Midwest Invite - Varsity = 7th, Blue JV = 3rd, White JV = 7th

Boys Varsity @ Midwest Invitational

Over 40 schools gathered at Blackhawk Golf Course in Janesville, WI for the 82nd Annual Midwest Invitational. Including teams from Illinois, Texas, and 14 ranked teams from Wisconsin. This type of competition is exciting and leads to fast times on a course that had great footing despite the wet conditions. For the second year in a row we ran a looped course that although it might not be exciting it allows the spectators to see you multiple times. It is a great midyear checkpoint for our team and prepares us for the end of the year stretch run. Our team passed the test with flying colors placing well in all three races and setting 32 lifetime best PRs. We head into the last three weeks of the seasons looking towards a strong finish to the 2019 season. Keep taking care of business in the classroom and at practice. Even faster times are on the horizon and more fun times. Every Runner, Every Run, Every Day.

Racing began with the Blue JV race which was meant for athletes who had broken 20:30 on the season. We got to see some impressive JV squads this year and Green Bay Preble can be added to that group today as they put 5 JV runners under 17:40 (a good goal for our team in the future). Our team took 3rd scoring 111 points behind Preble and Arrowhead. It is no surprise to see the JV teams that run well correlate with the teams that are strong (and ranked) at the varsity level. These athletes make our team better every day. Today they were led by Henry B who ran a PR to place 8th in 17:32. He was followed by other medals in Aidan P (19th - 17:49), Jacob W (21st - 17:50), and Avery G (27th - 18:00). Jakob M ran a nice PR to round out our scoring with a 38th place finish in 18:10. Our 1 - 5 gap was at 38 seconds and we'll need to see this tighten up in the coming weeks to finish at our best as a team. Keep running as a group and keeping an eye on your teammates during the race and we can close up this gap, similar to how we run in practices. Other lifetime PRs on the day included Jack G (18:24), Alvaro S (18:40), Sean S (18:42), Matthew B (18:54), Gio B (18:58), Alex T (19:32), Felipe R (19:40), Derek R (19:51), and Jack M (20:03).

Our varsity race wasn't perfect but good teams can help each other out and as a group can have a great performance even when they aren't perfect. Today our team finally achieved that and maybe the future still holds that perfect race. We took 7th place to LaFollette (ranked #3), Preble (#4), Arrowhead (#5), Oconomowoc (#9), Warren Township (from IL), and Brookfield East (#7). Our 7th place finish is third best finish at this meet since 2003...the other two better finishes were teams that went to state. We were able to beat Kimberly (ranked #10), Houston MacArthur (from TX), Sun Prairie (#19), Shorewood (ranked in D2), Kenosha Indian Trail (#17). While this performance will certainly improve our state ranking (we were 20th) it does not guarantee us anything the rest of the way. It was nice to beat some of these teams at Midwest but it will be more important to be them at Conference and Sectionals. Our team was led by Dylan A who earned a medal with his 30th place finish in a PR of 16:41. Close behind was AJ K who dipped under 17:00 for the first time crossing in 16:52 for 41st place. Our 3 - 6 runners worked together to finish nicely. Bobby R was 54th in 17:00, Cole W was 67th in 17:11, Jake Z finished in 17:19 for 79th, and Brett N was 83rd in 17:21. Mick S rounded out our varsity group finishing very strong after a tough start to the race. Our varsity #1 -5 gap of 38 seconds is what helped us place well at this meet. We did a great job of moving this group forward and it was great seeing fiver under 17:20 and a 6th runner being the 4th best in the race and beating multiple #5 runners. This group keeps improving and it is a direct reflection of the work they are doing at practice.

The white JV race wrapped up the day and it seems not all coaches followed the guidelines for this race. Regardless, our kids went out and competed at a high level leading to multiple PRs. Thomas L had a nice PR that led to him earning a medal finishing 9th in 19:02. As a team we finished 7th (getting beat by some teams actual JV teams) and were led to this by Logan S (19:47), Jacob T (20:10), Peter H (20:14), and Alec H (20:14) who all ran season bests. Other lifetime PRs set in this race included Diego A (20:45), Max L (21:24), Soren D (21:41), Owen R (22:17), Will T (22:18), Elijah E (22:25), Peter S (22:28), Adrian C (22:32), Devin S (22:46), Nicholas S (23:08), and Daleep S (23:49). A lot of runners reached their season goals today and now need a new goal for the last three weeks of the season. We look forward to seeing more fast times and more goals reached.

