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.
Showing posts with label MHS Track. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MHS Track. Show all posts
Monday, May 25, 2009
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.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
MHS Weekly Update
This Past Week
We finally got on the track in a real meet this past Tuesday at Burlington Township. Our strategy was to try to train through this meet and run it with somewhat tired legs. The idea is to learn to run fast when you are tired, and then when you feel fresher, you can still run to the same level of discomfort - but run faster!
Ryan Wolff was the star again in one of the best races I have seen at Moorestown. Wolff and Friedman took the pace the first 3 laps in the 1600, and then with 200 meters to go Eric Morris, the BT star 400 and 800 meter speedster, took the lead. Morris is much faster, but Wolff refused to give up. As they strained neck and neck down the final straighway I thought about the countless miles that Wolff has put in over the past four years - the many 60 mile weeks and long runs. I thought I could see Morris tying up just a bit, and Wolff continuing to press forward in strong, meaningful strides. I could not tell who had won when they crossed the finish line, but the officialss called it for Wolff. It was great to see the guys congratulate each other - both had set PR's, both had pushed each other to a new level. It was great!
There were a number of outstanding performances. PR's were set by Weintraub, Horten, Balch, Inglis, Nece, Samocki, Ems, Bennett, Josephson, Jenai, Sheehan, Shah, and Spiergal. Several in that list really impressed. Weintraub has rounded into Cross Country form and beyond now. He just looks very strong. Horten continues to impress with a natural stride and competitive fire. I was happy to see Jenai and Spiergal come back and volunteer to run the 800 after setting PR's in the 1600. They are both new to the Freshman crew we had last XC season, and plan to run this fall - so the Class fo 2012 just got deeper and better!
On Saturday we did our Poker Interval workout. The guys pick cards to see what length of interval they are going to run - everything form 200 to 1200 meters were in the deck. The idea of this workout is to be able to change pace and react in a race setting and the handle the unexpected. It was a great workout that finished with the 1200 - the toughest one to get thru. It was good to see Joel Robinson start to reemerge after his Hawaian vacation.
This Coming Week
We are at Northern Burlington on Wednesday this week for a dual meet. We will have an easier day on Tuesday, so faster times are expected.
On Thursday, Wolff and Friedman will head down to the South Jersey Open 3200. This has a qualifying time of 10:15 to enter, so it will be a very competitive field. The race goes off around 10PM and is always fun to watch under the lights.
One Saturday, we will have the South Jersey Relays at Buena in the afternoon. Freshman races are at 1PM and others will be from 2-6PM to allow students to take the SAT and still run. Bus and race assignments will be announced this week at practice.
The BCSL Championship is only two weeks away, Counties is 3 week away and Sectionals is 4 weeks away. The Pennsauken Freshman Meet and the Haddonfield Distance Night are just over 3 weeks away, and typically the highlight for our JV runners. So it is getting to be that time of the season to get really focused and figuring out how to get as many PR's as possible!
We finally got on the track in a real meet this past Tuesday at Burlington Township. Our strategy was to try to train through this meet and run it with somewhat tired legs. The idea is to learn to run fast when you are tired, and then when you feel fresher, you can still run to the same level of discomfort - but run faster!
Ryan Wolff was the star again in one of the best races I have seen at Moorestown. Wolff and Friedman took the pace the first 3 laps in the 1600, and then with 200 meters to go Eric Morris, the BT star 400 and 800 meter speedster, took the lead. Morris is much faster, but Wolff refused to give up. As they strained neck and neck down the final straighway I thought about the countless miles that Wolff has put in over the past four years - the many 60 mile weeks and long runs. I thought I could see Morris tying up just a bit, and Wolff continuing to press forward in strong, meaningful strides. I could not tell who had won when they crossed the finish line, but the officialss called it for Wolff. It was great to see the guys congratulate each other - both had set PR's, both had pushed each other to a new level. It was great!
There were a number of outstanding performances. PR's were set by Weintraub, Horten, Balch, Inglis, Nece, Samocki, Ems, Bennett, Josephson, Jenai, Sheehan, Shah, and Spiergal. Several in that list really impressed. Weintraub has rounded into Cross Country form and beyond now. He just looks very strong. Horten continues to impress with a natural stride and competitive fire. I was happy to see Jenai and Spiergal come back and volunteer to run the 800 after setting PR's in the 1600. They are both new to the Freshman crew we had last XC season, and plan to run this fall - so the Class fo 2012 just got deeper and better!
