2013 Headed to States!

It was a beautiful day at Delsea Regional High School, site of this year's SJ Group III Cross Country Championships.   But the bright sun could not hide the nerves in the pre-race banter of the coaches.   We knew the remnant of runners toeing the line this day had evolved into a very good team.  But we also knew the race's field was deep and fast.   Pre-race prognosticator Christian Cramer had us ranked a tenuous 5th in the section, good enough to qualify for next week's State Meet, but Timber Creek was coming on strong.  We knew the competition would be tough and if we didn't run well.... It could be the end. Well, our team did everything they could possibly do to keep our season going.  From the gun, every man raced out with speed and conviction.   Top runners Joe Inglis and Kevin Horten quickly mixing it up with some of the best runners in the state.   Christian Cramer, our strong #3, pushed towards the Top 20.    Nick Paoletti settled in as our fourth man.   Mike Barsoum and Kevin Fox went out together, working hard for the 5th spot.  And Paul "Sam Spirgel" Entwistle raced out, closing out the Top 7 for the Quakers.   And then they raced, pushing through the fast first mile and coming out of the woods looking strong and right on-target.    They settled in and held spots through the second mile.   With a mile to go, Joe Inglis was holding on to the Top 5.   Kevin Horten was surging from 13th place up to the Top 10.   Christian Cramer was holding steady in the mid-20s.   Paoletti holding on to a Top 40 spot.   Barsoum was making up ground around 55th place.   Fox, gutting it out through a late season foot injury, pushed past a runner.   Entwistle continued in PR pace.   Everyone was where they need to be.   The team was running a great race.   All they had to do was finish.  And finish they did.   In one of the more inspiring team performances, each and every guy hit the track and, with the memory of repeat 800s in their back pockets, proceeded to tear it up.    Inglis surging and finishing 6th overall in 16:09.   Horten showing the best finishing power of the season, passing bodies, rising up to 8th, in a season PR of 16:20.  Cramer crushing the opposition, picking up key spots to finish in 22nd in a PR time of 17:08.   Paoletti almost running down a rival runner from 10 yards behind with 50 to go to PR in 17:29 and finishing 36th.  And, Barsoum.  Dang, Barsoum.   Flying around the curve and picking up valuable points, PRing in 17:45 and finishing 46th.   Points that would hopefully propel us to Holmdel Park. Fox would finish a gutty 6th on the team and Entwistle would finish in 18:35, fittingly a PR. For the coaches, the best part was the post-race gathering.   The atmosphere was energized.   Guys were hugging and high-fiving.  We knew we had run well, there were big PRs all around.   We had left it out on the course with our best effort of the season.   Now, we waited for the results.    And....   who knows who won SJ Group III?   At the time, not us!   Because the announcement was drowned out by sustained cheer of 15 Moorestown boys, their coaches, their parents, and one alum (Kyle!) as we found out we had done it!  We had grasped the 5th spot.   We were through!  We're number 5!  We're number 5!  The season is not over.   This team is not finished.   A great race Saturday has bought us one more week.  Now it is on to Holmdel!  Special Thanks to Shayan Malta, Greg Munilla, Greg Rothman, Alex Topel, Andrew "put me in coach" Voyack, Harrison Morris, Ty Schneider, Jake Kramer, Marcus Topel and, especially, Captain Reed Kramer for coming and supporting your teammates.   It makes a big difference and your presence was definitely appreciated.   Clear your calendars for next weekend.  Bus leaves at 8:00 for Holmdel Park!

MXC Update Oct. 20, 2013

Burlington County Championship Race Summary:   The County Championships are always bittersweet for the cross country team.   For the non-championship roster juniors and seniors, the race is the end of the line.   Therefore, a number of guys were in their last official XC race for Moorestown.  And, as we've come to expect from a class full of guys with class, they raced boldly and courageously, ending their careers on high notes.   Special shout-outs to:

• Senior Paul Entwistle, who capped a great year of training and racing to finish as our #1 runner in the Open Race, carving over a minute off his Mill Creek time last year. 
• Senior Greg Munilla, who actually sat in 2nd place through the mile before fading to 9th in the Open Race.
• Senior Greg Rothman, who, while he came up short in his quest to break 19m, boldly pushed to the front of the JV team, the third Moorestown finisher. 
• Senior Nick Novak, who saw a summer full of training again side swiped by injury, running his first race in weeks aggressively, finishing in 20:00.
• Senior Kevin Harris, who, finally healthy, raced his 3rd 5k in near-PR pace.
• Seniors Ryan Wheeler, Shayan Malta, Dominic Insalaca, and Chuck Spirgel also ran well. 

Thanks to all of our seniors.   You are a beloved class and your day-to-day impact will be missed!

Other performances of note:

• Brian Wright continues his late season surge, narrowly missing breaking the 20m make but still PRing and medaling in
• Mikey Vanaria has now thrown together back to back good efforts, again pushing his PR lower in the process.
• Vidas DeFilicis overcame acorn-gate to drop significant time off his 5k PR, lowering it to 22:25.  Bonus credit for finding the racing chip that fell off his shoe after the race.

The Varsity:

Kudos to Northern Burlington, as our league rivals ran away with the County title.   Moorestown ran well, regardless, finishing in 4th, only 4 points behind Cherokee and 10 behind runner-up Lenape.   The squad, as usual, was anchored by strong performances by Joe Inglis and Kevin Horten, who bested last year's times at Mill Creek to finish 5th and 7th overall.   Christian Cramer continued his solid string of performances, finishing 16th overall as our third finisher.   Harrison Morris, miraculously back after what seemed like a season ending injury last week, finished in a gutty 17:50, pushing through knee pain and tightness on the last mile.  And Nick Paoletti, the only varsity finisher to PR, finished right behind him in 17:51.  Frosh Kevin Fox continues to figure out how to race, this time show a killer kick to come in 6th on the team and 41st overall.   Mike Barsoum held down the 7th spot, running a solid race in 18:36.   All should feel good about the team effort, especially considering we trained through the race, working the guys hard for the sectional meet in November even at the expense of the Counties....

See Full Race Results here.

Upcoming this week:

We will be transitioning to the Championship portion of our season.  This means only the top dozen guys will continue to run, along with Freshman and Sophomores (who have two races left). So we big a fond farewell to the non-Championship Squad junior and seniors. Freshman and Sophomores are invited to continue to race through next week, with the SJ Frosh/Soph Championships on Monday, Oct. 21st and the Burlington County Frosh/Sophs the following week.   Continuing is NOT mandatory, as we only want runners focusing on strong finishes to their seasons.  

