The development process continued on Saturday at the Verona Invitational as the Spartans got to compare themselves to other teams. The competition was stiff on Saturday and we were given a great view of what progress our team still needs to make this season. We got to see Madison West (last seasons State Champion team, Big 8 & Sectional favorite this season) and Middleton (3rd place at state last year and this years state favorite, along with in the Big 8 & Sectional). Our team has a way to go to be competitive with these teams but the work ethic that we have seen so far this season will give us a great opportunity to close this gap. When you work hard during the week sometimes you race on tired legs over the weekend but the work we put in now is going to lead to great PRs in October. Even with our group running on a tough course and tired legs we had 39 PRs on Saturday which already shows some of that early growth in the season. Keep up the great work and keep your body healthy and this should be a fun end to the season.
Our varsity started the meet off with an 11th place finish. Our group was in good position on the first loop but faded on the second loop. At a deep quality meet like this one 10 seconds quickly becomes 20+ points. Joel F led our group with a 30th place finish in 17:19 and will continue to move our group forward into the pack. Our gap of 1:03 between our #1 - #5 needs to get closer to :30-:45 seconds for our team score to be where we hope. Elliot (44th - 17:38) and Stryder (51th - 17:54) joined Joel as sub 18:00 guys today but for our team to be competitive at a meet like this we need 5 guys sub 18:00 and we hope to have our #5 under 17:30 by the end of the season. Our top 5 was rounded out by Malcolm B (70) and Peter V (77). Aidan P ran in his first varsity race PRing with a 18:39 and Will S rounded out our varsity with his 89th place finish. This group keeps working hard and has great potential to develop into a top 4 team in the Big 8.
Our JV went out a bit slow on the first loop but closed really well on the second loop to have the opposite experience as our varsity. I think our JV guys are capable of putting a couple guys under 18:00 and if we are able to do that in combination with our :18 gap from #1 - #5 today we can be competitive with any JV team in the state including West & Middleton who will be our competition for winning a Big 8 Championship this season. Today's group were led by Imaad (18:24) and Peter S (18:29). They were followed quickly by Lance (18:35), Mahad (18:42), and Aidan S (18:42). The scoring seven was rounded out by Gavin H and Dylan A. This was good enough for 6th place at today's meet. In addition to these great races we saw lifetime PRs from Adrian A, Shaurya K, Ryan L, Shubh S, Neil K, Jacob L, Ryan W, Peter B, Joey C, Avery G, Jeffry H, Peter H, Caleb S, Soren D, Christian J, Charles ML, Silas P, Sam S, Casey W, Cole W, & Connor W. Hard work and trust in the system will continue to lead to more PRs and a fun season.
Classes begin this week....make sure you get off to a good start in your classes. Attend ALL classes, arrive on time, ask questions, be a positive contributor in the classroom, and get help if you need it. Take care of business in the classroom so you can stay eligible and take care of business on the cross country course.
RESULTS
Boys Varsity
Boys JV
NEXT MEET
Saturday September 9th
West Invitational @ Lake Farm Park
Bus Departure - 7:00am
9:00am - First Race
9:30am - Boys Varsity (2016 Results)
10:40am - Boys JV (2016 Results)
11:30am - Awards - Varsity = top 2 teams & 25 individuals, JV = top 20 individuals
UPCOMING EVENTS
9/4 (Monday) - Captains Practice @ UW Arboretum (meet at visitors center) 8:00 - 9:30am
9/10 (Sunday) - Ironman Volunteering @ Lot 60 on UW (optional) 12:00 - 4:00pm OR 4:00 - 8:00pm
9/11 (Monday) - Team Pictures @ JMM - 3:45pm (bring uniform top & bottom)
9/12 (Tuesday) - WE HOST Grade Level Challenge @ Lake Farm Park
NEWS & NOTES
School begins this week...practice will be from 3:45pm - 6:15pm
Take care of your body....SLEEP, Stretch, Ice, Eat Well, Hydrate!!!
Athletes MUST stay until the end of the meet which includes our team cool down after the last boys race!
-
