Please send all questions/update

Please send all questions/updates to Coach Hanson at lzxc@lz95.org To join the LZXC List-serve, email "List-serve" to lzxc@lz95.org

OVER 75 RUNNERS ARE ALREADY REGISTERED FOR THE LAKE ZURICH CROSS COUNTRY CAMP... AND COUNTING!

What? Lake Zurich Boys Cross Country Camp

Who? 6-12 grade boys and girls. Members of the 2009 Cross Country Team are strongly encouraged to attend.

When? Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from June 15-July 23, 7AM-9AM

Where? Lake Zurich High School

Why? Maximize your potential as a distance runner. Get to know the 2009 Cross Country Team. Pancake Breakfasts. The Frolf Trip. Logbook Development. Get individualized training and instruction from coaches and college athletes. Get in shape for other sports such as track, basketball, baseball, or volleyball. Learn the components of discipline, motivation, consistency, work ethic, positive attitude, honesty, and responsibility. Stay active while having a lot of fun!

Cost? $70 if you sign up before May 27. $80 if you sign up after May 27.

How? Registration for the 2009 Cross Country Camp has already begun! The registration info can be found on the LZHS Athletic Homepage: http://www.lz95.org/lzhs/athletics/ , and must be returned to the LZHS Athletic Office. Register ASAP to save yourself $10!!!

I want to take a minute to highlight the accomplishments of this year's senior class. We had 8 seniors survive Coach Beaver's tough love and my own antics to graduate the LZTF/LZXC distance program. These athletes contributed to 2 conference championships in cross country, 1 conference championship in track, as well as 1 regional championship in cross country, and 1 state meet birth. Individually, they have each come a long way. Take a look...

Where he started: Chris came out for cross country as a junior, and ran 29:17 in his first race at Libertville's Adler Park. Chris had never run 3 miles without stopping before joining LZXC.

Where he finished: Chris PRed in every race he ran in cross country, finishing with a respectable 24:21 in the Conference Meet at Libertyville, a mere 5 minute improvement over 2 months. In track, Chris cracked the 7 minute barrier.

Why he will be successful: Chris will attend CLC for a year to pick up some affordable credits before transferring. Chris will be successful in his college years for the same reasons he was successul as a member of LZXC: Chris became one of the most motivated runners on the team. He learned to do things on his own, which was apparant in his off-season training, and Chris has continued to run and lift after the track season has ended.

Interesting Tidbit: Chris was in my math class this year- but despite an extra dose of Coach Hanson, he still seems normal!

Where he started: Stefano join LZXC as a junior with a goal of getting in shape and losing weight. Stefano ran his first timed mile on the first day of cross country 2007 in a time of 10:14.

Where he finished: As Stefano shed his pounds, he also shed seconds off his times. Stefano mentioned earlier this month that he lost 20+ pounds and 3 pant-sizes over the past 2 years. My highlight with Stefano was watching him break the 6 minute mile earlier this track season. What a remarkable and well-earned achievement.

Why he will be successful: I am proud to say the Stefano has found a home with cross country. He will attend Lake Forest College next fall, where he will continue his running and compete on their cross country team. Stefano will be successful in life because he may be the most personable athlete I have ever coached. He knows how to communicate with anybody and everybody (including waitresses...) and makes everybody comfortable in conversation. His personality is what makes him unique in this world, and it will take him wherever he wants to go.

Interesting Tidbit: Stefano has participated in a Student Ambassador Program over the past few summers, where he traveled to all reaches of the world, notably Japan last summer. Stefano also won the "Pee-Your-Pants Award" in cross country, for the athlete with the greatest positive attitude.

Where He Started: Dan joined LZXC as a sophomore, running 9:01 in his first Timed Mile and 28:07 in his first 3 mile race at Lake Forest.

Where He Finished: Dan ran a brilliant race at his final cross country meet, finishing the tough Adler Park course in 21:14. Dan also made several valiant attempts to break the 6:00 barrier in track, running below 6:10 on 3 different occasions.

Why he will be successful: Dan has an amazing ability to accept challenges, no matter how large or how demanding. I cite the summer before his Junior year, Dan attended the Paavo North camp. Dan was a question mark as to whether he was leveled to complete the Cerutty Trail, but on a blistering hot day, Dan trekked the rigorous 5.5 mile loop and finished. It was a sign of things to come.

Where he started: Phil ran his first timed mile in 8:31 and his first 3-mile race in 26:57 when he came out for LZXC as a sophomore.

Where he finished: Phil broke the 6 minute barrier in track, a goal he had set for himself early in the season. Phil also increased his long runs to as many as 10 miles, and maintained PPM paces near 7:30 in his long PPMs.

Why he will be successful: Phil is known throughout Lake Zurich High School as always having a smile on his face. I have loved his positive attitude over the past 3 years, and it has been a honor to coach him.

Where he started: Tim joined the cross country and track teams during his junior year. In his first timed mile, Tim ran 6:17, and in his first race in cross country, Tim ran 21:17.

Where he finished: Tim broke the classic barrier for a high school runner, breaking the 5 minute mile in 4:57 in his last race of his senior track season. Tim also became one of the most dedicated athletes on the team in his tenure with LZXC.

Why he will be successful: When Tim joined LZXC in 2007, he attacked athletics with the same zeal he attacks academics. Tim gave distance running everything he had, just like academics, and maintained the highest of standards both on and off the athletic field. Tim graduates in the top 3% of his class, and also earned All-State honors in Mathematics and Physics, after placing in both the state Math and Physics competitions. Tim will attend the University of Illinois in the fall where he will study Mechanical Engineering.

Interesting Tidbit: Tim owns the second longest CD of any LZXC athlete, over 400 consecutive days, ranging from his Junior track season to his senior track season. This is an amazing feat considering the young man was also involved with Math Team, Science Team, Scholastic Bowl Team, the Band, Jazz Ensemble, and others that I'm sure I have forgot.

