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.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Class of 2011 is ready to roll!
Well, Track and Summer have come and gone. We saw great performances from the likes of Lukas Verzbicas (IL-4:04.38-Jim Ryun Dream Mile), Joe Rosa (NJ-8:44.06-NBN 2 Mile-Jr class record) and Parker Stinson (TX-29:32-10,000 World Jr. Champs) on the boys side. The best girls performances hands down came from Emily Sisson (MO) who skipped her HS season and recorded a 9:51 3200 in a paced time trial and then a HS Record of 15:48.91 in the 5000 at the World Junior Champs. Sisson's times would be great for most HS Boys!
Andrew Wheating and Leonel Manzano impressed with some great miles in a year with no World Championships or Olympics. If Alan Webb is to come back, he will face a very formidable task in beating them for mile supremacy.
Today is Labor Day, marking the unofficial end of summer. This means Cross Country is upon us. Here in Illinois all eyes will once again be on Lukas Verzbicas and his quest to break Craig Virgin's record at Detweiller Park. He will not go unchallenged as York's Jack Driggs recorded one of the nations fastest miles (4:08.24) at the Midwest Distance Gala in June. The Chicago area had two of the top 10 HS milers in the nation and both return.
4:04.38 **Lukas Verzbicas (Sandburg, Orland Park, Il’)
4:05.50i Alex Hatz (Fayetteville-Manlius, Manlius, NY)
4:05.86+ *Elias Gedyon (Loyola, Los Angeles, Ca)
4:06.18 Jake Hurysz (Eastern Alamance, Mebane, NC)
4:07.28i Kirubel Erassa (Grayson, Loganville, Ga)
4:07.70 *James Rosa (West Windsor-Plainsboro North, Plainsboro, NJ)
4:07.98+ Ben Johnston (North Central, Spokane, Wa)
4:08.07 Pat Schellberg (Delbarton School, Morristown, NJ)
4:08.24 *Jack Driggs (York, Elmhurst, Il)
4:08.46 Isaac Presson (Asheville, NC)
York is looking like a heavy team favorite this year despite losing Andrew Smith, the State Champ in the 3200, but that is what York does every year under legendary Coach Joe Newton. Yorks recent time trial indicate Driggs is fit and the front runner with a solid 2-5 backing him up. They have a nice spread from 2-5 (6 seconds).
Driggs 8:47 Hedman 9:13 Hedman 9:15 Mimlitz 9:16 Gornick 9:19
We won't see Lukas (pictured below at FLMW, a meet that left me muddy as can be, as a spectator!) until end of month at earliest, at least on an XC course as he preps for the World Jr. Triathlon Champs later this month in Hungary. I'm sure he won't miss a beat as his running splits in these races are usually nothing short of spectacular.
Will he repeat as National XC runner of the year? This will be his last season as he took summer school courses to graduate early in 2011. He will be hard pressed by many in the class of 2011 including the Rosa twins, Craig Lutz (TX), Ammar Moussa (CA) and Elias Gedyon (CA). Others that can't be discounted are Zach Wills (OH- remember he edged Lukas at NON in 2009), Jeremy Elkaim (NJ- 8:46 3200 in a win over the Roas's), Futsum Zeinasellassie (IN-7th at FL Nationals in 08) as well as Driggs.
To me the overwhelming girls favorite has to be Chelsey Sveinsson of Texas. The "experts" disagree as most have picked her second behind Aisling Cuffe of NY based mostly off of her 10:02 for the full 2 mile at NBN, That would be a sub 10 in the 3200 which Chelsey has yet to run. I, however, think Chelsey would have had she not had an injury shortened track season. If she comes back fully healthy this year, she will be THE one to beat. It is worth noting that Freshman Natalie Rathjen (Highland Park, TX) just won the opener at Marcus 1 in 10:45, the same time Chelsey ran last year. Girls races are never as clear cut as the boys it seems.
Texas is already rolling. Craig Lutz dominated the Marcus 1 meet as expected. Southlake Carroll served notive that they may be the team to beat in Region 1 as they dominated the field winning with an impressive 39 points. Amarillo Tascosa showed they may be the sleeper team in Region 1 (5a) with an impressive 3rd.
In El Paso, Issac Spencer (Austin) ran away with the season opener in what should be a banner year for him. The surprise of the meet was the Eastwood Troopers (yes, I'm biased!) who were edged by a single point by Austin. The Troopers who had and have had a strong JV every year regrouped and served notice they are a team to be dealt with. The rapid off-season improvement by runners such as Luis Salazar will be key as team leader Juan Blanco can't do it alone. The Trooper Girls, who were expected to be solid, ran away with the girls title over very good Clint and Horizon teams. If Melanie Stires has the type of season she is capable of the Trooper Girls will look to improve on last years 5th place finish at the Region 1 meet. Coach Mike McLain has done a great job in developing the JV squads to step right up when the time has come. I look forward to seeing my Alma Mater proving the naysayers wrong.
For those who ran XC in El Paso, you should check out Coronado ex's Vince Bejarano's alumni website. It is open to all and can be a great place for some people to reconnect after many years. Look for it in the links section on your left.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Texas distance heating up.
Things are heating up now as Texas moves towards it's championship stretch. The Texas Relays this past weekend are the big story of the season so far. Chelsey Sveinsson is done with her swim season and back and looking very strong. After a US#1 1600 (4:45.24) at the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays on March 27th she only ran more impressive. She pulled off the distance double (10:07/4:51) once again. Some sites, posts, etc. have called her 10:07 a Texas State Record in the 3200, and technically it is. It is the fastest girls 3200 ever run in the state of Texas, but remember Chelsey split 10:01 at NON this past summer. It may all be a moot point anyways as she has stated she is training to peak in July. Look for some more pro races and hopefully a matchup with Goethals and Sisson (both just split 10:07 en route to 10:10's for the full deuce at NIN). Afterwards, she comes back for another year! On the boys side, Craig Lutz won over Ryan Dohner (8:58.7-8:59.1!) in a very deep boys 3200 which saw 16 runners at 9:26 or better. Great stuff. Boerne Champion's Ethan Doherty defeated Cedar Park's Parker Stinson in the 1600 (both at 4:14). We must mention the great sprint performance by El Paso El Dorado's Shaun Powell, second place in the boys 100 meter dash in 10.70. Great to see some of the talent from El Paso going and competing at this top level meet. In the history of this great meet the only El Paso winner I know of, boys or girls, is Bel Air's Sergio Oaxaca who ran a great 8:23 in the 3000 in what was a banner season for him (1:51, 3:51, 4:08, 8:23, 8:58) in 1980.
Shifting speeds from High School, I am going to skip a couple of years (give or take) to the USATF Indoor Masters Championships and the great double performance by a man I have the utmost respect for, Paul Pearson. The 58 year old Pearson recorded times of 10:30 and 5:21 for the 3000 and mile for 2 top 10 finishes. While the man never actually was my coach he was a large part of my early development as a runner. In my pre-High School days I used to frequent his Athletic Attic store in Cielo Vista Mall. We would talk running and shoes constantly. I used to make frequent trips to the store. He also took myself and some future teammates under his wings at the local road races. It was always great to hear his stories of his time running at UTEP. I caught up with him when this picture was taken this past fall.( Coaches Mike McLain and Paul Pearson). Way to go Coach!, you continue to inspire me.
As a big fan of running books I wanted to make mention of a couple of great books I have just finished reading. The first is " What I talk about when I talk about running" by acclaimed fiction writer Haruki Murakami. Known as a fiction writer this book chronicles the looming of the 2005 New York City Marathon as well as different important landmark races in his life. I really enjoyed this book by a writer who is otherwise one of my wife's favorite authors. The other book is Christopher Mcdougall's "Born to Run" which is an incredible read on the Tarahumara Indians (the running people) of Mexico. This book is widely credited with the current interest in the barefoot/minimalist running movement. To me it is a great story about people who run for the sheer love of the act of running. Prize Money, records, championships, none of these things matter to a people who are amongst the most gifted and talented runners in the world. Very, very good book.
