We just got back from the Moorestown High School Honors Banquet. It was cool seeing so many of Mollie's friends getting awards. I remember so many of them from grade school and to see them all grown up and doing so well is very exciting.
Another fun sight was seeing so many XC runners up there - Balch, Ben and Micah Friedman, Jospehson, Matteson, Ringwood, Shah, Thomas, Wilson and Wolff. I think it is safe to say Xc has the highest GPA of any team in the school...
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Senior Farewell
It is that time of year – graduation. We are saying goodbye to a group of guys who have run thousands of miles and had a tremendous impact on our distance program. The core group of high performers who came in their freshman year have made an impact from the beginning. It brings back a lot of good memories and a sense of amazement that they have grown so much and are now off to their next phase of life…
I wanted to write some of my memories up about them, as well as provide some context for the younger runners in the program. It shows that tremendous growth can happen with hard work and focus.
Chris Balch – Balch came out his Sophomore year from Cross Country. He was tall, and to be honest a bit awkward in his running style. His VDOT at the end of that first season was 48. He ran a 5:30 in track his sophomore year. Balch improved his Junior year, but his real breakthrough came his senior year. I asked him after his great race at Sectionals on Saturday what made the difference. He said that at the end of Junior year Track he made a decision to work harder and get very specific about his goals. Since Cross Country season began he has been doing about 50 miles per week, up from 30-35. This focus and increased mileage, along with the fact that he has simply grown into his body allowed him to get to a 60 VDOT in XC and 63 in Track – with PR’s of 4:44 and 10:21 (worth probably under 10:10 since it was so hot at Sectionals). I look forward to hear how he does at Syracuse and with his triathlons. My bet is a guy who has learned to focus and work hard will have great success.
Ben Friedman – Ben came to the program with more experience than most runners on the team. He made an immediate impact his freshman year (60 VDOT), making the Varsity XC team and running on the 2nd place State Group 3 and 10th place Meet of Champions Team of 2005. Over the course of his 4 years, he has set the standard for hard work. Day in and day out – year round – no one works harder. He has been a steady fixture as one of the leaders of the team over that period of time. He leaves with being in the Top 10 runners of all time (65 VDOT) on all of the major courses we run on in Cross Country. And it is likely his total mileage in high school will never be surpassed. As he heads off to Alabama, I am sure his work ethic and perseverance will bring him continued success.
Micah Friedman – Micah was one of those freshmen who came out for the team with a deep knowledge of the sport. Like his cousin Ben, he was a consistent hard worker. He progressed a great deal between his Freshman (50 VDOT) and Sophomore years, however he was always held back by injuries. His Junior year (60 VDOT) he emerged as one of the leaders on the team and ran for the Top 7 in a number of XC meets. He went out for football his senior year and really added a huge amount of muscle – especially compared to the skinny guy he was when he entered the program. He was able to finish off his high school career running the 800 meter in track and setting PR’s his Senior year. Micah is off to Maryland, and I hope he comes back for some runs with the team when he visits home.
Andy Josephson – Like Balch, Josephson came out his sophomore year as a long and lanky runner. He has been one of the most consistent runners coming to the bench in all seasons and all weather. If I would stop by for a run on a cold winter day, and there were only 5 guys there, I could be sure one of them was Josephson. He has had great improvements, coming from a 49 VDOT to a 59 VDOT by consistently running. As he heads off to Lehigh, it will be strange to not see him at the bench…
Alex Matteson – Matteson came in as a freshman on a mission, and he leaves the same way. He had excellent success early (56 VDOT) and was a part of the Varsity 7 by his Sophomore year. He has been a consistent part of our core ever sense and will be one of those pieces we will miss next year. Matteson has great spirit, and could always be counted on to make the long training runs interesting in some way. He was also the type of guy you wanted on your team when you went to war. Matteson achieved the goals he set his freshman year, and is off to TCNJ. I am hoping he has continued success and becomes a core part of that program and a great engineer.
Dave Ringwood – Ringwood was a gift from Bishop Eustace his sophomore year. He was immediately part of our Varsity 7 reaching a VDOT of 59 that first year – demonstrating the raw talent he had. As one of the Captains his Senior XC season, he was a true leader. The Freshmen gravitated to his sunny disposition – claiming they wanted to make a T-Shirt with the 9 moods of Ringwood – all smiling happily. He had a great XC season running the second fastest time of any Moorestown runner ever at Holmdel (16:47). He had a setback in indoor with a hamstring injury and unfortunately in his first meet of Spring track developed a tight ITB and did not run his final season. I am quite sure he will have an impact on the Hopkins XC and track teams – both thru his hard work and his great natural leadership abilities.
Nirav Shah – Nirav was another one of the tall lanky guys who came out that sophomore year – convinced by the core group that running around town really was fun. I think he has had that fun. He left for a stint on the crew team, but came back to track his senior year. He’s improved from that freshman 48 VDOT to a 55 this spring. The thing I will remember most about Nirav is the fact he would bring Business Week on the bus to read. I’m sure that will pay off in his years at Villanova!
Dave Wilson – Even though Wilson did not join until his Junior year, he will be remembered as one of the key contributors in this class. Not a natural talent with speed, he put in 50-60 miles per week on a nearly year round basis to build a ton of strength. This past XC season he also figured out how to push himself to new levels of performance because he was so determined to earn his way onto the Varsity 7. He did just that and was part of the team that finished 6th at States. I will miss hearing him and Eagles discuss politics on our runs, and am sure he will come back after time at Washington & Lee to keep Eagles on his toes…
Ryan Wolff – Wolff probably encapsulates what our team is about as well as anyone ever has. I remember first meeting him at a summer track meet when he was in middle school hoping to run a 3:00 800. Since then he has been dedicated to improving himself and his team. His steady diet of 50-60 mile weeks for years has brought him to the heights he has reached this spring. In every single match-up Ryan was able to come thru – from the epic battle he had with Eric Morris at Burlington Township to this past weekend when he qualified for States. More than his personal accomplishments, he has always been the ultimate team guy. I’m sure he will make great contributions to Quinnipiac.
I wanted to write some of my memories up about them, as well as provide some context for the younger runners in the program. It shows that tremendous growth can happen with hard work and focus.
Chris Balch – Balch came out his Sophomore year from Cross Country. He was tall, and to be honest a bit awkward in his running style. His VDOT at the end of that first season was 48. He ran a 5:30 in track his sophomore year. Balch improved his Junior year, but his real breakthrough came his senior year. I asked him after his great race at Sectionals on Saturday what made the difference. He said that at the end of Junior year Track he made a decision to work harder and get very specific about his goals. Since Cross Country season began he has been doing about 50 miles per week, up from 30-35. This focus and increased mileage, along with the fact that he has simply grown into his body allowed him to get to a 60 VDOT in XC and 63 in Track – with PR’s of 4:44 and 10:21 (worth probably under 10:10 since it was so hot at Sectionals). I look forward to hear how he does at Syracuse and with his triathlons. My bet is a guy who has learned to focus and work hard will have great success.
