Midwest Invite - Varsity = 33rd, JV Blue = 21st, JV White = 11th

The Midwest Invite has become one of the most competitive and biggest races we see during the season. Teams from WI & IL battle it out at Blackhawk Golf Course. At Saturday's races we saw 13 of our own runners run their season best times. We battled through mid-pack racing that saw just as much bumping as racing. We learned from our experience and are ready to take on the last couple weeks of the season. To start the day, Cole W led our team with a lifetime best of 18:47 in the blue JV race. PJ M improved upon his time running 19:10 while freshman Anthony L broke 20:00 for the first time with a stellar 19:31 lifetime best. Paul L continues to keep running faster each week this time racing to 19:36. Will H returned to the course improving upon his time running 20:21. In the varsity race Will L led the way running another PR of 17:05. Tommy S had another great race this time finishing in a season best of 17:19. In the white race David B led the way running his season best time of 21:41. Freshman Caleb B improved his best time to 22:12. While Matthew G showed continual development and ran 22:44. Easton J had a big race dropping nearly a half minute to improve his PR to 24:46. Our team heads to a much smaller Stoughton Invite next week and I look forward to seeing our team continue to run fast times.

RESULTS
Midwest Results (Need to click and scroll)

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday September 30th
Stoughton Invitational @ Stoughton HS (Course)
Bus - 7:30am
9:30am - Boys Varsity (Box #5) (2022 Results)
10:30am - Boys JV (Box #5) (2022 Results)
12:00pm - Awards - Varsity - 2 teams & 25 individuals, JV - 1 team & 15 individuals
**We will NOT stop to eat (concessions are available)...approximate return to Memorial is 1:00pm

NEWS & NOTES
Clothing orders have been handed out...put your name/initials in your clothing
Midterm grades coming out...take care of your schoolwork
Heading into the homestretch of the season...take care of your body both at practice and at home

Smiley Invite - Varsity = 9th, JV = 5th

The Spartans loaded the bus (which is a big deal now a days) with the sunrise Saturday morning as we headed to the 67th Annual running of the Smiley Invitational at Wausau East HS. Over 40 schools descended onto the cross country course with 23 of them competing in the D1 race against Madison Memorial. It is mid-season, which means every team is dealing with injuries, illness, and all of the other downfalls of a high school cross country season. Our team is no different and we look to continue to get healthier as the last month of the season rounds into shape. The group of young men we sent to the line performed at a high level on a challenging course at the high school grounds. The weather was beautiful for racing and fall colors were beginning to show in North-central Wisconsin. The boys ran against a strong field in the varsity race seeing four state ranked teams. In varsity we ran to a ninth place finish while our JV showed some of our team depth finishing in fifth place. We now turn our focus to the ultra-competitive (which often leads to ultra-fast times) Midwest Invite in Janesville.

In the varsity race Will L-S led our spartans running the 2nd fastest time by a freshman on the Smiley course for Memorial runners. Tommy S had another good race following closely behind and Alex B crossed for our team as our 3rd runner. Hunter N led our next group of runners which included freshman Berndt R and first time varsity racer Cole W. We were missing some key pieces to our varsity but the guys who raced really stepped up today. It is important that we continue to show progress across all our runners.

In JV Fred S tied his lifetime best time today leading our group through the pack. Finn and Aatman followed closely behind. While PJ and Jamie rounded out our scoring 5 crossing the finish line right next to each other. There were many "near" lifetime PRs today on a very difficult course. I enjoyed seeing this group of guys working together as teammates. Multiple times we saw VPM green forging forward to pick off runners in the second half of the race. This will pay off dividends in the last month of the season.

RESULTS
Boys Varsity D1
Boys JV D1

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday September 23rd
Midwest Invitational @ Blackhawk GC - Janesville, WI (Course)
Bus - 6:45am
9:00am - First Race
9:35am - Blue JV Race (sub 20:30 racers) (2022 Results)
10:45am - Varsity Race (2022 Results)
12:00pm - White JV Race (2022 Results)
12:40pm - 4th - 8th Grade 1 mile Race **
Awards - Varsity = top 40 individuals & 3 teams, JV (both Blue & White) - top 30 individuals

*We will stop for food on the way home...bring $ or pack a lunch!*
Approximate return to Memorial is 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 12:40pm representing Memorial...to be entered in the race, parents/coaches must contact Coach Casey (crhopp@hotmail.com) by Wed 9/20 before 6:00pm with athletes Name, Gender, Grade in school...(NO cost)...it is the responsibility of each family to provide transportation for their 4th - 8th grade athlete(s) to and from the meet and provide their own race day attire...timing bibs will need to be picked up the day of the race by 12:25pm in our team camp area.