Where he started: Tom is a 4 year member of both the track and cross country teams. In Tom's Freshmen year, his first 3 mile cross country race was 21:17 at Antioch and his first 800 in track was 2:27.

Tom was the 5th/6th man on the 2006 LZXC team, which was the first team to win a conference championship in school history. Tom was co-captain of the 2008 cross country team, which is arguably the most successful cross country team in Lake Zurich history (one of only 2 conference championship teams and the only team to qualify for state). Tom had his best season of all during his senior year track season, in which he consistently ran in the 2:04-2:06 range as a part of the 3200m relay, and destroyed the 5-minute mile in his only attempt with a 4:46.

Why he will be successful: Tom has what I call a "quiet passion". He loved the sport of distance running, and was a lead-by-example type of leader for LZXC over the past few seasons. Tom will be successful in his adult life because he knows how to get serious about something, and he knows how to get passionate, which is possibly the most important skill a young adult can master through athletics.

Interesting Tidbit: Tom attempted pole vaulting during his Freshmen and Sophomore years in track, where he cleared a height of 7'.

Where he started: Jake joined the cross country and track teams as a freshman, and has been one of the most competitive athletes we have had a part of the program. Jake ran 19:53 in his first high school cross country race, and 2:26 in his first high school 800m track race.

Where he finished: Jake was a member of 3 conference championship teams, 2 in cross country and 1 in track over his career. Jake earned all conference honors during his senior year in cross country, running as the 6th man on the state-qualifying team. He broke the 2 minute half in his final 800 of high school, winning his sectional heat with a 1:59.9. Jake was also honored as Captain of the Track Team.

Why he will be successful: Jake will attend the D3 powerhouse North Central College next fall, where he will get the opportunity to run cross country and track under one of the greatest coaching staffs in the country. Jake has been successful in high school because of his work ethic- he never backs down from workouts, and became a highly dedicated athlete in the off-season. This work ethic will propel Jake to great things in his adult life. I look forward to the updates of what those great things become.

Interesting tidbit: Jake shaved his leg (note- not legs) at our Kettle Moraine Camping Trip last summer, which may become a tradition for the Kettle Moraine Trip.

Where he started: Gerardo was clearly a running talent when he entered Lake Zurich High School. He ran 18:09 in his first high school cross country race as a freshman, and ran 10:26 in his first high school 3200 (at the Bloom HS Indoor Meet). But it wasn't always easy for Gerardo. He broke his ankle 2 days before track began his Sophomore year, in which the rehab took over 12 months to fully recover. I remember days during the summer after his sophomore year when he was straining to run 11:00 for 2 miles and I wondered if he would ever fully recover.

Where he finished: Gerardo's story is a story of perserverance. He stayed dedicated to the rehab work, and slowly built his miles up to a level that would allow him to be competitive with the best distance runners in the state. In the process, Gerardo quietly became one of the best distance runners in the state. Gerardo accolades include 3 all-conference honors in cross country and 2 in track, and all-state honors in both track (7th, 3200m) and cross country (10th, 14:39). He holds 5 record, 3 in track and 2 in cross country: LZHS 3200 (9:19.2), LZHS 1600 (4:20.8), North Suburban Conference Meet 3200 Record (9:20.0), the Libertyville Adler Park Course Record (15:02) and the Wheeling Heritage Park Course Record (14:49). Gerardo finest accomplishments, as he will tell you, would be the team accomplishments in which he played the leading role: Gerardo was co-captain of the first LZXC team to qualify for state, finishing 13th.

Why he will be successful: Integrity. No athlete I have ever coached has more integrity than Gerardo Perez. Gerardo is honest, genuine, and grounded in every aspect. There is simply not a mean bone in his body, which is so rare for an elite athlete in a competitive sport. Every member of every team he has been a part of has adored Gerardo, and rightfully so. He has a way to make everyone feel welcomed and accepted. Gerardo Perez simply cannot be replaced, and LZXC will miss him dearly. Illinois State will be getting a good one next year.

Interesting Tidbit: Gerardo is the oldest child with 6 siblings, although many members of the LZXC team consider Gerardo their older brother as well!

Gerardo Perez placed 7th in the 3200m at the IHSA State Meet, with a time of 9:19.23. Gerardo's time in the 3200 beat his own school record, and is the highest placing distance runner in Lake Zurich Track History.

Gerardo also made the final in the 1600m, placing 11th place overall, and resetting his own school record in that event with a time of 4:20.84. Gerardo was one of only 3 athletes completing the difficult 3200/1600 double on Saturday, making his efforts even more impressive.

Francisco Soto ran a great race on Friday's prelim of the 800, finishing with a personal record time of 1:56.63, and qualifying for the final on Saturday. Francisco placed 10th overall in the 800m dash, just 1 place out of the All-state medals.

I applaud the efforts of both Gerardo and Francisco, and I applaud their focus and mental preparation in a competition filled with outside pressures and distractions. Gerardo and Francisco are both headstrong athletes that thrive in elite competition. Congrats to both on great performances and great seasons.

Gerardo Perez qualified in the 3200 (1st, 9:21) and the 1600 (2nd, 4:21), while Francisco Soto qualified in the 800 (4th, 1:56). Gerardo and Francisco join Sam Romanoski and Steve Morrison as the only distance qualifiers in recent Lake Zurich history. Gerardo's time in the 1600 broke his own school record, while Francisco's time in the 800 is within a second of the school record. Congrats and good luck to Gerardo and Francisco in the competition this weekend.

Our 4x800 team of Shawn Picha, Tom Johnson, Victor Delatorre, and Pat Juras finished in 8:30, respectable considering the team was made up of 3 freshmen and sophomores. Shawn and Victor split PRs (2:07 and 2:09), while Tom and Pat ran competitively in the positions.

Jake Paulus ran a great race to win the 2nd heat of the 800. Jake led from start to finish and ended with a time of 1:59.9. This was nearly a 3 second PR for Jake, and reminds us of the 4x8 that could have been. Jake will run at North Central College next year.

