Westford Academy has a good team, and it'll be tight, particularly on the boys side.
On Saturday is the Coaches Invitational, on Sunday is the Elite section of the coaches invitational. Lions fans will note that Bridget Dahlberg is matched up against Emily Jones of Bromfield. They had a very tight race in the All-States, where Bridget won in a record time. Emily's run a 10:34 two mile this season.
Many races will be very interesting in the Elite section - so if you come it'll be interesting. Note: the coaches aren't going to run the kids too hard on Saturday or Sunday, just giving some a chance to compete in spikes or concentrate on single events.
ORDER OF EVENTS –
Saturday, February 2, 2008 Field Events: 9:30 a.m.
SHOT PUT (B, G)
LONG JUMP (G, B)
HIGH JUMP (two pits)
Running Events 9:30 a.m. -
All Two-Milers must check in at 9:10 a.m.
All Milers must check in at 9:45 am.
10:00 a.m. Two Mile Run Unseeded Sections – seeded section will be determined after check-in One Mile Run Unseeded Sections – seeded section will be determined after check-in Do not assume your athlete may be in the fast section – ALL runners must check in when the event is called. If your athlete does not check in at this time, he/she will not run.
300 meter Dash FINAL – Sections on time, fastest section last.
One Mile Run Fast Section (12 athletes)
600 meter Run Sections on time, fasted section last.
1000 meter Run Sections on time, fasted section last.
Two Mile Run Fast Section (12-15 athletes)
After the High Jump is completed
Hurdles Trials - (24 fastest runners advance to Semi-finals)
Dash Trials - (24 fastest runners advance to Semi-finals)
Hurdles Semi-finals - (Winner of each S.F. + next 5 fastest qualify for Finals)
Dash Semi-finals - (Winner of each S.F. + next 5 fastest qualify for Finals)
Hurdles Finals
Dash Finals
Sunday ORDER OF EVENTS
Field Events:
9:30 a.m. SHOT PUT – Boys first
LONG JUMP – Girls first
HIGH JUMP – Girls at scoreboard end, Boys in middle of floor Hurdles and Dash are built into the schedule
The MORNING RELAYS session, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
All relays will be run on Sunday, February 3, 2008. Running Events 8:30 Morning Relays – girls compete first Check in for
4 x 800 begins at 8:10. 4 x 800 – One section each for boys and girls
4 x 200 – Sections determined on teams checking in.
4 x 400 – Sections determined on teams checking in. All one mile and two mile seeds #13-24 must check in
9:30 am GIRLS COMPETE BEFORE BOYS
10:15 One Mile Run Section 1 (slower section, seeds #13-24) 10:30 Two Mile Run Section 1 (slower section, seeds #13-24)
11:00 One Mile Run Section 2 (seeds #1-12) Check in by 10:15 11:15
600 meter Run Sections on Time – Heats of six
11:40 Dash Semis Winner of each S.F. + next 5 fastest to final
11:55 1000 meter Run Sections on Time – Heats of eight
12:10 Hurdles Semis Winner of each S.F. + next 5 fastest to final
12:20 300 meter Final ONLY – sections based on submitted times
12:55 Two Mile Run Section 2 (seeds #1-12) Check in by 11:55
1:20 Hurdle Final
1:22 Dash Final
1:25 4 x 800m Relay Top 24 on Time - fastest sections will be run last
2:05 4 x 200m Relay Top 24 on Time - fastest sections will be run last
2:35 4 x 400m Relay Top 24 on Time - fastest sections will be run last
PLEASE NOTE: This time schedule is approximate. Athletes will still have to check in when their events are called. No event will be conducted before the time published above.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
MSTCA Relays 27 Jan. 2008 - PHOTOS
a whole bunch of reduced fuzzy photos from many races of many teams
Coolrunning Results
click here for PHOTOS by George
Boston Indoor Games & MSTCA Relays & notes on upcoming meets
Most of this report is from my spies at the weekend meets. I was up in New Hampshire, taking a wilderness first aid course (and sneaking in some cross-country skiing).
Bridget Dahlberg ran, unattached, on Saturday night at the Boston Indoor Games, with a very talented field, including Triton's Keely Maguire. She ran a smart race, with even splits and broke 5 minutes, running in 4:58.67. This took 5th place out of 11 runners, including Jillian Smith, who won in a scorching 4:49. Breaking 5:00 is pretty spectacular, particularly for this early in the season. The coaches haven't emphasized speed work, yet, so that's even more impressive.
Full results: http://www.bostonindoorgames.com/2008/events/gMile.htm
In the Elite relays on Sunday, we have another school record to add to the 4x8 ran the weekend before.
In the Distance Medley relay, Bridged doubled back on Sunday, running an anchor leg of 5:10, for an overall time of 12:20.93. This took first, ahead of Lincoln-Sudbury and Weymouth. In addition to Bridget's anchor, we had Juliet Ryan-Davis running the 1200 in 3:48, Julia Frieze in the 400 in 60.8, and Diana Braver in 2:21.4. This is a new school record.
And, an amazing run by the B team of Kathy O'Keefe (3:51.2) Dani Pensack (62.8) Kyle Remy (2:29.3) and a super fast anchor by Kelsey Karys of 5:11.1, to take fourth, overall in 12:29.79.
Another great performance was the 4x50 shuttle dash with Dani Pensack, Katie Sandson, Azeezah Gray, and Pebbles Banks, running in 25.23.This took 5th overall.
The boys 4x800m relay ran a 8:17.5, which is a significant improvement. Sasha Long (2:02.6), John Beck (2:04.1), Yuji Wakimoto (2:07.7) and Will Cha (2:02.9) ran a great race. This took 8th overall.
Gloucester ran a hot 8:02, only a few seconds off of the meet record.
There was a mishap in the boys 4x400m relay. Will got jostled in his leadoff leg, and dropped the baton. The boys managed to get the stick around, but they'd fallen off the pace, so it was difficult to get back into the game. Next time, guys!
The girls 4x200m relay ran well, with Pebbles Banks, Ellie Ellis, Sarah Marquis and Azeezah Gray teaming for a 1:52.2. There was a tough handoff in there, so we know they can go faster.
