LAKE ZURICH CROSS COUNTRY

2010 Cross Country Homepage

11/14/10 - "Alpine Runners" Place 9th at NXN Midwest

The Lake Zurich Cross Country Team competed in the Nike Midwest Championship for the first time in team history, running as our local running club Alpine Runners.  The race was held on the heralded Lavern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.  The boys placed 9th in the championship race, which is a terrific accomplishment considering where Lake Zurich Cross Country was just a few years ago.  However, it simply wasn't their day, and were beat by a number of the strong Illinois teams who we had edged last week.  York won again, while our friends down at Columbus North grabbed second for the two automatic bid to nationals.

I am so proud of the boys at NXN, even though their results weren't what they hoped for.  As it turns out, 8 of the top 9 teams at NXN Midwest were from Illinois, showing that a top 10 finish in Illinois often means a lot more than a state championship in another state.  They achieved national recognition for their efforts this season in the form of a 14th place national ranking, and a 9th place finish in the region is nothing to scoff at.    A lot of lessons can be learned from this experience, and these lessons will be invaluable for future teams.  Here are some of those lessons learned:

- It takes a bit of luck to run well in the Championship meets at the end of the season, notably by avoiding sickness and injuries.  We had been very lucky all season long, in that none of our varsity runners were sick or injured for the 3 months leading up to the IHSA state meet. That luck faded last week as a number of guys, in particular Victor and Pat, caught the flu that clearly affected them in NXN Midwest.

- The teams that are successful at NXN Midwest tend to be from programs that have the NXN Championships circled on their calendar for months prior to the race.  These teams are perennial powers that focus their minds and training towards the national meets along with the state series.  Our boys decided on the Monday after state to give it a go, and it seemed very difficult for them to get back into the competitive mode after letting their guard down for just 2 days.  If future teams from LZ choose to compete in the NXN series, certain structures need to be in place ahead of time, such as a running club, coach, and plan.

- It is very difficult to be successful at a meet in your first try.  I think back to our 2008 team and 2009 team at the state meet, which were our first 2 teams to compete in the state meet in school history.  Both teams fell short of achieving their state meet goals, but we were able to learn from both experiences, and it set the table for our 2010 team to qualify and have their best day.  This proves yet again that experience in the championship meets plays such a huge role.

- There are no shortcuts on the way to the top.  To beat the best, you must be the best on a regular basis, not just on one day.  There are no days off in endurance sports, and we must understand that we are constantly training our minds and bodies for bigger and better things.  The moment that we fail to strive for greater standards is the moment we digress.

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11/6/10 - LZXC Places 2nd at IHSA State Meet

We placed second at the 2010 IHSA State Meet with 164 points, 2 points behind state champion York.  Neuqua Valley finished 3rd with 180 points, while Palatine (189) and Ofallon (200) were not far behind.  The nice weather allowed for the fastest IHSA state meet in history, with 47 runners hitting 15:00 or faster, and it was also the closest 1-5 team race in state history, with only 36 points separating 1st and 5th.

As I reflect on the experience, I am in awe.  I am in awe of two things.  The first is "the process".  The process of training and racing, which we as coaches so adamantly preach and sometimes blindly follow, is such a fine line.  As coaches, we have faith in what we are doing and that it will allow our young athletes to accomplish their goals.  But without evidence, without validity, it is simply blind faith.  My thought as we walked across the stage to receive our first state trophy was about this process.  Our faith in the process is not blind anymore, but now is in view.  Accomplishments only seem impossible until they are completed.  Our process, through all its heavy breathing, sweat, and discomfort, can put us in position to be the best.  Those two measly points provide confidence and maybe add a little hunger for future teams, as they embark on the process.

Secondly, I am in awe of these young men.  These young men are the ones that withstand the heavy breathing, sweat, and discomfort.  They are the ones that eat, sleep, and train the process, and it influences their every decision.  These young men dare to seek greatness when few other believed they were capable.  This group is simply a collection of goons (and I say that affectionately) in that they are all so unlike in personality, so disparate in interests, and yet they adore each other's uniqueness.  This adoration has been built on thousands of miles of the process and its conversations held between breaths.  I stood in awe as I watched these young men follow me on stage, each deserving of so much more than a tiny medal hanging from a ribbon.  I stood in awe as I looked out at our team-members in the stands, some holding giant heads, knowing that they were as much a part of the process as those on stage.

A lot has been said about our team coming out of nowhere, and there is a lot of truth in that.  Track 3200m times are often used to predict cross country success.  At the end of last year's track season, we didn't look much like a state qualifier, less a trophy team.  Here are the 3200m PRs of our top 12 as of last June compared to their 3m PRs in cross.

At the beginning of the summer, I sat down with our captains Ryan Moncrieff and Shawn Picha.  I asked them the question, do you believe that special things can happen in just one summer?  They believed.  With these two leading the way, we trained harder, trained smarter, and most importantly, trained together.  We embraced the struggle and put it on our t-shirts to remind ourselves of who we are and where we came from.  Special things can and do happen in just one summer.  Shawn and Ryan: I thank you for believing.  I will never forget that conversation, and it has become a coaching key experience that I will share with all future teams.

Before the state meet, we had already exceeded the expectations of most fans of Illinois Cross Country.  But eyes were opened even more at Detweiller.  To put it simply, we ran lights out.  It was one of those special days where everybody clicks at the same time, the type of day you dream about having on the biggest stage.  We had 7 lifetime PRs, which is impressive in itself.  But even more impressive is that we averaged a 19 second PR per person (yes- averaged!).