Paul Geimer also won his heat of the 1600 in 4:35. Paul hung with the leaders through the first 3 laps before showing his strength and pull away on the final backstretch. Look for Paul to have a breakout year next year, as he is now a year-round runner with much more speed development than last year.

Andrew Morrison took 4th in the 3200 in 9:43. We had hopes of qualifying him in the 3200, but it simply wasn't meant to be. Andrew locked in with Chano Bernardo of Palatine for most of the race forming the chase pack of outsiders looking in. I know Andrew was very disappointed with the outcome, but his time will come. In reflection, we made some mistakes in his training and I take full responsibility for those errors. The best is yet to come with this young man, and luckily we have another year before the high school time capsule ends.

It was a nice ending to the season for many of our Frosh/Soph Team. We took 1st by 2 points over an impressive Frosh/Soph lineup from Lakes. The meet came down to the 4x400, and our team of Alex Brend, Mike Shield, JD Parcheta, and Ben Papke won it, solidifying the first place trophy. In the distance events, many of our youngsters got a chance to compete in their first Invitational, and they competed quite valiantly.

The highlight of the meet for me was the 4x800. Our team of Mike Filenko, Trevor Feltner, Ryan Martin, and Mitch Kleban had run together 3 or 4 times in this race, never running faster than 10:40. However, the bright lights of an 8-team invitational gets the adrenaline pumping more than a dual or triangular, and this quartet blazed to a season best 10:14! While Mike Filenko was a second off his PR 2:28, Trevor, Ryan, and Mitch blasted their previous PRs by over 10 seconds each, splitting 2:36, 2:33, and 2:35 respectively. I loved the way this group competed, and they make me proud to wear the blue and white.

The other highlight of the distance events was the 1600. Matt Fajnor and Ike Honneger get their last chance of the season to break 5, and they went for it. These two led for much of the first half of the race, before a late surge by a couple runners passed them. Matt hit the 1200 in 3:45 and gave all he had in the final lap to just miss his goal and run 5:02. Ike's middle laps cost him the feat, but his strong finish helped him to set a PR of 5:07. Matt and Ike finished 4th and 5th respectively. Although they did not attain their goals of a 4:xx mile, both set new PR's in the process, and set themselves up to have a great summer and a competitive cross country season.

Outside the distance events, Christian Williams got a chance to compete against his age group for a change and won all 4 of his events, the 100, 200, 4x100, and 4x200. Christian had an impressive 100m time of 11.2 (hand-timed), which placed onto our all-time list. Christian was clearly the MVP of the meet for us, and it was nice to see him running confidently.

Our Frosh/Soph Team placed 3rd in conference, behind a strong Warren group and a loaded Stevenson team, despite running 8 freshmen and sophomores at the varsity level on Thursday (Kiah McGee, Pat Juras, John Grossi, Jake Brinlee, Christian Williams, Andrew Lulis, Mike Rantis, and Eric Porter). We ran a very solid meet, with few mistakes and a lot of PR's. Stevenson and Warren simply had too much firepower for us to handle. Here are some highlights:

Vic Delatorre and Shawn Picha took 2nd and 4th in the 3200. Both ran PRs (10:13 and 10:38), but I think both are better than what they showed. Shawn's best race is the 800, so the 3200 was a chance to prep him for cross, while Vic faded in the last mile despite running under 10min pace for the first 2000 meters. Nevertheless, Vic and Shawn will compete for varsity slots in the fall.

Jon Smith and Pat McPartlan placed 4th and 6th in the 1600. Both ran PRs (4:57 and 5:03), while Jon broke 5 for the first time. Jon is on the similar trend that Victor was on last year, by breaking 5 in the last meet. Both Jon and Pat will add to a strong sophomore squad next year in cross.

Mark Tabaka threw a 42'9'' shot, setting a PR. I know he is disappointed with that mark, but he has the passion and potential to become a solid varsity thrower in the next 2 years.

Tarin Scarnato was a star for us, winning the triple jump and placing 3rd in the long (38'9'' and 18'8.25''). Tarin seems to get overshadowed by our other solid sophomore jumpers Jake Brinlee, Stenli Shopov, and Eric Porter, but he deserves the spotlight and could surprise people at the varsity level in the next years. Tarin reminds me of a young Keith Hair, a soccer star like Tarin, who jumped 21'9'' for us his senior year.

Our 4x100 relay team of Jeff Winters, Ben Papke, Chris Rantis, and Jason Tiedmann stuck the handoffs and posted their best time of the season in 45.6, placing 1st in the process. This time boasts the 3rd best Frosh/Soph 4x100 time in LZTF history.

We took 5th place in the North Suburban Conference Meet with a total of 59 points. We scored 51 of our 59 points in the mid-distance and distance events, 5 points in the vault, and 3 points in the sprints. It is hard to be disappointed with the outcome- I am proud of each kid who went out and competed for positions against the underrated North Suburban Conference competition. Lake Forest's balanced scoring attack and depth won the meet with 105 points, and ever-tough Zion Benton finished 2nd with 90 points.

For me, the highlight of the meet was the distance events (yes I may be biased), although the 4x400 was an exciting race between potentially 4 state qualifying teams (NC, Warren, LF, ZB) and may have boasted the best talent in the meet.

Gerardo Perez was a star for us today, winning the 3200, 1600 and coming back to run a 52.0 in the 4x4. He set both our school records in the 3200 and 1600 (9:20.0 and 4:22.5), and set the North Suburban Conference Meet record in the 3200 which had stood for 28 years.

He was pushed in both races, which aided in the fast times. In the 3200, Gerardo played cat and mouse with Mynatt from LF before pulling away in the final 400. Mynatt ran a nice 9:26, setting himself up nicely to potentially make the fast heat at state. In the 1600, Gerardo led through 3 laps before Stevenson's Tyler Bartlow made a strong move. It appeared that Bartlow was on the brink of breaking Gerardo, but Gerardo hung strong, and had the strength to win it in the final straightaway. Gerardo's last 400 was clocked at 61..

