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
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