On Saturday we did our Poker Interval workout. The guys pick cards to see what length of interval they are going to run - everything form 200 to 1200 meters were in the deck. The idea of this workout is to be able to change pace and react in a race setting and the handle the unexpected. It was a great workout that finished with the 1200 - the toughest one to get thru. It was good to see Joel Robinson start to reemerge after his Hawaian vacation.
This Coming Week
We are at Northern Burlington on Wednesday this week for a dual meet. We will have an easier day on Tuesday, so faster times are expected.
On Thursday, Wolff and Friedman will head down to the South Jersey Open 3200. This has a qualifying time of 10:15 to enter, so it will be a very competitive field. The race goes off around 10PM and is always fun to watch under the lights.
One Saturday, we will have the South Jersey Relays at Buena in the afternoon. Freshman races are at 1PM and others will be from 2-6PM to allow students to take the SAT and still run. Bus and race assignments will be announced this week at practice.
The BCSL Championship is only two weeks away, Counties is 3 week away and Sectionals is 4 weeks away. The Pennsauken Freshman Meet and the Haddonfield Distance Night are just over 3 weeks away, and typically the highlight for our JV runners. So it is getting to be that time of the season to get really focused and figuring out how to get as many PR's as possible!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
MHS Track Weekly Update
This Past (2) Weeks
We held the Annual Moorestown Invitational in a Monsoon last Saturday. Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered and got soggy. As you know this is our only Spring Track fundraising event – and it was very successful with a record number of teams entered.
Wolff and Matteson had solid 5,000 meter runs with 16:43 and 16:47 respectively. Ben Friedman was sick that day but ran thru it in a tough 17:00, and was in bed a half hour later. Fortunately he is feeling better now… The 4 X 800 team was led again by Stalle with a solid 2:10. He runs like a freight train – with a huge engine. His ITB is feeling better now and we are trying to adjust his running schedule better to fit in with his competitive soccer schedule. He has the potential to run even faster by the end of the season and should be fun to watch.
Weintraub won the second heat of the 1500 with a 4:33 (translates to about a 4:52 1600) with a solid performance. Horten ran the same heat to a nice 4th place finish in 4:37 (a 4:56 1600 converted).
On Friday of this week we took the Novice and Freshman runners to the Bishop Eustace meet. It was a perfect day on a nice track and everyone responded with great performances. Leading the pack was Horten with a very quick 4:48 for second place in the Novice 1600. This gives him a VDOT rating of 62 – good enough to be in this past season’s Varsity 7 in XC. Very impressive. Also running a PR as a Novice was Fowler – putting up a 5:41 a couple of days after coming alive in a very grueling 12 X 400 workout on Wednesday.
The Freshmen continue to make giant strides. Nece and Inglis are still battling each other up top – they ran 5:01 and 5:02 respectively. This moves their VDOT’s up by 2 points from the cross country season – a great improvement considering it is still early in the season. The most pleasant surprise among the freshmen was Lentz. He has worked harder than any of the others over the winter and it has paid off. He ran a 5:04 – a real jump in performance level from XC. Sheehan is also starting to get healthy again and putting in some really strong workouts. His 5:35 will likely continue to improve. Quien also had a race that shows a lot of improvement since XC season with a 6:04.
This Coming Week
After an ill-fated attempt to begin the regular season at Willingboro, we hopefully will race on Tuesday against Burlington Township at their track. We invite all parents and guys who are not running this season to come out and watch. The meet starts at 4PM.
We are not entered in this weekend’s big track meet – the Penn Relays. However, it is something worth going to see. Distance Night is Thursday – always fun to sit by the water jump pit for the Steeplechase. Saturday is typically huge – with some of the Nation’s fastest runners competing in a stadium full of track nuts. Sit in the Jamaican Section to really learn how to cheer at a track meet!
We held the Annual Moorestown Invitational in a Monsoon last Saturday. Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered and got soggy. As you know this is our only Spring Track fundraising event – and it was very successful with a record number of teams entered.
Wolff and Matteson had solid 5,000 meter runs with 16:43 and 16:47 respectively. Ben Friedman was sick that day but ran thru it in a tough 17:00, and was in bed a half hour later. Fortunately he is feeling better now… The 4 X 800 team was led again by Stalle with a solid 2:10. He runs like a freight train – with a huge engine. His ITB is feeling better now and we are trying to adjust his running schedule better to fit in with his competitive soccer schedule. He has the potential to run even faster by the end of the season and should be fun to watch.
Weintraub won the second heat of the 1500 with a 4:33 (translates to about a 4:52 1600) with a solid performance. Horten ran the same heat to a nice 4th place finish in 4:37 (a 4:56 1600 converted).
