The 2023 cross country season has seen its fair share of wild weather but the athletes were greeted with overcast and 70 degree weather for this years intrasquad battle. Jonathan captained the Thundercats looking for their 4th straight title while Alex captained the Warhawks looking to return to the top of the podium and add to their all-time leading 7 titles. We were excited to have some alumni and family members join in the race and everyone had a great 5k at Elver Park. Senior Jonathan B set the pace up front winning in the 10th fastest time run on the course of 17:15. He was followed by freshman Will L-S in 18:12 which was the 2nd fastest time run at Intrasquad by a freshman. Alex B set a lifetime PR of 18:18 to place in 3rd place. Our 4th runner to earn a varsity spot was Tommy S running 18:37 and Nick Z ran 18:43 to round out our scoring 5. Our gap between our #1 - #5 runners will need to close up as we head into competitions against other teams as it should be closer to a minute (1:22 today) if we want to be competitive in team scoring. Hunter N (18:57) and PJ M (19:21) rounded out our top 7 runners who will start the year on varsity.
Berndt R ran 19:35 earning a top 10 all-time freshman spot. Many of our JV runners were running their first 5k race and therefor set lifetime PRs. We are hoping having more competitors (and fans) around at the Verona Invite will help these guys run even faster next week. A notable lifetime PR from our JV runners was set by Nathan Z who showed that hard work in the off-season (starting all the way back to last winter) can really pay off as Nathan started the season with nearly a 4 minute lifetime best. Our JV group has been working really hard and I'm excited what this group will be able to do by the end of the year. Next week we return some more runners and the strength of our JV will help our varsity to continue to improve every week. The team competition came down to end of the meet as the totals were only separated by 4 points! The Warhawks ran to victory this year earning their all-time leading 8th title and dethroning the Thundercats from their 3 year streak.
The team returns to work on Monday looking to continue to improve on our starting point. We are very excited about where we have begun and hope to see consistent progress over the next seven weeks. Taking care of our bodies and avoiding illness & injury will be important. Athletes should work on getting into a good sleep pattern as we prepare to head back to school. SLEEP (8-9 hours nightly) is the #1 thing runners can do to enhance their performance and avoid illness & injury. Additionally, continue to stretch, roll, ice, eat well, & hydrate. Looking forward to big things all season long!
RESULTS
2023 Results & Intrasquad Stats
NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday September 2nd
Verona Invitational @ Verona HS (Stewart Woods School Forest)
NO BUS - Arrive at 7:30am
8:30am - First Race (Middle School Race)
9:00am - Boys Varsity (2021 results) (Lane 18)
10:20am - Boys JV (2021 results) (Lane 18)
11:40am - Open Race ($5 & must sign waiver at the meet)
12:40pm - Awards Ceremony - Varsity = 2 teams & 40 individuals, JV = 20 individuals
** Reminder - NO BUS but ALL athletes should arrive at 7:30am AND stay until after the final boys race & team cool down are completed before they may leave (around 11:15am)**
Drop off can occur near the course but parking must take place by the high school G1/F4 (see map)
Give yourself time to walk from the parking lots to the course
NO DOGS ALLOWED (this will be the case at most courses we go to this season)
NEWS & NOTES
Athletic Fees ($115 or waiver) - must be paid through Infinite Campus
Uniform Handout (athlete will be assigned top ($35) & bottom ($35) for the duration of the season and must return assigned items at the completion of the season). Uniforms should be worn only at meets and washed in between uses.
Wed - Varsity (jacket ($75) handout too)
Thurs - Sr & Jr competing at Verona
Fri - So & Fr competing at Verona
Week 3 practices --> 4:00pm - 6:15pm Mon-Fri @ Memorial (note: school starts Sept 1...we will start right after school)
Labor Day (Sept 4th) Practice --> Run on own or captain's practice...more info shared at practice
SCHEDULE UPDATE
Sept 9th --> We will no longer be attending the Hadler Invite as it has moved to Thurs this year...we will go to a meet on Sept 9th but location & time still TBD...info will be posted here and shared at practice once confirmed. Meet will be on Saturday, location will change, most likely bus time will change.
