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2010 Track
Schedule |
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| Indoor Track | |
| 2-11 | Proviso West Quad |
| 2-19 | St. Charles East Co-ed |
| 2-20 | Downers Grove North Quad |
| 2-27 | Bolingbrook Co-ed |
| 3-5 | Glenbard East |
| 3-12 | York Quad |
| 3-17 |
McNamara Invite
@ Rolling Meadows |
| 3-20 |
MSL Indoor
Invite
@ Lewis University |
| Outdoor Track | |
| 4-3 | Jackie Joyner-Kersee Relays (East St. Louis) |
| 4-6 | Barrington & Schaumburg Tri |
| 4-13 | Hoffman Estates & Hersey Triangular |
| 4-16 | Downers Grove North Ritter Invite |
| 4-17 | Wheaton North Invite |
| 4-20 | Rolling Meadows & Conant Triangular |
| 4-24 | Palatine Invite |
| 4-26 |
MSL Division
Champs @ Barrington |
| 5-1 | 78th Palatine Relays |
| 5-3 |
F/S
& JV Palatine Relays |
| 5-7 | MSL Conference Championships |
| 5-11 |
MSL JV
Conference @ Hersey |
| 5-14 | IHSA Sectional |
| 5-21 | IHSA State Prelims |
| 5-22 | IHSA State Finals |
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Palatine XC Partners |
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 W. Northwest Hwy Palatine, IL 60067 (847) 991-9466 |
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Bodywork
by Dave Dave Davis Inverness, IL (847) 304-4275 |
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Davenport
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| 2010 Distance Crew Roster · Indoor Leader Board · Outdoor Leader Board |
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| May 24th, 2010 - Season ends with roller coaster ride at state meet | |||
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The season came
to an end this
weekend for the
Lady Pirates
down in
Charleston at
the IHSA State
Championships.
It was a roller
coaster ride, as
we had some
great
performances
intermixed with
some big
disappointments
in coming home
tied for 10th
place as a
team.
It was a tough weekend to watch, as emotions were at a constant flux from event to event. I kept hoping that one event would spark some excitement in others and we could get on a roll, but it just never seemed to happen. The 3200m relay kicked things off on Friday with a big scare, in being the last team into finals with their disappointing 6th place finish in heat one. Ruth changed the tune with her 2:13 relaxed run in her 800m heat, but the mood promptly turned with Tess missing the 800m finals and Ruth and Sarah running poor races in the 1600m prelims in missing advancing to the finals. Saturday was much of the same. The day started off much better than Friday, with the 3200m relay redeeming themselves to finish fourth, but Courtney and Emily resumed our pattern with performances well off their season bests. The day did end on high notes, as Ruth would come back and just narrowly miss becoming Palatine's first 800m champ, getting barely edged at the line, and Laura would finish the fourth in the 400m in her first finals race. 4 x 800m Relay - PRELIMS: We knew coming in our heat could be quite competitive, but we never expected to finish were we did. We ended up running the same line-up we had put together for our sectional victory, with Becca leading off, to Tess, to Johanna, with Sarah anchoring us home. Becca's 2:25 lead-off had her handing off in 8th or 9th place and promptly put us in a very tough situation. I've seen enough 4 x 800m relays at the state meet over the years to know we were in big trouble. Tess did a valiant job of moving us back into the top seven, but her inexperience showed, as she only managed a 2:21 split, well off her best. When Johanna got the baton I had no idea what to expect. Jo was running in her first state meet ever and it had to be obvious to her we were not doing what we came to do. Jo ended up running an incredible leg (2:22.4 PR) as she moved us up on the field and put us into 6th and within striking distance of 4th and 5th place. Sarah got the baton and was promptly passed heading into the backstretch. We were making no ground on 4th or 5th, and we were sitting 7th with 200m to go. Sarah would fortunately pass a fading Hinsdale Central girls the last 50m to put us into 6th place in 9:29.69 with her 2:20.8 split. With two heats to go and only needing seven teams to better our time I thought for certain we'd be watching this event on Saturday. We somehow squeaked our way in, as the first two team not to make finals also broke 9:30 (9:29.96 & 9:29.97). FINALS: After Friday's near debacle we decided it be best we shake up the order of our line-up. We would be the only team in the final to do this and it seemed to pay off. We went with the same order that had won us our indoor MSL race back in March. Tess did an outstanding job of tactically getting herself clear after starting on the rail in lane one. Tess learned from her 800m prelim about the hazard of getting stuck inside and was in great position coming down the homestretch. Schaumburg's Lesiewicz moved around her as they approached 400m and Tess wisely took tow and was in the top four or so the rest of the way. As she handed off to Johanna her split of 2:17.6 (best ever for a Pirate freshman) moved us into third. Johanna ran a great leg, as she hung tough early, passing 400m in :65-point. At this point I thought she was really going to struggle down the stretch (as she had most of the year when out that fast) or she was going to run awesome. Fortunately it was the latter, as her 2.19.8 split was an all-time best by nearly three seconds. When Sarah got the baton we were sitting in fourth, but well within striking distance of second place. Sarah showed much more aggression in this one, as she put us right in the mix on the backstretch. At the final exchange it was a three-team battle for second place, along with Downers North and York. We knew going in that Becca would have her hands full running the anchor leg, but felt if the other three did their job, which they did, we'd be in the top-5 mix at the end. Only 100m in it was clear Becca would be in for a tall task, as the York and Downers North anchors immediately started putting distance on us, while Lyons Township would promptly pass us before the 200m mark. With 400m to go we were sitting fifth, but two or three other teams were moving up on us. If Becca closed like she did in the prelims we were in big trouble and with about 150m to go I started to think the worst, as teams were closing in. However, right when I started to think the worst I saw the other teams were no longer closing and Becca seemed to have eyed the fading Lyons anchor. Becca had timed her kick much better this time around and would move us back into 4th before the finish, as we ran the 8th best relay time (9:17.42) in school history. I was so thrilled and proud of this group for putting the previous day behind them and simply going out and competing the way they did. All of them deserve credit for this performance. Tess ran a smart and savvy lead-off for a freshman, Johanna really stepped up in running like a true veteran to earn her first All-State honors, Sarah ran with the aggression and attitude we've seen in the past, and Becca ran smart early and kicked like we knew she could. Great job ladies. You should all be very proud of yourselves. 3200m run - FINALS: Not much to say about this one. Courtney put herself in the mix early, but never really looked comfortable, as she was back-and-fourth a lot throughout the first 1600m. At one point she moved herself into the top three just after the 1600m, but promptly started her decent to the back of the pack. With about 1000m to go Courtney lost contact from the pack, with arms high and tight she slowed drastically and would finish a disappointing 25th. Emily was never really in this one. I knew this would be a tough task for Emily, both mentally and physically, running in her first state track meet and against a field with numerous sub-11:00 entries. Emily gave it a go the first 800m, as she hung off the back of the pack, but it was not to be. As I worried, she got stuck running most of the race alone, which is a tough thing to do, especially at the state meet. Emily ended up 26th overall, but earned some valuable experience to take with her into the next two years. |
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| IHSA Class AAA State 800m Finals - Ruth Allen is runner-up in 2:12.57 | |||
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800m Run
- PRELIMS:
Ruth was in the
first heat and
the goal was to
make sure the
pace was swift
enough to get in
with time, in
order to not
have the worry
of kicking hard
at the end.
Ruth did a great
job of getting
out and setting
the tone early
as she had done
all season,
passing 400m and
600m in typical
:63 and 1:38
splits. She
still had two
sitting right
behind in
Evanston's All-Stater
Horton and
little-known
Gonzalez of
Bloom Twp. Ruth
looked relaxed,
as we discussed
there be no need
to win if the
pace was good.