I am so proud of Jon Smith.  Jon had about as much pressure on him as I could imagine, but he handled it week in and week out without stress.  Our top 4 were typically packed up front, and he wasn't getting any help behind him.  He ran all our big meets on an island, with no teammates to gauge.  The state meet was no different.  Jon's 15:30 was a 25 second PR from his previous best of the season, and 41 seconds faster than his 2009 state meet time.  We don't have a state trophy or a sectional title without the toughness of Jon Smith. 

Another great story line is Alex Brend.  Alex was our wild card going into state, and we thought if he found himself, he would make us very tough to beat.  Alex had recently struggled to finish races, including a 24th place finish in Sectionals.  He had hit some homerun workouts in practice, including a 4:20 timed mile before conference, and we knew he was ready to explode.  For the week of state, we took all speed out of his workouts and let him go back on PPMs.  From 24th at sectionals to 18th at state was the explosion we were hoping for.  To all our young athletes, don't underestimate the power of the PPM.

The re-emergence of Pat Juras as a state elite is quite a storyline as well.  Pat spoke eloquently at our pre-race logbook session about his experiences in the past 12 months, and demonstrated his graciousness for the opportunity.  He spoke of a sense of urgency, a theme that has spread through our program in recent years.  Pat will undoubtedly be mentioned in the 2011 state champion conversation, as he will be the 6th highest placing returnee next year.

Shawn Picha and Jared Ripoli both accomplished their goal of breaking 16:00.  The experience was invaluable for Jared, who trained and raced alongside a great leader in Shawn.  Jared will be a leader in our varsity lineup for years to come.

One of my favorite Arthur Lydiard quotes is "In every village of every country lives a potential Olympic champion."  I first saw Ryan Moncrieff run in an 800m time trial around our tiny 14-lap Tonelli Gym track as a part of our school's freshman baseball tryouts.  Most of the freshmen trying out for the baseball team did not take the time trial seriously.   Most tried to hide in the pack, and tried not to be last or stand out.  In an era where it is not "cool" to work hard, Ryan was the exception.  If I recall, Ryan only ran around 2:30, but he simply ran as hard as he could.  I invited Ryan to join the cross country team the next year.  He said ok.  I am not Arthur Lydiard and Ryan is probably not going to be an Olympic champion, but the quote sure teaches a lesson that we as teachers and coaches have a responsibility to help young adults find their talents.  Ryan found his talent in distance running, and three and a half years later, he repeated that 2:30 800m time trial six times in a row at the IHSA State Meet.

Victor Delatorre is another 3-year member of LZXC.  Victor came out for track his freshman year, and broke the magical 5-minute mile in his last race of the season.  From then, he was hooked.  He joined cross country the next year and never looked back.  Victor has matured both emotionally and physically, and has blossomed into a elite high school runner in recent weeks.  Victor is simply a gamer.  He tends to run his best races on the biggest days, which can be attributed to his competitiveness (see Mille Bournes).  Victor's 14:38 at state was our biggest PR of the day, a sweet 34 seconds better than his Peoria Notre Dame split.

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10/30/10 - LZXC Wins First Sectional Title in School History

We won our first sectional title in school history, qualifying for the IHSA state meet for the 3rd time in school history, and 3rd year in a row.  We scored 71 points, narrowly edging out Palatine's 74 points with Schaumburg (98 points) and Barrington (105 points) not far behind.

I have mixed emotions about being a part of this special moment in our program's history.  I am thrilled we were able to bring home a Sectional plaque for the first time.  I am proud of the inspiring performances by our some of our top 5, notable Pat Juras, Victor Delatorre, and Jon Smith.  I am proud for our practice squad who continue to work hard and advance to higher training levels, which gives our varsity confidence as they race in these championship meets.  I am happy for Coach May, who has given so much to this team.  She has helped it grow from a 15-member squad that couldn't qualify out of the regional to its current state as a 60+ member team that is perennially in the hunt for conference titles and state meet births.  Our alumni should also be very proud, as they have had a significant hand in this team's development, either by setting traditions, raising expectations, or increasing training levels.

As powerful as all these positive feelings are, we are still not content.  We simply can run better, we can run a better team race, and we will put ourselves in position to do that next week.  We had our largest 1-5 split of the year (50 seconds) and our largest 1-4 split of the year (42 seconds), although that is mostly due to the emergence of Pat Juras as a frontrunner.  We also know that some teams didn't have their best day, notably Palatine.  We want to win, but we want to win when our opponents are at their best.  As tough as they were today, I am sure Palatine will be even tougher next week.  The state meet is where teams put their best foot forward, and we will attempt to do just that at Detweiller.  Our plan for state is simple.  We are going to control only the aspects which we can control- our preparation and our race.  We will prepare ourselves as well as we can over the next 7 days, and carry out our race plan as diligently as we can.  If we do that, then we can be proud of whatever results come our way.

On to the sectional race.  We corrected our mistake from regionals and and put ourselves in a competitive position at the start.  At the mile, our first 4 were in the top 15 with Jon Smith in the 30s.  Shawn Picha was out well too, in the 50s.  We held ground for the next mile, while others fell off the pace.  Schaumburg's Travis Morrison made an aggressive move in the 3rd mile, and only Pat Juras and eventual winner Eric Peterson matched it.  Juras and Peterson are similar runners in that both run conservatively then make big moves late in the race that few others can match.  Juras and Peterson eventually caught Morrison and the two charged home in the last 400.  Pat had a step with about 200m to go, but Peterson turned on the burners and edged Pat at the line for a 2 second win.  It was an exciting race, and Pat once again showed his stripes.  Pat's time of 15:06 was our 3rd fastest in school history at Schaumburg, behind Sam Romanoski's 14:54 and Gerardo Perez's 15:01.