The high jump relay took 3rd overall, and had some great jumps, with Diana Braver at 5'1", Ellie Ellis in 5'1", and Kathryn Ellis in 4'11".
Other standouts - the LS 4x8 ran a 9:16 for first. With a goal of dropping under 9 by the indoor season's end, they have some work cut out for them, but are, typically, dominating the field. The big news was the Hingham girls running in 9:33, which is a significant improvement, to take second. Watch for them later in the season.
The Woburn boys set a new record in the sprint medley relay, 3:34.12. Woburn returned to run a scorching 4x4 in 3:24.
Chelmsford had a nasty surprise in the DMR when leadoff runner Ryan Buckley (top 600 time in the state) seemed to get injured. Ryan has some great times this season.
Next up is a busy weekend, with the Bedford/Notre Dame/Westford Academy DCL meet on Friday, the Coaches Invitational on Saturday, and the Elite section of the Coaches Invitational on Sunday.
Westford Academy has a strong squad, with Max Enos doing the dash, 300 and long jump, typically, and Cassie Ryding running hurdles for the girls. Marc Boutin runs the 1 and 2 mile, typically. They have a strong squad. Notre Dame girls are also strong. Bedford has Jon Gault in the 1 and 2 mile. It will be interesting to see how the coaches approach this, with the Invitationals in mind for Saturday/Sunday.
The Saturday portion of the Invitational is gigantic. Every school in Massachusetts may be represented. It's exhausting. It represents a chance for many runners, particularly sprinters, to qualify for states, as spikes are allowed.
On Sunday, the Elite section provides a preview into what one might see at the State meets, both the Class meets, and the All-States, so this should be exciting. The challenge, for the coaches, is to figure out how to enter kids into the races without wearing them out from too much racing. So, it's a question of how to handle the dual meet, and then what to enter in the Saturday and Sunday sections of the invitationals. It looks like the coaches may put more emphasis on the Elite section.
Late breaking news: Emily Jones and Bridget’s seed are both up in the 1-mile for Sunday. We’ll see if they both run.
Bridget Dahlberg ran, unattached, on Saturday night at the Boston Indoor Games, with a very talented field, including Triton's Keely Maguire. She ran a smart race, with even splits and broke 5 minutes, running in 4:58.67. This took 5th place out of 11 runners, including Jillian Smith, who won in a scorching 4:49. Breaking 5:00 is pretty spectacular, particularly for this early in the season. The coaches haven't emphasized speed work, yet, so that's even more impressive.
Full results: http://www.bostonindoorgames.com/2008/events/gMile.htm
In the Elite relays on Sunday, we have another school record to add to the 4x8 ran the weekend before.
In the Distance Medley relay, Bridged doubled back on Sunday, running an anchor leg of 5:10, for an overall time of 12:20.93. This took first, ahead of Lincoln-Sudbury and Weymouth. In addition to Bridget's anchor, we had Juliet Ryan-Davis running the 1200 in 3:48, Julia Frieze in the 400 in 60.8, and Diana Braver in 2:21.4. This is a new school record.
And, an amazing run by the B team of Kathy O'Keefe (3:51.2) Dani Pensack (62.8) Kyle Remy (2:29.3) and a super fast anchor by Kelsey Karys of 5:11.1, to take fourth, overall in 12:29.79.
Another great performance was the 4x50 shuttle dash with Dani Pensack, Katie Sandson, Azeezah Gray, and Pebbles Banks, running in 25.23.This took 5th overall.
The boys 4x800m relay ran a 8:17.5, which is a significant improvement. Sasha Long (2:02.6), John Beck (2:04.1), Yuji Wakimoto (2:07.7) and Will Cha (2:02.9) ran a great race. This took 8th overall.
Gloucester ran a hot 8:02, only a few seconds off of the meet record.
There was a mishap in the boys 4x400m relay. Will got jostled in his leadoff leg, and dropped the baton. The boys managed to get the stick around, but they'd fallen off the pace, so it was difficult to get back into the game. Next time, guys!
The girls 4x200m relay ran well, with Pebbles Banks, Ellie Ellis, Sarah Marquis and Azeezah Gray teaming for a 1:52.2. There was a tough handoff in there, so we know they can go faster.
The high jump relay took 3rd overall, and had some great jumps, with Diana Braver at 5'1", Ellie Ellis in 5'1", and Kathryn Ellis in 4'11".
Other standouts - the LS 4x8 ran a 9:16 for first. With a goal of dropping under 9 by the indoor season's end, they have some work cut out for them, but are, typically, dominating the field. The big news was the Hingham girls running in 9:33, which is a significant improvement, to take second. Watch for them later in the season.
The Woburn boys set a new record in the sprint medley relay, 3:34.12. Woburn returned to run a scorching 4x4 in 3:24.
Chelmsford had a nasty surprise in the DMR when leadoff runner Ryan Buckley (top 600 time in the state) seemed to get injured. Ryan has some great times this season.
Next up is a busy weekend, with the Bedford/Notre Dame/Westford Academy DCL meet on Friday, the Coaches Invitational on Saturday, and the Elite section of the Coaches Invitational on Sunday.
Westford Academy has a strong squad, with Max Enos doing the dash, 300 and long jump, typically, and Cassie Ryding running hurdles for the girls. Marc Boutin runs the 1 and 2 mile, typically. They have a strong squad. Notre Dame girls are also strong. Bedford has Jon Gault in the 1 and 2 mile. It will be interesting to see how the coaches approach this, with the Invitationals in mind for Saturday/Sunday.
The Saturday portion of the Invitational is gigantic. Every school in Massachusetts may be represented. It's exhausting. It represents a chance for many runners, particularly sprinters, to qualify for states, as spikes are allowed.
On Sunday, the Elite section provides a preview into what one might see at the State meets, both the Class meets, and the All-States, so this should be exciting. The challenge, for the coaches, is to figure out how to enter kids into the races without wearing them out from too much racing. So, it's a question of how to handle the dual meet, and then what to enter in the Saturday and Sunday sections of the invitationals. It looks like the coaches may put more emphasis on the Elite section.