Francisco Soto was the other top highlight of the meet for us, winning the 800 in 1:57.8. The field was strong with Warren's Karsen Green and Stevenson's Tyler Bartlow highlighting the field. Green and Bartlow had already run the 4x8, and we kept Francisco fresh in hopes of catching them off guard. Francisco ran the race like a star, leading from start to finish. Green made a late move, but Cisco's lead was too much to overcome. I continue to be impressed by Francisco's toughness, fearlessness, and pride. He simply won't back down from anybody.

In the 4x8, we took 3rd in 8:17 behind Warren and Stevenson. Paul Geimer ran his first race in a couple weeks after throwing out his back, running a decent 2:04 split. He is on the verge of breaking out, but I fear our time capsule is quickly diminishing.

Outside of the distance events, our vaulters jumped well to place 4th and 6th. Dan Iwicki tied his career best of 12'6'' for 4th, and Andrew Lulis set a new PR of 11'6'' to take 6th. I am so proud of both of these young men who have been very impressive this year in making Lake Zurich competitive in this event. Dan has overcome a lot of adversity this year to get to where he is now, and will have a shot at our school record (13') next week at Sectionals. Andrew is simply a passionate, intelligent, hard-working kid who has found his nitch and tries to soak up everything he can about the event. Andrew will be a great pole vaulter for us for a couple more years as well.

The highlight of the Lake County Invite was the blazing 400 and 4x400s. Three teams ran 3:22, highlighted by a phenomenal finish between Ryan Mangone of Barrington, Karsen Green of Warren, and Sam Howard of Lake Forest. Mangone already ran a 48. while winning the open 4, Howard ran a 49., and Green won the 800 with a 1:56. Mangone came from 3rd to first and held off both runners at the tape to win the race. I remember last year at our home invite we saw a similar situation in which Mangone came from way back in the 4x8, yet was not able to hold off our own Jordan Pavlovich in the final straight. This year Mangone looks tough and determined to make a run at the state title. It should be fun to watch, and I will be rooting for him.

Our team is very banged up, and we held out a number of events in order to run our best at conference. Mundelein's rubberized track is more like cement in some places, so we were extra cautious about jeopardizing health to score points in a tune-up meet. But when, we did run, we ran our best, and we ran to win. Here are some highlights:

Gerardo Perez won the 3200 in 9:30. His time was not a PR, but the slow early pace of the race led to a sit-and-kick race. Andrew Morrison got outkicked by his buddy Billy Malmed of Deerfield who came from 50m back on the last lap. Andrew ran a 9:40, and the tempo of the race early was not beneficial to his style of racing. Lake Forest's Mynatt claimed 2nd in the event.

Francisco ran a nice 1:58.7 to claim 3rd in the 800, behind Karsen Green of Warren and fellow Paavo Ilan Kedar of Deerfield. Jake Paulus tied his PR with a 2:02.6, finishing just out of the money. Jake is ready to explode in that race- watch for him to put together a complete race this week at conference.

Our 4x8 lineup of Tom Johnson, Shawn Picha, Pat Juras, and Alex Brend was not as competitive as I would have liked. Tom ran plain 2:05, but Shawn and Alex seemed a little awestruck by varsity competition, posting 2:13's. Pat also seemed a little out of place in his 2:08. This group needs to learn to compete at whatever level they are running at- understand you are in the race because you belong in the race.

Out 4x4 of Pat Hannay, Francisco Soto, Jake Brinlee, and Jake Paulus went sub 3:30 for the first time this year, winning the slow heat and taking 5th overall.

We competed on back-to-back days for the first time this season, which certainly takes a toll on an athlete's body. As a result, many of our Frosh/Soph athletes were dog tired by the end of Tuesday's Frosh/Soph Invite at Barrington. We are still grateful for the chance to compete in the Invitational, as it gives our youngsters another big-meet-experience. We also were able to give some athletes a taste of an invitational, some of whom had never run an invitational before.

We finished 3rd as a team behind a loaded Stevenson team and a strong McHenry team, and just in front of always-strong Barrington. Here are some highlights:

-David Smith showed us why we shouldn't give up on him as a pole vaulter. David set an 18- inch PR en route to winning (yes winning!) the Freshman pole vault at 9'. Congrats David!

- Jack Lynn continues to impress in the jumps, as he took 3rd in the Freshmen long jump (18'.5'') and 3rd in the triple jump (37'3.5'').

-Kiah "Big Love" McGee hurled a huge PR in the discus, with a throw of 133'9'', which won the meet.

We have our smallest class of Freshmen that we have had in years, only 17 athletes, but they are probably the most race-ready group of Freshmen that we have ever had. This group was already competitive and many athletes have already filled in on the Varsity level in our demanding relay meets. So after getting continually thumped at the Varsity level, our Freshmen finally got a chance to see how they stack up against their own age group.

We finished first in the 7-team meet, the first time we have won the meet in LZTF's history. Our stars proved to be too much for the competition, but our supporting roles also ran well to score seconds, thirds, and fourths in their respective events.

-Pat Juras is definately one of those stars. He won the 1600 and 3200 in 10:18 and 4:40. Both times are not PRs, and we desperately wanted Pat to break 10, but it is difficult to do alone. Nevertheless, he looked strong coming back in the 1600 and beating Palatine's nice freshman Johnson, who had beat him in the Palatine Invite in cross country. His 4:40 was close to his PR of 4:38.

-The Rantis twins are definitely superstars also. Both have Varsity meet experience, and they were absolutely horses for us. Mike won the 100, 200, and anchored the winning 4x100. Chris placed 2nd in the 100 and 3rd in the 200, also running on the 4x100. Our 4x200 was disqualified for passing out of the zone, proving that these kids are still Freshmen and still have a lot to learn about the sport of track and field.

-Jon Smith placed second in the 3200 with a powerful kick. His 10:59 was slow and nowhere near his best, but Jon had been fighting the flu for a couple days so it was nice to see him show his competitive side despite being handicapped.