Vic Delatorre was a stud for us on this day, as he ran tough for 4th place in 15:17.  Ryan Moncrieff had a solid but not spectacular day, finishing 14th in 15:33.  Alex Brend had a poor race, as he faded from 10th to 24th in the last mile in 15:48.  Look for Alex to rebound next week.  Jon Smith keyed our victory, outkicking Palatine's #6 and #7, to a nice 31st place finish in 15:56.  Shawn Picha also ran a solid race, finishing 51st in 16:12.  Jared Ripoli looked a little shell shocked in his first sectional, finishing 73rd in 16:30.

We will see everyone Saturday at Detweiller Park, 2PM.

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10/23/10 - Bears Win Regional Title

We won the Libertyville Regional with 20 points, placing 1,2,4,5,8.  Pat Juras was individual winner in 15:21 despite a big last mile from Victor Delatorre, who placed second in 15:24.  Alex Brend and Ryan Moncrieff placed 4th and 5th in the 15:30's behind Grant's star Ryan Mamerow.  Jon Smith placed 8th at 16:00.  The Regional title marks our 3rd Regional plaque in 5 years. 

Up next is the showdown with the MSL monsters Palatine, Schaumburg, Prospect, and Barrington at the Sectional meet.

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10/20/10 - LZXC Freshmen and Sophomores Both Win at HP Frosh/Soph Invite

I apologize for the recent website issues.  We currently switched web-hosting services and that process had a few snags.  Nevertheless, I am happy to be able to report our recent updates, including a strong win by our Freshmen and Sophomores.

Our Freshmen and Sophomores complete their seasons at Highland Park for their Frosh/Soph Invitational.  There were only 4 boys schools competing this year, but the invite still had some nice competition.  Highland Park's Freshmen squad has seen success this year, including winning the CSL North Freshman Title, and Buffalo Grove always has a talented group of young runners.  Throw in conference rival Lake Forest, and you have the makings of some nice end-of-season races.

Freshmen

Our Freshmen won with 42 points in a close battle over Highland Park (51) and Buffalo Grove (54).  Buffalo Grove nabbed the first two places with some talented young runners, and Highland Park's 5th runner was in the chute before our 5th, but we still managed to pull out the tight victory.  Our strength was a great display of team running with our first 4 athletes forming a tight pack through the mile mark.  Dave Brown, Jack Herman, Gerrit Williams, and Will Llanos flew through the mile at  5:25-5:28, hovering between 5th and 10th place.  Will lost the pace in the second mile but hung on for 11th, while Dave, Jack and Gerrit stayed tight and ran tough through the finish.  Dave, Jack and Gerrit split the 2mile in PRs between 11:20-11:24, before unleashing a devastating kick to nab sweet 4th, 5th, and 6th place finishes. 

Matt Reninger got out slow in 5:47, but swallowed up competitors as the race progressed, and moved up to a solid 16th place to solidify the victory.  Our depth at the freshmen level showed behind Matt, as a swarm of athletes followed, including Dominic Corrado, Brian Griffin, Austin Kuehr, and Mark Charnogorsky.  These 4 snuck in before Buffalo Grove's #5, which turned out to be a big help in catching up to their top 2.  We also got some nice 2-mile PRs out of Ryan Thorne (12:45), Nate Wood (13:33), and Robert Picha (14:01).

This was a great win for our Freshmen squad, as it showed that the potential is there to continue to tradition started by our upper classmen.  Many of these freshmen will stay on the Practice Squad through the state series, as they continue to grow as runners and young adults.

Sophomores

Our Sophomores were simply dominant, winning the race with a mere 20 points.  Jon Ramirez took redemption on Alex Milner, winning the race for the second year in a row, while Alex took a respectable 2nd.  Jon's time for the 2.1m course, 11:08, was the fastest we have had at this meet, and bested Pat Juras's course record from last season.  Behind Jon and Alex, our pack of Rueben Riano, Bobby Klett, Trevor Kuehr, and Oliver Shim rushed to 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th place finishes to close the victory.  Probably the best performance of the day came from 7th man Bill Bennett, who split the 2mile in 13:03 and finished in 17th place.  Bill earned "The Rat" for his efforts.

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10/16/10 - LZXC Dominated North Suburban Conference Meet at Varsity and JV Level

Special things tend to happen for us every year at the North Suburban Conference Meet.  Maybe it is Coach May's conference speech.  Maybe it is Team Game Day.  Maybe it is the hard work and dedication by our athletes.   Whatever the reason, I am proud to be a part of a group of young athletes who muster the toughness to run their best on the biggest day.

Our Varsity won with 24 points, our lowest point total of our 4 conference championships in team history.  Our Varsity also went undefeated in dual meets, marking the third straight year we have managed to win both the Division Title and Conference Title.  Our JV won with 15 points , claiming 8 of the first 9 medals.  A great team is made of great individuals, and we are certainly blessed with exactly that.  This LZXC team has developed an identity, an identity that is highlighted by a scary combination of talent, depth, and willingness to work hard.  On to some of the storylines from the meet.

Varsity

Coming into the race, we knew that Kevin Wood of Stevenson and Juan Carrera of Round Lake were the runners to beat.  We have a lot of respect for each of these athletes for what they have done and what they are still capable of doing.  We also knew that a handful of other individuals in the conference were capable of mixing it up with the leaders on any given day, including Ryan Mamerow of Grant, Robbie Munnings and Martin Mena of Mundelein, Ryan Prais of Lakes, and Noel Gonzalez of Zion Benton.  As it turned out, each of the key players made their presence known at different points in the race. 

