Several NNHS students, alumni, and coaches (or former coaches) were in attendance at the third and final BU Mini-meet, and there were some impressive times in the middle distances.
NNHS performance of the week once again goes to North senior Jess Barton, who ran a huge PR of 5:00.27 for the mile, and then doubled back in the 800m an hour and a half later, running 2:24.34.
Seb Putzys also doubled, although it was more of a spur-of-the-moment decision. After running the mile in 4:40.95, Seb and the boys went out for a 25-minute cooldown run. When he got back and realized the 800 hadn't started yet, Seb signed himself up and proceeded to dominate his heat, running 2:06.18 with a devastating last lap kick.
The mile was definitely the event for seeing NNHS and Bay State runners and alumni. North alum Tom Davis ran in the fast heat and ran 4:26 after having taken several weeks off from training earlier this season. (Meet results have Tom at 4:38 something, but that is incorrect). Tom would later run a 1600 leg in the 4x1600 relay.
Noah Jampol won his heat of the mile in 4:34.27, beating his former coach, yours truly (4:40.24), and two former teammates, Putzys and Dan Chebot (4:57.03). Noah ran comfortably in second place until just under two laps to go and then exploded into the lead, running his last 400 in 65 seconds. Another alum, John Blouin, now running for the GBTC ran 4:46.73.
Other Bay Staters includes two of Brookline's top runners who haven't been seen in league meets yet this season. Elliot Lehane ran 4:33.65, while Mike Burnstein ventured onto the track for the first time since spraining his ankle (?) several weeks ago, and ran a very creditable 4:51.16.
In the sprints, North alum Dave Cahill (GBTC) won his heat of the 400 in 51.26, and then anchored the GBTC 4 x 400 relay team.
BU Mini-Meet Results
December 30, 2006
December 29, 2006
Billy Mills Kicks 'Em All Down
On a long run recently, one of my friends mentioned that he had been watching videos of Olympic races from the 1960's and 1970's on YouTube. He commented that it was incredibly valuable to watch these old races for examples of successful and unsuccessful tactics. He gave as an example the Munich 10,000 meters, in which just about everything happens. I said I thought there were certain races that every distance runner should know by heart.
The 1964 Olympic 10,000 meter final is one of those races. In fact, it is considered one of the greatest upsets of all time. If you have never seen this race, skip to the end of this entry and click on the link to watch it now. If you have seen it before, I hope you won't mind if I set the stage for you one more time...
Billy Mills was raised in poverty on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. In school, he discovered a talent for distance running and attended the University of Kansas on a track scholarship. After graduation in 1961, Mills became a Marine, rising to the rank of lieutenant. In 1963 he returned to training, and in 1964 qualified for the 1964 U.S. Olympic team in the 10000m by finishing 2nd. When he toed the line for the Olympic final, he had never broken 29 minutes for the 10K distance.
Ron Clarke, the world record holder (28:15), was the heavy favorite, along with defending champion Pyotr Bolotnikov of the Soviet Union, and Murray Halberg of New Zealand, who had won the 5000m in 1960. Mills was a virtual unknown. His time in the preliminaries had been a minute slower than Clarke's.
Amazingly, Mills was still with Clarke and Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia at the beginning of the final lap. On the penultimate turn, as the trio tried to work around lapped runners, Gammoudi pushed between Mills and Clarke, knocking Mills off his stride and almost out to lane three. Down the backstretch, it looks for all the world as though Gammoudi is going to win. Around the last turn, Clarke tries to mount a challenge, but as they weave their way through slower runners it becomes evident that Clarke doesn't have enough of a sprint to overtake the Tunisian. And then there is Mills, sprinting like a locomotive...
I could watch this again and again. One of the best parts is to hear the announcers go completely nuts when they realize what has happened.
Billy Mills Kicks 'em All Down
December 27, 2006
The Interview: Mike Bower
Mike Bower is a Phys. Ed. teacher at Newton North and Assistant Coach in three sports (Football, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track). In the early 90's, Mike threw the shot for Newton North, and later Phillips Andover. After he graduated from college, he re-connected with the team as a coach, and has been coaching discus and shot put for the Tigers for almost ten years. In that time, he has compiled a remarkable record of success developing throwers. Two of his athletes have won state championships in the shot put (Mat Frankel in 2004 and David Smith in 2006) and two others have won the State Coaches meet (David Bell and Kevin Chan). Bower has also succeeded in creating a program in which young throwers learn the sport from the juniors and seniors. Visit a Newton North practice and you'll find a phalanx of shot putters working together to improve.
We caught up with Coach Bower at Newton North, where several throwers had shown up on the day after Christmas to heave 8-lb shots some 40 feet across the indoor gym against two wooden barriers that seemed unequal to the task of containing the throws.
Mike, How long have you been coaching in the Newton North program?
I started coaching in 1997. I wasn’t doing anything else seriously at the time. I was home from college working at a whole bunch of part-time jobs trying to figure out what to do. Coach Blackburn called me up and said, I’ve got 11 shot putters down here and I don’t know what to do. I’ve got so many, I need someone to help out. So I came down, and after that first day, that was it. I was in.
You had been a competitive shot putter yourself, right?
I was competitive when I was in high school. At Newton North, I threw 48-6 or 48-10, somewhere around there, and that placed me third in the State Coaches meet. I won the Suburban League championship that year. Then I spent a prep year at Andover, where I threw 49-10, so I never cracked 50’ when I was in high school. One of my goals is to have a lot of my guys throw farther than I did in high school. I want them to beat everything I did.
Did you compete after high school?
No, I played football for four years at Hobart. They didn’t have a track program.
How long before you started working at the school as a teacher?
Being a track coach, and then a football coach slowly got me into the school system and got me thinking about teaching. I worked as an aide at Newton South for a bit, and then in 2000, I became a Phys. Ed. Teacher at North.
How do you get so many throwers in the NN program?
Being a football coach helps a lot. A lot of kids, a lot of freshmen, are looking for a winter sport after football, and they don’t know what to do. They don’t want to play basketball anymore or wrestle, and we have a no-cut policy, so it’s anybody who wants to join can join. But, a lot of my guys come from football…
Other coaches help me out as well. If Giusti [Tom Giusti, Asst. Football Coach and Asst. Athletic Director] sees a kid who he thinks could do well, he’ll send him to me.
You’ve had two state champions, Mat Frankel and David Smith. Who else in your program has done well at the state level?
Well, Mat won in 2004, and then went on to win the New England championship, where he broke 60 feet. Smitty won last year. Dave Bell won the State Coaches meet and was a top five shot putter in the state. Kevin Chan also won the State Coaches meet. Those two were also part of a team that won the State Relay championship.
Are any of those guys still throwing in college?
Dave Bell is throwing at Rhode Island. Kevin Chan is throwing at Bentley, where he recently set the school record. Mat Frankel is throwing at Brown.
David Smith was recently accepted into Yale, and he’s planning on throwing the shot for them. That means Frankel and Smith will be throwing against each other in the Ivy League meets.
I know what a runner does off-season to prepare for a competitive season, but what does a shot putter do? I know a lot of these guys do football, but what about the rest of the time?
Off-season, it’s basically just getting back into the weight room and working on those core lifts that give you a lot of strength and a lot of power for throwing. Also, it’s really important to stay competitive… with anything, so they’re keeping their bodies in shape. These guys love to play basketball. Of course the two sports are nothing alike, but they’re alike in being competitive, and these guys love to beat each other. They push each other really well.
When you see a shot putter as a freshman throwing, say, 30’, how much do you expect that 30’ thrower to improve in four years, and where does that improvement come from?
The improvement comes from the dedication and work. One of the things that a young thrower has to realize is that this is a very difficult sport – it’s not an easy thing to do. It takes an immense amount of focus and concentration, and coordination that goes into one explosive movement, and that’s a hard thing to do. But if the kid is committed to working through and understanding what he’s doing, it’s going to reflect in that kid working out more, lifting more…that’s the real thing, the commitment to keep doing it every single day, It’s great practice for developing in focus and concentration. It’s a very meditative activity. Kids understand that, they know it’s hard, they know it’s tough, but when they get it, when they get a really good throw, they get really excited because they know all that hard work has paid off.
But, it’s hard to know what a kid is going to throw. One of the most important things is to make sure the kid is understanding the technique, and when he gets it, or gets a little part of it right, to compliment him on it, and make it fun for him. Then his focus becomes that much greater.
I notice, and I think a lot of people notice, that you really have a program here; it’s not just about one great thrower. It says a lot that you can get eight or nine guys here on the day after Christmas, all working hard, all having a good time… well, that says a lot for your program.
(laughs) Yeah, it’s a little fraternity these guys have here…even during the football season, guys were talking about throwing the shot…
That’s got to be unusual!
It’s a different atmosphere than football. It’s intense, but it’s a lot more relaxing at the same time. These guys like it. They understand the differences, but they also understand the similarities. They like the energy here. It’s hanging out, it’s having fun together. It’s about friendships.
It’s good, too, because a lot of these older guys tell the younger guys “Come on up. Throw the shot put!” And so the freshmen get to hang out with the seniors, and it seems like everyone’s on the same level. Of course, the younger guys look at the older guys and they see how they work. A younger guy sees how hard Marvin [Marvin Chan] and Smitty [David Smith] are working and they learn.
What are some of the goals that you and your throwers have for the season? I expect David Smith is aiming for another state championship…
Sure. And I think Marvin Chan’s goal is to be a 50’ shot putter and get points for the team at the state meet. Steve Long is our third guy, and his goal is to qualify for the State Meet, which means throwing 44 feet. We all know he can throw a lot farther than that, but he’s just working hard on technique right now, trying to get it down.
Another goal for the team is to win the Class A Relay Championship. That’s going to be a tough task because there are a lot of good teams. BC High is probably the number one team right now. They won it last year, and they have a lot of their guys coming back.
Is there anyone else we should be watching from this group, someone who’s likely to make a big improvement, either this year or next year?
Well, Steve Long, for one. He’s struggling with his technique right now, as everyone does, but he’s going to pop one of these days. And he knows it, too. Eddie Pang is a freshman, and he’s throwing 30’ right now. And Dan Giovannucci is working his tail off right now. He’ll be a 40’ shot putter soon.
I think a lot of schools would love to have even one 40’ shot putter, but you’re talking about maybe having five!
Well, it’s nice. It’s kind of a goal and a standard to hit 40’ – not just for us, but for everyone in the state, so it’s something that the kids shoot for.
I’m not trying to create controversy, but do you feel that shot put gets enough attention?
I think it does. It gets the attention of our team. You know, if you’re going to be a good track team, you’re going to have to have talent in many different events. Coach Blackburn sees every event as crucially important for the success of our team, so yeah the shot put gets a lot of attention here.
But it’s not one of those events that’s going to get a lot of press. You’re not going to hear too much about it. … but it has gotten the attention of a lot of the kids here at the high school. They know they have the chance to do something special here. Most of these guys are football linemen, so they’re not used to a lot of press anyway (laughs). They like doing the grunt work.
You guys just won a very close meet against Weymouth, and the shot put went 9-0 for you. If you had split that event 5-4, Weymouth would have won. When Coach Blackburn addressed the team the next day, what did he say to you guys?
You know what, I think he just mentioned that it was a good overall effort for the team. He mentioned everybody, throwers, jumpers, runners,… everybody. I think that’s why he’s such a great coach. You know, there were a lot of events that were close, where there was a four-point swing one way or the other. If our high jumper had missed his steps on one jump, we might not have had those points, or if a sprinter false-started, or if one of our guys had fouled in the shot put. The great thing about Coach Blackburn is that he pays attention to all the events. That’s why he’s a Hall-of-Fame coach.
Mike, thanks very much. Good luck the rest of the season.
Thanks!
We caught up with Coach Bower at Newton North, where several throwers had shown up on the day after Christmas to heave 8-lb shots some 40 feet across the indoor gym against two wooden barriers that seemed unequal to the task of containing the throws.
Mike, How long have you been coaching in the Newton North program?
I started coaching in 1997. I wasn’t doing anything else seriously at the time. I was home from college working at a whole bunch of part-time jobs trying to figure out what to do. Coach Blackburn called me up and said, I’ve got 11 shot putters down here and I don’t know what to do. I’ve got so many, I need someone to help out. So I came down, and after that first day, that was it. I was in.
You had been a competitive shot putter yourself, right?
I was competitive when I was in high school. At Newton North, I threw 48-6 or 48-10, somewhere around there, and that placed me third in the State Coaches meet. I won the Suburban League championship that year. Then I spent a prep year at Andover, where I threw 49-10, so I never cracked 50’ when I was in high school. One of my goals is to have a lot of my guys throw farther than I did in high school. I want them to beat everything I did.
Did you compete after high school?
No, I played football for four years at Hobart. They didn’t have a track program.
How long before you started working at the school as a teacher?
Being a track coach, and then a football coach slowly got me into the school system and got me thinking about teaching. I worked as an aide at Newton South for a bit, and then in 2000, I became a Phys. Ed. Teacher at North.
How do you get so many throwers in the NN program?
Being a football coach helps a lot. A lot of kids, a lot of freshmen, are looking for a winter sport after football, and they don’t know what to do. They don’t want to play basketball anymore or wrestle, and we have a no-cut policy, so it’s anybody who wants to join can join. But, a lot of my guys come from football…
Other coaches help me out as well. If Giusti [Tom Giusti, Asst. Football Coach and Asst. Athletic Director] sees a kid who he thinks could do well, he’ll send him to me.
You’ve had two state champions, Mat Frankel and David Smith. Who else in your program has done well at the state level?
Well, Mat won in 2004, and then went on to win the New England championship, where he broke 60 feet. Smitty won last year. Dave Bell won the State Coaches meet and was a top five shot putter in the state. Kevin Chan also won the State Coaches meet. Those two were also part of a team that won the State Relay championship.
Are any of those guys still throwing in college?
Dave Bell is throwing at Rhode Island. Kevin Chan is throwing at Bentley, where he recently set the school record. Mat Frankel is throwing at Brown.
David Smith was recently accepted into Yale, and he’s planning on throwing the shot for them. That means Frankel and Smith will be throwing against each other in the Ivy League meets.
I know what a runner does off-season to prepare for a competitive season, but what does a shot putter do? I know a lot of these guys do football, but what about the rest of the time?
Off-season, it’s basically just getting back into the weight room and working on those core lifts that give you a lot of strength and a lot of power for throwing. Also, it’s really important to stay competitive… with anything, so they’re keeping their bodies in shape. These guys love to play basketball. Of course the two sports are nothing alike, but they’re alike in being competitive, and these guys love to beat each other. They push each other really well.
When you see a shot putter as a freshman throwing, say, 30’, how much do you expect that 30’ thrower to improve in four years, and where does that improvement come from?
The improvement comes from the dedication and work. One of the things that a young thrower has to realize is that this is a very difficult sport – it’s not an easy thing to do. It takes an immense amount of focus and concentration, and coordination that goes into one explosive movement, and that’s a hard thing to do. But if the kid is committed to working through and understanding what he’s doing, it’s going to reflect in that kid working out more, lifting more…that’s the real thing, the commitment to keep doing it every single day, It’s great practice for developing in focus and concentration. It’s a very meditative activity. Kids understand that, they know it’s hard, they know it’s tough, but when they get it, when they get a really good throw, they get really excited because they know all that hard work has paid off.
But, it’s hard to know what a kid is going to throw. One of the most important things is to make sure the kid is understanding the technique, and when he gets it, or gets a little part of it right, to compliment him on it, and make it fun for him. Then his focus becomes that much greater.
I notice, and I think a lot of people notice, that you really have a program here; it’s not just about one great thrower. It says a lot that you can get eight or nine guys here on the day after Christmas, all working hard, all having a good time… well, that says a lot for your program.
(laughs) Yeah, it’s a little fraternity these guys have here…even during the football season, guys were talking about throwing the shot…
That’s got to be unusual!
It’s a different atmosphere than football. It’s intense, but it’s a lot more relaxing at the same time. These guys like it. They understand the differences, but they also understand the similarities. They like the energy here. It’s hanging out, it’s having fun together. It’s about friendships.
It’s good, too, because a lot of these older guys tell the younger guys “Come on up. Throw the shot put!” And so the freshmen get to hang out with the seniors, and it seems like everyone’s on the same level. Of course, the younger guys look at the older guys and they see how they work. A younger guy sees how hard Marvin [Marvin Chan] and Smitty [David Smith] are working and they learn.
What are some of the goals that you and your throwers have for the season? I expect David Smith is aiming for another state championship…
Sure. And I think Marvin Chan’s goal is to be a 50’ shot putter and get points for the team at the state meet. Steve Long is our third guy, and his goal is to qualify for the State Meet, which means throwing 44 feet. We all know he can throw a lot farther than that, but he’s just working hard on technique right now, trying to get it down.
Another goal for the team is to win the Class A Relay Championship. That’s going to be a tough task because there are a lot of good teams. BC High is probably the number one team right now. They won it last year, and they have a lot of their guys coming back.
Is there anyone else we should be watching from this group, someone who’s likely to make a big improvement, either this year or next year?
Well, Steve Long, for one. He’s struggling with his technique right now, as everyone does, but he’s going to pop one of these days. And he knows it, too. Eddie Pang is a freshman, and he’s throwing 30’ right now. And Dan Giovannucci is working his tail off right now. He’ll be a 40’ shot putter soon.
I think a lot of schools would love to have even one 40’ shot putter, but you’re talking about maybe having five!
Well, it’s nice. It’s kind of a goal and a standard to hit 40’ – not just for us, but for everyone in the state, so it’s something that the kids shoot for.
I’m not trying to create controversy, but do you feel that shot put gets enough attention?
I think it does. It gets the attention of our team. You know, if you’re going to be a good track team, you’re going to have to have talent in many different events. Coach Blackburn sees every event as crucially important for the success of our team, so yeah the shot put gets a lot of attention here.