-The 4x800 team of Ike Honneger, Brent Skupien, David Smith, and Kyle McNair placed 4th. Ike ran a really nice 2:18 lead off, while Brent, David, and Kyle all ran PR's in the 2:30-2:32 range.

-In the field, the highlight has to be the emergence of Jimmy Bohn in the throws. Jimmy won the shot put and placed well (I think 3rd) in the discus. With Jimmy throwing alongside our strong sophomore class, our throwing crew will become more competitive in the next couple year. Props to Coach Towne for taking over the roll and re-energizing the once dominant LZ throwing corps.

We were split squad with out Freshmen at the Barrington Frosh Invite. I was not at Warren for the last Dual meet of the season, so I will try to report results from what I heard. Warren and Lake Forest are 2 of the top 3 teams in the conference, and from what I hear we were fairly outmatched by both teams. It doesn't help that we are fighting injury, illness, academic eligibility, and even girlfriends to get a complete lineup filled, but that is the nature of the beast.

The most significant highlight has to be improvements made by our distance runners. Our distance runners ran all open events as we scratched the 4x8, and I challenged them before the meet to get after it each event they were running. Warren and Lake Forest both have state-level distance runners, so the competition was a breath of fresh air to compete against.

-In the 3200, Gerardo Perez ran 9:28 after pulling away from Lake Forest's impressive Junior Mynatt. Gerardo's 9:28 was a PR, and betters the state qualifying mark. Andrew Morrison was also in the hunt and ran a nice 9:34 PR. Andrew had been frustrated by lack of PR's this season, so this leap is came at just the right time. We must remember that it takes 4-6 weeks of SIs before we say the racing effect, so starting SIs in mid March is constructed by design as to perform at our highest level in May. I look forward to potentially 4 more races between these three harriers in consecutive weeks.

-We loaded the 800 with hopes of running some fast times so we can put together a 4x8 to qualify. We got some PRs, and while the PRs were small, they are still PRs that are welcomed. We certainly have a lot more to show in this event, but with Paul Geimer and Jordan Pavlovich sidelined, we must find the speed elsewhere if we are to compete with a very competitive sectional in this event. Francisco broke 2 for the first time with a 1:59.1. Tom Johnson ran a PR 2:04.9, as he inches closer to times that might score. From what I hear, Jake ran a strong 700 then faded in the last 100 to a 2:03.0.

-Lastly, in the 1600, Gerardo broke our school record with a 4:27.1. This time is still not impressive, especially for a school record, and should be broken again soon, but it is nice to get the wet t-shirt off of our backs and say it has finally been broken. Congrats to Gerardo Perez on this accomplishment.

We finished 7th at Spartan Relays with Although Spartan Relays is a tough meet with a lot of well-rounded teams, I didn't think we performed to the best of our abilities, especially in the distance events. I am not going to say that we didn't run hard, but we just didn't compete. I didn't see anybody with a flash of passion in the last 200m of any race, and we many of us failed to dig in to get to that last gear. We seemed content running paces instead of running against our competitors. As always, PRs on the track come from running to win, not from running against the watch. We must learn to compete, and we must become passionate about winning, not just being in the mix. Hopefully we are learning this lesson now instead of the Championship meets to come.

Highlights: We missed out on a golden opportunity to run some fast times. The weather was cool and calm and the field was strong. We set some PRs, but honestly they were smaller than they should have been.

-Francisco Soto set a PR leading off the 4x8 in 2:01.9. Gerardo Perez set a PR anchoring that relay in 2:03.1, although we still finished 6th.

-After Paul Geimer threw out his back Thursday, our lineup was adjusted at the last minute, giving Vic Delatorre a chance to compete. Vic set a PR anchoring the distance medley with a 4:44.7 and finishing 6th.

-Our 4x1600 finished 3rd in 18:24. We got beat by a couple strong teams in New Trier and Loyola. Only Gerardo ran a PR by a fraction of a second, in 4:28.0.

-Outside of the distance events, Andrew Lulis cleared 11' in the Pole Vault for the first time, and Jack Rathe cleared 40' in the triple jump for the first time, with a jump of 40'4''. Our triple and long jumpers took a pair of 2nd place finishes and the Pole Vaulters finished in 4th.

We had a nice evening for our Dual with Stevenson, despite initial forecasts for rain. Highlights:

-We ran a lot of guys in the 3200, many of whom it will be their only chance of the season to run it. Some guys missed an opportunity to break 10, but we set a lot of PRs in the process. Pat Juras (10:01), Jake Paulus (10:03), Paul Geimer (10:12), Francisco Soto (10:21), Jon Smith (10:39), Ike Honnegger (11:39).

-Ryan Martin set a 25 second PR in the 1600 (5:40) as he broke 6 for the first time.

-Stefano Delacuesta broke 6:00 for the with a 5:58. Stefano will join the cross country team next fall at Lake Forest College. What a success story he is- a guy whose PR in Cross Country during his first season was 27 minutes. He has come a long way.

-Other PR's in the 1600: Kyle McNair (5:18), Brent Skupien (5:25), Trevor Feltner (5:48), Mike Filenko (5:48), Mitch Kleban (6:00), Dan Rykse (6:06), Phil Rykse (6:00).

-Andrew Morrison broke 60 second for the first time in the 4x4 with a 59.5. Finally!

On a warm and windy night, we competed at our home invite, the Bear Invitational. The meet is small in only its second year of existence, but that does not mean it is not competitive. We are honored by the presence of our guests Barrington, Lake Park, Waukegan, and Benet Academy, who make up some of the top track program in the state. It is a key experience for our young throwers to get to see Dan Block throw the shot, just as it is a key experience for our young hurdlers to compete against Sam Ojuri and see the Barrington hurdling tradition continue its dominance. We finished a close 3rd behind Lake Park and Barrington, and many of the highlights came from watching the elite athletes on opposing teams.