Carrera led early in the race but got overexcited in the first mile, dropping off the lead pack.  He should still be considered a heavy hitter in the Schaumburg sectional and his best performances are still ahead.  Kevin Wood and Alex Brend led through 2 miles, with our pack of Ryan Moncrieff, Victor Delatorre, and Pat Juras a couple strides behind.  Jon Smith was rolling alongside Prais back 7th-8th, while Shawn Picha and Jared Ripoli were in paired up nicely in the teens.  I thought at the 2 mile that Wood would make a big move, and he did.  He was able to break Alex, who faded in the last mile, but our pack of Victor, Ryan, and Pat were holding ground.  With about 1200 to go, I saw Pat separate from our pack and drew even with Wood.  At that point I knew it was over.

Pat looked like a freight train as he emerged from the path, nearly 15 seconds ahead of the field.  Pat ended up winning in a Lakewood course record 15:22, and marked his first win as a varsity runner (ever!).  Check out the All-Time Lakewood Records, as well as the impressive list of names and times he bested on this day.  What a day and what a story for this young man.  For those who aren't close to our team, you may be wondering where he came from.  But his teammates, coaches, and fans knew this day was just a matter of time.  After a frustrating sophomore year due to illness and breathing issues, Pat is once again running with the confidence and fitness that place him in the conversation among the state's best.  Pat is now our 5th runner to win a varsity race this year, which is probably this team's most impressive statistic.

Vic and Ryan fought hard to catch Wood, and finished 3rd and 4th in 15:40 and 15:44.  Jon placed 7th for the second year in a row, and he seems to have a knack for running well at this time of year.  With the top 8 guys places breaking 16:00, each made the All-Time Lakewood List.  Alex Brend faded to 9th after leading for much of the first 2 miles.  While he was disappointed with his race, his recent workouts show exactly what he is capable of (his teammates know what I am talking about), and his best races are still yet to come.  Shawn accomplished his preseason goal and placed 15th overall, while J-Rip snagged 16th.  I have heard other coaches estimate that Lakewood runs at least 25 seconds and as much as 45 seconds slower than Detweiller, so our times bode well for the upcoming state series.

JV

Our depth really shined here, as we grabbed 8 of the first 9 positions.  Many of our top JV runners are still competing for a position in the Varsity lineup and the state series roster. As a result, we got after it from the start, with our top 7 jostling for position throughout the race.  In the end, the day belonged to sophomore Alex Milner.

Alex's story is truly the story of the unknown runner.  Last year, Alex was buried in the strength of our former freshman class, usually finishing as our 6th man in most freshmen races, battling soreness on a weekly basis, and running between 19 and 20 minutes for 3 miles.  Alex ran respectable but not outstanding 1600m/800m PRs of 5:20 and 2:23 last track season.  To all our freshman runners out there who may find themselves in a similar situation to where Alex was, there are really no secrets to Alex's improvements: In the past 6 months, Alex has developed a strength in his 6'3'' frame that could only be gained by a thousand miles of work.  Alex won the first race of his life - he took the reigns of the JV race at the mile and never looked back finishing in a time of 16:34, which would have placed him 17th in the Varsity race.  He continues to gain strength and confident with each passing week, and has established himself as a big varsity player next year.

Pat McPartlan placed second in 16:40, a time that would have placed him 19th in the Varsity race.  Andrew Lulis, Jon Ramirez, and David Smith rounded out our top 5 and will make up our alternates on the state series roster.  Isaac Honegger ran the best race of his season to take 6th, while 2 sophomores, Bobby Klett and Rueben Riano also ran well for 8th and 9th.

Trevor Feltner ended with the highest honor on the team, being awarded the North Suburban Sportsmanship Award. Trevor is much deserving of this award, and truly embodies our key quote "Everyday is a Great day".  Trevor also earned a Conference medal, placing 18th.

Steve Brown ran the best race of his life in his last race, running a PR 17:46, good for 16th.  Steve will represent LZXC on the Lake Zurich Tennis team in the spring.  Big Steve MacDonald was a shot/discus thrower last track season.  Steve broke 19 minutes for the first time in his life, for a sweet PR of 18:40.  Look for Steve to make the transition from throwing to mid-distance this spring on the track.  Sophomore Bill Bennett also ran tough, setting a huge lifetime PR of 21:02, and I'm proud to say that he has found a home in LZXC. 

There was no freshman race in the conference this year.  As a result, it is difficult to determine how our freshmen stack up against the conference, but I know we would have been in the mix.  Gerrit Williams led the way for us with a great race, running 18:08 and just missing the medals.  Dave Brown was close behind him and gaining quickly, finishing in 18:14.  Jack Herman was our 3rd freshman finisher in 18:36, followed by Will Llanos in 18:55 (in his second race of the season) and Matt Reninger in 19:12.  We also received some great efforts from Robert Picha, Ryan Thorne, and Max Galarce.  Robert (21:52), Ryan (22:58), and Max (23:47) ran lifetime PRs on a tough Lakewood course.

Check out the LZXC Lakewood Records.  We established 12 of the top 50 LZXC freshman times, 7 of the top 50 LZXC sophomore times, and 22 of the top 50 LZXC varsity times.