Late breaking news: Emily Jones and Bridget’s seed are both up in the 1-mile for Sunday. We’ll see if they both run.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Div 1 relays - 19-Jan-07
Newsflash:
For those of you who didn’t hear, Newton North won a very tight meet against Brookline 44-42 on Thursday. Both NN and Brookline were there at the relays, dueling it out again, in many races.
On to the relays:
Since I’ve been doing a bit of volunteer coaching for NS, I decided to go whole hog and do the complete coaching experience, taking the bus, helping with the entries, in addition to my favorite obsessive-compulsive-disorder hobby, taking relay splits.
When we got off the bus, we were the first inside Reggie, but rapidly followed by Andover, who resembled a minor army – all dressed in identical uniform. They marched across the infield and took up a position directly behind the start-finish line.
Not only were there some huge performances, but a lot of kids who don’t normally run relays were out there. We had a lot of distance kids doing 4x400m relays, many of whom ran much faster than their expectations. I did, however hear some “I don’t want to ever run a 400 again…”, afterwards. Geeze, it’s my favorite race. Some of the girls who were used to distances like 2 miles ran in 4x4’s. They wondered what times they might run. I suggested that anything under 70 seconds was something to be happy with.
First up was the fabled 4x800m relay, with our A team of Juliet Ryan-Davis, Diana Braver, and Bridget Dahlberg. There was also a B team of Kelsy Karys, Kathy O’Keefe, Nina Slote and Kyle Remy. They were going up against the Lincoln-Sudbury fab four. In some ways, with LS’es declared intention to take over the World, er, National record in the 4x800, it takes some of the heat off.
At the gun, Juliet took it out real fast, and stayed close to Jess Griffin, splitting in a fast 2:20.22. Juliet has had some amazing times this season, including a 5:16 mile in the last DCL meet. Diana got the baton from Juliet, and ran a fast 2:22, but a bit of a gap opened up, midway through the leg with the second LS runner. Diana regained some ground, but not enough. With a gap at that point, it was harder for Julia and Bridget to get the pace, but they split 2:24 and 2:23 respectively, for a 9:29.76. This is the third fastest time in the country this year. Not bad.
LS ran a 9:15.95, which is the fastest time in the country, and demolishes their old record in this event, set last year.
Kelsy, Kathy, Nina and Kyle split 2:28, 2:26, 2:35 and 2:32 for a 10.01 – which is a great time.
In the boys 800, Sasha Long, Tal Inbar, John Beck and Will Cha ran 2:03.7, 2:10, 2:06.5 and 2:05.2 for an 8:25.5. Unfortunately, Sasha banged his knee in the raucous leadoff and had to get a substitute in the 4x4.
Newton North’s Seb Putzeys split a 1:57 on the leadoff of the seeded heat of the 4x8. Brockton eventually took it with an 8:15 and a scorching anchor leg by Carlos Montrond.
The sprint medley relay is one of trickiest relays around. You have an incoming 800 meter runner handing off to an outgoing 200 meter runner, which is a huge mismatch in speed, which can lead to lots of tough situations on the handoffs. We had a girls A team of Hannah Westbrook, Zoe Demple, Katie Sandson and Sara Chari, and a B team of Sony Freeman, Mary Kate Cronin, Rachel Rubinstein, and Elizabeth May. Remember the legs are 800-200-200-400.
The A team ran 2:33, 28.7, 33.1 and 67.6 for a 4:43.8, the B team ran 2:36.3, 30.8, 29.7 and 70.5.
Things to note, Katie had a difficult handoff to deal with that nearly went awry and cost her time on the relay split. Rachel was overjoyed to hear that she’s dropped under 30 second for the first time. She also PR’ed in the hurdles on Tuesday, dropping into the 10’s for the first time. So, it was quite a week for her.
In the boys SMR (sprint medley relay), we had an A team of Yuji Wakimoto, Jeff Atkins, Will Iacobucci and Ben Olins. They ran splits of 2:05.7, 25, 28.2 and 56.3.
Yuji’s split in the 800 was very impressive – he ran at a good pace, and didn’t let an early fast runner who later died (figuratively speaking, of course), rattle him.
In the 4x200, we had Pebbles Banks to Elli Ellis to Sarah Marquis to Azeezah Gray. They ran a scorching time of 1:50.77 to place 4th overall. Splits were 27.2, 26.9, 29.3 and 27.0.
The boys 4x200 – a long saga from the past. Last year’s team had Gerald and James on it, and the group seemed cursed by the fates, with one disqualification after another haunting them. I think they made four tries at qualifying for states, each time running well under the mark, but getting a disqualification each time. This time, they had Yong Cho to James, to Georgiy to Gerald, and got it done. The time of 1:35.9 beat their seed, and they came in first in their heat. The curse was reversed – and they handily qualified for the states. Splits were 23.7, 23.9, 24.6 and 23.6. They all felt they could run faster. Plenty of chances for that.
In the girls distance medley relay, we had two teams, an A team of Juliet Ryan-Davis, Julia Frieze, Diana Braver and Bridget Dahlberg. The B team consisted of Kathy O’Keefe, Dani Pensack, Kyle Remy and Kelsey Karys. Remember that legs are 1200-400-800-1600. The girls ran well, taking spots 2 and 3 in 12:35 and 12:49, which are great times.
The drama, of course, had to do with Lincoln-Sudbury’s presence. Bridget got the baton some distance behind LS’es Andrea Keklak and quickly closed the gap, and ran many laps just in front of Andrea, who looked pretty fresh. In the last 200 meters, Andrea kicked and Bridget couldn’t come back on her, but ran her fastest mile time this season in 5:08. We’ve seen a lot of strong doubles in the last week and a half from the crew of Juliet, Andrea, Bridget and Julia.
The shuttle hurdle relay for the boys had all underclassmen in them, with Jeff Atkins, Yong Cho, Ben Weisman and Dan Connolly. They took 11th overall, and won their heat – twice. The ‘twice’ was because the timing camera didn’t work in the first heat, so they were called back. It wasn’t a huge problem, as they pretty much ran the same time as in the live rehearsal. This bodes well.
