State - Jonah 80th Overall - 17:12

Saturday was a great culmination of the 2010 season for the JMM boys Spartan cross country. In a year that was supposed to be a rebuilding year the boys performed valiantly throughout the year leading to a 4th place Big 8 place, 3rd place Sectional place, and an individual state qualifier. I hope we continue to build upon the success we had this season going into next year. Jonah and I decided that state is a lot more fun with the whole team there and I hope to take back the team in 2011. What can you do to make sure JMM is represented by a team at state next season?





Jonah ran 17:12 on a very difficult Ridges course in Wisconsin Rapids on Saturday. His time was good for 80th overall (out of 190), he was the 13th best Sophomore on the day, and will be the 37th place returner from state meet participants. Jonah was cheered on by a great contingent of Memorial runners and Conny on an exciting day in Rapids.



STATE RESULTS
Individual D1
Team D1

Sectionals - Team = 3rd & Individual = Jonah is a State Qualifier

Mixed results from a day of cross country in DeForest. We knew going into the race we were going to have a tough race. Our team did not have a complete race like we needed to to be able to defeat a tough Middleton program. After last season people from our sectional would not have believed we could replace our team from a year ago and be back in the mix for a trip to state. We put a lot of hard work and dedication to get where we are today and unfortunatley it was not enough. Jonah was able to finish as the 3rd best individual not on a qualifying team to represent JMM at the State meet in Wisconsin Rapids. Last season the third place team from our sectional put in 9 months of hard work to be the #1 ranked team in the state. I challenge our young team to raise their level of work ethic to the next level so we can come out of this meet next year with a better overall feeling. On the bus ride home we set the goal of having 12 runners under 17:30 next season...this is a lofty goal but one I think we can accomplish.

I would like to give a big THANK YOU to our Seniors who competed today. Jordan C. ended a great four year JMM CC career, Colin and Erik completed great short JMM CC careers. These guys were great leaders that will be sorely missed. I think the best gift to these departing seniors would be coming back next year and earning that team a trip to state for JMM CC. Our team will return Jonah, Sam, Hunter, and Jordan B. next year along with alternates Bryce, Thejas, and Ryan W. Who else is going to step up to take us to the next level?

SECTIONAL RESULTS

One more meet left for Jonah, if you can make it to Wisconsin Rapids to support Jonah it would be great to see. I was very impressed by our JV kids and other fans at Sectinoals and hope we can bring some of that energy to State.

• RSVP for the End of the Year Banquet November 4th - jmmcc@rocketmail.com
• Get your captains $10 for team gifts and Thanksgiving Day Baskets
• Turn in photos to Coach Casey on CD/DVD for slideshow
• Turn in uniforms and clean out lockers

Photos added to second slideshow

Big Ten Championships

The University of Wisconsin men's and women's cross country programs will host the 2010 Big Ten Conference Cross Country Championships on Sunday, Oct. 31.The year-old Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Verona, Wis., will serve as the site of the championship races, which consist of a 6-kilometer race for the women and an 8-kilometer race for the men. The women's race gets underway at 10:45 a.m. (CT), with the men's race to follow. An awards ceremony will be held after the conclusion of the men's championship.

Parking
There is no spectator parking available at the cross country course or the adjacent University Ridge Golf Course. Spectator parking is located at the Verona Area School District, approximately 2 miles south of the course on Country Road M
Verona Area School District
700 N Main St
Verona, WI 53593
Parking is not allowed on County Highway PD or County Highway M. Vehicles in violation are subject to ticket and tow at owner's expense.

Shuttle Service
Spectator shuttles are available to transport spectators for $5 round trip. The shuttles will begin at 9:15 a.m. and conclude 1 hour after the awards ceremony has finished.

More Big Ten Information

End of the Season Notes

GET OUT THERE AND CHEER!!!

Sectionals is Saturday @ DeForest
Boys Race - 11:00am
Girls Race - 11:45am

Everyone should come out and cheer!!!

$10 TO CAPTAINS AND UNIFORMS
If you have not yet dropped off your money with a captain (Jordan C., Brandon H., Hunter, or Jonah) for coaches gifts and Thankgiving baskets please do so ASAP. Find them during school or immediately after school in the lockerroom.

We still have a couple athletes who have not yet turned in their uniforms. Get them turned in to Coach Casey or he will be forced to place a hold on your student record. Turn them in immediately after school in the lockerroom.

END OF THE YEAR BANQUET
The banquet will be held on November 4th at Rocky's on the Far West Side. Cost is $10 per person for all you can eat and drink and payable at the door. Please RSVP to Coach Casey at jmmcc@rocketmail.com with the number of people planning to attend so they can be prepared to make us enough food.