Ruth didn't
respond as
Horton tried
moving past with
about 75m to go,
but things
changed as she
didn't expect
another to be
coming around as
well. Concerned
of being third,
Ruth quickly
surged to make
sure she was no
worse than
second. These
three ended up
with the top
three times in
prelims, with
Gonzalez taking
the heat in
2:13.06, Ruth
next in 2:13.28,
followed by
Horton in
2:13.30. Tess was in heat three and preparing to come back strong after a weak showing in her relay leg early in the day. Tess was aggressive from the start and would find herself leading at 200m. Not what she expected, nor were we hoping for. As she passed 200m in :30-point, her inexperience started to show, as she allowed the pace to slow and the pack to quickly pile up behind her. She passed 400m in :66 point and the pack started to get impatient. Tess's poor tactics put her in a bad position coming up to 300m to go. Once one girl decided to pass, the tightly bunched pack quickly responded and went with. Tess was pinned to the rail and by the time she got room to move she would find herself in ninth place. This not only put her in a bad position, but I'm certain the quick pass by the pack was mentally demoralizing. Tess would end up ninth in 2:20.0, well out of qualifying. While I felt she had it in her to make finals, this will end up being a great learning experience for her in the future. In what is typically an upperclassman dominated event, Tess was one of only three freshman in the state to qualify this season and she had the best time in prelims of the three. In fact, all twelve finalists were juniors or seniors, with the exception of one sophomore. FINALS: This was the moment Ruth had likely thought of for a couple of years now and was definitely a goal she had set for herself this season...winning the 800m state title. Coming in she planned to stick to her guns, that being a quick pace early, stay clear of traffic, and may the strongest survive. Ruth's runner-up prelim performance had her stuck in alley one and ended up making things more difficult than we had hoped. We knew the possibility of getting boxed was there and thought our plan out well. What we didn't expect was so many girls to end up passing 200m in sub-:30. By the time Ruth passed 200m (:30.3) she had gotten pinned inside and had to work her way loose on the curve, eating up extra distance as she passed in lane three to get herself near the front by 400m (:65-point). I thought she did a great job of staying patient and not panicking when this happened, but I'm certain the stress level was raised a bit. Geneva's Wickware would soon burst to the front heading into the backstretch and would help give Ruth someone to chase. Ruth would pass her by 600m (1:38/:33-point third 200m) and looked to put in a good turn. By 100m to go Ruth was well clear of the pack, but West Chicago's Eichenberger was in hot pursuit. She continued to close on Ruth until she passed with about 30-40m to go. Not aware she was coming, Ruth was slow to respond. With little time to react, Ruth made one last ditch effort to come back, but it was too little-too late. Eichenberger, who out-leaned Ruth last year by .02-hundreths, would take the win in 2:12.26 to Ruth's 2:12.57. An unfortunate heartbreaking end to Ruthie's career, as she will certainly go down as the best half-miler in Lady Pirate history and one of the All-Time greats. 400m Dash - PRELIMS: Laura was in heat two and would need to be top three at minimum if she hoped to qualify, but top two more likely. Laura got out aggressively, coasted a bit down the backstretch, and hit the turn hard past 200m. Coming into the homestretch she was a clear second, but had a Whitney Young runner closing a bit. She would hold strong at the end and finish second in a new lifetime best :57.64 (FAT). Through two of four heats Laura was sitting in good position as the number one time qualifier, but would have to sweat through two more heats to see if she got in. FINALS: With the fifth seed time coming in Laura would be fortunate to end up in lane three, allowing good view of the girls to her right at the start and down the homestretch. After the unfortunate false-start DQ by #2 seed and MSL rival Jorie Frey of Barrington, the field was down to eight. Laura shot well off the line and held her ground to the girl in lane four, stayed relaxed down the back stretch, and once again shot around the turn. Coming down the homestretch she was midpack and would hold her own, just holding off a hard charging Pekin girl to her outside by one-thousandth of a second (.001) with another PR of :57.39 (FAT) for 4th place, her first All-State honors, and making her the 3rd fastest 400m runner in Palatine history. Great job Laura. 1600m Run - PRELIMS: Ruth and Sarah were fortunate to be seeded into the same prelim heat, but teamwork never came into play and each came away with disappointing runs that would find them watching this event on Saturday. Ruth did a good job of putting herself into the mix early and looked to be in good position through 1200m before falling off the pack on the last lap. Ruth's mental lapse created a quick gap and she seemed to shut down, cruising across in 5:13.49 for 7th, while all six girls in the pack ahead would all go on to qualify. Sarah hung off the back of the pack early, only to lose contact within the first 400m, and never would be in the hunt to make the final in finishing 8th in 5:17.10. IHSA State Finals Results |
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| May 17th, 2010 - Lady Pirates qualify in 13 events in Sectional victory | |||
 Lady Pirates celebrating yet another IHSA Sectional crown on their home track |
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The Lady Pirates continued their "home cooking" with their third consecutive victory in front of the home crowd at the IHSA Sectional meet last Friday night, following wins at the Palatine Relays and the MSL Conference meet. The ladies won in impressive fashion with a big scoring difference of 135.5 points over the 58 points put up by runner-up Carmel HS out of Mundelein. In total we qualified in thirteen events: |
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These ladies (minus 3200m qualifiers) will be competing in the prelims on Friday afternoon on "Big Blue" at EIU in Charleston in hopes of qualifying for Saturday's finals. |
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 2010 Distance Crew Sweep - 4x800m, 3200m, 800m, & 1600m Victories Courtney Brown, Sarah McIntosh, Emily Schulte, Jo Dibuz, Ruth Allen, Becca Sund, & Tess Wasowicz |
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Midweek leading up to the sectional meet I was out sweeping rubber pellets off the track that had washed up from late night thunderstorms. As the distance girls were cooling down from the days workout I pulled them aside and we discussed a "distance sweep" at sectional. The goal was to win all four events and for every girl to qualify. These seven ladies came out roaring and made it happen, making us one of only two schools (York being the other) in Class AAA to achieve this feat. We took first in the relay, Courtney won the deuce, while Ruth was a double champ in winning the 800m and the 1600m. Along with our victories we ended up with three thirds, with Emily in the 3200m run, Tess in the 800m run, and Sarah in the 1600m run. 4 x 800m Relay - While we knew the time qualification standard (9:45) was not a problem we set out to run a good time. Becca got us started well wiith a PR 2:21.9 split to put us right in the mix, sitting about 2nd or 3rd in a tight pack of three, just off the leader. Tess got the baton and was in fourth going into the backstretch. Coming up to 200m she made a rookie mistake and attempted to pass on the inside. This move got her boxed coming around the turn and forced her too slow the second 200m. Just before the 400m mark she did a good job of getting clear and put a big gap over the field by 600m. She closed well and handed off to Johanna in first with a new PR split of 2:19.1. Johanna got out well and looked good until about 100m out, as she really tightened up and struggled down the homestretch with her 2:25.7 split. When Sarah got the baton we were still clear of the field, but off pace for sub-9:20, unless Sarah really busted a great one. Sarah ended up with a season-best 2:18.9 split running all alone to take us home in 9:24.6 for victory. 3200m Run - This race featured a solid field with Courtney and Barrington's Batliner and Tracy all being MSL scorers last week, plus Stevenson's freshman Mackenzie Levy, who was 9th in last fall's state cross country meet. Courtney stuck to her plan of running fast, even if it meant leading the entire way, as she hit 800m in 2:35 and 1600m in 5:17. Only Batliner attempted to run with Courtney and she quickly dropped off pace by 1000m, leaving Court to do all the work herself. Although she would slow over the next mile, she would finish in 10:49.8 to become the second fastest 3200m runner in school history behind record holder Amy Laskowske. Emily was the other exciting story of this race. Coming in her PR was 11:26, only :05-seconds under the state qualifying time of 11:31. With the deep field we knew time would be important. However, Emily's recent performances told me she was in phenomenal shape and would have no problem qualifying if she got in there and simply competed. She did a great job of shadowing Tracy early and passed 1600m in 5:27, well on pace to qualify. With about 1100m to go Emily made a good move to get around Tracy, which helped move the both of them right behind Batliner, who had faded badly midrace. At this point it was a four-person race for 2nd, as Levy was right in the mix as well. Emily dropped to 4th with about 600m to go, but was well within striking distance if she could hang on. Batliner had rested enough in the middle of the race to started to pull from the pack, while Tracy started to fade in 5th. With 100m to go Emily rose onto her toes and started to move. You could see in her eyes she was going to give a go at Levy. With 20m left Emily was closing hard and would end up just edging her at the line for 3rd in a new PR of 11:13.1, running the 12th best 3200m time by a Pirate, and qualify for her first state track meet. After the weekend results were all compiled Emily's time was good enough to get her into the fast heat this weekend. Great job Em! 800m Run - With Ruth seeded well ahead of the field her game plan pretty much went as usual. Get out and run her race. Even after instructions for a more tamed first 150m, she was still out quick, hitting 200m in sub-:30 with a few girls right behind. Tess was doubling back from the 4 x 800m for the second straight week and was looking to keep herself in the mix through 400m before trying to move up around the field. She was good through 200m and had a nice group to run with. Ruth continued to stretch her lead, even as she came through 600m a tad slow in 1:38. At this point Tess had moved into great position and was well on pace to qualify, hitting 600m in 1:41. Both girls closed well, as Ruth stormed to victory in 2:12.9 and Tess kicked past a of couple girls for 3rd in 2:17.1 for a huge new PR, adding her name to the All-Time 800m list and making her one of the fastest freshman in school history in qualifying for her second event. 1600m Run - If there was any disappointment of the night it would be this event. Even though we went one-three in the race and qualified both Ruth and Sarah, we still hoped for a bit more. With ideal conditions we had visions of stellar times, but a pedestrian-like first 400m (just under :77) would not be the way to kick things off. Instead the race remained tactical, with a continual slowing in the middle, only for girls to start kicking over the last 200-300m. Ruth and Sarah would finish in 5:10.7 and 5:12.2, with a Mundelein girl charging hard to earn runner-up honors. We have to be ready to be much more aggressive this weekend if we hope to advance to Saturday's final. IHSA Sectional - Distance Crew Splits |
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| May 13th, 2010 - JV closes out '10 season at MSL JV Invite | |||
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This past Monday
the girls not
competing in
Sectional
finished their
season at the
MSL JV Invite at
Hersey High
School. This
non-scored meet
is usually quite
competitive, as
the MSL is so
deep that you
often have a
number of girls
who would be
competing at the
varsity level
for other
conferences, but
have to settle
for a JV spot
here.
