual State's that had it's own DyeStat) has moved to a new site. Hopefully all content will be moved over shortly. In the past DyeStat Cal had quite the extensive archives that housed National rankings in Track dating all the way to the 1950's. Here is it's new home for now.

http://prepcaltrack.com/

The other state to have it's own was Illinois. The land of many of the greatest prep XC runners in history. Mike Newman who did Illinois Prep Top Times and Illinois Dyestat has moved here for now.

http://ilprepharrier.wordpress.com/2012/08/25/welcome-to-illinois-prep-harrier/

Mention must also be made of a new site here, Illinois High School Runner which looks very promising.

http://illinoishsrunner.com/

For Texas, it gets a bit more muddied. The TX affiliate  of MileSplit, TxRunning.com, is often historically inaccurate and for some reason relies on times when trying to rank XC teams, individuals, etc. This works great on the oval, but I don't even feel the need to explain why this doesn't work in XC.
For Texas fans, I suggest you find all the major city newspapers online and hope to get good info and results  from there. Don't forget many of the results that did make their way of TxRunning and it's message board were from DyeStat's meet central.
The Milesplit/FloTrack merger may be interesting but FloTrack is usually only great for up to the minute content before it fades away to obscurity.

I have links to Tracktalk.net on my page and there is talk of new forums sprouting here at National Scholastic Sports Foundation (they out on New Balance Indoor/Outdoor Nat's)

http://www.nationalscholastic.org/forums

I hope first and foremost that DyeStat makes a return, but if not, it is up to all of us to contribute to and make the most of what is available. As more becomes available I will try and update this specific entry. I will also have to force myself to keep up better here as my Eastwood Trooper's make a run for the National rankings!

Godspeed to Lukas Verzbicas as he continues his rehab from his potentially life changing injury.

Eastwood Boys- State Contenders

I sit here with a lot of anticipation 2 days before the Region 1 Cross Country Championships at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock, Texas. For the first time since the 1986 season, my Eastwood Troopers have a very realistic shot at finishing in the top 3 and advancing to the State Meet the following weekend. Let me go back a bit in time here.

(the 84 EW squad with Coach Doug Littlejohn)

From 1983-1987 the Eastwood Boys Cross Country program was among the elite of Texas. The years I was a part of the team were 82-85. From 1983-85 we were ranked no worse than 7th in the State at any point. The highlight of this era was the 84 season which ended with a Regional Championship and the bronze medals at the State Championship. We had several younger runners (Henry Garcia and Tony Urrutia) on that squad who took that experience to keep that streak alive (after the graduation of Mike Montes and myself). Eastwood once again returned to the State meet and rankings for one last time in 86. That Garcia-led team surprised a bit, but I guess what surprised me the most was that is where it stopped. Eastwood had a handful of individuals (Eric Flores and Tony Simonnetti) who qualified to the State meet but the program fell into a period of mediocrity. It happens, success can be cyclical. That cycle started to end when my old friend and rival Mike McLain took over the Eastwood program in 2001. He took over a program that had fallen to only 2 girls and 5 boys on the entire roster. Mike built the program back into a power that is always going to be one to be reckoned with at the local level. Both boys and girls teams have had many Regional appearances since McLain took over. A lot of the attention locally has lately fallen on programs such as Austin and Jefferson. These schools have fielded some great programs, but we must remember Eastwood has had to contend with running in class 5-A.
The past couple years have been really building towards this season. There has been an influx of talent coming into the school, mix this with great coaching (lets not forget the great Coach Pearson) and the results are starting to show. I have been fortunate enough to get to know some of the kids who have been through the program in the past couple years. The most talented of all is recent graduate Juan Blanco (see my blog on Juan for more, Juan below at Region 1 last year in XC).