On Friday of this week we took the Novice and Freshman runners to the Bishop Eustace meet. It was a perfect day on a nice track and everyone responded with great performances. Leading the pack was Horten with a very quick 4:48 for second place in the Novice 1600. This gives him a VDOT rating of 62 – good enough to be in this past season’s Varsity 7 in XC. Very impressive. Also running a PR as a Novice was Fowler – putting up a 5:41 a couple of days after coming alive in a very grueling 12 X 400 workout on Wednesday.
The Freshmen continue to make giant strides. Nece and Inglis are still battling each other up top – they ran 5:01 and 5:02 respectively. This moves their VDOT’s up by 2 points from the cross country season – a great improvement considering it is still early in the season. The most pleasant surprise among the freshmen was Lentz. He has worked harder than any of the others over the winter and it has paid off. He ran a 5:04 – a real jump in performance level from XC. Sheehan is also starting to get healthy again and putting in some really strong workouts. His 5:35 will likely continue to improve. Quien also had a race that shows a lot of improvement since XC season with a 6:04.
This Coming Week
After an ill-fated attempt to begin the regular season at Willingboro, we hopefully will race on Tuesday against Burlington Township at their track. We invite all parents and guys who are not running this season to come out and watch. The meet starts at 4PM.
We are not entered in this weekend’s big track meet – the Penn Relays. However, it is something worth going to see. Distance Night is Thursday – always fun to sit by the water jump pit for the Steeplechase. Saturday is typically huge – with some of the Nation’s fastest runners competing in a stadium full of track nuts. Sit in the Jamaican Section to really learn how to cheer at a track meet!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
MHS Track Weekly Update
April 5, 2009
This Past Week
Welcome to Spring Track. The real season has begun as it usually does with the Hall of Fame Relays. Previous years have brought rain or cold, and this year brought the winds of up to 50 mph! Gusts blew Evan Nece into Lane 2, and nearly blew Anthony Horten off the track and onto the infield. Full meet results here. Our results are here.
It was a day of learning - how to get your cards, how to pass a baton, how to warm up for a race, and how long of a day these track meets can be. My estimates turned out to be way too conservative. I've written the actual start times down for next year!
If learning was the theme yesterday, then Ryan Wolff showed he was ready for graduation with honors. He ran a very smart third leg in a Moorestown best of the day 4:45. His opening lap of 67 let him catch the leaders of the race and then sat behind them to collect his reserves and save himself from the wind. His final strong, confident lap of 65 let him hand off to Ringwood dead even with Cherokee's Applegate. Ringwood showed his maturity by almost taking a step backwards to let Applegate take the wind. The Cherokee coach then instructed Applegate to slow the pace and force Ringwood to take the lead. By the 800 meter mark they were practically walking, but Ringwood did the right thing and just hung out behind him. I told Ringwood to go ahead and take the pace - it is the first meet of the season and I would rather see them get a decent run in. Applegate ended up drafting off of Ringwood and passed him in the final 100 meters.
We demonstrated a lot of depth, with 5 runners under 5:00 for the mile and over a dozen sub-2:30 800's. The DMR teams did nice jobs. Weintraub ran a solid 4:58 on his anchor leg to secure third place medals. Our JV B team was 3rd out of 10 teams, highlighted by a strong 2:16 (66-70) by Anthony Horten and a solid 3:40 by Chris Balch. The Freshman DMR squad got 5th place in the same race with Lentz, Jenai, Nece and Inglis all having a good learning experience. I am quite sure they will all run quite a bit faster by the end of the season.
Our Varsity 4 X 800 placed second to Northern Burlington in a very nice race for newcomers Jacob Miller and John Stalle. Both have been held back by injuries and really have not had a chance to put in a decent week of practice yet, but laid down impressive first time 800 times of 2:16 (63-73) and 2:12 (62-70). Hopefully they keep feeling good and make progress in their training and racing - they should be fun to watch.
Overall the distance squad earned 16 medals for four teams - 4 X 1600 Varsity, 4 X 800 Varsity, Distance Medley Varsity and Distance Medley JV. As Ringwood would say, "Nice."
Many of the runners had the experience yesterday of, as my Coach used to say, "A gorilla climbing on your back". Will McDonnell was a great example of this. He led off the JV 4X800 and took a commanding lead by the 500 meter point in the race, and looked just awesome. In the next 100 meters it was like watching an entirely different runner - one that in addition to his own weight was carrying a gorilla on his back. I applaud Will for having the courage to go out and test what he could actually do.