4 x 800m Relay - I almost missed this one, as the meet started a few minutes early and I was arriving from varsity practice. In fact, as I pulled up in my car I saw the gun fire and Stephanie running around the first turn. I quickly found a parking spot and sprinted to the track in time to root her on down the homestretch. Steph ran a PR opening leg in 2:29.9 for her first sub-2:30 ever. Jacqui took the baton for the second leg and kept us in the mix with her 2:34.9 PR leg. Ellen ran the third leg and got out a bit slow, but closed well to run 2:36.8. On the final handoff we were sitting in third with a big gap to the top two teams developing. Marlena ran a solid 2:31.7-anchor for her season-best split, but could close the gap as we finished a distant third in 10:14. 3200m Run - In this one we had Kirsten in her 3200m debut and Liz, who had struggled in this event all season. Both ran smart early, running with the pack and trying to react to moves that were made. Up front, Takshaka Patel of HE, who was 28th in the state cross country meet last fall, had pulled away and spread out the field. By 1600m, Liz (6:04) and Kirsten (6:15) were each on good pace, however the work had just begun. Both struggled late in the race and were unable to pass, or even stick with, the girls they had been running with in the first mile. Liz did manage to run her best time of the year in 12:45, to just miss a medal in 7th, while Kirsten showed she has a lot of developing to do in this event, as her 2nd mile was in 7:10 for a final time of 13:25. 800m Run - Carly was in the first heat of this race and ran very smart in this one. A Fremd runner was well clear of the field early and Carly wisely bided her time, gradually moving up the field from 300m to 600m. By 150m she had broken from the pack and was on the move. Coming down the homestretch she looked the best I'd ever see her at the end of a race; strong, fluid, and quick. She closed just in time to overtake the leader at the line for the win, and new lifetime best of 2:36.5, one of the most exciting finishes of the day, and had put herself in the medal hunt with the fast heat up next. Jeneice's season best of 2:37 had just got her into the faster of the two heats. This one was out fairly quick as Jeneice passed 400m in :76, but was near the back of the pack. If she had kept herself in the mix for another 100m-150m I'm sure she would have moved well up into the mix. However, she had a huge mental letdown due to her position and panicked when she saw her position. She ended up fading badly and finished in a very disappointing 2:52. In reality she was fine where she was. All she had to do was make the commitment to try moving up and she would have quickly gotten a boost of excitement as she would have been passing girls. Carly would end up just missing a medal, as 6th place ran 2:35.8. 1600m Run - This race would quickly become a three-person race with Ellen and two Barrington girls. I was getting excited, as I thought for sure Ellen was going to get her first sub-5:30 clocking, but just missed (5:31.9) as the two Barrington girls pulled away over the last 250m to go 1-2 (5:28). While she did just miss the 5:30 barrier, Ellen did manage a new lifetime PR. Jacqui was never up where she belonged, getting lost in the mix and finishing 9th in 5:54. 4 x 400m Relay - This final event was a great one, as we battled Barrington all the way to the finish. We unfortunately got edged at the line, however word was the Barrington anchor was not called for passing on the grass around the final curve. Either way, the girls (Julia Han, Steph, Marlena, and Taylor T.) ran great. MSL JV Invite - Distance Crew Splits |
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| May 10th, 2010 - Lady Pirates defend MSL Crown on home turf | |||
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| Senior Ruth Allen (l) and Sophomore Laura Schweikert (r) were big contributors in the Pirates' defending their MSL Championship last Friday night at Chic Anderson Stadium | |||
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With the MSL
conference meet
cycling through
a 12-year
rotation this
was the first
time we've
hosted this meet
since the late
90's, with the
next time coming
in 2022. With
that in mind we
did not want to
lose this one at
home. All the
girls did a
great job
stepping up, as
we had double
scorers in
numerous events
in scoring 152
points over
Hoffman's 124.5
in returning the
favor after a
one-point defeat
at their hands
in last weeks
MSL Divisional
meet. Big contributors were Ruth with her 800m win, 1600m runner-up, and 4 x 400m runner-up triple and Laura with her victorious 4 x 100m relay leg, 200m and 400m runner-up runs, and her 4th place in the 100m dash. These two girls contributed in 57 of our 152 points. 4 x 800m Relay - We knew going in this would be a tough one, as Schaumburg is very deep and talented in the 800m this year, Prospect is always All-State caliber in this event, and we were not running our deepest line-up. We did hold our own in finishing 3rd and ended up with a tie for our best time of the year in 9:32.2. Becca led us off in a season best 2:22.9, but was passed by five or six girls before getting the baton to Tess. Tess (2:21.0 PR) took out hard, but wisely relaxed a bit before 200m and made a good push in the middle to close on the others and move us into 3rd at the exchange. Johanna (2:23.7) was out a bit slow as she passed 400m in :70-plus, but surged really well from 400m to 600m to move us into second, just in front of Prospect, while Schaumburg was clearly on their way to victory. Emily got out well, but her 2:25.2 PR anchor is not quite the punch you need at the end of a 4 x 800m relay in a big meet like this one. Overall, I was very pleased with this group, with three of the four running their best splits of the season. 3200m Run - This race was state final caliber with the top six girls entered at 11:02 or faster. The race went out in a slower than normal :81ish at 400m (although that is actually fine, as it is 10:48 pace), but started to crawl over the next 400-to-500m. Just after the 800m mark the pace seemed to quicken at Prospect's Wolfe and HE's Schmidt went to the front and started to push. Both Sarah and Courtney were a bit slow to respond. Courtney did keep herself close enough and would be in striking distance when the pack really started to split after the mile mark. The last 800m to 1200m turned into a three-way race with the eventual winner being Schmidt (10:53) with her last ditch kick past Wolfe (10:55) over the last 100m. Courtney (10:56.7 PR) would gamely keep close to finish in third, but never really asserted herself enough in the late stages to put herself in the mix for the win. Sarah would struggle in the second half of the race. At one point she had moved herself into fourth, but seemed to settle once there. She finished 6th, holding off a hard charging Tracy from Barrington. 800m Run - The plan in this race was for Ruth to do what she's been doing for weeks now, get out and make it fast. With '09 state 800m runner-up and this year's indoor champ Lesiewicz of Schaumburg also running fresh, this had the potential to be an epic battle. It was not to be. Lesiewicz's sit and kick style would not work this time as she gave up way too much gap on Ruth and was never in the race, as Ruth ran away with the win with her 2:13.7 to defend her '09 outdoor title. Schaumburg's Falsey (2:16.9) would overtake her teammate (2:19.3) as no one ever challenged Ruth. Tess was coming back from her 3200m relay leg and her goal was to race the pack behind Ruth and Lesiewicz. She did an excellent job of putting herself in great position and finished 4th in a new open PR of 2:21.1 and some huge points for the team. 1600m Run - By the time this race rolled around the winds had picked up and the temps had dropped. This race was stacked as well, although all the top entries were returning for their second race of the day. With the strong winds no one appeared ready to go to the front as the pace lagged through 400m in :77. Ruth was right were she needed to be and decided to assert herself on the third lap. In doing so, the race became a three person battle with Wolfe and Lesiewicz also in the mix. Ruth would lead with one to go, but would get overtaken by Lesiewicz as she would go on to win in 5:03.8. Ruth would finish second in 5:06.2 for her second best 1600m of her career. This would not be Sarah's night, as she would once again struggle home, finishing in 7th in 5:19.8. MSL Conference Champs - Distance Crew Splits |
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| May 5th, 2010 - JV girls nearing end of season at JV/FS Relays | |||
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With the end of
the racing
season looming
for all
non-varsity the
JV/FS Relays
meet is the last
chance to prove
and test fitness
before next
Monday's MSL JV
Invite. This
meet is always a
bit
anticlimactic
after the
excitement of
the big Saturday
version of this
meet and racing
on Mondays can
be tough as you
start the week. We did have a few PR's and season best performances, however windy conditions likely hindered overall times across the board. 4 x 800m Relay - We had two teams in this one and our JV group was out well with a solid 2:32ish (Anusha lost splits on these ladies) PR split by Stephanie on the lead-off. Jacqui led off the FS quartet in a PR split as well, in 2:38. The JV group continued to battle for the lead on the second leg with Liz running 2:39ish and Ellen kept the FS girls in striking distance with her 2:38 split. Carly (split?) handled the third leg for the JV group as we started to lose some ground on Hoffman. Kirsten added another solid leg for the FS group as she ran a PR sub-2:40 (2:39.9) split. On the final leg Jeneice would close in on and overtake Kristen (split?) to put the FS group just ahead of the JV girls with a PR 2:37.7 leg. The FS girls put together the second fastest FS time of the year in 10:37. 3200m Run - Harpreet and Krista were both entering their second 3200m race of the year, both with 6:11 1600m season bests, and both looking for big breakthroughs. It was not to be. They never worked together, as they settled in way too early and were running completely alone by 300m, with some pretty strong winds to combat. They were both slow through 800m and 1600m. Krista moved up somewhat over the last mile to surpass a fading Harpreet, as they finished in 13:40 and 13:41. Harpreet did set her All-Time PR (13:50 during indoor), but was still well off her current fitness level. Both ladies should be more confident in their abilities to handle this distance and challenge themselves more in the middle stages of the race. 1600m Medley Relay - This race featured two 200m legs, preceding a 400m leg by Marlena (:64.4) to put us third or fourth with Laura anchoring the 800m leg. Laura is still pretty inexperienced in this event and it showed in this one as she was out fast (:30.2) at 200m. To put that in perspective, Ruth was out in :30.1 in her record run on Saturday. The proverbial monkey quickly attacked Laura as it was a progressive slow-down the rest of the way, hitting splits of :66.7 (:35.5) at 400m and 1:45.5 (:38.8) at 600m, only to struggle home in :42.6 for the last 200m. We did win this event, but it is obvious Laura still has some work to do. She is certainly capable of running great in this event, but simply needs more time and experience. 1600m Run - This race seemed to be the main event as it featured two huge fields (the FS race had 35 entries) in what looked like the start of a cross country meet. We had hopes of numerous PR's, but it didn't quite work that way. Tess and Emily did some great pace work (:76ish at 400m/2:35ish at 800m) up front to set themselves up for a great time, but were overtaken by St. Viator's All-State freshman Hannah Winter with 400m to go and didn't respond well to her move. She went on to win in 5:16, with Emily finishing in a slight PR of 5:18.2, while Tess again remained stuck in the 5:19's. Further back, Ellen got another slight PR in 5:34.0, while Kirsten broke 6:00 (5:57.3) for the first time since early indoor. Jacqui never really put herself up where she belonged and finished in a disappointing 5:50. The JV race saw no PR's, as Carly was the top Pirate finisher with the lone sub-6:00 clocking in at 5:55. 4 x 400m Relay - Marlena and Kelsey closed our their day with splits of :65.3 and :70.1, a season best for Kelsey. JV & FS Palatine Relays - Distance Crew Splits |
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| May 3rd, 2010 - '09 Grad Tory Wright completes Illinois Marathon | |||
| Tory Wright, who graduated last spring and was a scoring member of four state cross country teams, including the 2005 team that placed 3rd, completed her first marathon attempt at the 2nd Annual Illinois Marathon in Champaign. Tory, a freshman at ISU, ran 3:54:39 (equates to 8:56 per mile pace) to place 1st in her age group, 67th out of 629 females, and 401st out of over 1700 finishers. Great job Tory. See you this October at Chicago? | |||
| May 3rd, 2010 - Allen sets new 800m record as Lady Pirates win Relays | |||
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|
The Lady Pirates
won the 78th
running of the
Palatine Relays
in dominating
fashion with 154
points, easily
outdistancing
runner-up
Barrington, who
finished with 95
1/2. We ended
up with a
top-three finish
in all but four
of the
twenty-one
events on the
day. A great
overall effort
by the entire
squad.