Divisional Championship - Thursday, Oct. 24.  We will be the last race of the day.

MXC Season Banquet is scheduled for Nov. 19th.  Everyone should plan on attending (all runners and their Parents), so please mark your calendars.  Robin Rothman is again spearheading the effort - Thank You!. Please fill out the formto let us know who will be attending. 

MXC Update - Oct. 6, 2013

Shore Coaches Race Summary:   Another beautiful Saturday had the team at Holmdel Park for the 2013 Shore Coaches Invitational.    The race is the traditional kick-off to the championship season, as teams began to take stock and see how they stack up against the rest of New Jersey.   Moorestown runners continued to acquit themselves nicely, with strong performances across the ranks.   Here is the recap. Frosh:  The first race of the day again belonged to the freshman.   And the squad again set a high standard for the rest of the team.   Especially with the performance of Kevin Fox.   Kevin again ran like a runner with tons of experience, starting off in the top 20 of the 200 person field before slowly moving up on the lead.   Another strong kick had him crossing the finish line 6th in a stellar 12:03 for the 2 mile course.   Tim Fleming had his best finish as a Moorestown runner, finishing second on the team when he finished strong in 13:36.   Special shout-out to Bavish Gummadi who came back with the first battle wounds of the day after taking a tumble in the woods.  Varsity:  The Top 7 toed the line next.   With several of our expected Top 7 testing (SATs) or injured, the team relied heavily on runners attacking the Holmdel course for the first time in a varsity race.   Of course, that is not the case with senior captains Joe Inglis and Kevin Horten.  The two went into the race determined to prove that they are amongst the best runners in the state.   Today, they did so, going out aggressively with the top pack and running exceptional races.   Joe found himself in 2nd after the bowl and held his spot with a fantastic 16:40 on the course, making his the 2nd fastest Moorestown finisher at Holmdel.  Kevin wasn't too far behind, finishing 6th overall in a course PR of 16:56.  The rest of the top guys, rookies to the varsity race, ran well, too.   Christian Cramer continued his string of solid weekend performances, breaking 18 minutes and finishing 3rd on the team.   Harrison Morris survived a fall with 1000m to go and gamely finished as our fourth man.   The 5/6/7 crew was paced by Mike Barsoum, who cut a minute off last year's Holmdel time to finish fifth for our squad.    Overall, the team finished 7th in the Varsity "B" race, but earned valuable experience that will hopefully help key improvement as the season progresses. Junior Varsity:   After a long wait, the JV finally headed to the start for their 4:30 race.   They, too, had grand ambitions for their tour around Holmdel Park.   And they, too, ran races to be proud of.   Up and down the line-up, kids ran gutty races to achieve personal goals.  Kirk Zimmer, desperate for a medal, went out fast in the top 20 and showed grit and determination holding over the final mile, holding on to first on the team and 29th place overall - good enough for a medal.   Max Argentieri, looking to continue his surge up the team ranks, did just that, finishing 2nd on the team in another medal winning performance.   Sam Spirgel, determined to push through a troublesome hip injury, looked strong and pain-free as he knocked 30s off last year's Holmdel time.   Paul Entwistle ran through a troublesome head cold and still broke 20 minutes.   Jim Burns and Andrew Voyack obliterated last year's times and looked strong and fresh.   Jim flash a big smile and put on a burst of speed with 1000m to go, Voyack on his tail.   (Later stories would also reveal Jim's mental toughness at the top of the bowl, which he made sure to share with everyone around!).   Voyack set a life PR -  a particularly difficult task on a tough course.  Not to be outdone, Brian Wright finished next, also with a life PR, as he continues a late season push for faster times.    Nolan Maier and Sam Infanger, running together the whole race, picked up 7 guys in the last 1000m.  Overall, tremendous individual attitudes and efforts.   Even with the pathetic cool down, the JV effort today makes even really long days at Holmdel totally worthwhile for the coaches!  A couple other notes: Full Results - http://nj.milesplit.com/meets/147774-2013-shore-coaches-xc-invitational Thanks to alum Anthony Horten for working with the top guys all day.   Kevin Harris and Ryan Graham continue to prove themselves great teammates, spending a long day at Holmdel supporting their teammates and coaches.   Thanks for taking times.  Welcome back to the "basketball" crew.  Thanks for your attitude and effort today.   Back to work on Monday! Shout out to Coach Eagles for not leaving anyone at McDonalds! This Coming Week We have a HUGE Batch meet on Tuesday at 3:45 at the Rancocas Valley Sports Complex - NOT the High School.  See the Website under Races and Course Directions.  We will be racing very tough RV and Northern Burlington squads that based on Saturday's performances project to beat us.  So we will really have to step up our game.  Come out and cheer us on! Saturday will be the South Jersey Open down at Delsea.  This is a flat and fast course for everyone to get a good PR.  For the Varsity 7, this is where Sectionals will happen on November 9 - so an important day for everyone. Learn more here - http://home.comcast.net/~ecolona/2012xcsjopenz.htm. The Varsity will race at 10:20, Frosh at 11:20, and JV at 11:50.