If you get a chance, go through some of the links I have just added to the left side of the blog. Some good information and I plan to add more. Dr. Billy Wilbanks site is a great resource for Texas Track history. Please visit these links.
Shifting speeds from High School, I am going to skip a couple of years (give or take) to the USATF Indoor Masters Championships and the great double performance by a man I have the utmost respect for, Paul Pearson. The 58 year old Pearson recorded times of 10:30 and 5:21 for the 3000 and mile for 2 top 10 finishes. While the man never actually was my coach he was a large part of my early development as a runner. In my pre-High School days I used to frequent his Athletic Attic store in Cielo Vista Mall. We would talk running and shoes constantly. I used to make frequent trips to the store. He also took myself and some future teammates under his wings at the local road races. It was always great to hear his stories of his time running at UTEP. I caught up with him when this picture was taken this past fall.( Coaches Mike McLain and Paul Pearson). Way to go Coach!, you continue to inspire me.
As a big fan of running books I wanted to make mention of a couple of great books I have just finished reading. The first is " What I talk about when I talk about running" by acclaimed fiction writer Haruki Murakami. Known as a fiction writer this book chronicles the looming of the 2005 New York City Marathon as well as different important landmark races in his life. I really enjoyed this book by a writer who is otherwise one of my wife's favorite authors. The other book is Christopher Mcdougall's "Born to Run" which is an incredible read on the Tarahumara Indians (the running people) of Mexico. This book is widely credited with the current interest in the barefoot/minimalist running movement. To me it is a great story about people who run for the sheer love of the act of running. Prize Money, records, championships, none of these things matter to a people who are amongst the most gifted and talented runners in the world. Very, very good book.
If you get a chance, go through some of the links I have just added to the left side of the blog. Some good information and I plan to add more. Dr. Billy Wilbanks site is a great resource for Texas Track history. Please visit these links.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Outdoors is here! Finally.
Well, I for one am real glad that outdoors is here. Indoors is a season that I am always really excited about, I never had the opportunity to run indoors as a youngster in Texas. I remember actually ordering a pair of Nike indoor distance spikes and being convinced they were the reason I had such a good senior year in outdoor track. Yep, they were my secret weapon. Uhhh, yeah. This year indoors seemed a bit lackluster to me. Chelsey Sveinsson skipped indoors, there was talk she was going to swim for her school team. The much anticipated NIN 2 mile match up between the Rosa twins and Lukas Verzbicas never transpired. Lukas skipped indoors as well as the Shamrock Shuffle 8k here in Chicago that he was entered in as an elite. Joe Rosa did not run indoors and Jim won NIN in a time of 9:00 meaning we are still waiting for the first sub 9 in the full deuce. Others, such as Craig Lutz, Zach Wills ran but were not at top strength. There were some great marks, Kirubel Erassa (GA) ran a 14:19.82 for #2 all time in the indoor 5000 and Alex Hatz (NY) crushed NIN with a 4:05.5 mile. Good enough to break Alan Webb's meet record. The girls 2 mile was thrilling with Megan Goethals (MI) edging Emily Sisson (MO) 10:10.14 to 10:10.21
At the NCAA's we saw some great marks from the freshman class. Jordan Hasay (Oregon) split a 4:32.55!!!! in the Distance medley in an effort that almost put Oregon past Tennessee in the race, as well as well as a 4:38.2 in the mile final for 4th (the first non-senior). Robby Andrews (Virginia) edge out Olympian Andrew Wheating (Sr, Oregon) by a mere 100th of a second for the 800 title. Oregon's other frosh mile star, Mac Fleet placed 2nd in the finals.
Of course, some upper classmen flexed some muscle. Angela Bizarri (Sr, Illinois) and Lisa Koll (Sr, Iowa State) took the 3 and 5 k's while Dorian Urley (Sr, Arkansas) and David McNeil (Jr, NAU) did the same on the men's side.
German Fernandez apparently sustained an injury in his conference mile finals and was absent from the NCAA's leaving teammate Colby Lowe as OSU's lone representative. Colby finished 8th in the 5k final as he is continuing to establish himself as a threat in any race he runs. Great to see him back up there. Interesting as German's NCAA meets have resulted in a DNF, DNR, Outdoor Mile Gold, 97th and a DNR. Good thing he has the stuff to be one of the all time greats and I hope to see him back and fully healthy for outdoors.
One last indoor mention, congrats to former Eastwood star Jessica Ubanyionwu on her 16th place finish in the triple jump. Only a sophomore, she will be back.
Outdoors is in full swing in Texas while Illinois is still winding down indoors, the Illinois Prep Top Times Classic still looms ahead. We have seen some great marks down south from Parker Stinson (Cedar Park) with a 9:06 3200 and Cedar Park clocked a 17:29 in the 4x1600.
While in high school, a meet we always looked forward to was the West Texas Relays in Odessa, TX. We all got to go as a team and stay in a nice hotel and run in a huge stadium (Ratliffe). It was quite exciting. I remember losing a close 3200 to Mike Garza in 86. Mike had run a 9:14 at the Texas Relays and I gave him all he could handle as he edged me at the line. Being there was really a great experience for us. These days, Eastwood takes it kids to the Willie Williams Classic in Tuscon, AZ. It is a great College/HS meet with top notch competition. Eastwood's Melanie Stires won the 800 with a 2:20.7 and EW's Aimee Apodaca took 2nd in the 3200 with a time of 11:44.4.
On the boys side, Juan Blanco set a new Eastwood school record in the 1600 with a 4:26.5 hanging close to Footlocker All-American Steve Magnuson. Clinton Blacksmith continued his season long improvement in the 3200 with a 10:08.1. Coronado's Zach Bassett turned in a nice 4:38/10:04 double. Nice job by all. Seems like a great time, even my good friend and Eastwood coach Mike McLain met Bernard Lagat.
I am really, really looking forward to the full outdoor season. The top prep marks are yet to come, I LOVE NCAA track and field and the pros may keep things interesting in a year with no Olympics or World Champs. This may let us see some athletes outside of the comfort zone. Here's hoping we see Allyson Felix in more open 400's. A lot of top distance guys will concentrate on the roads as the big marathon paydays await.I'll be looking forward to the Midwest Distance Gala again this year. I'm sure this will be the earliest any of us see Lukas Verzbicas, locally or otherwise. He will surely be concentrating on his triathlon season in the spring. You know, it must work. The new harrier magazine has an article in which they talked to the vast majority of the FootLocker finalist. They asked each about one's favorite workouts as well as weekly mileage. Guess who ran fewer miles than anybody. Yep, the winner himself. Very low mileage, by the current standards, but mixed with swimming and cycling. I found this very interesting as I have been amazed at some of the weekly totals I see some of the young stars post. Just some food for thought for those who see running as the only way to get better at running, myself included. Be back soon.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Here goes 2010
A lot has happened since I last wrote here. Lukas Verzbicas dominated Footlocker on his way to becoming the first ever sophomore champion. Megen Goethals edged Chelsey Sveinsson in a great race to the finish. The week before, at NXN, Craig Lutz out sprinted Joe Rosa and Elias Geydon for the boys title. Texas showed up big as Boerne and The Woodlands were 1st and 3rd on the boys side. Catherine Flood took the girls title while Fayetville Manlius ran away with the team title. The final honors of the season, Gatorade XC runner of the year, went to Verzbicas and Goethals. Nice start for Illinois as they have 2 of the first 3 boys winners in Chris Derrick and Lukas.