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10/9/10 - LZXC 2nd at Wheeling Invitational

We placed 2nd at the Wheeling Invitational with 62 points.  Belvidere North, who is currently ranked #8 in the nation, won with 45 points.  St. Ignatius placed 3rd with 92 and a short-handed Barrington squad placed 4th with 95 points, both of whom are currently ranked in Illinois' top 20.  Although we only lost by 17 points, the team race was not as close as the score appears.  Belvidere North had 3 in the shoot before our first, their fourth beat our fourth, and their fifth beat our fifth.  They continue to live up to the hype and will represent the state of Illinois well when national qualifier races begin in November.

The race started out at a relatively pedestrian pace, with a lead pack of about 25 runners going through the mile in around 5:00.  Our front pack of Victor, Ryan, Pat, and Alex were comfortably tucked in behind the leaders.  Jon Smith, Shawn Picha, and Jared Ripoli were staggered but looked comfortable between 5:05 and 5:12.  The race began to get strung out in the second mile, and a pack led by Belvidere North's Paul Zeman and Tyler Yunk, with Barrington's bronco Eric Peterson and St. Ignatius impressive sophomore Jack Keelan started to separate.  Zeman ended up winning the race but fell 1 second short of our own Gerardo Perez's course record of 14:49.  Our pack hung on a little better than most, as we fought to maintain pace while others slowed.  Victor, Alex, and Pat battled down the stretch with Belvidere North's #3 Paxson Menard and HP's Ari Rothschild, finally claiming respectable 6th, 7th, and 9th place finishes.   The heat certainly affected some runners more than others, including Ryan Moncrieff, who lost the pace and settled for 16th.

Our back end continues to make progress, as Jon Smith, Shawn Picha, and Jared Ripoli looked smooth for most of the race.  Jon ran well without unleashing his kick, finishing in 15:56, good for 24th.  Shawn Picha had mixed feelings about his 27th place finish even though it was a 1 second PR.  Shawn's time: 16:01, which marks his 4th clocking at 16:10 or below.  Jared Ripoli solidified his role in the varsity lineup with a steady 16:13, good for 34th. 

Frosh/Soph

Our frosh/soph squad finished a respectable 5th place with 156 points.  This depleted unit was much less experienced than lineups we have entered in the past, with 6 freshman toeing the line for us.  We were without 5 of our top Frosh/Soph runners, with J-Rip and J-Ram running varsity and Alex Milner, Will Llanos, and Dave Brown sitting out for a variety of reasons.  Nevertheless, we got some great performances.  Rueben Riano and Bobby Klett were our 2 medalists, finishing in 13th and 15th.  Both Rueben and Bobby are running their best races as we close in on Conference.  I like what I see in freshmen Ryan Fitzgerald, Dominic Corrado, and Mark Charnogorsky.  These three continue to grow competitively, and are quickly closing in on the 6 minute pace.  Polar Bears will help sculpt the future of these youngsters, as they strive to continue to tradition of hard work that their teammates have established.

JV

There were a lot of great efforts for us in this race.  I'd have to start with Pat McPartlan, who won his first race of his life.  Pat ran like a seasoned pro, drafting off the leaders until the third mile, where he made a strong move and never looked back.  Pat's time was around 16:20, which puts him in the hunt for the varsity lineup in the next couple weeks. 

I never thought I would see the day that I would mention Ryan Martin and "strength" in the same sentence.  On this day, Ryan had the strongest stride of any runner in the race in the last 800 meters.   If Ryan is not evidence of the importance of summer training, I don't know what is.  Ryan ran his best race of his life, finishing in 13th in 17:10.

Freshman Brian Griffin has been a real pleasant surprise this year.  He has established a reputation as one of the hardest workers on the team, and it is great to see his hard work producing results in races.  On this day, Brian ran a huge 60 second PR and broke 20 minutes for the first time. 

Other great efforts came from Freshman Austin Kuehr, who broke the 21 minute mark for the first time in his life, and Nick Slotten who shattered his PR and finished as our scoring 5th man. 

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9/25/10 - LZXC 4th at Palatine Invitational

Dual @ Warren/Mundelein

We followed up our strong performance at Peoria with another good week.  We had an emotional conference triangular meet early in the week against our 2 strongest conference opponents, Mundelein and Warren.  Warren, Mundelein, and LZXC were all undefeated in conference duals leading up to the meet, a situation similar to the LZXC/Warren/Lake Forest dual of 2008.  We came out on the winning end of both duals, 18-42 over Warren and 18-44 over Mundelein.  Ryan Moncrieff won the first race of his career, and our top 5 finished with a 30 second 1-5 split.  Moncrieff is now our 4th different runner to win a varsity race this season (along with Delatorre, Lulis, and Brend).

Palatine

On Saturday, we ran the Palatine Invitational.  Our Varsity placed 4th, which marks our highest place at the invitational in LZXC history (previous best was 9th in 2009).  York ran like a typical York team, winning easily with 60 points.  New Trier and Palatine were 2nd and 3rd with 116 and 148 points.  We were 4th with 160, and Barrington was close behind with 177.  St. Louis University High School, ranked 2nd in Missouri, placed 6th overall with 203, which provides even more evidence of the strength of Illinois Cross Country.

We didn't run as well at Palatine as we did in Peoria.  Frankly, we looked a little flat after a couple recent emotional races.  Our structure played out similar to how it did at Peoria; Our 3 seniors were in position early, and Pat Juras caught our lead pack by the end.  Jon Smith led our second pack, with Shawn Picha and David Smith in tow. 