 There is no doubt that Juan's success at both the Regional and State level, and now in NCAA Division 1 at UTEP, has been a good influence on this years young team. Coming out of last years track season, I was expecting the front runners to be Elias Leija-Garza and Brian Casillas. They have been, but the big surprise has been Ryan Saenz who has developed into one of the cities best. These 3 have formed a power trio of sorts, running up front and pulling their teammates (Richard Mora, Steven Rios, Caleb Buntyn and Alex Blanco) closely behind them. While long distance running is largely an individual sport, that is not the case here. This is a team effort, to be successful you must pull your team with you. It looks like this trio has learned that lesson.
Eastwood is entering the week as the 7th ranked team in Texas according to the definitive source, Dyestat. They have the task of facing the States top ranked program, Southlake Carroll while in Lubbock. In Carroll, the Eastwood boys are having to face the same type of squad we did in 84 with the nations top team Conroe McCullough/The Woodlands. That team set a state meet record of 28 points that stands to this day. The Region 1 record of 29 points by the Mike McLain/David Medlin led Hanks squad in 86 is in serious jeopardy. Many experts have SL Carroll as the top ranked squad in the US. This is meant only to encourage the current EW boys. To be the best, you have to run with the best and this Saturday is your chance. There are 3 spots for the taking, I figure there are 5 squads (Carroll, Eastwood, Amarillo Tascosa, Lewisville Hebron and Marcus) in the hunt. Eastwood has already taken a great step confidence wise with wins over Tascosa and Hebron earlier this year. Hebron has perhaps the best 1-2 punch in the region in Kevin Hoyos and Robert Domanic, but falls off after the #3 runner. The EW top runners need to stay in contact, but most importantly, the 4-7 runners need to stay close to them. Believe you can do it Troopers, because you can. Run harder than you ever have before, run this race as if it's your last, so that it's not! If so, the picture below will not be the last one taken of this team getting some medals.

Best of luck to a deserving and talented team. Start a new Eastwood legacy.

Have we lost our sense of community?

Here we are at the start of another Fall XC season. One thing that I have wanted to touch on for some time is what I perceive as a loss of the sense of community that we all enjoyed growing up. I have heard stories of coaches, grown adults, actually talking "trash" and making derogatory remark towards other schools runners and coaches. Huh??!! How and when did this become acceptable?
Growing up, El Paso was an absolute hotbed for XC talent. The amount of team and individual state medals won is staggering. We ran hard with the aim to win, but we also wanted our neighbors to experience the same success. Teams who had been to the big show (State Meet) mentored younger teams, pulled them along. My team, Eastwood, got a lot of good advice from defending Regional and State champs El Paso High before we went on to win our own Regional title. I'd like to think we did the same thing for Hanks when they succeeded us as Regional Champs.
Everyone was friends, many still are 3 decades later. I had a respect for my coach that was only topped by the respect I had for my own father. He was that important a person in my life. We also had great respect for, and were shown the same respect by, other school coaches. Everyone looked out for everyone. We raced each other hard week after week on Saturday morning and then went to the same gatherings on a Saturday night. Our XC team was more likely to get together with other XC runners than non-runners from our own school. This group of YISD State qualifiers in 1984 were all very familiar with each other, on and off the course.

I think it was this sense of community that led to much of the success that was experienced. At the Region and State levels, prior to the meet, all of the runners came out for the "El Paso!" chant. It was loud and in way, a show of force. It meant something and it served notice to other cities teams that they had to deal with us as a whole. Many times they did not deal to well.
I guess all that I'm saying, is, respect each other as friends and rivals, but most importantly, representatives of your community. I hope that some of the current generation of El Paso XC runners reads this and tells me I am wrong, that it is the same. If not, band together and make me wrong.

Juan Blanco- El Paso's best miler in 31 years.

As the 2011 High School Track Season got underway in El Paso, TX this year, I thought many times that is was now or never for Eastwood SR Juan Blanco. I had paid very close attention to Juan's progress since Coach Mike McLain pointed him out to me in one of his classes during Juan's Freshman year. He ran a pretty good 800 that year but it was his 4:30.0 as a Sophomore that made people start to notice.

Juan pushed that down to 4:26.5 his Junior year to set a school record.  As he started his SR Track Season I felt he could really push the EW Record under 4:20, a mark that is not met often in El Paso. He did that early on running 4:19.6 in AZ right behind Austin's Isaac Spencer. He also started running some great marks in the 3200 and established himself as the favorite in District 1-5a for both events.