*** NEW LAST YEAR...Janesville is charging an entry fee for spectators. Adults = $5 Kids/Senior Citizens = $3 Under 6 years old = free...CASH ONLY

Plan time for parking, walking to course, & paying admission!!

NEWS & NOTES
Monday Study Table - Athletes are recommended to head to the cafeteria to work on homework during Early Release Monday time
After School Meals - Available in the cafeteria after practice...need to arrive before 6:15pm
Still waiting on our clothing order BUT captain sunglasses are available for $5
Take care of school work and being in class....if you need access to support, let us know and we can connect you with school resources.
Take care of yourself...sleep, sleep, sleep, stretch, ice, eat well, and hydrate.

Race Weekend...time to get hyped!

 Check out this great video produced by our very own Hunter N.

Grade Level Challenge - 4th Place Team, Will L-S Wins Fr/So Race

 Full write up to be posted later in the week

Will L-S Wins the Frosh/Soph Race

RESULTS
Team results

Frosh/Soph Race

Jr/Sr Race

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday September 16th

Smiley Invitational @ Wausau East HS - Wausau, WI (Course)

Bus - 6:30am

8:30am - 1st Race (D2 & 3 teams)
10:00am - 1st D1 Race (girls)
11:10am - Boys D1 Varsity Race (2022 results)

11:35am - Boys D1 JV Race (2022 results)

12:00pm - Awards - Varsity = 2 teams & 20 individuals, JV = 1 team & 20 individuals
**We will stop to eat on the way home...bring $$ or a sack lunch**

Approximate return to school is 4:30pm

NEWS & NOTES
Captain Sunglasses = $5 bring money to captains...get some cool sunglasses

After school dinners have begun...athletes can stop in the cafeteria after practice for a free meal (need to get there before 6:15pm)
Still waiting on clothing order....really hoping by Friday (cross your fingers)

Lots of cold symptoms going around...get sleep, eat & drink well, wash your hands, get more sleep

Monona Grove Invite - We Got to Run!

There is a saying that sometimes the hardest part of a race is getting to the start line. That could not have been any truer this week for our Spartan CC runners. We were notified earlier in the season that Menomonee Falls had issues reserving their park for the Hadler Invite and would be hosting the meet on Thursday. No problem, we contacted South Milwaukee and they let us enter their Druckery Invite scheduled for Grant Park on Saturday. But then...the bus didn't arrive until 90 minutes after our pickup time. No problem, we contacted Monona Grove and agreed to race in the JV race (we weren't going to make it in time for Varsity) and we would run untimed (they didn't have extra race bibs for us). But...we got to run! and some days that is a victory in its own right. Our guys did a really nice job of refocusing when we arrived at the meet and took advantage a beautiful day to race on a fast golf course terrain to earn 16 lifetime PRs on the day. I was very proud of how our team handled themselves and know this will make us stronger for this season and hope it provides all the boys a good life lesson to carry into the future. Lifetime PRs were achieved by Tommy S (17:27), Alex B (17:45), Berndt R (18:16), Fred S (18:42), Cole W (18:54), Anthony L (20:09), Mitchell S (20:24), Nathan Z (20:47), Levi V (21:08), Eric S (21:38), Ian G (22:06), Caleb B (22:20), Ben L (25:29), Easton J (25:31), Cooper F (25:56), and Oliver O (30:40). Now we turn our attention to the Grade Level Challenge at Lake Farm Park and another opportunity to run on a fast course.

