Titan XC Update - Oct 14, 2012

OFF TO STATE!!!
    One of the main goals for the 2012 Cross Country season was to get both Boys and Girls TEAMS qualified for State.  After 1000's of miles, hundreds sacrifices, and hard work from many committed Titans, that goal was met.  Now it’s on to the State Championships to put some “icing on the cake”.  Saturday’s workout was a good way to cap off 4 ½ months of training: a moderate hill workout on the trails.  The colorful fall leaves, perfect temperature and a mist in the air was as perfect as it gets.  Wednesday should be the same.

REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS
    Near perfect running weather helped make 3-mile PR’s very abundant Wednesday at Layton Commons Park.  Of course it also helped that most Titans had put in a great deal of hard work over the last 11 months. 
    In the Girls JV race, Madison Wilcox, running her first race of the year, paced the Lady Titans to a 2nd-place finish.  Her time of 22:02 was good enough to place 8th among scoring finishers.  Close behind, running big PR’s, were Jessica Howes (10th, 22:44) and Lauren Busby (11th, 22:56).  Becca Jacobsen (12th, 23:26) and Katelyn Egbert (16th, 24:15) also ran very well to pace the 2nd place finish.  It was great to see Rachel Markham and Aubrie Jacobsen run a race after spending several weeks cross-training due to injuries.
    In the Boys JV race, Jared Seffker was the top Titan finisher as he ran 19:01 to place 20th among the scoring athletes.  Brandon Read (23rd, 19:10), Tanner Robb (24th, 19:10), Jared Godfrey (25th, 19:22), and Austin Egbert (27th, 19:53) also ran strong races to pace the Titans to a 4th-place finish. 
    Great performances from all of the Lady Titans resulted in a 2nd-place finish behind nationally ranked Davis.  Bella Williams continued her great running as she finished 11th running 19:15.  That is the #2 mark ever run by a Lady Titan on the Region course.  It was one-second faster than her sister, Hannah.  Sharlie Dimick also ran tough placing 12th in 19:30.  Her time was the #5 mark ever run by a Lady Titan.  She also has the #1 mark from her 2010 performance.  Erin Kibler ran a steady race to place 16th in 20:49.  Mallory Ashby continued her late-season charge with a huge PR of 21:10 to finish 19th.   The tight “pack” of Katrina Dunlap (21:36), Adriana McFarland (21:37) and Maddy Neyts (21:39) finished in the 22-24 spots to nail down the four-point margin over Weber for the second place TEAM finish.  Katelyn Davidson ran a very good race as a non-scoring athlete finishing in 22:27.  A 4th-place finish and a trip to state would have been nice.  A 2nd-place finish was much better!!
    The Boys Varsity had a lot more drama than the Girls race.  Going into the meet, it was pretty much a “given” that Davis and Weber would occupy the top two places.  The “real” race would be for the final two spots.  At the about the half-way point, the Titans were a distant 5th place.  Our normal #2 runner, Parker Greenhalgh, was struggling near the back.  “The lights were on, but nobody was home”.  The last half of the race was incredible as the Titans kept moving up, and somehow, Parker staggered to the line as our #5 runner.  The Titans had finished 3rd, eight points in front of Fremont and nine ahead of Northridge.  Landon Greenhalgh ran his best race of the year to place 6th in 16:01.  That is the fastest time ever run by a Titan on the Region course.  Tom Hill and Cody Kelley moved up nicely over the last mile to place 17th and 18th in 17:06 and 17:08.  Carsen Andreason’s 17:26 was good enough to place 22nd.  Parker stayed on his feet long enough to finish 32nd in 17:58.  Ryan Andreason (33rd, 17:59) and Nathan Seffker (36th, 18:25) ran well to help the Titans advance to State.
    Following the race, there were some anxious moments as Parker looked like he was ready to be used as a cadaver for Mr. Anderson’s Medical Anatomy class.  Medical evaluations are continuing.  He’s OK, but may not be available for duty as a runner at State.  If he can’t run, we’ll have him stand and flex along side Davis’ statue and kick his butt in a “pose down”. 
    Great job by everyone at the meet, not just as competitors.  Thanks to everyone who supported, helped out, and made the Region Championships successful.
    Complete results can be found at:
http://regiononetrack.blogspot.com/

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
    Selected as the Athletes of the Week were Sharlie Dimick, Lauren Busby, Jaycie Smith, Jared Godfrey Ryan Andreason, and Nate Seffker.  Sharlie is turning in her best races at just the right time.  Ryan and Nate have been running tough races as our #6 and #7 finishers.  Lauren, Jaycie and Jared have been solid for us all year in workouts as well as the meets.

THANKS
    Thanks to the Davidson’s and Neyt’s for allowing us to invade your homes for our pre-region and pre-state TEAM dinners. 

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
    You will be excused at 11:15 for State with the bus leaving at 11:30.  The race schedule will be as follows:
2:00 - Girls 5A
3:30 - Boys 5A
4:15 - Awards in Stadium

FOOTLOCKER WAIVER/DEPOSIT DUE
    Reminder of the due date for the Foot Locker Waiver and $100 deposit: Tuesday, October 16th.  After that date I will open up all remaining seats to Fremont and Weber athletes. 

SUPER HERO RACE
    I’ve attached information about a race being held October 27th at Jensen Park.  It’s to help raise money for a girl waiting for a bone marrow transplant.  Might be a good way to get in a race preparing for Foot Locker.
   
ALUMNI UPDATE
    Jake Rossmango had a great race and finished as TCU’s #2 runner at the Chile Pepper Festival in Arkansas.  His time was 33:33 for the 10k course.  Hannah Williams was USU’s #4 runner at the Pre-National race held in Louisville, KY.  She ran 22:29 over the 6k course.  Jared Ward (we’re still claiming him) was BYU’s #1 runner at the Wisconsin Invitational.  The meet featured most of the top runners in the nation.  He finished 8th overall running 23:22 for 8k.  Six of the seven finishing ahead of him were foreigners. 

UPCOMING DATES
Oct 16 - Foot Locker Deposit and Waiver Due
Oct 17 - State Championships @ Sugarhouse Park - 2:00/3:30 pm