LAKE ZURICH CROSS COUNTRY

2006 Cross Country

10/28/06 LZXC Finishes Season with Strong 6th Place Finish at Schaumburg Sectional

The times at the Schaumburg Sectional were nothing to be impressed with.  The first three finishers in the race, Hersey's Kevin Havel, Schaumburg's Mike Spain, and Deerfield's Noble Schermerhorn have consistently broken 15 minutes all year long, yet struggled today to break the 16 minute mark (15:37, 15:50, 15:55).  A combination of soggy ground and 35 mph winds contributed to the slow times, but LZXC came to compete nonetheless.

Our first three finishers, Dave, Nate, and Gerardo ran to strong 24, 27, and 29th place finishes, beating many top runners who beaten them all season long, including Mundelein's Spillone (30th), Warren's Green (36th) and Kleine (38th), Highland Park's Stoliar (37th), Timmy Lyons from Lake Forest (63rd), and Cameron Rieger from Carmel (56th).  

As a team, we finished in 6th place, missing 5th place by 47 points.  Although it is difficult to swallow a 6th place finish (top 5 team qualify to state), we ran well and were proud of our accomplishments.  Hoffman Estates, the 5th place team, was clearly the better team on this day, and should be congratulated.  Their 1st man beat our first, their second beat our second, their third beat our third, their 4th beat our 4th, and their 5th beat our 5th.  The schools in the MSL deserve a lot of credit for once again exhibiting their superiority over the other conferences in the area. 

Seniors Nate Nard and Matt Zak were the lone seniors on the LZXC varsity, and ended their LZXC careers as 2-time All-conference athletes.  They were the leaders on a team that set the standard for future LZXC teams.  Check out the list of accomplishments for the 2006 LZXC Team:

- First LZXC team to win conference title

- First LZXC team to win regional title

- Best finish by an LZXC team at Sectionals (6th)

So where does LZXC go from here?  The 2006 LZXC season is now over, and the 2007 season has begun.  We have 365 days to beat the talented runners in the MSL, and the only way to do it is to outwork them.  Referring back to one of our three Key Quotes, "Hard Work Over Time Beats Talent", and that is just what we are going to do.  "There are no secrets to this sport: we will train further, we will train faster, and we will train more often." 

Both Coach May and I are so proud of the accomplishments and steps that this team has taken over the past 3 months.  It is the character, integrity, and enthusiasm that is propelling LZXC into one of the elite teams in the area.  Thank you for a great season.

Last but not least, good luck to Robbie Eckardt (Stevenson) and Moe Bahrani (Vernon Hills) as they represent the North Suburban Conference at the State Meet.

10/21/06 LZXC Wins Regional Championship in the Mud!

LZXC edged Deerfield on their home course by a score of 62-68 for the schools first Regional Championship!  The times were not impressive due to the condition of Deerfield's course.  Today marked the return of Junior Dave Ambrose to the roster, and boy was his return timely!  Dave has had a difficult couple of months coping with injuries to his back and knee, but it sure was nice to see him in the LZXC uniform again.  Dave ran a time of 16:38 to place 13th, and fill the role as 3rd man on our tight LZXC pack.  Dave's return gives us an remarkable 1-5 pack with a split of only 37 seconds!

The race was slow from the start, and the sludge that lined the course certainly didn't help matters at all.  Nevertheless, the pack went out in 5:12-5:17, and Deerfield's pack followed close behind.  With Schermerhorn blowing away the field at the front, the LZXC pack needed to distance itself from Deerfield's to balance out their #1.  It was about the mile when Nate led the way for LZXC and began to make his move.  The rest of the pack followed and LZXC ran to a tight 6,7,13,16,20 finish, a split of :37.  Junior Mickey Stott resisted a late Deerfield charge in the final straightaway to bring home the victory for the Bears.

Despite the slow, muddy course, there was one PR, by Senior Nate Nard, with a time of 16:19, marking Nate's 5th PR in a row!  The full team splits are now updated as well.

10/18/06 - The LZXC State Series Roster runs 5x1200 Fast Interval Workout in the misting rain.  Mickey's consistency outlasts Nate's fast start, nevertheless a great workout by all.