But it’s not one of those events that’s going to get a lot of press. You’re not going to hear too much about it. … but it has gotten the attention of a lot of the kids here at the high school. They know they have the chance to do something special here. Most of these guys are football linemen, so they’re not used to a lot of press anyway (laughs). They like doing the grunt work.
You guys just won a very close meet against Weymouth, and the shot put went 9-0 for you. If you had split that event 5-4, Weymouth would have won. When Coach Blackburn addressed the team the next day, what did he say to you guys?
You know what, I think he just mentioned that it was a good overall effort for the team. He mentioned everybody, throwers, jumpers, runners,… everybody. I think that’s why he’s such a great coach. You know, there were a lot of events that were close, where there was a four-point swing one way or the other. If our high jumper had missed his steps on one jump, we might not have had those points, or if a sprinter false-started, or if one of our guys had fouled in the shot put. The great thing about Coach Blackburn is that he pays attention to all the events. That’s why he’s a Hall-of-Fame coach.
Mike, thanks very much. Good luck the rest of the season.
Thanks!
December 26, 2006
Team Pentathlon
The MSTCA Team Penthalon will be held tomorrow, Wednesday Dec 27, at the Reggie Lewis Center, starting at 10:00 a.m. Unlike most of the other meets on the scholastic indoor calendar, this one focuses on the field/technical side of indoor track, with the following events contested:
55 Hurdles
High Jump
Shot Put
Long Jump
1000 meters (boys) or 800 meters (girls)
A team consists of five athletes for the five events, where each athlete's performance earns points according to a set of tables. If you are curious, you can find these tables in PDF format at the following link:
IAAF page for combined event scoring
The MSTCA has done a good thing, I think, by moving the Team Pentathlon from the second/third weekend in January to the week after Christmas. Instead of occupying a prime weekend in the middle of the indoor season for an event with a limit of 25 boys and girls teams, the event is now on the calendar at a time when it provides a welcome diversion for those teams that choose to compete.
Historically, the Newton North boys have been one of those teams. The Tigers have dominated the team pentathlon in recent seasons, winning the team plaque four of the last five times years. (They should have won in 2004, too, but Jed Carpenter hurt himself warming up for the high jump, and wasn't able to compete). The 2002 North team holds the record for points scored in the event with 3717.
I don't know whether the boys are going this year or not, but if they do, they could do well with one of the state's best shot putters, and decent talent in all the other events. Likewise, the NN girls, if they choose to compete, should do very well.
For more information, see the following:
Link to Team Pentathlon Entry form and Info
55 Hurdles
High Jump
Shot Put
Long Jump
1000 meters (boys) or 800 meters (girls)
A team consists of five athletes for the five events, where each athlete's performance earns points according to a set of tables. If you are curious, you can find these tables in PDF format at the following link:
IAAF page for combined event scoring
The MSTCA has done a good thing, I think, by moving the Team Pentathlon from the second/third weekend in January to the week after Christmas. Instead of occupying a prime weekend in the middle of the indoor season for an event with a limit of 25 boys and girls teams, the event is now on the calendar at a time when it provides a welcome diversion for those teams that choose to compete.
Historically, the Newton North boys have been one of those teams. The Tigers have dominated the team pentathlon in recent seasons, winning the team plaque four of the last five times years. (They should have won in 2004, too, but Jed Carpenter hurt himself warming up for the high jump, and wasn't able to compete). The 2002 North team holds the record for points scored in the event with 3717.
I don't know whether the boys are going this year or not, but if they do, they could do well with one of the state's best shot putters, and decent talent in all the other events. Likewise, the NN girls, if they choose to compete, should do very well.
For more information, see the following:
Link to Team Pentathlon Entry form and Info
December 23, 2006
BU Mini-Meet - 12/23/06
Jess Barton recorded an impressive double at the BU Mini-Meet today, running 5:10.63 for the mile, and coming back an hour later to run 2:22.94 for 800m.
David Polgar (BU), running his first race since cross-country season, recorded a time of 4:30.36 for the mile. He compared the race to the action of a powerful vacuum cleaner.
Dave Cahill (GBTC) did the "Alberto Juantorena" double, running the 400 in 52.12, and coming back to run the 800 in 2:06.62.
Also, Brookline alum Matias Carrasco ran a PR 4:26.48 to place 4th in the mile.
David Polgar (BU), running his first race since cross-country season, recorded a time of 4:30.36 for the mile. He compared the race to the action of a powerful vacuum cleaner.
Dave Cahill (GBTC) did the "Alberto Juantorena" double, running the 400 in 52.12, and coming back to run the 800 in 2:06.62.
Also, Brookline alum Matias Carrasco ran a PR 4:26.48 to place 4th in the mile.
December 21, 2006
Bay State Meet Results - 12/21/06
Wow, great meet!
The Newton North girls prevailed over Weymouth yesterday, 52-34, and the Newton North boys won a close meet over Weymouth, 45-41. Both the Boston Globe and Cool Running had Newton North boys winning 42-35, but that was incorrect: the HJ results were wrong and the 2-mile results were not included.
Regardless, both meets were see-saw battles with first one team stepping up, and then the other.
Newton vs. Weymouth Girls Results
As expected Nicole Pearce moved up to the 1M and ran fast from the gun. Carolyn Ranti shadowed Pearce for a couple of laps and then pulled away. Lurking in third and fourth were Weymouth's Sarah McCarthey and Newton's Adina Hemley-Bronstein. Adina is a fast finisher and, true to form, she passed McCarthey and began gaining on Pearce with 300m to go. On the final lap, Adina moved into second, as both girls accelerated. With less than 100m to go, Nicole re-passed, but Adina had one more gear, and managed to just overtake Pearce at the line. 8-1 Newton. Weymouth would play catch-up for the rest of the meet.
In the 1000, Nora Barnicle set the pace and led Sam Sacchetti and for 900 meters, At that point, Carolyn Connolly moved from third place to first, and won with a smooth kick in 3:15.50, with Barnicle second, and Sacchetti third. With Connolly out of the 600, Emma Kornetsky (1:47.69, despite a stumble at the start) and Sally Leung (1:49.68) had no trouble going 1-2, ahead of Weymouth's Victoria Dinatalie. Weymouth goit revenge in the 300, though, as Lindsey Butler and Samantha Bennett went 1-2 against Kat Chiong (45.08). After four events, the score stood at 20-16, North.
In the high jump, Sarah Berkland jumped 4-9 to take second (Jenn Bell won, and Kerri Flaherty was third for Weymouth). In the shot put, Tracy Isman (30-0.25) threw just one half inch farther than Michelle Bruce to win, with Morgan Faer third in (29-6.5). 29-25, Newton.
The 55 hurdles was Weymouth's last chance to turn the orange tide, but it was not to be, as Michelle Kaufman (9.51), Vicki Marone (9.88), and Morgan Faer (10.04) swept the event and gave North a commanding lead. Kaufman picked up second in the dash (8.23) for another three points, and a 41-31 lead. Newton clinched the meet in the 2-mile, as Jess Barton (11:37.79) ran away from Kristen Mahoney and everyone else, and Susannah Gleason placed 3rd (fourth overall) in 12:41.28. When Kornetsky, Ranti, Barton, and Chiong won the relay (4:22.77), the final score was 52 to 34.
Note: This is an unofficial score that does not agree with the Globe, but I think it's right. You can check for yourself, by following the link below.
Girls Meet Results
Newton vs. Weymouth Boys Results
Seb Putzys (4:41.62) just held off Dan Pope (4:41.89) in the 1M, with Weymouth's Ben Chasen picking up third place. The 1000 went all Weymouth's way, as Mark Jordan (2:52.13) led the Wildcats to a sweep of the top four places. The 600 was a pivotal event for North, as Alex Lee seized the lead from the start and never gave it up, finishing in 1:29.80, just ahead of Chris Briggs and David Itz. Avery Mitchell ran a season-best 37.22 to win the 300, with Hymlaire Lemisere (39.66) taking third, and after the first four events, the score stood at 20-16, Weymouth.
Meanwhile, Sam Arsenault picked up a much-needed 5 points in the high jump, clearing 5-9 in his first meet for the Tigers. At the other end of the fieldhouse, North's throwers (David Smith 52-5.5, Marvin Chan 46-9, and Steve Long 40-0) were sweeping the shot put. 30-24, Newton.
On the infield, Ryan McCarthey ran a huge race in the 55 hurdles. Although Weymouth's Dylan Zukowski won, McCarthey (8.75) outleaned Mike Cristoferi for second, and three more points for the Tigers. In the 55 dash, Gordon Forbes (6.92) won, but Zukowski (Wemouth's man of the meet) edged ahead of Hymlaire Lemisere (7.18) and Troy Peterson (7.19) to take second for Weymouth, breaking up North's hoped-for sweep. That put the score at 39-33 heading into the final two events.
Unfortunately for North, Weymouth took the top two places in the 2-mile, despite a PR 10:45 from Ben Chebot (Alex Gurvitz, had to drop out after a mile with a hamstring injury). That put the score at 41-40, Weymouth, with only the relay remaining. Alex Lee led off and opened up a small lead over Weymouth's Dan Pope. Abasu Watanabe increased the lead, as did Adam Bao, and anchor Avery Mitchell ran un challenged, as North (3:36.9) won by 4.5 seconds.
Boys Meet Results
The Newton North girls prevailed over Weymouth yesterday, 52-34, and the Newton North boys won a close meet over Weymouth, 45-41. Both the Boston Globe and Cool Running had Newton North boys winning 42-35, but that was incorrect: the HJ results were wrong and the 2-mile results were not included.
Regardless, both meets were see-saw battles with first one team stepping up, and then the other.
Newton vs. Weymouth Girls Results
As expected Nicole Pearce moved up to the 1M and ran fast from the gun. Carolyn Ranti shadowed Pearce for a couple of laps and then pulled away. Lurking in third and fourth were Weymouth's Sarah McCarthey and Newton's Adina Hemley-Bronstein. Adina is a fast finisher and, true to form, she passed McCarthey and began gaining on Pearce with 300m to go. On the final lap, Adina moved into second, as both girls accelerated. With less than 100m to go, Nicole re-passed, but Adina had one more gear, and managed to just overtake Pearce at the line. 8-1 Newton. Weymouth would play catch-up for the rest of the meet.
In the 1000, Nora Barnicle set the pace and led Sam Sacchetti and for 900 meters, At that point, Carolyn Connolly moved from third place to first, and won with a smooth kick in 3:15.50, with Barnicle second, and Sacchetti third. With Connolly out of the 600, Emma Kornetsky (1:47.69, despite a stumble at the start) and Sally Leung (1:49.68) had no trouble going 1-2, ahead of Weymouth's Victoria Dinatalie. Weymouth goit revenge in the 300, though, as Lindsey Butler and Samantha Bennett went 1-2 against Kat Chiong (45.08). After four events, the score stood at 20-16, North.
In the high jump, Sarah Berkland jumped 4-9 to take second (Jenn Bell won, and Kerri Flaherty was third for Weymouth). In the shot put, Tracy Isman (30-0.25) threw just one half inch farther than Michelle Bruce to win, with Morgan Faer third in (29-6.5). 29-25, Newton.
The 55 hurdles was Weymouth's last chance to turn the orange tide, but it was not to be, as Michelle Kaufman (9.51), Vicki Marone (9.88), and Morgan Faer (10.04) swept the event and gave North a commanding lead. Kaufman picked up second in the dash (8.23) for another three points, and a 41-31 lead. Newton clinched the meet in the 2-mile, as Jess Barton (11:37.79) ran away from Kristen Mahoney and everyone else, and Susannah Gleason placed 3rd (fourth overall) in 12:41.28. When Kornetsky, Ranti, Barton, and Chiong won the relay (4:22.77), the final score was 52 to 34.
Note: This is an unofficial score that does not agree with the Globe, but I think it's right. You can check for yourself, by following the link below.
Girls Meet Results
Newton vs. Weymouth Boys Results
Seb Putzys (4:41.62) just held off Dan Pope (4:41.89) in the 1M, with Weymouth's Ben Chasen picking up third place. The 1000 went all Weymouth's way, as Mark Jordan (2:52.13) led the Wildcats to a sweep of the top four places. The 600 was a pivotal event for North, as Alex Lee seized the lead from the start and never gave it up, finishing in 1:29.80, just ahead of Chris Briggs and David Itz. Avery Mitchell ran a season-best 37.22 to win the 300, with Hymlaire Lemisere (39.66) taking third, and after the first four events, the score stood at 20-16, Weymouth.
Meanwhile, Sam Arsenault picked up a much-needed 5 points in the high jump, clearing 5-9 in his first meet for the Tigers. At the other end of the fieldhouse, North's throwers (David Smith 52-5.5, Marvin Chan 46-9, and Steve Long 40-0) were sweeping the shot put. 30-24, Newton.
On the infield, Ryan McCarthey ran a huge race in the 55 hurdles. Although Weymouth's Dylan Zukowski won, McCarthey (8.75) outleaned Mike Cristoferi for second, and three more points for the Tigers. In the 55 dash, Gordon Forbes (6.92) won, but Zukowski (Wemouth's man of the meet) edged ahead of Hymlaire Lemisere (7.18) and Troy Peterson (7.19) to take second for Weymouth, breaking up North's hoped-for sweep. That put the score at 39-33 heading into the final two events.
Unfortunately for North, Weymouth took the top two places in the 2-mile, despite a PR 10:45 from Ben Chebot (Alex Gurvitz, had to drop out after a mile with a hamstring injury). That put the score at 41-40, Weymouth, with only the relay remaining. Alex Lee led off and opened up a small lead over Weymouth's Dan Pope. Abasu Watanabe increased the lead, as did Adam Bao, and anchor Avery Mitchell ran un challenged, as North (3:36.9) won by 4.5 seconds.
Boys Meet Results
December 20, 2006
Newton North vs. Weymouth on Thursday
Newton North Vs Weymouth Girls
Thursday's meet should establish the top girls team in the Carey Division.
In the girls meet, Weymouth will have their hands full, as Newton North doesn't give up easy points in any event. To have a chance, Weymouth has to battle North to a draw in the longer running events, and try to gain in the sprints, high jump, and relay. It will be a tall order.
In the distances, these are the two deepest teams in the league. Each coaching staff must try to decide the most advantageous use of its talent. Figuring out where to use your runners for the 1000, 1M, and 2M is like playing a game of rock-paper-scissors with names like Barton, Mahoney, Pearce, and Ranti instead of hands behind your back. Here are the results from the races last week:
1000: Barton (N), Barnicle (N), Pearce (W)
1M: Ranti (N), Mahoney (W), Sacchetti (W)
2M: McCarthey (W), Hemley-Bronstein (N), Longo (W)
I think it's a given that Jess Barton will win in whatever event she is entered. Last week she ran the 1000. Does she move up to the 1M? Assuming she moves up, does Mahoney move up from the 1M to the 2M? If Mahoney is likely to move up, should Barton move all the way up to the 2M? Or does Weymouth keep Mahoney in the 1M, and move Pearce up to the 2M? Last week, North didn't run Haleigh Smith. If Smith runs, how does that affect the outcome of the different races?
While I have no idea what either team is going to do, I think North has too much depth, and will manage to take 16-18 of the 27 points up for grabs in the three races. If both teams were to run the same lineup and performances as last week, with Smith running and winning the 2M, North would score 18 out of 27 points. Weymouth can't let that happen and expect to win the meet.
There are matchup decisions in the shorter distances as well. Last week Kat Chiong ran the 300. On Saturday, she ran 1:42 in the 600. Where will she run on Thursday? With Emma Kornetsky running sub-1:45 in the 600 on Saturday, Chiong probably stays in the 300 where she gets to take on one or more of Samantha Bennett, Jenn Bell, and Melissa Kimball, while Kornetsky and Sally Leung take on Weymouth's Carolyn Connolly in the 600. Weymouth really needs a good showing in both of these events to have a shot. In the sprints, North's Michelle Kaufman should win the 55 and lead a North sweep in the hurdles.
In the field events, anything can happen. On paper, Newton North has an edge in both the high jump and shot put, but Weymouth's Bell (HJ), and Michelle Bruce (SP) could win and turn the tables on the Tigers. They will have to, because North has the better 4x400 relay team. Basically, Weymouth has to have everything go right in this meet to keep it even. But Weymouth often runs at its best when it competes against North, so it's possible...
Newton North Vs Weymouth Boys
The main reason that Newton hasn't lost a dual meet in nine years is because coach Jim Blackburn doesn't concede a single event, and never takes an opponent for granted. Having said that, Newton and Weymouth are very evenly matched, and the meet should go down to the wire.
Newton's Seb Putzys should get the Tigers off to a good start by winning the mile, no matter who Weymouth enters. But the Wildcats will have a good chance to get the points back in the 1000 with Dan Pope or Craig Myers. Last week, Weymouth showed great depth in the 600, and Newton can't let them sweep. Perhaps Avery Mitchell will move up? The 55 hurdles will go to Weymouth, but the 55 dash is a strength for Newton, and Weymouth will have a hard time avoiding a sweep.
Weymouth should take 1-2 in the high jump, unless Newton's fabled 6-4 jumper makes an appearance. Newton should sweep the shot put, with David Smith and Marvin Chan leading the way as they did last week. That brings us to the 2-mile. The meet could swing on this race, where Weymouth has to find a way to break up Newton's top two. Perhaps Weymouth moves a runner up from the mile?
If it comes down to the relay, it will be close. Newton probably has the edge, because they are always strong in the relay and have the league's best time so far.
So it should be a great meet, and lots of excitement for all the alumni that typically show up for the last meet before Christmas break. Good luck to all the runners, throwers, and jumpers. May the best teams win!
Thursday's meet should establish the top girls team in the Carey Division.
In the girls meet, Weymouth will have their hands full, as Newton North doesn't give up easy points in any event. To have a chance, Weymouth has to battle North to a draw in the longer running events, and try to gain in the sprints, high jump, and relay. It will be a tall order.
