Runners and Parents,
A biiiiggg weekend for the harriers! The varsity B, JV, and Open runners made the annual trek out to Hunting Valley for the 59th edition of the Paul Primeau Gilmour Invitational race. Think back 59 years: Eisenhower was President, the mass was in Latin and Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as the 49th and 50th states. Sunny skies and cool temperatures were the order for the afternoon. Nick Mulhern (letter-winner) went right to the front with the leaders, hammered the final stretch and led the 'Cats in 17:54. Aiden Monroe 17:56 (pr and letter-winner) , Elliott Rodstrom 17:56 (letter-winner), Alex Paliga 18:00, Sean Freddy Becker 18:00, Conor Geary, Matt Kelly, and Sean Ward followed their coach's instructions and came away with a one point win over Geneva to take the Varsity team title!!
In the JV race, the Cat Pack was on the prowl. With the sun setting, the shadows growing long, and a victory in sight, the team followed overall winner Peter Fitzpatrick (18:08) through rolling campus to another team title! Scoring for the Wildcats were Will Leahy, Charlie Rooney, Joe Maloney, Luke Chesney, Andrew Eicher and Tom Kilbane. In the words of SpongeBob " It's pretty impressive alright!"
The varsity A and senior squads travelled to Midwest Meet of Champions in Hilliard on Saturday to race teams from Columbus, Lancaster and Cincinnati. The course was damp from recent rains, but otherwise in good shape. The 'Cats drew the unenviable 38th slot on the line with 274 other jittery thoroughbreds. From the start, the boys were not intimidated. Matt Blouch and Nick Saul slipped into the lead group as the runners left the stadium. All was well, until just before the 2 mile mark, when the lead ATV made a wrong turn and sent the runners doubling back on the course. I was standing with several coaches as the nightmare unfolded. Our facial expressions went from shock--think Doc Brown in "Back to the Future" and "destroying the space time continuum"--to smelling spoiled milk as we watched the race unfold. I don't know if the Hall of Fame writer Eddie Dwyer could spin what happened any differently. But when mud had settled and with the race completed, the course was measured to be over 600 meters short. The times were ridiculously fast, but the Blue and Gold had won the team title over 40 teams. Nick Saul, Matt Blouch, Andrew Biehl, Steve Zucca, Nathan Soria, Logan Kijewski and Jack Mayer are to be congratulated for tough win!
By JV race time , the course had been chewed up into a peat bog. An incredible 423 runners were crammed into the start. Ben Crane went out with the top group to set the pace. Thankfully, there were no wrong turns. The 'Cats fought gamely with Dillon Bangasser leading the team in 18:04. Tom Rochester, Ben Crane, Pat Krebs, Tim Williamson, and Aiden Morrison scored for the runners' 6th place finish.
Thanks to our photographers: Dan Drellishak, Dave Wilson (check out his new Canon EF 400 lens) and Cindy Blouch for the great coverage of the meets!!
This week's schedule:
Monday: Mastick 3:30 - 5:00**
Tuesday: Edgewater 3:30 - 5:00
Wednesday: Mastick 3:30 - 5:00
Thursday: Cedar Point 3:30 - 5:00
Friday: SIHS 3 - 4:00
Saturday: Stow invitational @ Silver Springs Park on Stow Rd: Varsity @ 9:30, JV/Open @ 10:40. Bus leaves school at 7:45
** Please note the new finish time due to shorter peaking workouts.
** There will be no lifting this week
** We will be running the SJA Mastic race on 10/17 @ 5pm. Details to follow.