The single highlight of the meet was Dan Block of Lake Park. Block unofficially broke the state shot put record with a heave of 66+ feet. I was not there to see it, but I heard the roar of the crowd after it happened. What an impressive feat, and a neat experience to be a part of.

When we created this meet 2 years ago, my only request was that it contain a 4x1600 relay, and Coach Beaver's only request was that it contain Frosh/Soph and relays. These two requests created a meet that gives up to 22 different distance runners a chance to compete in a weekend invitational, which is a format that no other invitational can boast. We gave 21 distance runners a chance to compete, some of whom had never competed in a varsity invitational before. It was great to see some of our lesser-known athletes earning medals and scoring points in front of the home crowd on the home track.

Our 4x8 was a great example of some dedicated athletes who rarely get to experience the Friday night lights. Tim Ewan led off with a 2:21, followed by Scott Harbeck in 2:30, Mike Filenko in 2:29. We were in 6th place when Mike Filenko handed the baton off to Gerardo Perez, and Gerardo pulled us back to 3rd with his 2:05 anchor.

Our 4x1600 ran virtually alone throughout, yet still put together some solid times despite the wind. Francisco Soto led off with a real nice PR 4:38 and Jake Paulus followed with a 4:45 PR of his own. Andrew Morrison and Jordan Pavlovich cruised to 4:44 and 4:50 splits, although both did not find that "comfortably fast" zone.

I am really proud of Tom Johnson in the open 800. Tom was racing in arguable the most talented field of 800 runners we face all season, with Barrington's duo of Mangone/Schneider and Lake Park's duo of Watson/Jorgensen highlighting the field. However Tom did not back down one bit, and attacked the race right from the start. Tom led for the first 600m and fought the whole way before fading to 4th. The field was slow due to weather, but it was an exciting race to watch. Tom's 2:07 was not a PR, but he did not back down an inch to some great runners.

Gerardo Perez was supposed to set our school record in the 1600, and it would have been fitting to do it on the home track with current record-holder Sam Romanoski in attendance. However, the record will have to wait a little longer. Gerardo led start to finish in a tight race, finishing with a time of 4:28.8, just a half second of Romanoski's record. The next chance Gerardo will get will be Lake County in 2 weeks. Paul Geimer also ran a big PR 4:36 to finish 6th behind Benet's Clifford and Olp, Cogswell from Barrington and Krauss from Lake Park.

We stacked our lineup for the Libertyville Frosh Soph Relays, in hopes of winning this meet for the first time. At least 6 athletes who will be in out conference Meet lineup were brought down to help win this meet, including pole vaulter Andrew Lulis, hurdler John Grossi, thrower Kiah McGee, and standout sprinter Jake Brinlee.

We won the meet with over 140 points ahead of runner-up Palatine. We won every running event except the 4x800, and scored no worse than 4th in any event. Our frosh/soph group is not only talented and competitive, but also deep, which is how to win any relay meet.

Highlights: We really wanted to defend our 4x1600 title, but we knew Palatine has a great group of young distance runners and is always tough. I did not expect Grayslake Central to field such a strong team, but under the leadership of Chris Baldwin (a fellow Paavo alum), they could become great team in the next couple years. Jon Smith led off for us and had a difficult time staying with the leaders. I had hoped he would run a great race and break 5, but he finished in 5:06, which was close to his PR. Shawn Picha ran second and also failed to run a great race. Shawn ran near is PR, either 4:59 or 5:00, depending on whose watch we are looking at, but we were a good 100m back of leader Palatine. Vic Delatorre ran a great third leg in a PR 4:47 to get us back in the race, making up nearly half of the distance, and giving our anchor Pat Juras a chance. Pat was dynamite playing the role of anchor, clocking a 4:38 and coming from 3rd to first to take the race. It was an exciting finish, as Grayslake Central's anchor also clocked a 4:38 to finish a close second, while Palatine finished 3rd not far behind.

Pat McPartlan(4:18), Ike Honneger (2:22), Matt Fajnor,(2:23) and Shawn Picha (2:14) ran competitively for 4th place in the 4x8. Pat, Ike, and Matt all set PR's.

Alex Brend anchored the Middle Distance Medley to a come-from-behind victory in 2:08. Alex continues to impress in his first season as part of the Lake Zurich Distance Program. Alex has a special gift and only a couple thousand miles could turn him into an elite.

We won the meet because of our depth, and our depth was quite apparent in the last race of the day, the 4x400. Not many teams are able to put fresh athletes in this race, and we were fortunate to not only have fresh athletes, but fresh athletes that can fly! Mitch Dudek (55.0), Mike Shield (54.2), JD Parcheta (54.3), and Jake Brinlee (52.5) ran their only race of the day en route to an impressive 3:36.

On Monday, we took our entire team to compete against conference rivals Mundelein and Zion Benton, despite the Barrington Freshman Invitational being canceled due to weather. Despite the less than ideal conditions, the distance runners continue to take necessary steps to running qualifying times come May. Many of our varsity athletes used the day as a workout by running 3-4 races, while many of our younger guys got an opportunity to set PRs.

Highlights: Tim Ewan inches closer and closer to the 5 minute mile, running a 5:04. Trevor Feltner broke the 6 minute mile for the first time with a 5:59. Varsity runners Paul Geimer, Tom Johnson, Jake Paulus, and Francisco Soto raceshocked the 800, going out in 56-58, before fading to 2:05-2:08 in a painful, yet necessary, race.

Barrington defeated us for the second consecutive year at the Patriot Relays, although I am proud of the fight our boys put forth. We scored minimally in the throws and hurdles, although our young talent in those events continues to improve, boding well for the future. We were blessed with a beautiful night which made for great racing, and virtually all runners set season bests.

-Pat Juras came from 40m back to win the Frosh/Soph 4x8 in 8:47. All 4 members set PRs (Alex Brend - 2:14, Jon Smith - 2:16, Vic Delatorre - 2:12, Pat Juras - 2:05)

-The varsity 4x8 (Francisco Soto - 2:05, Jordan Pavlovich - 2:07, Tom Johnson - 2:05, and Jake Paulus - 2:03) took second behind Cary Grove in 8:20. Tom Johnson set a PR in the 4th consecutive meet with a 2:05.4.