MXC Update - Sept. 29

Tuesday's Batch Meet vs. Delran, BCIT-M: Moorestown went into Tuesday's batch with a clear goal for the varsity  -- continue the effort to develop our depth and define the Top 7.   To do so, the team was directed to hold together a pack of our top runners at the pace of our fifth man for the first two miles.   The hope?   The presence of the pack would push runners to stay up with our top guys.   On a beautiful afternoon (but with a still soggy course), the plan worked!   The teams top runners held back and settled in around the fifth man, ignoring runners from Delran, Riverside, and BCIT that sprinted ahead.   As the team leaders held back, the back half of the varsity pushed to keep up with the pack.   When the two mile mark arrived, the top guys took off, with Joe and Kevin passing the race leader with 1000m remaining.   Harrison, out comfortably through two miles, surged strongly in the last 800 and ran down the Delran runner on the rack, beating last week's time by nearly 20s.   Christian Cramer also surged strongly over the last mile, running confidently to a PR of 18:08.  And then there was Barsoum.  Clubbed hand aside, he stuck with the top pack and pushed through to a PR of 18:34, finishing fifth on the team.   Alex Topel and Sam Spirgel were not far behind, PRing and earning varsity letters in 18:49 and 18:52 respectively.   Zimmer, Entwistle, Novak, and Burns faded, punished by the early efforts to stick the fifth man.  The JV runners continued to impress, as well.   With a sloppy course standing in their way, the guys still got after it and a whole host of guys improved over last week's race. Here are the highlights: Special shout-out to the return of Greg Rothman, who crossed the line in 19:30, first among JV finishers.   Max Argenterri continued his improvement, knocking 15 more seconds off his PR, continuing to close in on 19m with a 19:31.   Brian Wright ran through some soreness to a 5k PR of 20:26.    Andrew Voyack shook off last week's breathing problems and showed a strong finish to PR in 20:13.   Not only did Kevin Runfola knock 10 more seconds off his PR, he did so with pulling any opposing runners back!   Sam Feldan tore up the track with a strong kick, finishing the race with a big PR of 22:06. Shayan Malta finally got his life PR, surging to a strong finish in 22:17. Sam Infanger continued his string of PRs, pushing his life best to 23:15. Welcome to new runners John Twomey, who should great fight on the track in his 23:05, and Joe Buck, who nearly bested his 2m time trial with his 5k time of 25:15. And welcome back to Nick Contarino, who found out racing after returning from any injury is not always easy.   The SJ Shoot-Out: Joe Inglis did not race after experiencing tightness/pain in his right shin on Thursday.   We held him out of practice that day and he felt good on Friday after three miles easy.   But we decided not to take a chance on the hills of GCC.   A little shuffling ensued and Harrison Morris took his place in the stud race.   Reed Kramer also did not race.  His leg has gotten worse as the muscles are now failing to contract properly.  He has not run in four days.   He continues to see his doctor who has him heating and stretching to get the leg to fire properly.   He is probably at least a week away from training again. Race Summary: The frosh got things off to a flying start with some exceptional racing.   Kudos to Kevin Fox who ran a near perfect race.   Out in 21st place at the 800, he climbed to 14 by the mid-race mark.  After the hills, he was 11.   A strong push and a fantastic kick saw him pass five guys in the last 50 meters to finish 6th.   His 14:06 is second fastest in the last 10 years for a Moorestown frosh (K.Horten 13:38).   Following behind Kevin was Bavish Gummadi, who showed great toughness in the woods and finished in a medal winning 30th place.   Peter Kohart rose up the frosh ranks to finish just behind Bavish.   Also a shout-out to Joe Buck, who engaged in a back-and-forth battle with another runner over the last 250m, looking like he was broken before rallying to pass his opponent at the line.   Gutty running! The JV race saw the continued resurgence of Greg Rothman and steady rise of Max Argentierri.  Both ran consistent races, starting wisely and rising up the ranks, PRing and winning medals in the process.   Kirk Zimmer finished just off the top guys pace even after wiping out on the hills.   Andrew Voyack and Sam Feldan posted their second straight strong races, again with very good finishes.   Jim Burns gets a shout-out for running through his abdominal strain and besting last year's time on the course.   The varsity races started off with the 5/6/7s.   Mike Barsoum, Alex Topel, and Paul Entwistle got off to a slow start, as the trio sat near 50th place early in the race.   They picked up kids the rest of the way, with Entwistle rising all the way up to 26th, just out of medal contention.   All three worked together and got a good taste of being "depended on" as potential 5th man. Christian Cramer broke through and ran a fabulous race in the 3/4 contest.   From the start he was consistent and strong, holding a spot near the top 10 the entire race, finishing 11th in a big PR time of 17:34.   Nick Paoletti ran a gutty race behind Cramer, fighting through the 2nd half of the course to finish in 18:00 flat, a PR. The studs also raced very well.  Harrison Morris ran a strong race before, hindered by a tight groin, running out of gas with about 400 to go.   His tough finish couldn't stop him from clocking a PR of 17:36, good for 21st in the race.     And then there was Kevin Horten.   Horten, following instructions perfectly, settled in 10th after a good start, worked his way up to the Top 5 as he entered the woods and held form before finishing exceptionally strong and passing two guys to finish fourth.   It was a great race that truly showed Kevin a cross country stud!

MXC Update Sept. 18

9/17 Home Batch Meet Recap - We opened the season with a bang!  It was a perfect, crisp day for a cross country meet.  We had a ton of parents and friends out cheering us on.  Times were FAST - perhaps the lack of wood chips and more stone make for a faster course.  Even considering that, the improvement since the Time Trial is remarkable and shows the hard work and miles the guys have been putting in.  The results have been updated on the website (www.moorestownxc.org), but it seemed like most VDOT's improved by 2-5 points.  We had 16 Personal Records - Poaletti, Cramer, Entwhistle, Barsoum, Novak, Topel, Munilla, Argentieri, Handlan, Graham, Cantwell, Feldan, Mayer, Infanger, Katz, and Sam Sprigel. And of course a bunch of new runners who show a lot of promise for the future.  One of the things we celebrate is improvement, and to see guys like Raul Espinosa start running in the beginning of the summer and barely be able to complete 2 miles progressing to the point he can throw down a 24:50 is AWESOME!  Horten and Inglis led the race almost the entire way - Katz held the lead for the first 200 ;-).  They looked very strong running 16:53 and 16:56.  The high school course record is held by Anthony Horten, who ran a 16:45 in 2010 - so those are very impressive times.  Morris ran strong behind them finishing 3rd overall against the 4 other teams. It is nice to see him rounding back into shape after the broken collarbone took him out for about 5-6 weeks this summer.  Poaletti had a 1 minute PR and was our 4th man, with Cramer right behind him.  Entwhistle's hard training paid off as he was our 6th man and ran a very tough race.  Barsoum and Zimmer were in close pursuit to round out the guys who have qualified for Varsity by running sub- 19 minutes. Congratulations! From a team perspective, we won all 4 races by scores ranging from 15-50 to 17-46 (the low score wins since you add up the place - for example Horten scored 1 point, Inglis 2 points, Morris 3 points and the Holy Cross runner scored 4 points, then Poaletti scored 5 points and Cramer 6 points - add them up and we scored 17 against Holy Cross). Next Race - Saturday Cherokee Challenge.  See more info on this unique race done by class over a 2 mile course.  http://www.ccctf.com/ch_chal_main.html

MXC Update June, 2013

This is the first week of the new season!  And Captains Practices are in full swing.  We had 19 guys out this morning - 5 of them Freshmen!

We all know that the cross country season is really made in the summer. Running takes time to get in shape, and simply starting up in mid August barely puts you in shape to run your best in October and November. It does not matter if you are trying to be one of the Top 7, make the qualifying time of 19 minutes to earn your Varsity letter, or trying to set PR's.  Now is the time to get out.

Captains run the practices each morning Monday - Saturday at 8AM.  We meet at the "Benches" - by the Admin building between the middle school and high school.  Coaches show up occasionally, so this is really about self motivation and developing the self discipline to get out the door that early!