RESULTS
Varsity Boys
JV Blue Boys
JV White Boys
Middle School Boys

NEXT MEET
Saturday October 5th
Stoughton Invite @ Stoughton HS - Stoughton, WI
PLEASE NOTE RACE TIME CHANGES
Bus - 7:00am
9:30am - First Race
10:00am - Boys Varsity (2018 Results)
11:10am - Boys JV (2018 Results)
11:45am - Awards - Varsity = 2 teams & 25 individuals, JV = 1 team & 15 individuals
**We will NOT stop to eat...bring money for concession or eat upon return
Return to JMM around 1:00pm

NEWS & NOTES
- We raised $280 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society...THANK YOU to everyone that participated in the Light of Life Walk
- Progress Reports are coming out soon.....make sure you have all your work turned in and you are ready for any quizzes/tests
- We had lots of kids sick this week....wash your hands, get good sleep, hydrate, and eat well...TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF

Smiley Invite - Varsity = 4th, JV = 2nd

Sixty three teams descended upon Tribute Golf Course in Wausau for the 63rd Annual Smiley Invitational. The history and prestige of this meet is renowned and this year our boys competed against 22 other division one programs which included state ranked SPASH (#2), Marshfield (#14), and Sun Prairie (#18). Our team keeps improving and now is the time to do the little things to guarantee a great end to our season. Stay focused this week during homecoming and make good decisions!

Our varsity boys started the day as we competed on a wet and soggy course on a humid overcast day. We did a good job of pacing ourselves in the first mile and moved up really well in the middle mile of the race. We are still looking to put together a full race as we again came "close" to having the perfect race. We were within 18 points of Marshfield and 9 points of Sun Prairie in the combined scores and 12 and 2 points respectively in the large school scores. We have it in us and will continue to make that drive to beat these state ranked teams. That being said...Sun Prairie beat us by 52 points at the Verona Invite, so we are trending in the right direction. We had a nice pack of 1 - 5 runners within 40 seconds of each other....can we move this group forward 15 seconds to get all 5 runners under 17:30? Where our pack is racing, every second and every place counts...so we will look to finish stronger in the coming weeks. Today, Dylan A got us started with a 12th place finish in 17:04. It was a bit of a wait then but our next four runners came in within 12 seconds of each other. AJ earned a top 30 finish in 17:32, followed by Brett (34th) in 17:39, Bobby (35th) in 17:41, and Cole (37th) in 17:44. Sophomore Jake Z and Mick worked to chase down #5 runners for other teams and Jacob W was the best #8 runner in the race today. This group is working really hard during the week and this hard work is going to pay off down the road. I look forward to see what happens next time we race each week because this group keeps getting better.

Dylan and AJ lead Varsity to 4th place finish

Our JV got a picture into what an elite JV program looks like as SPASH put 8 runners in before we had our first runner across the line. We have beat this program multiple times in the last couple years but this year it was not meant to be as they had multiple athletes with state meet experience fighting to earn back varsity spots. This competition comes from multiple athletes dedicating off-season training to improve themselves and the team! Our JV team was by far the 2nd best team out their today saw some new faces continuing to make us better. We will get some more competition from West and Middleton down the stretch. Avery G (9th) and Henry B (10th) led the JV with top ten finishes. Just outside the top 10 but earning medals with great finishes were Jack G (13th), Sam S (14th), and Peter B (15th). This tight pack of 15 seconds between 1 - 5 runners is what is going to make us tough as we head into the City and Big 8 meets. They were closely followed by Jakob M who PRed breaking 19:00 and Nick B. We also saw PRs from Adrian C, Elijah E, Peter S, Logan S, and Will T. With focus and determination we will see even more PRs in the last four meets. Keep up the good work at practice and in the classroom. Take care of your bodies and the fast times will follow.

Jack, Peter B, Avery, Henry, & Sam lead JV to 2nd place finish 

BELIEVE - Every Runner - Every Run - Every Day

RESULTS
D1 Varsity - Combined
D1 Varsity - Large Schools
D1 JV - Combined

NEXT MEET
Saturday September 28th
Midwest Invite @ Blackhawk GC - Janesville, WI
Bus - 6:45am
9:05am - First Race
9:45am - Boys Blue JV Race (2018 Fr/So & Jr/Sr Results)
10:55am - Boys Varsity Race (2018 Results)
12:15pm - Boys White JV Race (2018 Fr/So & Jr/Sr Results)
12:50pm - Middle School Race (2018 Results)
Awards are presented after each race - Varsity -3 teams & 40 individuals, Blue & White JV races - 30 individuals, Middle School - top 5 in each grade/gender
* Check e-mail for JV race divisions...NEW THIS YEAR
Bring $ we will stop to eat on the way home....approximate return 3 - 3:30pm