In the girls shuttle dash, there was Pebbles Banks, Katie, Dani and Azeezah. Candace is still out with a foot injury, but we’re hoping to see her back soon. Despite Candace’s absence, the relay took third overall, and second in their heat to Andover. In many of these races, particularly the girls, we kept clipping up points on the board. In fact, the combination of Andover, Lincoln-Sudbury and Newton South was what one coach termed “a big point vacuum cleaner, leaving the rest of us to pick up random points lying around here and there.”
The boys DMR ran an 11:26 for 10th – Cameron Fen, Emerson Shui, Ben Finch and Andrew Wortham.
The girls 4x400 relay was actually a lot of fun. We had one sprint crew of Madeline Frieze, Amrita Rao, Dahlia Tomlin and Andrea Braver and one distance crew of Clair O’Brien, Tessa Ruben, Samantha Levy and Melanie Fineman. They dueled in their heat, back and forth. Ben and I rooted for our favorites (I was sprint, he was distance). The sprinters eventually pulled it out. Notable splits included Andrea’s 65 and Melanie’s 66.
This was a pretty young crew and for most of them, their first exposure to a 4x400 relay.
The boys 4x400 was more intense. Tal Inbar had to substitute for Sasha Long, after his knee got banged up in the 4x800. They ended up in the top seeded heat, and ran a 3:35.7, to take 6th overall. Gerald Arneauld ran a scorching 49.6 anchor leg. I can tell you from personal experience that that 50-second barrier is one of the most difficult roadblocks to get over – I don’t know precisely why, but it seems akin to trying to cross the sound barrier.
But, in many ways, the big news of the day was the girls’ performance in the field events, taking first in the shotput relay, and the high jump relay. Add to this a third place in the long-jump, NS vacuumed up beaucoup points from the field events. The shotput relay was Elizabeth Jeyaraj, Nalis Mbianda and Ashley Dennis. The high jump relay was Ellie Ellis, Diana Braver and Kathryn Ellis. The long jump relay was Sarah Marquis, Christie Lee and Ellie Ellis.
At the end of the meet, the girls long-jump was the last event to be competed. Newton South had a narrow, two point lead over Andover at this point, with Andover, Boston Latin, Brockton and a few other schools left to compete. We had a very good long jump score, but we knew that those schools could score. Well, it took two record breaking jumps to knock us out of first place. The field events were “huge for us” (quoting Matt), and as much testimony to the coaches as much as to the athletes. Joanne, Dennis and Matt cover those events nearly every day and have been working on form all season.
Boston Latin and Andover manage to set record jumps to place above us. This was enough to elevate Andover to first place. Andover had 58 points, NS was second in 56 points, and LS was third in 46. The Andover coach was quoted as saying that beating LS and NS was “like winning the lottery.”
As the last flights were taking place, Reggie had cleared out, and only the Weymouth, Andover and Newton-South teams remained, watching the long jump flights. I said to Matt, “Wow, it looks like both we and Andover are the first in, and the last out.” Matt replied “Yeah, but maybe you can spot a significant difference between the two teams?”
I scanned the Andover bench, full of upright, identically uniformed kids, parents and coaches, very disciplined. I then looked over the Newton South stands, and saw random tie died shirts, every imaginable sweat pant, spandex, headband, hat, overcoat, you name it, legs and arms sprawled across the stands. It was a veritable band of gypsies. I briefly thought about what it would be like to be an Andover parent, and then thought about my days in California and Oregon, dancing to the Grateful Dead at Ken Kesey’s farm, and decided I’d rather hang with the gypsies.
Go Lions!
For those of you who didn’t hear, Newton North won a very tight meet against Brookline 44-42 on Thursday. Both NN and Brookline were there at the relays, dueling it out again, in many races.
On to the relays:
Since I’ve been doing a bit of volunteer coaching for NS, I decided to go whole hog and do the complete coaching experience, taking the bus, helping with the entries, in addition to my favorite obsessive-compulsive-disorder hobby, taking relay splits.
When we got off the bus, we were the first inside Reggie, but rapidly followed by Andover, who resembled a minor army – all dressed in identical uniform. They marched across the infield and took up a position directly behind the start-finish line.
Not only were there some huge performances, but a lot of kids who don’t normally run relays were out there. We had a lot of distance kids doing 4x400m relays, many of whom ran much faster than their expectations. I did, however hear some “I don’t want to ever run a 400 again…”, afterwards. Geeze, it’s my favorite race. Some of the girls who were used to distances like 2 miles ran in 4x4’s. They wondered what times they might run. I suggested that anything under 70 seconds was something to be happy with.
First up was the fabled 4x800m relay, with our A team of Juliet Ryan-Davis, Diana Braver, and Bridget Dahlberg. There was also a B team of Kelsy Karys, Kathy O’Keefe, Nina Slote and Kyle Remy. They were going up against the Lincoln-Sudbury fab four. In some ways, with LS’es declared intention to take over the World, er, National record in the 4x800, it takes some of the heat off.
At the gun, Juliet took it out real fast, and stayed close to Jess Griffin, splitting in a fast 2:20.22. Juliet has had some amazing times this season, including a 5:16 mile in the last DCL meet. Diana got the baton from Juliet, and ran a fast 2:22, but a bit of a gap opened up, midway through the leg with the second LS runner. Diana regained some ground, but not enough. With a gap at that point, it was harder for Julia and Bridget to get the pace, but they split 2:24 and 2:23 respectively, for a 9:29.76. This is the third fastest time in the country this year. Not bad.
LS ran a 9:15.95, which is the fastest time in the country, and demolishes their old record in this event, set last year.
Kelsy, Kathy, Nina and Kyle split 2:28, 2:26, 2:35 and 2:32 for a 10.01 – which is a great time.
In the boys 800, Sasha Long, Tal Inbar, John Beck and Will Cha ran 2:03.7, 2:10, 2:06.5 and 2:05.2 for an 8:25.5. Unfortunately, Sasha banged his knee in the raucous leadoff and had to get a substitute in the 4x4.
Newton North’s Seb Putzeys split a 1:57 on the leadoff of the seeded heat of the 4x8. Brockton eventually took it with an 8:15 and a scorching anchor leg by Carlos Montrond.