The college indoor season is in full speed with no lack of excitement here. German Fernandez has returned and appears to be getting healthier after a sub-par XC season. He finished 3rd (only with him would people be disappointed with that ) in the 3000 at the UW Husky invite with a 7:51.02. Earlier, his coach Dave Smith said German had been suffering from an iron deficiency.
The University of Oregon has retooled fast. Olympian Andrew Wheating has returned after a long layoff and teamed with prized frosh Elijah Greer to post marks of 1:46.36 and 1:47.33 in the 800. The other prized frosh in the U of O stable have made their mark quickly with Mac Fleet blazing a 3:57.70 mile and Jordan Hasay posting marks of 4:38.48 (mile) and 9:12.25 (3000).
It's worth noting that former Eastwood and current Baylor star Jessica Ubanyionwu is currently ranked 9th in the country with 43"1.75 triple jump at the Tyson Invite. That is good for a NCAA provisional standard, hopefully it will hold or she will add a couple more inches. Also with a NCAA provisional standard is former Montwood and current Texas A & M runner Christina Munoz. 16:37.37 is the provisional mark she posted for the 5000 meter run. If anyone knows of any other ex-El Pasoan's with NCAA qualifying marks, please let me know.
On the prep level, a current mark that is very worth noting is the early season state leading 800 time of 1:56.00 by Danny Tarango of El Paso Burges. A great time for mid-February from this young sophomore. Wow. I can't wait to see what he (along with El Paso Austin's Ramon Garcia) gets down to by May, much less by May 2012.
Now to some disappointing news. The IHSA (the Illinois equivalent of the UIL) will deny waivers to athletes wanting to compete at Nike Indoor Nationals. Apparently since the meet is not conducted by the USATF (the governing body of USA Track and Field) it does not meet the criteria for IHSA to grant waivers. Illinois athletes will still be able to compete in Nike Outdoor Nationals as it is conducted after the IHSA Track season is over. Still, this is a huge blow to the national caliber athletes here in Illinois. Remember, it was Nike Indoor last year that served as the coming out party for Lukas Verzbicas. Now, this may not affect Lukas , as he has stated he will bypass the regular track season to get back to his triathlon season, but others such as Manfrin, Farleigh, etc. will have to choose between running here or competing for a state title later. This is a very bad policy that will hopefully be reevaluated later. Fortunately Footlocker/NXN and Nike Outdoor/Midwest Distance Gala fall after the respective seasons.
Now, for more sad news out of Illinois. Budget cuts have made it so that all lower level (assistants, etc) Track coaches in the Chicago Public Schools will no longer be paid. This will leave one coach per gender. Chicago city schools were starting to make strides back as evidenced by Morgan Park and Whitney Young. Lavinia Jurkiewicz (Whitney Young) just became the first CPS student to win the state championship in cross country.
Much more on these issues can be found here.
http://www.dyestatil.com//?pg=dyestatil-2010-Indoor-This-Week-in-Illinois-Track-and-Field-Week-one
One last remark about cross country. I have been trying to help my good friend Mike McLain compile a list of early results from District (El Paso related), Regional and State meets going back to the very early 1970's. It is still a work in progress but we are getting the blanks filled in. Hopefully this will be the place that people looking for old results from El Paso will go straight to.
Go to the site and look through the District, Regional or State results, and keep checking back.
http://ehstrack.bravehost.com/elpasomeets.htm
I'll be back soon.
The college indoor season is in full speed with no lack of excitement here. German Fernandez has returned and appears to be getting healthier after a sub-par XC season. He finished 3rd (only with him would people be disappointed with that ) in the 3000 at the UW Husky invite with a 7:51.02. Earlier, his coach Dave Smith said German had been suffering from an iron deficiency.
The University of Oregon has retooled fast. Olympian Andrew Wheating has returned after a long layoff and teamed with prized frosh Elijah Greer to post marks of 1:46.36 and 1:47.33 in the 800. The other prized frosh in the U of O stable have made their mark quickly with Mac Fleet blazing a 3:57.70 mile and Jordan Hasay posting marks of 4:38.48 (mile) and 9:12.25 (3000).
It's worth noting that former Eastwood and current Baylor star Jessica Ubanyionwu is currently ranked 9th in the country with 43"1.75 triple jump at the Tyson Invite. That is good for a NCAA provisional standard, hopefully it will hold or she will add a couple more inches. Also with a NCAA provisional standard is former Montwood and current Texas A & M runner Christina Munoz. 16:37.37 is the provisional mark she posted for the 5000 meter run. If anyone knows of any other ex-El Pasoan's with NCAA qualifying marks, please let me know.
On the prep level, a current mark that is very worth noting is the early season state leading 800 time of 1:56.00 by Danny Tarango of El Paso Burges. A great time for mid-February from this young sophomore. Wow. I can't wait to see what he (along with El Paso Austin's Ramon Garcia) gets down to by May, much less by May 2012.
Now to some disappointing news. The IHSA (the Illinois equivalent of the UIL) will deny waivers to athletes wanting to compete at Nike Indoor Nationals. Apparently since the meet is not conducted by the USATF (the governing body of USA Track and Field) it does not meet the criteria for IHSA to grant waivers. Illinois athletes will still be able to compete in Nike Outdoor Nationals as it is conducted after the IHSA Track season is over. Still, this is a huge blow to the national caliber athletes here in Illinois. Remember, it was Nike Indoor last year that served as the coming out party for Lukas Verzbicas. Now, this may not affect Lukas , as he has stated he will bypass the regular track season to get back to his triathlon season, but others such as Manfrin, Farleigh, etc. will have to choose between running here or competing for a state title later. This is a very bad policy that will hopefully be reevaluated later. Fortunately Footlocker/NXN and Nike Outdoor/Midwest Distance Gala fall after the respective seasons.
Now, for more sad news out of Illinois. Budget cuts have made it so that all lower level (assistants, etc) Track coaches in the Chicago Public Schools will no longer be paid. This will leave one coach per gender. Chicago city schools were starting to make strides back as evidenced by Morgan Park and Whitney Young. Lavinia Jurkiewicz (Whitney Young) just became the first CPS student to win the state championship in cross country.
Much more on these issues can be found here.
http://www.dyestatil.com//?pg=dyestatil-2010-Indoor-This-Week-in-Illinois-Track-and-Field-Week-one
One last remark about cross country. I have been trying to help my good friend Mike McLain compile a list of early results from District (El Paso related), Regional and State meets going back to the very early 1970's. It is still a work in progress but we are getting the blanks filled in. Hopefully this will be the place that people looking for old results from El Paso will go straight to.
Go to the site and look through the District, Regional or State results, and keep checking back.
http://ehstrack.bravehost.com/elpasomeets.htm
I'll be back soon.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Titles on the line for Illinois and Texas.
This weekend start the Post-Season for high school cross country. This Saturday will be the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland and the 12th will see the long standing Footlocker Nationals. Illinois and Texas will be well represented at both events and should challenge for several titles.
Starting with Nike Cross, the Rosa twins (Joe and Jim) who have been destroying course records all year but will be challenged by the Texas trio of Craig Lutz, Ryan Dohner and Parker Stinson. Illinois and Texas both have 3 teams in the finals. Illinois looks to be stronger overall in the team race led by York, Naperville Neuqua Valley and Loyola. Texas brings Boerne Champion, The Woodlands and Cedar Park. The girls race may be Sarah Andrews to lose at this point as favorite Chelsey Sveinsson has opted to go only to Footlocker. Favetetville-Manlius (New York) will run away with the title on the girls side.
Footlocker, still the most prestigious event on the individual side, looks to be shaping up nicely. I got a chance to go to the Midwest Championships in Kenosha Wisconsin last weekend . Now, before anybody mentions how much slower the times were in the Midwest as compared to the other regions, it was an absolute mud fest. Mud everywhere, large puddles of standing water everywhere, just awful, awful, conditions.