We badly wanted to beat Palatine again, but they were simply too good on their home course.  Nevertheless, I saw a lot of good things in our performances.  Victor led the way for us with a respectable 14th place showing, while Brend, Moncrieff, and Juras were close behind in 22nd, 23rd, and 25th.  Alex continues to run accidental race shocks by opening up in 4:45, which isn't the worst scenario for September races.  Look for him to explode when he learns to run a 3-mile race different than an 800.  Pat Juras showed once again that he has the fitness to run with anybody in the last 2 miles of the race- now he simply needs the confidence to go out with them from the start.  Jon Smith ran a great race despite a final time below his expectations- he went out at 5:00 and attacked the second mile as per the strategy.  Shawn Picha and David Smith ran times comparable to their Peoria times, but they were never really in position to influence the race.  We need more out of our back end, and with 5 other LZXC athletes within 5 seconds of them, we have a number of potential diamonds in the rough.  With this group, the success will go to the aggressors.

Sophomores

Our sophomores placed 3rd behind York and New Trier.  This group placed 4th in last year's freshman race that didn't even include New Trier, so their hard work has been noticed.  I thought we might be able to sneak in for the win here if we ran our best.  Unfortunately, New Trier and York were simply too deep.  We didn't run our best race as a team, but we got some nice efforts in the process.

Jared Ripoli, Alex Milner, and Jon Ramirez led the way for us with 8th, 10th, and 12th place finishes around 16:15-16:20.  Jon bounced back from a couple off-races with a PR effort that earned him "The Rat" (for our alums- first we had "The Rock", then we had "The Rim", now we have "The Rat"... we have created a tradition of creating traditions...).  Trevor Kuehr fell off our pack during the second mile, and faded to 43rd in 17:03.  Trevor can train with this group, and with some visits to the weight room, will be able race with them too.  Bobby Klett rounded out our scoring 5 with a 52nd place 17:11.

Freshmen

Our Freshmen placed a respectable 10th, and continue to take the steps to becoming motivated distance runners.  Dave Brown ran a great race and was our sole medalist in 22nd place.  Gerrit Williams and Jack Herman both showed their potential by running sub-6 pace for the 4K course.  Matt Reninger was not far behind, running 15:15, while Mark Charnogorsky ran the best race of his season as our 5th man.  This team looks forward to Conference and the HP Frosh/Soph Invite when they get to run their age group again.

Junior Varsity

We placed 7th in the Open race, our highest place in the open race in LZXC history.  We were led by Pat McPartlan and Andrew Lulis who placed 14th and 17th overall, finishing in 16:14 and 16:17.  Both upperclassmen are within striking distance of the varsity lineup, and have the potential to be significant varsity contributors.  Special congratulation must go to Trevor Feltner and Nick Slotten for breaking 18 for the first time in their careers, and to Mike Unger and Evan Yerger for breaking 20:00 for the first time in their careers.   In all, we had 10 lifetime PRs out of our 33 runners competing on the 3mile course.

Monday will conclude our "Two weeks of Terror", where we will run our fifth race in 17 days.  We are looking forward to completing our training as we make a big push into October. _________________________________________________________

9/18/10 - LZXC Placed 5th at Competitive Notre Dame Invitational

The 2010 Notre Dame Invitational was probably the most competitive invitational I have ever been a part of.  PND featured 13 of the top 25 ranked AAA teams: York (#1), Oak Park (#2), Palatine (#3), Sandburg (#5), Schaumburg (#7), OFallon (#8), the Lake Zurich Bears (#9), Lyons (#10), Barrington (#14), Loyola (#15), Harlem (#20), Maine South (#24), and Hersey (#25).  Throw in the top 3 AA teams, Belvidere North (#1), Springfield (#2) and Normal University (#3), then throw in Warwick Valley from New York (3rd in NY state last year and currently nationally ranked), and now you have created a field as competitive as a state meet.  The air was electric (pun intended) at historic Detweiller Park, and all the buzz (pun intended) was about the clash of the 4 teams currently ranked in the top 15 in the nation (York- US#6, Oak Park - US#10, Belvidere North - US#11, and Warwick Valley, NY - US#15).  York usually fields a JV squad in this meet, but they decided to run their varsity to honor Warwick Valley's wishes in their trip to the midwest.

The athletes had to deal with a bit of adversity prior to race.  Lightening postponed the meet nearly 2 hours.  The Frosh/Soph men's race, JV men's race, and JV women's race were all combined, creating a mega-race, which was ran after the men's Varsity.  We might have dealt with a little more adversity than other teams, as our bus was nowhere to be found when the lightening started, and we had to cram our 47 athletes into a tiny bathroom for nearly 40 minutes while the lightening erupted overhead.  Nevertheless, our athletes took it in stride, and didn't let those uncontrollable variables affect them.

Varsity

Our Varsity took 5th in the 56 team field with 206 points, which may have been a minor upset to many onlookers.  Belvidere North won with 102, followed closely by Oak Park with 106, York with 127, and OFallon with 164.  Warwick Valley, NY finished 7th overall, which hopefully will bring more national attention to the depth of Illinois cross country.  Our sectional foes Palatine, Schaumburg, and Barrington were not far behind in 8th, 9th and 12th.

Our plan was for our four horsemen (Brend, Delatorre, Moncrieff, and Juras) to keep a tight pack upfront, and have a secondary pack behind them.  I thought that the 3 seniors would fair pretty well, but I was worried about Pat Juras, as he was sick early in the week, missed 2 days of school and an entire week of training.  The three seniors packed up nicely for most of the race, but Pat was way back at the start.  But to his credit, he mowed down people the entire race, and from the final results, it would appear that he was with our pack the entire race.  Our first 4 finished within 8 seconds of each other: Brend (15:09 23rd), Delatorre (15:12 28th), Moncrieff (15:15 33rd), Juras (15:17 37th).  All 4 ran huge lifetime PRs of nearly 45 seconds per runner, and we had 4 in the shoot before any team other than Belvidere North. 