** 4th-8th graders who are siblings/friends of Memorial Athletes or attend Memorial feeder schools can compete in the 1 mile cross country race at 12:50pm representing JMM...to be entered in the race, parents/coaches must contact Coach Casey (crhopp@hotmail.com) by Wed 9/25 before 6:00pm with athletes Name, Gender, Grade in school...(NO cost)...it is the responsibility of each family to provide transportation for their Middle School athlete(s) to and from the meet and provide their own race day attire...timing chips will need to be picked up the day of the race by 12:30pm

UPCOMING EVENTS
Sept 25th (Wed) - Light of Life Walk 6:00 - 6:45pm (team event...cancer research fundraiser as a part of homecoming week festivities) ALL athletes will participate - $5 to Coach Casey (please bring Mon or Tues)....families are welcome to join - $5 at Mansfield Stadium

NEWS & NOTES
** PSAT testing for Memorial is the same day as Conference (10/19)....if you contact your counselor you can take the test instead on Wed at Middleton, East, or Edgewood but spots are limited....PLAN AHEAD...contact your counselor this week!
** Stoughton has changed it's race schedule...more info later but boys will race at 10:00am - Varsity and 11:10am - JV

Big 8 Grade Level Challenge - 2nd Place

The Big Eight descended upon Rockport Park in Janesville Tuesday night for the Big 8 Grade Level Challenge. This race awards not only the top teams but the teams who are balanced across all grade levels. The athletes are scored in their grade level and the team scores are determined by scoring seven runners from any of the grade levels. Tuesday night combined the 3 H's that make cross country hard...it was hilly, hot, & humid. The beauty of cross country though is that everyone has to deal with the same conditions. So even though times weren't fast Tuesday night, our team competed really well and that was all we could ask for. This led to nine JMM boys finishing in the top ten in their individual grade levels and the team earning a 2nd place finish in the team standings. This is the BEST finish JMM has had at this meet. We also got a preview of the Conference meet course and are excited to get back here in October with hopefully nicer weather.

Top 10 Finishers
AJ (1st) & Jack (8th) - Frosh
Jake (5th) & Mick (8th) - Soph
Dylan (2nd), Bobby (4th), & Cole (6th) - Jr
Brett (4th) & Jacob W (5th) - Sr

The night started with the Frosh/Soph race where AJ K established himself at the front of the race and pulled away late to earn an overall victory and 1st place for our Frosh. Not far behind him was Jake Z (5th) and Mick (8th) who earned top 10 finishes in the sophomore race. Jakob M followed up next with a great race and Jack G (8th) was right behind him earning a top ten finish in the freshman race. If the freshman had been scored as a normal race all on their own our boys would have taken 2nd to Verona and if the sophomores were scored this way they would have been third behind Laf and West. This group has the potential for big things in the coming years...the question is, can we do the little things to take this group and JMM CC to the next level. Only the future will tell but we have great promise across these groups.

The Jr/Sr race looked like a dual meet between Laf and Memorial at times...LaF is ranked 3rd in the state and showed why on Tuesday night but our guys made a huge jump from when we saw them 2 weeks ago at Verona. At Verona we had no athletes in their top 5 and tonight we had 2 runners who cracked their top 5 and others very close. As we move towards the Conference meet, every position will be important and hopefully we can continue to catch and pass many of these Big 8 runners. Dylan led our team through the race earning a 3rd place finish overall and a runner-up finish among the juniors. Bobby (4th) came in next with Cole (6th) not far behind giving us 3 juniors in the top ten. Brett (4th) and Jacob W (5th) had great races too also finishing in the top 10 in the senior race. These guys took an opportunity tonight to race on a tough course and in tough conditions and rose to the occasion. Their leadership on and off the course is helping this team move back to the position we should be in the Big 8. 

As we cross the half way point of the season it is important we are taking care of ourselves to take the most advantage of all our hard work that will determine what the last weeks of the season will be like. To accomplish our team goals we will need Every Runner, Every Run, Every Day. Back to the grind and taking care of business in the classroom. Next stop the Smiley Invite.