In the distances, these are the two deepest teams in the league. Each coaching staff must try to decide the most advantageous use of its talent. Figuring out where to use your runners for the 1000, 1M, and 2M is like playing a game of rock-paper-scissors with names like Barton, Mahoney, Pearce, and Ranti instead of hands behind your back. Here are the results from the races last week:
1000: Barton (N), Barnicle (N), Pearce (W)
1M: Ranti (N), Mahoney (W), Sacchetti (W)
2M: McCarthey (W), Hemley-Bronstein (N), Longo (W)
I think it's a given that Jess Barton will win in whatever event she is entered. Last week she ran the 1000. Does she move up to the 1M? Assuming she moves up, does Mahoney move up from the 1M to the 2M? If Mahoney is likely to move up, should Barton move all the way up to the 2M? Or does Weymouth keep Mahoney in the 1M, and move Pearce up to the 2M? Last week, North didn't run Haleigh Smith. If Smith runs, how does that affect the outcome of the different races?
While I have no idea what either team is going to do, I think North has too much depth, and will manage to take 16-18 of the 27 points up for grabs in the three races. If both teams were to run the same lineup and performances as last week, with Smith running and winning the 2M, North would score 18 out of 27 points. Weymouth can't let that happen and expect to win the meet.
There are matchup decisions in the shorter distances as well. Last week Kat Chiong ran the 300. On Saturday, she ran 1:42 in the 600. Where will she run on Thursday? With Emma Kornetsky running sub-1:45 in the 600 on Saturday, Chiong probably stays in the 300 where she gets to take on one or more of Samantha Bennett, Jenn Bell, and Melissa Kimball, while Kornetsky and Sally Leung take on Weymouth's Carolyn Connolly in the 600. Weymouth really needs a good showing in both of these events to have a shot. In the sprints, North's Michelle Kaufman should win the 55 and lead a North sweep in the hurdles.
In the field events, anything can happen. On paper, Newton North has an edge in both the high jump and shot put, but Weymouth's Bell (HJ), and Michelle Bruce (SP) could win and turn the tables on the Tigers. They will have to, because North has the better 4x400 relay team. Basically, Weymouth has to have everything go right in this meet to keep it even. But Weymouth often runs at its best when it competes against North, so it's possible...
Newton North Vs Weymouth Boys
The main reason that Newton hasn't lost a dual meet in nine years is because coach Jim Blackburn doesn't concede a single event, and never takes an opponent for granted. Having said that, Newton and Weymouth are very evenly matched, and the meet should go down to the wire.
Newton's Seb Putzys should get the Tigers off to a good start by winning the mile, no matter who Weymouth enters. But the Wildcats will have a good chance to get the points back in the 1000 with Dan Pope or Craig Myers. Last week, Weymouth showed great depth in the 600, and Newton can't let them sweep. Perhaps Avery Mitchell will move up? The 55 hurdles will go to Weymouth, but the 55 dash is a strength for Newton, and Weymouth will have a hard time avoiding a sweep.
Weymouth should take 1-2 in the high jump, unless Newton's fabled 6-4 jumper makes an appearance. Newton should sweep the shot put, with David Smith and Marvin Chan leading the way as they did last week. That brings us to the 2-mile. The meet could swing on this race, where Weymouth has to find a way to break up Newton's top two. Perhaps Weymouth moves a runner up from the mile?
If it comes down to the relay, it will be close. Newton probably has the edge, because they are always strong in the relay and have the league's best time so far.
So it should be a great meet, and lots of excitement for all the alumni that typically show up for the last meet before Christmas break. Good luck to all the runners, throwers, and jumpers. May the best teams win!
December 18, 2006
Bay State Meet Preview: Dec 21
Thursday is the second Bay State league meet, featuring these match-ups:
Newton North vs Weymouth
Braintree vs Brookline
Framingham vs Needham
Dedham vs Milton
Walpole vs Norwood
Wellesley vs Natick
Before looking in depth at Newton vs Weymouth (tomorrow), let's review the other meets. First the boys:
Brookline boys should handle Braintree by taking lots of points in events from the 300 up. Braintree junior Kyle Higgins is a fine miler, but Brookline has too much depth in the distance events, and will outscore the Wamps by plenty in the 1K, 1M, and 2M. Braintree dominates the hurdles, and holds its own in the dash and field events, but Brookline wins the relay and the meet by about 20 points.
Framingham won its first meet against Braintree last week and is favored to beat Needham easily. The two teams are fairly evenly matched in the running events from the 600 on up (here's hoping for a duel between Sam Miller and Alex Chmielinski in the 1M), but Framingham obliterates Needham in the short running and field events. Framingham should score over 60.
Dedham vs Milton should be a great meet, featuring two fine athletes in Milton's Eric Wornum (fastest runner in the league) Dedham's Phil Weltman. Both will likely compete in three events -- the 300, the 55, and the High Jump. Milton has a strong advantage in the distance events, but Dedham makes up some of that in the field events and relay. If Dedham can reverse some points in the 600 and 55 hurdles, the meet will be within 10 points.
Walpole has a slight edge over Norwood, but it could be very close. Walpole is much deeper in the events on the oval, but Norwood is much stronger in the hurdles and dash. Also, Walpole needs to find a high jumper. I don't think they can afford to let Norwood sweep there. Thoe shot put and relay bail them out, however, but just barely.
Wellesley vs Natick is a toss-up, in which every event matters. Wellesley relies on its strength in the distance events, with Tom Mayell, Nick Carroll, and freshman phenom Frode Van der Meeren (4:55 mile last week!). Natick will sweep the hurdles, and take big points in the shot put. The critical events for both teams will be the high jump, the 55 dash, and the relay, where the outcome could determine the meet winner.
Braintree vs. Brookline girls is a study in contrasts. Brookline might well outscore Braintree 32-4 in the events from 600 on up, but might be outscored 21-5 in the 300, dash, and hurdles. Braintree's sophomore Adrienne Lutz is a rising star with a 9.81 hurdle time and a 4-11 high jump. Brookline should prevail in the shot put, survive the high jump, and win the relay to win by about 20.
Needham has some outstanding performers, especially in the running events, and might win the majority of events, but lacks depth. Framingham will take a lot of seconds and thirds, and then sweep the shot put and perhaps the 300. If Needham can fill out its roster, it has a chance, otherwise Framingham wins a close one.
Milton should prove too strong for Dedham, scoring a lot of points in the distances, hurdles, and field events. Milton's Jackie Imhoff has the league's best 55H time (9.38) and high jump (5-1). Dedham counters with Madison Ferrell who has run 44.39 for the 300 and 7.81 for the 55 dash. Still, Milton prevails.
The most lopsided meet of the week is Walpole vs. Norwood. Walpole has good performers in all events and outstanding performers in the 55 dash (Emily Hayes, 7.81), 300 (Mary McEvoy 45.12), and 2-Mile (Olivia Perry, 12:49). Walpole will win everything in sight and cruise to victory.
Natick ran its two best distance runners in the 1000 (Becca White) and 600 (Anya Price) last week. Good for them for working on their speed. This week, I'd expect both runners to move up to their specialties where they will give Wellesley all kinds of problems. I think this meet could be very, very close. Both teams have good depth and no event will yield easy points. I expect it to come down to the relay, where I give Wellesley the edge.
Good luck to all the teams!
Newton North vs Weymouth
Braintree vs Brookline
Framingham vs Needham
Dedham vs Milton
Walpole vs Norwood
Wellesley vs Natick
Before looking in depth at Newton vs Weymouth (tomorrow), let's review the other meets. First the boys:
Brookline boys should handle Braintree by taking lots of points in events from the 300 up. Braintree junior Kyle Higgins is a fine miler, but Brookline has too much depth in the distance events, and will outscore the Wamps by plenty in the 1K, 1M, and 2M. Braintree dominates the hurdles, and holds its own in the dash and field events, but Brookline wins the relay and the meet by about 20 points.
Framingham won its first meet against Braintree last week and is favored to beat Needham easily. The two teams are fairly evenly matched in the running events from the 600 on up (here's hoping for a duel between Sam Miller and Alex Chmielinski in the 1M), but Framingham obliterates Needham in the short running and field events. Framingham should score over 60.
Dedham vs Milton should be a great meet, featuring two fine athletes in Milton's Eric Wornum (fastest runner in the league) Dedham's Phil Weltman. Both will likely compete in three events -- the 300, the 55, and the High Jump. Milton has a strong advantage in the distance events, but Dedham makes up some of that in the field events and relay. If Dedham can reverse some points in the 600 and 55 hurdles, the meet will be within 10 points.
Walpole has a slight edge over Norwood, but it could be very close. Walpole is much deeper in the events on the oval, but Norwood is much stronger in the hurdles and dash. Also, Walpole needs to find a high jumper. I don't think they can afford to let Norwood sweep there. Thoe shot put and relay bail them out, however, but just barely.
Wellesley vs Natick is a toss-up, in which every event matters. Wellesley relies on its strength in the distance events, with Tom Mayell, Nick Carroll, and freshman phenom Frode Van der Meeren (4:55 mile last week!). Natick will sweep the hurdles, and take big points in the shot put. The critical events for both teams will be the high jump, the 55 dash, and the relay, where the outcome could determine the meet winner.
Braintree vs. Brookline girls is a study in contrasts. Brookline might well outscore Braintree 32-4 in the events from 600 on up, but might be outscored 21-5 in the 300, dash, and hurdles. Braintree's sophomore Adrienne Lutz is a rising star with a 9.81 hurdle time and a 4-11 high jump. Brookline should prevail in the shot put, survive the high jump, and win the relay to win by about 20.
Needham has some outstanding performers, especially in the running events, and might win the majority of events, but lacks depth. Framingham will take a lot of seconds and thirds, and then sweep the shot put and perhaps the 300. If Needham can fill out its roster, it has a chance, otherwise Framingham wins a close one.
Milton should prove too strong for Dedham, scoring a lot of points in the distances, hurdles, and field events. Milton's Jackie Imhoff has the league's best 55H time (9.38) and high jump (5-1). Dedham counters with Madison Ferrell who has run 44.39 for the 300 and 7.81 for the 55 dash. Still, Milton prevails.
The most lopsided meet of the week is Walpole vs. Norwood. Walpole has good performers in all events and outstanding performers in the 55 dash (Emily Hayes, 7.81), 300 (Mary McEvoy 45.12), and 2-Mile (Olivia Perry, 12:49). Walpole will win everything in sight and cruise to victory.
Natick ran its two best distance runners in the 1000 (Becca White) and 600 (Anya Price) last week. Good for them for working on their speed. This week, I'd expect both runners to move up to their specialties where they will give Wellesley all kinds of problems. I think this meet could be very, very close. Both teams have good depth and no event will yield easy points. I expect it to come down to the relay, where I give Wellesley the edge.
Good luck to all the teams!
Winterfest!
Only two days after their first dual meet, Newton North athletes took to the track again on Saturday for the Winterfest meet at RLC. This year the meet was split into a large-schools meet on Saturday and a small-schools meet on Sunday. From the Bay State league, only Newton North and Wellesley chose to compete.
On the girls side, there were some nice improvements across the board(s).
In the 55H, North had six competitors in the prelims, and two athletes in the finals: Michelle Kaufman ran 9.50 in the prelims, and 9.53 to place 5th in the finals. Morgan Faer ran 9.83 in the prelims, and then improved to 9.71 to place 6th in the finals. In the 55 dash, Arie Sanchez led the Newton North contingent, running 8.14 to place 21st of 84 in the prelims. Latifah Smalls was 24th in 8.21, and Brianna Deanucci was 31st in 8.30.
In the 600, Kat Chiong (1:42.00) and Emma Kornetsky (1:44.47) finished 3rd and 4th, respectively, out of 76 competitors, both improving a couple of seconds from Thursday. Sally Leung (1:50.05) placed 17th, and Jaya Tripathi (1:50.94) ran a 2-second PR to place 20th. Representing the middle distances, Nora Barnicle placed 3rd in the 1000 in a season's best 3:15.04, while Franca Godenzi placed 10th in personal best 3:21.35.
A meet like Winterfest is a good chance to work on the technical aspects of the field events. In the high jump, both Sarah Berkland (5-0, 4th) and Alex Blenis (4-10, 7th) improved from Thursday. In the long jump, Arie Sanchez led North jumpers with a leap of 13-6, followed by Latifah Smalls (11-9.50) and Chantel Aaron (11-0.75). In the shot put, Tracy Isman had the highest finish of the day for North, placing second with a throw of 29-09.25, edging out teammate Morgan Faer (29-07.00, 3rd).
On the boys side, solid performances from David Smith (50-4.50) and Marvin Chan (47-02) led to a 1-2 sweep of the shot put. Newton North also placed three other athletes in the top half of the field, as Steve Long (40-9) placed 14th, Constantine Kreatsoulas (37-7), was 31st, and Ed Metallides (37-2) was 36th out of 80 competitors.
In the 55 dash, Gordon Forbes ran 6.85 in the heats to post the 3rd fastest qualifying time, and then blasted a 6.76 in the finals to place 2nd. Hymlaire Lamisiere ran 6.97 in the heats to just miss the finals by 1/100th of a second.
In the 1M, Seb Putzys ran within two seconds of his personal best to plave 8th in 4:42.22. Teammate Alex Ribner continued his assault on the five-minute barrier, running 5:03.69. In the 2M, Alex Gurvitz recorded a 4-second improvement from Thursday to place 15th in 10:54.91.
Peter Sun placed 9th in the 1000 in 2:51.68, and Gabe Feinberg placed 35th in the 600 in 1:38.31.
Full Results of Winterfest - Large Schools
On the girls side, there were some nice improvements across the board(s).
In the 55H, North had six competitors in the prelims, and two athletes in the finals: Michelle Kaufman ran 9.50 in the prelims, and 9.53 to place 5th in the finals. Morgan Faer ran 9.83 in the prelims, and then improved to 9.71 to place 6th in the finals. In the 55 dash, Arie Sanchez led the Newton North contingent, running 8.14 to place 21st of 84 in the prelims. Latifah Smalls was 24th in 8.21, and Brianna Deanucci was 31st in 8.30.
In the 600, Kat Chiong (1:42.00) and Emma Kornetsky (1:44.47) finished 3rd and 4th, respectively, out of 76 competitors, both improving a couple of seconds from Thursday. Sally Leung (1:50.05) placed 17th, and Jaya Tripathi (1:50.94) ran a 2-second PR to place 20th. Representing the middle distances, Nora Barnicle placed 3rd in the 1000 in a season's best 3:15.04, while Franca Godenzi placed 10th in personal best 3:21.35.
A meet like Winterfest is a good chance to work on the technical aspects of the field events. In the high jump, both Sarah Berkland (5-0, 4th) and Alex Blenis (4-10, 7th) improved from Thursday. In the long jump, Arie Sanchez led North jumpers with a leap of 13-6, followed by Latifah Smalls (11-9.50) and Chantel Aaron (11-0.75). In the shot put, Tracy Isman had the highest finish of the day for North, placing second with a throw of 29-09.25, edging out teammate Morgan Faer (29-07.00, 3rd).
On the boys side, solid performances from David Smith (50-4.50) and Marvin Chan (47-02) led to a 1-2 sweep of the shot put. Newton North also placed three other athletes in the top half of the field, as Steve Long (40-9) placed 14th, Constantine Kreatsoulas (37-7), was 31st, and Ed Metallides (37-2) was 36th out of 80 competitors.
In the 55 dash, Gordon Forbes ran 6.85 in the heats to post the 3rd fastest qualifying time, and then blasted a 6.76 in the finals to place 2nd. Hymlaire Lamisiere ran 6.97 in the heats to just miss the finals by 1/100th of a second.
In the 1M, Seb Putzys ran within two seconds of his personal best to plave 8th in 4:42.22. Teammate Alex Ribner continued his assault on the five-minute barrier, running 5:03.69. In the 2M, Alex Gurvitz recorded a 4-second improvement from Thursday to place 15th in 10:54.91.
Peter Sun placed 9th in the 1000 in 2:51.68, and Gabe Feinberg placed 35th in the 600 in 1:38.31.
Full Results of Winterfest - Large Schools
December 15, 2006
Bay State Meet Results - 12/14/06
The carnival is back in town and the Bay State indoor season is off to a rolicking start after last night's meet at the Reggie Lewis Center.
Newton North v. Brookline Boys
The Newton North boys were solid in every event and more than solid in the shot put to defeat Brookline 52-34. Coach Jim Blackburn was convinced that North's nine-year undefeated streak in indoor was over, but the Tigers got unexpected points in the distance events, won the hurdles and swept the 55, swept the SP, and won the 4x400 relay after one of Brookline's runners fell in a collision with a Weymouth runner during the baton exchange.
It's hard to understand Brookline's strategy for deploying their superior talent in the 1M, 1000m, and 2M. Instead of running Robert Gibson (far and away the best distance runner in the league)in the 1M, they put him in the 1000, which he won with ease. Newton took advantage, as Seb Putzys (4:46.79) outsprinted Chris Mercurio and Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot to grab 5 points in the mile. In hindsight, it seems obvious that Brookline squandered the talents of Mercurio, who would have been a better choice for the 1K, and Jerzy, who would have been a better choice for the 2M.
Here's how the races went:
1M: Putzys (NN), Mercurio (B), Eisenberg-Guyot (B)
1000: Gibson (B), Sun (NN), Grove (B)
2M: Hardiman (B), Gurvitz (NN), Chebot (NN)
With Brookline taking a 15-12 advantage. However, had they deployed their runners more judiciously, it could have easily gone like this:
1M Gibson (B), Putzys (NN), Benjamin (B)
1000: Mercurio (B), Sun (NN), Grove (B)
2M: Eisenberg-Guyot (B), Hardiman (B), Gurvitz (NN)
With Brookline taking a 20-7 advantage -- a ten-point swing!! That would have made the score 42-39 going into the final relay, and since we all have perfect vision in hindsight, why not run Matt Stewart on the first leg and get a big lead and clean exchanges throughout?