Behind our 4 horsemen our plan was to form a tight pack with our remaining 6 men.  This pack didn't materialize the way our front pack did, a problem I am guessing a lot of teams had in a field of more than 500 runners.  Jon Smith ran pretty well to finish as our scoring #5 in 15:50, as did Shawn Picha (PR of 16:02) and David Smith (PR 16:10 in his first varsity race). 

Our sophomores, well, had a key experience.   When the threat of not running a frosh/soph race came up an hour before start time, we moved our top 3 sophomores up to varsity to ensure they had the experience of running the state meet course.  While its not really fair to label their races as "poor" races, especially since they each ran lifetime PR's, they certainly are better than their times showed.  Jaren Ripoli (16:20), Jon Ramirez (16:41), and Trevor Kuehr (16:46) completed out our 10-man varsity lineup.  Look for them near the front of the sophomore race next week at Palatine.

Frosh/Soph

We placed 9th at the frosh/soph level, despite moving Ripoli, Ramirez, and Kuehr to varsity at the last minute.  York ran away with the trophy, including a soph who ran 15:20 all by himself.

Our first finisher was Alex Milner, who finished in 16:19, a time which earns him the title of top sophomore.  Alex continues his breakout season and is knocking on the varsity door.  (Alex ran 19:19 at this meet last year).  Bobby Klett was our 2nd finisher in 16:55, breaking 17 for the first time in his life, and first-year sophomore Rueben Riano was close behind running 17:03.  Our top 4 freshmen came next, each running lifetime PRs: Dave Brown (17:23) beat older brother Stephen for the first time, Gerrit Williams (18:16), Jack Herman (18:23), and Matt Reninger (18:36) also scored well for us.

I am really looking forward to next week's Palatine Invite since all our youngsters get to race their own age group.  I can promise that no sophs will be moved up to varsity, and we will see if we can give the Dukes a scare at the sophomore level.

Junior Varsity

I am not fond of the new structure of PND, particularly since the JV race is untimed and unscored.  The JV race is as vital to the development of individual runners and teams as any race, and should be treated as such.  Additionally, the efforts of the top programs that have literally dozens of athletes training year-round should be rewarded. 

Depending on who fills out the varsity lineup in a given week, we have some pretty good JV runners.  Our first JV finisher was Pat McPartlan, who ran his first race of the season.  Pat ran 16:18, which I believe would have placed him around 4th or 5th in the JV race.  Andrew Lulis ran well in a PR of 16:28 as our second finisher.  Ryan Martin also ran well, finishing in 17:23, a huge PR.

In all, 30 of our 43 competing runners set lifetime PRs on the hallowed ground of Detweiller Park.  In fact, we had 5 runners complete the "triple crown" of racing, by setting 1-mile, 2-mile, and 3-mile PRs all in the same race. These 5 athletes were sophomore Rajeev Rajagopalan (7:30 - 16:10 - 24:44), freshman Austin Kuehr (6:48 - 14:20 - 21:37), freshman Mark Syverson (6:54 - 13:48 - 20:44), Freshman Dave Brown (5:38 - 11:34 - 17:21), and sophomore Alex Milner (5:09 - 10:44 - 16:19).  Wow!

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9/4/10 - LZXC Opens 2010 Season with Win at UW Parkside

For the second year in a row, we won the UW Parkside Rebel Invitational with 32 points.  Our JV team also won with 16 points, and our freshmen group took 3rd with 90 points behind a dominant Milwaukee Marquette and 2nd place Warren HS.

Varsity: The day belonged to Victor Delatorre, who won his first Varsity race in a time of 16:05.  Victor was paced by Alex Brend through 2 miles before he broke away and held on to be our first UW Parkside Invite Individual Champ since Sam Romanoski in 2001.  Our trio of Ryan Moncrieff (16:12), Alex Brend (16:19), and Pat Juras (16:29) came in 4th, 5th, and 6th, and sophomore Jared Ripoli (16:51) was our 5th man in 16th.  Jon Smith (17th in 16:51), Shawn Picha (22nd in 17:16), and Jon Ramirez (28th in 17:23) filled out the rest of the varsity scorecard.  Our times all post high on the all-time UW Parkside Recordboard, although I do believe the perfect weather conditions may inflate the times a little bit (I had to wear my stocking hat on September 4th!).

As the over-critical coach, I would say that despite the victory and fast times, we lacked the early-race discipline to compete with the state's best.  Our 4 to 5 gap was fairly large, and we will need to close that gap as the season progresses.  Of course, I suppose a slightly over-excited mind can be expected anytime you lace up the spikes for the first time in months.  :-)

JV: I thought that coming into the season that this could be our best JV squad ever.  A combination of experienced veterans and talented underclassmen combine to make this team deep, hungry, and competitive.  The squad did not disappoint in their season debut, taking 8 of the first 11 places.  Sophomore Trevor Kuehr was the odd man out when we set the varsity lineup, but he made a statement that he belongs with the big boys. Trevor won his first ever cross country race in a time of 17:18, which would have followed closely behind Shawn Picha as our #7 man.  Our 2 pole vaulters, junior David Smith and senior Andrew Lulis placed 2nd and 3rd, and sophomore Alex Milner shows that he should not be forgotten in a strong sophomore class, by finishing 4th.  Junior Isaac Honegger (6th), junior Kyle McNair (9th), senior Stephen Brown (10th), and sophomore Bobby Klett (11th) led the charge.  Possibly the best performance of the day came from senior Trevor Feltner.  Trevor was a high harrier for us for the past 2 off-seasons, and as a result, improved his time by over 2 minutes to a Rebel PR of 19:14.