We have posted some mileage guidelines on the website. It is labeled Aggressive Plan. Note the very top guys have made a serious commitment this year to go way beyond previous teams in terms of their mileage commitment and level of work they want to put in. This is a bold statement about where they want to be in November.

Note we do not have the new people on this email list yet - so pass the word.  And of course Alumni and runners from other schools are welcomed!

Bickel Bucknell Freshman Track

I did not remember putting this together, but I just found my log from freshman year at Bucknell Track season.  Brings back some good memories.

It looks like it was mostly volume, and not many races and not that much track work.  My highlight, target race was the ECC meet and I got 4th, which was a major improvement over finishing the XC season as the worst guy on the team (I burned out during xc season from all the mileage).

I only ran 3 real races that season.  We concentrated on mileage - about 100 per week.  My hardest workout was only:

880 @ 2:26
880 jog;
1mi @ 4:43
1320 jog;
1320 @3:35
880 jog;
880 @ 2:25
880 jog;
4X 440 65, 65, 70, 70 ‐ 200 jog between

My workout the Tuesday before the Saturday race was:

2 X 880 @ 2:16 ‐
jog 880 btw;
4 X 440 @ 66‐67 w 440 jog

I dropped mileages from 100 to 89 to 50 the week of the ECC race.

Coach had amazing luck with the heavy on distance approach.  A lot of us average runners in high school got pretty good with the volume approach.  He was a Lydiard follower.

MXC Weekly Update - Nov. 9

Sectionals

In spite of the second best average team time in history, our team failed to move on to States in a very difficult race.  Here is the historical perspective:

 

Year - Top Runner - Time - Team Place - Team Average Time

2012 - Kevin Horten - 16:17 - 6th - 17:01

2011 - Jack Inglis - 16:50 - 5th - 17:16

2010 - Anthony Horten - 15:49 - 4th - 17:01

2009 - Anthony Horten - 16:41 - 3rd - 17:04

2008 - David Ringwood - 16:46 - 4th - 17:07

2005 - Ben Leonberg - 16:22 - 1st - 16:45

2004 - Ben Leonberg - 16:58 - 4th - 17:40

 

As is obvious, Horten ran a great race, setting a PR and running the second fastest time on this course ever by a Moorestown runner.  His 9th place finish earned him a spot at the State Meet next week (top 10 go).  Inglis was 11th after getting as high as 6th near the 2 mile point. He also ran a PR.  

 

Schneider, Kramer and Howard ran as a pack and finished within 4 seconds of each other.  Schneider's 17:24 was the fastest time ever by a freshman on the MXC team at this course.  Kramer ran a valiant race, overcoming a very painful IT Band.  Howard ended his MXC career with a solid race after a season of ups and downs battling breathing problems.  Morris and Siegel were both disappointed by running a bit slower than their earlier efforts on this same course at the SJ Open.

 

The good news is that everyone came out with a fresh set of eyes about the work required to be a top team in this very competitive Section and Group.  Our average team time would have placed us 5th even in the Group 4 larger school division (Horten would have placed 4th).  And we would have easily moved on in any other Section in the State.  We are looking forward to Track season and next year already!

 

Note that we will be training as a team this week with Horten.  And we will be taking a bus to Holmdel.  All Varsity runners are expected to go, and everyone else is welcome.  The coaches will be conducting exit interviews on the ride up and back - so if you want a review of the season, please plan on being on the bus.

 

MXC Banquet - Tuesday Nov. 13, 6PM!

Yes, it is that time of year again where we wrap up the season and all the miles and races with a feast from Sweet Lucy's Barbecue!  We will be handing out the Mileage T-Shirts and Jackets - please check the website to make sure we have your mileage right.

 

There are still a few people who need to give the forms and money (http://www.moorestownxc.org/2012/MXCBanquetForm2012.pdf) to Robin Rothman (856-778-9148) ASAP!  We need a full count for the banquet by Wednesday so we can plan appropriately.  You can also leave completed forms at Robin's house at 709 Iron Post Road.

Turkey Trot!

Time to get the word out!  Tell your neighbors and friends it is time to sign up for the Turkey Trot!

 

We have a dedicated team of parent volunteers actively putting the pieces together for the annual Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving morning. We are always looking for help that morning, so please let us know if you can be there to help with the food and beverages, the set-up, registration, clean-up, course marshaling, and finish line.  This is our annual fundraiser, which brings added meaning this year as we are going to be donating $1,000 to the Orkeeswa School Running Club to support their program in addition to our normal Uniform Program and Trail Maintenance. 

MXC Weekly Update Nov. 4, 2012

MXC Banquet - Tuesday Nov. 13, 6PM!

Yes, it is that time of year again where we wrap up the season and all the miles and races with a feast from Sweet Lucy's Barbecue!

 

We need people to send in the forms and money (http://www.moorestownxc.org/2012/MXCBanquetForm2012.pdf), or call Robin Rothman (856-778-9148) ASAP!  We need a full count for the banquet by Wednesday so we can plan appropriately.  You can also leave completed forms with Eagles, Cote, or drop them at Robin's house at 709 Iron Post Road.

Sectionals Saturday, Nov. 10

http://www.njsiaa.org/tournaments/2012/12b&gCC.pdf - The dates have shifted one week due to Sandy.  We run at 10AM at Delsea.  We would love to see as many runners from the team as possible to join us on the bus ride down to cheer on MXC!  We are striving for a Top 5 finish to make it to States the following week.

Turkey Trot!

We have a dedicated team of parent volunteers actively putting the pieces together for the annual Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving morning. We are always looking for help that morning, so please let us know if you can be there to help with the food and beverages, the set-up, registration, clean-up, course marshaling, and finish line.  This is our annual fundraiser, which brings added meaning this year as we are going to be donating $1,000 to the Orkeeswa School Running Club to support their program in addition to our normal Uniform Program and Trail Maintenance.

MXC Weekly Update - Oct. 13, 2012

This Past Week
Country Championships - http://nj.milesplit.com/meets/122220-burlington-co-open-championships. What a fantastic finish to the season for the non-Varsity Juniors and Seniors!  We had 30 PR's at the Mill Creek course yesterday - a testament to a lot of hard work from a bunch of the guys.

Klawunn had the race of the day - battling it out for the Open Race win with a Lenape runner.  Every time the Lenape runner opened up a gap Klawunn found it in himself to fight back.  The two of them traded places in that looooong finishing straightway with the Lenape runner nipping him at the end.  It was a courageous effort, and no shame in losing like that.  Of more importance is to note how far Klawunn has come since last year.  A real testament to a Senior who put in a ton of hard work in track, over the summer and this fall.  Also a great example of how to really race in this sport.