In the field events, David Smith had a rare and impressive double, winning the shot put by four feet in 53-3.5 and tying Gordon Forbes for second in the high jump in 5'3". Hmmm, 53-3 and 5-3 -- those numbers seem eerily similar. Also, in the SP, Marvin Chan uncorked a PB 47-3 for second, and Constantinos Kreatsoulas threw 39-11.25 to complete the North sweep.
Other winners for North included Avery Mitchell in the 300 (36.94), Gordon Forbes in the 55 (6.97, with Hymlaire Lemisere and Troy Peterson right behind in 7.04 and 7.10), Ryan McCarthey in the 55 hurdles (9.29), and the 4x400 relay of Adam Bao, Alex Lee, Hymlaire Lemiser, and Abasu Watanabe (3:37.95).
The two-mile witnessed a thrilling race between Hardiman, Alex Gurvitz (10:58.92), and Ben Chebot (11:00.59). It also served as an auspicious debut for freshman Jake Gleason, who started at the back and then passed a dozen runners to finish 16th overall in 11:45.26.
Outstanding performers for other schools included a league record (?) in the high jump for Framingham's Jordan Maddocks, who cleared 6-8, two wins from Milton's Eric Wornum in the 55 (6.71) and 300 (36.58), Brookline's Gibson in the 1000 (2:40.40) and Matt Stewart in the 600 (1:27.18), and Wellesley's Nick Carroll in the 2M (10:50.31).
Results of Boys Events
Newton North v. Brookline Girls
As expected, Newton North dominated Brookline, winning all but one individual event plus the relay, and showing greater overall depth. The tone of the meet was set in the opening event, as Carolyn Ranti (5:37.54) won the mile and recorded the second-fastest time of the day. Freshman Susanna Gleason (6:03.14) ran a blazing last 200 to come from behind to take third, and very nearly second.
In the 1000, Jess Barton ran away from a pack of Bay State all-stars to win in 3:11.28. That was not a surprise. It was somewaht more of a surprise to see Nora Barnicle finish second in 3:18.53, ahead of Brookline's Sabrina Parise, Weymouth's Nicole Pearce, and Natick's Becca White.
In the 600, Emma Kornetsky (1:47.33) overtook Sally Leung (1:48.32) in the final straightaway to lead North to a 1-2 finish, and in the 300, Kat Chiong (44.99) won convincingly.
Sophomore Michelle Kaufman won both sprints, taking the 55 hurdles in 9.98 and coming back to win the 55 dash in 7.83. Sarah Berkland won the high jump in 4-9, and Tracy Isman (30-1) and Lily Brown (29-0.25) went 1-2 in the shot put.
In the two-mile, North's lone competitor, Adina Hemley-Bronstein placed second (13:03.99, seventh overall).
Results of Girls Events
Newton North v. Brookline Boys
The Newton North boys were solid in every event and more than solid in the shot put to defeat Brookline 52-34. Coach Jim Blackburn was convinced that North's nine-year undefeated streak in indoor was over, but the Tigers got unexpected points in the distance events, won the hurdles and swept the 55, swept the SP, and won the 4x400 relay after one of Brookline's runners fell in a collision with a Weymouth runner during the baton exchange.
It's hard to understand Brookline's strategy for deploying their superior talent in the 1M, 1000m, and 2M. Instead of running Robert Gibson (far and away the best distance runner in the league)in the 1M, they put him in the 1000, which he won with ease. Newton took advantage, as Seb Putzys (4:46.79) outsprinted Chris Mercurio and Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot to grab 5 points in the mile. In hindsight, it seems obvious that Brookline squandered the talents of Mercurio, who would have been a better choice for the 1K, and Jerzy, who would have been a better choice for the 2M.
Here's how the races went:
1M: Putzys (NN), Mercurio (B), Eisenberg-Guyot (B)
1000: Gibson (B), Sun (NN), Grove (B)
2M: Hardiman (B), Gurvitz (NN), Chebot (NN)
With Brookline taking a 15-12 advantage. However, had they deployed their runners more judiciously, it could have easily gone like this:
1M Gibson (B), Putzys (NN), Benjamin (B)
1000: Mercurio (B), Sun (NN), Grove (B)
2M: Eisenberg-Guyot (B), Hardiman (B), Gurvitz (NN)
With Brookline taking a 20-7 advantage -- a ten-point swing!! That would have made the score 42-39 going into the final relay, and since we all have perfect vision in hindsight, why not run Matt Stewart on the first leg and get a big lead and clean exchanges throughout?
In the field events, David Smith had a rare and impressive double, winning the shot put by four feet in 53-3.5 and tying Gordon Forbes for second in the high jump in 5'3". Hmmm, 53-3 and 5-3 -- those numbers seem eerily similar. Also, in the SP, Marvin Chan uncorked a PB 47-3 for second, and Constantinos Kreatsoulas threw 39-11.25 to complete the North sweep.
Other winners for North included Avery Mitchell in the 300 (36.94), Gordon Forbes in the 55 (6.97, with Hymlaire Lemisere and Troy Peterson right behind in 7.04 and 7.10), Ryan McCarthey in the 55 hurdles (9.29), and the 4x400 relay of Adam Bao, Alex Lee, Hymlaire Lemiser, and Abasu Watanabe (3:37.95).
The two-mile witnessed a thrilling race between Hardiman, Alex Gurvitz (10:58.92), and Ben Chebot (11:00.59). It also served as an auspicious debut for freshman Jake Gleason, who started at the back and then passed a dozen runners to finish 16th overall in 11:45.26.
Outstanding performers for other schools included a league record (?) in the high jump for Framingham's Jordan Maddocks, who cleared 6-8, two wins from Milton's Eric Wornum in the 55 (6.71) and 300 (36.58), Brookline's Gibson in the 1000 (2:40.40) and Matt Stewart in the 600 (1:27.18), and Wellesley's Nick Carroll in the 2M (10:50.31).
Results of Boys Events
Newton North v. Brookline Girls
As expected, Newton North dominated Brookline, winning all but one individual event plus the relay, and showing greater overall depth. The tone of the meet was set in the opening event, as Carolyn Ranti (5:37.54) won the mile and recorded the second-fastest time of the day. Freshman Susanna Gleason (6:03.14) ran a blazing last 200 to come from behind to take third, and very nearly second.
In the 1000, Jess Barton ran away from a pack of Bay State all-stars to win in 3:11.28. That was not a surprise. It was somewaht more of a surprise to see Nora Barnicle finish second in 3:18.53, ahead of Brookline's Sabrina Parise, Weymouth's Nicole Pearce, and Natick's Becca White.
In the 600, Emma Kornetsky (1:47.33) overtook Sally Leung (1:48.32) in the final straightaway to lead North to a 1-2 finish, and in the 300, Kat Chiong (44.99) won convincingly.
Sophomore Michelle Kaufman won both sprints, taking the 55 hurdles in 9.98 and coming back to win the 55 dash in 7.83. Sarah Berkland won the high jump in 4-9, and Tracy Isman (30-1) and Lily Brown (29-0.25) went 1-2 in the shot put.
In the two-mile, North's lone competitor, Adina Hemley-Bronstein placed second (13:03.99, seventh overall).
Results of Girls Events
December 12, 2006
Running Places...
I've always been keen on finding a way to use running as a legitimate form of personal transportation, a way of going places when car, bus, and bike were inconvenient or unavailable.
The fascination with running as transportation started early. I grew up far enough away from schools that it was a long walk, but not so far that a bus was required. Already in elementary school I was experimenting with running home, and was surprised and delighted to find that I could make the trip faster on foot. Of course, I was lucky not to be burdened by a 25-lb backpack. In those days, there wasn't much to take home from school. It was a lighter time in many ways... But I digress.
The other thing about running places that gave me great pleasure was finding shortcuts. I became briefly famous with my classmates by getting off the bus on Lincoln Avenue, waving as the bus drove off, and then racing through several backyards and an alley to emerge at the next bus stop on Dana Avenue thirty seconds before the bus arrived. I had discovered a lifelong passion for combining a love of running with a love of being different.
The thing was, I never made running a regular means of commuting. Perhaps it was because it took too much planning ahead on a daily basis, or perhaps because doing it every day would have spoiled the fun. For whatever reason, I didn't end up running to and from school every day like the Kenyans.
The closest I came to regular running to work was when I lived in Newton Corner and worked in Newton Lower falls, a distance of 5.5 miles. We only had one car then, and there was a bus I could take but it came once an hour. So I often ran to and from work. I look back at my running log for that year and many days are inscribed simply:
a.m. 5.5
p.m. 5.5
Of course, this would not have been possible if the company hadn't had a locker room and shower. It did, and I vowed never to work at a building that DIDN'T have some way to clean myself up after a run.
The details of commuting on foot through the next two decades probably wouldn't be interesting to anyone but me. I worked in East Cambridge for five years (10 miles along the river, and some memorably cold mornings in the winter). The company moved out to Waltham , 4 miles as the crow flies from my house in West Newton but with a really nasty hill and rugged trails that were impassable in the winter. Then I
worked in Newton for three years, two miles from my house. I found that unlike HS, two miles was now far too short for me to commute by running. I biked instead.
Six years ago I started working in Woburn -- 17 miles from my home, the longest commute of my life. There was no easy commute that did not involve a car, but I never gave up the hope of figuring out some way to get there (or get home) while getting in my daily run or at least asserting my independence over the automobile.
I started by making a vast table of all the possibilities: the commuter trains, the crosstown buses, the parts that I could run or bike, the backup plans in case a connection was missed. I estimated the time for each possibility, and eliminated many that were simply not practical or took too long. I experimented. I found that if I took a bike, I could ride halfway, catch a train (taking my bike on the train), and then reverse the process in the evening but without the bike, running the last 8 miles. This worked great except that the bike ended up at my work, so I couldn't repeat the process two days in a row. I tried running the 8 miles to the train in the morning, and then taking all public transportation in the evening. That workedok, but it took too long and I arrived at work too tired to do anything useful for a couple of hours.
So the search for the cleverest commute goes on. The MBTA recently added a few trains to the Lowell Line, and suddenly there are new possibilities for me. So I've been experimenting with running part of the way home first, and then catching one of these new trains to take me in to Boston. In theory, I could do this every day, but that would probably become too commonplace so I'll continue to drive most days.
I'll tell you one thing: when I'm running for a train, I never have any problem with motivation; I never question why I'm running; I never worry about my competition. Now and then, it's a great feeling to be running for the sole purpose of getting home in time for dinner.
The fascination with running as transportation started early. I grew up far enough away from schools that it was a long walk, but not so far that a bus was required. Already in elementary school I was experimenting with running home, and was surprised and delighted to find that I could make the trip faster on foot. Of course, I was lucky not to be burdened by a 25-lb backpack. In those days, there wasn't much to take home from school. It was a lighter time in many ways... But I digress.
The other thing about running places that gave me great pleasure was finding shortcuts. I became briefly famous with my classmates by getting off the bus on Lincoln Avenue, waving as the bus drove off, and then racing through several backyards and an alley to emerge at the next bus stop on Dana Avenue thirty seconds before the bus arrived. I had discovered a lifelong passion for combining a love of running with a love of being different.
The thing was, I never made running a regular means of commuting. Perhaps it was because it took too much planning ahead on a daily basis, or perhaps because doing it every day would have spoiled the fun. For whatever reason, I didn't end up running to and from school every day like the Kenyans.
The closest I came to regular running to work was when I lived in Newton Corner and worked in Newton Lower falls, a distance of 5.5 miles. We only had one car then, and there was a bus I could take but it came once an hour. So I often ran to and from work. I look back at my running log for that year and many days are inscribed simply:
a.m. 5.5
p.m. 5.5
Of course, this would not have been possible if the company hadn't had a locker room and shower. It did, and I vowed never to work at a building that DIDN'T have some way to clean myself up after a run.
The details of commuting on foot through the next two decades probably wouldn't be interesting to anyone but me. I worked in East Cambridge for five years (10 miles along the river, and some memorably cold mornings in the winter). The company moved out to Waltham , 4 miles as the crow flies from my house in West Newton but with a really nasty hill and rugged trails that were impassable in the winter. Then I
worked in Newton for three years, two miles from my house. I found that unlike HS, two miles was now far too short for me to commute by running. I biked instead.
Six years ago I started working in Woburn -- 17 miles from my home, the longest commute of my life. There was no easy commute that did not involve a car, but I never gave up the hope of figuring out some way to get there (or get home) while getting in my daily run or at least asserting my independence over the automobile.
I started by making a vast table of all the possibilities: the commuter trains, the crosstown buses, the parts that I could run or bike, the backup plans in case a connection was missed. I estimated the time for each possibility, and eliminated many that were simply not practical or took too long. I experimented. I found that if I took a bike, I could ride halfway, catch a train (taking my bike on the train), and then reverse the process in the evening but without the bike, running the last 8 miles. This worked great except that the bike ended up at my work, so I couldn't repeat the process two days in a row. I tried running the 8 miles to the train in the morning, and then taking all public transportation in the evening. That workedok, but it took too long and I arrived at work too tired to do anything useful for a couple of hours.
So the search for the cleverest commute goes on. The MBTA recently added a few trains to the Lowell Line, and suddenly there are new possibilities for me. So I've been experimenting with running part of the way home first, and then catching one of these new trains to take me in to Boston. In theory, I could do this every day, but that would probably become too commonplace so I'll continue to drive most days.
I'll tell you one thing: when I'm running for a train, I never have any problem with motivation; I never question why I'm running; I never worry about my competition. Now and then, it's a great feeling to be running for the sole purpose of getting home in time for dinner.
December 10, 2006
NNHS Alumni Indoor Results - 12/09/06
More college indoor results from our far-flung alumni:
Noah Jampol made an impression in his first indoor race for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, winning the mile at the Ursinus Invitational in 4:38.72. No word yet on whether he doubled back for one of the relays.
David Slifer (Hartford) competed at the Harvard Invitational in Allston on Saturday, clocking 52.45 for 400 meters. Dave Cahill (Greater Boston Track Club) ran 1:07.25 in the 500 meters, improving a tenth of a second from his time last week at the Northeastern meet.
Harvard Invitational Results
On Dec 7, Dan Chebot opened his indoor season by placing second in the mile at the RIT Invitational in 4:44.52.
Noah Jampol made an impression in his first indoor race for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, winning the mile at the Ursinus Invitational in 4:38.72. No word yet on whether he doubled back for one of the relays.
David Slifer (Hartford) competed at the Harvard Invitational in Allston on Saturday, clocking 52.45 for 400 meters. Dave Cahill (Greater Boston Track Club) ran 1:07.25 in the 500 meters, improving a tenth of a second from his time last week at the Northeastern meet.
Harvard Invitational Results
On Dec 7, Dan Chebot opened his indoor season by placing second in the mile at the RIT Invitational in 4:44.52.
December 08, 2006
First Indoor Workout
With a long mild autumn to encourage us, and a well-lit, resurfaced outdoor track available nearby, my training partner Terry and I continued to run our weekly interval workouts outdoors until this week. The cold weather that arrived mid-week finally drove us inside, and on Wednesday we did our first indoor workout of the season.
The first time back on the boards is always strange. The springy surface feels almost alive in comparison with the hard, concrete feel of MIT's outdoor track. It feels good on the legs. But it also feels awkward, as though one's stride needs adjusting in some subtle way to take advantage of the resilience and energy return of the track under one's feet. I found myself flailing for a moment or two entering each curve, trying to find a rhythm that didn't squander the "track energy" I felt. The tighter turns also created a minor optical illusion for me, in which I was sure that Terry was accelerating into the first few meters of the turn (when he was in the turn and I was not yet there). When I made the mistake of matching what I imagined was his increase, I would immediately step on his heels. It didn't make things any easier that my stride is a little longer than his anyway.
We were fortunate that the track was more or less empty, with only a few other groups running. that will change in a hurry once the HS meets begin and other clubs begin crowding in all at the same time following the conclusion of that night's meet. Some nights it is definitely a zoo, and avoiding collisions requires constant vigilance.
I know from previous years that within a few weeks, I will have adjusted to the track and it will seem very normal to think of a lap as 200 meters, not 400. It will take me a little bit longer to get used to the indoor air and the dryness. I know I should count my blessings to have such good indoor facilities available. I mean, Having an indoor track at all is a luxury, let alone a banked track which is arguably one of the best facilities in the country.
Having Reggie is also a great temptation to run fast, regardless of whether that is the right workout for one's training. I was pretty stiff on Thursday, a victim of "pace creep" where 400s that were supposed to be at 72 were run in 69-70, and 300s that were supposed to be run in 53-54 were run in 51. Even at my advanced age, speed is addictive and the track at Reggie does nothing to discourage the habit.
The first time back on the boards is always strange. The springy surface feels almost alive in comparison with the hard, concrete feel of MIT's outdoor track. It feels good on the legs. But it also feels awkward, as though one's stride needs adjusting in some subtle way to take advantage of the resilience and energy return of the track under one's feet. I found myself flailing for a moment or two entering each curve, trying to find a rhythm that didn't squander the "track energy" I felt. The tighter turns also created a minor optical illusion for me, in which I was sure that Terry was accelerating into the first few meters of the turn (when he was in the turn and I was not yet there). When I made the mistake of matching what I imagined was his increase, I would immediately step on his heels. It didn't make things any easier that my stride is a little longer than his anyway.
We were fortunate that the track was more or less empty, with only a few other groups running. that will change in a hurry once the HS meets begin and other clubs begin crowding in all at the same time following the conclusion of that night's meet. Some nights it is definitely a zoo, and avoiding collisions requires constant vigilance.
I know from previous years that within a few weeks, I will have adjusted to the track and it will seem very normal to think of a lap as 200 meters, not 400. It will take me a little bit longer to get used to the indoor air and the dryness. I know I should count my blessings to have such good indoor facilities available. I mean, Having an indoor track at all is a luxury, let alone a banked track which is arguably one of the best facilities in the country.