RESULTS
All Races
Team Results

NEXT MEET
Saturday September 21st
Smiley Invite (Wausau East) @ Tribute GC - Wausau, WI
Bus 5:30am (Set TWO Alarms)
8:30 - First Race
10:00 - D1 Races Start
11:10 - D1 Boys Varsity (2018 Results)
11:35 - D1 Boys JV (2018 Results)
12:00 - Awards - Varsity = 2 teams & 20 individual, JV = 1 team & 20 individual
***Bring $$ - We will stop to eat on the way home...we hope to return to JMM around 4:30pm

UPCOMING EVENTS
Sept 25th (Wed) - Light of Life Walk 6:00 - 6:45pm (team event...cancer research fundraiser as a part of homecoming week festivities) ALL athletes will participate - $5 to Coach Casey....families are welcome to join - $5 at Mansfield Stadium

NEWS & NOTES
** Change of schedule for Midwest Invite races....info to be e-mailed to athletes/parents this week
** PSAT testing for Memorial is the same day as Conference (10/19)....if you contact your counselor you can take the test instead on Wed at Middleton, East, or Edgewood but spots are limited....PLAN AHEAD...contact your counselor this week!

Hadler Invite - Varsity = 3rd, JV = 1st

The next step in our season was a step forward as we competed at the Hadler Invitational in Menomonee Falls. We look to improve from week to week by taking a look at our gap between our #1 - 5 in both varsity and JV and how many guys we are putting under certain time goals. The difficult part about cross country is no course is made the same and weather, competition, and other variables can make times fluctuate from week to week. It is not a perfect science but I can tell you as a team we took a big step forward at the Halder Invite. We got to see some competition from the Milwaukee area and we got to see how our team can compete at the front of some races. We still have some work to do but I'm excited about the direction our team is trending.

Hadler JV Champions

The meet started off with the JV race and our boys set the tone for the day. We put a lot of green JMM jerseys at the front of the race. We saw the pack of Menomonee Falls finish really strong and came down to a tie breaker (the #6 runner) which Madison Memorial won. This is the first of hopefully more JV championships this fall but we will need to continue to improve because we will see more competition later in the season. Henry B ran a great race winning the JV race with a PR time of 18:02. He was joined in the top 5 by Jacob W (18:29) and Sam S (18:34). Our 60 second gap between #1 - 5 is too big to win most meets but today it was just enough. Nick B and Jakob M were our 4th and 5th and we look for them (with help from others) to close up this gap so we can have five runners in the JV race within 30 seconds or less. Sean S had a huge PR on the day and beat Menomonee Falls 6th runner by 9 seconds and 2 places to win the tie-breaker. We saw 19 total PRs in the JV race as the hard work continues to show off in races.

Top 5 JV Finishers
Henry B (1st), Jacob W (4th), & Sam S (5th)

In the boys varsity race we were trying to chase down state ranked Greendale and were competing against strong teams in Menomonee Falls, Waukesha West, Slinger, and Shorewood (ranked in D2). Our team got out to a fast start and were leading the team race much of the way. Unfortunately we faded in the last mile some letting Greendale sneak back ahead of us by 11 points and Menomonee Falls edge us for runner-up by 1 point. It goes to show every spot counts at each meet. Dylan A led the way by breaking 17 minutes for the first time and we look for this to become the trend. AJ K had a nice PR and earned a medal with his 15th place finish. Bobby R, Brett N, and Cole W within 8 seconds of each other to give us 5 runners under 17:35. Our gap between # 1 - 5 was really good...we just need to move the whole pack forward 10 - 20 seconds, which we are very capable of doing! We had 5 runners in before any other teams, 6 runner in before everyone's 5th except Falls, and 7 runners in before 10 teams even had 5 runners in. This depth is going to pay off big as the year goes forward and today it was Jake Z and Mick S who helped bump up many scores by being strong 6th & 7th runners. Avery G rounded out our varsity as the fastest #8 runner in the race. I like the way we are trending in varsity and hopefully we learned a little bit from our race strategy today and continue to improve each week

Top 15 Varsity Finishers
Dylan A (6th) & AJ K (15th)

RESULTS
Boys JV
Boys Varsity

NEXT MEET
Tuesday September 17th @ Janesville Parker
Grade Level Challenge @ Rockport Park - Janesville, WI
Early Release - 12:45 (only competing athletes will attend this meet)
Bus - 1:00
3:30 - First Race
4:10 - Boys Fr/So Race (2017 Results)
5:30 - Boys Jr/Sr Race (2017 Results)
6:00 - Awards (top 5 individuals in each grade level and first place team)
**We will NOT stop to eat...bring food or money for concessions stand**
Approximate return to JMM 7:30pm

