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Proviso
West Invitational Results found here What a strange day for
NV! We had two relays DQ’d, Chris Derrick ran a lap short in the 3200m, and
Tony Parast got pushed down as he led the open 400m
into the last turn. The good news is that we
had some outstanding performances from some of our younger guys in the
distance events. A summary: F/S 3200m –
Sophomore Connor Shields and Freshman Luke Verbus
ran with all-state runner Steve Sulkin for 23 laps
to run 10:02 and 10:08 respectively. With
both of these guys having injury prone falls, they are starting to get into
the racing groove again. Varsity 3200m
– Chris Derrick looked amazing as the pack went through the first mile
in 4:50. He learned that he cannot
wait too long to start dictating the pace if it is too slow. The race was a crazy one with the gun being
fired a lap early. Sophomore Danny Pawola ran the proper number of laps to run 9:48.9 to set
a new pr. Chris probably would have
run around 9:27 if he had not finished early. F/S 1600m – Freshman Aaron Beattie’s first track race with top competition
was a great learning experience. Now
that he has some confidence, we will see him run much faster. He still managed to run 4:53 for a full
mile. Sophomore Bryan Winek also broke 5:00.
Varsity 1600m – Jimmy Riddle was tired from his 2:04 effort in the
3200m relay and only managed a 4:37. Jimmy
is learning a valuable lesson – you cannot afford to take time off
during the winter if you expect to compete with the big boys. As he rounds into shape, we will see the
old Jimmy back. Sophomore Brian Morenus ran a gutsy race to finish in 4:47 for a full
mile. Other highlights – Freshman James Krist ran a
2:07.5 split in the 3200m relay.
Freshman Jordan Lagomarcino ran a 2:14
800m. Sophomore Robert James ran a 2:07.7
open 800m. Sophomore Brian Griffith
ran a 1:29.0 600m all by himself.
Junior Marshall Stewart is starting to see this past fall’s
participation in xc pay off. He ran a 1:28.1 600m and ran a great leg in
the 4x400m relay. Juniors Mike Ruff
and Josh Budnik had mediocre days. Both ran around 2:08 for an 800m. Once Josh gets well and Mike gets into
shape after a lazy winter, we will see better times. Probably one of the best performances of
the day came from Sophomore Tanner Maunder.
Tanner ran a 55.7 open 400m and has never run cross country
before. Hopefully, he decides to work
hard this summer and run xc. Upstate
Eight Conference Saturday, October 14th, 2006 Individual Splits Varsity
Frosh / Soph
Sterling
Invitational Splits 10-7-06 Varsity
Frosh / Soph
Saturday, May 27th – First of all, it was an
amazing day for NVHS. We finished 5th
in the State without a single individual or relay placing in the top 3! That is simply amazing. It was a true team effort!! I am only highlighting the distance events,
but our overall track and field team deserves recognition for their
efforts. Zach Splan
is a warrior and even though I know he was not happy with his individual
performance, it was his leadership and fortitude that enabled our team to
place as high as it did. 3200m Run Chris Derrick (So.) did not
disappoint. The precocious sophomore who’s
best was 10:18 a year ago, ran 9:34.5 in the blazing heat to finish 11th
in the State meet!!!! Chris started
off the race running his first 800m in 2:15 and his first 1600m in
4:38.3. He was in perfect position at
this point as he was at the tail-end of the first pack. However, the pace was a little too fast for
Chris and he lost contact with the first pack. At this point, many runners would have
simply folded, but not Chris. He
battled the heat and wind to hold his position and
finished with a 67 last lap! Even
though he told me he was hurting like never before, he looked strong relative
to many other runners out there. Watch
out for this young man as he leads a very hungry group of young runners this
fall! 1600m Run I did not see this race but
Alake ran a decent race on Friday.
Again, it was very hot and Alake made a tactical error that cost him a
better position/time. Alake hung on to
the back of the first pack but when the leaders increased the pace at around
800m, Alake did not move with this pack.