Having Reggie is also a great temptation to run fast, regardless of whether that is the right workout for one's training. I was pretty stiff on Thursday, a victim of "pace creep" where 400s that were supposed to be at 72 were run in 69-70, and 300s that were supposed to be run in 53-54 were run in 51. Even at my advanced age, speed is addictive and the track at Reggie does nothing to discourage the habit.
December 07, 2006
Almanac - Dec 7
As someone who doesn't have the freedom to run in the middle of the day when there's some hope of sunshine, I am a little bit obsessed with weather and the seasons. At this time of year especially, I scrutinize sunrise and sunset times and try to squeeze some fair-weather runs into the limited daylight hours.
So today is a milestone of sorts in the progression from Fall to Winter and ultimately Spring. Today, December 7th, the sun will set at 4:11 p.m. in Boston. Never mind abut the seconds -- no one really cares about the seconds. Tomorrow, the sun will also set at 4:11 p.m. It will be the same on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and then -- next Tuesday, December 11th, the sunset will be one minute later, and the lengthening of the afternoon will have begun. For me, it will be the first step down the long, sometimes bleak corridor of winter.
Many people think that the earliest sunset happens on the shortest day of the year, the solstice, but this is not the case. The earliest sunrise occurs about 12 days before the solstice and the latest sunrise occurs about 12 days after the solstice. That means that the mornings will be getting later for another month!
Still, I'll trade the mornings for the afternoons any day. One of my favorite times of the year is the beginning of February, when sunset occurs after 5:00 p.m. for the first time in three months. Until then, I'll be happy knowing sunset is once again moving in the right direction.
So today is a milestone of sorts in the progression from Fall to Winter and ultimately Spring. Today, December 7th, the sun will set at 4:11 p.m. in Boston. Never mind abut the seconds -- no one really cares about the seconds. Tomorrow, the sun will also set at 4:11 p.m. It will be the same on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and then -- next Tuesday, December 11th, the sunset will be one minute later, and the lengthening of the afternoon will have begun. For me, it will be the first step down the long, sometimes bleak corridor of winter.
Many people think that the earliest sunset happens on the shortest day of the year, the solstice, but this is not the case. The earliest sunrise occurs about 12 days before the solstice and the latest sunrise occurs about 12 days after the solstice. That means that the mornings will be getting later for another month!
Still, I'll trade the mornings for the afternoons any day. One of my favorite times of the year is the beginning of February, when sunset occurs after 5:00 p.m. for the first time in three months. Until then, I'll be happy knowing sunset is once again moving in the right direction.
December 06, 2006
Girls Preview: NNHS vs. Brookline 12/14
Unlike the boys meet against Brookline, the NNHS girls meet against the Warriors does not look like it will be close, based on performances from last year's teams.
The Tigers return just about all of their top athletes (with the exception of hurdler/sprinter/captain Leah Weisman) from last year's undefeated team. With potential winners in every event, it's hard to spot a weakness for other teams to exploit.
Newton should dominate the field events. The Tigers have three high jumpers from last year who cleared 4'10 or better, led by Alex Blenis (5'2"). Likewise in the shot put, Lily Brown, Tracy Isman, and Morgan Faer should sweep the top three places. Assuming everyone returns and is healthy, field events should go 18-0 to Newton.
In the 55 dash last year, Brookline's Tracy Taylor ran well, as did sophomore Asia Benton. However, if she competes in the 55, I'd favor Newton's Michelle Kaufmann for the win. I'll score this 5-4 Newton. In the 55 hurdles, Newton loses Div I State meet scorer Weisman, but returns Vicki Marone and Morgan Faer. Brookline's Anna Mak was about a second slower than Marone las year. I'll score this 8-1 Newton.
I'm just speculating now about how Newton will use it's sprint talent, but assuming that Lily Brown runs the 300 and Kat Chiong and Emma Kornetsky run the 600, I don't see anyone from Brookline in front of them. Brown ran sub 45 in the 300 last year, and although Benton and Steph Seldin ran around 47, I'll guess Newton finds someone fast enough to take third. 6-3 Newton. In the 600, Chiong and Kornetsky would be the favorites over anyone except Sabrina Parise, and assuming she runs the 1000, I'll predict Newton goes 1-2 for an 8-1 advantage. In the 1000, Parise will win against anyone but Jess Barton. Barton will win in whatever distance event she runs. So what will she run? Again, pure speculation, but I'll guess Parise sticks to the 1000 where she will have to contend with Nora Barnicle or perhaps Carolyn Ranti, and Barton runs the mile. Anyway, let's give Parise the win (not a sure thing against Barnicle) and Brookline 5 points in the 1000, with the Tigers taking 2nd and 3rd. Newton then goes no worse than 1-3 in the mile with Barton and Hemley-Bronstein, and then no worse than 1-2 in the 2-mile with Haleigh Smith and Ranti or Franca Godenzi. I score the distances 15-9 for Newton, and that's being generous to Brookline's improved distance crew.
So, if it all happens the way I've diagrammed it (it won't), the score would be 64-17 Newton going into the relay, which Newton should win if it runs anything close to its "A" team (Brown, Kornetsky, Kaufman?, Chiong).
Ok, so all of you with inside information, I'm looking forward to hearing where I've gone wrong tell me where I'm wrong. Who is healthy, who is injured, who is doing cross-country skiing? Inquiring minds want to know.
The Tigers return just about all of their top athletes (with the exception of hurdler/sprinter/captain Leah Weisman) from last year's undefeated team. With potential winners in every event, it's hard to spot a weakness for other teams to exploit.
Newton should dominate the field events. The Tigers have three high jumpers from last year who cleared 4'10 or better, led by Alex Blenis (5'2"). Likewise in the shot put, Lily Brown, Tracy Isman, and Morgan Faer should sweep the top three places. Assuming everyone returns and is healthy, field events should go 18-0 to Newton.
In the 55 dash last year, Brookline's Tracy Taylor ran well, as did sophomore Asia Benton. However, if she competes in the 55, I'd favor Newton's Michelle Kaufmann for the win. I'll score this 5-4 Newton. In the 55 hurdles, Newton loses Div I State meet scorer Weisman, but returns Vicki Marone and Morgan Faer. Brookline's Anna Mak was about a second slower than Marone las year. I'll score this 8-1 Newton.
I'm just speculating now about how Newton will use it's sprint talent, but assuming that Lily Brown runs the 300 and Kat Chiong and Emma Kornetsky run the 600, I don't see anyone from Brookline in front of them. Brown ran sub 45 in the 300 last year, and although Benton and Steph Seldin ran around 47, I'll guess Newton finds someone fast enough to take third. 6-3 Newton. In the 600, Chiong and Kornetsky would be the favorites over anyone except Sabrina Parise, and assuming she runs the 1000, I'll predict Newton goes 1-2 for an 8-1 advantage. In the 1000, Parise will win against anyone but Jess Barton. Barton will win in whatever distance event she runs. So what will she run? Again, pure speculation, but I'll guess Parise sticks to the 1000 where she will have to contend with Nora Barnicle or perhaps Carolyn Ranti, and Barton runs the mile. Anyway, let's give Parise the win (not a sure thing against Barnicle) and Brookline 5 points in the 1000, with the Tigers taking 2nd and 3rd. Newton then goes no worse than 1-3 in the mile with Barton and Hemley-Bronstein, and then no worse than 1-2 in the 2-mile with Haleigh Smith and Ranti or Franca Godenzi. I score the distances 15-9 for Newton, and that's being generous to Brookline's improved distance crew.
So, if it all happens the way I've diagrammed it (it won't), the score would be 64-17 Newton going into the relay, which Newton should win if it runs anything close to its "A" team (Brown, Kornetsky, Kaufman?, Chiong).
Ok, so all of you with inside information, I'm looking forward to hearing where I've gone wrong tell me where I'm wrong. Who is healthy, who is injured, who is doing cross-country skiing? Inquiring minds want to know.
December 05, 2006
Boys Preview: NNHS vs. Brookline on 12/14
It seems a shame that the first meet of the indoor season pits two of the top teams in the Bay State League. It's also noteworthy that Brookline and Newton North finished first and second, respectively in the All-State championships last winter, separated by a few hundredths of a second in the 4x400 relay.
Newton North hasn't lost an indoor dual meet for a long, long time, and they will be tough to beat again this year. Their strength figures to be the sprints and shot put. In the 55m dash, they have the top two returners from last year -- Cailean Robinson and Gordon Forbes. Robinson set a school record 6.51 in the semi-final of the NE championships last winter, and went on to finish 2nd in the finals. This duo should place 1-2. Brookline's Michael Bennett ran 6.91 last year, but I wouldn't be surprised if North comes up with a third good sprinter. I'll call this one 8-1 for Newton. In the 55 hurdles, North will miss Brendan Rooney and Nick van Niel, but Ryan McCarthy returns and unless Brookline has an up-and-coming star, I'll give him the win. 5-4 Newton.
I would expect North to use Avery Mitchell in the 300, where he should dominate. I don't know who else will run for North. Brookline has no outstanding returners, so I'll call this 6-3 for Newton. In the 600, the situation is reversed with All-State champion Matt Stewart poised to dominate for Brookline. I'll hazard a guess that Jared Plotkin will run for Newton, and be good enough to take second. Score it 6-3 Brookline.
In the distances, Brookline has tremendous depth, and North will have to claw for points. In the 1000, I'm guessing Brookline will run Chris Mercurio (who will win), and North will counter with Peter Sun (who will take second) and Rojay Wagner. 6-3 Brookline. In the mile, look for Robert Gibson to win easily over Seb Putzys, with Brookline's Eliot Lehane in 3rd. 6-3 Brookline. In the 2-mile, Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot and Mike Burnstein will take 1-2 easily, with North's Jared Forman and Charles Krasnow battling for third. 8-1 Brookline.
So according to that analysis, the runing events (minus the relay) go to Brookline 34-29.
The field events, and particularly the shot put, will be huge (no pun intended) for Newton, as they have the dominant thrower in the State in David Smith, plus several returners, including Marvin Chan. I'll give North a 9-0 sweep in the shot put. The high jump is always a guessing game, with neither team having a great jumper. Assuming Gordon Forbes wins, I'm guessing Brookline will come up with someone to take second and third. But really, it's anyone's guess. I'll say 5-4 Newton.
Adding it all up, that would make it 43 Newton 38 Brookline, with the five points from the relay to decide whether North wins again, or Brookline earns a 43-43 tie. What a scene that would be!
Anyway, it seems to me that the keys to the meet are the HJ (because of the big potential swing, plus it comes early in the meet), the 55 hurdles, Newton taking care of busines in the SP, and Brookline taking care of business in the distances. And the relay of course.
Now, I've based this all on last year's returners. If someone from either team wants to fill in the gaps with inside information (fast newcomers, overlooked underclassmen, injured stars), please leave a comment.
Newton North hasn't lost an indoor dual meet for a long, long time, and they will be tough to beat again this year. Their strength figures to be the sprints and shot put. In the 55m dash, they have the top two returners from last year -- Cailean Robinson and Gordon Forbes. Robinson set a school record 6.51 in the semi-final of the NE championships last winter, and went on to finish 2nd in the finals. This duo should place 1-2. Brookline's Michael Bennett ran 6.91 last year, but I wouldn't be surprised if North comes up with a third good sprinter. I'll call this one 8-1 for Newton. In the 55 hurdles, North will miss Brendan Rooney and Nick van Niel, but Ryan McCarthy returns and unless Brookline has an up-and-coming star, I'll give him the win. 5-4 Newton.
I would expect North to use Avery Mitchell in the 300, where he should dominate. I don't know who else will run for North. Brookline has no outstanding returners, so I'll call this 6-3 for Newton. In the 600, the situation is reversed with All-State champion Matt Stewart poised to dominate for Brookline. I'll hazard a guess that Jared Plotkin will run for Newton, and be good enough to take second. Score it 6-3 Brookline.
In the distances, Brookline has tremendous depth, and North will have to claw for points. In the 1000, I'm guessing Brookline will run Chris Mercurio (who will win), and North will counter with Peter Sun (who will take second) and Rojay Wagner. 6-3 Brookline. In the mile, look for Robert Gibson to win easily over Seb Putzys, with Brookline's Eliot Lehane in 3rd. 6-3 Brookline. In the 2-mile, Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot and Mike Burnstein will take 1-2 easily, with North's Jared Forman and Charles Krasnow battling for third. 8-1 Brookline.
So according to that analysis, the runing events (minus the relay) go to Brookline 34-29.
The field events, and particularly the shot put, will be huge (no pun intended) for Newton, as they have the dominant thrower in the State in David Smith, plus several returners, including Marvin Chan. I'll give North a 9-0 sweep in the shot put. The high jump is always a guessing game, with neither team having a great jumper. Assuming Gordon Forbes wins, I'm guessing Brookline will come up with someone to take second and third. But really, it's anyone's guess. I'll say 5-4 Newton.
Adding it all up, that would make it 43 Newton 38 Brookline, with the five points from the relay to decide whether North wins again, or Brookline earns a 43-43 tie. What a scene that would be!
Anyway, it seems to me that the keys to the meet are the HJ (because of the big potential swing, plus it comes early in the meet), the 55 hurdles, Newton taking care of busines in the SP, and Brookline taking care of business in the distances. And the relay of course.
Now, I've based this all on last year's returners. If someone from either team wants to fill in the gaps with inside information (fast newcomers, overlooked underclassmen, injured stars), please leave a comment.
December 03, 2006
NNHS/BSC Alumni Indoor Results - 12/2/06
On the first weekend of indoor track meets, a few results of interest to the NNHS/Bay State crowd:
Newton alum and Harvard sophomore Jon Wofsy ran 1:05.36 to win the 500m event in the Harvard v Boston College meet held at Harvard's Gordon Track on Saturday. In the same meet,
Wellesley alumna and BC freshman Brielle Chabot ran 17:40.98 to finish 4th in the women's 5000m.
In the Husky Winter Carnival held at the Reggie Lewis Center, NNHS alum Dave Cahill (Greater Boston Track Club) ran 1:07.35 to finish 6th overall (out of 36 competitors) in the 500m. Another NNHS alum, Thomas Foote (now a sophomore at Amherst College) ran 2:03.37 in the 800m.
Braintree alum and Assumption College freshman Chris O'Day ran 2:42.22 in the 1000m. Brookline alum and BU sophomore Jason Nardella competed in the 55 hurdles, running 8.15 in his heat, and 7.95 in the final to place 7th.
At the Wesleyan Invite (Middletown, CT), Hartford sophomore (NNHS class of '05) David Slifer finished 2nd in the 400m with a time of 52.85. Westfield State freshman Charles Beard (Needham class of '06) ran 4:55.12 for the mile. Smitty will be happy to hear that Springfield senior Alex Kampersal (Natick class of '03) won the shot put with a heave of 15.53m (50-11.50).
Newton alum and Harvard sophomore Jon Wofsy ran 1:05.36 to win the 500m event in the Harvard v Boston College meet held at Harvard's Gordon Track on Saturday. In the same meet,
Wellesley alumna and BC freshman Brielle Chabot ran 17:40.98 to finish 4th in the women's 5000m.
In the Husky Winter Carnival held at the Reggie Lewis Center, NNHS alum Dave Cahill (Greater Boston Track Club) ran 1:07.35 to finish 6th overall (out of 36 competitors) in the 500m. Another NNHS alum, Thomas Foote (now a sophomore at Amherst College) ran 2:03.37 in the 800m.
Braintree alum and Assumption College freshman Chris O'Day ran 2:42.22 in the 1000m. Brookline alum and BU sophomore Jason Nardella competed in the 55 hurdles, running 8.15 in his heat, and 7.95 in the final to place 7th.
At the Wesleyan Invite (Middletown, CT), Hartford sophomore (NNHS class of '05) David Slifer finished 2nd in the 400m with a time of 52.85. Westfield State freshman Charles Beard (Needham class of '06) ran 4:55.12 for the mile. Smitty will be happy to hear that Springfield senior Alex Kampersal (Natick class of '03) won the shot put with a heave of 15.53m (50-11.50).
December 02, 2006
Moving Indoors
The indoor track season is a week old, but I've been reluctant to move indoors with the rest of the HS running crowd. For one thing, the warm weather has lulled me into a pleasant reverie, in which I think that it's September again. I run in shorts and t-shirt, even late into the November nights, and the last thing I want to think about is breathing the dry, dusty air of the Reggie Lewis center. For another thing, cross-country hasn't really ended. There was the Footlocker Regional meet last Saturday; there is the Nike Team Nationals meet today (you can watch the Webcast at 1:15 p.m. EST), followed by the Footlocker champiopnships Dec. 9th; and, as someone pointed out, the rest of the world (Europe and Kenya, anyway) is just beginning its cross-country season, which won't end until late March.
And finally, with no one to coach but myself, and no important indoor races in my future, I haven't had any reason to worry about preparing anyone for races that take less than 15 minutes to run.
In fact, I thought about writing a long diatribe entitled "The Case Against Indoor Track," explaining why, in my opinion, an intense indoor season is detrimental to the long-term development of distance runners. Maybe I will some day, but not today. Among other things, the first indoor meet of the season at Reggie happens today -- the Northeastern Winter Carnival for collegiate and open athletes. Next Saturday (12/9) there is the Harvard Open, at Harvard's Gordon Track facility. The following week, HS league meets begin, as do the BU development meets, and then the season will be in full swing. Resistance, as they say, is futile.
You might think I have some bleeding-heart liberal objection to running fast, but this is not the case. Actually, I have a hermit's objection to crowding. In fact, my reluctance to move indoors is really only a reluctance to embrace the crowded, harried nature of indoor meets and schedules and races. I see the crowding everywhere: in the tremendous competition for the use of indoor facilities, in the clockwork precision of managing six simultaneous dual meets during Bay State league contests at Reggie, in the calendar, which swells to bursting with opportunities to race, in the races themselves where everyone is packed so tightly in around those sharp turns. Indoor is about crowds.