The meet was highlighted by Ruth Allen's solo run school record of 2:11.6 in the 800m, as she toppled one of the oldest records in school history in Andrea Angell's 2:12.5 from 1986. This time currently ranks as the 11th fastest in the nation among high school girls. Frosh-Soph 1600m Medley Relay - This relay was led by Marlena in a PR 63-point 400m, to get the baton in 2nd place to Meg Jump, and then to Taylor T., for a couple 200m legs. When Tess got the baton for the final 800m leg we were still sitting 2nd, just behind Barrington's talented freshman Becca Batliner. I expected this to be a battle all the way to the line. Tess sat just behind her through 200m and as the pace seemed to settle around the turn Tess made a hard move to pass on the homestretch. Batliner never seemed to respond the way I expected and Tess continued to stretch the lead little-by-little as she kicked home to victory with a 2:22-point leg and our first victory of the day. Frosh-Soph 800m Medley Relay - This winning relay was highlighted by Laura's long awaited busting out in the 400m, as she bypassed the :58's on her way to a :57-point split to anchor us home to victory number two, as she kicked past a strong Wheeling anchor down the stretch. 800m Run - Knowing the field was weak, we knew Ruth would likely be all alone on this one, as the school record was in mind. Ruth attacked early, passing 200m in :30.1 and 400m in :63.2. A good surge down the backstretch had her passing 600m in 1:36.6, well ahead of the 1:39ish when she ran 2:16 at Downers a couple weeks back. Around the turn she looked great and I knew the record was hers if she could kick down the homestretch. She closed in :35.0 for the last 200m and the record was hers, crossing the line in 2:11.6, well ahead of the runner-up in 2:22.7. Ruth now owns the fastest time in school history both indoor and outdoor, and holds eight of the sixteen All-Time 800m records (grade level open & relay splits). After the weekend her time ranks as the 11th best in the country among high school girls. 3200m Run - This was a tough one to watch, as McIntosh went into this one with the right attitude, just not the best approach. She went to the front early and looked to be on a mission to be aggressive and run fast. However, she was way too fast early, hitting splits that would clearly come back to bite her. She went through 400m in :72 (:9:28 pace) and 800m in 2:35 (:10:20 pace), while also being knocked off the track at 500m by a male athlete trying to cross. From lap one to lap seven the pace would continue to slow. She came through 1600m in 5:26 (10:52 pace), which should have been fine, but laps three (:84.4) and four (:87.0) tell the true story as she was on 11:32 pace at that time. Over the next lap or two Class A State XC Champ Kelly Curran of Bloomington Central Catholic, running a much smarter race, had closed in and sat behind for a bit. When she made her move, Sarah had nothing. Curran went on to victory in a solid 11:03.3, as Sarah struggled home in 2nd in 11:16.6. 400m Dash - Laura came back real strong this event with a runner-up finish behind a fresh All-Stater in Barrington's Jorie Frey in yet another sub-:58 clocking with her :57.8, just off Frey's :57.1 win. Distance Medley Relay - Going in we knew this would be a tough one with Hoffman loading up a great line-up in their only race of the day. However, I thought we did a great job and gave them a good run. Courtney led us off with the 1200m leg against an always tough Goers, running 3:41.9 and keeping us in a close 2nd as she handed off to Rebecca Korus on the 400m leg. Rebecca ran a solid :63.2, after missing Monday's Division meet with a sore knee. Becca ran a very good 800m leg of 2:23.9 to get us a substantial lead of about 6-seconds, which we would need as the anchor legs pitted Schute's 5:19 PR versus Schmidt's 5:01-:02 PR. Schulte did a great job of getting out and making her work to catch up with her :73. first 400m While Emily would get overtaken just pass the 800m mark, she was running a great time. She ended up with a 5:17.1 PR leg as we just missed the school record of 12:25.0, set earlier in the season, as they crossed the line in 12:26.3. Hoffman went on to run an impressive 12:16.1 to set a new Relays record. Looks like we've got a new goal for next year!! Alumni Mile - After three years at Palatine I finally got my first Palatine Relays victory, as I was injured in '08 and placed second in '09. I was hoping to run a bit faster, but was happy to get the win in 4:26-:27 (splits of approx. :66, :67, :67, :66-:67). It was great to hear all you girls cheering me on with "work this lap", "give me ten", "work the turn", and "one more, plus one more". Most all it reminds me how exciting it is to get on the track, race, and test yourself. Just like all of you, I still get nervous and have to remind myself to think positive. I had to focus on the same stuff I tell you all to focus on. On a personal note, this makes the 18th year in a row I've broken 4:30 in the 1600m run and the 20th year in a row I've run 4:51 (8th grade) or faster. Even at my old age you can still have goals for yourself. 4 x 800m Relay - This quartet featured three of the four, in Tess, Becca, and Courtney, doubling back from morning races. Given this, we still managed our 2nd best time (9:32.3) of the season and a 20-second victory over runner-up Sandburg. Aside from Tess in her lead-off 2:22.4 we would be all alone most of the way. Courtney really separated us from the field with her 2:22.2 leg and Johanna would give Becca a commanding lead going into the anchor leg with her 2:23.4. Becca would once again be all alone to close out the relay and would finish off her day with a solid double with a 2:24.1 split. 1600m Run - This race had a great field with Curran, Batliner, and Sandburg's Christensen joining Ruth. Ruth was real aggressive in this one as well, hitting 400m in :70.6 and well ahead of the pack. This fast pace would be cause for a slow middle half (:79.0/:78.9 - 2:37.9) and allow others to come back into contention. BCC's Curran was closing fast late (heard she was sub-:70 on the last 400m) and would edge Ruth at the line in 5:03.8 to 5:04.0. While not running as fast as we hoped, Ruth still walked away with a new PR and as the 5th best miler in school history. Curran would earn Athlete of the Meet with her two victories. 4 x 400m Relay - We just missed another victory here as Sarah (:61.6), Ruth (:62.0), Robin (:62.6), and Valere (:60.6) closed out a great day for the Lady Pirates in 4:06.7. 78th Palatine Relays - Distance Crew Splits |
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| April 29th, 2010 - Pirates edged in MSL West Division Meet by Hoffman | |||
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This past Monday
was the kickoff
to the
championship
phase of our
season with the
MSL West
Division meet at
Barrington. We
went into the
meet eyeing a
team victory,
while not
running our
strongest
overall line-up,
as we continue
to fine tune for
the next few
weeks. We ended
up getting edged
at the end by a
talented and
motivated
Hoffman Estates
team that took
home their first
ever division
title with a
narrow 130-129
victory.
The Distance Crew was highlighted by the varsity 4 x 800m quartet of Courtney, Sarah, Ruth, and Becca running the 4th fastest time in the state on a windy night in 9:23.8, Tess and Emily running 3200m PR's and state qualifying times, and Courtney running a 1600m PR in 5:07.9 for the #10 time in school history. 4 x 800m Relay - We went into this race with our best line-up to date and was looking to lay down one of the best times in the state. Conditions were far from perfect as the winds were blowing pretty good early on in the meet. Solid legs by all four girls brought us home in first place with a time of 9:23.8. Courtney led off in a PR split of 2:22.9, Sarah split 2:20.6, Ruth split 2:16.3, and Becca split 2:23.7 as she again anchored us home all alone on her leg. The JV race was run with the varsity so it was tough to follow them as closely. They ended up third in the JV division in a time of 10:45.7. Stephanie led us off in 2:38.0, Jacqui split 2:44.8, Kirsten had the lone season best split of this group in a new PR 2:40.8, Marlena anchored in a disappointing 2:42.5, over ten-seconds off her season best from less than two weeks ago. 3200m Run - Ellen and Liz kicked off the running events for the night in the JV race and had high aspirations of big season bests, unfortunately it was not to be. Ellen again got our well as she was 5:50 at the mile, but her fast early pace on laps 1 and 2 led to a continual slowing of pace the rest of the way as she ran 800 splits of 2:44, 3:06, 3:22, 3:17 to run 12:30. Similar story for Liz as she hit splits of 2:55, 3:18, 3:26, 3:24 on her way to a season best 13:08, but still well off her fitness level. In the varsity race we witnessed three of the best times in state up-front with the 10:53, 10:55, and 10:55 by Barrington's Batliner, and HE's Schmidt and Goers. All three came into the race with sub-to-low 11:00 PR's. Emily and Tess can in with PR's of 11:36 and 11:43, so we had to run our race. The goal coming in was to see how long we could stay under 85-second for each 400m (11:20 pace). The two stuck together almost the entire race and really helped each other out as they came through 1600m in 5:36 (11:12 pace) and looked good. However the pace slowed on lap five and they got stuck in that rhythm for the next 600m of so. They came through 2400m (800m to go) together in 8:36, so I knew if they didn't get going neither would end with a PR. Fortunately they did, as Emily finished in 2:50 and Tess 2:54 for their last half mile to complete PR runs in 11:26.8 and 11:30.8, both under the state-qualifying time of 11:31. 