As expected , Megan Goethels (Mo) won the title defeating 4 time Footlocker qualifier Emily Sisson (MO) (pictured below). Megan is returning to FL where she was 3rd place last year and should challenge Chelsey Sveinsoon for the win.
On the boys side the match up between favorite Lukas Verzbicas and Futsum Zeinasellassie never materialized. Futsum was not in the pack as they took off. It was known that Lukas had been nursing a nagging achilles injury. It was never an issue however, as he jumped to a quick lead (pictured below right before mile marker 1) and was never challenged.
He checked his lead towards the end and literally strolled across the line. He looked like he was out for a daily jog and hopefully will be all healed and ready to make his bid to become the first 3 time Footlocker winner (and the first to win as a Sophomore) next weekend. Lukas looked pretty comfortable being interviewed below and should get used to it.
The biggest challenge to Lukas should come from Texas as Craig Lutz looked great at the South regional. If Lukas is hampered by his Achilles look for Lutz, Brian Shrader AZ or Shane Moskowitz (WA) to sneak by.
On the girls side I'll stick with Chelsey. After her injury she rebounded and ran away from a quality field in the South to win.
I'm going to pick Lukas over Lutz and Chelsey over Goethels for Footlocker. At NXN, the Rosa's over Lutz and Sarah Andrews.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Angela Bizzarri surprises!
Unlike last year, I was unable to make the drive to Terre Haute for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. What an odd day I missed at that. Fortunately VS network carried the race live and I took a seat on my couch to take in the action. The commentating left something to be desired but beggars can't be choosers. Surprises and unexpected placings seemed to be the norm for the day. I guess there is a reason they don't mail the trophy in advance and go ahead and run the race.
The women's race couldn't have gone more off the script. At the start of the race, Jenny Barringer (the HEAVY favorite)took off with FSU's Susan Kuijken in close pursuit. Soon after the 2 mile mark, Barringer appeared to slow and then slightly pull up, Kuikjen then darted to the lead. It looked briefly as if Barringer was going to stop. While Kuijken went on to what appeared to be a certain win, Barringer continued to fall back and actually hit the ground a ways after. It wasn't clear at the time if she fainted or passed out, collapsed. She got back up soon after and kept running. Kuijken, however, was starting to lose steam and the chase pack which included Illinois' Angela Bizzarri and Washington's Kendra Schaaf started making up considerable ground. Kuijken continued to struggle while Barringer labored back in the pack. Bizzarri, and then Schaaf went by Kuijken late in the race with Bizzarri holdong on strongest and pulling away for a 19:46 win. While considered a big upset it was the 2nd NCAA title for Bizzarri in 2009, she won the 5000 at the NCAA Outdoor Champs. Bizazarri also placed third at the USATF outdoor championships in the 5000, she just missed the qaulifying time for the World Championship team. She ran a smart race that still probably didn't go according to anyone's plan and it was nice to see Illinois come out with a champion.
The team race was a surprise as well as #2 Villinova upended defending champion U of Washington with ease. Villinova outscored FSU 88-133 with Washington in 3rd (188) just ahead of Texas Tech (191). Certainly,after the domination shown by Washington last year, a surprise, yet not unthinkable. Nova' had run well all year as they climbed to #2 in the rankings as the year went on.
Before this, the men had lined up and raced 10,000 Meters. Stanford was both a favorite for the team, having been ranked #1 all year, and the individual with undefeated Chris Derrick having beaten last years runner-up Sam Chelanga of Liberty at Pre-Nats.The race started the same way it did last year with Chelanga exploding from the start. A good pack tucked in behind him and hoped he would come back to them as he did last year and this year at Pre-Nat's. He didn't. Chelanga continued his blistering pace and extended his lead over the chase pack which, in addition to Derrick, included David McNeill (NAU) and Barnabas Kirui (Miss.). Scanning the pack it was becoming clear that Stanford was way out of the running with Derrick's usual support cast (mainly Elliott Heath) nowhere in sight. BYU held a very early lead but it was clear that the Cowboys of Oklahoma State were running tightly knit close behind. There was no sign of German Fernandez up front, but Colby Lowe was right up there and running strong. Chelanga never faltered and ran away to a course record win of 28:41 to beat last years record of 29:03 by Oregon's Galen Rupp. McNeill pulled away from an exhausted looking Derrick and held on 29:06 to 29:14 for second. Soon after Ryan Vail and Colby Lowe came in for OSU as both were in the top 10. John Kosgei and Girma Mesecho soon followed and the outcome was a done deal. German Fernandez crossed the line in 97th (77th team score) and it was clear that he was not himself this entire season. Some of the past results showed he was off but may have been rounding into shape, although those results were skewed perhaps, as OSU seemed to tempo run to all their victories. After the race, Coach Dave Smith said German had been injured all summer and had just begun to get into training in October. While a great testament to his team ethic to sacrafice his ego, status, for the good of the team and to be part of the team title, one has to wonder if he would have been better off redshirting this season. He was clearly not the German the running community has revered and admired, the defending NCAA 1500 meter champion who also ran a 13:25 5000 this summer. You have to think there were some surprised runners running alongside him back there. In fact, OSU would have still won the title without him in the race at all. Hopefully, if he is not healed and ready, he will redshirt indoors and come back very strong for the outdoor season.
OSU (127)convincingly won the title over Oregon (143) and Alabama (173). Could Oregon have won had Andrew Wheating not redshirted? That's a question to ponder. Stanford fell back to 10th. They looked soundly beaten as Chris Derrick was the lone high point. Chris continues to impress as he moved up from last years 7th as a Frosh to 3rd in his Sophomore campaign. He was the 1st American born runner across the line and also only 19 (Chelanga is 24). He, as well, did Illinois very proud.
A performance worth noting was the 5th place showing by Freshman Allie McLaughlin in 20:01. I knew she was in line for a breakout performance and she didn't disappoint. Fellow Frosh Jordan Hasay ran 18th in 20:23. I think both will share many, many All American honors for the years to come. Also, worth a note out of Colorado was the performance of redshirt Freshman Aric Van Halen. Yes, the name is right. Alex's son, and Eddie's nephew ran as CU's 5th man after redshirting last year. Many people may remember when he first started making his name (albeit a bit differently than cousin Wolfgang!) in California a couple years ago. I wonder if Alex was out there cheering him on?
Down in Texas Nike South got rolling. Texas 4a champ, Boerne did what a lot of people expected and defeated 5a champ The Woodlands 61-81. Boerne was very impressive, as they have been all year, and The Woodlands still surprised when looking back to pre-season. Many people didn't give The Woodlands much chance this year after the departure of legendary coach Dan Green and stars Drew Butler (to Arkansas) and 2008 Gatorade Cross Country runner of the year Reed Connor (to Wisconsin). Coach Juris Green (Dan's son) simply picked up where they left off and The Woodlands did what they usually do, they won. They won District, they won Regionals and they won State. They qualified for their 4th trip to Nike Cross Nationals in a year when most of the early season attention went to Cedar Park. CP was 3rd and will have to wait (along with Loyola, IL) to see if they get an at-large bid. They both very much deserve it. In the boys race Ryan Dohner (Klein Oak) surprised favorite Craig Lutz for the muddy win. Parker Stinson (Cedar Park)also got by Lutz to earn his trip to Portland.
The girls race was without heavy favorite Chelsey Sveinsson but it wasn't as wide open as it may have seemed. Last years runner-up and Texas 5a champ Sarah Andrews of The Woodlands easily defeated Rachel Johnson of Plano, TX.Southlake Carroll took the title over Kingwood (Humble, TX) with Kingwood Park (TX) waiting for a possible at-large bid.