The sprint medley relay is one of trickiest relays around. You have an incoming 800 meter runner handing off to an outgoing 200 meter runner, which is a huge mismatch in speed, which can lead to lots of tough situations on the handoffs. We had a girls A team of Hannah Westbrook, Zoe Demple, Katie Sandson and Sara Chari, and a B team of Sony Freeman, Mary Kate Cronin, Rachel Rubinstein, and Elizabeth May. Remember the legs are 800-200-200-400.
The A team ran 2:33, 28.7, 33.1 and 67.6 for a 4:43.8, the B team ran 2:36.3, 30.8, 29.7 and 70.5.
Things to note, Katie had a difficult handoff to deal with that nearly went awry and cost her time on the relay split. Rachel was overjoyed to hear that she’s dropped under 30 second for the first time. She also PR’ed in the hurdles on Tuesday, dropping into the 10’s for the first time. So, it was quite a week for her.
In the boys SMR (sprint medley relay), we had an A team of Yuji Wakimoto, Jeff Atkins, Will Iacobucci and Ben Olins. They ran splits of 2:05.7, 25, 28.2 and 56.3.
Yuji’s split in the 800 was very impressive – he ran at a good pace, and didn’t let an early fast runner who later died (figuratively speaking, of course), rattle him.
In the 4x200, we had Pebbles Banks to Elli Ellis to Sarah Marquis to Azeezah Gray. They ran a scorching time of 1:50.77 to place 4th overall. Splits were 27.2, 26.9, 29.3 and 27.0.
The boys 4x200 – a long saga from the past. Last year’s team had Gerald and James on it, and the group seemed cursed by the fates, with one disqualification after another haunting them. I think they made four tries at qualifying for states, each time running well under the mark, but getting a disqualification each time. This time, they had Yong Cho to James, to Georgiy to Gerald, and got it done. The time of 1:35.9 beat their seed, and they came in first in their heat. The curse was reversed – and they handily qualified for the states. Splits were 23.7, 23.9, 24.6 and 23.6. They all felt they could run faster. Plenty of chances for that.
In the girls distance medley relay, we had two teams, an A team of Juliet Ryan-Davis, Julia Frieze, Diana Braver and Bridget Dahlberg. The B team consisted of Kathy O’Keefe, Dani Pensack, Kyle Remy and Kelsey Karys. Remember that legs are 1200-400-800-1600. The girls ran well, taking spots 2 and 3 in 12:35 and 12:49, which are great times.
The drama, of course, had to do with Lincoln-Sudbury’s presence. Bridget got the baton some distance behind LS’es Andrea Keklak and quickly closed the gap, and ran many laps just in front of Andrea, who looked pretty fresh. In the last 200 meters, Andrea kicked and Bridget couldn’t come back on her, but ran her fastest mile time this season in 5:08. We’ve seen a lot of strong doubles in the last week and a half from the crew of Juliet, Andrea, Bridget and Julia.
The shuttle hurdle relay for the boys had all underclassmen in them, with Jeff Atkins, Yong Cho, Ben Weisman and Dan Connolly. They took 11th overall, and won their heat – twice. The ‘twice’ was because the timing camera didn’t work in the first heat, so they were called back. It wasn’t a huge problem, as they pretty much ran the same time as in the live rehearsal. This bodes well.
In the girls shuttle dash, there was Pebbles Banks, Katie, Dani and Azeezah. Candace is still out with a foot injury, but we’re hoping to see her back soon. Despite Candace’s absence, the relay took third overall, and second in their heat to Andover. In many of these races, particularly the girls, we kept clipping up points on the board. In fact, the combination of Andover, Lincoln-Sudbury and Newton South was what one coach termed “a big point vacuum cleaner, leaving the rest of us to pick up random points lying around here and there.”
The boys DMR ran an 11:26 for 10th – Cameron Fen, Emerson Shui, Ben Finch and Andrew Wortham.
The girls 4x400 relay was actually a lot of fun. We had one sprint crew of Madeline Frieze, Amrita Rao, Dahlia Tomlin and Andrea Braver and one distance crew of Clair O’Brien, Tessa Ruben, Samantha Levy and Melanie Fineman. They dueled in their heat, back and forth. Ben and I rooted for our favorites (I was sprint, he was distance). The sprinters eventually pulled it out. Notable splits included Andrea’s 65 and Melanie’s 66.
This was a pretty young crew and for most of them, their first exposure to a 4x400 relay.
The boys 4x400 was more intense. Tal Inbar had to substitute for Sasha Long, after his knee got banged up in the 4x800. They ended up in the top seeded heat, and ran a 3:35.7, to take 6th overall. Gerald Arneauld ran a scorching 49.6 anchor leg. I can tell you from personal experience that that 50-second barrier is one of the most difficult roadblocks to get over – I don’t know precisely why, but it seems akin to trying to cross the sound barrier.
But, in many ways, the big news of the day was the girls’ performance in the field events, taking first in the shotput relay, and the high jump relay. Add to this a third place in the long-jump, NS vacuumed up beaucoup points from the field events. The shotput relay was Elizabeth Jeyaraj, Nalis Mbianda and Ashley Dennis. The high jump relay was Ellie Ellis, Diana Braver and Kathryn Ellis. The long jump relay was Sarah Marquis, Christie Lee and Ellie Ellis.
At the end of the meet, the girls long-jump was the last event to be competed. Newton South had a narrow, two point lead over Andover at this point, with Andover, Boston Latin, Brockton and a few other schools left to compete. We had a very good long jump score, but we knew that those schools could score. Well, it took two record breaking jumps to knock us out of first place. The field events were “huge for us” (quoting Matt), and as much testimony to the coaches as much as to the athletes. Joanne, Dennis and Matt cover those events nearly every day and have been working on form all season.
Boston Latin and Andover manage to set record jumps to place above us. This was enough to elevate Andover to first place. Andover had 58 points, NS was second in 56 points, and LS was third in 46. The Andover coach was quoted as saying that beating LS and NS was “like winning the lottery.”