After capturing both events at the District meet, it was an epic battle with Austin's Spencer that really thrust him into the State's elite. Spencer and Blanco battled it out with Spencer edging him by the smallest of margins, 4:16.04 to 4:16.07. To have 2 runners go that fast in a local meet was almost unheard of. The time edged Juan up the State rankings and it made a dent in the early National Rankings. But, Region 1-5a is typically a very strong distance region and there was sure to be a lot of competition from the usual Dallas area schools. 

Juan started the Regional meet with a gutty performance in the 3200 finishing third in 9:29.65 behind Craig Lutz (Marcus) and Kevyn Hoyos (Hebron). His time was good for the second best performance ever by an EW runner and made people around the Region finally notice. It was dissapointing to finish one spot out of a State berth, but served notice he would be one to deal with the next day in the 1600.

The next day could not have been scripted any better as Juan led, fell back, battled back and then gutted it out to win the Region 1 Championship and earn his ticket to Austin. Juan became the first El Paso Regional Champ in 5-A in close to a decade. He turned back Trevor Gilley of Southlake Carroll, a school who is not used to losing 1600 titles in Lubbock. (pic of Juan below, winning Region 1, courtesy of Mike McLain and Maria Barros)

This alone could have been considered one of the most succesful 1600 careers in about a decade in El Paso. It was what came next that cemented Juan as one of El Paso's all-time greats. At the State Meet in Austin, lining up against the State's (and in many cases, the Nation's ) elite, Juan raced to a 5th place finish. While that alone may seem to be a bit dissapointing it is the time that needs to be noticed. Juan blasted the second fastest 1600 in El Paso history, 4:11.48. Only Bel Air's great Sergio Oaxaca had run faster at 4:08.9 in 1980. In the 31 years that followed the closest anyone came to Oaxaca's mark were Gilbert Contreras (EPHS) at 4:11.5 and Alan Culpepper (Coronado) at 4:12.3. There were others over the years such as:

Martin Saenz (EPHS)-4:13.1 in 1981

Frank Lozano (Austin)-4:13.3 in 2001

Javier Muniz (Bel Air)-4:14.9 in 1987

Prior to 1980 the full mile was run in Texas, El Paso had State Champs several times over. The best El Paso prep performances were from:

Tony Zuniga (EPHS)-4:15.2 (worth 4:13.9 for 1600)

Ruben Dominguez (Austin)-4:17.4 (converts to 4:16.0)

In the matter of a year Juan took himself from a level of a good local runner to one of the all time greats. Many people mentioned prior here were either Olympians (Culpepper) or in the very least, NCAA All-Americans (Zuniga, Contreras). One of the all-time greats, Bowie's Javier Montes never ran sub 4:20 before representing the United States in the 1952 Olympics. Yes, in his case we must consider the era. Alan Culpepper became a 2 time Olympian, NCAA Champion and many times over a National Champion. He is one of the very few runners ever to run both a sub 4 mile as well as a sub 2:10 marathon. Oaxaca and Contreras both ran sub 4 equivalents (converted from 1500 meters) while at Auburn and Arkansas. 

Why am I getting off on this slight history kick? To establish exactly what type of company Mr. Blanco has put himself in. As an EW alumni, I watched his race live online, and couldn't have been prouder of the effort he put forth. I immediately spoke to Coach McLain after the race, letting him know where Juan now stood. I knew that as a competitor he might be a bit down after finishing 5th but his time, his time!! Since the switch to 1600 in 1980, a 4:11 would have won 17 of the 31 years. Just saying. Best of luck to you in your career at UTEP Juan.