Ben Friedman – Ben came to the program with more experience than most runners on the team. He made an immediate impact his freshman year (60 VDOT), making the Varsity XC team and running on the 2nd place State Group 3 and 10th place Meet of Champions Team of 2005. Over the course of his 4 years, he has set the standard for hard work. Day in and day out – year round – no one works harder. He has been a steady fixture as one of the leaders of the team over that period of time. He leaves with being in the Top 10 runners of all time (65 VDOT) on all of the major courses we run on in Cross Country. And it is likely his total mileage in high school will never be surpassed. As he heads off to Alabama, I am sure his work ethic and perseverance will bring him continued success.
Micah Friedman – Micah was one of those freshmen who came out for the team with a deep knowledge of the sport. Like his cousin Ben, he was a consistent hard worker. He progressed a great deal between his Freshman (50 VDOT) and Sophomore years, however he was always held back by injuries. His Junior year (60 VDOT) he emerged as one of the leaders on the team and ran for the Top 7 in a number of XC meets. He went out for football his senior year and really added a huge amount of muscle – especially compared to the skinny guy he was when he entered the program. He was able to finish off his high school career running the 800 meter in track and setting PR’s his Senior year. Micah is off to Maryland, and I hope he comes back for some runs with the team when he visits home.
Andy Josephson – Like Balch, Josephson came out his sophomore year as a long and lanky runner. He has been one of the most consistent runners coming to the bench in all seasons and all weather. If I would stop by for a run on a cold winter day, and there were only 5 guys there, I could be sure one of them was Josephson. He has had great improvements, coming from a 49 VDOT to a 59 VDOT by consistently running. As he heads off to Lehigh, it will be strange to not see him at the bench…
Alex Matteson – Matteson came in as a freshman on a mission, and he leaves the same way. He had excellent success early (56 VDOT) and was a part of the Varsity 7 by his Sophomore year. He has been a consistent part of our core ever sense and will be one of those pieces we will miss next year. Matteson has great spirit, and could always be counted on to make the long training runs interesting in some way. He was also the type of guy you wanted on your team when you went to war. Matteson achieved the goals he set his freshman year, and is off to TCNJ. I am hoping he has continued success and becomes a core part of that program and a great engineer.
Dave Ringwood – Ringwood was a gift from Bishop Eustace his sophomore year. He was immediately part of our Varsity 7 reaching a VDOT of 59 that first year – demonstrating the raw talent he had. As one of the Captains his Senior XC season, he was a true leader. The Freshmen gravitated to his sunny disposition – claiming they wanted to make a T-Shirt with the 9 moods of Ringwood – all smiling happily. He had a great XC season running the second fastest time of any Moorestown runner ever at Holmdel (16:47). He had a setback in indoor with a hamstring injury and unfortunately in his first meet of Spring track developed a tight ITB and did not run his final season. I am quite sure he will have an impact on the Hopkins XC and track teams – both thru his hard work and his great natural leadership abilities.
Nirav Shah – Nirav was another one of the tall lanky guys who came out that sophomore year – convinced by the core group that running around town really was fun. I think he has had that fun. He left for a stint on the crew team, but came back to track his senior year. He’s improved from that freshman 48 VDOT to a 55 this spring. The thing I will remember most about Nirav is the fact he would bring Business Week on the bus to read. I’m sure that will pay off in his years at Villanova!
Dave Wilson – Even though Wilson did not join until his Junior year, he will be remembered as one of the key contributors in this class. Not a natural talent with speed, he put in 50-60 miles per week on a nearly year round basis to build a ton of strength. This past XC season he also figured out how to push himself to new levels of performance because he was so determined to earn his way onto the Varsity 7. He did just that and was part of the team that finished 6th at States. I will miss hearing him and Eagles discuss politics on our runs, and am sure he will come back after time at Washington & Lee to keep Eagles on his toes…
Ryan Wolff – Wolff probably encapsulates what our team is about as well as anyone ever has. I remember first meeting him at a summer track meet when he was in middle school hoping to run a 3:00 800. Since then he has been dedicated to improving himself and his team. His steady diet of 50-60 mile weeks for years has brought him to the heights he has reached this spring. In every single match-up Ryan was able to come thru – from the epic battle he had with Eric Morris at Burlington Township to this past weekend when he qualified for States. More than his personal accomplishments, he has always been the ultimate team guy. I’m sure he will make great contributions to Quinnipiac.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Weekly Update May 21
May 21
This Past (2) Week(s).
I was lazy this past weekend in doing the Weekly Update. I have an excellent excuse as I was witnessing my daughter's boat win Stotesbury - you can read more at my blog.
It has been a great rush toward the end of the season on the track with a ton of PR's, and a wacky finish to the regular season for the team.
We raced at home against Pemberton in our last dual meet of the year Tuesday the 12th. While there was not a lot of competition from the other team, we had some excellent performances, highlighted by the 1600. 4 guys ran together thru the finish, with Matteson setting the pace and taking the win in 4:46, followed closely by Szumski in a PR of 4:46, Balch and Weintraub at 4:47. Not far behind was Ems with a PR of 4:52. It was very cool to see the pack running we use in XC applied to the track. Friedman led the 2 mile with a nice 10:10. Horton hung on for 6 laps and finished with a great debut time of 10:17. Robinson and Samocki ran together for solid 10:36 and 10:37 times - also PR's.
The younger guys went down to the Cherokee Novice Meet and laid down some very good times. Evan Nece continues to improve and ran another 4:57 showing his growing strength and consistency. Bennett made the Varsity qualifying time with a 4:59.99. Inglis had a PR of 5:01, Sheehan and Fowler also had PR's at 5:14 and 5:27.
Last Saturday was the County Open. Friedman ran a solid 10:01 and placed. Weintraub looked good for 6 laps, but his breakfast caught up with him. He still had a PR of 10:14 on a humid day. In the 1600, Horton ran a 4:44 with Balch closing well in 4:46. They have both become very consistent runners this Spring. Micah Friedman was our sole 800 runners on this Prom-heavy weekend in 2:10.
