MXC Weekly Update - Oct. 12

This Past Week Northern Burlington Batch Meet - It was a strange day in many ways.  Let's get the bad news out of the way. Our 2+ year batch meet winning streak was ended by a very good Northern Burlington squad.  Also, Kevin Horten was DQ'd for an elbow at the finish.  There are photos that show he was provoked, but we need to be smarter.  And finally, after the loss we were acted less as than true sportsmen.  This was due to the sting of the loss and the feeling of unfairness due to the DQ.  But we are better than that. Now for all the positives.  Our top 4 ran like true warriors.  Inglis and Horten really battled right thru the finish line, and Howard and Joe Inglis showed true determination in their races.  I think it is possible for us to come back at the Divisional race being a bit more rested and a bit more ready, with a whole top 7 effort we can make a come back and win the Championship race.  Let's get focused on that goal. The other good news is that a LOT of guys were able to run PR's.  Some of them were huge! Orzechowicz dropped 1:17 and is short of a Varsity letter by only 1 second at 19:01.  6 guys dropped by over a minute: Charlie Spirgel by 1:40, Nick Poaletti by 1:28, Kohart by 1:12, Reubel by 1:03, Macaluso by 1:03 and Handlon by 1:01.  Other big drops were Barsoum by 47 seconds, Wu by 40, Coneby by 37, Ing by 37, and Dugan by 35. It was also great to see some of the injured runners have solid races - Sheehan (earning a Varsity Letter by running 19:00), Siegel and Testa.  Also having solid comeback races were Malta and Maier! One of our Guiding Principles is LEARN.  This was a great day for learning.  A number of guys learned how to break thru in a race to earn PR's and learned about the satisfaction of working hard and seeing great improvements.  Some guys learned how to compete without striking back. Hopefully we learned being a good sportsperson is holding your head high and congratulating your competitor when they beat you.  And that we will come back and face them on another day, having learned from our mistakes and being just a bit more determined to run as a team to win.    South Jersey Open - It was a hot Sunday, and very tough conditions for the PR's we usually see at this meet. The freshmen all ran great - improving drastically from the 2 mile times they had at the start of the season time trial and the Cherokee Challenge.  We hope it gives them a glimpse of what they can do as they continue to work over the next 4 years. Cain led the JV crew and is putting himself in a position to compete for a Top 7 spot at the end of the season.  He is on a real roll, dropping his time on a consistent basis by over a minute since the SJ Shootout.  Lavery had another strong race as well - showing a remarkable consistency of running 4 of his last 5 races within a 12 second range.  Ems also keeps improving week-to-week and set a PR. Coneby also had a PR, dropping over a minute and a half since he ran his first 5K earlier this season. Devin Connelly showed some of the grit he had last year and ran his best race of the year.  Novak and LaLumia also had solid PR's.  Special shout-out to Moorer (26 seconds) and Charlie Spirgel (39 seconds) for their tough PR's.  It looked like both of them were running with renewed vigor - a combination of better conditioning and great attitude during the race. The Varsity ran a bit flat overall.  Perhaps it is the tired legs, the heat, the loss on Tuesday or running on a Sunday.  The team average time was only 6 seconds faster than Holmdel the previous week when it is typically 20-30 seconds faster.  The bright spots were Inglis again running tough up top and a PR performance by Evan Nece.  Hopefully we will get everyone in sync by the Divisional Meet next Thursday and have the type of team race we should be able to have. This Coming Week -  Burlington County Open - Mill Creek.  This is our last race as a whole team together.  It is also the last race for Juniors and Seniors who are not part of the Top 7.  It is bittersweet to see the season and for the seniors, their MXC careers, coming to a close.  A number of them will run spring Track, but this is a great race to come out and cheer them on!  The JV race will be at 3:45, Varsity at 4:15 and Girls at 4:45.