- The Distance Medley (Pat Hannay - 55.8, Shawn Picha - 2:07.5, Paul Geimer, 3:24, Gerardo Perez 4:37)- took 2nd behind a loaded Barrington lineup. Shawn Picha was moved up to the varsity level for this race, and performed admirably, setting a PR 800.

-The Varsity 4x1 and Varsity 4x2 are looking into form and continuing the tradition of outstanding sprint relays. Sophomore Jake Brinlee is a beast, anchoring both relays in come-from-behind fashion.

-The Frosh/Soph 4x4 set a meet record 4:37 in their victory. All 4 athletes set PRs (Mike Shield - 54.4, Ben Papke - 55.0, JD Parcheta - 55.0, Mitch Dudek - 54.0).

-Gerardo Perez placed 3rd in a loaded 1600m field with a time of 4:29.4. This was Gerardo's first clocking under 4:30, and puts him within a second of Sam Romanoski's school record. Andrew Morrison ran a season best 4:37, placing 7th.

-The varsity 4x4 placed 3rd in their season best 3:29, with all four athletes clocking season best splits (Matt Frase 52.5, Francisco Soto 53.1, Jake Brinlee 51.9, Jake Paulus 52.2).

-The 4x100 weight man's relay placed 1st and set a meet record in 48.5 (Kiah McGee, Robbie Wilson, Connor Mihaljevic, Mark Tabaka).

We defeated Liberyville 77-49 at the Varsity Level and 107-38 at the Frosh/Soph level. The weather held up, although it was not ideal. There was a chilly breeze flowing out of the north, which made for tough backstretch.

Freshmen Kyle McNair and Brent Skupien finished 1st/3rd overall in the 3200, with PRs of 11:16 and 11:32. Kyle's 11:16 put him in 10th place on the all-time Freshman 3200 List.

Senior Tom Johnson PRed in the 800 for the 3th consecutive meet, with a 2:06 split in the 4x8.

Many PRs were set in the 800: Sophomore Vic Delatorre (2:17), Freshman Pat McPartlan (2:20), Freshman Ike Honegger (2:24), Sophomore Alex Brend (2:19).

Even more PRs were set in the 1600: Freshman Ike Honneger (5:18), Freshman Pat McPartlan (5:17), Freshman Jon Smith (5:05), Freshman Pat Juras (4:50), Sophomore Shawn Picha (5:00), Senior Tim Ewan (5:07), Senior Scott Harbeck (5:17).

-Kyle McNair (Freshman 3200, 10th, 11:16) -Pat Juras (Freshman 1600, 3rd, 4:50) -Mike Rantis (Freshman 100, 3rd, 11.8) -Christian WIlliams (Varsity 100, 9th, 11.3) -Christian Williams (Sophomore 100, 3rd 1.3) -Mike Rantis (Sophomore 200, 9th, 24.7) -Jeff Winters (Sophomore 200, 9th, 24.0) -Mike Shield (Freshman 400, 3rd, 55.8) -Jimmy Bohn (Freshman Shot Put, 10th, 35'3'') -Kiah McGee (Sophomore Shot Put, 4th, 42'10'') -Mark Tabaka (Sophomore Shot Put, 10th, 40'2'') -David Smith (Freshman Pole Vault, 6th, 7') -Andrew Lulis (Sophomore Pole Vault, 1st, 10'6'') -Dylan Vaughan (Sophomore Pole Vault, 4th, 10') -Andrew Lulis (Varsity Pole Vault, 8th, 10'6'') -Dylan Vaughan (Varsity Pole Vault, 10th, 10') -Jack Lynn (Freshman 110 Hurdles, 8th, 20.1) -John Grossi (Sophomore 110 Hurdles, 4th, 16.5) -John Grossi (Varsity 110 Hurdles, 9th, 16.5) -Jack Lynn (Freshman 300 Hurdles, 7th, 48.5) -John Grossi (Sophomore 300 Hurdles, 4th, 44.7) -Brian Poulter (Varsity 300 Hurdles, 7th, 44.1)

We placed 2nd at the Thornridge Blue Smoke Invite, behind the host Thornridge Falcons. We placed 6th at this meet last year, so the improvement is substantial. I was not pleased with the times we ran, but it was nice to see some athletes finally competing.

-FS 4x8 (Shawn Picha, Pat Juras, Pat McPartlan, and Jon Smith) wins in 9:04 behind sub 2:10 efforts from Shawn Picha and Pat Juras. Pat McPartlan and Jon Smith also PRed.

-Varsity 4x8 (Jordan Pavlovich, Paul Geimer, Jake Paulus, Tom Johnson) wins in 8:38. Tom Johnson PRed in 2:07. Paul ran his first track race of his life!

-Gerardo Perez and Andrew Morrison finish 1-3 in 3200. Times were slow (around 10:00) and both athletes looked heavy, although ran the same times as last year on a much windier day.

-Francisco Soto finishes 2nd in 800 (2:04). Francisco ran out of gas in the last 300, but looked great for the first 500!

-Jordan Pavlovich and Paul Geimer finish 2-3 in 1600. Times were poor (around 4:50) but both times were PRs for the season.

The IPTT meet is the highlight of the indoor season, and the boys love running on the 8-lap track. Gerardo ran the 1200 for his first race of the season, Jordan ran the 800, Jake ran the 400, and Andrew ran the 1600. We finished 9th as a team for the second straight year and the medals once again eluded us. Nevertheless, I am very proud of the way we competed. Here is a brief analysis.

Gerardo opened with a solid but unspectacular race. Gerardo almost made the critical mistake of getting out too slow, but he was lucky to be able to maneuver through the field to get in a competitive second place position for the rest of our relay. His split was a virtually even-split 3:17.

Jordan ran the 800 to a 2:05. He closed the gap on Lane Tech, and passed the baton along to Jake in second, although he made up over half the distance.