This past Tuesday was my favorite track meet - the Haddonfield Distance Night. It was a beautiful night again this year under the lights at the cozy track and almost everyone made the most of it with PR's. The list of PR's is long. The two highlights were John Stalle running a 2:01 and Dave Wilson breaking thru with a 18 second season best of 4:59.90 to qualify for Varsity. Also running PR's for the season and in most cases their career: Weintraub 4:37, Ben Friedman 4:39, Matteson 4:41, Robinson 4:42, Balch 4:44, Szumski 4:45, Ems 4:51, Samocki 4:56, Bennett 4:59, Wilson 5:00, Josephson 5:03, Shehan 5:10, Thomas 5:12, Reutsch 5:18, Fowler 5:23, Regan 5:30 and Quien with a 21 second PR of 5:43! In the 800 Micah Friedman also had big PR with a 2:05 and Horton had a super debut of 2:07 (but said he was not anxious to do this race again and would stick to the 1600).
This Coming Week
Friday and Saturday is Sectionals down at Buena. Friday Wolff, Weintraub and Horton will run the 1600. The top 6 will go on to States, and it will take a truly excellent race to make it. Saturday Friedman, Matteson and Balch will run the 3200, while Stalle and Micah Friedman will run the 800. This is a great meet to go down and watch - some great athletes and performances. Group 2 will be there as well, so it is an opportunity to see the Haddonfield runners. Colin Baker has gone 4:20 several times this season and has his eyes in a school record of 4:14. Of course Group 3 has the great Brett Johnson, who has run 4:12 / 9:15 this year and is fun to watch. And you can not count out David Forward to perhaps give Johnson a run.
It is the end of the season for most of you. Here is the schedule coming up:
Now - Hand in uniforms to Eagles.
Now - June 5 - Relax. You should run twice per week, three miles. Take some down time, but keep your muscles in tone so you don't get injured when you ramp it back up by running a couple of times per week.
Tuesday June 2- MXC Sign-up. Meet in Eagles Room at School. Get the word out to everyone and new people! We will be handing out copies of the MXC 2009 Program Guide to everyone! This is new for this year!
June 6 - Scott Coffee Moorestown Rotary 8K. Everyone should plan on running this for fun. It is our kick-off for the XC season - great teams are made during the summer!
June 8 - Captains Practice starts for the 2009 Cross Country Season. Meet at the benches after school.
Coach Eagles & Bickel
This Past (2) Week(s).
I was lazy this past weekend in doing the Weekly Update. I have an excellent excuse as I was witnessing my daughter's boat win Stotesbury - you can read more at my blog.
It has been a great rush toward the end of the season on the track with a ton of PR's, and a wacky finish to the regular season for the team.
We raced at home against Pemberton in our last dual meet of the year Tuesday the 12th. While there was not a lot of competition from the other team, we had some excellent performances, highlighted by the 1600. 4 guys ran together thru the finish, with Matteson setting the pace and taking the win in 4:46, followed closely by Szumski in a PR of 4:46, Balch and Weintraub at 4:47. Not far behind was Ems with a PR of 4:52. It was very cool to see the pack running we use in XC applied to the track. Friedman led the 2 mile with a nice 10:10. Horton hung on for 6 laps and finished with a great debut time of 10:17. Robinson and Samocki ran together for solid 10:36 and 10:37 times - also PR's.
The younger guys went down to the Cherokee Novice Meet and laid down some very good times. Evan Nece continues to improve and ran another 4:57 showing his growing strength and consistency. Bennett made the Varsity qualifying time with a 4:59.99. Inglis had a PR of 5:01, Sheehan and Fowler also had PR's at 5:14 and 5:27.
Last Saturday was the County Open. Friedman ran a solid 10:01 and placed. Weintraub looked good for 6 laps, but his breakfast caught up with him. He still had a PR of 10:14 on a humid day. In the 1600, Horton ran a 4:44 with Balch closing well in 4:46. They have both become very consistent runners this Spring. Micah Friedman was our sole 800 runners on this Prom-heavy weekend in 2:10.
This past Tuesday was my favorite track meet - the Haddonfield Distance Night. It was a beautiful night again this year under the lights at the cozy track and almost everyone made the most of it with PR's. The list of PR's is long. The two highlights were John Stalle running a 2:01 and Dave Wilson breaking thru with a 18 second season best of 4:59.90 to qualify for Varsity. Also running PR's for the season and in most cases their career: Weintraub 4:37, Ben Friedman 4:39, Matteson 4:41, Robinson 4:42, Balch 4:44, Szumski 4:45, Ems 4:51, Samocki 4:56, Bennett 4:59, Wilson 5:00, Josephson 5:03, Shehan 5:10, Thomas 5:12, Reutsch 5:18, Fowler 5:23, Regan 5:30 and Quien with a 21 second PR of 5:43! In the 800 Micah Friedman also had big PR with a 2:05 and Horton had a super debut of 2:07 (but said he was not anxious to do this race again and would stick to the 1600).
This Coming Week
Friday and Saturday is Sectionals down at Buena. Friday Wolff, Weintraub and Horton will run the 1600. The top 6 will go on to States, and it will take a truly excellent race to make it. Saturday Friedman, Matteson and Balch will run the 3200, while Stalle and Micah Friedman will run the 800. This is a great meet to go down and watch - some great athletes and performances. Group 2 will be there as well, so it is an opportunity to see the Haddonfield runners. Colin Baker has gone 4:20 several times this season and has his eyes in a school record of 4:14. Of course Group 3 has the great Brett Johnson, who has run 4:12 / 9:15 this year and is fun to watch. And you can not count out David Forward to perhaps give Johnson a run.
It is the end of the season for most of you. Here is the schedule coming up:
Now - Hand in uniforms to Eagles.
Now - June 5 - Relax. You should run twice per week, three miles. Take some down time, but keep your muscles in tone so you don't get injured when you ramp it back up by running a couple of times per week.
Tuesday June 2- MXC Sign-up. Meet in Eagles Room at School. Get the word out to everyone and new people! We will be handing out copies of the MXC 2009 Program Guide to everyone! This is new for this year!
June 6 - Scott Coffee Moorestown Rotary 8K. Everyone should plan on running this for fun. It is our kick-off for the XC season - great teams are made during the summer!
June 8 - Captains Practice starts for the 2009 Cross Country Season. Meet at the benches after school.
Coach Eagles & Bickel
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Teamwork and Fulfillment
It was a good day at the river yesterday - a very good day. The Moorestown Lightweight 8 won Stotesbury, the largest high school regatta in the world.
Crew is often used as the example of the ultimate team sport. Seeing Mollie these past three weeks as the team has come together and build a bond, a trust, and a common commitment has been truly inspiring.