There are two things to learn from this. First, is to learn your pace over the next month as we increase our race-paced practices. Second, is to learn how to carry that gorilla calmly and confidently. That same gorilla was on Ryan Wolff's back as he came down the final straightway to hand off to Ringwood. He was fighting him off to make sure he put his teammate in as good of a position as possible. Something to keep in mind when you are in the final 200 meters of a race. And even if a championship is not on the line - it is your chance to move to your own personal next level.
This Coming Week
We will continue our Monday Long Run this week. We need to continue building our strength and foundation. I'm really happy with the increased mileage we are getting in.
Wednesday - Willingboro dual meet at their track. We will need all of the distance points we can get in this meet, as Willingboro has a very strong sprint and jump team. We will also be using this meet to determine who will run in the Moorestown Invitational (a Varsity only event). There are three spots in the 5K, 3 spots in the 1500 and 4 spots in the 4 X 800 meter relay. The meet starts at 3:45.
Saturday - Moorestown Invitational. While we only have 10 spots for runners, all runners are expected to come and volunteer that day to help out. We will have sign-ups for two shifts - either 8-10:30 or 10:30-closing.
This Past Week
Welcome to Spring Track. The real season has begun as it usually does with the Hall of Fame Relays. Previous years have brought rain or cold, and this year brought the winds of up to 50 mph! Gusts blew Evan Nece into Lane 2, and nearly blew Anthony Horten off the track and onto the infield. Full meet results here. Our results are here.
It was a day of learning - how to get your cards, how to pass a baton, how to warm up for a race, and how long of a day these track meets can be. My estimates turned out to be way too conservative. I've written the actual start times down for next year!
If learning was the theme yesterday, then Ryan Wolff showed he was ready for graduation with honors. He ran a very smart third leg in a Moorestown best of the day 4:45. His opening lap of 67 let him catch the leaders of the race and then sat behind them to collect his reserves and save himself from the wind. His final strong, confident lap of 65 let him hand off to Ringwood dead even with Cherokee's Applegate. Ringwood showed his maturity by almost taking a step backwards to let Applegate take the wind. The Cherokee coach then instructed Applegate to slow the pace and force Ringwood to take the lead. By the 800 meter mark they were practically walking, but Ringwood did the right thing and just hung out behind him. I told Ringwood to go ahead and take the pace - it is the first meet of the season and I would rather see them get a decent run in. Applegate ended up drafting off of Ringwood and passed him in the final 100 meters.
We demonstrated a lot of depth, with 5 runners under 5:00 for the mile and over a dozen sub-2:30 800's. The DMR teams did nice jobs. Weintraub ran a solid 4:58 on his anchor leg to secure third place medals. Our JV B team was 3rd out of 10 teams, highlighted by a strong 2:16 (66-70) by Anthony Horten and a solid 3:40 by Chris Balch. The Freshman DMR squad got 5th place in the same race with Lentz, Jenai, Nece and Inglis all having a good learning experience. I am quite sure they will all run quite a bit faster by the end of the season.
Our Varsity 4 X 800 placed second to Northern Burlington in a very nice race for newcomers Jacob Miller and John Stalle. Both have been held back by injuries and really have not had a chance to put in a decent week of practice yet, but laid down impressive first time 800 times of 2:16 (63-73) and 2:12 (62-70). Hopefully they keep feeling good and make progress in their training and racing - they should be fun to watch.
Overall the distance squad earned 16 medals for four teams - 4 X 1600 Varsity, 4 X 800 Varsity, Distance Medley Varsity and Distance Medley JV. As Ringwood would say, "Nice."
Many of the runners had the experience yesterday of, as my Coach used to say, "A gorilla climbing on your back". Will McDonnell was a great example of this. He led off the JV 4X800 and took a commanding lead by the 500 meter point in the race, and looked just awesome. In the next 100 meters it was like watching an entirely different runner - one that in addition to his own weight was carrying a gorilla on his back. I applaud Will for having the courage to go out and test what he could actually do.
There are two things to learn from this. First, is to learn your pace over the next month as we increase our race-paced practices. Second, is to learn how to carry that gorilla calmly and confidently. That same gorilla was on Ryan Wolff's back as he came down the final straightway to hand off to Ringwood. He was fighting him off to make sure he put his teammate in as good of a position as possible. Something to keep in mind when you are in the final 200 meters of a race. And even if a championship is not on the line - it is your chance to move to your own personal next level.
This Coming Week
We will continue our Monday Long Run this week. We need to continue building our strength and foundation. I'm really happy with the increased mileage we are getting in.
Wednesday - Willingboro dual meet at their track. We will need all of the distance points we can get in this meet, as Willingboro has a very strong sprint and jump team. We will also be using this meet to determine who will run in the Moorestown Invitational (a Varsity only event). There are three spots in the 5K, 3 spots in the 1500 and 4 spots in the 4 X 800 meter relay. The meet starts at 3:45.