Footlocker awaits next. It looks like the best race should be the Midwest with Lukas Verzbicas slated to race Futsum Zeinasellassie for the MW title. Futsum should be very well rested as it has been 4 weeks since the IN state meet. Hopefully the nagging achilles that bothered Lukas at IL state is cleared up as well. This is one race I have been waiting to see for some time and hope it delivers on the promise.
The women's race couldn't have gone more off the script. At the start of the race, Jenny Barringer (the HEAVY favorite)took off with FSU's Susan Kuijken in close pursuit. Soon after the 2 mile mark, Barringer appeared to slow and then slightly pull up, Kuikjen then darted to the lead. It looked briefly as if Barringer was going to stop. While Kuijken went on to what appeared to be a certain win, Barringer continued to fall back and actually hit the ground a ways after. It wasn't clear at the time if she fainted or passed out, collapsed. She got back up soon after and kept running. Kuijken, however, was starting to lose steam and the chase pack which included Illinois' Angela Bizzarri and Washington's Kendra Schaaf started making up considerable ground. Kuijken continued to struggle while Barringer labored back in the pack. Bizzarri, and then Schaaf went by Kuijken late in the race with Bizzarri holdong on strongest and pulling away for a 19:46 win. While considered a big upset it was the 2nd NCAA title for Bizzarri in 2009, she won the 5000 at the NCAA Outdoor Champs. Bizazarri also placed third at the USATF outdoor championships in the 5000, she just missed the qaulifying time for the World Championship team. She ran a smart race that still probably didn't go according to anyone's plan and it was nice to see Illinois come out with a champion.
The team race was a surprise as well as #2 Villinova upended defending champion U of Washington with ease. Villinova outscored FSU 88-133 with Washington in 3rd (188) just ahead of Texas Tech (191). Certainly,after the domination shown by Washington last year, a surprise, yet not unthinkable. Nova' had run well all year as they climbed to #2 in the rankings as the year went on.
Before this, the men had lined up and raced 10,000 Meters. Stanford was both a favorite for the team, having been ranked #1 all year, and the individual with undefeated Chris Derrick having beaten last years runner-up Sam Chelanga of Liberty at Pre-Nats.The race started the same way it did last year with Chelanga exploding from the start. A good pack tucked in behind him and hoped he would come back to them as he did last year and this year at Pre-Nat's. He didn't. Chelanga continued his blistering pace and extended his lead over the chase pack which, in addition to Derrick, included David McNeill (NAU) and Barnabas Kirui (Miss.). Scanning the pack it was becoming clear that Stanford was way out of the running with Derrick's usual support cast (mainly Elliott Heath) nowhere in sight. BYU held a very early lead but it was clear that the Cowboys of Oklahoma State were running tightly knit close behind. There was no sign of German Fernandez up front, but Colby Lowe was right up there and running strong. Chelanga never faltered and ran away to a course record win of 28:41 to beat last years record of 29:03 by Oregon's Galen Rupp. McNeill pulled away from an exhausted looking Derrick and held on 29:06 to 29:14 for second. Soon after Ryan Vail and Colby Lowe came in for OSU as both were in the top 10. John Kosgei and Girma Mesecho soon followed and the outcome was a done deal. German Fernandez crossed the line in 97th (77th team score) and it was clear that he was not himself this entire season. Some of the past results showed he was off but may have been rounding into shape, although those results were skewed perhaps, as OSU seemed to tempo run to all their victories. After the race, Coach Dave Smith said German had been injured all summer and had just begun to get into training in October. While a great testament to his team ethic to sacrafice his ego, status, for the good of the team and to be part of the team title, one has to wonder if he would have been better off redshirting this season. He was clearly not the German the running community has revered and admired, the defending NCAA 1500 meter champion who also ran a 13:25 5000 this summer. You have to think there were some surprised runners running alongside him back there. In fact, OSU would have still won the title without him in the race at all. Hopefully, if he is not healed and ready, he will redshirt indoors and come back very strong for the outdoor season.
OSU (127)convincingly won the title over Oregon (143) and Alabama (173). Could Oregon have won had Andrew Wheating not redshirted? That's a question to ponder. Stanford fell back to 10th. They looked soundly beaten as Chris Derrick was the lone high point. Chris continues to impress as he moved up from last years 7th as a Frosh to 3rd in his Sophomore campaign. He was the 1st American born runner across the line and also only 19 (Chelanga is 24). He, as well, did Illinois very proud.
A performance worth noting was the 5th place showing by Freshman Allie McLaughlin in 20:01. I knew she was in line for a breakout performance and she didn't disappoint. Fellow Frosh Jordan Hasay ran 18th in 20:23. I think both will share many, many All American honors for the years to come. Also, worth a note out of Colorado was the performance of redshirt Freshman Aric Van Halen. Yes, the name is right. Alex's son, and Eddie's nephew ran as CU's 5th man after redshirting last year. Many people may remember when he first started making his name (albeit a bit differently than cousin Wolfgang!) in California a couple years ago. I wonder if Alex was out there cheering him on?
Down in Texas Nike South got rolling. Texas 4a champ, Boerne did what a lot of people expected and defeated 5a champ The Woodlands 61-81. Boerne was very impressive, as they have been all year, and The Woodlands still surprised when looking back to pre-season. Many people didn't give The Woodlands much chance this year after the departure of legendary coach Dan Green and stars Drew Butler (to Arkansas) and 2008 Gatorade Cross Country runner of the year Reed Connor (to Wisconsin). Coach Juris Green (Dan's son) simply picked up where they left off and The Woodlands did what they usually do, they won. They won District, they won Regionals and they won State. They qualified for their 4th trip to Nike Cross Nationals in a year when most of the early season attention went to Cedar Park. CP was 3rd and will have to wait (along with Loyola, IL) to see if they get an at-large bid. They both very much deserve it. In the boys race Ryan Dohner (Klein Oak) surprised favorite Craig Lutz for the muddy win. Parker Stinson (Cedar Park)also got by Lutz to earn his trip to Portland.
The girls race was without heavy favorite Chelsey Sveinsson but it wasn't as wide open as it may have seemed. Last years runner-up and Texas 5a champ Sarah Andrews of The Woodlands easily defeated Rachel Johnson of Plano, TX.Southlake Carroll took the title over Kingwood (Humble, TX) with Kingwood Park (TX) waiting for a possible at-large bid.
Footlocker awaits next. It looks like the best race should be the Midwest with Lukas Verzbicas slated to race Futsum Zeinasellassie for the MW title. Futsum should be very well rested as it has been 4 weeks since the IN state meet. Hopefully the nagging achilles that bothered Lukas at IL state is cleared up as well. This is one race I have been waiting to see for some time and hope it delivers on the promise.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
National berth #6 for York...IL/TX State finals
Before we get to far into the heart of the blog, the Cross Country championship season so far in 2009, I would like to make a special mention/congratulations to the first American to win the New York City Marathon in 27 years, Meb Keflezighi. Meb dropped a quality field one by one en route to a 2:09.15 win over Robert Cheruiyot. An American had not won New York since Alberto Salazar won in 1982 and this was a major accomplishment in what has been a banner year for American long distance running.
High School action was in full swing the past couple weeks. In Illinois, Loyola served notice to the US that it was for real when it beat York at the Niles West sectional. Loyola's Nico Composto defeated the York duo of Andrew Smith and Jack Driggs for the individual win. Down in Lockport, Neuqua Valley and Lukas Verzbicas cruised to easy wins. Loyola jumped to the top of the National rankings and headed down to Peoria as the favorite and the title of US#1. Not so fast,while the individual race was a foregone conclusion, the team race was a fierce battle. When the announcement came out, Neuqua Valley (99) had toppled the favorites as they defeated Loyola (111) and York (118) for the State title. Verzbicas easily defeated the field with a 21 second win over York's Smith and Driggs. Verzbicas ran on record pace through 2 miles before a sore Achilles slowed him in the final mile. Many were disappointed he didn't break the long standing course record, but his time of 14:07 still ranks him in the all-time top 10 on the course and he has a couple more years to go after it.
