Big 8 Conference Championships - Varsity = 8th, JV1 = 3rd, JV2 = 3rd

The water was deep and the mud was thick and no one was escaping this course clean. Most were thinking if you escaped the race without falling and both shoes still on you were the winner. Yet cross country is a sport that is not competed on turf fields, inside heated gymnasiums, or with fans sitting in the bleachers and so we donned our JMM uniforms and went out to compete in the elements one last time this season. The fans followed with waterproof boots and loud voices. Through it all was competed one of the most competitive conference meets in the state. The Big 8 teams didn't care about the elements, it was cross country and they were ready to compete. JMM held there own in the conference finishing 8th in varsity, 3rd in JV1, and producing an individual champion in JV2 on the way to taking 3rd place as a team. 16 season best times were run in the mud and muck and many great memories were created competed cross country at flooded Lake Farm County Park.

The varsity started the meet off in a fast and furious race. State favorites Middleton and West battled it out up front and guaranteed a fast pace to the race. Imaad (19th - 16:42) and Aidan P (24th - 17:02) took advantage of this fast race for lifetime PRs and top 25 finishes. We put our next 3 guys in under 18:00 giving us a scoring 5 seperated by 1:10. Aidan S was 37th in 17:25, Dylan A was 43rd in 17:45, and Peter V ran 17:53 for 48th. Having only one guy under 17:00 and a 5th around 17:50 won't cut it in the Big 8 (next year our goal is for 3 guys under 17:00 and 5 under 17:20) but that level of team should be better than 8th place as a team. Unfortunately in the Big 8 in 2018 that is all we could muster against multiple teams that will make it to state and place high at that meet. Jacob W and Peter S rounded out our top 7 runners which included two sophomores and a junior who come back to help our team improve next season.

JV1 has worked hard all season long to improve the depth of our team. Many of these guys had opportunities to run varsity throughout the year. The group included 3 sophomores and 3 juniors who will really need to work hard this off-season to fill the void of the graduating seniors and help take our group to the next level. Today they chased down all the Big 8 teams except for West and Middleton. They were led by Cole W (7th - 17:45), Peter B (11th - 17:48), Casey W (14th - 18:02) who earned top 15 finishes with their great races today. Joey C and Avery G finished together at 18:20 for 27th and 28th place respectively. Neil was close behind and Sam S rounded out the JV1 squad. The more this group trains together in the off-season the more success they will see both in JV but hopefully also in varsity. To take that next step there will need to be some dedication and willingness to do the work in the off-season.

JV2 is a race about depth and the future. Junior Brett N led our group today with a great race leading most of the second half of the race and cruising to a Big 8 Conference Championship in JV2 with a time of 18:11. We look for big things from Brett in the future leading the other JV2 guys who were close behind him. Senior Gavin H was 4th finishing out a nice career. Then came our freshman with Mick S (18:47) leading the way for Rees H (18:51) and Jakob M (19:03). These freshman have the potential to do great things for this team over the next 3 and 1/2 years and I look forward to the progress they make as they improve their strength, speed, fitness, and running. They were helped to the finish by Nick B (18:49) and Karsten K (18:50). Other PRs we saw in the race included nice runs by Zion H (19:53), Jack M (19:38), Garrett M (19:39), Sean S (20:23), Kevin C (20:19), Jake K (21:54), Thomas L (21:49), and Felipe R (19:54). Continued hard work can lead to large PRs of 2+ minutes in a season. Guys running in JV2 this year can be the next JV1 or even Varsity stars with the right training and commitment to getting better.

RESULTS
All Big 8 Conference Results

Congrats to Senior Peter V for pulling out the 2018 Rock Paper Scissors championship

NEWS & NOTES
ALL athletes must attend practice on 10/15 from 3:45pm - 4:15pm - ish
The 11 sectional week athletes will practice following the meeting....everyone else will be finished practicing for the season after the meeting
ALL athletes not a part of sectional week practice must turn their varsity jackets & uniforms (don't have to be washed) at Mondays practice
Captains will have team shirts to pass out
Captains will collect $10 for Coaches Gifts/Thanksgiving Baskets

NEXT MEET
WIAA Sectionals @ Lake Farm Park (West hosts)
10/20/18 - Saturday
9:00am - Bus
11:00am - Boys Varsity (2017 Results)
11:45am - Girls Varsity
12:30pm - Awards (top 2 teams and 5 individuals qualify for WIAA State Meet)

***Please note...there will be a $5 charge per car to park at the sectional meet***
Carpool together and allow time to pay & park before the scheduled races