I know, some people thrive in crowds, and live for the hustle and bustle of it all. I imagine that for them, indoor track is a big party. Well I don't like big parties, I'd rather have a nice quiet conversation with a few close friends. Even at indoor track meets, I prefer to "warm up" out in the cold, by myself or with one or two others, away from the tumult and strife.
Oh well, I'm sure I will get used to it all again. As the season progresses, I'll be as excited as anyone else to see who's running fast, which teams have a shot at the class and state championships, what records will fall. It will be exciting, stimulating. I know that.
But until then, and while I still can, I'll stay outdoors, thank you very much.
And finally, with no one to coach but myself, and no important indoor races in my future, I haven't had any reason to worry about preparing anyone for races that take less than 15 minutes to run.
In fact, I thought about writing a long diatribe entitled "The Case Against Indoor Track," explaining why, in my opinion, an intense indoor season is detrimental to the long-term development of distance runners. Maybe I will some day, but not today. Among other things, the first indoor meet of the season at Reggie happens today -- the Northeastern Winter Carnival for collegiate and open athletes. Next Saturday (12/9) there is the Harvard Open, at Harvard's Gordon Track facility. The following week, HS league meets begin, as do the BU development meets, and then the season will be in full swing. Resistance, as they say, is futile.
You might think I have some bleeding-heart liberal objection to running fast, but this is not the case. Actually, I have a hermit's objection to crowding. In fact, my reluctance to move indoors is really only a reluctance to embrace the crowded, harried nature of indoor meets and schedules and races. I see the crowding everywhere: in the tremendous competition for the use of indoor facilities, in the clockwork precision of managing six simultaneous dual meets during Bay State league contests at Reggie, in the calendar, which swells to bursting with opportunities to race, in the races themselves where everyone is packed so tightly in around those sharp turns. Indoor is about crowds.
I know, some people thrive in crowds, and live for the hustle and bustle of it all. I imagine that for them, indoor track is a big party. Well I don't like big parties, I'd rather have a nice quiet conversation with a few close friends. Even at indoor track meets, I prefer to "warm up" out in the cold, by myself or with one or two others, away from the tumult and strife.
Oh well, I'm sure I will get used to it all again. As the season progresses, I'll be as excited as anyone else to see who's running fast, which teams have a shot at the class and state championships, what records will fall. It will be exciting, stimulating. I know that.
But until then, and while I still can, I'll stay outdoors, thank you very much.
November 27, 2006
At Footlocker Regionals
I drove down to New York City Saturday morning to watch the Footlocker Northeast Regionals at Van Cortland Park in the Bronx.
It was a beautiful day for running and, other than a little mud on the field, the course was in great shape. I was at the course early enough to run the 5K loop a couple of times before the first race of the day. It is a tough course that begins with a fast, flat loop around the field (about 1200 meters) before entering the woods and climbing "Freshman hill." The course then crosses a bridge over a highway at about the 1.2 mile mark and enters the back hills portion of the course. From the bridge, there are three sharp hills before the runners finally reach the high point of the course at about 3K. The next 1000 meters has two very steep descents, with fairly sharp turns. After a brief flat section, the runners cross the bridge again at about 2.4 miles and run down another steep hill to get back to the field. Once they hit the field, it is about 600-700 meters to the finish.
Very few people run 5K PRs on the Van Cortland Park course, but Jess Barton has done it twice. On Saturday, she ran 18:40.3 to set a two-second PR and finish 21st overall, the second-fastest girl from Massachusetts. She started fast, but still found herself in about 25th place going into the back hills. She managed to hold her position and actually move up three spots through the toughest part of the course. She thenoutkicked Triton's Keely Maguire in the home stretch. Although I'm sure Jess would have liked to be closer to the top ten (and a qualifying spot for the finals in San Diego), she ran a fine race -- probably her best effort of the year, and capped off a tremendous high school XC career.
Before the start of the race, I had a few moments to talk to Weymouth's Nicole Pearce and her dad. Nicole has had a great season, but entirely satisfied with her race at the All-State meet in Northfield. She was hoping to run better at the Footlocker meet. I didn't see her after the race, but from her finishing time, I'm sure it wasn't the race she wanted. As I mentioned earlier, it is a tough course, and the
fact that the race goes out so fast makes it very difficult to avoid difficulties in the back hills. Quite a few MA runners ran slower here than they did at Northfield. That should give you an idea of how tough it is to PR on this course -- especially if you have never run it before.
The best performance of the day from a MA girl was from DII All-State champion Emily Jones, who ran an outstanding time of 18:03 to place 9th and qualify for the National finals. As mentioned earlier, Keeley Maguire ran 18:40.9 to finish just behind Jess. Eliza Ives, Jones' teammate at Bromfield High, ran 18:51. Jenny Davidner, a freshman from Oliver Ames WON the freshman race in 18:53. Very impressive!
Here is a list of all the Mass. finishers from the seeded race:
There were also quite a few runners who ran in the other "class" races. For full results, see the following link:
Complete Footlocker Northeast Results
In the boys seeded race, Ryan Collins did it again. Somehow he managed to stay under control through the first mile (it helped that the race was tactical, with the leaders running only 4:56), move himself into the top 15 on the uphills, and then move all the way to 8th coming onto to the field. He lost two places in the last 600 meters, but his time of 15:33 was good enough for tenth place and the coveted ticket to San Diego. He also ran a 5K PR by two seconds!
I almost forgot Cushing Academy's Sintayehu Taye, who finished 2nd for the second year in a row.
Xaverian's Mark Amirault, the EMass Div I champ, ran 15:47 and finished 15th, no doubt hampered by his lack of training due to a knee injury suffered earlier in the year. Emass Div I and All-State runner-up Kevin Gill ran 16:05 to place 36th. Twenty-nine boys broke 16 minutes, making it one of the deepest HS races ever at VCP.
Here are the MA finishers from the boys seeded race:
It was a beautiful day for running and, other than a little mud on the field, the course was in great shape. I was at the course early enough to run the 5K loop a couple of times before the first race of the day. It is a tough course that begins with a fast, flat loop around the field (about 1200 meters) before entering the woods and climbing "Freshman hill." The course then crosses a bridge over a highway at about the 1.2 mile mark and enters the back hills portion of the course. From the bridge, there are three sharp hills before the runners finally reach the high point of the course at about 3K. The next 1000 meters has two very steep descents, with fairly sharp turns. After a brief flat section, the runners cross the bridge again at about 2.4 miles and run down another steep hill to get back to the field. Once they hit the field, it is about 600-700 meters to the finish.
Very few people run 5K PRs on the Van Cortland Park course, but Jess Barton has done it twice. On Saturday, she ran 18:40.3 to set a two-second PR and finish 21st overall, the second-fastest girl from Massachusetts. She started fast, but still found herself in about 25th place going into the back hills. She managed to hold her position and actually move up three spots through the toughest part of the course. She thenoutkicked Triton's Keely Maguire in the home stretch. Although I'm sure Jess would have liked to be closer to the top ten (and a qualifying spot for the finals in San Diego), she ran a fine race -- probably her best effort of the year, and capped off a tremendous high school XC career.
Before the start of the race, I had a few moments to talk to Weymouth's Nicole Pearce and her dad. Nicole has had a great season, but entirely satisfied with her race at the All-State meet in Northfield. She was hoping to run better at the Footlocker meet. I didn't see her after the race, but from her finishing time, I'm sure it wasn't the race she wanted. As I mentioned earlier, it is a tough course, and the
fact that the race goes out so fast makes it very difficult to avoid difficulties in the back hills. Quite a few MA runners ran slower here than they did at Northfield. That should give you an idea of how tough it is to PR on this course -- especially if you have never run it before.
The best performance of the day from a MA girl was from DII All-State champion Emily Jones, who ran an outstanding time of 18:03 to place 9th and qualify for the National finals. As mentioned earlier, Keeley Maguire ran 18:40.9 to finish just behind Jess. Eliza Ives, Jones' teammate at Bromfield High, ran 18:51. Jenny Davidner, a freshman from Oliver Ames WON the freshman race in 18:53. Very impressive!
Here is a list of all the Mass. finishers from the seeded race:
9 Jones, Emily 10 Harvard MA 18:03.9
21 Barton, Jessica 12 NEWTON MA 18:40.3
22 Maguire, Keely 11 GEORGETOWN MA 18:40.9
34 Ivs, Eliza 12 HARVARD MA 18:51.6
45 Lanois, Emily 10 HAMILTON MA 19:03.2
68 MacKay, Rebekah 12 WHITINSVILLE MA 19:21.2
84 Jamieson, Dana 11 BOSTON MA 19:36.5
85 Downing, Jennifer 11 Stow MA 19:36.9
92 Thomas, Keara 12 HAVERHILL MA 19:43.5
122 Stocker, Lauren 12 WESTFIELD MA 20:12.8
127 Kerr, Grace 12 SOUTH HAMILTON MA 20:15.8
139 Moniz, Kellyann 12 SOUTH HAMILTON MA 20:40.6
146 Ferrarini, Maura 11 Springfield MA 20:46.4
151 Lewis, Brett 10 Scituate MA 20:52.0
152 Pearce, Nicole 12 SOUTH WEYMOUTH MA 20:55.2
156 Horgan, Erin 11 Southboro MA 21:02.6
158 Wadlow, Lauryn 12 CARVER MA 21:21.3
163 Kasala Hallinan, Caitlin 12 WORCESTER MA 21:49.2
173 Doyle, Sarah 12 WORCESTER MA 23:01.5
There were also quite a few runners who ran in the other "class" races. For full results, see the following link:
Complete Footlocker Northeast Results
In the boys seeded race, Ryan Collins did it again. Somehow he managed to stay under control through the first mile (it helped that the race was tactical, with the leaders running only 4:56), move himself into the top 15 on the uphills, and then move all the way to 8th coming onto to the field. He lost two places in the last 600 meters, but his time of 15:33 was good enough for tenth place and the coveted ticket to San Diego. He also ran a 5K PR by two seconds!
I almost forgot Cushing Academy's Sintayehu Taye, who finished 2nd for the second year in a row.
Xaverian's Mark Amirault, the EMass Div I champ, ran 15:47 and finished 15th, no doubt hampered by his lack of training due to a knee injury suffered earlier in the year. Emass Div I and All-State runner-up Kevin Gill ran 16:05 to place 36th. Twenty-nine boys broke 16 minutes, making it one of the deepest HS races ever at VCP.
Here are the MA finishers from the boys seeded race:
2 Taye, Sintayehu 11 Ashburnham MA 15:18.5
10 Collins, Ryan 12 Mansfield MA 15:33.2
15 Amirault, Mark 12 WALPOLE MA 15:47.0
36 Gill, Kevin 12 BROCKTON MA 16:05.7
45 Pacione, Gabe 11 WENHAM MA 16:13.7
63 Hausherr, David 11 TOWNSEND MA 16:27.0
67 Johnson, Kevin 12 Ludlow MA 16:29.1
81 Galebach, Phil 10 MEDFORD MA 16:36.0
100 McDonald, Eric 11 Groveland MA 16:45.3
102 Gordon, Zach 12 Pittsfield MA 16:47.1
112 Wang, Daniel 12 Haverhill MA 16:53.2
116 Duncan, Sean 12 Gardner MA 16:55.0
118 Sylvestre, Zachary 11 GARDNER MA 16:55.9
130 Fuller, Brian 12 Ludlow MA 17:02.5
135 Johnson, David 12 Ludlow MA 17:03.9
143 Deascentis, John 12 FALL RIVER MA 17:09.2
152 Funch, Christopher 12 GROTON MA 17:11.4
157 Brunell, Matthew 11 OAKHAM MA 17:12.8
162 Vomero, Peter 12 Ludlow MA 17:14.6
173 Spano, Matthew 12 GARDNER MA 17:22.1
174 Fogel, Nicholas 11 WILLIAMSTOWN MA 17:22.7
181 Dubeau Iii, James 11 BROCKTON MA 17:28.5
183 Lee, Colin 11 SOUTH HADLEY MA 17:29.8
188 Ferro, Steven 12 Cheshire MA 17:32.7
189 Hegarty, Matthew 12 Springfield MA 17:34.0
193 Ogilvie, Colin 11 HOPEDALE MA 17:38.7
202 Jermain, Colin 12 ESSEX MA 17:44.9
211 Howards, Casey 11 Sharon MA 17:52.6
218 Shoemaker, Jacob 11 Sudbury MA 17:59.3
219 Rice, Joshua 11 SOUTH HAMILTON MA 18:01.6
233 Haidu, Matt 12 HANOVER MA 18:30.0
241 Lajoie, Stephen 11 GARDNER MA 18:48.9
253 Avitabile, John 11 HANOVER MA 20:22.8
November 23, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone
I hope everyone of my readers enjoys a happy thanksgiving with family or friends.
I will be out of town for several days, and don't expect to post before Sunday, Nov 26.
November 22, 2006
Who's Running at Footlocker Northeast Regionals?
For a few individuals, the XC season lasts one more week, with the running of the Footlocker Northeast Regional Meet at Van Cortland Park on Saturday, Nov. 25th.
The meet is "out-of-season," which means that it isn't an official Massachusetts team competition. Indeed, Mass. runners are supposed to enter as individuals, and are not supposed to wear team uniforms.
The highlights are the two seeded races, which serve as qualifiers for the Footlocker National Championships to be held Dec. 9 in San Diego. The top ten boys and top ten girls from the seeded races qualify. The Northeast Region includes all of New England plus New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. As you can imagine, it is very, very competitive. There are also races for freshmen, sophomore, juniors, and seniors.
So who from Massachusetts is running?
From the Bay State League, league champion Robert Gibson is entered (not sure if he will run), as is Jess Barton. Jess finished a very impressive 27th last year in what was probably her best race of the season. From Weymouth, Nicole Pearce is entered, but Kristen Mahoney is not. I haven't been able to find any other Bay Staters among the competitors, although there could be others.
List of Competitors
Statewide, other top boys include Mark Amirault, Kevin Gill, and newly-crowned state champ Ryan Collins. Carlos Montrond is NOT running, but Div II champ Gabe Pacione and runner-up Jeff Hill are.
Other than Barton and Pearce, Mass. girls include Div champ Emily Jones, runner-up Keely Maguire, and a host of Lincoln-Sudbury girls. Dana Jamieson is NOT entered, however, although many of her teammates are. It also looks like most of the Newton South girls varsity is running.
If you are thinking of driving down to New York to watch the race, you can find info at the meet's web site:
Footlocker Homepage
November 21, 2006
Motorists: Think before you ask...
It was about 7:15 --- later than I like to run, and it was very dark. I had just crossed Walnut Street, and was heading into Newtonville at a pretty good clip. I had already run pretty hard for six miles and I was looking forward to getting home and having dinner. Stopping was the last thing on my mind.
That's when the woman stepped out of the taxi and said "Excuse me!" and as I slowed, I knew she wanted directions. "Do you know where Highland Street is?" she asked, and I stopped there on the sidewalk and tried to think...
..."Yes," I said, "sure," but I wasn't thinking very clearly. I started to give directions, "Go to the next light, turn right on Otis, then right again..." Wait a minute, is that right? For a moment, I couldn't remember whether there was a light at the corner of Otis and Lowell. "...turn right on Lowell..." I'd better start again. "Turn right at the lights onto Otis, then right at the next set of lights onto Lowell, then take your next Left. That's Highland Street." She thanked me and got back into her car.
I resumed my run.
About two minutes later, I realized I had given her directions to Highland Avenue. Amazing, considering that my father grew up on Highland Avenue, and that I do all my hill workouts on Highland Street. I would never, ever confuse the two... unless of course someone asked me for directions at the end of a run, when the amount of oxygen coursing through my brain was insufficient for even rudimentary navigation.
Motorists, please! Remember that the runner you ask for directions is in a severaly impaired mental state. Never trust what they say to you. They might look harmless, jogging through the streets without a care in the world, but they are fonts of inaccurate information. Next time, think twice before you decide to seek their counsel.
That's when the woman stepped out of the taxi and said "Excuse me!" and as I slowed, I knew she wanted directions. "Do you know where Highland Street is?" she asked, and I stopped there on the sidewalk and tried to think...
..."Yes," I said, "sure," but I wasn't thinking very clearly. I started to give directions, "Go to the next light, turn right on Otis, then right again..." Wait a minute, is that right? For a moment, I couldn't remember whether there was a light at the corner of Otis and Lowell. "...turn right on Lowell..." I'd better start again. "Turn right at the lights onto Otis, then right at the next set of lights onto Lowell, then take your next Left. That's Highland Street." She thanked me and got back into her car.
I resumed my run.
About two minutes later, I realized I had given her directions to Highland Avenue. Amazing, considering that my father grew up on Highland Avenue, and that I do all my hill workouts on Highland Street. I would never, ever confuse the two... unless of course someone asked me for directions at the end of a run, when the amount of oxygen coursing through my brain was insufficient for even rudimentary navigation.
Motorists, please! Remember that the runner you ask for directions is in a severaly impaired mental state. Never trust what they say to you. They might look harmless, jogging through the streets without a care in the world, but they are fonts of inaccurate information. Next time, think twice before you decide to seek their counsel.
November 20, 2006
Reflections on the State Meet
Before finally closing the book on the 2006 cross-country season, here are a few last thoughts about Saturday's State Meet and other races we were privileged to see this year.
It was wonderful to see Jess manage the Northfield course so well. I think she was able to apply her effort evenly over the entire course. That is, she didn't win by running a very fast opening mile and then hanging on, nor did she run too easily at the beginning and then demolish everyone with a powerful surge. She ran a strong, but controlled first mile, pursued the leader aggressively through the downhill second mile, and then continued to apply pressure in the last mile, pulling away decisively. It was a beautifully run race, in the biggest race of the year. Congratulations to the Division I Girls Runner of the Year! And good luck to Jess next Saturday at the Footlocker Northeast Regional!!