RESULTS
- posted at practice (we weren't in the official results)

NEXT COMPETITION
Tuesday September 12th
Grade Level Challenge @ Lake Farm Park (LaFollette hosts)
Early Release 1:30pm
**Carpool to Lake Farm Park -- arrive around 2:00pm
3:30pm - Frosh/Soph Boys (2022 results)
4:50pm - Jr/Sr Boys (2022 results)
6:15pm - Awards --> top 5 runners in each grade level
**Athletes will be able to leave after the team cool down which will end about 5:45pm**

NEWS NOTES
- 9/11 (Mon) - Team Picture - 3:30 locker opens --> bring uniform top & bottom
Practice like normal after pictures...have a change of clothes to run in for practice
- Mondays...athletes are encouraged to attend the athlete study table in the cafeteria during PCT Early Release time
- After school dinner program begins Mon 9/11...athletes can pick up a free meal in the cafeteria before 6:15pm
- Grade & attendance checks begin this week...take care of your school work...you are a Student first and and Athlete second
- Sleep, stretch, ice, eat, hydrate....TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF...busy week this week

Verona Invite - Varsity = 11th & JV = 8th

Jonathan & Will earn medals in the varsity race

On Saturday 31 boys teams toed the line at the annual Verona Invitational. This meet has become a great early season litmus test of our teams quality as nearly a dozen ranked teams from around the state compete on this superb cross country course. It was also a good preview for our team to for what to expect from this course for conference & sectionals. Our varsity team got the day started off with an 11th place finish while our JV took 8th place in their race. Both teams show room for improvement but overall we had a solid day against great competition. We now know what we need to do to compete against the best and we also learned many of our own strong points along the way. This is step one in a long journey of a cross country season. Together our team will continue to show progress and we are excited to see many of these teams again later in the season.

Jonathan B had a lifetime best time of 17:03 in the varsity race to lead our team with his 18th place finish. Freshman Will L-S was the second fastest freshman at the meet and also ran a lifetime best to take 34th in 17:36. Both earned medals for their top 40 performances on the day. Our gap between our #2 and #3 runners hurt us today as in a 31 team meet, points quickly piled up in this part of the race. This is something we can easily remedy throughout the season and will help us climb the leaderboard for the team. Tommy S (78th) and Alex B (80th) were our next runners across the line. Nick Z (98th) rounded out our scoring five with his top 100 finish. Hunter N was 115th and PJ M in his first varsity race battled to a 167th place finish. This group has unlimited potential for the season and we now set our sights on chasing down those top teams from our City, Conference, & Sectional.

Our JV race saw a number of personal best times as we continue to grow in experience with this group. It will be important for us to have runners closer to the lead of the race if we are going to compete with the top teams in the area in JV races. This will come with experience! Today we were led by freshman Berndt R who ran a lifetime best of 19:32. He was followed closely by Aatma P and Fred S. Finn A was our 4th runner across and Paul L ran a lifetime best to be our final scorer and JV. Other lifetime best were turn in by Anthony L, Mitchell S, Ian G, Matthew G, Caleb B, and Easton J. These guys are working really hard in practice and this is already showing in there races. We look forward to continuing to improve week in and week out. 

RESULTS
Verona Invite (all events...click on individual races)

NEXT COMPETITION
Saturday September 9th
Stan Druckery Invite (South Milwaukee)
@ Grant Park (Course Map)
Bus - 7:00 am
9:30am - First Race (girls)
10:15am - Boys JV (2022 Results) (box 13)
11:35am - Boys Varsity (2022 Results) (box 13)
12:20pm - Awards Presentation
**We will stop to eat on the way home...bring a sack lunch or $ to eat (usually Culvers)
Approximate return to Madison Memorial will be 3:30pm

This is our first time ever going to this meet...some notes from the meet host for parents.
1) Parking on city streets will be easiest...click on course map & look at "highlighted" streets for best city street parking options
2) You should not enter Grant Park via the golf course/club house...signs will be posted along Lake Dr. to direct fans to the cross country course
3) I recommend arriving "early" to allow time to navigate traffic, parking, finding course, etc...

UPCOMING EVENTS
Mon Sept 4th - Captains Practice - 8am @ UW Arboretum Visitors Center
Mon Sept 11th - Team Pictures - 3:30pm @ Memorial
Tues Sept 12th - Grade Level Challenge @ Lake Farm Park --> NO BUS...start planning carpools

NEWS & NOTES
- School begins this week...stay on top of your coursework and start your semester off strong!!!
- FREE Dinner Program...Madison Memorial has a dinner program for kids who participate in after school activities...athletes need to pick up meal in cafeteria before 6:15pm if they choose to participate
- Monday Study Table...starting next week, athletes can head to the Cafeteria during Early Release PCT time to work on school work...I highly recommend this for cross country athletes!