Big Eight Conference Meet - Varsity = 4th JV1 = 3rd JV2 = 2nd

GREAT JOB TODAY BOYS!!!!

Our team went out today with the same competitive attitude we brought to city and got the cooperation of great weather and better competition (and probably a morning race) to set multiple PRs to end the season. 25 guys ended the day with a lifetime PR, a wonderful way to end the season. I really hope we bring this improvement to next season (or track :) The fitness our team currently maintains is impressive and I hope we can continue to reach this type of fitness in future seasons.

JV2 really set the tempo for us today. Ryan W. came out with a great mindset to compete and executed his race strategy perfectly for a 2nd place finish. Vladi and Mason were a great 2/3 combination working to get ahead of the Sun Prairie pack in the second part of the race. Jacob and Stefan held on wonderfully at 4/5 to provide our team a three point "win" over Sun Prairie for 2nd place. These guys really stepped up to fill in for some of the guys we were missing due to injuries and PSAT testing. I'm always excited to see our JV competing strong with young athletes to provide us with a snapshot for our future.

Our JV1 team kept the ball rolling and learned about close races and tiebreakers. This group got out conservatively but moved up nicely in the second half of the race. It is hard to say what would have happened had we been up further earlier in the race but we didnt let this hurt us. We chased down a lot of runners in the last mile and set many personal bests. Erik led this group up front nicely and earned back a spot on varsity. Thejas and Paul were joined by Ben A. with great finishes picking guys off right up to the finish. Tyler hung on for a solid 5th man and a season best. This group was one point behind Middleton and tied with Janesville Craig...I guess every spot does count. Our young team learned today that a cross country meet tie breaker goes to the 6th runner. We could have gone to either James or Alan as they both finished ahead of Craig's 6th runner. Our team today consisted of 15 underclassmen in the top 21 (our scorers today) which means that our JV team next year is going to be super competitive. I think we can set the goal right now to try to knock off West for Conference JV champs in 2011.

Since the beginning of the year our Varsity has been battling in the middle of the conference. We knew going into today we could finish anywhere from 3rd to 7th. We didn't have our best overall race but raced very solid as a team. Every helped pick up the team and get us to our fourth place finish. At our first meet of the season (Verona) we were the 6th best Big 8 team of the season. It goes to show that the hard work throughout the season has really paid off. We have put our self in a place to earn a second straight trip back to the State meet. Jonah earned his first All-Conference recogonition as a sophomore and sets himself up for a great future at this meet. Colin and Jordan C. led us solidly at the 2/3 spots their hard work gave us our edge against Middleton. Hunter and Sam battled in a huge pack all race and were right with the Middleton 4/5/6/7 runners and will need to win this battle next week. Again every spot counted in this race as we beat Middleton by just 1 point. Looking ahead, we return 5 of tonights varsity runners and I look forward to being back in the battle for the title at Conference next season.

Conference Results
Varsity
Complete Results

Photos Added

MONDAY PRACTICE FOR ALL ATHLETES - Athletes who are done competing will just meet with Coach Casey and recieve end of the year handouts and information. Athletes will not make the buses home, so should plan for transportation around 4:15 - 4:30. Athletes who have not yet turned in their uniforms should do so on Monday. Also, athletes who have not yet given their captains $10 yet should do so ASAP (Thanksgiving baskets and Coach gifts)

NEXT COMPETITION
Sectionals @ DeForest
Saturday October 23rd
Boys Race 11:00
Girls Race 11:45
Top two teams and top five individuals advance to state
Everyone should come out and cheer on the teams

City Championships - Varsity = 3rd Junior Varsity = 2nd

Someday we will figure out how to run an afternoon meet....we just don't seem to run our fastest in the afternoon but I was really happy with how well we competed and we get to come back to this same course next week (and in the morning :) Rumor has it that the "duck" tree might even be gone. This meet was a nice preview for our Conference competition next week where things will be a little tighter (10 teams vs 5 teams and a couple extra strong teams) and we have shown we can compete on this course. Hopefully weather, competition, and morning will provide for some faster times next week. I think we will be super competitive in the JV2 race, in a strong battle for the 2nd place spot in JV1, and in a barn burner of a race in Varsity where we could land anywhere in the top 6 teams...the higher the better.

I was excited to see many of our runners moving strong in the second half of this race. Staying relaxed on the hill and being able to move in the last mile is the key to racing well at this course. The course is not physically challenging beyond the hill but is mentally taxing. Remember, everyone must run the hill and the person who will prevail in the race is the person who is able to get back to their rhythm the quickest and push themselves the hardest in the last mile. Lets be ready to Run Fast and Have Fun at Conference.