He, instead, led the second pack.
This is the toughest position to be in during a race. Not only are you not with the leaders, you
are doing all the work for everyone else!
Alake ended up running 4:30.
However, if you look at who he beat under those conditions, this was
not a bad race by any means.
Congratulations to Alake for a great three years of cross country and
four years (if we must count your freshman year) of track. He will be missed for his leadership and
passion for running. Alake always kept
things in perspective and was one of the smartest runners to compete for
NV. He always saw the big picture. Friday, May 19th – IHSA Sectional
Meet Guest Review by Bryan Winek
(Fr.) 4x800m Relay The first race, the 4x800 consisted of Robert James (Fr.),
Josh Budnik (So.), Mike Ruff (So.), and Spenser
Murakami (Sr). To start the race James had an
amazingly fast 800 that he ran at about 2:05.4 before handing off to Josh.
Josh also had a great 800 and kept the team strong coming in at around
2:07.2. Mike Ruff was cooking coming in at a possible personal record of
2:07.4. After Spenser received the baton, he bolted away as fast as he could
with his first 400 at 58x seconds. His time was a 2:03.4 to finish in
sixth place. A great way to end a
great career at NV! 3200m Run Chris Derrick and Matt Britten represented the 800m Run Senior Andrew Heinz and junior Tony Parast
took part in the 800m run. The gun went off and Heinz rounded the corner and took
the lead down the back stretch. Tony stayed near the middle of the back.
Heinz got passed on the front stretch but stuck to the leader at the 400m
mark. The gun went off and it was a sprint with 100m to go and all of the
sudden, Heinz started to slow down but still finished in a great time of
1:58.20. Tony came in not far behind with a time of 1:59.7. Excellent race to
both of these talented runners. 1600m Run Alake Kashyap came into this race
determined to qualify for state. Alake
and James Nuxoll got into a great position in the
middle of the pack. For the first 800m, Alake looked as if he was boxed in by
another runner. After the 800m mark, Alake made his move and caught the
leaders as the pack split apart. With 400m to go, Alake put in another surge
and was going all out. Alake finished the race in 5th place with a time of
4:22.20 to qualify for State. Nuxoll finished just
after him with a time of 4:31.10. Congratulations to both runners for a great
race! Team Scores State Qualifiers…..
Thursday, May 11th – Upstate Eight
Conference Meet Well, let’s say the weather did not cooperate. I have been coaching for many years, but have never witnessed a track meet held in conditions that combined rain, wind, and cold in that magnitude. Credit goes out to the NV staff for the meet management and out to the NV athletes for displaying one of the toughest illustrations of competitive fire I have ever seen. Going into Monday’s jumping events, we lead by 46 points at the varsity level and even more at the frosh-soph level. Considering the seeding had us practically tied with several teams at both levels, it goes to show we came ready to compete. 4 x 800m Relay – Freshman/Sophomore This was a fun relay to watch. StCN
had a seed time almost twenty seconds faster than us so it was not supposed
to be a race. In addition, we had our
fastest two 800m runners not in this event so they could be well rested for
the open 800m. Robert James (Fr.) led
it off with a great leg. He brought
the baton home in 2:12 or so while leading most of the second lap in the
wind. He handed off to Brian Griffith
who ran one of the best races of the evening.