Lukas "Superman" Verzbicas

I didn't intend to go right back in to a blog about Lukas all over again, but what he has accomplished since I last blogged has been THE story of Prep distance running.
I covered his performances going in to the two national XC meets pretty thoroughly. Remember, I noted the runner who scared me most as a challenger was Edward Cheserek. The first of the two meets was the NXN in Portland. The course was extremely wet and muddy and about as sloppy of conditions one could expect going into race day. The main guys (Lukas, Cheserek, Lutz, Moussa, Rosa, Gedyon) went to the front early. Lukas made a decisive move about 3k or so in and that was the race. Simple enough. The chase pack was down to Cheserek and Lutz and honestly, there was no doubt. Cheserek did gain a bit of ground at the end, but to be fair Lukas was letting up as the win was in the bag and he had one more big one to go.
On to San Diego for the FootLocker Finals where he was the defending champion. Lukas and MW runner up Futsum Zeinasellassie broke away fairly early on. Lukas took the workload on and as the race wore on simply ran the race out of Futsum. He eased up once again at the end and practically walked across the finish line. It was a truly epic career for Lukas in XC. He did (as I predicted) win the never before done double of NXN and FootLocker. He was a 2 time (2009, 2010) FootLocker National Champ and he NEVER lost a race in his Prep XC career.
In the couple months that followed he announced his signing with the University of Oregon and stated he would run Indoor Track where he would debut against the pro's at the New Balance meet in the mile. Meet #1 wound up with Lukas running a 4:03.88 for the full mile (4:02.5 for 1600) and finished ahead of Olympian Leo Manzano. This mark was good for #3 all time. A couple weeks later he lined up against Bernard Lagat at the Armory in NY as both were chasing records for the 2 mile. Lagat was chasing the US record and Lukas was clear he was chasing Gerry Lindgren's storied 2 mile record of 8:40.0. Lagat crushed the record with an 8:10.07 and Lukas managed to come home in 8:43.24 splitting 3200 at just under 8:40.
Over the next couple weeks it was announced that he was registered in the mile, 2 mile and 5k at the NBIN at the Armory. Could he actually pull off the triple? Many speculated he would run the 5k on Thursday and then pick one on Saturday. Several days prior he announced he was indeed going for the triple. His good friend (and IL XC runner) Kevin McDowell had just been diagnosed with cancer. McDowell finished 3rd to Lukas's 4th at the World Jr. Triathlon Championships. Lukas ran with him in mind.
Thursday nights 5k was a given, the only question was by how much would he break his own national HS record by. His 14:18 from 2009 stood as the mark to beat. Lukas made it his race from early on and started lapping runners after about the 6th lap. He crossed in a new NR of 14:06.78 (2 mile split was sub 9) and may have challenged the 14 minute barrier if he didn't spend the bulk of his race running in lanes 2 and 3 passing lapped runners. Even 2nd place finisher Eddie Owens (who just posted a 1:07 1/2 marathon) was lapped.
On to Saturday. The first race of the day, the 2 mile and the rematch with Edward Cheserek. Once again, Lukas went to the front. He ran lap after lap at a steady clip with Cheserek glued to his heels. Lapped runnners once again became an issue about the 3/4 mark. With 2 laps to go, Lukas started to let his stride out, like Futsum at FL, Lukas had run Cheserek's legs dead. With  a lap to go the only question was would he break the record. Lukas broke the tape in 8:40.70 to Cheserek's 8:42.66, good for #2 and 3 all time. There is no doubt that Lukas would have broken the long standing Lindgren mark if he wasn't weaving around lapped runners.
After that race one would figure he was done. Nope, not this kid. In a race that featured 5 of the fastest 6 HS milers in the US, Lukas lined up a mere 70 minutes later. He tucked in the middle of the pack, and then about halfway in started to move up. With about a quarter or so to go he took control. I knew at that point, nobody would take this from him, Chad Noelle (the Millrose mile champ) tried to challenge and failed followed by Elias Gedyon with the same results. Lukas blasted the last 200 and came home with the win in what may have been the greatest all around prep distance running performance ever. He finished the weekend with a NR in the 5k, the #2 all time performance in the deuce and then outkicked the supposed kickers for the win in the mile. Absolutely an epic performance to cap an epic career. Before he goes off to UO he has said he will run the Dream Mile at the Adidas Grand Prix again as well as go one last time for the World Jr. Champs in the triathlon. Hopefully we can see him gun for German Fernandez's outdoor NR in the 2 mile. The same challengers will more than likely present themselves in the early summer, and I'm sure the results will be the same. In the immediate future he will be running the Shamrock Shuffle 8k here in Chicago. It will be interesting to see him against this field of elite runners.

