MXC Weekly Update - Oct. 2, 2011

This Past Week BCIT Westhampton Batch Meet - We matched up very well against BCSL Division rivals Rancocas Valley this week.  Inglis showed what a tough #1 runner he is, refusing to "let some (blank) RV runner beat me."  The strength of our pack was backing him up, even with a couple of our usual top 7 having off days.  We ended up beating RV handily. There were a number of stand-out performances.  Up top Joe Inglis was our third man and Jack Spirgel was our 4th man.  Lavery and Kramer combined to lock down our top 7 - pushing the RV 4 and 5 runners back in the scoring. Poaletti had another PR (3rd in a row).  Barsoum ran his first complete 5K and re-affirmed his talent and promise as our best frosh runner with a nice 20:12 debut.  Ing and Micro-Spirgel also had big PR's showing this freshman class may grow into some good runners if they keep working. Shore Coaches - It was a beautiful XC day - cool with the leaves just on the cusp of turning color and a threat of showers.  The course was a bit muddy and slippery and guys came back from their races with muddy shoes and uniforms in need of a wash... Our Freshmen started the day out on this historic course and ran very well.  Barsoum continues to lead the pack, but the improvement of Ing and Barsoum in particular has been impressive.  This class is putting in the work.  If they keep their miles up the next couple of years I think the future of our program is strong! The real highlight of the day was the Varsity team.  To be honest, our expectations for this year were not as high as previous years given the senior class that graduated last year.  We entered the season not expecting to make States.  But yesterday proved this is a quality team, with some real character. Inglis went out aggressively, but was not feeling his best.  He gutted out to continue to run as our #1 man.  Then came, quickly, Horten, Howard and Joe Inglis.  Only a 25 second gap between the 4 of them - really a great effort.  Nece had a great come-back race after Tuesday and was our 5th man. I would have to single our Joe Inglis for a truly break-out race.  He started pushing the pace after the 1,000 meter mark and really led himself and Howard to great performances.  Joe set a PR on the toughest course in New Jersey - breaking 18 minutes for the first time. Our average team time of 17:53 ranked us far better against other South Jersey teams than we had imagined at the beginning of the season.  Ahead of us were Haddonfield, Lenape, Shawnee, Ocean City and Haddon Twp.  But we were better than Northern Burlington, Cherry Hill East and West, Washington Twp., Lacey, Toms River North, Seneca and Delsea.  You can do your own over-analysis by looking at the results here - http://nj.milesplit.com/meets/100994.  The cool thing is that we can still improve quite a bit... Our JV team finished off the day with solid races across the board.  Cain was the hero of the race for us, with a near career PR, and the 6th best time on the team and brining home a nice medal.  Some very nice PR's by Hillman, Schlesinger, Gross and Kohart.  Gross in particular has made huge strides from last year. This is also the time of year that we start to think a bit about who might be able to step up to the Top 7 next year.  Caffrey and Klawunn made some strong statements yesterday.  If they make the commitment to work next summer, along with the other returning runners, it could be a very interesting year... This Coming Week -  Tuesday - Batch meet at Northern Burlington.  This is our biggest race of the year from a dual meet perspective.  Northern Burlington has been a tough competitor and if they had run their freshmen in the Varsity race, our results are pretty close from this past Saturday.  We will need to run as a pack and be tough to keep our 2 year unbeaten streak going... Sunday - (Yes, Sunday!) - South Jersey Open - Delsea.  This is the fastest course we will run on this season and is a great opportunity for some PR's.  We will cut back this week for the Low and Mid groups, although the Varsity will continue to train thru this meet to focus on Sectionals and States. Racing begins at noon. Special Note - See the article on Jack Inglis in the Moorestown Patch.  Some well-deserved recognition to our hard working senior Captain.  http://moorestown.patch.com/articles/senior-profile-cross-country-runner-jack-inglis