Natick's Becca White ran another strong race to place 5th overall in 19:51. Her season has been astounding for the number of quality races she has run. Remember she started the season by running a course record at Brookline, won the Franklin Park Invitational at the end of September, finished third to Barton and Jamieson at the Bay State Invite Oct. 14, was second to Barton in the Bay State league meet, won the Div II Emass meet, and then improved her time at Northfield to finish as the top sophomore in Div I. Her durability and mental toughness have been quite amazing. Natick's #2 runner Anya Price seemed to track her teammate all year, and had a very good run at the State meet to finish 23rd overall (20:32, 10 seconds faster than she ran here in October). Both girls return next year, and that team is going to be very, very good.
The Weymouth girls ran quite well to a 7th-place finish, ahead of Newton South and Chelmsford. Kriten Mahoney ran especially well, finishing 10th overall in 20:05. It was the final XC race for the stalwart Nicole Pearce and Sam Sachetti. I will miss seeing Pearce attacking races right from the start, but with two good sophomores (Connolly and McCarthey) returning, Weymouth will also be strong next year.
Another individual from the Bay State was Needham junior Emily Lipman, who was one second behind Pearce, finishing 33rd in 20:44.
About Lincoln-Sudbury -- some people might think they ran poorly at Northfield, but this is wrong. In fact, I was wrong about them because I felt sure they were over-raced and would now do well in their second race at the mountain. They proved me wrong; all but one of their runners improved from the Bay State meet. Dana Jamieson recovered nicely from a sub-par effort at EMass to run 19:32 in the State meet and take 3rd. Until Colleen Weatherbee returned to the Dennis-Yarmouth team, L-S was the best team in the state, and they proved that again on Saturday. One startling footnote is that L-S replaced three of the runners who ran for their varsity on Oct. 14, and STILL improved their average time from 20:45 in October to 20:28 in November. It's shocking to think how well their JV team could have done in this meet.
In the Div II girls race, Bromfield won, as expected, and the times at the front were remarkable, with five girls running under the Jess's winning time from Div I. Wellesley seemed to run better than they did at EMass (it helped to have Richardson running closer to her old self), but the results show only six finishers for them. I wonder if one of their runners dropped out, or whether they only ran with six. Top finisher from the Bay State league was Walpole's Olivia Perry (22nd, in 20:27).
The Boys Div I race was really terrific to watch. Ryan Collins made me look smart by winning the boys race, dropping Mark Amirault on the downhill second mile, and breaking away from Kevin Gill with 800m to go. Neither I nor anyone else predicted he would break Victor Gras' course record, though.
Brockton looked like they had waited all year to run this one race, and the performances of Carlos Montrond (4th), Geovanni Timberlake (21st), and James DuBeau (33rd) more than made up for a gap to their fifth man. Their total of 100 points was good enough to beat two very, very good teams in Brookline and St. John's Shrewsbury.
Anyone who thinks Brookline didn't run well wasn't paying attention. As a team, Brookline actually ran an outstanding race, improving quite significantly from their Bay State-winning performance in October. Here's how their top five improved in a month:
True, Robert and Jerzy didn't have great races, but they weren't bad races. And the performances of Burnstein, Lehane, and Mercurio were outstanding. (Has anyone else noticed how quickly Mercurio has ascended to elite status?). Brookline finished third because Brockton ran out of their minds. Here is how Brockton's top four ran in Oct. and Nov. (their #5 on Saturday didn't run at Bay State):
Congratulations are due to Brookline on an outstanding season, and a very gutsy performance in the State meet.
In Div II, Wellesley followed up on their EMass win with a solid performance to finish third in the team standings at Northfield. Tom Mayell ran 17:26 to lead the team, and the gap from Mayell to Andrew Wagner was only 34 seconds.
All-in-all, a great day of racing.
It was wonderful to see Jess manage the Northfield course so well. I think she was able to apply her effort evenly over the entire course. That is, she didn't win by running a very fast opening mile and then hanging on, nor did she run too easily at the beginning and then demolish everyone with a powerful surge. She ran a strong, but controlled first mile, pursued the leader aggressively through the downhill second mile, and then continued to apply pressure in the last mile, pulling away decisively. It was a beautifully run race, in the biggest race of the year. Congratulations to the Division I Girls Runner of the Year! And good luck to Jess next Saturday at the Footlocker Northeast Regional!!
Natick's Becca White ran another strong race to place 5th overall in 19:51. Her season has been astounding for the number of quality races she has run. Remember she started the season by running a course record at Brookline, won the Franklin Park Invitational at the end of September, finished third to Barton and Jamieson at the Bay State Invite Oct. 14, was second to Barton in the Bay State league meet, won the Div II Emass meet, and then improved her time at Northfield to finish as the top sophomore in Div I. Her durability and mental toughness have been quite amazing. Natick's #2 runner Anya Price seemed to track her teammate all year, and had a very good run at the State meet to finish 23rd overall (20:32, 10 seconds faster than she ran here in October). Both girls return next year, and that team is going to be very, very good.
The Weymouth girls ran quite well to a 7th-place finish, ahead of Newton South and Chelmsford. Kriten Mahoney ran especially well, finishing 10th overall in 20:05. It was the final XC race for the stalwart Nicole Pearce and Sam Sachetti. I will miss seeing Pearce attacking races right from the start, but with two good sophomores (Connolly and McCarthey) returning, Weymouth will also be strong next year.
Another individual from the Bay State was Needham junior Emily Lipman, who was one second behind Pearce, finishing 33rd in 20:44.
About Lincoln-Sudbury -- some people might think they ran poorly at Northfield, but this is wrong. In fact, I was wrong about them because I felt sure they were over-raced and would now do well in their second race at the mountain. They proved me wrong; all but one of their runners improved from the Bay State meet. Dana Jamieson recovered nicely from a sub-par effort at EMass to run 19:32 in the State meet and take 3rd. Until Colleen Weatherbee returned to the Dennis-Yarmouth team, L-S was the best team in the state, and they proved that again on Saturday. One startling footnote is that L-S replaced three of the runners who ran for their varsity on Oct. 14, and STILL improved their average time from 20:45 in October to 20:28 in November. It's shocking to think how well their JV team could have done in this meet.
In the Div II girls race, Bromfield won, as expected, and the times at the front were remarkable, with five girls running under the Jess's winning time from Div I. Wellesley seemed to run better than they did at EMass (it helped to have Richardson running closer to her old self), but the results show only six finishers for them. I wonder if one of their runners dropped out, or whether they only ran with six. Top finisher from the Bay State league was Walpole's Olivia Perry (22nd, in 20:27).
The Boys Div I race was really terrific to watch. Ryan Collins made me look smart by winning the boys race, dropping Mark Amirault on the downhill second mile, and breaking away from Kevin Gill with 800m to go. Neither I nor anyone else predicted he would break Victor Gras' course record, though.
Brockton looked like they had waited all year to run this one race, and the performances of Carlos Montrond (4th), Geovanni Timberlake (21st), and James DuBeau (33rd) more than made up for a gap to their fifth man. Their total of 100 points was good enough to beat two very, very good teams in Brookline and St. John's Shrewsbury.
Anyone who thinks Brookline didn't run well wasn't paying attention. As a team, Brookline actually ran an outstanding race, improving quite significantly from their Bay State-winning performance in October. Here's how their top five improved in a month:
Oct 14 Nov 18
----- -----
Gibson 16:22 16:26
Burnstein 17:13 16:44
Lehane 17:35 16:52
Mercurio 17:47 17:07
Eisenberg-Guyot 17:36 17:45
--------------- ----- -----
Avg. 17:18 16:58
True, Robert and Jerzy didn't have great races, but they weren't bad races. And the performances of Burnstein, Lehane, and Mercurio were outstanding. (Has anyone else noticed how quickly Mercurio has ascended to elite status?). Brookline finished third because Brockton ran out of their minds. Here is how Brockton's top four ran in Oct. and Nov. (their #5 on Saturday didn't run at Bay State):
Oct 14 Nov 18
----- -----
Gill 16:20 15:59
Montrond 17:00 16:19
Timberlake 17:29 16:50
Dubeau 17:23 17:02
----- -----
Avg. 17:03 16:32
Congratulations are due to Brookline on an outstanding season, and a very gutsy performance in the State meet.
In Div II, Wellesley followed up on their EMass win with a solid performance to finish third in the team standings at Northfield. Tom Mayell ran 17:26 to lead the team, and the gap from Mayell to Andrew Wagner was only 34 seconds.
All-in-all, a great day of racing.
November 18, 2006
Barton Wins State Championship!
Link to Full Results
At the top of the hill, Jess Barton trailed Boston Latin's Caroline O'Loughlin by 8-10 seconds. There was mud on the course and the footing didn't look great. Would Jess be able to make up that gap on a soft course?
At 3K, she still trailed by six seconds as the two runners raced well ahead of Lincoln-Sudbury's Dana Jamieson. That's when Jess showed she had saved something for the final mile, closing the gap with shocking efficiency and catching O'Loughlin as the two crossed the road with about 1200 meters to go. In another 600 meters, Jess had broken away and was on her way to her second State XC Championship. Her time of 19:14 was 35 second faster than she had run winning the Bay State Invitational over a month ago.
In the Girls Div I team race, Dennis Yarmouth won the championship with 56 points. Lincoln-Sudbury finished second with 79.
In the Boys Div I race, Mansfield's Ryan Collins set a punishing pace on the uphills and positively flew on the downhills to shed first Xaverian's Mark Amirault (at 1.5 miles), and then Brockton's Kevin Gill (with 600 to go). His time of 15:49 is believed to be a course record, breaking Victor Gras' time of 15:52.4 from 2003.
In the team race, Brockton placed four in the top 35 and survived a gap to their 5th to take their second straight Div I state championship. In doing so, they repeated the St. John's Prep 's trick of finishing out of the top three in EMass and then recovering to win at Northfield. The team victory eased the pain for Gill, who finished in the runner-up position once again.
In Div II girls, sophomore Emily Jones led Bromfield to the championship with a tremendous time of 18:39. Triton's Keely Maguire was 2nd in 18:47. Hamilton-Wenham finished second to Bromfield in the team race.
In Div II boys, Hamilton-Wenham's Gabe Pacione won the individual title (16:29), and Swampscott overcame defending champ Hopedale to win the team title.
At the top of the hill, Jess Barton trailed Boston Latin's Caroline O'Loughlin by 8-10 seconds. There was mud on the course and the footing didn't look great. Would Jess be able to make up that gap on a soft course?
At 3K, she still trailed by six seconds as the two runners raced well ahead of Lincoln-Sudbury's Dana Jamieson. That's when Jess showed she had saved something for the final mile, closing the gap with shocking efficiency and catching O'Loughlin as the two crossed the road with about 1200 meters to go. In another 600 meters, Jess had broken away and was on her way to her second State XC Championship. Her time of 19:14 was 35 second faster than she had run winning the Bay State Invitational over a month ago.
In the Girls Div I team race, Dennis Yarmouth won the championship with 56 points. Lincoln-Sudbury finished second with 79.
In the Boys Div I race, Mansfield's Ryan Collins set a punishing pace on the uphills and positively flew on the downhills to shed first Xaverian's Mark Amirault (at 1.5 miles), and then Brockton's Kevin Gill (with 600 to go). His time of 15:49 is believed to be a course record, breaking Victor Gras' time of 15:52.4 from 2003.
In the team race, Brockton placed four in the top 35 and survived a gap to their 5th to take their second straight Div I state championship. In doing so, they repeated the St. John's Prep 's trick of finishing out of the top three in EMass and then recovering to win at Northfield. The team victory eased the pain for Gill, who finished in the runner-up position once again.
In Div II girls, sophomore Emily Jones led Bromfield to the championship with a tremendous time of 18:39. Triton's Keely Maguire was 2nd in 18:47. Hamilton-Wenham finished second to Bromfield in the team race.
In Div II boys, Hamilton-Wenham's Gabe Pacione won the individual title (16:29), and Swampscott overcame defending champ Hopedale to win the team title.
November 17, 2006
70 Degrees in mid-November
If you didn't go running yesterday, I feel sorry for you.
I ran in the evening with a friend along the Esplanade in Boston, and the paths were crowded with runners in t-shirts. At first the wind was in our faces, then it crossed our route, then after we ran under the BU bridge it was behind us and we flew "like leaves before the wild hurricane."
Ultimately, weather like this makes me nervous. A deep Puritan aversion to having it too easy makes me suspicious of unseasonably mild weather. I can't help but wonder what Winter has in store for us.
But for a few days, it has been just delightful weather for running. For a few days, anyway, the confines of 200m tracks seem far, far away.
I ran in the evening with a friend along the Esplanade in Boston, and the paths were crowded with runners in t-shirts. At first the wind was in our faces, then it crossed our route, then after we ran under the BU bridge it was behind us and we flew "like leaves before the wild hurricane."
Ultimately, weather like this makes me nervous. A deep Puritan aversion to having it too easy makes me suspicious of unseasonably mild weather. I can't help but wonder what Winter has in store for us.
But for a few days, it has been just delightful weather for running. For a few days, anyway, the confines of 200m tracks seem far, far away.
November 16, 2006
Will Ryan Collins Win the State Championship?
Saturday's State XC championship at Northfield has plenty of intriguing stories and sub-plots. To name a few:
In Division II girls, Emily Jones will win by plenty. Any other result would be a huge shock.
In Div II boys, Jeff Hill of Blackstone-Millville is the favorite, with Marian's Pat McAllister and Hamilton-Wenham's Gabe Pacione likely to be strong challengers.
And then there is Div I. The individual race for the Div I title has been the subject of intense debate since the beginning of the season, with many believing that it would be a two-man race between defending XC champ and 2005 State 2-Mile champ Mark Amirault (Xaverian), and defending runner-up and 2005 State 1-mile champ Kevin Gill (Brockton). At EMass, it was Gill leading Amirault until about 200m to go, when Amirault (15:47) went to another gear and put six seconds on his rival. It was a dominating performance, made even more impressive because Amirault has had only limited training in the last month due to a knee injury.
But more impressive still, in EMass Div II Mansfield's Ryan Collins outdid both Gill and Amirault, running alone after the halfway mark to a PR 15:36 -- the fastest HS time at Franklin Park this year. Can Collins beat Amirault at Northfield? For that matter, can Gill beat them both? I have not forgotten 2003, when Chris Barnicle beat Keith Gill at EMass with a big kick and then faltered at Northfield, losing to the elder Gill by a second.
And then again, there is Pittsfield's Zack Gordon who is very capable of running with the big boys.
I like Collins for the win. I think he is just an unbelievably tough and smart runner who won't wait around for it to come down to a final kick. I think he will be in the lead after a mile, and won't relinquish it. If Amirault can stay with Collins to the end, that's a truly amazing performance from a guy who hasn't been able to prepare the way he would like. And if Gill can beat them both, it will be a testament to his determination to never settle for second behind Amirault or anyone else.
Some predictions for Div I boys race:
Winning time: 16:05
# of runners under 17 minutes: 15
Winning team score: 108
Winning team: Brookline (if Gibson runs) or Ludlow (if Gibson is out)
- Brookline's quest for the Div I team championship - will Robert Gibson (who, according to Brookline's coach, suffered a concussion earlier this week) be able to run? Will the team be able to win without him?
- Will Brockton find a 5th man at the last moment and pull off an upset in Div I?
- What about Ludlow? At one point they were ranked #1 in the State, and were running very well in September. What shape are they in now?
- What about St. John's Shrewsbury, which dominated the CMass meet?
- In girls Div I, Lincoln-Sudbury looked unbeatable earlier this season, but a sub-par performance (although good enough to win) at EMass has raised questions about whether they are vulnerable at Northfield.
- Is Dennis-Yarmouth the team to beat? After winning the Amherst Invitational, the State's best middle distance runner Colleen Wetherbee had surgery for Compartment Syndrome. She returned for the EMass meet and finished 9th in Div II after only a week of running. She'll be twice as prepared for Northfield, and D-Y looks very, very dangerous.
- What about Amherst? They have been improving steadily throughout the year, and won the WMass meet easily. They also are very familiar with the Northfield course and usually run very well at the State meet.
- In Div II boys, there doesn't seem to be an overwhleming favorite, although Hopedale looked very good in winning CMass and are certainly a threat to defend their 2005 title. Wellesley and Swampscott will be up there, and WMass champs Mt. Greylock should also contend.
- In Div II girls, Bromfield is the clear favorite, although Hamilton-Wenham ran very well at EMass and might get close to the Killer "B's".
In Division II girls, Emily Jones will win by plenty. Any other result would be a huge shock.
In Div II boys, Jeff Hill of Blackstone-Millville is the favorite, with Marian's Pat McAllister and Hamilton-Wenham's Gabe Pacione likely to be strong challengers.
And then there is Div I. The individual race for the Div I title has been the subject of intense debate since the beginning of the season, with many believing that it would be a two-man race between defending XC champ and 2005 State 2-Mile champ Mark Amirault (Xaverian), and defending runner-up and 2005 State 1-mile champ Kevin Gill (Brockton). At EMass, it was Gill leading Amirault until about 200m to go, when Amirault (15:47) went to another gear and put six seconds on his rival. It was a dominating performance, made even more impressive because Amirault has had only limited training in the last month due to a knee injury.
But more impressive still, in EMass Div II Mansfield's Ryan Collins outdid both Gill and Amirault, running alone after the halfway mark to a PR 15:36 -- the fastest HS time at Franklin Park this year. Can Collins beat Amirault at Northfield? For that matter, can Gill beat them both? I have not forgotten 2003, when Chris Barnicle beat Keith Gill at EMass with a big kick and then faltered at Northfield, losing to the elder Gill by a second.
And then again, there is Pittsfield's Zack Gordon who is very capable of running with the big boys.