UPCOMING EVENTS
Sept 16th (Mon) - Team Pictures 3:45pm - bring uniform top & bottom
Sept 25th (Wed) - Light of Life Walk 6:00 - 6:45pm (team event...cancer research fundraiser as a part of homecoming week festivities) ALL athletes will participate - $5 to Coach Casey....families are welcome to join - $5 at Mansfield Stadium

NEWS & NOTES
** Change of schedule for Midwest Invite races....more info to come soon (no Fr/So race....instead, 2 JV races split by time)
** PSAT testing for Memorial is the same day as Conference (10/19)....if you contact your counselor you can take the test instead on Wed at Middleton, East, or Edgewood but spots are limited....PLAN AHEAD...contact your counselor this week!
** Tuesday Reports must be completed to attend meet on Tuesday
** Take care of absences and stay ahead on school work (let your 5, 6, & 7 hours know you are missing Tues and get the work ahead of time)

Verona Invitational - Varsity = 8th, JV = 3rd

The 2019 season kicked off at the Verona Invitational as the Madison Memorial Spartans took on some of the best competition from the area, the conference, and the state. Middleton (#1), Madison West (#4), Verona (#10), Madison LaFollette (#14), & Sun Prairie (#19) were all in attendance. This meeting is a measuring stick for our team and an opportunity to see what work remains ahead of us this season. We have seven weeks to put in the work to cut down the distance between us and Verona/Sun Prairie in varsity and Middleton/West in JV. I know our team can do it and we look forward to racing this competition throughout the year.

Top 5 JV Finishers - Jake Z & Bobby R

JV was led on the day by Jake Z (2nd) and Bobby R (4th) who both ran PRs for their top 5 performances. Our pack was spread out to big today to be competitive with Middleton and West. We can race better than we did today and look to cut that 1 - 5 gap down to 30 seconds by running as a pack more in future races. Jacob W earned a medal with his 16th place finish and Sam S and Nick B rounded out our scoring 5. Frosh Jack G ran a PR in 19:26 and was followed by Charles ML in 19:27. Other PRs in the JV race were set by Sean S, Alec H, Diego A, Elliot I, Max L, Thomas L, Owen R, Derek R, Alex T, Gio B, Noah D, Elijah E, Devin S, Alvaro S, Nicholas S, Logan S, and Will T. As this group continues to improve each meet will become easier and will continue to lead to more PRs. Keep up the good work in practice and away from the sport to lead to big things.

Top 35 Varsity Finishers - Brett N, Dylan A, & AJ K
AJ was also the top frosh performer

Our varsity got out to good positions in the first lap but stalled out a bit on the second lap. As we continue to do our work at practice that second half of the race will come and we will accomplish big things. We had three runners earn medals with their top 40 performances. Dylan A (17:22) led the way as he was followed by Brett N who ran a PR. AJ K also ran a PR and earned top freshman honors at the meet. Cole W finished in 17:58 as our 4th runner. While Mick S led Avery G and Henry B across the finish line all within a second of each other. Our gap from 1 - 5 is too large and needs to be under :45 in varsity. Also, we need to get a couple guys under 17:00 and put our whole varsity under 18:00. Next year's group should take a look at what LaF/West/Midd did today as they started the season with 5 runners capable of going under 17:20...that is the kind of team that can win state by the end of the year. This year, we will chase the likes of Verona, Sun Prairie, and Monona Grove. I firmly believe we can compete and beat these teams but it will take marked improvement across the board. 

We head back to work this week with a full week of school and training. Take care of business in the classroom. Get plenty of sleep. Come ready to practice at your best every day. I'm excited about what lies ahead for JMM Boys CC this year!

RESULTS
Boys Varsity
Boys JV

NEXT MEET
Saturday September 14th
Hadler Invitational (Menomonee Falls) @ Rotary Park
Bus - 6:30am
9:45am - First Race
10:20am - Boys JV (2018 Results)
11:30am - Boys Varsity (2018 Results)
12:00pm - Awards (varsity - top 15 individuals & team, JV - top 5 individuals)
***Bring $$ to eat....we will stop to eat on the way home***
Approximate return to JMM is 3:30pm

UPCOMING EVENTS
Sept 8th - Ironman Volunteering - Lot 60 (optional) 12 - 4pm or 4 - 8pm
Sept 16th - Team Pictures - 3:45pm (bring your uniform top & bottom)

NEWS & NOTES
- Get ahead on your school work...don't let grades or attendance become an issue
- Take care of your bodies...SLEEP, stretch, hydrate, eat well
- Coach Casey has a limited number of JMM CC bucket hats available for $25...bring $ to practice