800m Run - The varsity race featured Sarah doubling back from her 4x8 leg and Johanna running fresh. Neither had great runs, as the pace was slow (:69ish) at 400m and would turn into a kickers race. At about 250m to go the pace quickened and Sarah did not respond with the move, as she was passed by 4-5 girls just before the turn. Jo had a chance to go, but seemed to settle behind Sarah in 6th. Coming down the home stretch we were still sitting 5th and 6th. Sarah didn't close on anyone (5th in 2:23.6) and Johanna let up just before the line and lost her point scoring position running 2:25.6. In a tactical kickers race like this you have to run smart, put yourself in better position earlier and be ready when the pace picks up. Similar to some of the weekend races, you have to race smarter late in the season. The JV race saw two PR runs by Jeneice (2:40.6) and Kristen (2:47.1), while both were a ways back from the leaders. 400m Run - Ruth gave up a lot of space early in this one and ended up 3rd overall in :60.8, just getting edged by a HE girl and giving up key points. 1600m Run - The JV race saw uninspiring runs by Jacqui and Carly as they were smart in the first quarter, but never really made a move to close the gap on the lead pack and got stuck running with girls they should have been well ahead of. Jacqui finished in 5:50.6 (after running her first mile of her 3200 on Saturday in 5:59) and Carly ran 5:59.2 as she was confused late in the race as to what lap she was on. The varsity race saw yet another deep MSL field of state calibers runners toe the line to do battle. Schaumburg's duo of Lesiewicz and Petrey were both running fresh and eyeing their first sub-5:00. Both got stuck doing the early pace work as Courtney, Goers and Schmidt were all doubling back from earlier races. They went through 400m in a relatively slow :75, with the whole field in tow. I knew the pace would not slow at this point and it was a matter of who would hang the longest. They hit 800m in 2:30 and Courtney was right behind the two leaders, with Becca not far off the lead pack in 2:33. At this point the two leaders kept the pedal down as they came through 1200m in 3:45, with Courtney gamely trying to follow, but losing some ground as she passed in 3:48. Becca was starting to give up too much ground as she ran her third 400m in :85.6 and was running alone. With less that a lap to go Schmidt passed Courtney and she unfortunately did not respond quick enough, giving her too much breathing room. She did close well at the end and had a chance to get her, but that early gap was too much to make up. Courtney finished 4th in 5:07.9 and a new PR (#10 on the All-Time list), hitting splits of :76, :75, :77, :80...much better than at the Palatine Invite when she ran 5:12, in splits of :70, :79, :81, :82. Plus, I'm sure she felt a lot better in the middle of the race. Becca did close fairly well with a :80 last 400m to finish in a season best 5:19.1, but was overtaken late by a Barrington girl and missed out on one point. This makes Becca our 6th girl under 5:20 this year. We've never had more than four in one season previously. Up front Schaumburg's Karen Lesiewicz ran a sizzling 4:57, with a :72 last 400m, to win the race and break her school's 25 year old record. 4 x 400m Relay - Sarah (:62.7), Becca (:64.0 PR), Steph B. (:67.1), and Ellen (:68.0 PR) close out their nights with 400m legs in the relay. MSL West Division Meet - Distance Crew Splits |
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| April 26th, 2010 - New Frosh-Soph 4x800m relay School Record and Ruth Allen hits top 800m time in the state at the Palatine Invite | |||
|
This weekend
marked another
successful meet
for the Lady
Pirates Distance
Crew,
highlighted by a
new F/S 4 x 800m
Relay school
record and Ruth
setting the
current state
standard in the
800m run. We
really lucked
out with the
weather, as the
forecast was
calling for rain
and possible
thunderstorm, on
what turned out
to be an
incredible day
for running with
light breezes
and perfect
temps. Across
the board we saw
some very solid
performances in
a few of the
events and some
very
discouraging
results in
others. 4 x 800m Relay - The plan going in was to make a run at the Frosh-Soph school record set way back in 1994 by the likes of my wife (Jenny Monaco) and Coach Currins' youngest daughter (Carolyn). Tess got things started very well in a new PR split of 2:22.1 to get the baton to Emily in first place. Emily came into the day with the slowest PR (2:30.9r from '09) of the four, but changed that with a huge improvement in splitting 2:27.2. At this point we were about six seconds below record pace, but were all alone with two less experienced 800m runners. Laura got out slow (:70.2), but closed well enough to split 2:27.2 in only her third career 800m. Marlena was left to bring us home and was fortunate to have been given a big safety net by her teammates as her split of 2:34.4 was well off her season best, but was enough to bring us home in 9:52.6, well under the 1994 record of 9:55.9. Great job ladies. The JV girls were again lost in the mix with the varsity race being combined. Liz walked away with the fastest split (2:41.2), for a slight improvement over her season best. 3200m Run - Running in her first 3200m run, Jacqui was looking to get as close to 12:00 as she could. She did a great job of not getting caught up in the lead pack too early with the hopes a sustained and controlled effort would bring some of the girls back to her later in the race. She came through 1600m in 5:59 (only the 4th time she's ever been under 6:00) and continued a good rhythm, but could never close enough on second and third place to give them a challenge. She finished in 12:09 for one of the better 3200m freshman debuts in school history. Kristen (13:13) struggled again in this one, as she continues to look for a way to get back to the racing success she was seeing during the indoor season. 800m Run - Ruth was all alone in this one from the early going and looked smooth and relaxed hitting splits of :30.2, :63.6, and 1:39.0. Her 600m split was comparable to that of her Downers North performance, but she closed much better this time around and now owns the top time in the state - 2:14.7. Becca finished 3rd overall in a new open PR of 2:22.8. 400m Run- Laura looked very good in her open 400m, after a somewhat disappointing relay leg split, to run her first sub-:60 of the season in :59.2. Johanna looked good the first 300-350m of her race, but really tied up the last 35-40m to run 66 point. 1600m Run - This race ended in what I believe are the top two times in the state, 5:01 & 5:02. Unfortunately they were run by two of our MSL competitors in HE's Goers and Schmidt. We are learning (I hope) that you have to run much, much smarter and strategically when you are racing good competition. You are simply not going to run away from the some of the best runners in the state, and even if you do run a great and smart race, good runners are still tough to defeat. The race was out fast (sub-:70), with Sarah and Courtney doing all the work for the first 800m (2:28), essentially helping to set up great performances for the Hoffman duo. From the result times of 5:09, 5:12, and 5:20 from Sarah, Courtney, and Tess it looks like a solid day, but if you take a look at our splits you will see just how poor our races truly were. For example, Sarah and Courtney were on 4:56 pace at 800m (2:28), but they got there running a :69.9 (4:40 pace), followed by a :78.9 (5:16 pace). To make matters worse, HE's duo were in control as they were sitting right behind us and got to decide when they wanted to make a move. That's just what they did, as they made a big push on lap three and we were quickly gapped with our :81 (5:24 pace) third quarter. This will not get the job done. Tess also got out way too fast and paid the price, as she was passed late by All-Stater Sami Fry of Downers North. If we run smarter and more even paced races we will run faster and have a better chance of winning big races. Learn from these mistakes and take them into your future performances. In the JV race, we saw much of the same, as Ellen won the race in a new season best of 5:37.4, but did it the hard way. She hit 400m splits of :77 (5:08 pace), :86 (5:44 pace), :89 (5:56 pace), and :85 (5:40 pace). Not the way to run your best time. The rest of the JV field was all over the place as well in pacing and ended with zero season best's. 4 x 400m Relay - An injured Rebecca Korus put Sarah in this one, as she split :62.7 and Becca hit her All-Time PR in :64.0 to close out a solid day. Steph ran :67.1 and Ellen doubled back from the 1600m run with a :68.8 in the JV race. Palatine Invite - Distance Crew Splits |
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| April 22nd, 2010 - MSL Triangular with Rolling Meadows and Conant | |||
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This past
Tuesday we
hosted the last
of our three MSL
triangular meets
with Conant and
Rolling
Meadows.
Overall we could
not have asked
for a more
beautiful
evening for
running with
temps in the
mid-60's and a
very light
breeze on the
track. While
most of the
varsity level
runners were in
workout mode,
others got the
chance to step
up and shine.
Ruth, Johanna,
Courtney, Becca,
Sarah, Emily,
and Tess set out
for some speed
work consisting
of 100m dash, 4
x 200m
Relay(Emily
opted for the
open 400m), 200m
dash, and 4 x
400m Relay.