As the last flights were taking place, Reggie had cleared out, and only the Weymouth, Andover and Newton-South teams remained, watching the long jump flights. I said to Matt, “Wow, it looks like both we and Andover are the first in, and the last out.” Matt replied “Yeah, but maybe you can spot a significant difference between the two teams?”
I scanned the Andover bench, full of upright, identically uniformed kids, parents and coaches, very disciplined. I then looked over the Newton South stands, and saw random tie died shirts, every imaginable sweat pant, spandex, headband, hat, overcoat, you name it, legs and arms sprawled across the stands. It was a veritable band of gypsies. I briefly thought about what it would be like to be an Andover parent, and then thought about my days in California and Oregon, dancing to the Grateful Dead at Ken Kesey’s farm, and decided I’d rather hang with the gypsies.
Go Lions!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
MSTCA Indoor Relays D1-a few photos -19 Jan. 2008
a very few photos from the MSTCA indoor relays Div.1 at Reggie Lewis track in Roxbury MA on 19 Jan. 2008:
State Relays Photos by George
Coolrunning Results
Thursday, January 17, 2008
3rd DCL meet - NS-AB-Boston-Latin - report by John Huth
This week was a quick turn-around from last – a DCL meet last Wednesday, a weekend that turned into a 3-day affair because of a snow day, and then right into another DCL meet, with a big relay meet coming this Saturday.
If that sounds busy, think about Acton-Boxborough, who ran on Friday/Saturday at the Dartmouth relays. The coaches didn’t think we had a shot at winning against AB on the boys side, but the guys outperformed the expectations and won the meet 55-40, which is a fairly tight score. The girls won 70-25, by a more comfortable margin.
The meet was also scored against Boston Latin, with the girls winning 82-13 and the boys 86-8.
Girls first, this time:
Azeezah Gray took 2nd in her heat of the hurdles with a time of 9.43. Mary-Kate Cronin, and Rachel Rubinstein both PR’ed in the hurdles with times of 10.33 and 10.98. One of Rachel’s goals was to get into the “10’s” in the hurdles and she finally got it!
In the dash, for the both the boys and the girls, and, in fact, for all runners from all schools, the times were slow. I’m still trying to figure this out, but I’m tempted to say that it was the 3 days off.
In the JV mile, Claire O’Brien ripped a PR of 5:46.7, qualifying for States. Jessa Rubin narrowly missed the qualifying mark, running a PR of 5:48.7 (5:48.24 is qualifying in the girls mile).
In the 4x200m JV relay, the girls finally got the baton around the track without a major incident, running in 2:01.8.
In a big comeback, Hannah Westbrook stepped onto the track for the first time this year and ran an 11:51, qualifying her for states, now in both the mile and deuce. Melanie Fineman and Sarah Chari ran 12:02 and 12:09 – hot times in any league.
Dani Pensak ran a gutsy race in the 300, taking 2nd to Boston Latin’s Meisha Brooks. Dani ran it in 43.1, which I think is a PR for her. Frosh Andrea Braver ran a 45.9 and Madeline Frieze ran a 46.2 – great times for the first year out.
In the 600, the coaches moved Bridget Dahlberg down from the 1,2 mile – maybe to get some speed for a big race coming up? Anyway, she delivered in her heat with a 1:39.6. Kyle Remy second with a 1:43.8. It looks like the LS coach is also giving the members of his girls’ 4x800m relay a speed workout, running them in the 300m and 600m, with some hot times. Also: KarenNallen of Westford Academy ran a 42.3 in her heat of the 300m, edging out LS’s Jess Griffin.
NS took 1-2 in the 1000, with Diana Braver and Julia Frieze. Both moved up to this distance. Diana tends to do the 600 more, and Julia the 300 – but both did great.
Juliet Ryan-Davis blasted a 5:16.9 mile, almost entirely on her own. She took out the lead in the beginning and held on to it. To my eyes, she looked like she had gas in the tank at the end. This is one of the top state marks this year.
Diana Braver and Elizabeth Ellis took 1-2 against AB in the high jump with 4-11 and 4-09.
In the long jump, Sarah Marquis took 1st overall!!! With a jump of 15-02. Cool beans, Sarah.
The 4x4 team of Juliet Ryan-Davis, Diana Braver, Julia Frieze and Bridget Dahlberg were untouchable in their heat, running a 4:10.2. Bridget held off a fast closing Casey Hsiung from AB. Casey’s a major sprint talent for AB. LS ran in the other heat, and this time made it around without a problem, running a scorching 4:03. For you fans of relay splits (an esoteric subject, as Jon Frieze will attest) Juliet 63.1, Diana 62.8, Julia 62.6, Bridget 61.6.
You may recall the saga of Chloe Milliman, who twice fell in the 4x200 meter relay at nearly the exact same place. The JV 200 has been replaced with the JV 300, and Chloe ran this, making it around the whole way, and winning her heat! Jessica He also ran a fast time. Jessica came in at 48, Chloe in 49.
Saving the best for last, here – Liz Jeyaraj threw the shot in 34-09, which I think is a big PR, and certainly a league leader – one of the top in the State.
Now, turning to the boys side: Before the meet, I ran into the ubiquitous Jack Benjamin, from AB, who seemed in good spirits. He said he was trying to take down the AB school record in the 1000, which is 2:34.6 or so (from memory). I wished him well, he’s getting close – he ran a 2:40 in the first DCL meet, but ran the mile in the second one.
The JV mile was basically a parade of NS boys, led by Igal Bubar in 5:00.4, then Kyle Olson in 5:06.6, Cliff Bargar, the Olia brothers, back-to-back, then Alex Pearce. There were so many NS kids in the JV mile, that the officials wanted us to fill out a special 3x5 card with their names on it.
LS hurdler and fellow Dyestater, Bryant Wang was running with the JV 4x200m. I was a bit surprised, and said “Hey, Bryant, what are you doing in a JV race?” He said that the LS coach wanted to try out a 4x2 in advance of the upcoming Div I relay meet. Evidently, Boston Latin had the same idea. LS ran a 1:36.6, and BL ran a 1:37.6 which is probably two of the fastest JV 4x2’s I’ve heard of. AB and NS came in around 1:45, which sounds about right for a JV 4x2.