John Lloyd and Rich Henderson
put this crew together three weeks ago to try to get a team that would take a shot at placing well at Stotsebury. They only had three days of practice together before City's. Dustin Baxter's back was questionable after an incident in gym class. Their rhythm was off, but as they steamed toward the finish, edging out Lasalle and making time up on St. Augustine's and St. Joe's, you could see a deep passion in this crew. They were digging every stroke in support of each other. 3rd place at City's was an amazing showing and this team started to have a feeling that they could do some very good things.After that race, Marlise and I were talking to the other parents. There was lots of praise flowing for our kids. The boys parents were telling us the boys thought Mollie was doing a great job. They cautiously approached the topic of Mollie providing motivation during the race, and we said "Yes, we know. When she drops the F-Bomb they gain two seats on that stroke." Turns out that this was the topic of conversation at every dinner table - quiet little Mollie who does not use language like that all of a sudden hitting them with it in the middle of a race was an inspirational weapon they would add to their bag of tricks.
The two weeks between City's and Stotesbury was a time to try to get in synch and find the 2.66 seconds that they had lost by to St. Joe's. The first week of practices were going well and the team was growing in confidence. However, as Dustin's back got better, Tyler Lukridge started having the same pain in his wrist that required surgery and held him out for an entire Sophomore season. But there was no way he was going to miss this and he decided to row thru it.
On Friday during the Head Race Trials, the team managed the second fastest time of the day - giving them a good lane for the Semi's on Saturday morning. Mollie had been worried about this first race. If they did well, she felt the team would really get together. If they did not place highly, she was concerned that Friday night's Prom might be more of a distraction. As the team came back to the tent after the race there was complete agreement "We're going to eat and then leave. We need to be ready for tomorrow!" You could see it in their eyes. They wanted this - badly.
Saturday morning's Semi matched them up against St. Augustine's, with St. Joe's in the other heat. It was looking like even with the other 200 schools there it was going to come down to the 4 boats from City's - St. Joes, St. Augustine, Moorestown and LaSalle. In this semi St. Augustine beat Moorestown by a boat length. Was this part of the plan? Did the prom perhaps take something out of them? As they pulled the boat out of the water and walked it up, this team looked a little too relaxed and calm. They had developed a style of remaining calm and saving their energy for just the right time. It seemed they felt they were right on plan.
The final came down to St. Joe's in Lane 3, St. Augustine in Lane 4 and Moorestown in Lane 2. Sitting down at the finishing stands we had recruited the Woodbridge, VA team to cheer for Moorestown. When the announcer said Moorestown was in the lead at the 400 meter mark (1500 meter race), there was a buzz in the crowd. St. Joe's has won this event 10 of the past 12 years and had not been beaten this year. Could the underdog really play in their league?
As they hit the island, you could see it was neck and neck between the two boats, with St. Joe's holding an ever so slight lead. The team had built up calmly, with increasing intensity over the past two weeks. Mollie had taken the Tie-dyed T-Shirt off from the morning race and for the first time in her career had the black uni on - same as the boys. She had developed a knack for timing their sprint and the team had developed a knack for knowing how to pull hard to the finish.
As the two boats passed the stands, the roar was deafening. Our Woodbridge friends led an awesome chant of Moores-Town, and many in the stands joined them. Both boats were clearly all-out. Each boy pulling with everything they had - making sure they helped their team get to the line first.
They crossed and no one in the crowd knew who had won. It took several minutes and then word leaked out fast. I first heard them call the order for the boats to pull up to the dock (3rd, 2nd and then 1st). They called Lanes 4, 3, 2. Lane 2 - Moorestown! Just then, John Lloyd got confirmation that the team had won.
In the days before photo-finishes, they would have called this one a tie. But there was indeed separation - and Moorestown had won by .04 seconds. About 10 centimeters in a 1500 meter race.On this day, this group of lightweights had pulled together as a team to accomplish the unimaginable. Winning the Stotesbury. Jimmy Currell, Dustin Baxter, Nik Tranchik, Jason Farber, Tyler Lukridge, Max Tennenbaum, Scott Shelley, Rohil Shah and of course Mollie.
On our ride down to Maryland, Mollie said "This is the happiest day of my life." Nothing quite like working and winning with a team...
More Photos
Video of Finals
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Wanted: Running Web Wizard
We are looking for a new person at the store now that Marc Pelerin is leaving for California.
Moorestown Running Company is a specialty running store in Moorestown New Jersey.
We are seeking a motivated web designer and enthusiastic store associate.
You will work in our Moorestown store helping to build and design our website, doing customer marketing and helping runners and walkers select the proper equipment.
You will have the opportunity to serve the running community, work with passionate staff and an experienced technology consultant as you develop an expanding running specialty website and growing store. The applicant should have related experience in web design and development, working with tools like Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Illustrator. PHP and Javascript experience is a plus. A strong desire to learn and keep expanding your skills is required. In addition to web development, you must demonstrate a willingness to work with customers and learn about properly fitting customers with running shoes.
The qualified candidate has related education and experience dealing with online marketing and/or web design. Email your cover letter, application and examples of your web work to info@runningco.com.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Weekly Update May 10
This Past Week.
There were two big stories this week – PR’s and Leadership. Let’s hit the PR’s first…
Wednesday was a dual meet against Rancocas Valley. With only a couple of weeks left in the season, we have started to taper and take advantage of all the hard work we did early in the season and harvest it with some fast times. And we did exactly that. PR’s by nearly everyone – Friedman, Wolff, Horton, Weintraub, Balch, Robinson, Miller, Nece, Ems, Samocki, Bennet, Lentz, Wilson, Thomas, Sheehan, Reutsch, Shah, Fowler, Regan and Spirgel. Special mention to Evan Nece who qualified for Varsity by going sub-5 with a 4:57 and a brilliant closing lap of 69 seconds. Several other guys are knocking on that door and will hopefully make it during the next two weeks…
The even bigger story was around Leadership. The distance squad is viewed as the elite of the track team, and quite frankly we did not perform to our potential the week before. Ryan Wolff and Ben Friedman set a course to correct that this past week to double in three meets – that means both a 1600 and a 3200 meter race and Willingboro on Monday, RV on Wednesday at the Divisional Meet on Saturday. One of these races is tough, two in a day is mentally and physically wearing. Try doing it three times in a week at a high level. And it was more than simply running the events – they wanted to show the type of effort necessary to earn the mantle of Leadership.