4 x 800m Relay - We put together a couple teams in this race, with seven the of eight girls being freshman or sophomores. We were outmatched up front with RM running some of their top varsity girls, but it didn't stop some of the girls from hitting season or All-Time personal bests. Six of the eight, Ellen (2:37.9), Jacqui (2:41.2), Kirsten (2:43.0), Jeniece (2:45.2), and Harpreet (2:49.2) all topped their All-Time PR mark, while Liz walked away with a season-best split of 2:41.8. 3200m Run - Krista was our lone entry in what would be her first attempt at this distance on the track in her career. Based on her 1600m best (6:11) we set a reasonable goal to hit 1600m at sub-6:30 and to see how many laps we could keep below 1:40 per 400m(13:00 pace). Krista was just off pace (6:32) through the first half, but then decided to settle with a Conant girl for the next 800m or so and the pace began to lag. With two laps to go she made a small move and dropped the pace back down a bit. She would end up 3rd behind two RM girls, who were well up on the field, with a time of 13:23. 800m Run - Marlena and Steph were our top entries in this one and both had solid finishes. Marlena finished 3rd overall with a season best time of 2:31.1, only one-second off her PR time from '09. Steph finished 6th in a new PR time of 2:33.9. Jacqui was doubling back from relay leg and we finally saw her run the 800 like she is capable. I talked to her just before the race, explaining to her that her 1600m time indicates she is underachieving in this race and it was time for a breakthrough. She did just that. Even after a start that saw her drop to the back and have to maneuver her way through the pack she finished well and dropped her PR from 2:41.2 in the earlier relay to 2:36.9. Kirsten would finish out her day with a solid double in 2:43.2, just missing her PR split from the 4 x 800m. 1600m Run - We had a group of six in this one who had all been just under 6:00 this season or have been hovering in the low-mid 6:00 range. While we didn't accomplish our goal of adding more to the sub-6:00 list, we did have some season-best and All-Time PR's. Ellen was our top entry and she went right to the front as she tried to seize control early, passing 400m/800m in :78/2:44. She would be right near the front with 400m to go (4:12), but laps of :86 & :88 could not shake the field and she would get passed on the back stretch with 200m to go. While she did manage a season-best 5:37.9 for 2nd, it was just short of her XC time trial PR from last October. Carly (5:52.4), Harpreet (6:11.8), and Jessie (6:24.1) would all finish with new PR's, while Liz was just short in a new season-best of 5:49.1. Harpreet dropped her PR down from 6:23.8, run a few meets back. 4 x 400m Relay - This relay was the only race I seemed to have gotten definitive times/splits for our varsity group. Sarah (:62.2) was the only one of the group to PR, while Ruth (:60.5), Jo (:63.6), Tess (:63.9), Courtney (:65.3), Becca (:66.2), and Emily (:67.9) would close out a solid day's work. MSL Tri with Conant & RM @ PHS - Distance Crew Splits |
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| April 19th, 2010 - Lady Pirates defend team titles at Downers & Wheaton | |||
|
The Lady Pirates
competed in
back-to-back
meets this
weekend, with
the Ritter
Invite hosted by
Downers Grove
North on Friday
night and the
Falcon Invite
hosted by
Wheaton North on
Saturday
afternoon. This
is always a
tough weekend as
we are still in
a heavy training
period of the
season and girls
are often quite
tired. However,
we competed
extremely well
and managed to
defend our team
titles in both
meets by edging
out Aurora West
(by six points I
believe) at
Ritter and
running away
from host
Wheaton North
(149-110) at the
Falcon Invite. The Distance Crew once again did their part in helping with points in the team scorings and had a few highlights over a windy weekend that was not completely conducive to great performances. Courtney and Sarah had great 3200m runs that stood out this weekend, as Courtney ran 10:58.5 for second on Friday night, making her #6 on the All-Time 3200m list and Sarah battled some tough winds for a very impressive 11:02.2 for the win on Saturday. Friday - Courtney runs #6 All-Time 3200m while the 3200m Relay Team and Ruth Allen pick up victories at Ritter Invite 4 x 800m Relay - We ran the same quartet as we had at the MSL indoor meet that took 1st and ran 9:35 back in March, so I had hopes we would see another victory and our first sub-9:30 clocking of the season, which would have put us under the meet record of 9:31. However, the windy conditions and poor racing tactics didn't quite get us there. We did manage a team victory with our time of 9:37.0, but had to come from behind mid-race to do it. Tess (2:24) had to close well her last 100m to move us back into 2nd place at the end of the lead-off leg. Johanna (2:26) showed a bit too much aggression in the early stages of her leg and struggled home the last 200m as we handed off in 3rd. Sarah (2:22) was way too passive early on as she steadily closed on the leaders, only to close well and give us a nice cushion for Becca's anchor leg. Becca (2:26) did just as she had at the MSL meet and made the others give chase early and held on for victory. We ended up with a seven-second victory. 3200m Run - This was a very solid field, with some of the state's top distance runners ready to battle in Naperville Central's Amanda Fox, Prospect freshman Brooke Wolfe and Courtney. The plan was to go early and make it an honest race. Courtney did just that while the field settled in and let her do the pace work through 2400m (all except Fox taking the lead for about 200m on lap #2). Courtney took them through 1600m in 5:28 and there were still about six runners in tow. With 800m or so to go, Wolfe looked to put her stamp on the race as she went to the front and tried to gap the field. Courtney was the only one to respond and while she did kick well the last 100m she didn't close the 5-10m gap enough with 400m to go to overtake her on the home stretch. Wolfe would win in a new Prospect HS record of 10:57.8 with Courtney a couple meters back in a new PR and #6 All-Time Pirate performance in 10:58.5. Emily got lost again in a tough field and was all alone for almost the entire race as she ran a disappointing 11:42. Another example of the importance of putting yourself in a race and sticking in a pack, even if they are running slightly faster than you feel comfortable with. Many girls in that first pack came back and would have given Emily people to run with. 800m Run - Pre-race plans had Ruth setting herself up for a run at the 2:12.5 school record set way back in 1986. At the cutline Ruth was getting pinched to the inside by DGN's Effrein and had to jump around her at the 200m mark as she was slightly cut off. Ruth decided to pass on the curve, still managing to come through in sub-:65 at 400m and on pace. She still looked really good through 600m in 1:39.5 and was still within range of the record, but the strong head wind seemed to take a bit out of her as she looked tight around the turn. She got it together and closed well, but was well off her goal in 2:16.5 for the win. Becca looked tired as she was doubling back from the 4 x 800m, finishing in 2:29.8 1600m Run - Sarah and Tess were both doubling back from the 4 x 800m and each had good intentions in this race of getting after it and running new PR's, but it was not meant to be. Both were sporadic in their pacing and never seemed to settle in at any point in the race. Sarah stuck around long enough to give herself a chance at the win, but left York's Frigo with too much of a gap to kick her down on the homestretch. On the bright side, Sarah did break 5:10 for only the third time in her career and the second time in four days. Tess was back-and-forth throughout the race and had to kick hard the last 200m to break 5:20 (5:19.9). Both were dissatisfied with their outcomes, but will hopefully take the lessons learned into future races. Ritter Invite - Distance Crew Splits Saturday - Sarah, Jacqui, and Ruth win in impressive fashion at Falcon Invite After a late night at Downers we knew we would be coming into this meet tired, so we approached this meet with the goal of putting together some solid performances on short rest without the worry of trying to win the meet as a team. The end team result showed the depth of this team as we won handily, but the strong winds put a damper on individual performances in regards to times. 4 x 800m Relay - This quartet included four ladies coming back from tough night on Friday. The wind was the true victor in this one as I thought Courtney was going to get carried away on the lead-off leg, as her singlet looked like a parachute. Battling the wind on tired legs led to some slower splits, however Emily did manage a season best 2:30.9 leg and Ruth anchored us home for the victory with her solid 2:19.1 leg as we still ran a state qualifying time of 9:44.1. 3200m Run - Sarah and Tess entered this race with the top seed times, so our plan was to go out and push the pace early, knowing even if we slowed later in the wind we could still place well. Sarah and Tess went out after it and it paid off in the end for Sarah as she looked great through 1600m in 5:26, while Tess (5:35) had just started her quick descend off the pace. Ellen looked good near the front of the chase pack coming through 1600m in 5:50. Sarah continued to press on and finished with one of the performances of the day, with her season best time of 11:02.2. What was most impressive was how well she ran in those conditions. I saw a much more focused Sarah throughout that race and she ended up running, what I'd call, the best race of her season. Tess got stuck running alone after a quick pace in only her second career 3200m run and struggled home in second with an 11:45. As well, Ellen lost contact with her pack after the mile and paid the price by having to run the last 800m alone, but still managed a PR (12:25) in only her second serious attempt at the 3200m. 800m Run - The wind and tired legs really played havoc with this race as Johanna, Laura, and Stephanie all were well off PR pace by the 600m in this one. While the first 200m splits were fine, the girls appeared to pay the price for battling the wind the first time down the homestretch as all three looked to be struggling by 500m to 600m. Johanna had moved out front and put herself in position for the victory, but tightened too much the last few meters and was overtaken by WN's Farnsworth. The girls finished with times of 2:29.4 for Johanna, 2:32.0 for Laura, and 2:36.2 for Steph. 1600m Run - After Tuesday's team-approached 1600m for the varsity in our triangular meet at Hoffman ending in such success, I was hoping to set-up the JV 1600m here in the same manner. Girls helping each other to new heights and hopefully new PR's. Unfortunately conditions were not going to help out, but the plan stayed the same. Get out and give yourself a chance run fast. Jacqui went straight to the front and showed no fear as she led most of this one with girls sitting right behind her to avoid the wind. Jacqui was not phased, as she pressed on. With about 600m to go HE's Delahunt (this year's JV MSL Indoor 3200m Champ and Record Holder-12:07) made a big push to the front and seemed ready to make the race hers to win. Jacqui was the only one to respond and it was a wise decision, as she kept the gap in check and closed very well at the end to pull out another exciting late victory in an impressive new PR of 5:42.1, well under her previous best of 5:51. Liz (5:53) and Carly (5:55) also had season best performances and added their name to the list of sub-6:00 girl for the season, while Kirsten just missed her second sub-6:00 with a 6:00.1.. The other girls in the race didn't fare so well as they got spread out and struggled home well off their season bests. The varsity race featured an excellent field with a rematch of Ruth, Courtney and HE's Haley Goers, plus the addition of HE's Melissa Schmidt, Sandburg's State XC runner-up Kim Christensen (and Ruth's future teammate at ISU) and Maine South's All-Stater Kristen Zillmer. This had the makings of an amazing race, however a tough wind and a Hoffman duo that had raced Friday night as well would expectantly make this race more tactical. With Becca and Ruth entering their fourth race in two days and Courtney obviously running tired after her 10:58 we changed up our approach and decided to simply race and potentially forego fast times. It was obvious no one really wanted to do the early work as the front pack passed 400m in :75-:76. Christensen had decided it was time to try and steal the race as she got a clear 20m or so lead, but the chase pack stayed tight and no one else strayed. Hoffman's duo of Goers and Schmidt made their move for Christensen about halfway and Ruth wisely went with. Meanwhile, Courtney and Becca were looking tired as they started to get strung out with the rest. As Goers and Schmidt caught and passed the leader they kept the pedal down and it was gut-check time for Ruth with about 500m to go. Ruth gamely stayed close and gave herself a chance at the end, which would pay off. As they entered the homestretch Ruth was still down a few meters, but quickly rose up on her toes and got moving, having just enough to overtake the HE's girls at the end to take the victory in 5:14.7 to Goers' 5:14.9, and perhaps a little redemption after last Tuesday's race. What won this race for Ruth was not her final kick, but her decision to go with the leaders at 500m out, when she wasn't really ready to go. Courtney and Becca struggled home in 5:25 and 5:29 to finish out a tough weekend. Falcon Invite - Distance Crew Splits |