In the two mile, we saw the first appearance of Andrew Wortham, who is coming back from a hip injury from the cross-country season. Hip injuries are nasty – I had one, and it took me away from running for the better part of a year. Andrew looked great, and dueled with Bedford’s Jon Gault for the entire race. Jon had it in the end, but just barely, maybe a second ahead of Andrew, who finished in a very fast 9:57.4.
Yong Cho raised eyebrows in the 55m hurdles. He won handily, running in 7.96, which is now the league leader and something like fifth fastest in the state! Yong is turning into a big point scorer for NS, also taking 2nd overall in the long jump 19-11.25.
The 300 saw a duel between Boston Latin’s Peter Rice, who dropped down from the 600, and Gerald Arneaud. Gerald took 2nd in 37.1. Georgiy Kupovykh took 9th in 38.5. Sam Sewall has the flu – get better soon!
Alex Long and John Mitkevicius went 1-2 in their heat of the 600 – 1:29.5 and 1:31.3 for big points for NS.
Jack Benjamin from AB took out the 1000 hard. Will Cha tried to hang on him for two laps, but the pace was pretty ferocious and Will fell off a bit. Jack won in 2:36, which is just two seconds off the AB record. Will took second with a 2:45.5, Aden Forrow took fourth in 2:51.
You might recall that Chris Kim was DQ’ed for jewelry in the previous DCL meet. This time, he left off the necklace, and threw 42’ to take second overall, giving us big points.
Speaking of jewelry rules, in the news was Jaushaunna Kelly from Theodore Roosevelt HS in DC was dq’ed for a uniform violation:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080116/ap_on_re_us/school_athlete_muslim_clothing
Seen from afar, this might sound abrupt, but we’ve seen dq’es for much smaller uniform violations.
In the boys JV 600, Ben Olins took first in 1:35.
At this point in the meet, the score with AB seemed pretty close. Matt Capstick and I added up the scores without the long jump, and it was 43 to 38 in favor of NS. I then went over to some of the kids in the stands who were watching the long jump and asked how that went. One said “I think Yong came in ahead of the AB guy”. Turns out Yong jumped only one inch further than AB’s DJ Brock. Putting that into the score, NS was up 48 to 39, out of range of possible disaster in the 4x4.
But, the 4x4 runners didn’t know that. Sasha Long, Will Cha, James Huth and Gerald Arneaud were running. It was tight for the first three legs, with James getting boxed in. Gerald got the handoff and ran neck and neck with AB’s Jack Benjamin for a while, finally pulling ahead for the win. Splits were Sasha 55.4, Will 54.6, James 53.8, Gerald 52.1, for 3:35.9.
So, that was the meet! The atmosphere in the infield after the meet was distinctly more relaxed than the week before. AB’s coach Brian Cunningham was there, joking around. Jack Benjamin was there. I told him he’d get the school record in the 1000 easily by the end of the season. I told Brian that I expected some hot relay times from AB this Saturday at the relays.
The crowd began to filter out and I started to warm up for my masters workout, seeing some of my running buddies showing up. I was stretching near the high jump pit. LS’es “fab four” (Molly Binder, Jess Griffin, Emily Mepham, and Dana Jamieson) were lounging on top of the pit itself. One of my running buddies, Carroll Blake (who can run a 55 400m at age 57!) came by, and I told him about the girls, saying “they can run in the low 9-minute range in the 4x8”. One of them perked up and said “We’re going to break 9 this year.” So, there you go. There’s even talk on the streets of Lincoln and Sudbury of them taking down the national record, which is 8:54, indoors. That’s a pretty all order. Can they get there? Show up for this weekend’s Div. I relay meet and see what they’re packing and what NS has to offer. Races kick off at 9:30, with….the 4x800 going first.
If that sounds busy, think about Acton-Boxborough, who ran on Friday/Saturday at the Dartmouth relays. The coaches didn’t think we had a shot at winning against AB on the boys side, but the guys outperformed the expectations and won the meet 55-40, which is a fairly tight score. The girls won 70-25, by a more comfortable margin.
The meet was also scored against Boston Latin, with the girls winning 82-13 and the boys 86-8.
Girls first, this time:
Azeezah Gray took 2nd in her heat of the hurdles with a time of 9.43. Mary-Kate Cronin, and Rachel Rubinstein both PR’ed in the hurdles with times of 10.33 and 10.98. One of Rachel’s goals was to get into the “10’s” in the hurdles and she finally got it!
In the dash, for the both the boys and the girls, and, in fact, for all runners from all schools, the times were slow. I’m still trying to figure this out, but I’m tempted to say that it was the 3 days off.
In the JV mile, Claire O’Brien ripped a PR of 5:46.7, qualifying for States. Jessa Rubin narrowly missed the qualifying mark, running a PR of 5:48.7 (5:48.24 is qualifying in the girls mile).
In the 4x200m JV relay, the girls finally got the baton around the track without a major incident, running in 2:01.8.
In a big comeback, Hannah Westbrook stepped onto the track for the first time this year and ran an 11:51, qualifying her for states, now in both the mile and deuce. Melanie Fineman and Sarah Chari ran 12:02 and 12:09 – hot times in any league.
Dani Pensak ran a gutsy race in the 300, taking 2nd to Boston Latin’s Meisha Brooks. Dani ran it in 43.1, which I think is a PR for her. Frosh Andrea Braver ran a 45.9 and Madeline Frieze ran a 46.2 – great times for the first year out.
In the 600, the coaches moved Bridget Dahlberg down from the 1,2 mile – maybe to get some speed for a big race coming up? Anyway, she delivered in her heat with a 1:39.6. Kyle Remy second with a 1:43.8. It looks like the LS coach is also giving the members of his girls’ 4x800m relay a speed workout, running them in the 300m and 600m, with some hot times. Also: KarenNallen of Westford Academy ran a 42.3 in her heat of the 300m, edging out LS’s Jess Griffin.
NS took 1-2 in the 1000, with Diana Braver and Julia Frieze. Both moved up to this distance. Diana tends to do the 600 more, and Julia the 300 – but both did great.