END OF SEASON NEWS & NOTES
- Please send pictures that can be used for an end of year slideshow on a memory stick/flash drive to Coach Casey at school ASAP
- End of year banquet will be Thursday November 1st @ Rocky's ($10 per person - pay at door) RSVP to jmmcc@rocketmail.com
- Athletes who have not yet turned in $10 to captains for Thanksgiving Baskets & Coaches' Gifts...please do so ASAP

City Championships - Varsity = 4th, JV = 2nd

The course was wet, the sky was overcast, but the competition was stellar as always at the Madison City Championships. There is no lack of talent in running at the 5 city schools and the meet showcased the runners on wet muddy cross country course today. The course held up better then expected and assuming the rain ever stops in Madison will be our location for our next two meets. Lake Farm Park is not the most difficult course we run on and gives runners who are ready to run their best at the end of the year a chance to finish the season with a PR. 13 season best times were run on Friday in the muck & mire and all are hoping the course dries out in time for the Big 8 Championships. Today our varsity ran to a 4th place finish narrowly missing out on 3rd while our JV kids ran strong to finish 2nd. We turn our focus to Big 8 and a strong finish to the season.

The varsity race was the first of the day and the runners were tentative in the first mile to see how the course would hold up to the pounding. The race really started going in the second mile and our guys hung in there for quite a while. We missed out on getting anyone on the All-City team (top 10) but had great finishes by Aidan P (17:20 - 12th) and Imaad S (17:21 - 13th) to lead our team. Our 1 - 5 gap with :42 seconds and we need this to be under 30 seconds with our lack of a single digit scorer. If we make this improvement at Big 8s it could be a huge help in our team place. Today alone a 1 point swing would have seen us ahead of East (Could you pass one more person?). Dylan A (17:39) finished in 20th while Aidan S (17:51) also broke 18:00 earning a 24th place finish. Jacob W in his first varsity race finish as our #5 in 18:02. Cole W (18:08 - 27th) and Peter B (18:11 - 28th) rounded out our varsity today. Our team gets one more shot at East next week at the Big 8 and will need a strong group showing to take down this good team. We ran 3 sophomores, 2 juniors, and 2 seniors today...there is a lot of talent coming back to this meet for JMM next year but we have to step up and do the work to compete with the strong teams of West and LaFollette.

Our JV team looked to chase down West in the JV race and we took our first step by breaking up their top 5 runners. Today, Peter S (5th - 17:51) was able to break that group up and right on his heels earning top 10 finishes were Peter V (6th - 17:59), Sam S (8th - 18:03), and Avery G (18:11 - 10). We have our work cut out to try to beat them at Conference but it is possible and even if we can't, if we run that well we can earn a top 2 finish next week. Today our 5th was Neil in 18:19 giving us a spread of 28 seconds...to win conference we need to be about 10 - 15 seconds faster and have a 15 second spread...difficult but doable by this group. Casey W (12th - 18:20) and Joey C (18:31 - 18th) rounded out our JV1 which is running well at the right time of year Our JV2 next week will be giving a moment in the spotlight with their own race at Conference. JV2 has a chance to win Big 8s or finish top 2 with just a little bit of improvement. They saw some great PRs in this group including Dhruv B (19:49), Alex T (20:19), Matthew B (20:34), Jackson P (22:00), and Thomas L (22:01). Also, Alex B (22:52), Kaine J (23:33), and Gabe M (23:34) showed great teamwork today as they all hoped to break 24 minutes for the first time...not only did they do it, they crushed it...time for a new goal. Final week, time to rest up and go hard one last time...leave everything on the course this season and go home smiling.

RESULTS
Boys Varsity & JV

NEXT MEET
Saturday October 13th
Big 8 Conference Meet @ Lake Farm County Park
JMM HOSTS - Sign Up to help out
7:30am - Bus Departs
9:30am - Boys Varsity (2017 Results)
10:35am - Boys JV1 (2017 Results)
11:40am - Boys JV2 (2017 Resutls)
1:00pm - Awards (top 15 in varsity get medals, top 15 in jv1  & jv2 get recognition)
**ALL athletes are expected to stay for the end of the meet and cheer on every runner...last meet of the year, we can cheer until the last runner finishes!!

JV Athletes will turn in uniforms at practice on Monday October 15th

NEWS & NOTES
Monday October 15th - MANDATORY Team Meeting 3:45pm - 4:15pm - Lower Team Room
Athletes will receive end of year information. JV runners will turn in uniforms.
EVERYONE MUST ATTEND

$10 to Captains for Coaches Gifts/Thanksgiving Baskets