Mr. Fuhrer, who had never seen Brian run before, said, “Who is
that?!!” Brian ran smooth and
smart in around 2:10!. He finished his leg with a commanding lead
and handed it off to Bryan Winek (Fr.). 4 x 800m Relay - Varsity This was another great relay to watch. However, this time it was a three team battle with StCN and WV. Andrew Heinz (Sr.) led it off and brought us home in a close 2nd. Tony Parast (Jr.) did his best to hold on during the second leg but lost some ground, bringing us in about 20 meters out of 2nd. Spenser Murakami (Sr.) looked strong and gained a little on the other two runners. He showed a lot of guts and determination in pumping his arms and not giving an inch. Spenser handed off to Alake Kashyap (Sr.) who received the baton dead even with WV and about 12 meters behind StCN. Alake and WV (I believe it was one of the freshman Lorenz twins), quickly gained ground on the StCN runner (Barbeau?) on the backstretch. All three hit the 400m mark close together. On the backstretch Alake decided to make a move and passed the StCN runner to find a very strong head wind as he rounded the corner. StCN took advantage and kicked it home in first while WV and Alake battled to the end for second. Alake tied up the last 10m and fell across the finish line in 3rd. Alake did a lot of work for the other two during this race and it was a valuable lesson for him. In fact, three of our four legs took the lead right before the headwind on the far curve and Tony lost contact with the leaders so he battled it too. The good news is that we are not afraid to lay it on the line. Lesson learned. 3200m Run – Freshmen/Sophomore If you were to tell me that Danny Pawola (Fr.) was going to be the conference champion in the 3200m run back in January, I would not have believed you. He made a believer out of me and everyone else Thursday night. Danny ran smart and he ran tough. He let others break the wind until the last lap when he took the lead for good. Danny did not win by much but was able to hang on to out-distance Rhett Morici from StCN. Kevin Grady (So.) looked good but let the runners in front of him get away so he battled the wind the whole second 1600m. With some solid training this summer, watch for him to run 15:45 or better. The sky is the limit for both of these young men. 3200m Run - Varsity During the passing period earlier in the day, I told Chris
Derrick (So.) if he had not shaken Chris DeSilva
from StCN by the last lap, he would have a tough
time beating him. No one would lead
this race so Chris had no choice. He
led them through the first 1600m in 5:13 or so. After the 1600m, Chris took off and only
two other runners went with him (DeSilva and Mark
Schumacher from WV). All three of
these guys are sophomores!! With a lap
to go, Chris and Chris gapped Schumacher by 7 meters, and DeSilva
had the better speed in the end. Their
second mile was considerably faster so all three of these guys are capable of
going under the State qualifying mark this Friday. Matt Britten (Sr.) hung on through most of
the race and finished a gutsy 5th. He and the 800m Run – Freshman/Sophomore Josh Budnik (So.) was super psyched to run this race. I love the way Josh approaches races. He looks at races as a challenge and embodies enthusiasm that is contagious. Nick Dunn (So, North Central College) had this enthusiasm in high school and it infected the whole team to strive for excellence. This race became a tactical one. The first lap saw everyone packed together with Mike Ruff (So.) in the very back. As the leaders started to turn it on, Josh was pulled with them even though he was boxed in a little. Mike never made the adjustment and he lost touch. Josh kicked hard to finish 4th while being beat by a very small margin by the LP and StCN runners. The other Lorenz twin won easily for he clearly had the better speed. Mike passed five runners down the stretch but it was way too late. Another lesson learned. 