There were a ton of other great performances as well, with Caffrey locking down 4th overall, Poaletti setting another PR, and the early season injured pair of Rothman and Barsoum making fantastic comebacks.  Other PR's were recorded by both Spirgels (both BIG pr's), Contarino (former 400 man), Entwhistle, Bauscher, Insalaco, Khan, Dyer, Argentieri, Novak, Levinson, Andrew Voyack, Reubel (still a 400 man), Graham, Gross, Maier, Schaffhauser, Malta, LaGatta (again!), Feldan, Elia, Vanaria, Infanger, Sklar, and Marcus Topel (sooo much faster than even a short BCIT course at the beginning of the year!). You can see the season times at http://www.moorestownxc.org/2011/2012XCResults.pdf.  

For the Varsity race, it was more of the same.  Just a super-competitive set of races especially by the top 4 guys.  It looked like Inglis decided just to go out with the top pack of Lenape runners and the great Shawn Wilson of Cherokee right from the start, and Horten was tracking right on him.  As the race progressed Wilson broke free, but Inglis and Horten held their ground very well, ending up 4th and 6th overall. Kramer and Howard got out aggressively as well and ran with absolute determination the whole race - keeping in contact with each other and living the "strength of the pack" motto.  Morris got out a bit slow, but battled the whole way, picking up important spots.

Our best competitor this year has been Northern Burlington, who ran faster than us at the SJ Shootout and in our Dual Meet.  On this day it was NB-Inglis-Horten-NB - essentially canceling each other out.  Then it was NB-Kramer-Howard-NB - again canceling each other out.  So those important spots Morris was picking up really meant something as he placed 34th and the NB 5th man was 39th - giving us the edge over NB by 5 points for the day.  Siegel also ran a great race and has a shot at playing an important role either as 5th man or in pushing back other team's 4th and 5th men in these Championship races.  We missed Schneider - he had a foot problem that hopefully will be gone by Thursday.  Lenape won the meet, but our 2nd place finish was fantastic!

This Coming Week

Monday - SJ Frosh-Soph Championships at GCC.  The bus will leave at 2:15 on Monday with all Frosh and Sophs racing.  This and the following Tuesday Burlington County Frosh-Soph meet are the final two races for those guys and a great way to end the season. 

Thursday - Liberty Division Championships at New Egypt.  The bus will leave at 2:15.  This is obviously going to be another head-head matchup with Northern Burlington.  We want to win this one, and will be doing a bit of tapering this week to give ourselves the best shot at getting after these guys.

Again, a special shout-out to all the Juniors and Seniors who finished their seasons on Friday.  We wish the Seniors well, hoping to see them in track season or that they remember their MXC days when running road races when they are 55.  For Juniors, we hope to see you at the benches this summer.  XC season is really made in the heat of July and August!

PERSONAL NOTE

As you probably can tell, I (Bob Bickel) write these weekly updates as a way to express my excitement for the great work and effort this team puts forward. I am so lucky Eagles and Cote let me volunteer and hang around to help with this team.

I have asked the coaches and captains of the boys and girls team to support a program that has become very important to me - the Orkeeswa School Running Club.  This is the club my daughter, Allison, helped get off the ground this year at the school where she is teaching in Tanzania.  The school is in a remote Maasai village that had no secondary education opportunities until several years ago when it was founded by an American (Peter Luis) and Tanzanian (Rapha Robert). This year the Running Club was able to attend the Kilimanjaro Marathon with 37 students running the Half and the 5K.  They were also able to host the first ever XC Invitational with 4 other school coming.  We have decided that the Moorestown XC Teams will sponsor the Orkeeswa Running Club with a $1,000 donation each year from the Turkey Trot proceeds.

The founders of the school will be giving a presentation on Wednesday Night at 7PM at the Middle School.  I would like to ask that you do me the favor of attending - both parents and students.  This will be educational and hopefully inspirational for your families and friends.  I also want to show them our community support for the important educational opportunity they are bringing to these students who have so little, yet have so much heart.  Please see the Facebook page for more information - http://www.facebook.com/events/478599872173000/. You can also see a video of the Cross Country race they held at http://youtu.be/GwNxlm2z45Q. 

MXC Weekly Update - Oct. 7, 2012

This Past Week

We had our last dual meet of the season at Cinnaminson on Tuesday.  I don't have the meet results posted yet, but from the quick report I got it was a good, solid race.  The only two stories I heard were how Horten and Inglis had learned from the week before at the home meet and sat on the Cinnaminson runner for two miles and then pulled away for the win.  The other story I heard was how a couple of the guys took a wrong turn.  Another reason to go out with the leaders...

On Saturday we made the big trip to Holmdel Park for the Shore Coaches race.  There were 27 races from 9AM until 5PM - http://nj.milesplit.com/meets/120028-2012-shore-coaches-xc-invitational. The Freshman got the day off to a great start with Schneider and Morris going 4th and 6th!  Certainly the best Freshman showing in Moorestown history. The Freshman team compete against each other, so it was important to get all 5 scoring runners across the line. They were followed by Cramer, Dyer and Wright with Argentieri in hot pursuit for a 4th place as a team - very nice. Feldon had one of the best finishes of the day battling back and forth with another runner coming down the line and holding him off.  We loved the determination of everyone on this freshman team!

The Varsity were up next and had a very solid day given that Schneider and Morris were in the Freshman race.  With a team average time of 17:50, we were one of the fastest Group 3 schools at the meet.  We were 14 seconds and 24 seconds off of the Ocean City and Kingsway team times.  Delsea, also a rival in the South section, was also at 17:50.  Horten and Inglis ran a great race together, finishing 10th and 12th.  Howard had an absolutely fabulous last mile picking up around 20 runners and finishing 37th.  Kramer had an off day, but we loved his guts at the end.  He was in a pack of about 8-10 runners.  Finishing a second faster or slower is a difference of 8-10 points to the team, and he ran aggressively and was at the top of that pack.  Siegel really put it out there running with Howard for almost the first two miles before Howard explosive mile drive.  Caffrey and Klawunn had a chance to run Varsity this week and had solid races.

The JV race was at the end of the day and I was not there to report, so can only look at the times.  Poaletti continues to improve and had a great time of 19:26 - 7th fastest of the day for 5K.  We also had three PR's (a difficult achievement since this course runs about 30-45 seconds slower than last week's Delsea course) - Insalaco, LaGatta and Elia - nice job!

Also special thanks to Brian Wright for figuring out where I had lost my iPhone at our McDonlads-BurgerKing-WaWa stop on the way home in Jackson!