What a tremendous pleasure it has been to watch this kid run here the past few years.

I got the chance to go back to the Eastwood Invitational after many, many years. 25 years ago I won this meet in the 3200 and the meet is still going strong and better than ever. I got a chance to see many of my old competitors and my old coach, Doug Littlejohn. It was great to see the EW runners in action for the first time.

(l-r, Dave Medlin, EP's all time HS record holder in the 3200 at 9:01, Coach Doug Littlejohn, the only coach ever in El Paso history to coach an El Paso school to the Regional Track Title, in 1981, and myself.)

It was a great pleasure to watch the EW distance runners in action. At the time of this blog, Coach McLain has churned out a 1600 meter factory. Senior Juan Blanco leads the way with a blazing 4:19.6 (breaking his own school record), Junior Elias Leija Garza is at 4:32 and super freshman Brian Casillas at 4:37. Throw in a slab of guys in the 4:50 area (Luis Salazar, Alex Blanco, Caleb Buntyn, Steven Rios and Steven Wallace) and the potential for a great 4 x 1600 squad in the post season exists. Getting one of the last group of guys down under 4:40 and the potential is there for a sub 18. Post season EW kids??   With EW's great ability in the sprint relays, the making is definitely there for a blazing distance medley. Would be interesting to see. The talent and coaching is definitely there.

Lukas going for the double

This weekend is Part 1 of what Lukas Verzbicas hopes to be a legendary double. Saturday's Nike Cross Nationals in Portland will probably be his toughest race, ever.
The path started at State, which was covered in my last blog. He then went to NXN MidWest in Terre Haute, IN and came away with both a convincing win and a course record. His time of 14:53.1 beat Chris Derrick's old mark that was set before the addition of the hay bales. Jack Driggs closed strong to beat Zach Wills of Ohio for second. More importantly, Driggs led York to the team title over Columbus North (IN). York is now 7 for 7 in qualifying for NXN, the only team to go each and every year. Quite the legacy.
The next step for Lukas was FootLocker Midwest in Kenosha WI. I made the trip to watch this race as I wanted to be there for this stacked field. Also on the starting line were Driggs and Wills, along with IN star Futsum Zeinasellassie, OH star Michael Brajdic and Tony Smorgiewicz of South Dakota, the NXN Heartland winner.
Lukas went for it from the gun. I was at the start then made my way to the mile marker area. (Start below, Lukas at the mile after that, he was all alone)

Lukas had gapped the field by the mile mark. Close to the 2 mile mark they announced his split at 9:20. The announcer noted at 2.5 that Futsum had closed some ground. Coming in to the homestretch Lukas looked back, saw Futsum and came in strong. It is worth noting that he certainly didn't appear to be straining to much at the end. It may have been the closest that ANYONE has ever been to him in XC.

What has he done so far in his journey to the double to indicate he can pull it off? Plenty. Let's start with Sectionals. At Lockport he set a course record taking down Chris Derrick's old mark. State, he recorded the #3 time in IL history, only the legendary Craig Virgin and Derrick have run faster. NXN MW in Terre Haute? Course Record, taking down Derrick's once more. FLMW? The # 2 time in meet history. Only Dathan Ritzenhein has run faster. Lukas's 14:44 on that freezing day was quicker than Chris Solinsky, Matt Tegenkamp, Jorge Torres, Todd Williams, Bob Kennedy and a host of other future stars and Olympians. His performances so far indicate he can do it. He seems to have not gone all out in any race other than IL State. He will be challenged for sure, no one will win NXN in easy fashion. Not with this cast. Let's start with defending champ Craig Lutz of Texas who I am sure has no intention of surrendering his title. The CA duo of Ammar Moussa and Elias Gedyon are improved over last year. Zach Wills has a history of performing well in Portland. Lastly, the NJ stars. Jim Rosa, Jeremy Elkaim and Edward Cheserak all will be gunning for the title. Now, I know that Rosa is 2 and 0 against Cheserak, but this runner scares me the most of any of the challengers. I think over time he will become an incredible runner and Futsum will still have much to deal with in him next year. If Lukas gets by this crew his only challenge in San Diego will be to not let down against a fresh Futsum who is only running Footlocker. The best doubles so far have been by Chris Derrick (1st NXN, 2nd FL), Craig Lutz (1st NXN, 4th FL) and Colby Lowe (2nd NXN, 4th FL). It is a tough run. It is a lot of hard racing. I'm going to go out saying I think he can do it. We'll see. He stated here in the interview below that he wouldn't be doing it if  he didn't have the highest of expectations. Good luck to him.