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| April 16th, 2010 - '06 Grad Amy Laskowske places 3rd at Mt. SAC Relays | |||
| 2006 Palatine Grad and 2009 NCAA 10k All-American Amy Laskowske placed third overall in the Mt SAC Relays 10,000m run with a time of 33:59 on Thursday night. Amy's best time for 10,000m is 33:42. | |||
| Amy Post Race | |||
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| Amy's Race | |||
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| April 14th, 2010 - MSL Triangular Meet with Hersey at Hoffman Estates | |||
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As we head into
our second week
of outdoor
racing we were
once again
blessed with
some great
weather for some
solid
performances
against a deep
Hoffman Estates
distance group,
while Hersey
placed most
their top
distance girls
in sprint events
for an evening
workout. Across
the board we did
see a number of
season best
performances and
a total of
thirteen
personal records
in a slight team
victory over the
Hawks (66-59). Going in to the evening the main attraction was built to be the 1600m run with the varsity group running fresh with PR's in mind. The race did not disappoint as Sarah, Ruth, and Courtney all broke 5:10, making this the first time three Lady Pirates have broken 5:10 in the same season. All three should be eyeing sub-5:00 before the end of the year. 4 x 800m Relay - We were definitely overmatched in this one and it made for some pretty uninspiring and unenthused runs by the two groups we put together. With our varsity resting up for the 1600m, we had a number of JV and freshman lined up against Hoffman's entire distance crew. We were well out of the running early with Hoffman running some of their top varsity level runners on the lead-off leg. Without Hersey running a team, most of our two groups were handing off all alone and left to do the pace work themselves. While no one had a horrible performance, few ran up to their potential for their current fitness level. The couple bright spots of this race for us was a big season best of 2:42 for Liz O'Brien and Carly Colvin finally competing in her first high school track meet, running a respectable 2:48 for her debut. 800m Run - With most of the 4x800m girls doubling back the primary goal was to come in with a more positive and enthusiastic attitude than we saw in the relay and the idea of running faster than they just had. I was much more pleased after this race, as all but one girl ran faster than she did to open the meet. I saw more competitiveness early in the race, which led to better performances. Stephanie B. led us in the varsity race in a new PR of 2:34.4, with Ellen Smith not far back, also in with a new PR of 2:35.0. Jacqui, Liz and Harpreet (PR) all came back with faster times than their relay splits. 1600m Run - The JV girls kicked this event off with three lifetime PR's in Kristen's 6:06.3, Jeniece's 6:08.1, and Krista's 6:11.3, as each should be aiming for sub-6:00 this weekend at Wheaton North. The varsity race was the event of the night, as you had four All-State cross country girls and six girls in the race who had PR's of 5:16 or faster, five of whom were Pirates. There was one primary goal for the night...set ourselves up to run fast times. Ruth, Courtney, and Sarah, with the help of HE's Goers, did just that as they hit 400m in :69-:70. Not far back Tess, Becca, Emily, and Johanna were all on PR pace. As the leaders hit 800m in the 2:25-:26 range they were well on their way to a good one. The third quarter did lag (81-:82), with there seeming to be some indecisiveness as to who wanted to do the work, with the group passing 1200m in 3:47. By this time Goers had established herself out front and seemed up the challenge to keep the tempo moving and perhaps make her move. Goers would hold her lead to the finish to complete a great run and a new school record for Hoffman in 5:03.7. Sarah gave her a run at the end, but had given up too much in the first part of the last lap and couldn't close enough to hold off one last surge by Goers. However, she did run a new PR of 5:04.6 to finally top her freshman best of 5:06.99. Ruth and Courtney would come across just after in a new PR's of 5:07.0 and 5:08.4. Tess, Emily, Becca, and Johanna got a bit strung out from the hot early pace and were left to do a lot of work on their own. Tess would run just short of her indoor PR in 5:19.5. Emily was a great story of the night with a monster PR of 5:19.9 to drop nearly 15-seconds from her '09 PR of 5:34.8. She should be ready to roll this weekend at the DGN 3200m run. Becca ran a solid 5:23 in her first 1600m run of the year and only her second non-800m/400m race of 2010. Johanna had a big drop in her season best in 5:36.4, only :04-seconds off her PR, in her first 1600m run since the first indoor meet of the year. This was a great race to watch, as we put six girls at 5:23 or under, five under 5:20, and three under 5:10. In all the years of Palatine track has a team ever done this for a season...much less one race. The closest any other team has came to doing this is a couple of the great teams the mid-1990's, '94 (5 at/under 5:25) and '93 (5 at/under 5:26). The exciting thing is we still have some good racing ahead of us to drop those times even more. Sarah and Ruth both moved up on the All-Time 1600m list, while Courtney officially moved in the top 10. 4 x400m Relay - The night ended in exciting fashion as Sarah got the anchor leg baton 10-15m back of the HE's girl and closed enough to kick down one of the best sprinters in the MSL and lead us to victory in a new 400m split PR of :62.4. MSL Tri w/ Hersey at Hoffman - Distance Crew Splits |
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| April 7th, 2010 - MSL Triangular Meet with Barrington at Schaumburg | |||
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Any time you get a few MSL teams together for a meet you can expect some solid performances and great competition. However, with seven weeks remaining in the season until the State meet you had many of the top runners in the state with different agendas for the day, most trying to get in a good day's work in preparation to do battle down the road. We were no exception, as most of our varsity girls had a full plate of racing on Tuesday night. We were not looking for top-notch performances in each race, but solid efforts in preparation for the bigger meets down the road. Sarah, Courtney, Emily, and Ellen had the largest workloads of the day as they were completing what I dub the “Quad," a test of will and strength in attempting to tackle a 4x800m leg, 3200m, 800m, and close out the evening with the 1600m, all in short recovery time. (Click to learn more about the “Quad” Club) Ruth also had her hands full as she was running the middle –distance version (appropriately called the “Mid-Distance Quad”) with a 4x800m leg, open 800m, 400m, and 4x400m leg. All-in-all, we had a very good evening across the board. A ton of season-best performances and a number of girls with PR’s on a beautiful evening to run. 4 x 800m Relay – This race was a bit watered down for us as the varsity group was given orders to run a more relaxed and controlled effort around 1600m goal pace. This took us out of the team race early, but we would rally late to just narrowly lose this one, placing second to Schaumburg, only a few seconds down with our 9:59.3 finish. I was impressed most by how smooth and relaxed each of the four (Emily-2:36, Courtney-2:29, Sarah-2:29, Ruth-2:24) looked, as their day was just beginning. The JV girls seemed to get a bit lost in this one. While Ellen started with a solid lead-off of 2:40 to begin her Quad quest, Kelsey (2:49), Jacqui (2:48), and Kirsten (2:47), in her first meet after a week out, all broke 2:50, but could have run much faster if they had been a bit more aggressive early in their legs and worked the third 200m a bit more. They finished in a time of 11:05 as a group. 3200m run – We had Sarah, Courtney, Emily, and Ellen change into their trainers as they were on their second leg of the Quad. Sarah and Courtney had to swallow their pride a bit as Schaumburg’s three-headed monster of Lesiewicz, Petry, & Falsey and Barrington’s Batliner were spiked up and ready get after it. I think I even heard a “You’re killing me Parks!” from Courtney, as she and Sarah passed 800m not accustomed to letting girls go ahead. Sarah and Courtney ran a solid 12:06, Emily 12:21, and Ellen 13:16 after their 4x800m legs. I had hoped for 11:40-50 for Sarah and Courtney, but was satisfied after seeing Schaumburg’s three All-Staters run in the 11:30’s and 11:40’s, and Falsey not far ahead in 11:57. Liz unfortunately did not reap the benefits from her hard efforts at practice, continuing her struggles in the deuce with a 13:43 finish. 800m run – We had a boat load of varsity girls in this race, with the five running their four races and Becca, Johanna, Tess, and Laura set out to run a quick one. This was only Laura’s second career 800m and first opportunity for some help from the field, as her previous run was an indoor 4x800m leg. A lot of good stuff came out of this. While the pace was a bit on the slower side (:70ish thru 400m), Tess took home first in a PR 2:22.5, Ruth closed well off her relaxed opening quarter to run 2:22.8, Becca ran a open 800m PR in 3rd with her 2:23.7, Johanna was 4th in a huge new PR of 2:24.1, and Laura was 5th in a solid 2:25.9 in her open 800m debut. Sarah (2:29.7), Courtney (2:29.7), Emily (2:33.8) and Ellen (2:46.6) ran solidly in their third leg of the Quad. Stephanie Burbidge took home first in the JV race with her 2:41.4, with Kristen Olson running 2:51.9 a few places back. 400m dash – This race featured four Distance Crew girls with a quick turn-around time after the open 800m. While all were tired and still feeling the burn of lactic acid from the previous race, three of the four managed 400m PR’s. Ruth took second in the race with a very good :60.6, while Johanna (:63.8), Tess (:64.2), and Becca (:65.2) all set new PR’s for the 400m. 1600m run – The 1600m would close out the night for four very tired young ladies in Courtney, Sarah, Emily, and Ellen, who got their first taste of the challenging Quad. This is always the interesting part of the test. What can you run after all the previous work behind you? This is where we find out what you are made of. These ladies did not disappoint. Sarah ran a very good 5:16.4 for the win, Courtney fought tough after the early pace work duties to run 5:23.6 in 2nd, Emily ran a 2010 best and just missed her PR in 5:35.5 for 3rd, and Ellen ran 5:49.9, less than eight-seconds off her PR. The JV race featured some exciting action as well, with Jacqui winning (5:54.6) her second race in as many attempts, just short of her 5:51 PR from last Saturday, but a good sign of consistency that will lead to a breakthrough in the future. Kirsten ran 6:07.8 on her return with a spirited battle at the end. Harpreet (6:23.8) and Jessie (6:29.2) finished with PR’s, while Jeniece was not far off her XC time trial best in 6:18.2. Liz came back with a much better looking 6:14.8 to show she is in better shape than her 3200m performances have shown. 4 x 400m Relay – This race seemed to top the night off for a few girls as Johanna (:61.9), Tess (:63.8), and Becca (:65.0) topped their PR performances from thirty minutes or so earlier with great runs to close out the meet. Ruth closed out her Quad night with a :60.7 split in her quest to break :60 for the first time this season. Part-time Distance Crew member freshman Taylor Tenca was one to note as well, as she closed out her night with a huge PR of :62.9 after a great run in the 300m LH. Must have been that 800m leg at JJK!!! MSL Triangular w/ Barrington at Schaumburg - Distance Crew Results |
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| April 5th, 2010 - Distance Crew Sweeps JJK Relays in Record Fashion | |||
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This year’s trip down to East St.