Juliet Ryan-Davis blasted a 5:16.9 mile, almost entirely on her own. She took out the lead in the beginning and held on to it. To my eyes, she looked like she had gas in the tank at the end. This is one of the top state marks this year.
Diana Braver and Elizabeth Ellis took 1-2 against AB in the high jump with 4-11 and 4-09.
In the long jump, Sarah Marquis took 1st overall!!! With a jump of 15-02. Cool beans, Sarah.
The 4x4 team of Juliet Ryan-Davis, Diana Braver, Julia Frieze and Bridget Dahlberg were untouchable in their heat, running a 4:10.2. Bridget held off a fast closing Casey Hsiung from AB. Casey’s a major sprint talent for AB. LS ran in the other heat, and this time made it around without a problem, running a scorching 4:03. For you fans of relay splits (an esoteric subject, as Jon Frieze will attest) Juliet 63.1, Diana 62.8, Julia 62.6, Bridget 61.6.
You may recall the saga of Chloe Milliman, who twice fell in the 4x200 meter relay at nearly the exact same place. The JV 200 has been replaced with the JV 300, and Chloe ran this, making it around the whole way, and winning her heat! Jessica He also ran a fast time. Jessica came in at 48, Chloe in 49.
Saving the best for last, here – Liz Jeyaraj threw the shot in 34-09, which I think is a big PR, and certainly a league leader – one of the top in the State.
Now, turning to the boys side: Before the meet, I ran into the ubiquitous Jack Benjamin, from AB, who seemed in good spirits. He said he was trying to take down the AB school record in the 1000, which is 2:34.6 or so (from memory). I wished him well, he’s getting close – he ran a 2:40 in the first DCL meet, but ran the mile in the second one.
The JV mile was basically a parade of NS boys, led by Igal Bubar in 5:00.4, then Kyle Olson in 5:06.6, Cliff Bargar, the Olia brothers, back-to-back, then Alex Pearce. There were so many NS kids in the JV mile, that the officials wanted us to fill out a special 3x5 card with their names on it.
LS hurdler and fellow Dyestater, Bryant Wang was running with the JV 4x200m. I was a bit surprised, and said “Hey, Bryant, what are you doing in a JV race?” He said that the LS coach wanted to try out a 4x2 in advance of the upcoming Div I relay meet. Evidently, Boston Latin had the same idea. LS ran a 1:36.6, and BL ran a 1:37.6 which is probably two of the fastest JV 4x2’s I’ve heard of. AB and NS came in around 1:45, which sounds about right for a JV 4x2.
In the two mile, we saw the first appearance of Andrew Wortham, who is coming back from a hip injury from the cross-country season. Hip injuries are nasty – I had one, and it took me away from running for the better part of a year. Andrew looked great, and dueled with Bedford’s Jon Gault for the entire race. Jon had it in the end, but just barely, maybe a second ahead of Andrew, who finished in a very fast 9:57.4.
Yong Cho raised eyebrows in the 55m hurdles. He won handily, running in 7.96, which is now the league leader and something like fifth fastest in the state! Yong is turning into a big point scorer for NS, also taking 2nd overall in the long jump 19-11.25.
The 300 saw a duel between Boston Latin’s Peter Rice, who dropped down from the 600, and Gerald Arneaud. Gerald took 2nd in 37.1. Georgiy Kupovykh took 9th in 38.5. Sam Sewall has the flu – get better soon!
Alex Long and John Mitkevicius went 1-2 in their heat of the 600 – 1:29.5 and 1:31.3 for big points for NS.
Jack Benjamin from AB took out the 1000 hard. Will Cha tried to hang on him for two laps, but the pace was pretty ferocious and Will fell off a bit. Jack won in 2:36, which is just two seconds off the AB record. Will took second with a 2:45.5, Aden Forrow took fourth in 2:51.
You might recall that Chris Kim was DQ’ed for jewelry in the previous DCL meet. This time, he left off the necklace, and threw 42’ to take second overall, giving us big points.
Speaking of jewelry rules, in the news was Jaushaunna Kelly from Theodore Roosevelt HS in DC was dq’ed for a uniform violation:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080116/ap_on_re_us/school_athlete_muslim_clothing
Seen from afar, this might sound abrupt, but we’ve seen dq’es for much smaller uniform violations.
In the boys JV 600, Ben Olins took first in 1:35.
At this point in the meet, the score with AB seemed pretty close. Matt Capstick and I added up the scores without the long jump, and it was 43 to 38 in favor of NS. I then went over to some of the kids in the stands who were watching the long jump and asked how that went. One said “I think Yong came in ahead of the AB guy”. Turns out Yong jumped only one inch further than AB’s DJ Brock. Putting that into the score, NS was up 48 to 39, out of range of possible disaster in the 4x4.
But, the 4x4 runners didn’t know that. Sasha Long, Will Cha, James Huth and Gerald Arneaud were running. It was tight for the first three legs, with James getting boxed in. Gerald got the handoff and ran neck and neck with AB’s Jack Benjamin for a while, finally pulling ahead for the win. Splits were Sasha 55.4, Will 54.6, James 53.8, Gerald 52.1, for 3:35.9.
So, that was the meet! The atmosphere in the infield after the meet was distinctly more relaxed than the week before. AB’s coach Brian Cunningham was there, joking around. Jack Benjamin was there. I told him he’d get the school record in the 1000 easily by the end of the season. I told Brian that I expected some hot relay times from AB this Saturday at the relays.
The crowd began to filter out and I started to warm up for my masters workout, seeing some of my running buddies showing up. I was stretching near the high jump pit. LS’es “fab four” (Molly Binder, Jess Griffin, Emily Mepham, and Dana Jamieson) were lounging on top of the pit itself. One of my running buddies, Carroll Blake (who can run a 55 400m at age 57!) came by, and I told him about the girls, saying “they can run in the low 9-minute range in the 4x8”. One of them perked up and said “We’re going to break 9 this year.” So, there you go. There’s even talk on the streets of Lincoln and Sudbury of them taking down the national record, which is 8:54, indoors. That’s a pretty all order. Can they get there? Show up for this weekend’s Div. I relay meet and see what they’re packing and what NS has to offer. Races kick off at 9:30, with….the 4x800 going first.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