Close calls in Peoria

This past weekend brought us one of the most anticipated XC meets in quite some time. The Illinois State Meet. The 3a Boys race did not disappoint. On the individual side, all eyes were on the match up of Lukas Verzbicas and Jack Driggs. The team race figured to come down to York, Neuqua Valley and New Trier. The main question of the day was, would Lukas get Craig Virgin's long storied course record of 13:50? With Virgin on hand riding in the pace truck, all eyes were on Lukas from the gun. Driggs was the only runner game enough to go with him through the 1/2 mile mark before a 4:28ish mile split started putting a little distance between the two. After crossing 2 miles in roughly 9:10 Lukas had built close to a 100 meter lead. The race was his however he fell just short at 1354. That time will go down as the #3 time ever at Detweiller behind only Virgin and Chris Derrick (13:52).
(below, Verzbicas, Virgin and Derrick, photo credit unknown)

It was a run for the ages but the fun didn't stop there. With York trying to win a 27th team title, #2 runner Ron Hedman was disqualified for physical contact with another runner. It has been speculated that it was everything from shoving to a punch in the face. I don't know for certain. Fortunately York's #6 stepped up and the team narrowly beat surprise team Lake Zurich by a 2 point margin to get a record 27th title for Coach Joe Newton.
The 2a race had some great races as well. Woodstock senior Kayla Beattie set a course record of 16:22 in a 49 second win. The boys from Belvidere North set a 2a record low of 28 points. In fact, if you plug BN's times into the 3a race, BN would have beaten York. Can they beat York head to head? We will find out this weekend.
This Sunday in Terre Haute, IN is the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) Midwest Regional. Lukas is apparently going for the FootLocker, NXN double and will be there with the rest of his Sandburg team. Jack Driggs will bring his York team looking to continue the streak of being the only team to qualify for every NXN National meet since the inception. York will be tested not only by Lake Zurich and Belvidere North, but also the top ranked team this year in the Midwest, Columbus North of Indiana. Don't forget New Trier, Naperville Neuqua Valley and early season favorite Oak Park-River Forest.
The team race should be amazing. Lukas will be favored to win the boys race and his expected competion will come from Driggs and the Ohio stars Zach Wills and Michael Brajdic. Wills was 5th at the NXN National Meet last year and Brajdic just broke Bob Kennedy's Ohio State Meet record. The only name absent appears to be Futsum Zeinasellassie who looks to be going only to FootLocker.
The same weekend the Texas State Meet will get underway with defending NXN Champion Craig Lutz of Marcus the overwhelming favorite. It would take an upset in the magnitude of Don Knott's knocking out Mike Tyson for anyone to beat Lutz in Texas this year. This was solidified by a 55 second victory on a slightly revamped Mae Simmons course. Who did he beat by 55 seconds? Only last years 5th place finisher at the State Meet and The Harrier pre-season All American, Donovan Torres of Lubbock Coronado. Lutz's Marcus team soundly beat favorite Southlake Carroll 33-68 for good measure.
Plano's Rachel Johnson should run away with the girls title as well. In 4a both El Paso Austin and Jefferson should contend for the title. Austin has one of, if not the, best 1-2 combo in the state with Isaac Spencer and Ramon Garcia, while Jefferson brings a little more depth. Both have the potential to medal.
A quiet little blurb recently came out of Texas in the news that Chelsey Sveinsson had returned to racing. She appears to still be a ways off form as she placed 6th in the SPC (private school) Meet. She finished in 19:53, about 3 minutes slower than one would expect from her in a 5k. At that rate, I wouldn't look for her until Track season. Hope she returns stronger than ever.

