Runners and parents,
"The sun himself is weak when he first rises and gathers strength and courage as the day goes on!" wrote Charles Dickens in his short story, "The Old Curiosity shop." A very accurate assessment of the bright sun and unseasonably hot weather at the Strongsville and Valley Forge races.
The Strongsville course was in the best shape I've ever seen. Well manicured, firm and dry. Steve Zucca made short work of a highly competitive field, taking the lead at 800 meters and pulling away for the win in 15:52. Nick Mulhern 16:29 (a PR !!), Matt Kelly 17:04, Jack Mayer 17:05, Peter Fitzpatrick 17:11, Joe Maloney 17:22 and Sean Uhran 17:23 secured a 3rd place finish against 19 teams.
The JV/Open race was another jam-packed event with 345 runners. The 'Cats employed their version of "The Flying Wedge" at the start to separate from the stampede. Alex Paliga and Aiden Monroe staged a battle at the finish with Paliga taking the top spot in 17:27 and Monroe 0.2 sec behind! Elliott Rodstrom 17:34, John Pawlikowski 17;40, Sean Becker 17:46, Robby Klanac 17:47 and Sean Ward 18:09 claimed the team title with 15 points ahead of 19 other teams.
Coach Wolf traveled with the freshman squad to Tri-C West. Here is his summary: At the Patriot Invitational, the freshmen runners represented the school well in both the varsity and open races. Bobby Stark led the freshmen varsity group through a flat but deceptively winding course around the campus. Stark crossed the line with another PR of 19:27 followed closely by Caleb DelaCruz (19:38) and Ben Showman (19:37). Danny Flannigan, Tyler Cupar, Luke Laelle, and John Scally brought the team home with a 12th place finish in the varsity race. At 11:20, as the heat index rose to an Edgewater Park-like level on a typical Tuesday, the open race was off. Tim Shmelter lead the young squad through the first mile with a 6:07 split and did not let up. He crossed the stripe after a hard-fought race with a time of 20:36. Jack Gilbride and Mason Brunecz pushed each other to the line rounding out the top three. Great job to all the runners pushing through an unforgiving course on a very warm day! I was most proud to see the freshmen in the open race arrive early enough to cheer on their teammates in the varsity, as well as the varsity runners stick around after the race to support the open runners in true St. Ignatius High School Cross Country fashion.
This week's schedule:
Monday: Mastic 3:30 - 5:00 bus provided
Tuesday: Edgewater 3:30 - 5 " "
Wednesday: Mastic 3:30 - 5:00 " "
Thursday: SIHS pre comp for JV/Open/Frosh for Gilmour meet (varsity roster will be announced at practice)
Varsity A and B track workout
Friday: Gilmour Meet @ Gilmour Academy Varsity Race 4:30 , JV/Open/Frosh @ 6:00. Bus leaves school @ 3:15 and will return ASAP
Saturday: Midwest Meet of Champions Hilliard Bradley High School Varsity A noon, Varsity B 1 PM (Travel Details TBD)