This Coming Week

Friday - County Championships at Mill Creek.  This will be the last meet for Juniors and Seniors who are not part of the Championship Squad.  Always a bittersweet reminder of how fast time flies.  It will be a new course this year - eliminating the wooded section where a number of runners went swimming in the rain and high tide of last year's race.  For more info, go to http://home.comcast.net/~ecolona/ED3.htm. 

MXC Weekly Updates Sept. 16

This Past week

This week marked the start of the racing season!  On Tuesday we got our Batch Meet season started with solid wins over Delran (21-40), Bordentown (17-44), New Egypt (18-50), BCIT Westhampton (15-50). Bordentown and Delran took the pace out quickly the first mile, and our guys settled into a set of packs running together, staying calm, and knowing the race was a full 5K.  Horten and Inglis went 1-2 with very, very fast times (that might have been courtesy of a somewhat short course).  We had a full minute gap between our 1 and 5 runner, which will need to come down by the end of the season to be as competitive as we want to be in the big meets.

We had nearly 30 new guys, who were "initiated" into the world of XC, and it was a great learning experience.  Everyone across the board has made a lot of progress from those time trials we did in August.

On Saturday, we went to the Cherokee Challenge.  This is a HUGE race with over 2,500 runners this year.  Each race had 300+ runners on the starting line, so the guys got some great experience in a fast, crowded start that will pay off down the line.  It is really not our kind of race, as our team really trains for the full 5K (3.1 miles).  A lot of our guys, including Horten and Kramer, got caught off guard by the fast start and were in 80th+ place after 600 meters, with no room to pass people in the back woods.

The Frosh got the day off to a very fast start.  Morris was 5th, Schneider was 12th and Cramer was 25th - all bringing home medals. Dyer, Boyle and Argentieri all broke 13 minutes as well - laying the foundation for the fastest freshman class we have ever had.  Hill and Feldon both improved over 2 minutes from their 2 mile time trial, while Topel and Klawunn ran a faster pace over 2 miles than they were able to do a mile on the track at the beginning of the season!  The improvement is what we strive for on this team, and it has been outstanding!

We have a small Sophomore class, but the improvement there has been just as impressive. Bauscher, Spirgel and Graham all improved over a minute, and Infanger and Voyack both improved by over 2 minutes from their time trials.

We had 29 Juniors and 11 seniors "toed the line". Inglis ran a superb race and also brought home a medal with a 14th place finish. LaLumia, Hillman, Topel, Entwhistle, Waldin, Voyack, Handlan, Moorer, Schafhauser, Dugan, Elia, and Spirgel all had over 1 minute improvements from their time trial.

I wanted to highlight two seniors, Siegel and Klawunn. First, they both ran very good, solid races - picking up runners the whole way. Second, I wanted to give some perspective to the power of the hard work they have put in over the past 4 years and this summer. Their freshman year, Siegel ran 12:37 and Klawunn ran 12:52. Yesterday they ran 11:00 and 11:19.  Neither are naturally "talented" runners, but the thousands of miles they have done in high school have brought them to the point that they are key contributors and leaders on the team. Congratulations to both of them!

This Coming Week

Tuesday

Meet at BCIT Westhampton (again). The bus will leave right after school from the front of the MAC center. The gun will go off sometime between 3:45 and 4:15. Northern Burlington is our big competition in our league this year, as usual. This will be a tight race, so we can use all the support we need! Taking the times from Cherokee, they beat us 27-30 head-head.

Also make sure to take a look at Pre-Race Preparations on our website - http://www.moorestownxc.org/Racing/RacingGuide.html  The big two things to remember are run in packs and respect your competitors.

Saturday

South Jersey Shootout. http://www.sjxcshootout.com/ This is a fun race with separate events for Frosh, JV and a 1-2 race, a 3-4 race and a 5-6-7 race. We will have to determine who is running in those during the week. Bus departure time will be announced during the week at practice.

MXC Weekly Update - Sept. 8, 2012

This Past week

This was our final pure week of just workouts because the meets start this coming week!

The rain really hurt our schedule on Tuesday.  We had figured Monday was a good rest/fun day with Frisbee and we had counted on a good long run for Tuesday.  Most guys were not able to get a good workout in, but we made up for it with a stellar workout on Wednesday.

If you have never been on a track with 60 guys broken into 3 groups running between 5 and 7 800's, it is a real treat.  Mass bedlam. Everyone is rounding into shape to be able to make this a quality workout, so there was some fantastic effort being put forth.  On Saturday we did another Holmdel Hill day.  Special thanks to all the parents for driving!  

This Coming Week

Tuesday

Meet at BCIT Westhampton.  The bus will leave right after school from the fron of the MAC center. The gun will go off sometime between 3:45 and 4:15.  This is a full 5km (3.1 miles) course for everyone.  it is a batch meet where we will face 3-4 other teams.  Take a look at the VDOT charts - most everyone should improve from their 2 mile time trial - to get a feel for what pace you should be running. Make sure you bring food and drinks.  It is tough to run a race at 4 if you have been in class all day and have not had enough food and water.  Also make sure to take a look at Pre-Race Preparations on our website -http://www.moorestownxc.org/Racing/RacingGuide.html.  The big two things to remember are run in packs and respect your competitors.

Saturday

Cherokee Challenge.  http://www.ccctf.com/ch_chal_main.html.  This is a huge race.  There will be 10 races on Saturday ranging from Middle School to Frosh, Soph, Junior and Senior races for both boys and girls. There can be as many as 200 runners in a race.  The distance is only 2 miles for everyone so it will be fast!  Bus departure time will be announced during the week at practice.

MXC Weekly Update - Aug. 30, 2012

This Past week

We are putting this out early because of some special announcements on when and where we are getting together this weekend. But first, we have to give a few call-outs from this week so far.  

First, this is a really, really great team.  Every guy is putting forth some great effort.  And there is a lot of support for each other. Whether it is BWright letting us know that Vanaria is hopelessly lost and made a wrong turn and is likely in Cherry Hill still, or Morris making sure the pack was together on the thresholds today - all of these guys have the whole team in mind first and foremost.

We took the top 25 guys up to Holmdel on Tuesday.  What looked like a brutal rainy day turned out to be beautiful.  Everyone left a lot on those hills.  Ty Schneider made a case as one of the contenders for the Varsity 7 on The Bowl.  Horten, Seigel and Morris all looked very strong. Kramer started slowly as he usually does and finished looking like he was only half way thru the workout after 4 tough repeat miles averaging around 6 Minutes on rugged, wet terrain.