800m Varsity If I were to pick a performance of the night, this was it. Andrew Heinz (Sr.) showed he has the goods. Even though he was nursing a strained calf this past week, Andrew looked confident and was tenacious. He ran right behind two of the best 800m runners in the State (John Gibbs, WV and Josef Tewolde, Elgin) and was nipped at the line by Tewolde to finish 3rd. Tony Parast was never fully in the race and finished 9th. This race was about guts and Andrew showed that he was not going to give in. 1600m Run – Freshman/Sophomore Rim Jiddle (his real name is Jim Riddle (So.) did not disappoint! He and Connor Shields (Fr.) ran in the front pack through the first three laps. Two of the runners (Shumacher (WV) and Speare (StCN) came in with seeds in the low 4:30’s. Jimmy was not intimidated, however, as he took off with a lap to go and held off Shumacher to win by 2.5 seconds. His last lap was a 65 in the worst wind and rain of the night. Connor was nipped at the line by Speare but was mentally tough throughout the whole race. I liked his hat J 1600m Run - Varsity This was definitely the low point for the distance crew on this night. Nothing to write about other than Alake learned it does not pay to sulk. James had a poor race also. I am confident that both will rebound this coming Friday. James had a poor race at Conference in xc, but ran his best race of the year the following weekend at Regionals. Friday, May 5th, a.m. time trial A beautiful Friday morning was the setting for a first in NV track history – an early morning time trial to decide the conference lineup in the f/s 300m hurdles and the f/s 4 x 800m relay. 300m Hurdles: It was Ben Davis (So.) vs. Tom Gambla
(Fr.) for the remaining spot. Nick
Schneider (So.) already had the other spot sewn up. Both hurdlers got off to a great start, but
800m to decide the 4 x 800m: The story here was the freshmen. 8 guys vied for 4 spots with 5 of them
being freshmen. Robert James (Fr) took
charge of the pace from the beginning and led the pack by 4 meters at the
400m mark. His split was 61.8. The pack followed closely behind in
62.6. Brian Griffith (Fr) led the
second pack during the first lap while Brandon Paulson (So), Matt Bertrand
(So), Hando Junco (Fr), and Sam Shupe (So) followed
closely behind. Bryan Winek (Fr) and Brian Morenus
(Fr) followed behind them with Winek closing the
gap on the homestretch of the first lap to move into 4th at the
400m mark. As the runners approached
the 600m mark, it was obvious that James was going to win as he looked strong
and managed to gap the pack by at least 12 meters. Saturday, April 29, 2006 – Red Ribbon Invite Highlights of the good-excellent performances given to me over the phone. If I miss something, be sure to e-mail me! Some of these times are amazing considering the conditions. Danny Pawola (Fr.) – 10:08!! 2nd place. The performance of the meet by far. Does everyone realize that Chris Derrick ran 10:18 last spring – at Sectionals! Danny has more time to get even better. Jimmy Riddle (So.) – 10:05. 1st place. Very solid. Jimmy is gaining confidence and experience with every race – watch out. Josh Budnik (So.) – 2:04.8. Another solid performance and a PR for Josh. Now that Josh is watching his eating patterns, expect even more before the season is over. Connor Shields (Fr.) – 4:44x. 3rd place. A new PR for Connor. He is capable of even better and I believe we will see his times continue to drop. Tony Parast (Jr.) – 2:01x. The plan was to go out in 57. However, even though that did not materialize due to the pace set by other runners, Tony ran 59x, 61x to pull off a very respectable 800m. Once he is able to get out in high 56 or low 57, watch for him to challenge for a shot at making the State qualifying mark of 1:57.0. Jim Nuxoll (Sr.) – 10:03. Even though I would not consider this a great performance for James, it is still fun to reflect on this compared to what he was doing last year at this time (not able to break 10:30!). Matt Britten (Sr.) – 4:37. Same rationale as above. I think his best was around 4:42 last year under perfect conditions. Chris Derrick (So.) – 4:31. Tuesday, April 26th meet with Elgin
Larkin and East Aurora Steve Arves breaks 5:00!!!
Senior Steve Arves got a huge hug from Coach
Janota as he broke 5:00 last night in a dual meet
vs. East Aurora and Other notable performances were Freshman Robert James and Sophomore Mike Ruff’s dual in the open 800m. Ruff edged James to run 2:07. Jon Peters (Sr.) almost caught James Nuxoll (Sr.) in the 1600m. Both ran close to 4:42. Tony Parast (Jr.) ran a blazing 400m in the 4x400m relay. No one got an accurate split, but many said it was 51x. Alake Kashyap (Sr.) ran an easy 9:53 as he looked smooth as silk. David Parast (So.) ran 10:59 to break the 11:00 barrier for the first time. RJ McNichols (Jr.) will get it done soon! Danny Leitch (Fr.) also ran well as he almost broke 5:30 in the 1600m. Kevin Grady (So.) continues to come out of his slump as he recorded a 4:56 1600m in a solid effort. |
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