10/16/06 - Conference Pictures are now up...

10/14/06 - LZXC Wins Conference Championship!

WOW! What a day for Lake Zurich Cross Country!  I guess I'll set the table before the story: The North Suburban Conference Meet was held at Lake Forest's West Campus for the second straight year.  They once again held a quick and fair meet on their beautiful and well-marked course.  Its a course that we are comfortable with, running there 5 times in the past 2 years.

We will start with the Varsity.  Going into the meet, we knew it was going to be a tight race with Warren and Mundelein both having strong teams.  Warren was favored, after going undefeated in Dual Meet Competition.  Both us and Mundelein finished the Dual Meet Series 4-2 (LZXC's 2 losses came to Mundelein and Warren, while Mundelein's 2 losses came to Warren and Stevenson).  The race began and our Big 4 were in perfect position at the mile; behind the lead pack heading into the strong westerly wind.  As expected, we went out faster than usual:  Gerry, Nate, Matt, and Mickey went out between 5:03 and 5:08, while Francisco and Tom came through comfortably in around 5:20.  From the mile, not a lot of changes in the race occurred until the final straightaway.  Our Super-Soph Gerardo Perez rounded the last flag in 6th behind Mike Spillone from Mundelein, outkicked Spillone, but got edged by Warren's Super-Soph, Karsen Green.  Nate came next in 8th, followed by Mena from Mundelein and Matt Zak in 10th.  Matt, not known for his kick, found it at the right time, passing Mena and picking up some much needed points on Mundelein.  Mickey followed shortly after, in 14th, and we were looking good.  We had four in the gate before anyone else, but it was up to our underclassmen, Tom, Cisco, and Jake, to bring home the championship for the team.  Once again, Freshman Sensation Francisco Soto ran a PR, and had just enough in the tank to earn him a sub-17 time, All-Conference Honors, a picture on the wall, and a 30th place finish.  Sophomore Tom Johnson overcame some tight legs during the week to run his best race as well, placing 32nd, and even bumping Warren's fifth man down a spot.  Jake Paulus proclaimed he was "running like a feather" over the last mile as he passed opponents, to a PR time of 17:42. 

The final scores of LZ - 67, Mundelein - 75, Warren - 80, made for an exciting team race.  Congratulations to all athletes for a providing a terrific show for the spectators!  Congratulations to Gerardo Perez and Francisco Soto for earning their first (of many) All-Conference Honors, and congratulations to Mickey Stott, Nate Nard, and Matt Zak for earning their second!

Then to the Open Race.  The open runners followed the Varsity's lead by running intelligently and hungrily.  The open race was not as fast a start as the Varsity race, which led to much more even splits, and even some negative splits (See Alex Ryan).  Undoubtedly the highlight of the open race was the finish of King Dave (Antczak, that is...). From what I understand, Dave had quite a weekend: Emceeing the Homecoming Assembly, winning Homecoming King, and winning the NSC Open Race with a brilliant kick (and running a 66 second PR in the process!). 

Cisco Soto probably hordes most of the Freshman attention after earning All-Conference Honors in his first try, but the Freshman Class is deeper than one runner: this group is something special.  Paul Geimer runs with the intelligence of a 4-year varsity athlete, and Andrew Morrison has a heart as big as his All-State brother.  Both Geimer and Morrison broke the 18 minute mark this season, an accomplishment that places them in elite status. Alex Ryan and Ryan Baartmans don't get nearly enough credit as they should, and both quietly had huge days on Saturday.  Alex ran a PR by 54 seconds, and Ryan ran a PR by 40 seconds, and both joined the 20 Minute Club in their last race of the season.  Greg Bielak's 57 second PR also portrayed the strength of this Freshman class.

On a day filled with great story lines, Scott Harbeck's story might have been the best.  I found Scott attempting to put his spikes in the camp about 5 minutes before the race was to begin.  Scott's spikes had undoable knots tied in, and there was no time for replacements!  After hearing the starter's whistle, Scott sprinted over to the starting line, we taped Scott's shoes with athletic tape, and he was off.  One might think that running with your shoes clinging to your feet only be some athletic tape would hamper your race, but not Scott Harbeck.  Scott went on to run one of the biggest PR's of the day with a time of 20:40.