Saturday - Moorestown Invitational. While we only have 10 spots for runners, all runners are expected to come and volunteer that day to help out. We will have sign-ups for two shifts - either 8-10:30 or 10:30-closing.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
MHS Track Weekly Update
I am transferring my seasonal weekly updates to my running blog. These are notes I take on a weekly basis during Moorestown high school's XC and outdoor track seasons. Previous seasons are at www.moorestownxc.org.
This past week
This was my first week back with the team. We are trying to do several things this track season. The first is try to raise the expectations of mileage on a more consistent basis. The basic thought is that for most high school runners, they basically run out of air in a distance race and that is the key thing holding them back. So we think that distance at an easy pace is the key to developing the cardiovascular system. We've done some simple things like the minimum run is 5 miles for everyone unless you are injured. Also the typical day is now 7-8 miles for the guys who have been around for over a year. For track workouts and races we make sure we do 2-3 miles before the hard work and 2-3 miles after the hard work. So today for example, most of the guys got in 7-9 miles on a track workout day.
On Monday we did our long run. This is about 9-10 miles for the group that will be leading us next fall. 6-7 miles for newer guys. We are going to try to fit the long run in once per week since we can not count on everyone doing it on their own on Sundays.
On Wednesday we had a scrimmage against Cinnaminson. Most of the guys ran the 1600. It was the last race they get to choose, and there seemed to be avoidance of the 3200... Ringwood and Friedman ran a nice steady 4:44 at an even pace. Matteson, Weintraub and Wolff were all around 5:00. Many of the guys from XC have slipped back from their VDOT level of the fall by 2-5 points. This makes them about 10-30 seconds slower for the 3200. This is mostly due to a lack of mileage over the winter. We need to make sure we do not make that mistake again this summer leading into XC season.
We did a solid VO2Max workout on the track on Saturday. This is work done at the 3200 meter pace. Today we did 6 X 800 at their 3200 pace with a lap jog between. This might be a little early for this workout, but I think there was a need to get the guys in a controlled environment where they could rediscover their ability to work hard and run together. It should build some confidence as we move into the racing season next week.
This Coming Week
We begin our season this week at the Hall of Fame Relays at Maple Shade. We will be entering teams in the 4 X 800, the Distance Medley and the 4 X 1600. We will make the specific decisions about who runs in which race later in the week.
We will be doing a long run on Monday and probably a threshold workout on Wednesday with long 400 meter striders on Thursday to get a little feel for pace before the Saturday meet.
This past week
This was my first week back with the team. We are trying to do several things this track season. The first is try to raise the expectations of mileage on a more consistent basis. The basic thought is that for most high school runners, they basically run out of air in a distance race and that is the key thing holding them back. So we think that distance at an easy pace is the key to developing the cardiovascular system. We've done some simple things like the minimum run is 5 miles for everyone unless you are injured. Also the typical day is now 7-8 miles for the guys who have been around for over a year. For track workouts and races we make sure we do 2-3 miles before the hard work and 2-3 miles after the hard work. So today for example, most of the guys got in 7-9 miles on a track workout day.
On Monday we did our long run. This is about 9-10 miles for the group that will be leading us next fall. 6-7 miles for newer guys. We are going to try to fit the long run in once per week since we can not count on everyone doing it on their own on Sundays.
On Wednesday we had a scrimmage against Cinnaminson. Most of the guys ran the 1600. It was the last race they get to choose, and there seemed to be avoidance of the 3200... Ringwood and Friedman ran a nice steady 4:44 at an even pace. Matteson, Weintraub and Wolff were all around 5:00. Many of the guys from XC have slipped back from their VDOT level of the fall by 2-5 points. This makes them about 10-30 seconds slower for the 3200. This is mostly due to a lack of mileage over the winter. We need to make sure we do not make that mistake again this summer leading into XC season.
We did a solid VO2Max workout on the track on Saturday. This is work done at the 3200 meter pace. Today we did 6 X 800 at their 3200 pace with a lap jog between. This might be a little early for this workout, but I think there was a need to get the guys in a controlled environment where they could rediscover their ability to work hard and run together. It should build some confidence as we move into the racing season next week.
This Coming Week
We begin our season this week at the Hall of Fame Relays at Maple Shade. We will be entering teams in the 4 X 800, the Distance Medley and the 4 X 1600. We will make the specific decisions about who runs in which race later in the week.
We will be doing a long run on Monday and probably a threshold workout on Wednesday with long 400 meter striders on Thursday to get a little feel for pace before the Saturday meet.
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