Today was a refreshing Threshold workout.  The guys are really getting a feel for what this about.  The top guys automatically go back to the line after 2 minutes rest and were packed tighter than sardines in a can. Cramer looked great from all the hard work he has been putting in, big Klawunn sticking, and Caffrey transforming his sea legs into terra firma monsters.  Hillman, LaLumia and Entwhistle looked awesome for the mid pack - nice and steady.  Special kudos to Travis Klawunn for leaving a bit of himself on the trail.  And it is amazing how far Marcus Topel has come since we first saw him this summer - a 6 mile day. Imagine what a bit of work is doing!

Saturday

We are doing a workout at 8AM in Haddonfield on Saturday to get hills in.  We are meeting at 5 East Upland Way, Haddonfield, NJ (type it into Google Maps.  There is a swim club parking lot there near the railroad tracks. Rough directions are Kings Highway to left on Warwick Road to left on Upland and just past the tracks on the right.  It takes about 25 minutes to get there, and we appreciate parents taking the effort to figure out car pools and getting the guys over there!

Monday

Yes, we are practicing on Monday at 8AM.  The good news is that it will be an Ultimate Frisbie practice.  We still run a warm-up and warm-down, and get a good speed workout in chasing Frisbies.

Tuesday and Onward

Practice shifts to 2:45 on Tuesday.

MXC Weekly Update - Aug. 26, 2012

This Past week (and a Half) The first week and half of practice has gone well.  We had our 2 mile time trial to establish baseline VDOT's for everyone. You can see the times and VDOT on our website - www.moorestownxc.org. We use VDOT to help us guide the pace and workout level capabilities of our various runners.  One of the great things about XC is that everyone can do it, and it does nto matter what level of runner you are.  The point we are after is how everyone can set goals, improve, and support the overall team.  So our goal for everyone is to improve over the course of the season, and over the course of multiple years.  You can learn more about our approach on these pages: Guiding Principles Training Philosophy Training Phases There is a lot of information on our website.  Sorry it is a bit out of date and the menus do not look so good.  I will get time someday to update this - but the basics are all there, and the front page will include the important information. For those who are new to the team, we break the team up into 3 general groups - High, Mid and Low mileage groups.  The goal is for these groups to get to about 9, 7 and 5 miles per day, 6 days per week.  The new guys who did not run over the summer are still working their way up, but most everyone did at least that much on Saturday. We will have a Parents Meeting the first week of school - we will likely announce that in next week's Update. Outlook The top 5 guys (Horten, Siegel, Inglis, Kramer, Morris) look very solid, and there a number of guys who will be competing for the 6-7 spots on the Varsity.  The Freshman class looks like it could be the best we have had in years.  Morris enters as a top 5 runner, with a great background and lots of racing experience.  Cramer and Schneider did great work during the summer and came ready to run - they are both doing most of their runs with the High guys.  And a bunch of guys who look ready to work hard and learn about this great sport. This Coming Week Tuesday Trip to Holmdel.  We are taking the high guys and some of the mid guys up to Holmdel Park on Tuesday.  We leave at 7 and will be back around noon-1PM. Holmdel Park is the site of the big Shore Coaches meet as well as the State Championships.  It has some great hills where will will be doing some mile repeats. This trip is not for the whole team - those not making the trip will run on their own.  Note we are only taking one bus, and the workout is meant to focus on the guys who have a shot at making the State Team (top 7), though we are inviting a number of other guys. Here is the list (if you have questions, please feel free to contact us): Horten, Inglis, Siegel, Morris, Kramer, Howard, Caffrey, Klawunn, Scheider, Munilla, Burns, LaLumia, Wheeler, Micro Spirgel, Saldutti, Entwhistle, A Topel, Godlstein, Harris, Insalaco, Argentieri, B Wright, Loveland, Vanaria, Dyer, Waldin, Voyack X2.

RunSignUp for Timing Services

We have had some great adoption of RunSignUp from timing service partners.  We provide a unique Timing Service Program that gives both timing services and race directors access to the race information.  This means no more emailing of race participants, but access to the latest by-the-minute information.

Here are some of our partners who take advantage of this program today:

• 
  
• Road Runners Club of America - http://www.rrca.org/services/online-services/create-event-profile/
• RunningintheUSA.com - http://runningintheusa.com/Race/OnlineRegAbout.aspx
• HiTek Racing - http://www.hitekracing.com/feature.htm
• Lee Timing - http://www.leetiming.com/index.html
• TNT Event Management - http://tnteventmanagement.com
• Pro Race Group - http://www.proracegroup.com
• Michigan Running Foundation - http://www.runningfoundation.com
• Run Snoqualmie - http://www.runsnoqualmie.com

We will continue to build out the capabilities to make life easier for timing services.  Look for some nice additions from us this winter that will integrate some of the most popular timing service software into RunSignUp.  If you have suggestions for us, please let us know!