CITY MEET
Results
BOYS

Team scores

Madison West 21
Madison La Follette 60
Madison Memorial 69
Madison Edgewood 101
Madison East 118

Individuals

Madison West - 1, Hacker, 16:31; 2, Thompson, 16:32; 4, Sereno, 16:35; 6, Read 17:05; 8, Hasse 17:11
Madison La Follette - 5, T.Laack-Veeder, 16:55; 9, N.Laack-Veeder, 17:27; 10, Staven, 17:28; 17, Aguirre, 17:53; 19, Loken, 18:10
Madison Memorial - 7, Weisse, 17:10; 11, Carlson, 17:33; 12, Sunde, 17:34; 16, Black, 17:51; 23, Hix, 18:27
Madison Edgewood - 3, McKenna, 16:34; 14, Mott, 17:36; 25, Fitzpatricl, 18:40; 27, Hanson, 18:58; 32, Utter, 19:41
Madison East - 18, Groat, 17:54; 21, Ogelman, 18:19; 22, Wilton, 18:26; 28, Highdale, 19:11; 29, Alexander, 19:13

Photos added (courtesy of Mrs. Hopp...THANKS)

NEXT COMPETITION - October 16th Saturday
Conference @ Warner Park
Bus - 7:30 am
Boys JV2 - 9:10 am
Boys JV1 - 10:30 am
Boys Varsity - 11:30 am
Awards - 1:05 pm (Top 15 varsity = medals Top 15 JV1 & JV2 = ribbons)

Uniforms - all JV uniforms must be turned in Saturday at the meet (bring a change of clothes) If uniforms are not turned in, a hold will be placed on athlete's academic records. Also, any lost unifroms must be paid for: top = $25 and bottom = $25

Captains Money - Captains are collecting $10 from each athlete to help pay for Captain's Club Thanksgiving Baskets (a service project our athletic department has participated in for nearly a decade) and for coaches gifts. Please help remind athletes this money should be turned in ASAP to help out the captains.

Monday October 18th - MANDATORY MEETING for ALL ATHLETES 3:45 till about 4:15
Athletes will recieve information about end of the season meets
Athletes will recieve information about end of the year banquet
Athletes who are not competing/practicing for Sectionals will be asked to clean out lockers
All athletes need to attend

Stoughton Invite - Varsity = 4th Junior Varsity = 4th

Fall has arrived and provided us with some great cross country weather. It is important to remember to have plenty of warm clothes along for these meets and that our under clothing is SOLID black (no grey/white stitching or writing on the clothes...they will get stricter now that we are in the championship season). We had some very nice races today with 16 PRs and many runners close to their season bests. This is the time of year when not only times but places count. Guys should check the results from Stoughton and see how they compare to some of the teams we will see in the next two weeks (City = West JV, LaFollette, East, and Edgewood then at Conference = West JV, LaFollette, East, Verona, and Janesville Parker).

In the varsity race our top three ran great with Jonah and Jordan C leading the way and Colin charging hard at the end of the race. Our gap between our #3 and #4 runner was too large (30 seconds...needs to be 15 seconds or less). Had our #4 - #7 runners ran 8 seconds faster we could have finished second as a team. I was impressed how competitive we were with LaFollette and Verona but was surprised how close Janesville Parker was...it just shows that the Conference meet will be super competitive. I feel like there is room for improvement in our race and hope to see us picking off a couple more guys at each position in two weeks. SPASH was in a league of their own in this meet but we were competitive with every other team which was great. Our team also returns many young runners and could be a threat to win this meet next season.

Our junior varsity team ran really competitive. I was excited to see many great races on a tightly packed course. It was obvious to see which runners belived they could run well today and their times showed. If you enter the race with confidence, great things will happen. Our top 7 jv kids in todays race are all returners and will provide for some great competition for this team going into the coming years. Every race I see our young athletes learn more and more about competing and preparing to do their best. I hope this group of runners really puts in the effort the next two weeks to rest and take care of their bodies so they can run some nice PRs at the end of the season and compete with some really great programs in the area. JV kids will begin their taper in the coming weeks and really get ready to rip off some fast times.

STOUGHTON INVITE
Varsity Results
Junior Varsity Results

PHOTOS ADDED 10/3 from Stoughton

NEXT COMPETITION - October 8th (Friday)
City Championships @ Warner Park
Bus @ 2:00pm (NO RETURN BUS)
Races Start - 4:00pm
Boys JV - 4:00pm
Girls JV - 4:30pm
Boys Varsity - 5:00pm
Girls Varsity - 5:30pm

UPCOMING EVENTS
October 6th (Wednesday) - Light of Life Walk ~ 5:50 pm - 6:30pm
Must turn in $5 to Coach Casey by Tuesday!!!
October 9th (Saturday) - Team Practice - 8:30am