Down in Texas, things got rolling quickly. In Region 1, Craig Lutz (Lewisville Marcus) ran away with the title at Mae Simmons Park in a time of 14:37. Lutz now joins Colby Lowe and Bobby Aguirre as the only runners under 14:40 on the course. El Paso dominated the 4A ranks as Jefferson, Austin and Horizon swept the State berths in the Boys division while taking 7 of the top 10 individual spots. In 3a, Clint took the girls title, while 5a didn't fare as well. The Eastwood girls were 5th in a highly competitive team race and with the bulk of the girls back next year they should make another serious run at the State meet.
Region 2 served as a preview to what was to come as The Woodlands boys defeated Cedar Park and Klein Oak for the team title with Parker Stinson (CP) taking individual honors. The girls titles went to The Woodlands College Park and Sarah Andrews (The Woodlands High).
This past weekend the Texas State meet certainly didn't disappoint. Lutz ran away from the field, and a very good field at that, for a 14:45 to 15:08 win over Mark Pinales (Round Rock Stony Point). Parker Stinson won the bronze with a time of 15:11. The Woodlands boys picked up right where they left off when Dan Green retired and handed the program to son Juris, they won. The Woodlands outdistanced Region II foes Klein Oak and Cedar Park for the win. The interesting story was 4a winner Boerne Champion who easily won 4a (30-120 over El Paso Jefferson) and would have beaten The Woodlands based on an integrated race. This showdown looms big as Nike South approaches.
Sarah Andrews (The Woodlands) won the girls title over Rachel Johnson of Plano while Humble Kingwood won the team title over The Woodlands College Park and Southlake Carroll. In the 3a race, the Clint girls missed a medal by the narrowest of margins as 1 point separated the 2,3 and 4 teams. So close.
The post-season has started in the Midwest and what a race at Nike Midwest! York, who after finishing 3rd at the IL state meet stepped up big to win the Nike Midwest title over Neuqua Valley. Loyola, as recently as 2 weeks ago was ranked #1 in the US, was left out. Loyola's chances of an at-large bid however, should be very favorable when considering their 3 wins over York this season. York will be running in their 6th consecutive National meet , the only program to have qualified for every Nike Cross Nationals final. They won in 04 and were runner-ups in 05 and 08. Neuqua Valley won the title in 07 as Illinois has been extremely competitive at this meet.
Lukas Verzbicas and Futsum Zeinasellassie (IN-Footlocker top 10 as a Frosh last year) sat out this race to concentrate on Footlocker Midwest leaving Zach Wills of Ohio to claim an easy win. On the girls side , Magnificat OH edged Illinois State Champs Palatine for the win while individual honors went to Ohio's Hannah Neczypor.
Many great races still lie ahead as we head to Footlocker Regionals and Nike Cross Nationals. I hope to see many of the top stars tangle one on one. Chesley Sveinsson has been resting and training and should be raring to go at the post-season meets.
El Paso is starting to see a resurgence as a cross country power (mostly in 4a vs 5a) as El Paso Jefferson is now the #6 ranked team in the South rankings. Isaac Spencer (Austin) won the 1-4a regional meet and was 7th at the State meet. Jefferson is coached by former El Paso prep star Alfredo Trejo who was top 20 at Footlocker (then Kinney) in 1980.
On the NCAA side of things, Stanford is still the favorite as they cruised to conference and regional wins both times led by individual winner Chris Derrick. Oklahoma State should contend still as German Fernandez seems to round into shape after an early season injury. They ran regional as a team tempo run with all the team coming across together. Colby Lowe is still the key I think as he needs to step up from last years performance. If he does they will be right there in contention with Stanford.
Washington remain the favorite on the women's side with Jenny Barringer (CO) being an overwhelming favorite to win the individual title. Look for prized frosh Jordan Hasay (Oregon) and Allie McLaughlin (Colorado) to have breakthrough races in Terre Haute.
I hope to attend some of the bigger meets coming up here in the next couple weeks and will be sure to blog on them and hopefully share some pics.
High School action was in full swing the past couple weeks. In Illinois, Loyola served notice to the US that it was for real when it beat York at the Niles West sectional. Loyola's Nico Composto defeated the York duo of Andrew Smith and Jack Driggs for the individual win. Down in Lockport, Neuqua Valley and Lukas Verzbicas cruised to easy wins. Loyola jumped to the top of the National rankings and headed down to Peoria as the favorite and the title of US#1. Not so fast,while the individual race was a foregone conclusion, the team race was a fierce battle. When the announcement came out, Neuqua Valley (99) had toppled the favorites as they defeated Loyola (111) and York (118) for the State title. Verzbicas easily defeated the field with a 21 second win over York's Smith and Driggs. Verzbicas ran on record pace through 2 miles before a sore Achilles slowed him in the final mile. Many were disappointed he didn't break the long standing course record, but his time of 14:07 still ranks him in the all-time top 10 on the course and he has a couple more years to go after it.
Down in Texas, things got rolling quickly. In Region 1, Craig Lutz (Lewisville Marcus) ran away with the title at Mae Simmons Park in a time of 14:37. Lutz now joins Colby Lowe and Bobby Aguirre as the only runners under 14:40 on the course. El Paso dominated the 4A ranks as Jefferson, Austin and Horizon swept the State berths in the Boys division while taking 7 of the top 10 individual spots. In 3a, Clint took the girls title, while 5a didn't fare as well. The Eastwood girls were 5th in a highly competitive team race and with the bulk of the girls back next year they should make another serious run at the State meet.
Region 2 served as a preview to what was to come as The Woodlands boys defeated Cedar Park and Klein Oak for the team title with Parker Stinson (CP) taking individual honors. The girls titles went to The Woodlands College Park and Sarah Andrews (The Woodlands High).
This past weekend the Texas State meet certainly didn't disappoint. Lutz ran away from the field, and a very good field at that, for a 14:45 to 15:08 win over Mark Pinales (Round Rock Stony Point). Parker Stinson won the bronze with a time of 15:11. The Woodlands boys picked up right where they left off when Dan Green retired and handed the program to son Juris, they won. The Woodlands outdistanced Region II foes Klein Oak and Cedar Park for the win. The interesting story was 4a winner Boerne Champion who easily won 4a (30-120 over El Paso Jefferson) and would have beaten The Woodlands based on an integrated race. This showdown looms big as Nike South approaches.
Sarah Andrews (The Woodlands) won the girls title over Rachel Johnson of Plano while Humble Kingwood won the team title over The Woodlands College Park and Southlake Carroll. In the 3a race, the Clint girls missed a medal by the narrowest of margins as 1 point separated the 2,3 and 4 teams. So close.
The post-season has started in the Midwest and what a race at Nike Midwest! York, who after finishing 3rd at the IL state meet stepped up big to win the Nike Midwest title over Neuqua Valley. Loyola, as recently as 2 weeks ago was ranked #1 in the US, was left out. Loyola's chances of an at-large bid however, should be very favorable when considering their 3 wins over York this season. York will be running in their 6th consecutive National meet , the only program to have qualified for every Nike Cross Nationals final. They won in 04 and were runner-ups in 05 and 08. Neuqua Valley won the title in 07 as Illinois has been extremely competitive at this meet.
Lukas Verzbicas and Futsum Zeinasellassie (IN-Footlocker top 10 as a Frosh last year) sat out this race to concentrate on Footlocker Midwest leaving Zach Wills of Ohio to claim an easy win. On the girls side , Magnificat OH edged Illinois State Champs Palatine for the win while individual honors went to Ohio's Hannah Neczypor.