MXC Weekly Update - Nov. 7, 2011

This Past Week South Jersey Group 3 Championships - We started this season thinking there was only a slim chance of us being able to make it to States.  To do so, we would need to finish in the top 5 teams in South Jersey in Group 3.  We had lost 4 of our top 5 from the previous year, including the best runner to ever wear an MXC uniform.  However, this group of young men made a decision to work - and work hard.  They ran all summer long when the days are hot and the miles are boring.  They stepped up to a new level of mileage - 9 miles per day - that would give them the strength to be able to compete at this level.  They really came together over the past two weeks.  Hammering out some of the most epic workouts our program has seen, including the rain-sleet-hail-snow 5 X Paul Drive the week before the race. The culmination was STATES!  Yes, we are moving on thanks to this dedication and some really remarkable performances. Jack Inglis continued to show his leadership - running in the top 15 the whole way.  He earned a great PR, and importantly helped Horten the whole way.  We had a plan that the two of them should run together.  Even though Kevin Horten was nursing a sore IT Band injury, having Jack set the pace gave him the marker he needed to keep going.  He knew if the team was to have any chance, he had to hang on for dear life.  He ignored those demons that come during the race to just let go.  He shattered his PR and ran sub-17 minutes for the first time in his life. No way he does that alone.  Jack really showed the importance of running as a team and stepping up. Joe Inglis provided the biggest breakthrough of any runner.  He broke his PR by 35 seconds and just missed sub-17 by 2 seconds...  This was a big league performance.  He warms up with a very loose, talkative attitude, but once in the race he runs with a quiet determination.  He picked up places the whole way - focusing on the stripes of his older brother and Horten ahead of him. Luke Howard had one of those races where you learn to be tough.  Every runner has races where they are not at their best and the legs just don't feel right in the race.  Many runners will pack it in and accept that it is not their day.  Howard was a true warrior.  Gritting out every single place to make sure his team had a chance to advance. Reed Kramer had a horrible workout last Saturday.  It was the beginning of an illness and fever that bothered him much of the week.  No one was sure what to expect.  As he has proven all year, he is one tough runner.  After the race he said all he was thinking about was picking up places for the team.  The result was a big PR and his first sub-18 minute race. Mitch Cain and Evan Nece also ran great races.  As our 6th and 7th men, they both ran faster than 10 of the teams 5th men - pushing competitive teams back in the point totals.  Cain also set a PR by over 20 seconds.  Both Cain and Nece have had a remarkable senior year - really making significant progress from previous years and showing their determination to make an impact on this team in their final year. I want to make special note of Jack Spirgel.  He got sick during the middle of the season.  Unfortunately we can only run 7 guys in races, but in our view we have a Varsity 8 this year.  He has been a part of every workout - putting as much or more effort in each day as any of the other 8 guys.  He has been there at every race, cheering on, but ready to step up if someone goes down.  He has been a true leader by example and really the type of role model this team is all about. Also, special thanks to the guys who came up to cheer on the team (as well as a special surprise, the fastest runner in MXC history, Anthony Horten, was there with some inspiration).  It was a fun day.  Hanging the Sock Monkey mascot in the tree, running around the course cheering the guys on, and learning the ropes so that they are ready to step up as they prepare to take the place of departing Seniors. Our average team time dropped from the South Jersey Open to to this race by over 30 seconds.  While we had an "off day" at that race, that level of improvement is quite a testament to the hard work the team has put in. This Coming Week State Championships - Saturday Nov. 12 10:50 AM Race Time - Holmdel Park We head to the home of Cross Country, Holmdel Park, to take part in the State Championships this weekend.  This is a great final race for our Seniors.  A beautiful course.  The best runners in the state.  A fun day to let it rip one more time this season and see what we have.  Can't wait! Also, remember the team Banquet on Tuesday, November 15 at 6PM in the high school. Go to the website for more information! And the Turkey Trot is fast approaching!  This is our major fundraiser each year.  We need everyone's help - we will talk more about this at the banquet. And finally, we would like to invite all runners to schedule time with us to debrief on the season and talk about your upcoming plans.  Eagles, Cote and Bickel will be in Eagles room after school this week and next week.  Please stop by, as we want to make sure we get to spend time with each runner on an individual basis.

MXC Weekly Update - Oct. 31

MXC Banquet - Nov. 15 Our season ending banquet is Tuesday, November 15 at 6PM.  Everyone has to signup for the dinner. Download the form here - http://www.moorestownxc.org/2011/MXCBanquetForm2011.pdf Turkey Trot! The Moorestown Turkey Trot has become a true annual community event for our town.  Last year about 800 people came out on Thanksgiving morning to run and have fun and see old friends.     Joyce Nece is again leading the charge as our race director.  As usual, we need lots of help from other parents to coordinate food and drinks, register people that morning, act as course monitors, etc. If you can help, please let us know.   Also, we are looking for someone to learn the "system' this year to take over as Race Director next year since Evan will be graduating.  Please let me know if you are interested in helping out.     More info at http://www.moorestownxc.org/mdrc/TurkeyTrot.html.  This Past (2) Week(s) Yes, I missed a week.  Lots has happened over the past couple of weeks.  We'll review in chronological order.  Also, remember to go to www.moorestownxc.org and lick on the Pictures links on the right hand side.  Steve Kramer has shot hundreds of great pics.  Hopefully we have at least one of each of the guys on the team.  He captures the spirit of this sport so well. (Thank you Steve!) South Jersey Frosh/Soph Meet - This meet was held down at the GCC course where we had been for the South Jersey Shootout.  We were happy that almost the entire team was able to improve from their races in September - testament to some hard work.  Significant improvements were made by Munilla, Coneby, Ing, Handlan, LaLumia, Bauscher, Malta and Gross.  On a hilly course, we had PR's by Gross, Malta, Nick Poaletti, LaLumia and Coneby. Divisionals - This was a tough meet, and it had nothing to do with the fact we lost.  I expressed my disappointment with the team the next day as we seemed to have strayed from our Guiding Principles (http://www.moorestownxc.org/2010/Principles.html) - Work, Learn, Fun, Team.  The good news is that we actually returned very quickly to our foundation after this race and learned a lot from the experience.  The past week and a half has been fantastic in terms of team support, and level of effort.  The Top 8 has done some awesome workouts and run much better in packs as a team.  And as the next paragraph will show, the Frosh/Soph guys really responded with blow-out performances. Burlington County Frosh/Soph Championships - Best meet of the year.  Truly amazing performances from everyone.  We had 16 PR's out of 21 5K runners - Caffrey, Barsoum, Ems, Coneby, Ing, Sam Spirgel, Voyack, Testa, Handlan, LaLumia, Pollock, Dugan, Nick Poaletti, Malta, Gross and LaGatta.  That is just what we try to do as a team - work hard all season, then taper a bit and put everything together for the final races.  Malta, Dugan, Pollock, Sam Spirgel, Munilla and Ing all had improvements of almost a minute.  Caffrey provided the highlight with a Varsity qualifying time of under 19:00.  It was also cool to see some guys really emerge who put themselves in reach of a Varsity award next year if they put in some good work - Barsoum, Munilla, Coneby, Ing, and Sam Spirgel are near or under 20 minutes.  This provides the foundation for us up top in the future. Spirit Week - We had some great participantion by the MXC team in Spirit Week. Joe Inglis brought down the house in a dominating unicycle performace.  Kramer was a close second in ping pong.  And we held most of the positions for Ultimate Frisbie.  Devin Connelly's Soph's beat Mike Connelly's Seniors - some serious bragging rights in that house... Saturday Rain-Sleet-Hail-Snow Workout - This was probably the most epic, memorable workout we can recall in 7 years of coaching.  The 5 X Paul Drive hill provides over 1,000 meters of uphill to provide a challenge.  Add to that the goal of dropping time on each interval.  Add to that the total mileage from this workout is 10 miles.  But the kicker was the weather.  Freezing temperatures. Heavy clothes from all the rain.  And the harshness of everything Mother Nature could throw at us culminated in a true Cross Country experience.  This team is ready for Sectionals and a hoped-for-trip to States! This Coming Week -  Sectionals - Saturday, November 5. http://www.njsiaa.org/tournaments/2011/11b&gCC.pdf.  We are the last race of the meet at 12:55 at Delsea.  We want everyone who can to take the bus down and cheer on the team.  Only the top 5 teams will qualify for States the following week - and we are right on the bubble.  Check with other team members later this week for bus time.