Our Sophomores represented well in the Open Race as well, despite 3 athletes being stolen up to the Varsity.  Led by PR's by Adam Burke, Zach Cooper, and Andrew Gebhardt, the Sophomores deleted a total of 6 minutes and 45 seconds off their PR's! 

Kyle Hanna came through as the Open's 5th man, improving his PR by 16 seconds to 18:13, and helping the Open Team to earn a second place finish behind a deep Lake Forest squad.

SO NOW FOR THE STATISTICS:

Congratulations to the following athletes who joined new Clubs:

17 Minute Club: Francisco Soto

18 Minute Club: Dave Antszak, Adam Burke, Andrew Morrison

19 Minute Club: Andrew Gebhardt

20 Minute Club: Jamie Bendix, Kurt Gibson, Alex Ryan, Ryan Baartmans

21 Minute Club: Alec Kollar, Greg Bielak, Scott Harbeck

22 Minute Club: Phil Rykse

24 Minute Club: Dan Rykse

You can find race splits here.  The Overall PR Page has been updated.  Think about this for a second: 27 PRs out of 29 competing runners!  Now that's execution!  Check out these PR Improvements.  Congrats to all for a great race that was highlighted by the TEAM EFFORT.  The success of our team is certainly something that everyone had a part in today.  It was a special thing to watch and you have made us coaches very proud.

And last but not least, congratulations to the Conference Champions Lake Zurich Girls Team!  It's a great day to be a Bear!

10/10/06 - The Lake County Meet was not as competitive as it used to be, mostly due to the fact that most North Suburban teams will see each other again in 6 days.  Nevertheless, it gave us a chance to run some athletes in levels they haven't run at before. 

In the Frosh/Soph race, Sophomore Jamie Bendix continues to improve, as he nearly broke 20:00 for the first time.  Other PR's included Sophomore Kurt Gibson (20:13) and Alec Kollar (21:21).

In the Varsity race, Dave Antszak's first 400 meters reminded everyone that he will be a force in track, however the rest of his race looked very painful.  Certainly the best race of the day came from Senior Derek Allen, who is now the 16th Bear to join the 19 minute club this season.  Kyle Hanna also ran well and is primed for another PR at Saturday's conference meet.

The Open runners rejoiced with the 2.1 mile course.  I can easily say that each runner ran their 2.1mile PR!  Congratulations!  Sophomore Phil Rykse and Freshman Scott Harbeck led the way with strong finishes.

We ran well at the Stampede (West Aurora Stampede).  We are seeing the times drop at the right time, with 9 of 13 competing athletes running their PR!  Off the course, the remainder of the team ran hard, and the Split Crew (headed by Colin Schofield) had their best performance of the season (We were all a bit confused with West Aurora placed the mile mark over 2 miles away from the start...)  Check out the complete results here.

Lakewood PR's and Overall PR's have been updated.  Congratulations to Freshman Paul Geimer for joining the 18 Minute Club with his performance at the West Aurora Stampede!

10/2/06: 3xMile Workout was a success.  There were a lot of strong performances, which will correlate to PRs on the cross country course.  Notably, Junior Terry Nelson's total of 18:55 was more than a minute faster than his PR!  Terry started the workout strong, but breaking the 6 minute mile for the first time in his life was certainly an highlight!  And even after 2 miles to boot!  Congratulations to Terry. 

Senior Nate Nard blew away the team with his total time of 15:38, almost 90 seconds faster than his PR!  Nate started the season slowly, but has consistently outworked the field to get back to the competitive level he ran at last year.  I  grateful for Nate's work ethic, not only for him personal improvement, but because his work ethic is contagious!  Nate's legacy will extend long after he graduates in the work ethics of our young runners.

Heaven Week 2006 Results are in!  Congratulations to Mickey Stott as the first ever Heaven Week Champion!  Congratulations to Paul Geimer as the Heaven Week Freshman Champion!  Also check out Super-soph Tom Johnson's Prediction Run and Guess Your Time scores!  That boy knows pace!

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