Freshmen: Only 11 of our 23 freshmen competed, but they represented the blue and white admirably.  We were led by Gerrit Williams in 9th place, Dave Brown in 11th place, and Will Llanos in 13th place.  This group continues to search for their identity, but could be a scary group once "the decision" is made.

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8/26/10 - LZXC 2010, Heaven Week Updates

I have been having a difficult time getting the website up and running again this year, but now I think I am ready to report some updates.  Our Heaven Week went off without a hitch.  We had some great performances, learned a lot about ourselves, and had a lot of fun in the process.  Here is what we learned as well as some highlights from the 2010 Heaven Week:

- Co-captain Ryan Moncrieff blew away the field to become our overall champion with 201 points.  Ryan has flown under the radar because he plays baseball during the spring, but he is a harrier who is not to be taken lightly.  His early season workouts compare to our top runners in recent years.

- Our seniors trained this summer with something to prove, and will provide the core of our varsity lineup this fall.  Co-captain Shawn Picha has been one of our top JV runners for the past few seasons, and he is ready to make a significant impact at the varsity level.  Alex Brend could be our headliner this year, in only his second cross country season.  He is as talented as any athlete I have coached, and wants to add to his 2 state medals.  Victor Delatorre is also a force to be reckoned with after a great summer of training.  Andrew Lulis's true love is the pole vault, but he comes into the season in the best shape of his life, and will be a leader on our JV team if he is not in our top 7.

- Our Junior class is improving after an uneventful track season.  Jon Smith looks to be rounding into the form that earned him a varsity spot last year, and Pat Juras looks like the Pat Juras of 2008 when he ran 4:36 in the Freshman Distance Gala Mile.  Pat may have been forgotten after battling breathing issues in recent seasons, but he will be remembered very soon.  A handful of other juniors will form the core of our JV lineup, including Pat McPartlan, Isaac Honegger, David Smith, and Kyle McNair, and could threaten the top 7 by season's end.

- Three sophomores, John Ramirez, Trevor Kuehr, and Jared Ripoli all placed in the top 6 in our Heaven Week competition.  These three sophomores lead a dedicated and talented sophomore class that will certainly make their presence know at the varsity level this fall.  I look forward to seeing how they match up against their own age group at Peoria and Palatine in a couple weeks.

- We have our largest Freshman class in history, with 23 new members.  This group will be led by a very talented Will Llanos and hard-working Gerrit Williams. 

- Our Heaven Week highlights were dominated by the weather.  We had cool weather early in the week that made us look very strong, and hot weather late in the week that made us look surprisingly out of shape.  I don't know what to make of our team this year- it could be our strongest team ever and it could be a season we watch the state meet from the sidelines.  What I do know is that we continue to get deeper, and as a result, will field very competitive lineups at all levels.

- Alex Brend won Monday's timed mile in a record 4:39.  We saw 5 of the top 6 all-time times this year, with 5 guys running 4:47 or faster.

- Junior Kyle McNair showed off his swimmer strength by winning the pushup contest for the second year in a row, after outlasting John Ramirez.

- Junior Pat McPartlan won Tuesday's Prediction Run, predicting his pace to within a second.

- Ryan Moncrieff won Wednesday's SPPM with a time of 21:21.

- Wednesday's scavenger hunt was compared to Nicholas Cage's hit movie "National Treasure", and was considered the most challenging scavenger hunt in LZXC history.  Nevertheless, three of the four Scavenger Hunt teams successfully completed the hunt, with the 4th getting stuck on only a single question.

- Junior Brendon Lin won Thursday's Guess-Your-Time Run by guessing his time to the very second. Wow!

- Middle School North won Friday's Middle School Challenge.  The North team enjoyed the tradition chocolate milk and retained the cup for the 4th time in a row.  North now holds a 4-3 lifetime advantage over the rival team from South.

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8/25/10 - LZXC Spirit Pack!

The 2010 Spirit Pack is now available!  Click this link to check out your favorite LZXC merchandise.  Available this year are grey long sleeve t-shirt, black running shorts, white sweatshirts, and black sweatpants.  Orders are due to Coach Hanson by Tuesday, September 7th.

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8/22/10 - LZXC Carwash! 9AM-12PM at Lake Zurich High School

Support the 2010 Lake Zurich Cross Country Team by bringing your dirtiest automobile to the the 4th Annual Carwash, at the high school, 9AM-12PM.  Recommended donation is $6.

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7/11/10 - LZXC 2010 Begins in 1 Month!

There is some important information for all 2010 LZXC Athletes:

-The 2010 LZXC Kettle Moraine Camping Trip is 7/21-7/23.  Permission forms are due by 7/15.  Don't miss the excitement of The Beast, The Viking Game, The Paper-bag Contest, The Green Loop, The Watch-tan Contest, The Ottawa Lake Run, The Bunny Game, The Hot Dog Eating Contest, Swimming in the Lake, Logbook Sessions, Shaving your leg (not plural), Brew, The Flashlight Relay, The Spartan Showers, Mafia, The Natural Spring Ice Bath, and...

-First day of Practice is on Wednesday, 8/11/10 at 7AM.  All athletes must have registration and physicals turned in ahead of time.  A Heaven Week practice schedule can be found on Moodle.