I like Collins for the win. I think he is just an unbelievably tough and smart runner who won't wait around for it to come down to a final kick. I think he will be in the lead after a mile, and won't relinquish it. If Amirault can stay with Collins to the end, that's a truly amazing performance from a guy who hasn't been able to prepare the way he would like. And if Gill can beat them both, it will be a testament to his determination to never settle for second behind Amirault or anyone else.
Some predictions for Div I boys race:
Winning time: 16:05
# of runners under 17 minutes: 15
Winning team score: 108
Winning team: Brookline (if Gibson runs) or Ludlow (if Gibson is out)
November 14, 2006
How to Run Northfield
Dear Weymouth (girls) and Wellesley (boys and girls),
(I'm not addressing the Brookline Boys since they've already run and WON at Northfield, so they know all about how its done...)
Congratulations on having your teams qualify for the state meet! For Weymouth, I know it is something you have been working towards for several years, and it's a great accomplishment to have done it. But, if you don't mind my saying so, don't be satisfied to be there. It's a wide-open race on a unique course and anything can happen. Be ready.
No doubt you will hear a lot about the Northfield course this week. You will hear that it is 30-40 seconds slower than Franklin Park. You will hear that it favors this kind of runner or that kind of runner. You will hear that it beats you up. Basically, you will hear a lot of scary stories.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about Northfield. I have raced the course myself when it was a two-loop 10K course used for the NE XC Championship. I have trained there, and I have also watched our teams race there. I admit that for a long time, I was at a loss to offer any useful advice about how to run the course. I *liked* it, and did well there, but I had a hard time explaining why. As you know it climbs quite a bit in the first 1000 meters. I wasn't sure whether our runners should be aggressive at the start or conservative. Peter Martin, who has a lot more experience than me, has seen teams win the state championship using completely opposite tactics on the first hill.
This year it finally dawned on me that there really is no secret to racing at Northfield. Or if there is a secret, it is to run with confidence in your usual plan. If you tend to go out aggressively, go out aggressively. If you are more conservative at the start but love to pick people off in the latter stages of the race, then do that. In other words, don't go away from what has worked for you in the past. If you are fit, if you have run a lot of miles over the summer, you'll be just fine.
But... be prepared to feel fatigue a little earlier in the race. Because the big hill comes so early, you have to be managing your emotions early. Remember that no one will be feeling particularly good at the mile mark, so don't worry if you aren't feeling wonderful and ignore the mile time. This is not a race to worry about splits.
Remember that this course has a way of encouraging upsets. Having a good attitude and a good team can go a long way. That attitude starts with refusing to be intimidated by the meet, by the competition, and by the course. Run loose and have fun.
(I'm not addressing the Brookline Boys since they've already run and WON at Northfield, so they know all about how its done...)
Congratulations on having your teams qualify for the state meet! For Weymouth, I know it is something you have been working towards for several years, and it's a great accomplishment to have done it. But, if you don't mind my saying so, don't be satisfied to be there. It's a wide-open race on a unique course and anything can happen. Be ready.
No doubt you will hear a lot about the Northfield course this week. You will hear that it is 30-40 seconds slower than Franklin Park. You will hear that it favors this kind of runner or that kind of runner. You will hear that it beats you up. Basically, you will hear a lot of scary stories.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about Northfield. I have raced the course myself when it was a two-loop 10K course used for the NE XC Championship. I have trained there, and I have also watched our teams race there. I admit that for a long time, I was at a loss to offer any useful advice about how to run the course. I *liked* it, and did well there, but I had a hard time explaining why. As you know it climbs quite a bit in the first 1000 meters. I wasn't sure whether our runners should be aggressive at the start or conservative. Peter Martin, who has a lot more experience than me, has seen teams win the state championship using completely opposite tactics on the first hill.
This year it finally dawned on me that there really is no secret to racing at Northfield. Or if there is a secret, it is to run with confidence in your usual plan. If you tend to go out aggressively, go out aggressively. If you are more conservative at the start but love to pick people off in the latter stages of the race, then do that. In other words, don't go away from what has worked for you in the past. If you are fit, if you have run a lot of miles over the summer, you'll be just fine.
But... be prepared to feel fatigue a little earlier in the race. Because the big hill comes so early, you have to be managing your emotions early. Remember that no one will be feeling particularly good at the mile mark, so don't worry if you aren't feeling wonderful and ignore the mile time. This is not a race to worry about splits.
Remember that this course has a way of encouraging upsets. Having a good attitude and a good team can go a long way. That attitude starts with refusing to be intimidated by the meet, by the competition, and by the course. Run loose and have fun.
November 11, 2006
EMass Championship Results...
Full Results on CoolRunning
Congratulations to the Brookline boys (winners of D1) and Wellesley boys (winners of D3)! Robert Gibson 3rd, Mike Burnstein 6th. Very impressive!
In Girls D1, the Newton North girls had a rough day and finished 6th, one spot out of qualifying. It is disappointing to see such a good team left out of the State Meet, but it goes to show how strong the other five teams are. Congratulations to Jess Barton, who defended her D1 title, winning in 18:49.
Huge congratulations to the Weymouth girls who finished 5th to qaulify for the State Meet for the first time!! The blanket finish of teams 2-5 was astounding, and Weymouth was only about 10 points from second place! Nicole Pearce (5th) and Kristen Mahoney (7th) ran superbly and were both in the top ten.
Also, congratulations to the Wellesley girls, who survived a rough day for Faith Richardson to place fifth and qualify in Division III.
Newton North girls:
Newton North boys:
Congratulations to the Brookline boys (winners of D1) and Wellesley boys (winners of D3)! Robert Gibson 3rd, Mike Burnstein 6th. Very impressive!
In Girls D1, the Newton North girls had a rough day and finished 6th, one spot out of qualifying. It is disappointing to see such a good team left out of the State Meet, but it goes to show how strong the other five teams are. Congratulations to Jess Barton, who defended her D1 title, winning in 18:49.
Huge congratulations to the Weymouth girls who finished 5th to qaulify for the State Meet for the first time!! The blanket finish of teams 2-5 was astounding, and Weymouth was only about 10 points from second place! Nicole Pearce (5th) and Kristen Mahoney (7th) ran superbly and were both in the top ten.
Also, congratulations to the Wellesley girls, who survived a rough day for Faith Richardson to place fifth and qualify in Division III.
Newton North girls:
1 Jessica Barton 18:49
28. Haeligh Smith 20:23
30. Nora Barnicle 20:24
42. Carolyn Ranti 20:40
55. Franca Godenzi 21:16
72. Adina Hemley-Bronstein 22:01
135. Tess Johnson 23:35
6th of 26 teams
Newton North boys:
58 Seb Putzeys 17:35
84 Peter Sun 17:55
89 Dan Hamilton 17:57
112 Jared Foreman 18:18
146 Alex Ribner 18:50
156 Charles Krasnow 19:03
17th of 34 teams
NNHS Alumni Results - 11/11/06
Saturday was the day for NCAA Div I and Div III Regional meets (qualifiers for the National Championships). The following NNHS Alumni were in action:
David Polgar ran 34:49 to place 119th (fifth man for BU) at the Div I Northeast Regional at Van Cortland Park.
Div I Northeast Regional Men's 10K Results
Liz Gleason ran 22:26 for 6K to finish 13th overall (2nd for Williams) at the Div III New England regional. Williams finished third, and has received an at-large invitation to the championship meet.
Link to Women's 6K Results
At the same meet, Doug Brecher ran 27:21 to finish 69th (3rd for Bates College) in the Men's 8K. After a slow start this season, Brecher steadily improved to move up to the 3rd man on his team for the first time.
Link to Men's 8K Results
Dan Chebot finished 105th (6th for Univ. o f Rochester) in 28:13 at the Div III Atlantic Regional hosted by SUNY Geneseo.
Link to Men's 8K Results
David Polgar ran 34:49 to place 119th (fifth man for BU) at the Div I Northeast Regional at Van Cortland Park.
Div I Northeast Regional Men's 10K Results
Liz Gleason ran 22:26 for 6K to finish 13th overall (2nd for Williams) at the Div III New England regional. Williams finished third, and has received an at-large invitation to the championship meet.
Link to Women's 6K Results
At the same meet, Doug Brecher ran 27:21 to finish 69th (3rd for Bates College) in the Men's 8K. After a slow start this season, Brecher steadily improved to move up to the 3rd man on his team for the first time.
Link to Men's 8K Results
Dan Chebot finished 105th (6th for Univ. o f Rochester) in 28:13 at the Div III Atlantic Regional hosted by SUNY Geneseo.
Link to Men's 8K Results
November 10, 2006
EMass Schedule of Events
Sat., Nov 11, 2006 at Franklin Park:
9:30 a.m. Girls’ Division II
9:55 a.m. Girls’ Division III
10:15 a.m. Boys’ Division II
10:40 a.m. Boys’ Division III
11:00 a.m. Girls’ Division IV
11:25 a.m. Girls’ Division I
11:45 a.m. Boys’ Division IV
12:10 p.m. Boys’ Division I
9:30 a.m. Girls’ Division II
9:55 a.m. Girls’ Division III
10:15 a.m. Boys’ Division II
10:40 a.m. Boys’ Division III
11:00 a.m. Girls’ Division IV
11:25 a.m. Girls’ Division I
11:45 a.m. Boys’ Division IV
12:10 p.m. Boys’ Division I
EMass Championships Preview - Boys
So you want your Div I team to finish in the top five at EMass and qualify for the All-State meet? Here are two numbers to remember: 200 and 70.
Over the past eight years, at least, no team scoring under 200 points has failed to qualify for All-States. Teams have scored 202 points and failed to make it, and have scored as high as 268 and still qualified, but the fact remains: if a team has been under 200, it has made the cut.
As for the number 70, it turns out that 70 is a similar (although not as ironclad) threshold for the position of a team's 5th runner. Over the last eight years, 90% of the teams whose fifth runner finished 70th or better have qualified for the state meet. Only four teams in eight years have had a fifth man finish worse than 70th and still qualify.* If you want to go to Northfield, make sure your fifth runner doesn't slip into the "dead zone" above 70th place.
* edited: Nov-10-06
Division I
Brookline enters the EMass meet as the number #1 ranked team in the state and the deserved favorite after dominating the Bay State League and running well at several invitationals (Manchester, Brown). Unlike their chief rivals, they have at least six strong runners capable of running sub 17:00. They are led by BSC champion Robert Gibson, who (I believe) is ready to join the elite of the state on Saturday. I expect him to be no worse than top five, and possibly top three.
The mystery team in Div I is Brockton, whom many picked to repeat as state champions this year. Brockton has the returning All-State runner-up and 2006 outdoor mile champion Kevin Gill leading them, and at least three other very good runners, but so far this year they have been unable to find a fifth man. It is not inconceivable that they have one waiting in the wings, to be unveiled on Saturday, in which case we'll all say: "how could we have underestimated Brockton?" If they don't have that guy, Gill might win, but they won't have much of a chance against a team as deep as Brookline.
Other potential qualifiers include Xaverian, led by 2005 State champion Mark Amirault. Xaverian has been hampered by injuries to their two best runners, Amirault and Dan Higgins, but have a strong team even with them running at 80%. Three teams from the Merrimack Valley Conference will contend for the top five: Methuen, Haverhill, and Chelmsford. Haverhill has title contender Pat Fullerton, but has a big gap back to their 4th and 5th. Methuen seemed out of it at the beginning of the year but has grown stronger with each passing week, and two weeks ago won the MVC league championship, which is an excellent sign they are ready for EMass. Chelmsford is very solid also, although perhaps not as fast up fron as in previous years.
Other teams who can't be ignored include the sophomore-laden Newton South team (DCL champions WITHOUT their senior captain Sam Donovan), Peabody, St. John's Prep (slowly rebuilding after years of dominance followed by two down years), Lincoln-Sudbury, and perhaps even BSC teams Weymouth and Newton North.
Not just because of my hometown bias, I think Newton North is an intriguing team for this kind of meet. With Seb Putzys finally healthy, they have at least one runner who should be in the top 25, followed by a very tight pack from 2-5. If that pack could all be under 17:30, the team would score very, very well. Would it be enough to qualify for states? That's very unlikely, but not impossible. The main thing is to get experience running in a big meet, keeping the pack close together, and realize that almost five of the top seven are coming back next year.
Div I Predictions:
Division II
Div II is definitely not an afterthought this year, as there are at least three very strong teams and several very good individuals. The top teams are Mansfield (led by last year's fifth finisher at All-States Ryan Collins), Gloucester, and Whitman-Hanson. Others to watch include Concord-Carlisle and BSC runner-up Needham.
Needham's Sam Miller finally gets a chance to show what he can do in a big meet, and the Needham team should enjoy the chance to step outside the narrow world of the BSC. Like everyone else, their fortunes will rise or fall on the fate of their 4th and 5th men. Good luck to them!
(Besides Needham, the other BSC teams in Div II is Natick.)
Collins is the favorite to win the race and will be one of the top runners in the state again this year. Other individuals to watch include Gloucester's Peter Asaro and Liam Murphy (he of the fantastic finishing kick), and L-S's Jimmy Tyrell.
Division III
Last year's Div III champion team was Wellesley, and they will try to defend the title against the likes of Bishop Feehan, Duxbury, Hopkinton, and Pentucket. I don't know much about any of these teams, although the MSTCA ranks Pentucket as the top Div III team in Emass.
In case you want to root for other BSC teams in Div III, Milton, Norwood, and Walpole are also in this division.
Division IV
As in the girls Div IV race, the favorite in the boys race is Hamilton-Wenham, led by Gabe Pacione (16:12 for 5K to win his league championship).
Other teams to watch inlcude Hopedale, Marblehead.
The only BSC team in Div IV is Dedham.
Over the past eight years, at least, no team scoring under 200 points has failed to qualify for All-States. Teams have scored 202 points and failed to make it, and have scored as high as 268 and still qualified, but the fact remains: if a team has been under 200, it has made the cut.
As for the number 70, it turns out that 70 is a similar (although not as ironclad) threshold for the position of a team's 5th runner. Over the last eight years, 90% of the teams whose fifth runner finished 70th or better have qualified for the state meet. Only four teams in eight years have had a fifth man finish worse than 70th and still qualify.* If you want to go to Northfield, make sure your fifth runner doesn't slip into the "dead zone" above 70th place.
* edited: Nov-10-06
Division I
Brookline enters the EMass meet as the number #1 ranked team in the state and the deserved favorite after dominating the Bay State League and running well at several invitationals (Manchester, Brown). Unlike their chief rivals, they have at least six strong runners capable of running sub 17:00. They are led by BSC champion Robert Gibson, who (I believe) is ready to join the elite of the state on Saturday. I expect him to be no worse than top five, and possibly top three.
The mystery team in Div I is Brockton, whom many picked to repeat as state champions this year. Brockton has the returning All-State runner-up and 2006 outdoor mile champion Kevin Gill leading them, and at least three other very good runners, but so far this year they have been unable to find a fifth man. It is not inconceivable that they have one waiting in the wings, to be unveiled on Saturday, in which case we'll all say: "how could we have underestimated Brockton?" If they don't have that guy, Gill might win, but they won't have much of a chance against a team as deep as Brookline.
Other potential qualifiers include Xaverian, led by 2005 State champion Mark Amirault. Xaverian has been hampered by injuries to their two best runners, Amirault and Dan Higgins, but have a strong team even with them running at 80%. Three teams from the Merrimack Valley Conference will contend for the top five: Methuen, Haverhill, and Chelmsford. Haverhill has title contender Pat Fullerton, but has a big gap back to their 4th and 5th. Methuen seemed out of it at the beginning of the year but has grown stronger with each passing week, and two weeks ago won the MVC league championship, which is an excellent sign they are ready for EMass. Chelmsford is very solid also, although perhaps not as fast up fron as in previous years.
Other teams who can't be ignored include the sophomore-laden Newton South team (DCL champions WITHOUT their senior captain Sam Donovan), Peabody, St. John's Prep (slowly rebuilding after years of dominance followed by two down years), Lincoln-Sudbury, and perhaps even BSC teams Weymouth and Newton North.
Not just because of my hometown bias, I think Newton North is an intriguing team for this kind of meet. With Seb Putzys finally healthy, they have at least one runner who should be in the top 25, followed by a very tight pack from 2-5. If that pack could all be under 17:30, the team would score very, very well. Would it be enough to qualify for states? That's very unlikely, but not impossible. The main thing is to get experience running in a big meet, keeping the pack close together, and realize that almost five of the top seven are coming back next year.
Div I Predictions:
Winning time: 15:35
# of runners under 16:00: 4
# of runners under 17:00: 33
70th place time: 17:22
Winning team score: 75
Division II
Div II is definitely not an afterthought this year, as there are at least three very strong teams and several very good individuals. The top teams are Mansfield (led by last year's fifth finisher at All-States Ryan Collins), Gloucester, and Whitman-Hanson. Others to watch include Concord-Carlisle and BSC runner-up Needham.
Needham's Sam Miller finally gets a chance to show what he can do in a big meet, and the Needham team should enjoy the chance to step outside the narrow world of the BSC. Like everyone else, their fortunes will rise or fall on the fate of their 4th and 5th men. Good luck to them!
(Besides Needham, the other BSC teams in Div II is Natick.)
Collins is the favorite to win the race and will be one of the top runners in the state again this year. Other individuals to watch include Gloucester's Peter Asaro and Liam Murphy (he of the fantastic finishing kick), and L-S's Jimmy Tyrell.
Division III
Last year's Div III champion team was Wellesley, and they will try to defend the title against the likes of Bishop Feehan, Duxbury, Hopkinton, and Pentucket. I don't know much about any of these teams, although the MSTCA ranks Pentucket as the top Div III team in Emass.
In case you want to root for other BSC teams in Div III, Milton, Norwood, and Walpole are also in this division.
Division IV
As in the girls Div IV race, the favorite in the boys race is Hamilton-Wenham, led by Gabe Pacione (16:12 for 5K to win his league championship).
Other teams to watch inlcude Hopedale, Marblehead.
The only BSC team in Div IV is Dedham.
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