On Monday Wolff and Friedman finished 1-2 in the 1600 in a tight race with a very talented Willingboro runner. They came back in the rain less than an hour later to lead our team to a clean sweep in a fast time in the 3200. On Wednesday we faced our toughest opponent of the year, RV. The 1600 is an early event and it was important to get momentum on our side. Wolff and Friedman responded against tough competition with PR’s for a 1-2 that I consider a tie and showed the rest of the team what working together is all about. On Saturday they again set out to score big points in the BCSL Championship. This is a race that we won 2 years ago, and had last won over 20 years earlier – so not an easy meet for us. Wolff had an outstanding race in the 1600 closing hard with yet another PR and locking in 8 points with a second place against Bowden of NB. It was not a great race for Friedman, perhaps tired from his heavy mileage and hard races earlier in the week. We gave them the chance to bow out for the 3200 on this hot day (85 degrees), but they both wanted to come back and score points for the team. They both were true to their word, with Friedman getting a hard fought 5th and Wolff a 6th.
Their leadership was echoed by two emerging leaders on the team – Weintraub and Horton. Weintraub ran 3200 meters for the first, second and third time in his career this week – placing in all 3 races. Saturday’s race was certainly the highlight as he held his steady pace and confident stride to pick up a much needed 2nd place (again to Bowden). Horton’s first year running is also proving to be amazingly productive. On Wednesday he closed hard and got that important third place that set the tone for the team the rest of the day – points matter. Little wins here and there produce big wins for the team. Saturday’s race at the BCSL Championship highlighted his potential as he finished 4th in a PR of 4:39.96.
These great efforts helped produce a team win and Moorestown was crowned BCSL Divisional Meet Champions. Other highlights – Corey Pizzichello won the Triple, 2nd in the long, 4th in the 400 and anchored the 4th place 4X400. Connor Tuck won his third consecutive Javelin Championship at this meet. Danny MacBride picked up a 3rd and 5th in the 100 and 200. TJ Hagan and Nick Dee went 1-2 in the Pole Vault.
It was an impressive week for the distance squad. Eagles and I are feeling very, very proud of this squad.
The Coming Week
Tuesday we will split the team. Half will be at home at the Pemberton Meet and the Freshmen and Novice will travel to Cherokee High School to compete in a big open meet there. Both meets should offer a good opportunity to try to achieve some more PR’s. The bus will leave after school. The 1600 at Cherokee is fairly early, however the bus back will be late – maybe 9PM. So you may want your parents to come pick you up.
Thursday the Weight crew and Jumpers will go to Willingboro to finish out the rain-soaked meet from last week. If we win that one, we have a decent shot at the BCSL Regular Season Championship – something Moorestown has not done in about 30 years.
Saturday will be the County Championship at Maple Shade. We are limited to 3 runners in each event. We will announce the lineups later in the week.
LIBERTY DIVISION Meet Results
1. Moorestown 104, 2. Rancocas Valley 94, 3. Burlington Township 86, 4. Northern Burlington 79, 5. Willingboro 78, 6. Pemberton 54.
100-METER DASH: 1. Jashuan Spady (Pemberton) 11.26, 2. Daquan Brown (Willingboro) 11.42, 3. Daniel MacBride (Moorestown) 11.57, 4. Sean Harper (Rancocas Valley) 11.65, 5. Vincent Pini (Burlington Township) 11.67, 6. Robert Cooper (Burlington Township) 11.78.
200-METER DASH: 1. Jashuan Spady (Pemberton) 22.80, 2. Daquan Brown (Willingboro) 23.20, 3. Kendall White (Rancocas Valley) 23.76, 4. Sean Harper (Rancocas Valley) 23.76, 5. Daniel MacBride (Moorestown) 23.88, 6. Robert Cooper (Burlington Township) 23.89.
400-METER DASH: 1. Kendall White (Rancocas Valley) 49.59, 2. Vincent Pini (Burlington Township) 50.73, 3. Alrick Pryce (Burlington Township) 51.49, 4. Eric Tyler (Willingboro) 51.62, 5. Corey Pizzichello (Moorestown) 52.17, 6. David Slaton (Burlington Township) 52.26.
800-METER RUN: 1. Eriq Morris (Burlington Township) 2:01.14, 2. Ayre Williams (Rancocas Valley) 2:02.30, 3. Eric Tyler (Willingboro) 2:03.30, 4. Rushain Jones (Willingboro) 2:06.83, 5. Brandon Trojak (Rancocas Valley) 2:07.15, 6. Wilfredo Gonzalez (Rancocas Valley) 2:07.15.
1,600-METER RUN: 1. Michael Bowden (Northern Burlington) 4:32.26, 2. Ryan Wolf (Moorestown) 4:33.89, 3. Dylan Kurowsky (Northern Burlington) 4:34.22, 4. Anthony Horten (Moorestown) 4:39.96, 5. Joe Fessenden (Burlington Township) 4:43.89, 6. Joe Dyas (Rancocas Valley) 4:44.05.
3,200-METER RUN: 1. Michael Bowden (Northern Burlington) 10:04.69, 2. Samuel Weintraub (Moorestown) 10:25.59, 3. Andre Dupuis (Northern Burlington) 10:27.15, 4. Tim Reardon (Burlington Township) 10:27.15, 5. Ben Friedman (Moorestown) 10:28.80, 6. Ryan Wolf (Moorestown) 10:49.04.
110-METER HURDLES: 1. Seth Robinson (Rancocas Valley) 15.51, 2. Nelson Zhou (Burlington Township) 15.63, 3. Jalen Walker (Burlington Township) 16.01, 4. Thomas Cordon (Rancocas Valley) 16.29, 5. Rich Nwanko (Northern Burlington) 16.66, 6. Khalif Wilson (Pemberton) 16.99.
400-METER HURDLES: 1. Oshane Rennie (Rancocas Valley) 57.40, 2. Justin Maxey (Willingboro) 57.6, 3. Nelson Zhou (Burlington Township) 1:00.14, 4. Abdur Shabazz (Pemberton) 1:00.34, 5. Jerry Pham (Northern Burlington) 1:00.43, 6. Trey Smith (Rancocas Valley) 1:01.27.
1,600-METER RELAY: 1. Burlington Township (Alrick Pryce, Eriq Morris, Vincent Pini, David Slaton) 3:21.79, 2. Rancocas Valley 3:21.89, 3. Willingboro 3:23.09, 4. Moorestown 3:32.57, 5. Northern Burlington 3:41.94.
LONG JUMP: 1. Tyree Leonard (Pemberton) 20-9 1/4, 2. Corey Pizzichello (Moorestown) 20-8, 3. Chad Dill (Northern Burlington) 20-0 1/2, 4. James Kinloch (Rancocas Valley) 19-8 3/4, 5. Anthony Phelps (Moorestown) 19-2 1/2, 6. Dashawn Watson (Willingboro) 18-6.
TRIPLE JUMP: 1. Corey Pizzichello (Moorestown) 41-3, 2. James Kinloch (Rancocas Valley) 41-0, 3. Anthony Phelps (Moorestown) 40-8, 4. Dashawn Watson (Willingboro) 39-5 1/2, 5. Jerry Pham (Northern Burlington) 39-4 3/4, 6. Tyre Leonard (Pemberton) 39-4 1/2.
