What a great trip!!! It’s hard to imagine how this can be said when almost 50% of the 70-hour trip was spent on a bus. But even that part of the trip was fun. Here is a re-cap for those who didn’t go.
PRE-RACE
We left Thursday night about 7:00 pm and drove pretty much straight through (except for a couple potty breaks) to California. After breakfast at Denny’s, we went to Mt. San Antonio College to run the course and get registration taken care of. Then our great bus driver, Ken, took us to Newport Beach for a couple hours in the sun and surf. The weather was perfect for December. After convincing Kiana that she couldn’t jump in and ride the sea lion, we left Newport for our hotel in Diamond Bar. After a frustrating 45-minute check-in process, most went their separate ways to get dinner and kick back before an early “hit the sack” curfew.
RACE-DAY
The 5:00 am Saturday morning wake up call was not great with a great deal of enthusiasm. However, following a light breakfast, we boarded the bus (following an equally frustrating check-out process) and traveled to the course. Most of the morning was chilly and overcast with the coastal fog keeping the temperature perfect for runners but not ideal for spectators. The races got underway at 7:10 and continued until about 11:30. I’m listing the results of each race with the number of competitors, place and time for all of the Titans and our other traveling mates from Weber, Highland and former/future Davis runners. All races were run over the famous Mt. SAC course. It is a very challenging course with several tough hills. The 7th/8th Grade race was 2 miles, all others were 5000 meters.
Coed 7th/8th Grade 2-mile (106 finishers)
40- 12:53 - Josh Ward
48 - 13:10 - Sharlie Dimick (8th girl)
100 - 16:38 - Madison Wilcox
Coaches/Supporters Race (190)
1 - 15:47 - Jared Ward (2007 Davis graduate, BYU runner-to-be)
86 - 21:21 - Coach Wilcox
120 - 24:13 - Coach Buhrley
Fr/Soph Girls (208)
78 - 22:55 - Mikelann Wilcox
146 - 25:35 - Mary Santistevan (Highland)
165 - 27:01 - Regan Turner (Highland)
Fr/Soph Boys (321)
157 - 20:10 - Frank Owens
205 - 20:50 - Dylan Rossmango
209 - 20:54 - Tom Hill
219 - 21:05 - Lance Gossett
Junior Girls (176)
9 - 20:43 - Taylee Hamblin
80 - 23:25 - Paige Montgomery (Weber)
100 - 23:57 - Lindsey McFarland
106 - 24:10 - Jaine Montgomery (Weber)
134 - 25:55 - Daylyn Johnston
Junior Boys (259)
75 - 18:14 - Preston Williams
105 - 18:46 - Weston Atkins
Senior Girls (134)
4 - 20:14 Ally Deeter (Weber)
59 - 22:49 - Kiana Tebbs
119 - 27:48 - Haley Busby
Senior Boys (214)
31 - 17:44 - Jake Robinson (Weber)
65 - 18:13 - Mark Barnard (Highland)
74 - 18:18 - Kyle Kelly
99 - 18:51 - Tyrell Pearce
116 - 19:27 - Alec Turner (Highland)
205 - 24:14 - Julian Alvarez
All West Fr/Soph Girls (64)
5 - 19:54 - Karlee Deeter (Weber)
All West Fr/Soph Boys (82)
41 - 18:13 - Brandon Yardley
Seeded Girls (109)
49 - 19:35 - Kate Stringfellow (Highland)
102 - 21:26 - Hannah Williams
Seeded Boys (175)
58 - 16:42 - Austin Costley
84 - 17:01 - Jake Rossmango
RACES HIGHLIGHTS
There were several great efforts turned in by our “Bus TEAM”. Sharlie Dimick ran great to finish as the 8th girl in the 7th/8th grade race. Jared Ward won the Coach/Supporter race. He is the only Davis High runner to ever qualify for Foot Locker Nationals (2006). His time of 15:47 would have won him a return trip to nationals. Not bad considering he was still on his mission about three months ago. Coach Wilcox ran great to finish in 21:21. Taylee Hamblin was running on a stress fracture and still finished 9th in the Junior Girls race. Ally Deeter (Weber) ran a great race to finish 4th in the Senior Girls race. Karlee Deeter (also Weber) placed 5th in the All West Fr/Soph Girls race. Kate Stringfellow placed 49th in the Seeded Girls race. She had the 5th fastest time for a Utah girl. Austin Costley was 58th in the Seeded Boys and was Utah’s #4 finisher. Jake Rossmango was 84th and was Utah’s #6 finisher.
There were many other highlights and some disappointments. Julian Alvarez and Hannah Williams couldn’t overcome injuries to run the races they had hoped for. I couldn’t overcome 20 pounds, 40 years and no talent to catch Jared in the Supporters race. However, I suffered for 8 ½ minutes more than Jared did. Several ran with limited quality training as they were trying to re-hab injuries. Nevertheless, the efforts by everyone competing were still there. You should all feel proud- only about 5% of Americans could even walk up the Switchbacks.
POST-RACE
As soon as the races were finished, it was off to Las Vegas and the Hampton Inn with a brief stop in Barstow to catch a bite. Following a much quicker check-in, the entire crew made the trek to New York / New York. This was the starting point for a few hours on the strip. Most rode the coaster, checked out a few of the shops, and were ready to return to the hotel long before the 11:30 deadline. It was a peaceful night at the hotel, at least in my room. Following an early wake-up and quick breakfast, it was back on the bus for the final leg of the journey. There was only one pit stop in Cedar City to eat- other than that, it was clear sailing. By 5:00 pm, we were back in Syracuse ready for Kyle, Austin and Jake to clean the bus. It was really nice to be greeted by snow and 20 degree air after suffering through the sunny, 65 degree conditions at the beach.
THANKS
Thanks to everyone that went for making it an enjoyable trip. Thanks to Coach and Mrs. Wilcox for their help. It’s great to have that type of support. Thanks to Jared for coming along. He is a great role model and an invaluable source of information that can help everyone become a better runner/person. AND, most importantly, thanks to all athletes for your cooperation and help in making the trip successful. The bus driver said it was the best group of young people he has ever driven. I agree. I hope you had as good a time as I did. There are only a couple things that need to change next year: More Titans on board, a different motel in California, and no coaches over 60 running the race. If those things happen, Foot Locker 2010 can be better than 2009!!!