Many great races still lie ahead as we head to Footlocker Regionals and Nike Cross Nationals. I hope to see many of the top stars tangle one on one. Chesley Sveinsson has been resting and training and should be raring to go at the post-season meets.
El Paso is starting to see a resurgence as a cross country power (mostly in 4a vs 5a) as El Paso Jefferson is now the #6 ranked team in the South rankings. Isaac Spencer (Austin) won the 1-4a regional meet and was 7th at the State meet. Jefferson is coached by former El Paso prep star Alfredo Trejo who was top 20 at Footlocker (then Kinney) in 1980.
On the NCAA side of things, Stanford is still the favorite as they cruised to conference and regional wins both times led by individual winner Chris Derrick. Oklahoma State should contend still as German Fernandez seems to round into shape after an early season injury. They ran regional as a team tempo run with all the team coming across together. Colby Lowe is still the key I think as he needs to step up from last years performance. If he does they will be right there in contention with Stanford.
Washington remain the favorite on the women's side with Jenny Barringer (CO) being an overwhelming favorite to win the individual title. Look for prized frosh Jordan Hasay (Oregon) and Allie McLaughlin (Colorado) to have breakthrough races in Terre Haute.
I hope to attend some of the bigger meets coming up here in the next couple weeks and will be sure to blog on them and hopefully share some pics.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Mid October ramblings
Before I touch on the XC season thus far, this past weekend was a great one on the roads. Sammy Wanjiru broke Khalid Khannouchi's Chicago course record by 1 second with his 2:05:41. It was the fastest marathon run on US soil. Wanjiru who is only 22 is now 4 and 0 in the major marathons. His 4 wins have all been between 2:05.10 and 2:06.39. Amazing athlete. Props need to be given to this years pacemakers. Patrick Ivuti (2007 Chicago Marathon champ and a pacesetter this year) led the group through the 1/2 marathon in 1:01.59-1:02.00.
Speaking of the 1/2 marathon, American Dathan Ritzenhein continued his amazing 2009 with a Bronze Medal at the World 1/2 Marathon Champs (also on Sunday). Eritrean Zersenay Tadese won his 4th straight title in 59:35 while Kenya's Bernard Kipyego edged out Dathan for the silver 59:59 to 60:00. Another amazing performance in what has been a career year for Dathan Ritzenhein.
In the college XC ranks it is always exciting to see which freshmen step up to the transition. After last years great freshman crop everyone is wondering who will be the ones to break through. We saw great performances in early season victories from Arkansas' Soloman Haile (last years Footlocker champ) and Wisconsin's Reed Connor (last years NXN champ from The Woodlands, TX). Both were upstaged though recently (and soundly beaten in same race!) by Iowa's Jeff Thode. At the Wisconsin Adidas Invite on October 3rd Thode was edged for the win by Georgetown senior Andrew Bumbalough 23:54.0 to 23:54.7. Connor and Haile ran 16th and 17th about 30 seconds back. After winning the IL state meet last year Thode did not run NXN or FL but won the Mideast Meet of Champions. His track season was chronicled well in this blog with a 4:05 1600 and 8:51 3200. Very impressive young man and I hope to see him do very well at the NCAA level.
Jordan Hasay made her college debut that weekend as well and finished 6th at the Dellinger Invite. Jordan ran as the Oregon #2 to Alex Kosinski. Neither the Oregon Men or Women looked as good as expected. My NCAA favorite on the mens side this year is Oklahoma State. In addition to German Fernandez, Ryan Vail (All-American last year) returns for his final season and transfer Girma Mesecho (All American last year as a Frosh at Auburn) is eligible and ready to go. Colby Lowe should step up from last year and help the team win the title. Look for the Chris Derrick led Stanford team to challenge as well. On the women's side, I don't see any team capable of beating last years champ Washington.
On the prep level there is not much reason to take back any early season predictions. Chelsey Sveinsson (TX) dominated the Cowboy Jamboree in OK and while Lukas Verzbicas (IL) has only run once (an early season course record in Lyons, IL) he won the World Duathalon Champs which found him closing the last 2500 meters in 4:11 mile pace! Unreal. According to the Chicago Tribune, Lukas ran ill as well in his defeat of 18 year old Mario Mola, the World Junior Triathalon Champion from Spain.
While most everyone has Zach Wills (OH) as his main competition the Rosa twins from New Jersey are quickly stepping up as his main rivals. Joe has been setting course records and brother Jim has been right behind. Wills beat 2009 FL All-American Futsum Zeinasellaisse (IN) a few weeks back as well.
Down in TX, Region 1 and 2 are really heating up. Cedar Park, The Woodlands and Klein Oak all make Region 2 the toughest Team region in the State, if not the US.
Region 1 has seen some fantastic individual performances. Connor Adams (Flower Mound, TX) beat Craig Lutz early on. Lutz has since bounced back and won Nike South over a high quality field that included Parker Stinson (Cedar Park), Ryan Dohner (Klein Oak) Neal Smith (Southlake Carrol) and Travis Barcaley of Boerne. Also making noise out west is Lubbock Coronado jr Donovan Torres. Torres ran a fantastic 15:20 at Mae Simmons Park at the Lubbock Invite for the easy win. He followed that with a very close 2nd place (14:53-14:55) to Connor Adams at the McNeil Invite.
Look for Lutz, Adams, Torres and Smith to all challenge for individual honors and sub 15 at the Region 1 meet. After those 4 hopefully we can see some talent from El Paso make the State Final. In 4a, Region 1 on the boys side looks to go to the El Paso area as Jefferson is the favorite for the team title and the 1-2 Austin High duo of Isaac Spencer and Ramon Garcia will be very tough to beat. Keep an eye on the Clint girls in 3a and still don't discount El Paso Eastwood in the 5a girls.
On the national level, remember some of the names discussed as they will be names you will hear for some time. Verzbicas, Wills, the Rosa's, Zeinasellaisse, Lutz, Torres, and Elias Geydon (CA) will all be back next year. Maybe we will see a repeat winner on the boys side in 2011.
Speaking of the 1/2 marathon, American Dathan Ritzenhein continued his amazing 2009 with a Bronze Medal at the World 1/2 Marathon Champs (also on Sunday). Eritrean Zersenay Tadese won his 4th straight title in 59:35 while Kenya's Bernard Kipyego edged out Dathan for the silver 59:59 to 60:00. Another amazing performance in what has been a career year for Dathan Ritzenhein.
In the college XC ranks it is always exciting to see which freshmen step up to the transition. After last years great freshman crop everyone is wondering who will be the ones to break through. We saw great performances in early season victories from Arkansas' Soloman Haile (last years Footlocker champ) and Wisconsin's Reed Connor (last years NXN champ from The Woodlands, TX). Both were upstaged though recently (and soundly beaten in same race!) by Iowa's Jeff Thode. At the Wisconsin Adidas Invite on October 3rd Thode was edged for the win by Georgetown senior Andrew Bumbalough 23:54.0 to 23:54.7. Connor and Haile ran 16th and 17th about 30 seconds back. After winning the IL state meet last year Thode did not run NXN or FL but won the Mideast Meet of Champions. His track season was chronicled well in this blog with a 4:05 1600 and 8:51 3200. Very impressive young man and I hope to see him do very well at the NCAA level.
Jordan Hasay made her college debut that weekend as well and finished 6th at the Dellinger Invite. Jordan ran as the Oregon #2 to Alex Kosinski. Neither the Oregon Men or Women looked as good as expected. My NCAA favorite on the mens side this year is Oklahoma State. In addition to German Fernandez, Ryan Vail (All-American last year) returns for his final season and transfer Girma Mesecho (All American last year as a Frosh at Auburn) is eligible and ready to go. Colby Lowe should step up from last year and help the team win the title. Look for the Chris Derrick led Stanford team to challenge as well. On the women's side, I don't see any team capable of beating last years champ Washington.