HIGH JUMP: 1. Tyree Leonard (Pemberton) 6-0, 2. Jalen Armstead (Pemberton) 6-0, 3. Rashaun Houston (Willingboro) 5-8, 4. Melvin Moore (Northern Burlington) 5-6, 5. (tie) Luis Garcia (Burlington Township), Greg Trahan (Burlington Township) 5-6.
POLE VAULT: 1. T.J. Hagan (Moorestown) 13-0, 2. Nicholas Dee (Moorestown) 11-0, 3. Ram Singh (Northern Burlington) 10-6, 4. (tie) Kendey McCort (Rancocas Valley), Jordan Andrade (Northern Burlington) 9-6, 6. Joseph Margiotti (Moorestown) 9-6.
SHOT PUT: 1. Renard Hussey (Willingboro) 49-9 1/2, 2. Jordan Hunter (Burlington Township) 47-10 1/2, 3. Nick Kapsimalis (Northern Burlington) 44-8, 4. Traven Mable (Willingboro) 44-7, 5. Robert Pletcher (Rancocas Valley) 43-0, 6. Corey Grant (Moorestown) 40-11.
DISCUS: 1. Jordan Hunter (Burlington Township) 144-3, 2. Renard Hussey (Willingboro) 137-9, 3. Chuck Norris (Northern Burlington) 134-6, 4. Joseph Diblasio (Moorestown) 127-11, 5. Frank Capra (Northern Burlington) 127-4, 6. Anthony Sullivan (Moorestown) 117-1.
JAVELIN: 1. Connor Tuck (Moorestown) 166-0, 2. Ryan Kaylor (Rancocas Valley) 153-9, 3. Anthony Sullivan (Moorestown) 144-3, 4. Nick Kapsimalis (Northern Burlington) 143-10, 5. John Rafferty (Northern Burlington) 139-5, 6. Ronald Dash (Willingboro) 136-1.
There were two big stories this week – PR’s and Leadership. Let’s hit the PR’s first…
Wednesday was a dual meet against Rancocas Valley. With only a couple of weeks left in the season, we have started to taper and take advantage of all the hard work we did early in the season and harvest it with some fast times. And we did exactly that. PR’s by nearly everyone – Friedman, Wolff, Horton, Weintraub, Balch, Robinson, Miller, Nece, Ems, Samocki, Bennet, Lentz, Wilson, Thomas, Sheehan, Reutsch, Shah, Fowler, Regan and Spirgel. Special mention to Evan Nece who qualified for Varsity by going sub-5 with a 4:57 and a brilliant closing lap of 69 seconds. Several other guys are knocking on that door and will hopefully make it during the next two weeks…
The even bigger story was around Leadership. The distance squad is viewed as the elite of the track team, and quite frankly we did not perform to our potential the week before. Ryan Wolff and Ben Friedman set a course to correct that this past week to double in three meets – that means both a 1600 and a 3200 meter race and Willingboro on Monday, RV on Wednesday at the Divisional Meet on Saturday. One of these races is tough, two in a day is mentally and physically wearing. Try doing it three times in a week at a high level. And it was more than simply running the events – they wanted to show the type of effort necessary to earn the mantle of Leadership.
On Monday Wolff and Friedman finished 1-2 in the 1600 in a tight race with a very talented Willingboro runner. They came back in the rain less than an hour later to lead our team to a clean sweep in a fast time in the 3200. On Wednesday we faced our toughest opponent of the year, RV. The 1600 is an early event and it was important to get momentum on our side. Wolff and Friedman responded against tough competition with PR’s for a 1-2 that I consider a tie and showed the rest of the team what working together is all about. On Saturday they again set out to score big points in the BCSL Championship. This is a race that we won 2 years ago, and had last won over 20 years earlier – so not an easy meet for us. Wolff had an outstanding race in the 1600 closing hard with yet another PR and locking in 8 points with a second place against Bowden of NB. It was not a great race for Friedman, perhaps tired from his heavy mileage and hard races earlier in the week. We gave them the chance to bow out for the 3200 on this hot day (85 degrees), but they both wanted to come back and score points for the team. They both were true to their word, with Friedman getting a hard fought 5th and Wolff a 6th.
Their leadership was echoed by two emerging leaders on the team – Weintraub and Horton. Weintraub ran 3200 meters for the first, second and third time in his career this week – placing in all 3 races. Saturday’s race was certainly the highlight as he held his steady pace and confident stride to pick up a much needed 2nd place (again to Bowden). Horton’s first year running is also proving to be amazingly productive. On Wednesday he closed hard and got that important third place that set the tone for the team the rest of the day – points matter. Little wins here and there produce big wins for the team. Saturday’s race at the BCSL Championship highlighted his potential as he finished 4th in a PR of 4:39.96.
These great efforts helped produce a team win and Moorestown was crowned BCSL Divisional Meet Champions. Other highlights – Corey Pizzichello won the Triple, 2nd in the long, 4th in the 400 and anchored the 4th place 4X400. Connor Tuck won his third consecutive Javelin Championship at this meet. Danny MacBride picked up a 3rd and 5th in the 100 and 200. TJ Hagan and Nick Dee went 1-2 in the Pole Vault.
It was an impressive week for the distance squad. Eagles and I are feeling very, very proud of this squad.
The Coming Week
Tuesday we will split the team. Half will be at home at the Pemberton Meet and the Freshmen and Novice will travel to Cherokee High School to compete in a big open meet there. Both meets should offer a good opportunity to try to achieve some more PR’s. The bus will leave after school. The 1600 at Cherokee is fairly early, however the bus back will be late – maybe 9PM. So you may want your parents to come pick you up.
Thursday the Weight crew and Jumpers will go to Willingboro to finish out the rain-soaked meet from last week. If we win that one, we have a decent shot at the BCSL Regular Season Championship – something Moorestown has not done in about 30 years.
Saturday will be the County Championship at Maple Shade. We are limited to 3 runners in each event. We will announce the lineups later in the week.
LIBERTY DIVISION Meet Results
1. Moorestown 104, 2. Rancocas Valley 94, 3. Burlington Township 86, 4. Northern Burlington 79, 5. Willingboro 78, 6. Pemberton 54.
100-METER DASH: 1. Jashuan Spady (Pemberton) 11.26, 2. Daquan Brown (Willingboro) 11.42, 3. Daniel MacBride (Moorestown) 11.57, 4. Sean Harper (Rancocas Valley) 11.65, 5. Vincent Pini (Burlington Township) 11.67, 6. Robert Cooper (Burlington Township) 11.78.