York rolls at Sectionals

I got a chance to take in the Skokie (Niles West) Sectional this past Saturday. It was the first meet of the year that I had been able to make it out to, but it was a great one. I expected a great battle between York and Oak Park-River Forest as York's only defeat this season had been at the hands of OPRF. Instead, it was New Trier (Winnetka, IL) who gave York all they could handle. York prevailed 57-62 with OPRF a little ways back in 3rd with 96. It may have been even closer but as it had been all year, Jack Driggs led York with an individual title. Driggs (pictured below at the sectional meet) won in 14:53.

Down in Lockport, Lukas Verzbicas went about his business as well winning that Sectional in 15:09. The time doesn't seem that impressive on paper until you realize that the course record there was previously 15:15 set in the 2007 season by one Chris Derrick. Enough said. Many people are looking to the battle brewing next week downstate in Peoria between Driggs and Verzbicas. Lukas has never lost a cross country race in his high school career and in fact, doesn't appear to have had a strong challenge in a high school race. Even at FL Nationals last year he made it look easy. Go to the FL website and watch the replay sometime. I think that Driggs is going to be up for the task of challenging him. The question of  will Lukas beat Craig Virgin's course record has to be asked along with, will Driggs go with him? It's going to be a great meet on Saturday both individually and with the teams. Look for Neuqua Valley to challenge York and New Trier.
Down in Texas the post season has just started. We saw the Humble Kingwood boys dominate The Woodlands at the district level and the El Paso Eastwood girls team win a 5th consecutive district title. Region 1 should be loaded with some great races. The top individual boy and girl (Craig Lutz and Rachel Johnson) in Texas will both run Saturday at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock. It is very possible that we will see the same school, Southlake Carroll, win both the boys and girls titles. Look for the SLC boys to be challenged by Marcus and Amarillo Tascosa, and the SLC girls to be challenged by Coppell and EP Eastwood. The 4a races should be a great time for El Paso with Isaac Spencer (EP Austin) and Joel Flores (El Paso Jefferson) contending for the individual title with Chuy Alegria of Ft. Worth Boswell. El Paso Jefferson will be a strong favorite for the team title.
On the University level the conference meets have seen some great performances in the way of tempo runs. Stanford won the Pac-10 the same way it has run all year with Chris Derrick, Elliot Heath and Jake Riley coming across the line in a dead heat. Oklahoma State did the same with Girma Mesecho, German Fernandez and Colby Lowe doing the same. Both teams have run like this all year and seem to be on a collision course to meet in Terre Haute, IN in a few weeks. Look for the team spreads to be a little higher as Derrick and Fernandez will undoubtedly be going after Sam Chelanga at the front. Question is for Stanford, will the team follow. To me if both teams run to their full capabilities it is still a toss up.
Jordan Hasay (Oregon) defeated Kathy Kroeger (Stanford) for the girls Pac-10 title. How many times did we see these two go back and forth at past FL Nationals?! Stanford was able to take the team title on both sides.
Speaking of Stanford, the Rosa brothers out of New Jersey have committed to the Cardinals and rumor is that Chelsey Sveinsson (Texas) has as well. It doesn't appear as if we will see Chelsey this cross season unless she runs USATF Juniors. Hope she is healthy soon.
Last but not least, the 2010 edition of the Chicago Marathon was one for the ages. Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya defeated Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia (2:06.24-2:06.42) in a great battle. Truly an amazing race, watch the finish of the race on Flotrack or find it on youtube. There is no doubt that Sammy Wanjiru is a true champion.