On the prep level there is not much reason to take back any early season predictions. Chelsey Sveinsson (TX) dominated the Cowboy Jamboree in OK and while Lukas Verzbicas (IL) has only run once (an early season course record in Lyons, IL) he won the World Duathalon Champs which found him closing the last 2500 meters in 4:11 mile pace! Unreal. According to the Chicago Tribune, Lukas ran ill as well in his defeat of 18 year old Mario Mola, the World Junior Triathalon Champion from Spain.
While most everyone has Zach Wills (OH) as his main competition the Rosa twins from New Jersey are quickly stepping up as his main rivals. Joe has been setting course records and brother Jim has been right behind. Wills beat 2009 FL All-American Futsum Zeinasellaisse (IN) a few weeks back as well.
Down in TX, Region 1 and 2 are really heating up. Cedar Park, The Woodlands and Klein Oak all make Region 2 the toughest Team region in the State, if not the US.
Region 1 has seen some fantastic individual performances. Connor Adams (Flower Mound, TX) beat Craig Lutz early on. Lutz has since bounced back and won Nike South over a high quality field that included Parker Stinson (Cedar Park), Ryan Dohner (Klein Oak) Neal Smith (Southlake Carrol) and Travis Barcaley of Boerne. Also making noise out west is Lubbock Coronado jr Donovan Torres. Torres ran a fantastic 15:20 at Mae Simmons Park at the Lubbock Invite for the easy win. He followed that with a very close 2nd place (14:53-14:55) to Connor Adams at the McNeil Invite.
Look for Lutz, Adams, Torres and Smith to all challenge for individual honors and sub 15 at the Region 1 meet. After those 4 hopefully we can see some talent from El Paso make the State Final. In 4a, Region 1 on the boys side looks to go to the El Paso area as Jefferson is the favorite for the team title and the 1-2 Austin High duo of Isaac Spencer and Ramon Garcia will be very tough to beat. Keep an eye on the Clint girls in 3a and still don't discount El Paso Eastwood in the 5a girls.
On the national level, remember some of the names discussed as they will be names you will hear for some time. Verzbicas, Wills, the Rosa's, Zeinasellaisse, Lutz, Torres, and Elias Geydon (CA) will all be back next year. Maybe we will see a repeat winner on the boys side in 2011.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Fall is here...XC Time!
Fall is here and that means one thing. Cross Country season is upon us. It was a great summer of Track and Field. All of the Gala League meets were televised as well as others, great World Championships in Berlin. Good times, literally. Two Americans, Dathan Ritzenhein (12:56.27 New AR) and Matt Tegenkamp (12:58.56) , broke 13 minutes in the 5000 in the span of one week. 3 Americans (Evan Jager, German Fernandez and Chris Derrick) all no more than 2 years removed from the American High School system ran sub 13:30, all before they are old enough to drink a beer in a bar.
The United States women have seen a huge resurgence in the middle distances with fantastic 800/1500 meter performances from the likes of Anna Willard, Shannon Rowbury, Jenny Barringer, Christin Wurth-Thomas and Maggie Vessey. Hopefully the trend will continue for years to come as it was quite inspiring to see these ladies hold their own against the world's best.
Now we head in to the time of the year reserved for running on uneven surfaces and terrains. Cross Country. I can't touch much on the College ranks yet as most of the top teams and individuals have yet to race. Texas and Illinois are once again looking very strong in the High School ranks with some of the top individuals and teams.
The Lone Star state brings Chelsey Sveinsson (top female in the US), Sarah Andrews, Parker Stinson, Craig Lutz and Connor Adams. The Woodlands girls and boys teams look very strong and the Cedar Park boys look to challenge for State and National honors.
Illinois fields the top male in the nation (probably for a few years to come!) in Sophomore Lukas Verzbicas as well as some of the top boys teams in the nation in York and Naperville Neuqua Valley. York lost 2 stars in Steve Sulkin (9:01) and Jordan Herbert (9:04) and Neuqua lost Foot Locker All-American Danny Pawola but as most perennial powerhouses they have rebuilt and both should have strong showings at the IL state meet and Nike Cross nationals.
Moving on to some things you couldn't already find out on Dyestat, it looks like there are some good things going on at my alma mater Eastwood (El Paso, TX). The girls team is undefeated 2 meets in and is looking solid from 1-7 with several capable front runners. As long as they start getting the 1-5 time gap down they can make some noise after the District meet. On the boys side Junior Juan Blanco won the Clint/Horizon Invitational with a solid win over 200 plus runners. I think he has the ability to become the best XC runner from the school in many, many years if not THE best. He certainly impressed me with his 4:30 in the 1600 as a Sophomore. Hopefully these kids will stay healthy and go into the Region 1 meet with the knowledge that they can absolutely compete with the best in the Region and State. Coach Mike McLain has certainly been there, earning individual and team Region Championships as a runner for Hanks High School back in the glory days (the 80's) of El Paso High School Cross Country. If anyone can help them realize this goal it is him.
I will certainly touch on the progress and performances of the team this year as I cheer for them from afar.
In an unrelated "How did I miss this from last year?" the defending Arkansas big schools Girls Cross Country champion (who ran away with last years title as a Frosh) is Valerie Reina. Yep, Reubens daughter. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
The United States women have seen a huge resurgence in the middle distances with fantastic 800/1500 meter performances from the likes of Anna Willard, Shannon Rowbury, Jenny Barringer, Christin Wurth-Thomas and Maggie Vessey. Hopefully the trend will continue for years to come as it was quite inspiring to see these ladies hold their own against the world's best.
Now we head in to the time of the year reserved for running on uneven surfaces and terrains. Cross Country. I can't touch much on the College ranks yet as most of the top teams and individuals have yet to race. Texas and Illinois are once again looking very strong in the High School ranks with some of the top individuals and teams.
The Lone Star state brings Chelsey Sveinsson (top female in the US), Sarah Andrews, Parker Stinson, Craig Lutz and Connor Adams. The Woodlands girls and boys teams look very strong and the Cedar Park boys look to challenge for State and National honors.
Illinois fields the top male in the nation (probably for a few years to come!) in Sophomore Lukas Verzbicas as well as some of the top boys teams in the nation in York and Naperville Neuqua Valley. York lost 2 stars in Steve Sulkin (9:01) and Jordan Herbert (9:04) and Neuqua lost Foot Locker All-American Danny Pawola but as most perennial powerhouses they have rebuilt and both should have strong showings at the IL state meet and Nike Cross nationals.
Moving on to some things you couldn't already find out on Dyestat, it looks like there are some good things going on at my alma mater Eastwood (El Paso, TX). The girls team is undefeated 2 meets in and is looking solid from 1-7 with several capable front runners. As long as they start getting the 1-5 time gap down they can make some noise after the District meet. On the boys side Junior Juan Blanco won the Clint/Horizon Invitational with a solid win over 200 plus runners. I think he has the ability to become the best XC runner from the school in many, many years if not THE best. He certainly impressed me with his 4:30 in the 1600 as a Sophomore. Hopefully these kids will stay healthy and go into the Region 1 meet with the knowledge that they can absolutely compete with the best in the Region and State. Coach Mike McLain has certainly been there, earning individual and team Region Championships as a runner for Hanks High School back in the glory days (the 80's) of El Paso High School Cross Country. If anyone can help them realize this goal it is him.
I will certainly touch on the progress and performances of the team this year as I cheer for them from afar.
In an unrelated "How did I miss this from last year?" the defending Arkansas big schools Girls Cross Country champion (who ran away with last years title as a Frosh) is Valerie Reina. Yep, Reubens daughter. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
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