200-METER DASH: 1. Jashuan Spady (Pemberton) 22.80, 2. Daquan Brown (Willingboro) 23.20, 3. Kendall White (Rancocas Valley) 23.76, 4. Sean Harper (Rancocas Valley) 23.76, 5. Daniel MacBride (Moorestown) 23.88, 6. Robert Cooper (Burlington Township) 23.89.
400-METER DASH: 1. Kendall White (Rancocas Valley) 49.59, 2. Vincent Pini (Burlington Township) 50.73, 3. Alrick Pryce (Burlington Township) 51.49, 4. Eric Tyler (Willingboro) 51.62, 5. Corey Pizzichello (Moorestown) 52.17, 6. David Slaton (Burlington Township) 52.26.
800-METER RUN: 1. Eriq Morris (Burlington Township) 2:01.14, 2. Ayre Williams (Rancocas Valley) 2:02.30, 3. Eric Tyler (Willingboro) 2:03.30, 4. Rushain Jones (Willingboro) 2:06.83, 5. Brandon Trojak (Rancocas Valley) 2:07.15, 6. Wilfredo Gonzalez (Rancocas Valley) 2:07.15.
1,600-METER RUN: 1. Michael Bowden (Northern Burlington) 4:32.26, 2. Ryan Wolf (Moorestown) 4:33.89, 3. Dylan Kurowsky (Northern Burlington) 4:34.22, 4. Anthony Horten (Moorestown) 4:39.96, 5. Joe Fessenden (Burlington Township) 4:43.89, 6. Joe Dyas (Rancocas Valley) 4:44.05.
3,200-METER RUN: 1. Michael Bowden (Northern Burlington) 10:04.69, 2. Samuel Weintraub (Moorestown) 10:25.59, 3. Andre Dupuis (Northern Burlington) 10:27.15, 4. Tim Reardon (Burlington Township) 10:27.15, 5. Ben Friedman (Moorestown) 10:28.80, 6. Ryan Wolf (Moorestown) 10:49.04.
110-METER HURDLES: 1. Seth Robinson (Rancocas Valley) 15.51, 2. Nelson Zhou (Burlington Township) 15.63, 3. Jalen Walker (Burlington Township) 16.01, 4. Thomas Cordon (Rancocas Valley) 16.29, 5. Rich Nwanko (Northern Burlington) 16.66, 6. Khalif Wilson (Pemberton) 16.99.
400-METER HURDLES: 1. Oshane Rennie (Rancocas Valley) 57.40, 2. Justin Maxey (Willingboro) 57.6, 3. Nelson Zhou (Burlington Township) 1:00.14, 4. Abdur Shabazz (Pemberton) 1:00.34, 5. Jerry Pham (Northern Burlington) 1:00.43, 6. Trey Smith (Rancocas Valley) 1:01.27.
1,600-METER RELAY: 1. Burlington Township (Alrick Pryce, Eriq Morris, Vincent Pini, David Slaton) 3:21.79, 2. Rancocas Valley 3:21.89, 3. Willingboro 3:23.09, 4. Moorestown 3:32.57, 5. Northern Burlington 3:41.94.
LONG JUMP: 1. Tyree Leonard (Pemberton) 20-9 1/4, 2. Corey Pizzichello (Moorestown) 20-8, 3. Chad Dill (Northern Burlington) 20-0 1/2, 4. James Kinloch (Rancocas Valley) 19-8 3/4, 5. Anthony Phelps (Moorestown) 19-2 1/2, 6. Dashawn Watson (Willingboro) 18-6.
TRIPLE JUMP: 1. Corey Pizzichello (Moorestown) 41-3, 2. James Kinloch (Rancocas Valley) 41-0, 3. Anthony Phelps (Moorestown) 40-8, 4. Dashawn Watson (Willingboro) 39-5 1/2, 5. Jerry Pham (Northern Burlington) 39-4 3/4, 6. Tyre Leonard (Pemberton) 39-4 1/2.
HIGH JUMP: 1. Tyree Leonard (Pemberton) 6-0, 2. Jalen Armstead (Pemberton) 6-0, 3. Rashaun Houston (Willingboro) 5-8, 4. Melvin Moore (Northern Burlington) 5-6, 5. (tie) Luis Garcia (Burlington Township), Greg Trahan (Burlington Township) 5-6.
POLE VAULT: 1. T.J. Hagan (Moorestown) 13-0, 2. Nicholas Dee (Moorestown) 11-0, 3. Ram Singh (Northern Burlington) 10-6, 4. (tie) Kendey McCort (Rancocas Valley), Jordan Andrade (Northern Burlington) 9-6, 6. Joseph Margiotti (Moorestown) 9-6.
SHOT PUT: 1. Renard Hussey (Willingboro) 49-9 1/2, 2. Jordan Hunter (Burlington Township) 47-10 1/2, 3. Nick Kapsimalis (Northern Burlington) 44-8, 4. Traven Mable (Willingboro) 44-7, 5. Robert Pletcher (Rancocas Valley) 43-0, 6. Corey Grant (Moorestown) 40-11.
DISCUS: 1. Jordan Hunter (Burlington Township) 144-3, 2. Renard Hussey (Willingboro) 137-9, 3. Chuck Norris (Northern Burlington) 134-6, 4. Joseph Diblasio (Moorestown) 127-11, 5. Frank Capra (Northern Burlington) 127-4, 6. Anthony Sullivan (Moorestown) 117-1.
JAVELIN: 1. Connor Tuck (Moorestown) 166-0, 2. Ryan Kaylor (Rancocas Valley) 153-9, 3. Anthony Sullivan (Moorestown) 144-3, 4. Nick Kapsimalis (Northern Burlington) 143-10, 5. John Rafferty (Northern Burlington) 139-5, 6. Ronald Dash (Willingboro) 136-1.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Weekly Update May 3
May 3
This Past Week
On Wednesday we went up to Northern Burlington, where they have an exceptional distance runner in Michael Bowden. In a rare occurrence, the teams tied 70-70. Moorestown actually won the Sprints, Field and Throws, however we came up short in the distance events. Bowden won both the 1600 and 3200, and NB took 1-2 in the 800 and a third in the 3200 – outscoring our Distance Squad 19-8.
Moorestown did have some very good performances. Weintraub and Horton ran great races in the 1600 to take 2nd and 3rd to Bowden with PR’s of 4:43 and 4:44. Horton held off a fast closing RV runner to take that important 3rd place and secure a point (we obviously would have lost the meet without that effort). Stalle again had a PR in 2:08 for a 3rd place finish. Matteson finished up our scoring with a strong 2nd place finish in 10:16 in the 3200 making sure he held off a tough NB runner who wound up third.