Late September update

October is a few days away and things are starting to get exciting on all levels. The big city fall marathons are just around the corner and Chicago looks to be quite the race. Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot , Tsegaye Kebede , Vincent Kipruto , plus top American Ryan Hall all are looking to defeat defending champion (and Olympic Chamion) Sammy Wanjiru. I wouldn't be surprised to see a sub 2:05 if the weather cooperates. A great story is on the women's side where the legendary Joan Benoit Samuelson (1984 Olympic Gold medalist) returns and hopes to run under 2:50 for the 3rd time as a 50plus year old. I really hope she does, Joan is such an important figure in US Marathon history. Amazing woman. Someday I will actually not run this race and join the spectators along the course to see some of the true greats battle it out in what is always an amazing race.
College XC is starting to get going and the top runners are slowly making their debuts. The much anticipated debut of German Fernandez led to a 6th place finish at the Cowboy Jamboree. It seems as he and teammate Colby Lowe ran it as a controlled tempo run as they finished together. OSU's Girma Mesecho won the race. It is a promising start for OSU who brought in a tremendous recruiting class. I did notice that Kirubel Erassa was held out. Stanford ran as a controlled pack as well at the Stanford Invite. Chris Derrick, Elliot Heath and Jacob Riley all came across the line together about 4 seconds behind winner David McNeill (NAU). Stanford looked very, very good as they did last year up until NCAA's. An interesting development is Jakub Zivec coming on at Florida State University. Refer to my blogs from the 2008 XC season if you need any info on this tremendous talent from Czech Republic.
On the womens side I haven't seen to much top level action. Lavinia Jurkiewicz , the IL 3a state champ last year, ran strong in her debut for Wisconsin. Top WI recruit Emily Sisson is yet to race. Megan Goethals (University of Washington) opened with a 4th place finish at the Sundodger Invitational. She ran as UW's number 2 behind former IL high school star Lindsay Flanagan.
On the High School side many of the nation's elite have yet to run. We are still waiting to see debut's from Lukas Verzbicas and Jim Rosa. It is very likely Joe Rosa is out for the entire season and we are still a bit in the dark on the status of Chelsey Sveinsson. We have seen strong starts from Craig Lutz(TX), Jack Driggs (IL), Ammar Moussa (CA), Elias Gedyon (CA) and Futsum Zeinasellassie (IN). I have been a bit surprised as I thought Zach Wills (OH) would be right there with them but he has faced 2 defeats against top level competition. As of right now, if most rankings were based on races already run (and not waiting for Verzbicas or Rosa) Futsum should be a strong US#1 right now. He has been extremely impressive and narrowly missed Chris Derrick's course record at the Culver Invitational.
With Joe Rosa probably out, one wonders if Lukas will now just run FootLocker again. It is known that due to schedules the Rosa's can only do NXN and many people anticipated them meeting in Portland. Lukas, as well as Lutz, had been expected to do both series. With the expectation that Joe is done until track, Lukas may only be in San Diego. The match up of Lukas and Fustum, one that failed to happen last year when Futsum didn't show in Kenosha, would still be epic. I  can only speculate right now as I anxiously await to see these guys race.
Down in West Texas the Eastwood  girls have silenced all doubters as they are the undeniable #1 team in the El Paso area. The Eastwood boys have been THE biggest and nicest surprise this season as they have finished no worse than 3rd (at the big Lubbock Invite) and have won twice. Right now they, along with Montwood, are the co-leaders as the top team in the city. Top runner Juan Blanco, who ran a great 15:52 in Lubbock, has had the luxury of having his teammates step up and run close to him.
It is my understanding that the course at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock has been changed up a bit and is now a slightly faster course. Still, the performance of Isaac Spencer of El Paso Austin was tremendous. He ran the fastest time of all 5 classes with a blistering 15:01. Very, very impressive run.
That's about it for now. Things will really pick up over the next few weeks as high schools start heading to the state series. College meets will pick up with the much anticipated pre-Nat's being the highlight. Here's to hoping the Chicago Marathon is another one for the ages. EDIT: Between the time I started this and the end it has been announced that Ryan Hall has withdrawn from the Chicago Marathon.