Louis’ 19th
Annual Jackie
Joyner-Kersee
Relays was a
great success
for the Palatine
Distance Crew as
we swept all the
distance events
in helping
defend our team
title with a
score of 106-101
over host school
and track power
East St. Louis.
In doing
so we also set
two new meet
records: one in
the varsity 4 x
800m Relay and a
second in the
Distance Medley
Relay, which is
also believed to
be a new school
record in that
event.
FS 4 x 800m
Relay – We had two rookies
in this race as
our freshman
distance group
is a bit
depleted with
Tess running
varsity, and
Kirsten and
Allison home
with health
issues.
In their
place were a
couple sprinters
making their
800m debuts in
Taylor Tenca and
Taylor Fricano.
Both did
a great job as
they had the
duties of
lead-off and
anchor.
Taylor T.
ran the fastest
split of the
group in
lead-off with
her 2:40.8 leg
to give us a big
early lead we
would not
relinquish.
The rest
of the race
ended up being
solo time
trials, with
Jacqui, Ellen,
and Taylor F.
hitting splits
of 2:46, 2:42,
and 2:45 for an
easy victory.
Varsity 4 x 800m
Relay – This race started
out to be quite
competitive with
good lead-off
legs from
Whitney Young
and Morgan Park
(I
think) as
Tess handed off
in third to
Sarah with her
2:26.3 split.
Sarah got
the baton and
bided her time a
bit as she
waited until
300m in to make
her big move
past the WY
runner.
By the
time she got the
stick around to
Johanna her
2:21.3 split put
us clear ahead
of the field.
Johanna
put together her
best split
(2:27.1) of the
2010 season with
her solo effort
as she stretched
the lead even
more in handing
off to Ruth.
Ruth was
all alone as
well and
anchored us home
in 2:22.3 for a
new meet record
time of 9:37.0,
bettering 2004’s
9:40 quartet of
Standridge,
Wright, Abram,
and Laskowske.
3200m run – The heat sheet listed our two
entries well
ahead of the
field as the
only sub-12:00
times entered.
With this
in mind we set
Becca and Emily
out to help one
another with the
pacing duties at
least until the
1600m mark.
Both did
a good job of
exchanging the
lead to help
combat the
strong winds as
they came
through 1600m at
5:44.
They
maintained this
close contact
until 800m to go
when Becca
started to fall
off the pace
just a bit,
running a :93
400m to Emily’s
:88.
Emily
would end up
with the win and
a six-second PR
with her 11:36
in windy
conditions.
Becca
would end up 2nd
in 11:45 and a
new PR in her
first race of
the 2010 season
over 800m.
Distance Medley
Relay – In this race we
were expecting a
good battle from
Whitney Young,
especially with
state cross
country champ
Lavinia
Jurkiewicz fresh
off her 5:02
1600m at Prep
Top Times
anchoring them
home.
With this
in mind, we
wanted Courtney
(entering with a
5:23 1600m PR)
to have as big a
lead as
possible.
Sarah
kicked things
off with a so-so
3:47 split in
the 1200m, but
it was enough to
get the cushion
started as she
handed off to
Tess with a
solid gap on the
field.
Tess got
out a bit slow
in her 800m with
a :72-second
first quarter,
but did a good
job of upping
the tempo before
600m and ended
with a 2:25
split to top her
4 x 800 time
from earlier in
the day.
Junior
Rebecca Korus
had the 400m
duties and ran a
solid :64.3
split to more
than keep the
estimated 100m
lead over WY.
I had
instructed
Courtney to put
the pedal down
early, with the
thinking that if
Lavinia was to
overtake her
she’d at least
have to work for
it.
Courtney
did just that,
getting out in a
quick 400m
(:70.6) and
coming through
800m(sub-2:30).
As she
came through
1200m with
another :78
quarter I
knew she
was in for a
great split.
Although
she did pay the
price for a very
fast first 400m,
her splits of
:70.6, :78.6,
:78.4, :79.2
brought her home
with a huge new
PR of 5:06.8 for
the run of the
day, and a
Palatine
victory.
The
winning time of
12:24 shattered
the meet record
set last year by
Whitney Young
(12:50) and was
likely a new
school record,
bettering our
12:28 run last
year at the
Palatine Relays.
1600m Medley
Relay – This ended up being
one of the best
races of the day
with a great
blend of sprint
speed and
middle-distance
strength on
display.
Valere G.
and Morgan Q.
led us off with
two solid 200m
legs and got the
baton to Laura
S. for the 400m,
who had her
hands full with
some great 400m
runners just
ahead of her.
Laura
made up some
ground on a few
teams and closed
well the last
30m to get up in
to 4th
or 5th
as she handed
off to Ruth.
Ruth had
quite a bit of
ground to gain
on the leaders
and did a better
job of being
aggressive early
as she came
through 400m in
:65.8 and had
moved us up.
The
distance to the
leaders
(Evanston’s
Jenell Horton)
didn’t change
much from 400m
to 600m, however
Ruth did close
well over the
last 80m or so.
In the end, it
was too little
too late as her
2:18.5 split
only got us as
high as third.
Freshman 1600m – Jacqui was our lone entry in
this race and
her teammates
did a good job
of getting her
warmed up and
mentally
prepared for a
great run.
Entering
the race with a
5:59 indoor PR
and the highest
seed in the race
our plan to go
right to the
front and make
sure the pace
was swift.
Jacqui
led a group of
4-5 in tow
through 800m,
before the pack
quickly dwindled
down to Jacqui
and a Whitney
Young runner
stride-for-stride.
With
about 600m to go
I asked the WY
coach, standing
by, about his
runner and he
informed me she
was their #6
runner in cross
country and had
split a 2:27
800m and a
:62-second 400m
during indoor.
With
credentials well
ahead of
Jacquie’s best I
was expecting
the WY girl to
blow by at any
second.
In fact,
I even joked
with the WY
coach that, in
now knowing
this, I should
probably tell
Jacqui to start
her kick a bit
earlier.
As they
came by with
300m to go, the
WY runner was
informed to
strike.
As she
started to make
her move Jacqui
quickly
responded with
her.
Jacqui
put up a great
fight over the
next 200m, not
allowing the WY
runner around.
With 100m
to go, it was
clear Jacqui’s
move put some
doubt in her
competitor’s
head, as she
promptly dropped
back and Jacqui
cruised to
victory the last
60-70m.
Jacqui
ended up with a
big PR in 5:51.3
and one of the
most exciting
finishes of the
day.
4 x 400m Relay
–
With only a few
points
separating a
team title, we
knew it could
come down to
this race if we
were to defend
our title over
East St. Louis.
This race
ended up being a
barn-burner as
we ended up 5th
in 4:04, but did
enough to earn
our second
consecutive JJK
Relays title.
Laura led
us off in :59.4,
followed by
:62.3 and :62.2
splits by
freshman Meg
Jump and Morgan
Q., before Ruth
anchored us home
in :60.2.
|
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| April 1st, 2010 - Keeping Female Runners Healthy | |||
|
Came across this
video (courtesy
of FloTrack.com)
a while back and
thought it would
be good for all
you girls to
watch. The
interviewee is,
Karen Harvey,
the women's head
XC coach at
Florida State
University, the
2009 NCAA XC
runner-ups.
(Side note - she
was the head
coach at
University of
Illinois up
until 2006).
She was also a
very successful
All-American
runner in both
cross country
and track at the
University of
Michigan in the
mid-90's. In
this video she
discusses some
of the issues
that contribute
to female
running-related
health. Great
insight, from
both a
successful
female athlete
and coach, to
keeping yourself
healthy both
short and
long-term. Video may take some time to load...if so, press play, then pause it to let it load up most of the way. |
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| March 19th, 2010 - Be in the Moment & Just Believe | |||
|
I recently read an article
entitled,
Being in the
Moment: Shut
Down Your Brain
and Just Believe
(Running Times
Magazine, April
2010, Tamara
Rice Lave),
about confidence
and believing in
yourself.
It discussed how
many
athletes never
reach their
fullest
potential
because their
minds hold them
back.
They
think too much
about the
future, and
negatively about
what might
happen, not
focusing on the
moment they are
in and what they
can control.
Below are
some interesting
quotes from the
article.
·
“February,” responded
Joaquin Cruz
when asked “When
did you know you
were going to
win?” during an
interview after
his Olympic gold
medal in the
800m run in
August of 1984.
(The
surprised
interviewer was
expecting him to
discuss the
final stretch of
the actual race,
but Joaquin had
the belief he
was going to win
since February
of that year.)
·
Entering the 1964 10k
Olympic final
with a
qualifying time
nearly a minute
slower than the
top runners,
Billy Mills
convinced
himself he could
win by using “a
form of
self-hypnosis”
in which for
four years he
“visualized
winning dozens
of times a day.”
He went
on to win gold
in one of the
most surprising
upsets of the
’64 Games.
(Watch
the videos below
of Mills winning
gold and him
talking about
his
“self-hypnosis”)
·
“Athletes like Mills
and Cruz
excelled in part
because they
were able to
stay firmly
planted in the
present.”
·
“If you can be in your
body, focused
and in the
moment, you can
do everything to
your best.
You can’t
think about what
happened or what
will happen, but
you have to
focus on this
stride and one
this breath.
Athletes
who get ahead of
themselves can
get paralyzed
with anxiety and
stress.”
When you are in a workout or a
race, focus on
what you can
control.
You can’t
control how fast
someone else
will run, throw,
or jump.
You can’t
change what
happened earlier
in the day, the
previous meet,
or even the
previous lap.
Believe
in the work you
have put in and
trust in your
abilities to
manage the
present. |
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 Distance Crew Spring Break Trip to the Windy City (It literally was the "Windy" City)      ---------------------------------------  Anusha Narayanan giving her best Pirate Pete impersonation ---------------------------------------  Ruthie showing off her puffy paint skills on the Peacock uni's ---------------------------------------  History of Bob the Fish |