The meet was also a great opportunity for a number of PR’s. Robinson, Szumski and Samocki all PR’d in under 5:00 earning Varsity letters. Also PR’ing in the 1600 were Bennett and McDonnell – two new runners who continue to keep improving every week and having great attitudes. It was also nice to see Sheehan, Thomas, Fowler and Regan also notching PR’s in the 1600. That is 11 PR’s in one race – NICE! Also earning a PR was Ems, who is rounding into shape with a 10:46 in the 3200.
On Thursday night Wolff and Friedman went down for the South Jersey Relays Open 3200. Wolff ran a PR 10:01 and Friedman ran a 10:08, both good solid times.
On Saturday we traveled down to Buena for the South Jersey Relays. The Freshmen led it off with a DMR 2nd place in spite of a limping Jenai. Lentz ran a very nice 3:49 lead off 1200 leg, Nece looked good in his 800. There was really no competition for Inglis on his final leg as he held the team’s second place thru the finish line. Spirgel ran two freshman races – a sprint and the anchor on the Sprint Medley Relay about 15 minutes later and continues to show determination and a nice stride.
Our JV A DMR of Wilson, Thomas, Bennett and Samocki also earned medals. The JV B DMR of Reutsch (best race of his season in the lead off 1200), Regan, Shah (PR in his 800) and Jospehson was not far behind. The Varsity DMR looked very good with a solid 3:30 split from Szumski, McDonnell in 57 in his first 400, M Friedman in a solid 2:14 800 and Robinson in a PR 4:50 1600 split.
Our 4 X 1600 relay ran a very solid 19:13. Horton, Balch and Weintraub all had 4:45 splits, which was a big PR for Blach. Unfortunately Matteson’s calf injury returned during his leg. We are hoping he recovers quickly to build on the fine finish he had against NB earlier in the week.
Stalle anchored the Sprint Medley Relay with a big drop in his PR to 2:04. With his rapid improvement, we can only wonder where he will wind up this season, or what he could have done if he had run with us for a couple of years… Sheehan finished the day off with a nice anchor in the JV Sprint Med, and it is good to see him settling in after a rough start with injuries.
The Week Ahead
By the time this gets sent, the Willingboro meet will be over. As I write this I am hoping for a solid performance where the Distance team again rises to the challenge and provides leadership for the whole Track Team.
Wednesday will be RV at home. This will be a chance for all of the runners to set another round of PR’s hopefully! The meet will start at 3:45 with the Long Jump and Triple Jump, then move onto the running events. RV is the leading team in our Division this year, and the Distance crew will have our hands full to score as many points as possible. With Danny MacBride in the sprints, Corey Pizzichello in the Jumps and our Pole Vaulters led by TJ Hagan, we have a shot if things go right.
Saturday will be the Divisional Meet. Only three runners in each event, but I would encourage everyone to show up for this meet. If we have a good day, we could surprise some people… We will name who will run which events on Thursday after the RV meet.
This Past Week
On Wednesday we went up to Northern Burlington, where they have an exceptional distance runner in Michael Bowden. In a rare occurrence, the teams tied 70-70. Moorestown actually won the Sprints, Field and Throws, however we came up short in the distance events. Bowden won both the 1600 and 3200, and NB took 1-2 in the 800 and a third in the 3200 – outscoring our Distance Squad 19-8.
Moorestown did have some very good performances. Weintraub and Horton ran great races in the 1600 to take 2nd and 3rd to Bowden with PR’s of 4:43 and 4:44. Horton held off a fast closing RV runner to take that important 3rd place and secure a point (we obviously would have lost the meet without that effort). Stalle again had a PR in 2:08 for a 3rd place finish. Matteson finished up our scoring with a strong 2nd place finish in 10:16 in the 3200 making sure he held off a tough NB runner who wound up third.
The meet was also a great opportunity for a number of PR’s. Robinson, Szumski and Samocki all PR’d in under 5:00 earning Varsity letters. Also PR’ing in the 1600 were Bennett and McDonnell – two new runners who continue to keep improving every week and having great attitudes. It was also nice to see Sheehan, Thomas, Fowler and Regan also notching PR’s in the 1600. That is 11 PR’s in one race – NICE! Also earning a PR was Ems, who is rounding into shape with a 10:46 in the 3200.
On Thursday night Wolff and Friedman went down for the South Jersey Relays Open 3200. Wolff ran a PR 10:01 and Friedman ran a 10:08, both good solid times.
On Saturday we traveled down to Buena for the South Jersey Relays. The Freshmen led it off with a DMR 2nd place in spite of a limping Jenai. Lentz ran a very nice 3:49 lead off 1200 leg, Nece looked good in his 800. There was really no competition for Inglis on his final leg as he held the team’s second place thru the finish line. Spirgel ran two freshman races – a sprint and the anchor on the Sprint Medley Relay about 15 minutes later and continues to show determination and a nice stride.
Our JV A DMR of Wilson, Thomas, Bennett and Samocki also earned medals. The JV B DMR of Reutsch (best race of his season in the lead off 1200), Regan, Shah (PR in his 800) and Jospehson was not far behind. The Varsity DMR looked very good with a solid 3:30 split from Szumski, McDonnell in 57 in his first 400, M Friedman in a solid 2:14 800 and Robinson in a PR 4:50 1600 split.
Our 4 X 1600 relay ran a very solid 19:13. Horton, Balch and Weintraub all had 4:45 splits, which was a big PR for Blach. Unfortunately Matteson’s calf injury returned during his leg. We are hoping he recovers quickly to build on the fine finish he had against NB earlier in the week.
Stalle anchored the Sprint Medley Relay with a big drop in his PR to 2:04. With his rapid improvement, we can only wonder where he will wind up this season, or what he could have done if he had run with us for a couple of years… Sheehan finished the day off with a nice anchor in the JV Sprint Med, and it is good to see him settling in after a rough start with injuries.
The Week Ahead
By the time this gets sent, the Willingboro meet will be over. As I write this I am hoping for a solid performance where the Distance team again rises to the challenge and provides leadership for the whole Track Team.
Wednesday will be RV at home. This will be a chance for all of the runners to set another round of PR’s hopefully! The meet will start at 3:45 with the Long Jump and Triple Jump, then move onto the running events. RV is the leading team in our Division this year, and the Distance crew will have our hands full to score as many points as possible. With Danny MacBride in the sprints, Corey Pizzichello in the Jumps and our Pole Vaulters led by TJ Hagan, we have a shot if things go right.
Saturday will be the Divisional Meet. Only three runners in each event, but I would encourage everyone to show up for this meet. If we have a good day, we could surprise some people… We will name who will run which events on Thursday after the RV meet.
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