Jake's 400 was the best leg of the relay, splitting a 54.2. Jake took the baton and ended in first, making a solid move in the last 200 to take the lead.

Andrew ran an outstanding race shock in his 1600. His first 400 was 61 (despite a PR 400 of 60.1), and he paid dearly from there on. He was passed by 7 athletes as he struggled to a 4:47. I wish Andrew had ran a smarter race for the sake of his teammates, but the reality is that this was the best thing Andrew could have done for himself. There is no fault in starting too fast, only in starting too slow. This race will make him a smarter runner come May in the races that we truly care to perform our best.

For most, this is the only indoor meet of the season, and serves the primary purpose of "wetting one's lips" with a taste of competition as we prepare for outdoor. I would like to add one or two indoor meets for next year, but it is very difficult to find openings, since most meets are filled and most schools in the Lake Zurich neighborhood don't have indoor tracks.

Buffalo Grove beat us handily at the varsity level, but our Frosh/Soph team won and showed good balance and depth.

Only a fraction of our distance crew competed at BG, but those that did fought valiantly. Our distance lineup features three 4x8 relays in which all 12 athletes are in their first year of competition with one exception, Mike Filenko, who has converted from sprinter to distance runner. Needless to say, we came away with tons of PRs despite the tight turns of BG track.

Shawn Picha was our lone Frosh/Soph 800 runner, and he came away with a win in a spirited race. Shawn ran a very conservative 2:16, to come from behind and win the race. Shawn- you will quickly learn that you are in better shape than you ever have been before, which gives you the attack earlier and more assertively. You must trust yourself and your training if you are to make the jump to the next level.

Jordan Pavlovich was our lone Varsity 800 runner, and also came away with a win. The goal was to lead from start to finish, in hopes of trying to extend Jordan's comfort zone. Jordan led the first 500m, before a BG runner passed, but Jordan used his strength to pull away in the last 200 with a 2:11 split. While his finish looked strong, we will be working all season on getting Jordan through the quarter faster.

In the frosh/soph mile, we featured veteran sophomore Matt Fajnor, first year sophomore Alex Brend, and frosh Kyle McNair. Kyle and Alex both ran PR's, as we took 2-3-4 in the event. Alex's 5:23 was impressive for his first high school mile.

The hype before the meet was all about the Varsity mile, as Jake Paulus guaranteed victory over Andrew Morrison. However, only 200m into the race, Jake let Andrew go and the race was uneventful. With Jake being only 6 days removed from the ER and Andrew trying to recover from the flu, the times were even slower than anticipated. We did pick up valuable team points finishing 1-2-3 in the race, as Tom Johnson took third and continued to look strong indoors. Tom is looking as good as he ever has, and adds depth to an already deep distance team.

Our distance runners also got an opportunity to run their first of many 4x4s in their future. Emphasized by Morrison's vomit merely 2 minutes before the start (which he wiped up with his own t-shirt), the distance runners could not hang with the sprinters as BG's strong middle distance tradition beat us handily.

We begin our preparation for outdoor with a good 4 weeks before our next meet. We will begin to get our Intervals in place, and will be much more race-prepared at our next outing.

Despite the tiny track and the long meet, the Buffalo Grove Scarpino Invite is a favorite of the Lake Zurich Track team. The flighted meet is always well-run and matches athletes of equal abilities, resulting in exciting races all day long.

We never score well at Scarpino as a team, as this is our opening meet and most of our opponents have competed multiple times already this season. This year, we scored even less points than we usually do, but I can assure all our fans that we have a much stronger team than we showed. I count at least 9 varsity athletes who did not compete for various reasons (Gerardo Perez, Francisco Soto, Jake Paulus, Paul Geimer, Kyle Williams, Christian Williams, Dan Iwicki, Josh Fitts, and Colin Lennon), but this gave us a chance to give our youngsters some valuable varsity experience. In fact, 18 of our 34 competing athletes were freshmen or sophomores.

High Jump: We will score some valuable field event points this season with Dan Randolph and newcomer Kevin Gratys. I don't know how high Dan jumped, but Kevin was impressive in his first ever competition, clearing 5'10'' and showing a lot of upside.

Triple Jump: The other field event that we are strong in is the Triple Jump, with a sophomore and two juniors who are already pushing 40'. Jack Rathe and Jake Brinlee will lead the Bear charge in this event.

Sprints: We have a long tradition of great sprint relays at Lake Zurich. Kyle Williams and Christian Williams were both members of our sprint relays last year, but were scrathed from competition the day before, so we had an emergency substitution of the two Freshmen Rantis twins into our 4x1 lap relay. Despite very little handoff practice, The Rantis twins joined Jake Brinlee and Dan Randolph to take 2nd place out of the slow heat. I have to give Coach Beaver and Coach Towne a lot of credit for preparing this group to be successful in a highly competitive meet with only 1 day to prepare for the critical handoffs.

Distance: We will score a lot of points in the distance events once we get healthy. On Saturday, we look very young. Then with Jake Paulus going down with vertigo and Paul Geimer scratching with the flu, our young athletes were put in even tougher positions by bumping to higher flights at faster seed times. Nevertheless, I was proud of each kid who simply went out and competed.

- In my mind, the race of the day came from Tom Johnson. Tom ran a 2:11 en route to his 6th place finish in the A flight of the 800. Tom showed a toughness that you expect to see out of a senior leader, and showed he can competently fill one of the 800m spots in a standard meet. Tom's 2:11 was an overall PR.

- Andrew Morrison looked elite in his 9:53. He was beat by Cary's Phil Fairleigh and St. Charles North's Vankerhoof (sp?), both of whom are some of the best in the state.

- Pat Juras broke 5:00 in his inaugural track meet, despite thinking the race was over when there was still 5 laps to go (I don't know what to say about this one). The most impressive part of Pat's race was that he went through the 1200 at 3:37, and he could be a standout in the Freshman Mile at the Distance Gala this summer.